Why was The Soldier's Tale designed for a portable stage and a small group of performers?

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music The universality and innate nature of music, and the pentatonic scale, as demonstrated by singer Bobby McFerrin.

The Soldier’s Tale (1918) was designed for a portable stage and a small group of performers primarily due to the constraints imposed by World War I. As the conflict disrupted the activities of major companies like the Ballets Russes, Igor Stravinsky was effectively marooned in Switzerland.

The work was conceived as a practical, economical solution to these wartime conditions, allowing for touring and performance in smaller venues with limited resources. By utilizing a seven-piece band and a mixed-media format involving speech, mime, and dance, Stravinsky created a production that was both artistically innovative and logistically feasible during a period of significant social and economic instability.1