Opera Scotland

Soldier's Tale The Soldier's Tale; L'Histoire du soldat

Tours by decade

Tours by location

Music

Igor Stravinsky (born Oranienbaum, 17 June 1882; died New York, 6 April 1971)

Text

Charles Ferdinand Ramuz.

Premieres

First Performance: Lausanne (Théâtre Municipal), 28 September 1918.

First Performance in UK (extracts): London (Wigmore Hall), 20 July 1920 (concert).

First Performance in UK (complete): London (Arts Theatre Club), 10 July 1927.

First Performance in Scotland: Edinburgh (King's Theatre). 6 September 1954.

Background

The Soldier's Tale was an example of several attempts, at the time of the First World War, to produce items of music theatre that were simple and small scale. This made them cheaper to both perform and tour.

The music is scored attractively for a chamber ensemble of seven players - violin, double bass, clarinet, bassoon, cornet, trombone and timpani.

Characters

The Narrator, Soldier and Devil are all played by actors, while the role of the Princess is primarily for a dancer.