Libretto by Boris Kochno
George Balanchine’s Prodigal Son is a dramatic masterwork. The story was the idea of Boris Kochno, Serge Diaghilev’s assistant and frequent artistic collaborator. His libretto is based less on the biblical account and more on a passage from Alexander Pushkin’s short story, The Stationmaster (1830), in which the author describes engravings depicting scenes from the parable that hang in a postal station somewhere in Russia. Read on to learn Kochno’s story of Prodigal Son.
Scene 1
The Prodigal Son quarrels with his father and departs in the company of his two false friends.
Scene 2
The Prodigal Son meets with a number of acquaintances and takes part in their feasting. A Siren enters and seeks to captivate him with her dancing.
His two friends entertain the guests. The Prodigal Son dances with the Siren. She and his friends tempt him to drink to excess until he falls into a stupor. His false friend, the Siren, and the guests strip the Prodigal Son of all his possessions.
The Prodigal Son, recovered from his debauchery, wakes and bemoans his miserable plight, and then, completely distraught, resolves to return home. When he has departed, his false friends, the Siren, and the guests return to parade the plunder taken from the Prodigal Son.
Scene 3
The Prodigal Son, penniless, heartbroken, and exhausted, returns home to be welcomed and forgiven by his father.
