Also in June 1911…
13th: Stravinsky’s ballet Petrushka is premiered at the Théâtre du Châtelet in
Paris. Conducted by Pierre Monteux and choreographed by Michel Fokine, it stars Vaslav Nijinsky in the title role and Tamara Karsavina as the Ballerina. Though Stravinsky’s awkward rhythms prove a challenge for the dancers, and despite Fokine’s misgivings about the score in general, the ballet proves a triumph.
17th: In London, around 40,000 people march from Westminster to the Royal Albert Hall to demand women’s suffrage. Organised by the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) and led on horseback by suffragettes Charlotte Despard and Flora Drummond, the Women’s Coronation Procession is the largest such demonstration up to that time. 21st: The Austrian conductor Felix Mottl is rushed to hospital in Munich after collapsing from a heart attack during Act III of his
100th performance of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde. Within days, he marries his long-term mistress, the Czech-german soprano Zdenka Fassbender, before dying aged 54 on 2 July. 22nd: The coronation of George V and Mary takes place at Westminster Abbey. The music performed on the occasion includes a new setting of the Gloria by Stanford, works by Tallis, Handel and Parry, plus the anthem Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous by director of music Frederick Bridge. Though Elgar’s new Coronation March also features, the composer declines to attend the occasion in person. 26th: Nineteen-year-old John Mcdermott becomes the first ever American-born winner of the US Open golf championship. He tastes victory in the tournament at Chicago Golf Club after beating his fellow American Mike Brady and the Scottish-born George Simpson in an 18-hole play-off. His win also makes him the youngest ever US Open champion, and he goes on to retain the trophy the following year.