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Gian Carlo Menotti - Sebastian (1944) ballet suite [1/2]
Seeded by kristiana on 26 Apr 2011
Author: Epogdous
Gian Carlo Menotti (1911-2007) Sebastian Suite (1944), ballet I. Introduction 0:00 II. Barcarole 2:09 III. Street Fight 6:02 IV. Cortege 7:26 V. Sebastian's Dance VI. Dance of the Wounded Courtesan VII. Pavane Spoleto Festival Orchestra/Richard Hickox Menotti composed this ballet score to his own libretto in 1944. The choreography of the original production was considered unsuccessful, but with restagings later it became a success. Sebastian is a Moorish slave, secretly in love with a courtesan. She, in her turn, shares love with the Prince of their Italian kingdom. The prince's sisters, desiring to end the affair, steal the courtesan's veil, which allows them to work black magic on her, which they can do with a life-sized wax figure covered with the veil; firing arrows into it will kill her. Sebastian learns of the plot, substitutes himself for the wax figure, and is shot with the arrows. The sacrifice breaks their spell over the courtesan, and she is reunited with her beloved. M