L’OISEAU DE FEU.
Ballet in Two Tableaux by Michel Fokine.
Music by Igor Stravinsky.
Scenery and Costumes designed by Golovine.
AN element of unreality is of advantage in the theme of a ballet. It not only excuses, but demands, the fantastic, for which the means of expression at disposal—pantomimic action, illustrative or suggestive music, for example—provide a suitable vehicle. It eases matters all round, and converts what are obstacles to the convincing treatment of a strictly realistic theme into positive aids.