Mark Morris Dance Group
L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato
THE CREATIVE TIMELINE
1631 - John Milton publishes "L'Allegro" and "Il Penseroso", paired poems which depict opposing but complementary states of mind – L’Allegro is the active or cheerful mind, Il Penseroso is the melancholic or contemplative mind.
1740 - George Frideric Handel and his librettist Charles Jennens adapt these poems to create a dialogue between them and add a third part, "Il Moderato," representing the voice of moderation and reason.
1816 - William Blake creates 12 watercolors to illustrate Milton's poems. Each design is accompanied by a separate inscribed sheet on which Blake wrote, in his own hand, a brief title and quotations of the lines illustrated, to which Blake added his own comments on the motifs pictured.
1988 - Mark Morris, inspired by and drawing upon each of his predecessors, creates L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato for his company of 24 dancers, the Monnaie orchestra and chorus and five vocal soloists – the most ambitious piece at that point in his career.
UPCOMING AND PAST PERFORMANCES
LISTEN to BBC interview from Wed Apr 14, 2011 (segment begins at :32min)
World Premiere Program Cover
In the fall of 1987, Mark Morris accepted the position of Director of Dance for the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, succeeding Maurice Béjart who had held the post for nearly 30 years. Morris presented as his first work at Belgium's national opera house a dance set to Handel's oratorio, L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato. The work premiered on the 24-member Monnaie Dance Group/Mark Morris on November 23, 1988 and is considered to be one of the greatest dance achievements of the 20th century.