NYCB Vol. 12 No. 8 - Mozartiana

Robert Maiorano wrote a book Balanchine’s Mozartiana: The Making of a Masterpiece in which he documented just that—the making of this masterpiece. Of the Preghiera (or Prayer) he wrote:

“The music begins and Farrell and the children pose in prayer. Farrell kneels. The children flutter around then softly join the prayer. The music envelops them. The ballerina’s heart is open as she ascends and glides forward.

“Balanchine mirrors her movements. In time to Mozart, they pull together, expand and close. She shines under heavy lids of purple. Balanchine is intent. Farrell’s brow creases, her mouth mourns. They separate, part, then close together. They stand, side by side, their hands clasped, the same spirit. Eventually Balanchine is able to turn once in place. Their intense communion remains as he walks to center and back upstage.

“After a twisting soutenu, Farrell bourrées closely after him, to where she began. Leaving her side, Balanchine gathers the children, asking them to line up with Farrell. A nod to begin the music and this new phrase comes to life. […]

“With one foot remaining behind him on the floor, Balanchine begins an extremely slow lift of his arms and final curl of his hands. […] The music gathers its final surge. They have reached the end of their movement, but the music lingers with three faint notes drifting away higher and higher and higher.”

Suzanne Farrell

Photos by Martha Swope, 1981 & 1982

New York Public Library

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Suzanne Farrell wrote: “Mr. B choreographed the 'Preghiera' after he had designed the rest of the ballet. He finished at the beginning. During the first rehearsal he asked me to recite the Latin to the "Ave Verum" for him. I had known these words all my life, and they became my guide. I didn't count a note, but just hummed to myself silently, "Ave, Ave, Verum corpus, Natum ex Maria Virgine; Vere passum, immolatum, In cruce pro homine, Cujus latus perforatum, Vero fluxit sanguine, Esto nobis prae-gustatum, In mortis examine." [Hail, true body, Born of the Virgin Mary; Sacrificed with nails, On the cross for us men, Cleanse us by the blood and water streaming from thy pierced side, Feed us with thy body broken, Now and in death's agony.] Once again I was singing and dancing for Balanchine.

“Technically, this dance was short and simple, but it required a state of mind beyond anything I had ever attempted before. It was a hymn shared by George and me, an offering that could happen only in movement and music, not in words. […]

“He had not just made a ballet with Mozartiana, he had altered and extended the spectrum of my life. Having danced it, I felt that I had just begun to dance, just been borne into life itself.”

Suzanne Farrell in the Preghiera section of Mozartiana.

From left to right: Tamara Molina, Lisa Cantor, Amy Fixler, and Dara Adler.

Photo by Carolyn George

“In Mozartiana George and I were at peace with each other, and the pervasive calm and corresponding strength I felt while performing it were truly transcendent. […] Balanchine at the age of seventy-seven had given us a vision of heaven as he interpreted it from the Lord's Prayer, "on earth as it is in heaven," and it was a very beautiful place indeed, a place past desire, where dancers perform for the glory of God. My dream of climbing spires was answered—Mozartiana was the light. It was because this ballet existed that I could survive the death of the man who made it.”

—Suzanne Farrell in Holding on to the Air

(left) Photo by Reed Jenkins

(right) Photo by Steve Caras