Wikipedia:Today's featured article/requests/The Rite of Spring

The Rite of Spring
This nomination predates the introduction in April 2014 of article-specific subpages for nominations and has been created from the edit history of Today's featured article/requests.


 * This is the archived discussion of the TFAR nomination for the article below. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as Wikipedia talk:Today's featured article/requests). Please do not modify this page. 

The result was: scheduled for Today's featured article/May 29, 2013 by BencherliteTalk 12:50, 13 May 2013‎ (UTC)



The Rite of Spring is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1913 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company, with choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky and stage designs and costumes by Nicholas Roerich. The ballet caused a near-riot in the audience when first performed, on 29 May 1913 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, but rapidly achieved success as a concert piece and later became recognised as one of the most influential musical works of the 20th century. The scenario, developed by Roerich from Stravinsky's outline idea, is the celebration of spring by various primitive rituals, at the end of which a sacrificial victim  dances herself to death. After its explosive premiere the ballet was unperformed until the 1920s, when Léonide Massine's rechoreographed version was the first of many innovative productions directed by the world's leading ballet-masters. In the 1980s, Nijinsky's original choreography was reconstructed by the Joffrey Ballet in Los Angeles. Providing "endless stimulation for performers and listeners" alike, The Rite is among the most recorded works in the classical repertoire.

My first TFA nomination (I didn't ask permission --- because I couldn't figure out how to do that; please help me out here). I thought I saw this article nominated for this date (the last time I looked), and was surprised to see it absent; I didn't read anything on the history page about this. Seems like a natural for this date: 100-year anniversary, significant work, etc. Musanim (talk) 20:27, 8 May 2013 (UTC)


 * Permission to nominate is not required, but you ought to let the principal author and FAC nominator (Brianboulton) know that you've nominated it; I know he was planning to in due course. I've removed the image you used since it's non-free and can't be used on the main page, or indeed here.  Incidentally, the blurb is only 701 characters including spaces, when the target is 1,200 so it needs some expansion. BencherliteTalk 20:44, 8 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Support: I had intended to nominate this week, so no harm done. I have expanded the blurb and added an acceptable free image. Brianboulton (talk) 22:03, 8 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Support for obvious reasons.--Chimino (talk) 22:43, 8 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Support, high quality article about a ballet; educational and encyclopedic. &mdash; Cirt (talk) 23:57, 8 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Support gotta be! Yes, it's a week after Wagner but both are very significant anniversaries. Johnbod (talk) 00:01, 9 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Support It may be a week after Wagner but let's sacrifice the conventions...--Smerus (talk) 07:12, 9 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Comments: I supported it as FA, and have no doubt that it should appear that day, even if it was one day after some composer. I wonder if the pic might be cropped, this is pale and shows no excitement. - "The scenario, developed by Roerich from Stravinsky's outline idea, is the celebration of spring by various primitive rituals, following which a sacrificial victim dances herself to death." - isn't dancing to death part of the rituals? - That the music is influential is said twice, but not what made it so. --Gerda Arendt (talk) 09:45, 9 May 2013 (UTC)


 * The image was far too small; I have enlarged it. I would rather not crop it – it shows Stravinsky's famous "knock-kneed Lolitas". I have made a few changes to the text, per Gerda; but a TFA blurb is not really the place to explain what made the music influential. Brianboulton (talk) 14:07, 9 May 2013 (UTC)
 * Is there no room to squeeze in something like "the score has many novel features, including experiments in tonality, metre, rhythm, stress and dissonance."? I think something along those lines would greatly improve the current blurb. Espresso Addict (talk) 18:37, 10 May 2013 (UTC)
 * That's a good line. If Bencherlite doesn't think it would make the blurb too long, it can be added by all means. Brianboulton (talk) 13:42, 12 May 2013 (UTC)


 * Support. Glad to see this nominated at last! Like it says on the tin, one of the most influential pieces of 20th century music. I hope the proximity to Wagner doesn't cause either to get booted. Espresso Addict (talk) 18:31, 10 May 2013 (UTC)