The actualization of Carolina Performing Arts’ “The Rite of Spring at 100” began Sunday night — and it did not end in a riot.
The centennial anniversary celebration of Igor Stravinsky and Vaslav Nijinsky’s jarring ballet opened this weekend with a two-night performance by The Silk Road Ensemble featuring cellist Yo-Yo Ma.
The series features nine world premieres, including The Silk Road Ensemble’s performances of “Playlist for an Extreme Occasion” and “Sacred Signs,” two of the four movements in the show.
Mark Nelson, director of marketing and communications for CPA, said composer Dmitri Yanov-Yanovsky’s inspiration for the titles in the “Sacred Signs” movement came from poems by Nicholas Roerich, the costume and set designer of the original ballet.
“It’s really gratifying for us because of the fact that so many of these things are interrelated,” Nelson said.
Starting the series with The Silk Road Ensemble sets the stage for future “Rite of Spring at 100” performances.
Three members of The Silk Road Ensemble are also members of the string quartet Brooklyn Rider, which will perform at UNC in November.
Vijay Iyer, composer of “Playlist for an Extreme Occasion,” will return in March with the International Contemporary Ensemble.
CPA’s marketing and communications coordinator Rebecca Brenner said it’s good for UNC to see the work of world-renowned artists: “There’s a lot of enthusiasm on campus for these groups.”
