A SOLDIER’S TALE

Created in the aftermath of World War I, this timeless drama unfolds with an open ending. A soldier sells his soul to the Devil—a story based on a Russian folktale collected by Alexander Afanasyev and originally linked to the military conscription practices under Tsar Nicholas I.

Against the concise and unsentimental text by Ramuz, Stravinsky sets a musical language enriched by elements of folk music and jazz, creating a distinctive stylistic collage. The result is not a political lesson, but a work of music theater that sharpens the audience’s awareness of the world around them. It tells of the enduring temptations of wealth and power, and of the often violent consequences that follow. More than a century later, its themes remain strikingly relevant.

Program

Igor Stravinsky | 1882 – 1971

L’Histoire du Soldat | 1918

Libretto in a Scottish adaptation by Graham F. Valentine

Traditional Scottish ballads