Fanfare

Fanfare is a one-act ballet choreographed by Jerome Robbins to Benjamin Britten's The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra. It was created in 1953 for a New York City Ballet program marking the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and premiered on June 2, 1953, the night of the coronation, at the City Center of Music and Drama in New York City. Although Robbins was born in Manhattan, the work formed part of a program deliberately designed to honor British choreographers, composers, designers, and ceremonial traditions. The ballet translates the structure of Britten's orchestral score into a visual ensemble of dancers representing individual instruments and sections of the orchestra. A majordomo begins the work by reading explanatory material associated with the score, after which the dancers enter in groupings corresponding to instruments including the piccolo, flutes, oboe, clarinets, bassoons, violas, cellos, double bass, harp, trumpets, trombones, tuba, and percussion. Rather than centering on a principal character or a sequence of major solos, Fanfare emphasizes collective movement, musical organization, ceremonial presentation, and the relationships among orchestral sections. The work is closely associated with the artistic leadership of George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein, the co-founders of New York City Ballet. According to accounts of Robbins's career, the two men are believed to have encouraged Robbins to make a new ballet for the coronation occasion. Balanchine was also involved in at least one rehearsal while Robbins was unavailable. Their differing interventions became part of the ballet's production history: Balanchine reportedly claimed that he had improved the choreography, while Robbins subsequently changed it back. The costumes and scenery were uncredited at the premiere, although Irene Sharaff was later associated with the design credit. Britten's score was itself written for an educational purpose. The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra was commissioned for a 1946 BBC documentary about orchestral instruments and is based on a theme by Henry Purcell. Robbins's choreography therefore combines a ceremonial event with an explicitly explanatory musical structure. The stage work presents the orchestra as both subject and organizing principle, giving the audience a choreographic counterpart to the score's demonstration of instrumental families. The premiere program also included a speech by Major-General William Dimoline, William Walton's Orb and Sceptre, two ballets by Frederick Ashton, and Swan Lake. The juxtaposition of British ceremonial music, British choreographic references, and a new work by an American choreographer reflected the program's international and commemorative purpose. Fanfare has remained part of the wider Jerome Robbins and New York City Ballet repertory, although it is revived infrequently. It was absent from the company's repertory from 1978 to 1987, appeared in the 2008 Jerome Robbins Celebration, and returned for the Robbins centenary program during the 2017–18 season. The work has also been staged by the Royal Danish Ballet, for which Robbins mounted it in 1956, by the School of American Ballet in workshop performances, and by Pacific Northwest Ballet with minor changes. In 2020, New York City Ballet released a video excerpt in response to the disruption that the coronavirus pandemic caused for live performing arts. Fanfare is therefore best understood not as a commercial apparel label, but as a repertory ballet whose continuing identity rests on its coronation-era commission, orchestral concept, and periodic revivals.

Fanfare was created by Jerome Robbins in 1953 for a New York City Ballet program associated with the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The work premiered on June 2, 1953, at the City Center of Music and Drama in New York City, on the same night as the coronation. The program was assembled by Lincoln Kirstein to honor British artistic and ceremonial traditions. It opened with an address by Major-General William Dimoline and included William Walton's Orb and Sceptre, two ballets by Frederick Ashton, and Swan Lake before concluding with the premiere of Robbins's work. The ballet is set to Benjamin Britten's The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra. Britten had composed that score for a 1946 BBC documentary about orchestral instruments, using a theme by Henry Purcell. Robbins's choreography follows the score's explanatory architecture. A majordomo begins by reading text explaining the music, and the ensemble then presents dancers as different instruments or orchestral sections. The stage groupings include women representing the piccolo and flutes, an oboe, clarinets, bassoons, violas, cellos, a double bass, a harp, trumpets, trombones and tuba, and percussion. The ballet does not rely on major solo roles; its central idea is the coordinated activity of the ensemble. The production is also connected with the working relationship between Robbins, George Balanchine, and Lincoln Kirstein. Biographical accounts suggest that Balanchine and Kirstein encouraged Robbins to create the coronation ballet. When Robbins was unavailable, Balanchine reportedly led a rehearsal and introduced changes of his own. Robbins later reversed those changes. Balanchine's recurring remark that he had fixed the ballet while Robbins had changed it became part of the anecdotal history surrounding the work. The original costumes and scenery were not credited in the premiere documentation, although Irene Sharaff was later credited in connection with the design. After its New York premiere, Fanfare became an occasional rather than continuously performed repertory work. Robbins staged it for the Royal Danish Ballet in 1956. The New York City Ballet later left it out of the repertory between 1978 and 1987. It was revived for the 2008 Jerome Robbins Celebration and was subsequently absent again until the company's Robbins centenary programming in the 2017–18 season. The School of American Ballet, New York City Ballet's affiliated school, has included the ballet in annual workshop performances. Pacific Northwest Ballet has also performed it, making minor changes to the staging. The ballet's twentieth- and twenty-first-century history has therefore been defined by selective revivals rather than continuous runs. Its identity remains tied to three elements: the 1953 royal-coronation context, Robbins's choreographic interpretation of an orchestral teaching score, and the practical challenge of presenting a large ensemble organized around instrumental categories. In 2020, New York City Ballet released a video excerpt during the coronavirus pandemic, preserving access to part of the work when live performances were disrupted.

• 2020

  Online excerpt during the coronavirus pandemic

  [1]Fanfare (ballet)en.wikipedia.org

  New York City Ballet released a video excerpt of Fanfare while the pandemic affected live performing arts.

• 2017

  Robbins centenary revival

  [1]Fanfare (ballet)en.wikipedia.org

  Fanfare returned during the 2017–18 season's programming commemorating Jerome Robbins's centenary.

• 2008

  Jerome Robbins Celebration performance

  [1]Fanfare (ballet)en.wikipedia.org

  New York City Ballet included Fanfare in its Jerome Robbins Celebration program.

• 1987

  Return to the New York City Ballet repertory

  [1]Fanfare (ballet)en.wikipedia.org

  The ballet returned to the company's repertory after its absence since 1978.

• 1978

  Beginning of a New York City Ballet repertory gap

  [1]Fanfare (ballet)en.wikipedia.org

  Fanfare entered a period outside the New York City Ballet repertory that lasted until 1987.

• 1956

  Royal Danish Ballet production

  [1]Fanfare (ballet)en.wikipedia.org

  Jerome Robbins staged Fanfare for the Royal Danish Ballet.

• 1953

  World premiere at City Center

  [1]Fanfare (ballet)en.wikipedia.org

  Fanfare premiered on June 2 at the City Center of Music and Drama in New York City as part of a program connected with Queen Elizabeth II's coronation.

A ceremonial and educational ensemble ballet that visualizes the instrumental structure of Britten's orchestral work while commemorating the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

• One-act ballet · 1953

  Fanfare

  A one-act ensemble ballet choreographed by Jerome Robbins to Benjamin Britten's The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra. Its structure assigns dancers to instrumental families and individual instruments, including winds, strings, brass, harp, and percussion. A majordomo introduces the explanatory material, and the choreography proceeds without major solo roles. The work was created for a 1953 coronation program and has subsequently been revived by New York City Ballet and performed by other companies.

• 2008

  Jerome Robbins Celebration revivalOther

  Background

  The company revisited works by Jerome Robbins in a dedicated celebration program.

  Action taken

  Fanfare was restored to the program for the celebration.

  Aftermath

  The ballet later returned again for the Robbins centenary season after another period outside the repertory.

  Source

• 1953

  Creation and premiere for the coronation programProduct launch

  Background

  New York City Ballet's leadership sought a new work for a program honoring British artistic and ceremonial traditions on the occasion of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation.

  Action taken

  Jerome Robbins choreographed Fanfare to Benjamin Britten's orchestral guide, and the ballet was premiered on the night of the coronation in New York City.

  Aftermath

  The work became an occasional part of the New York City Ballet repertory and was later staged by the Royal Danish Ballet, the School of American Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet.

  Source

1. 1Fanfare (ballet)en.wikipedia.org