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Alexander Pushkin's Influence on Russian Ballet

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Alexander Pushkin's Influence on Russian Ballet Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2005 Alexander Pushkin's Influence on the Development of Russian Ballet Kathryn Karrh Cashin Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES ALEXANDER PUSHKIN’S INFLUENCE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF RUSSIAN BALLET By KATHRYN KARRH CASHIN A Dissertation submitted to the Interdisciplinary Program in the Humanities in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2005 Copyright 2005 Kathryn Karrh Cashin All Rights Reserved The members of the Committee approve the dissertation of Kathryn Karrh Cashin defended on the 16th of March, 2005. ______________________________ Tricia Young Professor Directing Dissertation ______________________________ Paul Halpern Outside Committee Member ______________________________ Leon Golden Committee Member Humanities Representative ______________________________ Ernest Rehder Committee Member Approved: __________________________________________________ David Johnson Head, Program in the Humanities __________________________________________________ Donald Foss Dean, College of Arts and Sciences The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members. This endeavor is dedicated with love to Ken and Katy in great appreciation for their patience and support (you’re the best) iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank the members of my committee; Dr. Tricia Young, Dr. Leon Golden, Dr. Paul Halpern and Dr. Ernest Rehder, for their patience and support and would like to commend them for their inspirational teaching and excellence in their respective fields. Dr. Young, who directed my work, was exceptionally helpful. Quite simply, this project would not have been possible without her. She contributed an inordinate amount of time discussing the project and helping to formulate the structure of the work. Her excellent editing skills, knowledge of dance and dance history, support, patience and sense of humor were invaluable. Barbara Reis, coordinator for the Program in the Humanities, served as an important resource and was of tremendous assistance and I thank her for all of her efforts on my behalf. I also would like to thank my family, friends, and the Elles, as well as the dancers, parents and co-workers at The Tallahassee Ballet for their support and patience. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract…………………………………………………………………….vi INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………..1 CHAPTER ONE Pushkin’s Literary Biography……….……………...9 CHAPTER TWO Pushkin and Russian Music…..………………........21 CHAPTER THREE A brief history of ballet in Western Europe and Russia from its origin until the era of Pushkin…………………………………..………….45 CHAPTER FOUR Pushkin and Russian Ballet……………..………….77 CHAPTER FIVE Pushkin, Soviet Ballet and Afterward….………….124 CHAPTER SIX Pushkin and Ballet: Yesterday, Today…………….177 and Tomorrow CONCLUSION……….………………………………………....…………195 BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………….202 . BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH………………………………………………209 v ABSTRACT This dissertation explores and analyzes Alexander Pushkin’s contribution to the development of a unique Russian form of classical ballet. Pushkin’s gift as a writer and understanding of language, music and ballet converge to directly influence the evolution of ballet in Russia. To establish a link between Pushkin and Russian ballet, the evolution of Pushkin’s written word to its presentation musically, in the form of songs, and later on stage as opera is traced. Pushkin’s works provide important inspiration for the Russian performing arts because of his use of Russian themes and incorporation of local color, characterizations and settings. His works lend themselves to musical interpretation, which provides additional inspiration. A brief examination of Pushkin’s life and a chronological review of his literary career are provided. Similarly, each chapter begins with a brief historical overview of the subject covered (i.e. music, ballet history, ballet in Russia, Socialist Realism) so that a point of reference and background information is provided. In order to illustrate Pushkin’s influence on the emergence of a uniquely Russian ballet tradition, selected ballets were examined according to five hallmarks identified as originating with Pushkin’s literary legacy and traceable through the development and codification of Russian ballet. Although other Pushkin-based ballets are included in this study, four are given special consideration. These include The Bronze Horseman, The Fountain of Bakhchisarai, The Queen of Spades, and Eugene Onegin. Chapter One provides background on Pushkin while Chapter Two outlines Pushkin’s influence on the development of Russian music. Chapter Three reviews the history of ballet in both Western Europe and Russia and Chapter Four is dedicated to ballet in Russia and Pushkin’s significance to its development. In Chapter Five The Bronze Horseman and The Fountain of Bakhchisarai are analyzed, while in Chapter Six these two ballets and The Queen of Spades and Eugene Onegin are compared and vi contrasted. Chapter Six also includes a discussion of Pushkin’s interest in the ballet as evidenced by his Eugene Onegin and explores the theme of madness in his works. vii Like the poet, the choreographer finds new ways of saying things. George Balanchine INTRODUCTION This dissertation explores and analyzes Alexander Pushkin’s contribution to the development of a unique Russian form of classical ballet. Pushkin is credited with the development of almost every Russian literary art form. He is further credited as a catalyst for the creation of uniquely Russian forms of music, opera and ballet. This paper will show that Pushkin’s gift as a writer and his understanding of language, music and ballet converged to directly influence the evolution of ballet in Russia. Despite the large body of research investigating Pushkin and his legacy, very little scholarly work exists concerning his impact on the development of ballet. There are several possible reasons for this: 1) as a performing art, ballet is a relative late comer; 2) most Russian ballets are rarely performed outside of Russia; and 3) educated dance criticism is still an emerging field. In addition, most of the ballets based on Pushkin’s themes were created long after his death and may have been overlooked for this reason. Certainly ballet existed and, indeed, flourished during Pushkin’s era. He was a great ballet enthusiast and his works reflect both his knowledge and appreciation of the art form (Schmidt 1989, 2). However, most of the ballets he viewed in his lifetime were imports from other countries with stories, characters, choreography, music and settings borrowed from them. In order to establish a link between Pushkin and Russian ballet, it is important to follow the evolution from Pushkin’s written word to its presentation musically and later on stage as opera and ballet. Therefore, Pushkin’s contributions to music, including opera, will be considered because they show a direct link from his writings to the ballet genre. His works transcend the boundaries of literature and have been produced audibly and visibly on stage. Pushkin’s works provide important inspiration for the Russian performing arts because of his use of specifically Russian themes and incorporation of local color, characterizations and settings. His themes and ideas developed from his unique Russian 1 experiences. Furthermore, he creates realistic characters and through them explores the psychological nature of mankind. Perhaps, most importantly for the purpose of this study, his works also provide inspiration because they lend themselves to musical interpretation, which will be examined as part of the evolutionary process. There exists a staggering amount of scholarly research and analysis of Pushkin’s work and an additional study might seem unnecessary or redundant. However, Pushkin’s works continue to inspire new ballet productions, which provide more opportunities for examination and understanding of his enduring legacy. Pushkin is considered one of Russia’s most important authors and was recognized as such during his lifetime. He, like Peter the Great, was influential in bringing Western European cultural traditions to Russia, and was key to the establishment of a Russian literary tradition: Pushkin was the first, by virtue of the high aesthetic standards he achieved, to raise his writings to the advanced and enlightened level of European spiritual life in the 19th century. By so doing, he introduced Russian literature, as yet one more and highly significant national original literature, to the family of the most developed Western traditions of that time. Only against this historical and historical-literacy background—in the mainstream of European and, even more broadly, world artistic development—is it possible for us to grasp to the full the miracle of Pushkin’s genius and the place, role and significance of his work for the whole “sublunar world” (Blagoy 1979, 13). Although Pushkin was considered a genius, this does not mean that his life was an easy one. He faced many financial and personal challenges during his short life and died at a young age. We are left to wonder what additional masterpieces he might have contributed had he lived to create a larger body of work. Pushkin’s influence on the Russian literary tradition is enormous. David Budge,
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