Paris in the Belle Époque of Richard Wagner, he went on to experiment with impressionism in music, atonal music and chromaticism. His most famous works include "Clair de Lune" for piano (written ca. 1890, published 1905), "La Mer" for orchestra (1905) and the opera "Pelléas et Mélisande" (1903-1905). The most revolutionary composer to work in Paris during the "Belle Époque" was the Russian-born Igor Stravinsky. He first achieved international fame with three ballets commissioned by the impresario Sergei Diaghilev and first performed in Paris by Diaghilev's Ballets Russes: "The Firebird" (1910), "Petrushka" (1911) and "The Rite of Spring" (1913). The last of these transformed the
The Firebird Ivan confronts the magician and eventually they begin quarrelling. When Koschei sends his minions after Ivan, he summons the Firebird. She intervenes, bewitching the monsters and making them dance an elaborate, energetic dance (the "Infernal Dance"). The creatures and Koschei then fall into a deep sleep. While they sleep, the Firebird directs Ivan to a tree stump where the casket with the egg containing Koschei's soul is hidden. Ivan destroys the egg and with the spell broken, the magical creatures that Koschei held captive are freed and the palace disappears. All of the "real" beings, including the princesses, awaken and