The story of a soldier (opera)

The opera ballet was written after Stravinsky’s great ballets and precedes the neoclassical period. The musician was hiding in Switzerland at that time because of the revolution in Russia , and Diaghilev , also an exile, could not help him. Swiss conductor Ernest Anserme introduced him to Ramu. Part of the libretto was composed in Lance, where Stravinsky found shelter in the castle of the artist Albert Muret.

This chamber work, the construction of which dates back to traveling circus and jazz, consists of several short paintings, some of which are based on various dances: tango , waltz and even ragtime . Suite for piano, clarinet and violin based on this composition was written in 1919. The second suite for the initial composition of the instruments was written in 1920.

The premiere of the performance took place on September 28, 1918 (staged by Georges Pitoev ) at the with an ensemble conducted by E. Anserme.

The staging chamber made it possible to show this performance in different Swiss villages, but this project was not realized due to the Spanish flu epidemic that broke out in Europe, and the next performance took place only in 1923 in Paris .

The plot is taken from a Russian fairy tale published in the famous collection of A. N. Afanasyev : a poor soldier sells his soul (embodied in a violin) to the devil for a book that allows us to predict the future. Having taught the devil to handle the violin, the soldier returns to his village. Alas, instead of the promised three days for communication with the devil, three long years pass. No one in the village recognizes the soldier: neither his mother, nor the ex-bride, who has married during this time. Then the soldier, using his magic book, becomes fabulously rich. Not becoming happy, he plays cards with the devil - money against the violin. The devil wins, but, drunk with wealth, loses the violin stolen by a soldier. The soldier manages to cure the sick princess promised by the king to the one who will save her from the disease. In search of happiness, the soldiers and the princess flee the kingdom, but for disobeying the devil the soldier goes to hell. The work ends with the triumph of the demon in the form of a sarcastic march.

The first suite for piano, clarinet and violin consists of five parts:

1. Soldier march
2. Soldier violin
3. Little concert
4. Tango, Waltz, Ragtime
5. Dance of the devil

In 1920, Stravinsky wrote a second suite - for the same 7 instruments that were used in the original edition. The suite has nine parts:

1. Soldier march
2. Music for the first scene: an aria on the bank of a stream
3. Music for the second scene: pastoral
4. Royal march
5. Little concert
6. Three dances: tango, waltz, ragtime
7. Dance of the devil
8. Small chorale, large chorale
9. Triumphal March of the Devil

This work has inspired many choreographers, including:

• 1929 - Chania Holm
• 1942 - John Cranco
• 1965 - Jerome Robbins
• 1966 - Maurice Bejart
• 1967 - Jean Babille
• 1976 - Jean Gyserix
• 1981 - Peter Martins
• 1986 - Jiri Kilian
• 1992 - Michelle Ann de May
• 2013 - Jean-Claude Galotte

• In 1984, American illustrator and animator R.O. Blechman created an animated film using music and the basis of the text, in a style that combines line art and associations with Kandinsky , Mondrian and the art deco style .
• In 1976, “The Soldier's Story” was directed by Pierre Rishi on the stage of the Lance Municipal Theater.
• In 2018, Roger Waters , one of the founders of Pink Floyd , released The Soldier's Tale adaptation on Sony Classical Masterworks.

Instrumental ensemble led by Charles Duthoit with Francois Simon, Francois Berthe and Gerard Carr.

• François-René Tranchefort, Guide de la musique de chambre, dir. P.-E. Barbier (réd.), Paris, Fayard 1989, 863 p.

• The History of the Soldier on Allmusic
• The Soldier's Story on the Internet Movie Database