Jeu de cartes (Stravinsky)

Jeu de cartes (Card Game) is a ballet in three "deals", composed by Igor Stravinsky in 1936–37 with libretto by the composer in collaboration with Nikita Malayev, a friend of Stravinsky's eldest son Théodore,[1] and with choreography by George Balanchine. The ballet was premiered by the American Ballet at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York City on 27 April 1937, with the composer conducting; the European premiere followed on 13 October 1937 performed by the Staatskapelle Dresden under the direction of Karl Böhm.[2]

Jeu de cartes was commissioned in November 1935, although the idea of a card game, especially the game of poker, did not get firmly formed in Stravinsky's mind until after August 1936. The work was written during Stravinsky's neoclassical period.

The main character is the deceitful Joker, who fashions himself unbeatable, owing to his chameleon-like ability to become any card. There are also other cards—Queens, Aces and several card players portrayed in the ballet. Jeu de cartes shows that even the higher value cards, in much the same way as the people of higher position, may be occasionally defeated by the lower value cards.