Final answer:
Igor Stravinsky's 'The Rite of Spring' was a daring ballet that aimed to shock and revolutionize the audience’s experience, reflecting ancient fertility rites with innovative music and dance that challenged conventional aesthetics, ultimately becoming a seminal work in ballet's canon.
Step-by-step explanation:
Igor Stravinsky, a Russian composer renowned for his musical innovations, was attempting something groundbreaking with The Rite of Spring. This ballet, portraying the fertility rites of ancient Scythians, aimed to revolutionize the audience's perception and emotional experience. Stravinsky's avant-garde composition and Nicholas Roerich's unconventional choreography sought to push the boundaries of music and dance, challenging traditional forms and eliciting strong reactions from its early audiences.
The music of The Rite of Spring changed its tempo frequently and abandoned its central theme, a radical departure from the musical norms of the era. The provocative movements of the dancers and the intense score were meant to convey the raw, primordial spirit of the ancient rituals being depicted. The ballet's initial reception was tumultuous, with the Parisian audience responding with hisses and debris-throwing. However, it was not long before the piece was recognized for its artistic merit and became a cornerstone of ballet's repertoire, influencing countless artists and composers who followed.