The Seasons (ballet)
The Seasons (Les Saisons) is an allegorical ballet choreographed by Marius Petipa with music by Alexander Glazunov (Op. 67). It is performed in one act with four scenes. Glazunov wrote the score in 1899, and the ballet premiered in St. Petersburg with the Imperial Ballet on February 26, 1900.
Originally, the music for The Seasons was to be composed by Riccardo Drigo, but Glazunov ended up writing it.
A revival by Nikolai Legat was staged in 1907 at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre. After the Russian Revolution, performances were rare; the last known Imperial Ballet staging occurred in 1927. An abridged version stayed in Anna Pavlova’s touring company.
Tableaux
- Tableau I — Winter: Winter and companions Hoar-frost, Ice, Hail and Snow play with snowflakes; two gnomes light a fire and all vanish.
- Tableau II — Spring: Spring dances with Zephyr, flower fairies, and enchanted birds; the heat of the sun makes the troupe rise and fly.
- Tableau III — Summer: Wheat fields sway in the breeze; the Spirit of the Corn dances as naiads bring water; Satyrs and fauns try to carry off the Spirit, but Zephyr’s wind saves her.
- Tableau IV — Autumn: The Seasons perform a grand autumn dance as leaves fall; Winter, Spring, a Bird and Zephyr join in; Bacchantes, Satyrs, Fauns and the Spirit of the Corn continue the revels until more leaves fall.
Apotheosis: A starry sky above the earth ends the ballet.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 19:57 (CET).