Der Dreispitz

Manuel de Falla (1876-1946) was one of the last brilliantly creative composers of the Romantic, nationalistic tradition. The original version of "The Three-Cornered Hat" was composed for a pantomime, "The Corregidor and the Miller's Wife", which was adapted from a short story, "El Sombrero de tres picos", by Pedro de Alarcon. This was produced in Madrid in 1917. Soon after, when Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes were touring Spain, Diaghilev urged him to arrange it as a ballet. The first performance of the ballet version with choreography by Massine took place in July, 1919 at the Alhambra Theater in London. The choreographer, dancer and ballet director Antonio (born Antonio Ruiz Soler in 1922) was the most famous Spanish dancer of his generation. A purist in his solo dances, he has tried in his ballets to create a synthesis of classic-academic and Spanish dance. His choreography of "The Three-Cornered Hat" was produced for television in 1974.