Robert Schumann (1810-1856); manuscript in the hand of Clara Schumann
April 1876
Robert Schumann's Carnaval (album leaf) [recto]

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Robert Schumann (1810-1856); manuscript in the hand of Clara Schumann
April 1876
Robert Schumann's Carnaval (album leaf) [recto]

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Schumann - Carnaval, Chopin - Les Sylphides
Robert Irving Conducting The Philharmonia Orchestra
Interesting to note: the orchestrators of tracks 12-20 of Carnaval ("Chopin"-"DavidsbĂŒndler") are unknown
In ballet, as in the other arts, certain figures stand supreme, and it can be fairly argued that, among modern choreographers, Michael Fokine is the greatest. He was born at St. Petersburg in 1880, and died in New York in 1942. He took to ballet while he was still young, entering the Imperial School of Ballet, attached to the Maryinsky Theatre, when he was only nine. He started his career as a dancer, but in 1905 composed his first ballet, âAcis et GalatĂ©eâ. From this time onwards he progressed from strength to strength. Not only are the best of his ballets so good that they have been included in the repertoires of every important company, but he also acquired a considerable reputation as a reformer. It will not be amiss to quote him in this connection, for herein lay his originality, and much of his strength.Â
âDancing should be interpretation. It should not degenerate into mere gymnastics. The dance should explain the spirit of the actors in the spectacle. More than that, it should express the whole epoch to which the subject of the ballet belongs.â
âLes Sylphidesâ and âCarnavalâ are two of his most famous creations.
âCarnavalâ is based on Schumannâs pianoforte work of the same name. It shares the romantic quality of âLes Sylphidesâ, yet does not aim at its classical balance and abstraction. It does not have a fully-fledged plot in the manner of some ballets, yet there are definite and recognisable characters, ranging from the forlorn figure of Pierrot to the high-spirited, mischievous Harlequin.
Schumann based the work on the four notes, A, E flat, C and B, which, in German nomenclature, make up the name Asch (A, S, C, H) a village where his friend, Ernestine von Fricken, lived.
It will perhaps be as well to give a brief summary of the action of the ballet. Various dancing couples cross the stage, to be followed by Pierrot, wandering alone, aimless and forlorn. Harlequin then bounds on to the stage, capers around Pierrot, and flicks at him so that he loses his balance and falls over.
After further dancing, Eusebius is seen dreaming of his mistress, who suddenly appears, followed by Estrella, escorted by her admirer, Florestan. These flit away arm-in-arm, and there follows a âpas de deuxâ between Eusebius and Chiarina. Papillon then comes on to the stage; Pierrot tries to catch her with his conical hat, but dismally fails.Â
Further dances follow, with Chiarina and two friends, all masked, and Florestan, in quest of Estrella. To the section Reconnaissance, Columbine and Harlequin dance on to the stage, followed by the pompous Pantalon, who is foiled and offended by these two, but immediately soothed by Columbine. More dancers enter, to congratulate the two lovers, Columbine and Harlequin. Pantolan and Pierrot are entangled together, and all ends in happiness and jollity.
The ballet was first produced at St. Petersburg in Lent, 1910. It has undergone several changes since then, though it remains essentially the same. Its effervescent gaiety has deservedly acquired for it an exceptional populraity, which shows no signs of diminishing.
Note by JOHN SEARCHFIELD
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
1832-1833, Germany
"Préambule" from Carnaval (sketches), and "Variations on Schubert's Sehnsuchtswalzer", F24 (fragment)
Autograph manuscript
On ne peut douter de lâintention malicieuse dont se rĂ©clame, sous le titre de Pause -câest-Ă -dire de repos- lâemprunt fait au PrĂ©ambule avec le vif Ă©pisode qui sert ici d'introduction effervescente au dernier morceau de la sĂ©rie. Plaisante contradiction entre le sens littĂ©ral du vocable et son appropriation paradoxale au caractĂšre dâune musique Ă©voquant tout un bouillonnement de jeunesse ardente.
Alfred Cortot, ed., Ăditions de Travail Des OEuvres de Schumann: Carnaval (ScĂšnes Mignonnes Sur Quatre Notes), Op. 9, Salabert, Ădition Nationale de Musique Classique 5447 (Paris: Salabert, 1946), 37.
After the preliminary stately chords there is a flight of girls, crossing the stage pursued by their lovers - a tripping of feet, an urgency of overtaking, male impatience, feminine provocation. Are they on their way to a party, these dancers to the valse brillante of Schumannâs PrĂ©ambule, or merely leaving the ballroom for the secret shadows of the garden? We see for the first time Florestan chasing Estrella, and after the heartfelt sighs of Eusebius for Chiarina the pace quickens from animato to vivo to presto.
Richard Buckle, Nijinsky: The Revealing Portrait of the Legendary Dancer (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1971), 133.

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Le Carnaval
Ballet set to music by Robert Schumann
Premiere â 20 February 1910, Anna Pavlova's salon, St Petersburg Premiere of the reconstruction â 22 March 2008, Mariinsky Theatre
Music by Robert Schumann (Le Carnaval, Op. 9, orchestrated by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Anatoly Lyadov, Alexander Glazunov, Nikolai Cherepnin, Anton Arensky) Choreography by Michel Fokine Set and Costume design by Léon Bakst
The revival team: Choreography staged by Sergei Vikharev Sets reproduced by Mikhail Shishliannikov Costumes reproduced by Tatiana Noginova Lighting by Alexander Naumov and Mikhail Shishliannikov
On interprĂštera dans le sens dâune claironnante fanfare ces mesures dâintroduction qui, jusquâau PiĂč mosso, se font les annonciatrices de joyeuses festivitĂ©s; lâindication âQuasi maestosoâ nâĂ©tant ici destinĂ©e quâĂ interdire un tempo trop rapide, mais non Ă revĂȘtir de lourdeur compassĂ©e lâallĂšgre comportement de ces Ă©clatantes sonoritĂ©s.
Alfred Cortot, ed., Ăditions de Travail Des OEuvres de Schumann: Carnaval (ScĂšnes Mignonnes Sur Quatre Notes), Op. 9, Salabert, Ădition Nationale de Musique Classique 5447 (Paris: Salabert, 1946), 2.
Photography by @anfffoto on Instagram
Valeria Martynyuk as Papillon in the ballet Carnaval
October 26, 2024