The Taming of the Shrew

The Taming of the Shrew is a ballet in two acts choreographed by John Cranko to keyboard works by Domenico Scarlatti arranged and orchestrated by Kurt-Heinz Stolze. With scenery and costumes designed by Elizabeth Dalton, it was first presented as Der Widerspenstigen Zähmung by the Stuttgart Ballet at the Wṻrtembergische Staatstheater in Stuttgart on 16 March 1969. Background Cranko's ballet is a dance version of William Shakespeare's play The Taming of the Shrew (1590–1592). The story is a comedy about Petruchio's determination to subdue the irascible Katherine; he woos her, marries her, and makes her an obedient wife. Shakespeare chose his title to signify to his audiences that the play was about the marriage of a man to an ill-tempered woman given to scolding, nagging, and aggression. Such a woman, especially a wife, was known in the sixteenth century as a shrew, so called after a tiny rodent with a notoriously hostile and unpleasant nature. A woman convicted in court for being a shrew was often punished in Shakespeare's day by being confined to stocks on the village green or repeatedly dunked in a nearby pond or lake. Scenario The setting is Padua, a city in northern Italy, not far from Venice. Three suitors—Hortensio, Lucentio, and Gremio—come to Baptista's house to serenade Bianca, his younger daughter. Baptista declares that Bianca shall not marry until her older sister, Katherina, is wed. An ensuing rumpus is dispelled when Katherina angrily sends everyone packing. In a tavern, a tipsy Petruchio is robbed of his money. Hortensio, Lucentio, and Gremio offer to introduce him to an heiress. He accepts and determines to "wive it wealthily in Padua." At Baptista's house, Petruchio asks for Katherina's hand. After a stormy courtship, she agrees. Bianca's three suitors press their case. Bianca favors Lucentio. The first act culminates at Katherina and Petruchio's wedding, where he arrives late and behaves outrageously. He carries off his bride without waiting for the festivities to begin. At Petruchio's house, the newly wedded couple are at supper, but he does not allow her to eat, protesting that the food is not good enough. She refuses to consummate the marriage and spends the night on the kitchen floor. Then, at a carnival, Lucentio tricks Hortensio and Gremio into marrying two ladies of the street, thus clearing his way to woo Bianca on his own. Petruchio's mockery and trickery continue to provoke Katherina.