Scarlatti Portfolio

Lew Christenen's Scarlatti Portfolio was one of the two final ballets he choreographed, premiering at the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, California on March 15, 1979. The work featured music by Baroque master Domenico Scarlatti, specifically Sonatas L. 58, L. 465, L. 382, L. 104, L. 64, L. 282, and L. 499, orchestrated by Benjamin Lees. The premiere performance featured 16 dancers with David McNaughton as Arlequin, Diana Weber as Columbine, Vane Vest as Francheschina, Lynda Meyer as Isabella, Tina Santos as Lucretia, John McFall as Pulcinella, Anton Ness as Pantalone, and Jerome Weiss as Coviello. The work featured a "series of commedia dell'arte sketches, complete with ribald humor and bawdy movement jokes" (Stowell, 436). The piece also served as a succession to several of his past comedic and character works, dating back to Filling Station, combining the use of classical technique with various elements of popular culture for the last time.