L’ Histoire du soldat
Choreographer: Gerard Mosterd
Lyricist: Goenawan Mohamad
Dancers: Rury Avianti, Hendro Yuliyanto, Danar Hendratmoko
Narrator: Rudy Wowor

One day, a soldier named Yusuf sits by the river—he is hungry, and at wit’s end. But he is very skillful with the violin, and he plays it to entertain himself. Suddenly, the Devil appears and tantalizes him, offering money and a special book. In exchange, Yusuf relinquishes his violin and his musical skills. Yusuf’s life begins to turn around. He is finally rich and he has a good position. But he is not happy.

L’ Histoire du soldat (The Soldier’s Tale), comes from a Russian folktale The Runaway Soldier and The Devil, written in 1918 by C. F. Ramuz and Igor Stravinsky, set to the background of World War I and a devastating economic condition.

Choreographer Gerard Mosterd will present a Javanese version of the tale in this performance. Unlike its previous presentation at the 2012 Indonesian Dance Festival, Goenawan Mohamad has adapted the original to strengthen narrative spirit of this play. For the current performance, the narrator uses a wayang and a bottle as puppets, to enliven the dialog between Yusuf and the Devil. It is also told that the Devil cannot die and has the same worries as humankind.