Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)

Rite of Spring, premiered May 29, 1913

Stravinsky and Nijinsky Riot at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées, 1923

Stravinsky’s account of the riot from 1962:

“Mild protests against the music could be heard from the very beginning of the performance. Then, when the
curtain opened on the group of knock-kneed and long-braided Lolitas jumping up and down, the storm broke.
Cries of “Ta gueule” [“shut your mouth”] came from behind me. I heard Florent Schmitt shout “Taisez-vous
garces du seizième”; the “garces” of the sixteenth arrondissement were, of course, the most elegant ladies in
Paris. The uproar continued, and a few minutes later I left the hall in a rage… I arrived in a fury backstage,
where I saw Diaghilev flicking the house lights in a last effort to quiet the hall. For the rest of the performance
I stood in the wings behind Nijinsky holding the tails of his frac, while he stood on a chair shouting numbers
to the dancers, like a coxswain.”

Valentine Gross-Hugo, 1951 radio interview:

“All descriptions of the battle of Le Sacre du Printemps remain inferior to the truth. It was as if the auditorium
had been shaken by an earthquake and seemed to quiver in the tumult. Shrieks, abuse, howls, sustained
whistles drowned the music and then came slaps and even blows. Words are too mild to recall such an
evening… I could not hide the fact that our calm river had become a tumultuous torrent. Among others were
Maurice Delage, garnet-red with indignation; Maurice Ravel aggressive as a small fighting cock; Fargue,
roaring vengeful epithets towards the hissing boxes. I am amazed that this work, so difficult for 1913, could
be played and danced to the very end in such an uproar. Everything has been said on the subject; the dancers
who could no longer hear the music, Nijinsky, very pale, calling out the beats from the wings, Diaghilev
thundering orders from his box, and the blows given and received…”