The Taming of the Shrew is a ballet in two acts choreographed by John Cranko to keyboard works by Domenico Scarlatti arranged and orchestrated by Kurt-Heinz Stolze.
The story is a comedy about Petruchio's determination to subdue the irascible Katherine; he woos her, marries her, and makes her an obedient wife.
[2] Shakespeare chose his title to signify to his audiences that the play was about the marriage of a man to an ill-tempered woman given to scolding, nagging, and aggression.
Such a woman, especially a wife, was known in the sixteenth century as a shrew, so called after a tiny rodent with a notoriously hostile and unpleasant nature.
[3] A woman convicted in court for being a shrew was often punished in Shakespeare's day by being confined to stocks on the village green or repeatedly dunked in a nearby pond or lake.
The role suited his robustly masculine and charismatic stage personality and provided a first-class showcase for his virtuosity and partnering skills.
"[7] The Stuttgart Ballet: The Miracle Lives, a video recording, includes an excerpt from The Taming of the Shrew, danced by Marcia Haydée and Richard Cragun (West Long Branch, N.J.: Kultur International Films Ltd., 1983).