DAPHNIS AND CHLOË
DAPHNIS ET CHLOÉ

PREMIERE
PARIS, 8 JUNE 1912

SCENERY & COSTUMES
LÉON BAKST

MUSIC
MAURICE RAVEL

CHOREOGRAPHY
MICHEL FOKINE

For Serge Diaghilev, music was often the starting point for his ballets, with many contemporary composers creating scores of a standard more often found in the more prestigious opera or the concert hall. Diaghilev commissioned Maurice Ravel to compose the music for Daphnis and Chloë and it became a symphonic classic.

The designs by Bakst, inspired by motifs of classical Greece, reflect the prevailing artistic view that the Golden Age of Greek culture was rational, ordered and pleasantly pastoral. Michel Fokine's choreography also emphasised the poetic, lyrical and tender side of ancient Greek culture.

This is a ballet with a happy ending. The shepherd Daphnis and the nymph Chloë are in love. Chloë is carried off by brigands and Daphnis enlists the support of the god Pan to return her to him. The two lovers are reunited and the ballet ends with a joyous dance.