Stravinski's Firebird and the Rite of Spring

Decades ago when I bought records as much for price as for content, I bought a LP of Stravinski's Firebird on one side and Debussy's Nocturnes on the other.  I liked both sides but have listened to the Firebird hundreds of times in the last 40 years and the Debussy much less.

In mid 2009 we had the opportunity to see Stravinski's The Rake's Progress at La Scala.  It was a most elaborate, modern production but not having heard the music before, I was not overly enthusiastic about the opera music itself.

Now we have seen 3 ballets in the Béjart Serata at La Scala.  The 3 were the Firebird, Mahler's Errant Champignon, and Stravinski's Rite of Spring.  The Mahler piece had a male vocal accompanist and 2 dancers.  It was very pleasant but not exciting like the Rite of Spring.  The choreography of the Firebird was so closely matched to the music that it was astounding.  Since I knew the music for so long, I always wondered how it would look.  I think I expected a more elaborate costume for the Firebird but I was not disappointed.

The Rite of Spring was also very well tied to the music and in this case put more meaning into the music which I was not familiar with.