The scandal of the Consecration of Spring

At the beginning of the 20th century, the visionary entrepreneur Sergei Diaghilev shook up Parisian culture with his ballet company Les Ballets Russes.

Diahuilev could not find a composer who fit his ideals of modernity until he met Igor Stravinsky. Stravinsky's debut with the Ballets Russes was memorable, composing the music for the ballets The Firebird in 1910 and Petrushka the following season. But it was in 1913 when Stravinsky created a work that would mark an era: The Rite of Spring, a ballet full of innovation and inspired by pagan rituals.

The release became one of the most notorious scandals in music history. Stravinsky's sumptuous and powerful melodies, and dancer Nijinsky's choreography, generated heated discussions among the audience. Admirers and detractors of the play faced each other and the tension culminated in shouting, chairs flying over the audience and fights in the corridors of the theater. The Paris police had to occupy the theater to control the situation.

However, the ballet completed its run in Paris and The Rite of Spring became the major work that would mark the beginning of the new musical century.

Stravinsky with businessman Sergei Diaghilev

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