When Sergei Diaghilev met the young Igor Stravinsky in 1909, he immediately recognised him as a genius with whom he could collaborate in creating the genre of modern ballet. In the following year, they premièred their second joint ballet, the story of Petrushka, a figure very familiar in Russian folk tales. This is how Stravinsky recalled writing the work: “One day, I jumped for joy. Petrushka! The eternally unlucky sap of all fairgrounds and all countries. That was it, I had found my title! But... a little later, Diaghilev visited me in Clarens … He liked the little piece so much that he began to bully me into expanding it to a whole ballet. We agreed that it would be set at a fairground, with tents, a traditional small theatre, a conjurer, who would put on his own show, bring Petrushka the puppet to life. And there would be his rival the ballerina; we sketched out the passionate drama that would ultimately culminate in Petrushka’s death.” Nine years later, following many other productions, Stravinsky received another commission from Diaghilev: to write a ballet using the music of an 18th century Italian composer, Giovannia Battista Pergolesi based on the well known Italian comic figure of Pulcinella. “Picasso undertook to design the stage for the same reason that I agreed to write the music – for entertainment. The costumes were simple. Six Pulcinellas appeared over the course of the dance. They all wore a pair of white drawers with red stockings… In Pulcinella I discovered the past, this was my baptism, which made my subsequent work possible. No critic understood this at the time and I was attacked for being a musical pastiche artist. My reply to them all is the same today: You respect this music, I love it.” The Yvette Bozsik Company bring the figures of the Russian and Italian clowns to the Palace of Arts stage with a modernity entirely in harmony with the spirit of Stravinsky and Diaghilev.
Parking information
We wish to inform you that in the event that Müpa Budapest's underground garage and outdoor car park are operating at full capacity, it is advisable to plan for increased waiting times when you arrive. In order to avoid this, we recommend that you depart for our events in time, so that you you can find the ideal parking spot quickly and smoothly and arrive for our performance in comfort. The Müpa Budapest underground garage gates will be operated by an automatic number plate recognition system. Parking is free of charge for visitors with tickets to any of our paid performances on that given day. The detailed parking policy of Müpa Budapest is available here.
Safe ticket purchase
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