Des Zauberkünstlers Marionetten. Igor' Stravinskijs "Pétrouchka" im Kontext der Theaterreformbewegung um 1900

This essay examines the question of whether Stravinsky's ballet Petrouchka (1911) might be influenced by the European theatre reform movement of the beginning of the 20th century. This notion was first introduced in an anonymously published article by Edward Gordon Craig (an important figure of this movement) in which he claims that the Ballets Russes of Serge Diaghilev had stolen his (reform) ideas. Leila Zickgraf points out that in the case of Petrouchka it is quite likely that the members of the Ballets Russes were influenced by Craig's ideas or ideas related to them. Zickgraf is able to show that the aspect of magic in the ballet's libretto which has so far been mostly attributed to the influence of Vsevolod Meyerhold has to be credited instead to the Russian reception of German-speaking reform writings (including the German translations of Craig's writings). Craig's ideas were discussed in Russia's modern theatre circles from 1906 on, to which the ballet's librettist Alexandre Benois had access. In her analysis of Stravinsky's Russkaya Zickgraf verifies the aspect of magic does not only play a part in the ballet's libretto and choreography but also in Stravinsky's score and is being able to show that as the dancing puppets of the magician the audience is being animated by Stravinsky's music. Stravinsky's compositional approach in the Russkaya can be understood as an attempt to overcome the fourth wall - a key demand of the reformers during that time.