With its giant puppets and South African dance moves, this Firebird was a far cry from Igor Stravinsky’s groundbreaking 1910 ballet with Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, premiered in Paris. This summer at the Mann Center, the Philadelphia Orchestra debuted a new live-orchestra version dubbed “Firebird: Reimagined,” with South African a cappella ensemble Ladysmith Black Mambazo, choreography by Jay Pather, and puppetry and dance designed and directed by Janni Younge. Among the innovations were new arrangements of the Russian folksongs “The Larch Tree” and “The Vain Suitor”—quoted in the Stravinsky score—by Mann Center Artistic Director Nolan Williams, performed by the singers of Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Cristian Măcelaru led the premiere, with the orchestra onstage along with the dancers and puppeteers. Later in the summer, “Firebird: Reimagined” was performed by the National Symphony Orchestra at Wolf Trap, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Ravinia, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl.
