Schedule for Paris National Opera presents One-act ballets: "Suite en blanc". "L`Aresienne". "Bolero" 2022

Composer: Georges Bizet
Composer: Maurice Ravel
Composer: Edouard Lalo
Choreography: Serge Lifar

Orchestra: Bolshoi Theatre Symphony Orchestra

"Suite en blanc" Edouard Lalo
(one-act ballet)

Serge Lifar's ballet Suite en blanc was first performed by the Paris Opera Ballet in 1943, named after the all white costumes. When the men wore black tights in 1946, it became Noir et blanc. Lifar personally revived the original on the Australian Ballet in 1981. Suite en blanc is in the repertoire of the Paris Opera Ballet and the Australian Ballet.

Suite en blanc is internationally acclaimed as a neoclassical showpiece, a one-act ballet designed to display the technical virtuosity of a company. Choreographed by Serge Lifar for the Paris Opera Ballet, it premiered in Zurich in 1943 with Yvette Chauvire and Lifar himself dancing principal roles. Lifar largely extracted the music for Suite en blanc from Edouard Lalo's score for Namouna, a short-lived ballet choreographed by Petipa in 1882. Many of the names for musical episodes were carried over from the original score, resulting in such titles as 'Variation de la Cigarette' which, while referring to the plot of Namouna, appear irrelevant to the 'pure dance' of Suite en blanc.

"L`Aresienne" Georges Bizet
(one-act ballet)

"Bolero" Maurice Ravel
(one-act ballet)
The composition was a sensational success when it was premiered at the Paris Opйra on November 22, 1928, with choreography by Bronislava Nijinska and designs by Alexandre Benois.
A scenario by Rubinstein and Nijinska was printed in the program for the premiere:
Inside a tavern in Spain, people dance beneath the brass lamp hung from the ceiling. To the cheers to join in, the female dancer has leapt onto the long table and her steps become more and more animated.
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