How do you pronounce "Serenade"?

[Farrell Fan]

Many moons ago, I saw a ballet called "Serenade" for the first time. It was the most beautifully mysterious thing I'd ever seen, and turned me into a balletomane overnight. Soon after, I began talking to more experienced balletgoers and noticed they referred to this ballet as "SerenODD," which struck me as odd indeed, particularly since I'd learned by then that this was the first ballet Balanchine had choreographed for American dancers. Nevertheless, not wishing to be thought a Philistine, I adopted the European pronunciation myself. Not only adopted it, I confess that over the years, I've felt pity for the uninitiated who call the ballet "Serenade," just like the title of the music. (I've never yet heard anyone refer to Tschaikovsky's "SerenODD for Strings.") A few years ago, I even qualified for membership in the "Serenade Society." Pronounced in the normal American way, this sound like an organization promoting euthanasia. In fact it is composed of people who have made bequests to NYCB in their wills. And I have it on official NYCB authority that it is pronounced "SerenODD Society."

Does anyone know why we say SerenODD? Is it because Mr. B said it that way, or is there another reason? Do younger balletgoers still observe this odd custom? Do they care?

[cargill]

Joan Acocella once wrote an article on how to pronounce it, and the jist of it was that logically is should be sereNADE, as in the English word, and that sereNOD was affected and pseudo-French. I have always said NADE after I read the article (I don't remember where it was, or if I still have it--I will check), but however you pronounce it, it is a beautiful ballet. I was just rereading Danilova's autobiography (which isn't indexed, boo hiss) and she has a paragraph on what she thinks Serenade is about, which was really lovely.

[Calliope]

the dancers pronounce is 'sere NOD'

[Juliet]

It may be affected and pseudo-French, but it is much more euphonious as a ballet title. I am sticking to my soft "a" without a care in the world for those who may think I am silly......

[Ann]

I am so glad this knotty problem is out in the open at last, to be discused without shame or embarrassment. For years I have been innocently pronouncing 'Serenade' in the correct way, i.e., exactly as it is spelt, as if 'serenade' rhymed with 'lemonade' (and after all, nobody would dream of saying 'lemonODD'). Then I saw a video of a Balanchine programme where Peter Martins uttered the dread 'SerenODD', and since then I have been in an agony of indecision as to how to pronounce the name of this most exquisite of Balanchine works.

Now I know, thanks to Balletalerters, that I was right all along. SerenADE it is from now on. What a blessed relief!

[dirac]

Hmmm. Shouldn't the company's own usage be the determining factor, pretentious or not?

[Manhattnik]

We're Americans, it's an American ballet, it's SerenADE. End of story.

[Victoria Leigh]

Not end of story, Manhattnik I'm with Juliet on this one!!!

[Alexandra]

Me too. And for the best of reasons I always heard it pronounced "Serenade" -- who got that pronunciation from the dancers. So SerenADE sounds weird to me.

Joan Acocella's article was in Dance Ink, now defunct.

[Calliope]

Seeing as Mr. B. had to change his name so that we Americans could pronounce it, perhaps it's appropriate that we Yanks, pronounce his first American ballet, the way he wanted!

[Manhattnik]

Actually, Mr. B didn't change his name, Diaghilev did it for him, so the French could pronounce it.

[Roma]

Well, the Russian word for "Serenade" is "Serenada" (first "a" sounds exactly like the last: -ah), so "SerenODD" is probably an americanization of how Mr.B used to pronounce it. May be .

[ January 14, 2002: Message edited by: Roma ]

[Estelle]

I pronounce it "Sérénade", but I'm biased.

[Jane Simpson]

Doesn't Balanchine himself pronounce it both ways in the 2-part television programme about him? I've always seen that as licence to use either.

[Mel Johnson]

Back when I was studying "Music Repertoire and Literature" and we had to kick the mammoths out of the classrooms before we could begin class, I studied with a professor who had studied at Juilliard, and said it "say-ray-NOD" - not that I was particularly paying much attention at that point, being a sort of xenophobe brass player, and string works were only good to play poker during.

[glebb]

Maybe Balanchine said it both ways, but in BALANCHINE PART 1 AND 2, I recall the interview with him saying SerenADE.

[cargill]

I found the Dance Ink articke, from Vol 2, no. 1, April 1991, in case anyone wants to check. Its called You Say "Potahto", and is fun to read. She does argue for SereNADE, on the basis that it is an American ballet, and the music is not SereNOD for Strings. So do we want to talk about pronouncing Agon? Mary

[Alexandra]

I like Roma's answer. A man has a right to name his own ballet. How 'bout, "It's SerenODD and the music is Tchaikovsky's SerenADE for Strings?"

I think he thought it was AH-gon, but so many of us like to think it's Ah-GONE.

[Mme. Hermine]

right you are! though i thought it was a(short as in ask)-gon....

[Manhattnik]

I always say "AY-gon."

I know, I'm a philistine.

[K2356]

Maybe we should get back to the beginning,

does anyone know how Tchaikovsky pronounced

his Serenade for Strings?

[Farrell Fan]

The one person who would have known how Tchaikovsky pronounced it is Balanchine. In "Balanchine's Tchaikovsky," by Solomon Volkov, Mr. B says, "When I was doing Serenade, Tchaikovsky encouraged me. Almost the whole Serenade is done with his help." But he fails to state how Tchaikovsky felt about Balanchine's switching the order of the third and fourth movements.

[Roma]

Kevin, this is what I was saying. Tchaikovsky would have said SerenAHDA , not SerenODD, certainly not SerenADE. Does it really matter though? I can't for the life of me pronounce Davidsbundlertanze correctly without having a shot of vodka first (see "dead composer" thread) but I love the ballet

[Mme. Hermine]

all right, so i went to someone who worked for him and asked those two questions. she says balanchine pronounced it "Ser-e-nahd-"with a little hint of an a-type sound at the end. and she says that Agon came out like a(short a but muted)-gohn (like a French type of pronunciation and with the accent on the second syllable).

[K2356]

I beginning to think that the root of the

problem is not how Serenade is pronounced but how

it is spelled when translated from the Russian

cyrillic letters to the english alphabet.

Many Russian proper names are sometimes spelled

differently like the chorographer Fedor Lopukhov

is Lopoukhov or Lopokhov and his sister Lydia

spelled her last name Lopokova,of course the "a"

on the end of the name indicates feminine gender

as with most Russian last names.

Its us English-Americans,to be political correct,

who slept thru spelling class as children and now

we can't spell worth a HOOT !!!!

KEVIN