The Rite of Spring Monteux, "The musicians thought it absolutely crazy". At one point—a climactic brass fortissimo—the orchestra broke into nervous laughter at the sound, causing Stravinsky to intervene angrily. The role of the sacrificial victim was to have been danced by Nijinsky's sister, Bronislava Nijinska; when she became pregnant during rehearsals, she was replaced by the then relatively unknown Maria Piltz. Paris's Théâtre des Champs-Élysées was a new structure, which had opened on 2 April 1913 with a programme celebrating the works of many of the leading composers of the day. The theatre's manager, Gabriel Astruc, was determined to house the 1913 Ballets
The Key to the Golden Firebird The Key to the Golden Firebird The Key to the Golden Firebird is the debut novel by noted young adult author Maureen Johnson. It was first published in 2004, and was listed as a Best Books for Young Adults by the American Library Association in 2005. Brooks, May and Palmer are three teenage sisters dealing with the sudden death of their father. Brooks and Palmer had shared their father's love of baseball (all three girls are named for baseball players) and are athletic softball players themselves, but May, the middle brainy sister, had always felt left out of that athletic