The Rite of Spring. . .

. . .a ballet, first performed on this day 100 years ago. The music was by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky and was written for the 1913 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Vaslav Nijinsky, with stage designs and costumes by Nicholas Roerich.

When the ballet was first performed, at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées on 29 May 1913, the avant-garde nature of the music and choreography caused a sensation and a near-riot in the audience.

Although designed as a work for the stage, the music achieved equal if not greater recognition as a concert piece, and is widely considered as one of the most influential musical works of the 20th century.

The concept behind The Rite of Spring is suggested by its subtitle, "Pictures of Pagan Russia in Two Parts"; in the scenario, after various primitive rituals celebrating the advent of spring, a young girl is chosen as a sacrificial victim and dances herself to death. Typical classical ballet stuff.