The Polovtsian Dances, or Polovetsian Dances (Russian: Половецкие пляски, romanized: Polovetskie plyaski), form an exotic scene at the end of act 2 of Alexander Borodin's opera Prince Igor.
The opera remained unfinished when the composer died in 1887, although he had worked on it for more than a decade. A performing version was prepared by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Glazunov in 1890. Several other versions, or "completions", of the opera have been made. The dances are performed with chorus and last between 11 and 14 minutes. They occur in act 1 or act 2, depending on which version of the opera is being used. Their music is popular and often given in concert as an orchestral showpiece, often with the choral parts omitted. The opera also has a "Polovtsian march" which opens act 3, and an overture at the start. When the dances are given in concert, a suite may be performed: Overture – "Polovtsian dances and march" from Prince Igor.
Contents
Name
The name Polovtsian Dances refers to the Cumans (Polovtsy), who were nomadic invaders of Russia; the Cumans capture Igor in the opera and then entertain him with dances.
Analysis
The first dance, which uses no chorus and is sometimes omitted in concerts, is No. 8, entitled "Dance of the Polovtsian Maidens" ["Пляска половецких девушек"]: presto, 68, F major; it is placed directly after the "Chorus of the Polovtsian Maidens" which opens the act and is followed by "Konchakovna's Cavatina".
Theme from No. 8
Contains notable instrumental solo for clarinet.
No. 17, "Polovtsian Dance with Chorus"
The dances proper appear at the end of the act as an uninterrupted single number in several contrasting sections, as in the following list. Basic themes are identified by letters in brackets (e.g. [a]) and illustrated in the notation below the list.
No. 17, "Polovtsian Dance with Chorus"
[Половецкая пляска с хором tr. Polovetskaya plyaska s khorom]
[a] Introduction: Andantino, 44, A major
[b] Gliding Dance of the Maidens [Пляска девушек плавная]: Andantino, 44, F♯ minor
[c + a] Wild Dance of the Men [Пляска мужчин дикая]: Allegro vivo, 44, F major
[d] General Dance [Общая пляска]: Allegro, 34, D major
[e] Dance of the Boys [Пляска мальчиков] and 2nd Dance of the Men [Пляска мужчин]: Presto, 68, D minor
[b′ + e′] Gliding Dance of the Maidens (reprise, soon combined with the faster dancing of the boys): Moderato alla breve, 22, A major
[e″] Dance of the Boys and 2nd Dance of the Men (reprise): Presto, 68, D minor
[c′ + a″] General Dance: Allegro con spirito, 44, A major
Themes from No. 17
[a] Introduction: Andantino, 44, A major:
[b] Gliding Dance of the Maidens [Пляска девушек плавная]: Andantino, 44, F♯ minor:
Ballets Russes performances
As part of his first Saison Russe at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, Sergei Diaghilev presented Polovtsian Scenes and Dances, consisting of act 2 of Prince Igor, with full orchestra and singers. The premiere took place on 18 May 1909. The choreography was by Michel Fokine and the sets and costumes were designed by Nicholas Roerich. In later seasons, without singers, the work was given as The Polovtsian Dances. For the 1923 season, it was partly re-choreographed by Bronislava Nijinska.
In 1971, the ballet was presented by choreographer Igor Moiseyev in the USSR Folk Dance Ensemble (Одноактный балет "Половецкие пляски". Балет Игоря Моисеева). It was premiered at the Palais des Sports at the Porte de Versailles in Paris; in Moscow, in the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, in Leningrad and other cities of the USSR. The ballet was filmed.
In popular culture
Themes from the Polovtsian Dances have been used widely in popular culture. The 1953 musical Kismet is mostly adapted from Borodin's music, including these dances. The most prominent example is the popular standard "Stranger in Paradise," adapted from the "Gliding Dance of the Maidens".
An arranged version of the song is featured in the 2005 Konami video game The Sword of Etheria for the Playstation 2, with vocals by Martha Matsuda. Konami also included this version of the song in Dance Dance Revolution Extreme 2.
In "The Simpsons" episode Little Big Girl, an instrumental version of the song can briefly be heard during Bart's dream sequence.
The song was performed at the 2010 Winter Olympics closing ceremony during the handover segment to Sochi, Russia. Russian mezzo-soprano Maria Guleghina sang an excerpt of the piece. Four years later, it was again performed during the 2014 Winter Olympics opening ceremony, this time in its entirety.
In The Amazing Digital Circus episode "Beach Episode", when the main characters are escaping from the Digital Circus, an instrumental of the piece is heard.