For the Mexican singer, see Paquita la del Barrio
Important Ballets & *Revivals of Marius Petipa
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*Paquita
(1847, *1881)
*Le Corsaire
(1858, 1863, 1868, 1885, 1899)
The Pharaoh's Daughter
(1862, *1885, *1898)
Le Roi Candaule
(1868, *1891, *1903)
Don Quixote
(1869, *1871)
La Bayadère
(1877, *1900)
*Giselle
(1884, 1899, 1903)
*Coppélia
(1884)
*La Fille Mal Gardée
(1885)
*La Esmeralda
(1886, 1899)
The Talisman
(1889)
The Sleeping Beauty
(1890)
The Nutcracker
(1892)
Cinderella
(1893)
The Awakening of Flora
(1894)
*Swan Lake
(1895)
*The Little Humpbacked Horse
(1895)
The Cavalry Halt
(1896)
Raymonda
(1898)
The Seasons
(1900)
Harlequinade
(1900)
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Paquita
is a ballet in two acts and three scenes, with libretto by Joseph Mazilier and Paul Foucher. Originally choreoghraphed by Joseph Mazilier to the music of Edouard Deldevez. First presented by the ballet of the Théâtre de l’Académie Royale de Musique in Paris on 1 April, 1846. The work was retained in the repertory of the Opéra until 1851.
In 1847 Paquita
was staged for the first time in Russia for the Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg by Marius Petipa and Pierre-Frédéric Malevergne, being the first work ever staged by Petipa in Russia. In 1881 Petipa produced a revival of the ballet for which he added new pieces specially composed by Ludwig Minkus. This included the Pas de trois
(a.k.a. the Minkus Pas de trois
or Paquita Pas de trois
) for the first act, and the Paquita Grand pas classique
and the Mazurka des enfants
(Children's mazurka
) for the last act. Petipa's version of Paquita
was retained in the repertory of the Mariinsky Theatre until 1926.
Marius Petipa's 1881 additions for Paquita
survived long after the full-length ballet left the stage. Today these pieces, particularly the Pas Grand pas classique
, are major cornerstones of the traditional classical ballet repertory, and have been staged by ballet companies throughout the world.
In 2001, the Ballet Master Pierre Lacotte produced a revival of full-length, two act Paquita
for the Paris Opera Ballet. Although Lacotte re-choregraphed most of the ballet himself, he restored Joseph Mazilier's original mime sequences and mise-en-scène, as well as Marius Petipa's 1881 additions.
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PAQUITA TICKETS
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Performance history
Other notable productions
- Marius Petipa and Pierre-Frédéric Malevergne for the Imperial Ballet. Musical orchestrations by Konstantin Liadov. First presented at the Imperial Bolshoi Theatre on 8 October [O.S. 26 September] 1847.
- Marius Petipa for the Imperial Ballet, staged for the benefit performance of Ekaterina Vazem. Musical additions and revisions by Ludwig Minkus. First presented at the Imperial Bolshoi Theatre on 8 January [O.S. 27 December 1881] 1882.
Original Interpreters
Role
| Paris, 1846
| St. Petersburg, 1847
| St. Petersburg, 1881
|
Paquita
| Carlotta Grisi
| Yelena Andreyonova
| Ekaterina Vazem
|
Lucien d'Hervilly
| Lucien Petipa
| Marius Petipa
| Pavel Gerdt
|
Plot Outline
The plot takes place in
Spain during the occupation of
Napoleon's army. The heroine is the young
Gypsy girl, Paquita. Unbeknownst to Paquita, she is really of noble birth, having been abducted by Gypsies when she was an infant. She saves the life of a young French officer, Lucien d'Hervilly, who is the target of a Spanish governor who desires to have him killed by Iñigo, a gypsy chief. By way of a medallion she discover that she is of noble birth, being in fact the cousin of Lucien. As such, she and the Officer are able to wed.
History of the Paquita Grand pas classique
The
Paquita Grand pas classique
was revised in 1896 by Marius Petipa for a gala performance held at
Peterhof in honor of
Empress Catherine II. For the occasion the Imperial Ballet's newly appointed
Prima ballerina assoluta
Mathilde Kschessinskaya invited several ballerinas to participate in the performance by interpolating their favorite
classical variations
(or solos) from different works. Thus, the tradition of including an entire suite of solos for various ballerinas began, a tradition which is still in place today.
Anna Pavlova included the
Grand Pas classique
in her company's repertory.
Rudolf Nureyev staged the piece in 1964 for the
Royal Academy of Dancing, and at
La Scala in 1970. Nureyev also staged it for the
Vienna State Opera Ballet and
American Ballet Theatre in 1971. For all of his productions of the work Nureyev used
John Lanchbery's adaptation of the music. In 1984
Natalia Makarova staged a new version of the
Paquita Grand pas classique
for American Ballet Theatre with music again arranged by Lanchbery. To date the company still retains Makarova's staging in their repertory, and many companies throughout the world have staged her version of the piece.
In 1974 the Ballet Master
Nikita Dolgushin produced a staging of the
Paquita Grand pas classique
for the
Maly Theatre Ballet of St. Petersburg. For his production Dolgushin called upon the former ballerina
Elizaveta Gerdt—who performed in Marius Petipa's original version of the piece— to assist in restoring the
Paquita Grand pas classique
to its form as performed during the early 20th century.
In 1978 the
Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet's newly appointed artistic director
Oleg Vinogradov staged a new version of the
Paquita Grand pas classique
for the company, a staging largely based on the version
Pyotr Gusev staged for the Maly Theatre Ballet in 1952. The Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet still retain Vinogradov's version in their repertory, and many companies throughout the world include his version of the piece in their repertories.
Solos of the Paquita Grand pas classique
The many different versions of the
Paquita Grand pas classique
are defined primarily by the various combinations of
classical variations
they contain. Here follows a list of the solos in place in the Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet's staging. The list below reveals who composed the piece, and in some cases what ballet they are taken from and/or for what dancer they were composed.
- ?1 Ludwig Minkus. Insertion for the ballerina Anna Johansson's performance Marius Petipa's 1892 revival of the Jules Perrot's 1843 La Naïade et le pêcheur
.
- ?2 Riccardo Drigo. Insertion for the ballerina Mathilde Kschessinskaya's performance in Marius Petipa's 1897 revival his 1868 ballet Le Roi Candaule
.
- ?3 Alexei Barmin. Insertion for Alexander Gorsky's 1900 revival of Marius Petipa's 1869 ballet Don Quixote
.
- ?4 Nikolai Tcherepnin. Taken from Mikhail Fokine's 1907 ballet Le Pavillon d'Armide
.
- ?5 Yuli Gerber. Taken from Marius Petipa's ballet Trilby
.
- ?6 Riccardo Drigo. Insertion for the ballerina Vavara Nikitina's performance in Marius Petipa's 1892 revival of Filippo Taglioni's original 1832 version of the ballet La Sylphide
.
- ?7 Léo Delibes. Taken from Delibes's portion of the score for Arthur Saint-Léon's 1866 ballet La Source
.
Solos from other stagings
Although most versions of the
Paquita Grand pas classique
contain the same
classical variations
as other stagings, some versions include solos that other versions do not. The list below reveals the origins of solos found in other stagings.
- Placed second in Natalia Makorva's staging for American Ballet Theatre. Music by Riccardo Drigo. Insertion for the ballerna Pierina Legnani's performance in Lev Ivanov's 1901 revival of Marius Petipa's La Camargo
.
- Placed third in Nikita Dolgushin's staging for the Maly Theatre Ballet. Music by Riccardo Drigo. Insertion for the ballerina Olga Preobrajenskaya's performance in Achille Coppini's 1902 revival of Arthur Saint-Léon's 1866 ballet La Source
.
- Placed sixth in Natalia Makorva's staging for American Ballet Theatre. Music by Luwdig Minkus.
- Placed sixth in Nikita Dolgushin's staging for the Maly Theatre Ballet by Riccardo Drigo. Insertion for the ballerina Ekaterina Vazem's performance in Marius Petipa's 1881 revival of Joseph Mazilier's 1846 ballet Paquita
.
Gallery of historical images
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