After 100 years Stravinsky’s ballet returned to his place of birth

A small Volyn city on the border with Poland Ustyluh for Ihor Stravinsky was a place, which he called “a paradise for creative work,” and a place, where a family home was built according to the project of the composer. Before the celebration of Stravinsky’s anniversary (on June 17) the International Festival “Stravinsky and Ukraine,” this year it will be the 10th festival, is traditionally held in Volyn. The festival opened with a ballet night held on the stage of the local Oblast Academic Music and Drama Theater: actors from Kharkiv and Lysenko National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater presented ballet performances The Rite of Spring and Firebird.

Stravinsky started to write music for The Rite of Spring in Ustyluh and the premiere of the ballet took place 100 years ago on May 29, 1913 at the Theatre des Champs-Elysees in Paris. So, naturally, at the opening of the festival the Head of Volyn Oblast Council Volodymyr Voitovych expressed his hope that the ballet would be a success on stage of Lutsk theater, just as much as it was in Paris. Director of the Volyn Oblast Academic Music and Drama Theater Anatolii Hlyva was pleased with the ballet night – capacity crowd filled the theater concert hall. In fact, according to Hlyva, local cultural audience loves ballet because every time Saint Petersburg Theater tours with Swan Lake to Volyn (five times already) the tickets are all sold out.

The events of the festival’s program, with the support of the Charitable Foundation of Ihor Palytsia “New Lutsk,” will be held until June 17 – birthday of the composer. In Ustyluh Stravinskys family estate is currently undergoing major renovation. Inside the house an exhibition is installed and, perhaps, the museum in its new form will be opened during the festival. However, still a lot needs to be done to bring the territory around the house in order.