Akira Ifukube's ballet FIRE OF PROMETHEUS was first performed on December 11 and 12, 1950, at the Imperial Theater in Tokyo. This ballet, based on Greek mythology, was conceived by the librettist Hisatoshi Kikuoka, the dancer Takaya Eguchi and by Ifukube.
The ballet consists of five parts: "Prologue," "Darkness without Fire/Dance of Aio [Io]," "Those Who Steal Fire [He Who Steals Fire]," "Joy of Fire" and "Atop the Caucasus."
The original orchestral score for the ballet is considered lost. Shortly after finishing the full orchestral version, Ifukube made an arrangement of the complete score for two pianos and four hands to facilitate the performance of the music for a Japanese national tour.
Ifukube stated that no Greek music was used in the score. Rather, the music sounds "Asian," making use of pentatonic scales, which is an Ifukube hallmark.
