The Nightingale (opera) completed his other two major ballets for Diaghilev, "Petrushka" and "The Rite of Spring". Because the time between the writing of the first and second acts extended over six years, stylistically the work reflects Stravinsky's significantly changed approach to composition, and this can clearly be detected when performances are given. Stravinsky subsequently turned aside from large productions to concentrate on chamber music and the piano. For the opera's premiere, the singers were in the pit and their roles were mimed and danced on stage. The "mise-en-scène" was by Alexandre Benois (who also designed the sets and costumes) and Alexandre Sanine,
Tsarevitch Ivan, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf Tsarevitch Ivan, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf "Tsarevich Ivan, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf" is a Russian fairy tale collected by Alexander Afanasyev in "Narodnye russkie skazki". It is Aarne-Thompson type 550, the quest for the golden bird/firebird. Others of this type include "The Golden Bird", "The Greek Princess and the Young Gardener", "The Bird 'Grip, "How Ian Direach got the Blue Falcon", and "The Nunda, Eater of People". A king's apple tree bore golden apples, but every night, one was stolen. Guards reported that the Firebird stole them. The king told his two oldest sons that the