Set in Massachusetts in , the ballet tells the infamous story of Lizzie Borden. The work notably alters the outcome of the court case, with Borden receiving a guilty verdict rather than an acquittal. De Mille herself believed that Borden was guilty of the murder of her father and stepmother. Today, Fall River Legend is considered by many scholars to be her masterpiece and when it first premiered, the reviews of the ballet were generally positive.
The playwright Edward Sheldon encouraged de Mille to use the Lizzie Borden story for a dance, following the success of her ballet Rodeo. The score of the ballet was composed by Morton Gould and featured sets by Oliver Smith. De Mille worked closely with Gould to create Fall River Legend and the decision to end the ballet with a guilty verdict was one they came to together.
In a later interview between composer and choreographer, they recall that they came to this decision at the famous Russian Tea Room. For de Mille, the legal terminology helped to establish the dramatic mood of the ballet. De Mille also added a love story to her ballet, between The Accused and the Pastor. In one affectionate pas de deux , the Pastor and the Accused dance together, with the music echoing that of a previous dance between the Mother and Father characters.
Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item. Productions [ edit ]. See also [ edit ]. References [ edit ]. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. ISBN Dance Chronicle. JSTOR Morton Gould: American Salute. Portland: Amadeus Press.
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