Petrushka (ballet)
Ballet by Stravinsky about a puppet's tragic love and jealousy.
The ballet is one of the most popular of the Ballets Russes productions and is usually performed today with its original designs and choreography.
- field
- Ballet
- composer
- Igor Stravinsky
- premiere_venue
- Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris
- choreographer
- Michel Fokine
- libretto_assistance
- Alexandre Benois
- notable_dancers
- Vaslav Nijinsky, Tamara Karsavina, Alexander Orlov, Enrico Cecchetti
Lore & Background
Petrushka loves the Ballerina, but she prefers the Moor; Petrushka challenges the Moor and is killed by his scimitar. The Charlatan reminds the crowd that Petrushka is only a puppet, but after the crowd disperses, Petrushka's ghost rises, shakes his fist at the Charlatan, and then collapses in a second death. The ballet's composition began when Stravinsky had a vision of a puppet exasperating an orchestra with arpeggios, which he initially conceived as a concert work. Diaghilev recognized its theatrical potential and connected it to the Russian puppet tradition of Petrushka.
Reader's Guide
Petrushka is significant for its integration of music, dance, and design into a unified whole. The work is characterized by the Petrushka chord, a bitonal device of C major and F♯ major triads played together, which heralds the main character. The ballet remains a staple of the repertoire, often performed with its original choreography and designs.
Did You Know?
- The Petrushka chord consists of C major and F♯ major triads played together.
- The ballet's original choreography was by Michel Fokine, with stage designs by Alexandre Benois.
- Petrushka is a hand puppet character known across Europe as Punch, Polichinelle, Pulcinella, or Kasperle.
- Stravinsky originally conceived the music as a pure concert work, a Konzertstück.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the plot of Petrushka?
The ballet follows a puppet who falls desperately in love with a dancing girl, but his jealousy over her growing attraction to a Moor drives the story toward a tragic conclusion. It is essentially a tale of unrequited love and fatal rivalry among puppets.
Why is Petrushka still performed today?
It remains one of the most popular works in the Ballets Russes canon and is still typically staged with its original Fokine choreography and Benois visual designs more than a century after its debut. Its vivid orchestration and dramatic puppet narrative continue to draw audiences and companies worldwide.
More in Classical Music Compositions 1-24
Elsewhere in the Classical Music Compositions universe
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record