Le Molière imaginaire

Le Molière imaginaire is one of the later works by the Italian composer Nino Rota who achieved international recognition with his soundtracks for such Federico Fellini films as La dolce vita. In 1976, the choreographer Maurice Bejárt – a great fan of Fellini – asked Rota to compose music for a ballet to premiere as part of the festivities marking the 300th anniversary of Jean- Baptiste Molière’s death. The ballet is focused on the turbulent life of the great French actor and playwright. Also termed as a ’celebration with tragic intervals’, the music for the ballet depicts sad and melancholic moments alongside humorous and vivacious anecdotal elements corresponding to events in Molière’s life. Le Molière imaginaire demonstrates Rota’s great ability to blend a variety of styles in a poetic context with a signature expressive tonal language.