Igor Stravinsky was a 26-year old nobody when he was asked to compose music for a Russian fairytale set to dance. The 1910 premier of The Firebird in Paris was a smashing success as the debut performance by the legendary Russian ballet company, Ballets Russe, and it launched Stravinsky’s career. He went on to write three subsequent, and shorter, Firebird suites, the last in 1945, which the State Street Ballet will perform in collaboration with the Santa Barbara Symphony. (The Granada; 2/9, 8pm and 2/10, 3pm)
