The ever infamous Rite of Spring riot. The author of The Verge’s article retells us the gist of what happens opening night at Paris’ Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. The story goes that on the night of its debut, The Rite of Spring was so jarring to the audience that people booed at the performance only a few notes in. As the ballet progressed, the crowd turned into a mob, going from jeering to throwing vegetables at the orchestra to rioting loud enough that the dancers couldn’t hear the music and had to listen to directions shouted at them by the ballet’s choreographer, Vaslav Nijinsky from backstage. It’s a memorable and exciting piece of music history that gets told in classes all the time.

In the blog post however, the author argues that the riot didn’t actually happen! I figured that this was going to be speculation, but there’s actually some evidence to back up this debate. In summary, the author argues that the riot was not actually a riot, but a big, strong argument between French aristocrats and middle class music lovers who saw The Rite as a historic look into the traditions of an exploited peoples who performed such rituals to the entertainment of their European colonizers. According to the essay the author is using to explain this, much of how we learn about this “riot” comes from firsthand accounts that watched the ballet from the balcony of the theater which was made of concrete. This means any sound, especially any sound that may have been assumed to be fighting, would’ve been exaggerated in volume because of the balcony’s architectural resonance. For all we know, the riot could’ve been a glorified scuffle between two or three people. Another piece of evidence that the author borrows is about the chronology of reviews about The Rite. No critics had used the word “riot” in any of their reviews until 1924, eleven years after the ballet’s debut, and even then, that review had only been about a later orchestra-only performance at Carnegie Hall.

I actually listened to this ballet for the first time in my high school music class and my teacher put up a performance of it with the dancers in bright red costumes. I went back to search for that version to really get back the feeling of watching it for the very first time, and although it isn’t the same, I do remember how I felt. It was definitely different, especially after listening to something like Swan Lake or The Nutcracker. It didn’t bother me as much as it was hyped up to make me from the story about the riot, but I remember feeling like something was off. The dancing was the more jarring part rather than the music. Watching it back today, I am reminded of the movie “Midsommar,” which told a similar story about pagan traditions and a ritual sacrifice.

In the first article the author believes that on the night of the premiere of “the rite of spring” a riot took place in the theatre. Because of the unnatural choreography and music, the audience of the theater showed clear hate shouting and throwing objects onto the stage. Some reports say that the police were called, and that people were kicked out of the theater. In the second article the author argues about what happened at the premiere. Many of the first-hand accounts came from people sitting on the balcony who might have been overwhelmed by the music projected to them. The dancers’ stomping movements were inspired by dances in Siberia, these exotic dancers were translated into humor of the European dance halls which caused people to laugh. There were no accounts of physical violence only verbal assault against the people laughing. Because of the dynamics between upper and middle class and various cultural backgrounds, things got a little heated. The play had five encores at the end of the night. Many of the rumors had started because of miscommunication. I believe if I was there the night of the premiere, I’d be a little confused but would have enjoyed the uniqueness of the music and choreography. 

1. Read “100 years ago today, ‘The Rite of Spring’ incited a riot in a Paris theater”; in your own words, summarize what the author believes happened during the ballet’s premiere.

The author of this article believes…

Shortly after the ballet’s opening notes, a meandering and unsettlingly high-pitched bassoon solo that many in the crowd found amusing and mocking, started the commotion. The orchestra’s hammering percussion and jarring rhythms intensified in tandem with the mounting tensions within the freshly opened Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, and the jeers grew louder as the music moved into a more cacophonous territory.

By the time the dancers, directed by renowned Ballets Russes director Vaslav Nijinsky, ascended the stage, the atmosphere had almost reached a boiling point. The dancers, who were decked up in absurd costumes, made monstrous and violent movements instead of graceful ones, that echoed the weird story that was being told throughout the ballet. The audience’s boos got so loud that the dancers couldn’t hear the music, requiring Nijinsky to yell instructions from backstage.

The orchestra quickly found itself under attack as irate Parisians threw vegetables and other objects toward the stage as a fight broke out between two sections of the audience. Although 40 individuals were reportedly expelled from the theater, it’s unclear whether the police were actually called to the scene. Amazingly, the show went on till the end, even though the consequences were severe and quick.

2. Read “Did Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring incite a riot at its premiere?”; in your own words, summarize what the author argues actually happened at the premiere and describe at least two pieces of evidence (like historical material) the author uses to support their argument.

The author of this article believes…

A riot never occurred on the night that “The Rite of Spring” premiered. He believes that the term “riot” was used for promotional business, especially in the United States, where the thrill of violence was exciting to Americans. After entering the States, The term “riot” and “The Rite of Spring” went hand and hand. 

Levitz points out that the balcony is where the majority of the first-person recollections of the premiere were recorded. Due to certain architectural features, the balcony of the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées was highly resonant; sounds from the orchestra, which was unusually strong, bounced off concrete walls. The setting of the balcony probably amplified the effect and made the sound overwhelming. We don’t know whether other groups in the audience felt the same confusion because this is the only audience perspective that has been recorded in history. Only a one-group perspective, that to far from where the incident occurred can not be the sole proof that a riot occurred. 

The author also pointed out that the choreography that the dancers were doing, was seen as humorous at the time, justifying the reason why the aristocrats were viewing the performance as hilarious. The music lovers, musicians, and critics were horrified by the aristocrats’ rude actions, so they reacted by complaining and abusing them. History lists a number of specific insults, but Levitz hypothesizes that only those seated near to the people who yelled them were likely to have heard them at all, contrary to how most representations of the clash portray them.

Early stories of that evening do not record any actual physical altercations, much less a riot. Levitz cites a number of sources that described the mood in the immediate wake of the premiere as hostile and fervent but not physically violent—similar to that of a contentious parliamentary discussion or a criminal court trial.

Evidence

“Furthermore, the myth conveniently neglects to mention that, at the end of The Rite, the dancers took five curtain calls, and the evening’s entertainment continued with another ballet, Carl Maria von Weber’s Le Spectre de la rose, also choreographed by Nijinsky. That wouldn’t seem possible if the altercation was as destructive as it’s been construed”, (Gleason / What (actually) happened at the premiere of The Rite?). 

“Levitz points out that the audience had a limited frame of reference for such displays; they most often saw them in demonstrations at colonial expositions that presented the “exotic” traditions of exploited people for the amusement of their European colonizers. Some dance moves had found their way into the cabaret and music hall, where they were intended as humor—as the title of Levitz’s essay indicates, these practices were very racist. Thus some in the audience—notably the aristocrats—responded in the way they thought they were supposed to: by laughing”, (Gleason / What (actually) happened at the premiere of The Rite?). 

Conclusion: Everything was a big misunderstanding!

3. How did you respond to this ballet the first time you watched/listened to it? If you were in the audience in 1913, how do you think you would have reacted to the music and dance?

Watching this performance, I found it very unusual. My first initial thought was that this was distributing. I did not know what was going on in this ballet or what story was being told. If I was in the audience in 1913, based on my first initial thoughts of seeing this ballet, I would have reacted with an expression of disturbance, and I would have probably left the theatre hall. I found it very hard to watch as I was confused the whole time and the music and visuals were not that pleasing.

The author of “100 years ago today, ‘The Rite of Spring’ incited a riot in a Paris theater”, first starts off with a quick explanation of the piece “The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky. The author states how the piece today is considered a work of modernism with its frenetic, jagged orchestral ballet that boldly rejected the ordered harmonies and comfort of traditional composition. He then adds how the piece had left a mark ​​on jazz, minimalism, and other contemporary movements. The debut of “The Rite of Spring” in the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées caused a great commotion. The show started with a meandering and eerily high-pitched bassoon solo, followed by a group of dancers dressed in whimsical costumes, the dancers performed bizarre and violent moves. This irritated a large portion of the audience causing the audience to engage in a scuffle and fight with one another. With this performance, Stravinsky was subjected to harsh criticism due to his introduction of a new form of art that used harsh dissonance, complex rhythms, and repetitive melodies. The author of “Did Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring incite a riot at its premiere?”, argues that the riot had never happened and it was all just misunderstanding and exaggeration of the events. He shares how the accounts of the riot came from the balcony, but The balcony of the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées was exceptionally resonant allowing sound from the orchestra to bounce off concrete walls. He shares how it is likely for the walls to have amplified the sounds from the orchestra creating a misconception of chaos on the lower level. He then goes on to share how the fight that occurred was not about the art form but more about the aristocrats and politics. The author states, “aftermath of the premiere that compared the atmosphere to that of a contentious debate in Parliament or a criminal court trial—confrontational and impassioned, but not physically violent.” With the evidence, he manages to disprove accounts of violence and brutality that were claimed to occur. The first time I watched the ballet I found it interesting due to the unique dancing. Unlike what I normally know about ballet the one performed in this video was unique. The dance moves did not seem very refined but instead rough around the edges. The dance sequence incorporated a lot of jumping up and down, left to right, and collapses. If I was an audience in 1913 I would have been shocked by this new display of movements that I was not yet used to or familiar with.

In the first article, “100 years ago today, ‘The Rite of Spring’ incited a riot in a Paris theater,” the author discusses what went down and what he believes happened in this ballet’s premiere. The author says that to this day, there is still not a clear answer as to what took place during that performance and he uses the word “hazy” to describe people’s memory of what happened. Everyone can agree that this ballet ended in “mayhem and chaos.” People in the audience ended up throwing things like vegetables at the stage which is what insinuated the chaos. Even with this going on, the performers kept going and the ballet itself was violent too. In the next article, the author explains what actually happened at this event. The author starts by saying that due to the ballet’s harsh instrumental sounds and ugly costumes, the audience having such a reaction is almost validated. However, he then shifts to saying that the riot actually never happened. The balcony sections would have experienced Stravinsky’s harsh music even worse due to the sound bouncing off of concrete walls. The author then goes onto saying, “Since this is the only audience perspective that has been preserved in history, we have no idea whether other sections of the audience experienced the same disorientation.” It was a disrespectful and even racist performance as well. He also states, “The ballet ignited explosive tempers, but the blasts were not all directed at the stage.” There is no mention of any physical fights that took place, only verbal, so therefore this “riot” did not happen. It is a myth. When I first watched this ballet, I thought that it would be something very boring and it is not something I would enjoy watching a whole performance of. If I was actually in the audience in 1913 watching this, I honestly probably would have not stayed for the entire show.