La Péri

In 1911, Dukas composed his last symphonic work, La Péri, for the dancer Natalia Trouhanova (the work’s dedicatee) and Diaghilev’s famous Ballets Russes. The theme of his “danced poem” drew its inspiration from an old Persian tale: searching for a flower of immortality, Iskender steals the sacred lotus from a Peri (a fairy, in Oriental mythology). She dances to enchant  Iskender, who returns the flower to her. The Peri may then fulfil her destiny and enter the light of Ormuzd, while Iskender dies. A difference of opinion between the ballerina and Diaghilev delayed the work’s first performance, which was finally given without the Ballets Russes: on 22 April 1912, at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Trouhanova danced the role of the Peri in a choreography by Ivan Clustine. Dukas composed a brilliant and colourful introductory Fanfare (Fanfare pour précéder “La Péri”) for the occasion. The score of the actual ballet, which the composer also described as  a “symphonic poem”, is a gem of French Post-romanticism on the threshold of symbolism. Two themes representing the hero are continually transformed in an orchestration with a distinctly Oriental flavour. La Péri was a triumphant success with audiences and critics alike. In Comœdia, Louis Vuillemin spoke of a “masterly work”, and continued: “Its unfailing beauty is strengthened both by the most recent acoustic innovations and a clear respect for structure and classical proportion. It provides firm evidence that Dukas is a consummate musician.” The fact that the composer would have destroyed the score if his friends had not convinced him of its quality shows how unrealistically hard he was on himself…