Ballet is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread, highly technical form of dance with its own vocabulary based on French terminology. It has been globally influential and has defined the foundational techniques used in many other dance genres and cultures. Ballet has been taught in various schools around the world, which have historically incorporated their own cultures and as a result, the art has evolved in a number of distinct ways. See glossary of ballet.
Divertissement is used, in a similar sense to the Italian 'divertimento', for a light piece of music for a small group of players, however the French term has additional meanings.
Marius Ivanovich Petipa, born Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa, was a French ballet dancer, pedagogue and choreographer. Petipa is one of the most influential ballet masters and choreographers in ballet history.
The Mariinsky Ballet is the resident classical ballet company of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russian Ballet, the Mariinsky Ballet is one of the world's leading ballet companies. Internationally, the Mariinsky Ballet continues to be known by its former Soviet name the Kirov Ballet. The Mariinsky Ballet is the parent company of the Vaganova Ballet Academy, a leading international ballet school.
Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) are terms sometimes used with dates to indicate that the calendar convention used at the time described is different from that in use at the time the document was being written. There were two calendar changes in Great Britain and its colonies, which may sometimes complicate matters: the first was to change the start of the year from Lady Day to 1 January; the second was to discard the Julian calendar in favour of the Gregorian calendar. Closely related is the custom of dual dating, where writers gave two consecutive years to reflect differences in the starting date of the year, or to include both the Julian and Gregorian dates.
Mariia Sergeyevna Surovshchikova-Petipa was prima ballerina to the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres and wife of the noted choreographer Marius Petipa.
Plot outline
A rose and a violet have both become enamoured by a gorgeous butterfly who flutters around them, paying court to their sweet embrace. The blossoms attempt to succeed the other with their floral charms, however at the end of these proceedings, the butterfly chooses to fly away rather than exclude one over the other.
Trivia
When this ballet was given its second premiere at the St. Petersburg Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre October 20/November 1, 1857, the choreography was incorrectly credited to the BalletmasterJules Perrot in the theatre program.
Music from this ballet was interpolated into Petipa and Perrot's 1858 revival of Le Corsaire, in which it was titled the Pas d'Esclave. The piece has remained a part of the performance tradition of Le Corsaire to the present day.
Jules-Joseph Perrot was a dancer and choreographer who later became Ballet Master of the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia. He created some of the most famous ballets of the 19th century including Pas de Quatre, La Esmeralda, Ondine, and Giselle with Jean Coralli.
Le Corsaire is a ballet typically presented in three acts, with a libretto originally created by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges loosely based on the poem The Corsair by Lord Byron. Originally choreographed by Joseph Mazilier to the music of Adolphe Adam, it was first presented by the ballet of the Théâtre Impérial de l’Opéra in Paris on 23 January 1856. All modern productions of Le Corsaire are derived from the revivals staged by the Ballet Master Marius Petipa for the Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg throughout the mid to late 19th century.
The Romance of the Rosebud and the Butterfly (never presented)
Related Research Articles
Carlotta Grisi was an Italian ballet dancer. Born in Visinada, Istria, she was trained at the ballet school of Teatro alla Scala in Milan and later with dancer/balletmaster Jules Perrot. She was especially noted for her performance in the classic role of "Giselle".
Cesare Pugni was an Italian composer of ballet music, a pianist and a violinist. In his early career he composed operas, symphonies, and various other forms of orchestral music. Pugni is most noted for the ballets he composed for Her Majesty's Theatre in London (1843–1850), and for the Imperial Theatres in St. Petersburg, Russia (1850–1870). The majority of his ballet music was composed for the works of the ballet master Jules Perrot, who mounted nearly every one of his ballets to scores by Pugni. In 1850 Perrot departed London for Russia, having accepted the position of Premier maître de ballet of the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres at the behest of Carlotta Grisi, who was engaged as Prima ballerina. Cesare Pugni followed Perrot and Grisi to Russia, and remained in the imperial capital even after Grisi's departure in 1853 and Perrot's departure in 1858. Pugni went on the compose for Perrot's successors Arthur Saint-Léon and Marius Petipa, serving as the Imperial Theatre's official composer of ballet music until his death in 1870.
Ondine, ou La naïade is a ballet in three acts and six scenes with choreography by Jules Perrot, music by Cesare Pugni, and a libretto inspired by the novel Undine by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué. Pugni dedicated his score to Augusta, Duchess of Cambridge, a long-time balletomane and patron of the arts in London. Whilst the original London production used the title Ondine, ou La naïade, Perrot staged a revival of the ballet under the title, La naïade et le pêcheur, a title which was used for all subsequent productions of the ballet.
The Sergeyev Collection is a collection of choreographic notation, music, designs for décor and costumes, theatre programs, photos and other materials that document the repertory of the Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg, Russia at the turn of the 20th century. The majority of the choreographic notations document with varying degrees of detail the original works and revivals of the renowned choreographer Marius Petipa, who served as Premier Maître de ballet of the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres, as well as notation and music documenting the ballets of Lev Ivanov, who served as second Maître de ballet. Also included in the collection are choreographic notation documenting dances from various operas by both Petipa and Ivanov, respectively.
Lydia, the Swiss Milkmaid is a Demi-Caractère ballet in 2 acts, with choreography by Filippo Taglioni and music by Adalbert Gyrowetz.
The Parisian Market is a comic ballet in one act, with libretto and choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Cesare Pugni.
Faust is a ballet in three acts and seven scenes, with choreography and libretto by Jules Perrot and music by Giacomo Panizza, Michael Andrew Costa, and Niccolò Bajetti, first presented by the Ballet of the Teatro alla Scala on 12 February 1848 in Milan, with Fanny Elssler, Jules Perrot, Effisio Catte, and Ekaterina Costantini.
Trilby is a ballet in 2 acts and 3 scenes, with choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Yuli Gerber. Libretto by Marius Petipa, based on the 1822 novella Trilby, ou Le Lutin d'Argail by Charles Nodier, first presented by the Ballet of the Moscow Imperial Bolshoi Theatre on January 25/February 6, 1870, in Moscow with Polina Karpakova as Trilby and Ludiia Geiten as Miranda and restaged by Petipa for the Imperial Ballet at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre on January 17–29, 1871 in St. Petersburg with Adèle Grantzow as Trilby and Lev Ivanov as Count Leopold.
Catarina ou la Fille du bandit is a ballet in three acts and four scenes, with libretto and choreography by Jules Perrot and music by Cesare Pugni. The libretto is based on an incident in the life of the Italian painter Salvator Rosa. The work was first presented by the Ballet of Her Majesty's Theatre on 3 March 1846 in London, England, with Lucile Grahn and Jules Perrot.
La Vivandière is a ballet in one act with choreography by Arthur Saint-Léon and Fanny Cerrito, and music by Cesare Pugni.
Le Diable à quatre is a ballet in two acts and three scenes, with choreography by Joseph Mazilier, music by Adolphe Adam, and libretto by Adolphe de Leuven, first presented by the Ballet of the Académie Royale de Musique on 11 August 1845, with Carlotta Grisi and Lucien Petipa.
The King's Command is a ballet in 4 Acts-6 Scenes, with choreography by Marius Petipa and music composed and adapted by Albert Vizentini in a pastiche of airs taken from various works by Johann Strauss II, Léo Delibes, Daniel Auber, Jules Massenet, and Anton Rubinstein.
Le Diable amoureux is a ballet pantomime in three acts and eight scenes, originally choreographed by Joseph Mazilier to the music of Napoléon Henri Reber and François Benoist. The libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges is based on Jacques Cazotte's 1772 occult romance The Devil in Love. The work was first presented by the Ballet du Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique in Paris on 23 September 1840, with Pauline Leroux, Mazilier, and Louise Fitz-James.
Ludwig Minkus, also known as Léon Fyodorovich Minkus, was a Jewish-Austrian composer of ballet music, a violin virtuoso and teacher.
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Lunkina is a Russian ballerina who is a principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada.
Pierre-Frederic Malevergne or Pierre-Frederic Malavergne and Pierre-Frederic Malovergne was a French dancer who worked in Russia.
Anastasia Stashkevich is a Russian principal dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet.
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