Suzanne Farrell in her autobiography Holding on to the Air: "Prodigal Son tells the story of the fall and redemption of the biblical character, and its recent revival had provided Edward Villella with one of the greatest roles of his career. I asked Mr. B if I might dance the Siren who lures the Prodigal Son into the depths of greedy sensuality, a part originally designed for my beloved teacher Mme. Doubrovska . I was curious to explore a darker, more earthy role. Because at

The following text comes from Edward Villella's autobiography, Prodigal Son: Dancing for Balanchine in a World of Pain and Magic. The major breakthrough in my career came in 1960. I was cast in Prodigal Son, and in typical New York City Ballet fashion no one ever talked to me about it officially. I wasn't even aware that Prodigal was being revived. I was standing around waiting for a rehearsal to finish when Diana Adams turned to me and said, "Oh, congratulations." I said, "A

Maria Tallchief in her autobiography Maria Tallchief: America's Prima Ballerina: George Balanchine (left) Maria Tallchief & Jerome Robbins. Photo by Walter E.Owen, 1950. "Balanchine believed New York City Ballet needed a story ballet in its repertory and hoped Prodigal Son would serve the purpose. The ballet was a success at its premiere in 1929 and had never been seen in America. The Original Ballet Russe had presented David Lichine's version of the Prokofiev score, but it w

In 1950, Balanchine felt that NYCB needed a story ballet in its repertoire, so he revived his 1929 ballet Prodigal Son . He was not especially fond of the ballet because he was obliged to create it on Serge Lifar, who was Diaghilev's favored dancer in the Ballet Russe at the time. Balanchine didn't care for his dancing, but he also felt more personally inspired to create ballets that showcased women rather than men. Prodigal Son was the antithesis of his normal inclination: f

From Balanchine's Ballerinas : Conversations with the Muses by Robert Tracy Robert Tracy: Prodigal Son must have been strange for you to learn. The role of the Siren is very far from the classical parts you were trained for. Doubrovska: Yes, it was difficult. But Diaghilev and Balanchine tell me to go home and think about my part. About the pas de deux with Lifar. And I think about a snake, which is not human, but which hypnotizes and be-witches. I used my eyes, and the move

Serge Lifar as the Prodigal Son. Photo by Roger Violett, 1929 The most complete account of the creation of the original Prodigal Son ballet is found in the diaries of Serge Prokofiev, the composer of the ballet. From his commission in October, 1928 to premiere in May, 1929, his entries describe the personal animosity that existed between himself and Balanchine, which partly explains why Balanchine was so apathetic about reviving the ballet for NYCB decades later.  Excerpts fr

The libretto for Prodigal Son was written by Boris Kochno, the secretary and collaborator of Serge Diaghilev. This is his recounting of how the ballet came to be: Text from Diaghilev and the Ballet Russe by Boris Kochno: "In 1927 [...] Diaghilev asked Prokofiev to write a new ballet for the company. He had no specific theme to suggest, and his great preoccupation at the time was to find one. He wanted the new work to be simple and easy to follow, unlike Prokofiev's earlier b

Deborah Jowitt on Opus 19/The Dreamer: "Robbins clearly wanted to explore Baryshnikov's chameleon-like aptitude for unfamiliar styles and...