Pierrot Lunaire Flashcards
What is Pierrot Lunaire about?
The character of Pierrot, a commedia Dell’arte figure who experiences a nightmarish journey of madness and despair. Through the piece, he grapples with his inner demons and unrequited desires. Columbine is a figure of desire and unattainable love, who often rejects and ignores him, which heightens Pierrot’s emotional distress.
Music?
Schoenberg- complex, disorienting, unstable. Highlights Pierrot’s psychological state. Haunting voice singing an eerie German song. “swooping vocal gymnastics”
Structure?
Episodic
What is Commedia dell’Arte?
A form of Italian theatre that originated in the 16th century and is known for it’s improvisational style, stock characters and physical comedy. Performances are often spontaneous and based on familiar scenarios or stories.
When was Pierrot Lunaire choreographed?
1967
Who played the principal role of Pierrot?
Glen Tetley, Christopher Bruce, Mark Baldwin
Hybrid approach motif
Travelling towards SL, Pierrot posés onto his left leg, bringing the right leg into a classical retiré position underneath the knee as he fondues in a turned out position, contracting his torso sideways with his arms flexed to frame his face. He performs this four times before performing an open pirouette in arabesque and descending to the floor. Ballet is used to travel across the stage and communicate Pierrot’s dreamy qualities yet the use of contraction evidence his feelings of intense confusion and despair.
Use of the set motif
Pierrot begins at the top of the scaffolding structure with his back against the top bar, holding his bodyweight up by his upper arms as he swings back and forth with an arched spine. Not only does this connote childish play and Pierrot’s naïvety (the playground of everyone’s childhood) it shows Tetley’s daring nature as a choreographer, and the provocative, shocking use of the set.
Theatricality motif
Downstage on the floor, Pierrot performs a series of quick contractions, his body is rigid and feet are flexed, and mouth is open, suggesting silent screams of humanity. He clutches his head and twists his body as if trying to physically escape from his emotional distress. The use of facial expressions draws upon Tetley’s experience on Broadway, where the face plays a pivotal role in storytelling.
Quote from Tetley
“Pierrot became a passport for me”
