The Ballets of Ludwig Minkus [1 ed.] 9781443800808, 9781847184238

The composer Ludwig Minkus represents one of musicOCOs biggest mysteries. Who was he? Hardly anything is known about him

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The Ballets of Ludwig Minkus

The Ballets of Ludwig Minkus

by

Robert Ignatius Letellier

Cambridge Scholars Publishing

The Ballets of Ludwig Minkus, by Robert Ignatius Letellier This book first published 2008 by Cambridge Scholars Publishing 15 Angerton Gardens, Newcastle, NE5 2JA, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2008 by Robert Ignatius Letellier All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-84718-423-5, ISBN (13): 9781847184238

Ludwig Minkus. Photograph (Russia, 1875).

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Illustrations ..................................................................................... ix List of Musical Examples .......................................................................... xii A Chronology of the Ballets of Ludwig Minkus ...................................... xvi Introduction ................................................................................................. 1 Aloysius Ludwig Minkus ............................................................................ 5 1) Origins and Name.............................................................................. 5 2) Early Life .......................................................................................... 6 3) The Early Years in Russia ................................................................. 6 4) The Collaboration with Marius Petipa ............................................ 11 5) The Years of Retirement ................................................................. 16 6) The Artist and the Man—the Testimony of Arthur Saint-Léon ...... 17 7) The Reputation ................................................................................ 24 8) Minkus’s Ballets: the Performance History in the Twentieth Century ................................................................................................ 35 The Minkus Ballets: The Scenarios........................................................... 61 1. Fiammetta........................................................................................ 67 Néméa .............................................................................................. 71 2. La Source (The Spring).................................................................... 75 Le Lys (The Lily).............................................................................. 80 3. Le Poisson doré (The Golden Fish)................................................. 81 4. Don Kikhot (Don Quixote) (Don Quichotte) ................................... 86 5. Camargo ........................................................................................ 102 6. Le Papillon (The Butterfly)............................................................ 108 7. Les Brigands (The Robbers) .......................................................... 110 8. Les Aventures de Pélée (The Adventures of Peleus) ...................... 112 9. Son v letnyuyu noch’ (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) ................... 113 10. Bayaderka (La Bayadère) (The Temple Dancer)......................... 114 11. Roxane, la beauté du Monténégro ............................................... 130 12. La Fille des neiges (The Snow Maiden)....................................... 133 13. Tsiryul'nik Frizak (Frizak the Barber)......................................... 134 14. Mlada........................................................................................... 134

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Table of Contents

15. Zoraya, ili Mavritanka v Ispanii (Zoraya, or A Moorish Girl in Spain)....................................................................................... 140 16. Paquita ........................................................................................ 143 17. Noch’ i dyen’ (La Nuit et Le Jour) (Night and Day).................... 146 18. Les Pillules magiques (The Magic Pills) ..................................... 148 19. L’Offrande à l’Amour (The Sacrifice to Love) ............................ 150 20. Kalkabrino................................................................................... 150 Supplementary Material: 1. Ondine (La Naïade et le Pêcheur) (The Naiad and the Fisherman) .................................................................................... 155 2. Swan Lake (The Sobeschanskaya Pas de Deux)............................ 155 3. La Fille du Danube (The Daughter of the Danube) ...................... 156 4. Paquita .......................................................................................... 157 5. Pâquerette...................................................................................... 157 6. Giselle............................................................................................ 157 The Minkus Ballets: The Music Style ................................................................................................... 167 1) Melody.......................................................................... 167 2) Harmony ....................................................................... 169 3) Dance Forms and Rhythm ............................................ 172 4) Colour and Atmosphere ................................................ 175 5) Narrative and Mime ...................................................... 178 6) Orchestration ................................................................ 178 7) Recurring Themes and Dominant Tonalities ................ 183 La Source........................................................................................... 191 Don Quixote....................................................................................... 214 La Bayadère....................................................................................... 278 Paquita .............................................................................................. 346 Addendum ............................................................................................... 363 I. Alexander Pushkin: “The Fisherman and the Golden Fish” ............................................................................................... 363 II. The Original Bayadère Scenario................................................... 367 III. Tables of Musical Contents from the Published Scores .............. 377 Bibliography and Discography ................................................................ 381 Index........................................................................................................ 395

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Frontispiece: Ludwig Minkus. Photograph (Russia, 1875) ......................... v

Part I: Life Fig. 1: Ludwig Minkus: Photograph by B. Braquehais (Paris, c. 1864) ...... 8 Fig. 2: Arthur Saint-Léon .......................................................................... 10 Fig. 3: Marius Petipa in middle age........................................................... 12 Fig. 4: Ludwig Minkus in middle age: Photograph (Russia, 1875) ........... 14 Fig. 5: Ludwig Minkus: Site of his grave in Vienna (1917-39)................. 17 Fig. 6: Ludwig Minkus: Late photograph.................................................. 23 Fig. 7: Adolphe Adam ............................................................................... 26 Fig. 8: Cesare Pugni .................................................................................. 27 Fig. 9: Riccardo Drigo ............................................................................... 29 Fig. 10: Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky............................................................... 30 Fig. 11: Don Quixote Act 4: Pas de Deux.................................................. 32 Fig. 12: La Bayadère: An example of the Stepanov notation, 1900 .......... 34 Fig. 13: La Bayadère Act 3: The Kingdom of the Shades (1992) ............ 35 Fig. 14: Ludwig Minkus: Signature........................................................... 45

Part II: Scenarios Fig. 15: Arthur Saint-Léon ........................................................................ 64 Fig. 16: Marius Petipa in old age............................................................... 65 Fig. 17: Néméa: Frontispiece of the piano pot-pourri................................ 68 Fig. 18: Néméa: Marfa Muravyeva in the title role ................................... 72 Fig. 19: Néméa: A rehearsal in the Paris Opéra......................................... 74 Fig. 20: Léo Delibes .................................................................................. 76 Fig. 21: Charles Nuitter ............................................................................. 77 Fig. 22: Le Poisson doré: Frontispiece of the piano score (St. Petersburg) . 82 Fig. 23: Le Poisson doré: Frontispiece of the piano score (Moscow) ....... 85 Fig. 24: Le Poisson doré: Klavdya Kantsyreva as the Gold Fish .............. 86 Fig. 25: Don Quixote: From Gorsky’s 1900 production............................ 98 Fig. 26: Don Quixote Act 1: Entry of Kitri (1988) .................................. 100 Fig. 27: Camargo: Cracoviak, titlepage of the piano score ..................... 104

x

List of Illustrations

Fig. 28: Camargo: Pas de Deux, Pierina Legnani and Sergei Legat (1900) 104 Fig. 29: Sergei Khudekov........................................................................ 115 Fig. 30: La Bayadère: Stage design for act 2 (1877) ............................... 116 Fig. 31: La Bayadère: Nikia’s death (1877) ........................................... 117 Fig. 32: La Bayadère: Yekaterina Vazem as Nikia (1877)...................... 118 Fig. 33: La Bayadère: Lev Ivanov as Solor (1877) ................................. 120 Fig. 34: La Bayadère: Act 3: The Kingdom of the Shades (1900) .......... 122 Fig. 35: La Bayadère: Act 3: Entry of the Shades (1963) ....................... 122 Fig. 36: La Bayadère: Anna Pavlova as Nikia (1902) ............................. 127 Fig. 37: La Bayadère: Alla Shelest as Nikia, Kirov ................................ 128 Fig. 38: La Bayadère: Vakhtang Chaboukiani as Solor (1935)............... 129 Fig. 39: La Bayadère: The earthquake in act 4 (1877) ............................ 130 Fig. 40: Roxana: Titlepage of the piano potpourri................................... 132 Fig. 41: Paquita: Students of the Imperial Ballet School in the Children's Polonaise and Mazurka (St. Petersburg, c: 1900)......... 144 Fig. 42: Nuit et Jour: Titlepage of the Büttner piano score ..................... 147

Part IIIa La Source Fig. 43: La Source: frontispiece of the piano score ................................. 193 Fig. 44: La Source: frontispiece of the piano score ................................. 213

Part IIIb Don Quixote Fig. 45: Don Quixote: Frontispiece of the Stellowsky piano score (1882) 216 Fig. 46: Don Quixote: The Entrance of Kitri (1988) ............................... 228 Fig. 47: Don Quixote: Act 4: Pas de Deux: Grand Adage....................... 273 Fig. 48: Don Quixote: Act 4: Pas de Deux: Kitri with fan....................... 276 Fig. 49: Don Quixote: Act 4: Pas de Deux: Coda.................................... 277

Part IIIc La Bayadère Fig. 50: La Bayadère: The Procession in Act 2 (1977) ........................... 282 Fig. 51: La Bayadère: Frontispiece of piano pot-pourri, with Vazem as Nikia (1880) ........................................................................................ 283 Fig. 52: La Bayadère: Act 2: The Procession—the Elephant (1992) ...... 302 Fig. 53: La Bayadère: Act 2: Gamsatti in the Pas d’Action .................... 315 Fig. 54: La Bayadère: The Kingdom of the Shades score cover ............. 322 Fig. 55: La Bayadère: Act 3: Solor with hookah..................................... 323 Fig. 56: La Bayadère: Stage design for the Kingdom of the Shades (1980) 324 Fig. 57: La Bayadère: The Kingdom of the Shades (1963) ..................... 324

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Fig. 58: La Bayadère: The earthquake in act 4 (1877) ............................ 339 Fig. 59: La Bayadère: Apotheosis: the transfiguration of Nikia and Solor..341 Fig. 60: La Bayadère: Act 2: The Procession—the Golden Idol............. 345

Part IIId Paquita Fig. 61: Paquita Act 3: Grand Pas (1980) ............................................... 362

LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES

III. The Music: Style Ex. 1 Adagio from the Grand Pas in Paquita .......................................... 169 Ex. 2 Coda from the act 3 Pas de Deux in Le Poisson doré .................... 170 Ex. 3 Andantino from Néméa .................................................................. 171 Ex. 4 Variation for Amour from Don Quixote......................................... 173 Ex. 5a-d Sequidilla from act 1 of Don Quixote .................................... 176-7 Ex. 6 Csardas from Néméa ...................................................................... 181 Ex. 7 Andantino and Allegretto from the act 3 Pas de Deux in La Bayadère......................................................................................... 182 Ex. 8 Coda 1 from The Kingdom of the Shades in La Bayadère............. 188

IIIa La Source Ex. 1 La Source Prelude .......................................................................... 195 Ex. 2 La Source Fantastic Introduction ................................................... 197 Ex. 3 La Source The Mayfly ................................................................... 198 Ex. 4 La Source March of the Caravan.................................................... 200 Ex. 5 La Source Berceuse........................................................................ 201 Ex. 6 La Source Dance with the Guzla.................................................... 202 Ex. 7 La Source Scene............................................................................. 204 Ex. 8 La Source Waltz............................................................................. 206 Ex. 9 La Source Scene and Dance ........................................................... 206 Ex. 10 La Source Dance of the Sylphs and the Goblins .......................... 207 Ex. 11 La Source Scene and Dance ......................................................... 208 Ex. 12 La Source Galop........................................................................... 209 Ex. 13 La Source Scene and Dance ......................................................... 212

IIIb Don Quixote Ex. 1 Don Quixote Prelude (Don Quixote).............................................. 217 Ex. 2 Don Quixote Prelude (The Young Lovers) .................................... 218 Ex. 3 Don Quixote Prelude (The Queen of the Dryads) .......................... 219 Ex. 4 Don Quixote In Don Quixote’s House ........................................... 221 Ex. 5 Don Quixote Don Quixote’s Day Dreams...................................... 222

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Ex. 6 Don Quixote Don Quixote’s Quest ................................................ 223 Ex. 7 Don Quixote Marketplace in Barcelona ......................................... 224 Ex. 8 Don Quixote Entry of Kitri............................................................. 226 Ex. 9 Don Quixote Kitri and Basilio........................................................ 227 Ex. 10 Don Quixote Moreño.................................................................... 229 Ex. 11 Don Quixote The Pains of Love ................................................... 230 Ex. 12 Don Quixote Entry of Gamache ................................................... 231 Ex. 13 Don Quixote Entry of the Bullfighters ......................................... 233 Ex. 14 Don Quixote The Street Dancer ................................................... 234 Ex. 15a-b Don Quixote Dance with Knives............................................. 236 Ex. 16 Don Quixote Entry of the Knight and his Squire ......................... 238 Ex. 17a Don Quixote Sancho Panza and the Girls................................... 239 Ex. 17b Don Quixote Sancho’s Befuddlement ........................................ 240 Ex. 18 Don Quixote Kitri’s Friends......................................................... 242 Ex. 19a Don Quixote Pas de Deux........................................................... 244 Ex. 19b Don Quixote Adagio .................................................................. 244 Ex. 20 Don Quixote Minuet.................................................................... 244 Ex. 21 Don Quixote Basilio’s Variation .................................................. 245 Ex. 22 Don Quixote Kitri’s Variation...................................................... 246 Ex. 23 Don Quixote Act 1 Finale............................................................. 247 Ex. 24 Don Quixote Gypsy Camp ........................................................... 248 Ex. 25 Don Quixote Basilio, Don Quixote and the Gypsies .................... 250 Ex. 26 Don Quixote Gypsy Dance........................................................... 251 Ex. 27a-c Don Quixote The Puppet Theatre ......................................... 252-3 Ex. 28 Don Quixote The Windmills ........................................................ 255 Ex. 29 Don Quixote The Dryads.............................................................. 257 Ex. 30 Don Quixote Dulcinea’s Variation ............................................... 258 Ex. 31a-b Don Quixote Coda of the Dream Scene ............................. 259-60 Ex. 32 Don Quixote Act 2 Finale (The Awakening of Don Quixote)...... 261 Ex. 33 Don Quixote Square in Barcelona ................................................ 262 Ex. 34 a-b Don Quixote Entry of Kitri and Basilio.................................. 263 Ex. 35 Don Quixote The Mock-Suicide .................................................. 264 Ex. 36 Don Quixote Act 3 Finale (Presto) ............................................... 265 Ex. 37 Don Quixote March...................................................................... 266 Ex. 38 Don Quixote Spanish Dance ........................................................ 267 Ex. 39 Don Quixote Pas de Quatre .......................................................... 269 Ex. 40a-b Don Quixote Pas de Deux: Intrada....................................... 270-1 Ex. 41 Don Quixote Pas de Deux Grand Adage ...................................... 272 Ex. 42 Don Quixote Pas de Deux: Variation 1 (Amour) ......................... 274 Ex. 43 Don Quixote Pas de Deux: Variation 2 (Basilio) ......................... 275 Ex. 44 Don Quixote Pas de Deux: Variation 3 (Kitri) ............................. 275

xiv

List of Musical Examples

Ex. 45 Don Quixote Pas de Deux: Coda.................................................. 276

IIIc La Bayadère Ex. 1 La Bayadère Prelude (Fakir) .......................................................... 284 Ex. 2 La Bayadère Prelude (Nikia).......................................................... 285 Ex. 3 La Bayadère Entry of the Brahmin ................................................ 287 Ex. 4 La Bayadère March of the Priests .................................................. 287 Ex. 5 La Bayadère Sacred Dance of the Bayadères................................. 288 Ex. 6a-b La Bayadère Dance of the Fakirs.............................................. 289 Ex. 7 La Bayadère Entry of Nikia ........................................................... 290 Ex. 8 La Bayadère Nikia’s variation ....................................................... 291 Ex. 9 La Bayadère Nikia’s solo............................................................... 293 Ex. 10 La Bayadère Pas de Deux ............................................................ 294 Ex. 11 La Bayadère March (Entry of the Court) ..................................... 296 Ex. 12a-b La Bayadère Pas de Huit (Dance with the Scarf).................... 297 Ex. 13 La Bayadère Pas de Voile (The Blessing).................................... 299 Ex. 14 La Bayadère Triumphal Procession ............................................. 303 Ex. 15 La Bayadère Fan Dance (Moresco).............................................. 304 Ex. 16 La Bayadère Waltz of the Parakeets ............................................ 305 Ex. 17 La Bayadère Pas de Quatre (Polka) ............................................. 306 Ex. 18 La Bayadère The Golden Idol (Mazurka) .................................... 307 Ex. 19 La Bayadère Pas de Trois (Dance with the Pitcher)..................... 308 Ex. 20 La Bayadère Dance of the Indian Warriors (Danse infernale) ..... 309 Ex. 21 La Bayadère Grand Pas d’Action: Intrada ................................... 310 Ex. 22 La Bayadère Grand Pas d’Action: Adage .................................... 312 Ex. 23 La Bayadère Grand Pas d’Action:Variation 1 (Pas de Quatre).... 313 Ex. 24 La Bayadère Grand Pas d’Action: Variation 2 (Solor) ................ 314 Ex. 25 La Bayadère Grand Pas d’Action: Variation 3 (Gamsatti)........... 316 Ex. 26 La Bayadère Grand Pas d’Action: Coda ...................................... 317 The Kingdom of the Shades .................................................................... 323 Ex. 27 La Bayadère Scène Dansée (Benediction, Dance with the Serpent) 320 Ex. 28 La Bayadère The Fakir and the Hookah (Pas comique)............... 323 Ex. 29 La Bayadère Entry of the Bayadères............................................ 326 Ex. 30 La Bayadère Waltz of the Bayadères ........................................... 327 Ex. 31 La Bayadère Appearance of Nikia ............................................... 328 Ex. 32 La Bayadère Grand Pas de Deux ................................................. 329 Ex. 33 La Bayadère Andante................................................................... 330 Ex. 34 La Bayadère Variation 1 .............................................................. 331 Ex. 35 La Bayadère Variation 2 .............................................................. 332 Ex. 36 La Bayadère Variation 3 .............................................................. 332

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Ex. 37 La Bayadère Variation 4 .............................................................. 333 Ex. 38 La Bayadère Coda 1..................................................................... 334 Ex. 39 La Bayadère Coda 2..................................................................... 335 Ex. 40a-b La Bayadère Garland Dance ................................................... 337 Ex. 41 La Bayadère The Earthquake....................................................... 340 Ex. 42 La Bayadère Finale and Apotheosis............................................. 342

IIId Paquita Ex. 1 Paquita Pas de Trois: Intrada ......................................................... 348 Ex. 2a-b Paquita Pas de Trois: Variation 1 (1 and 2).............................. 348 Ex. 3 Paquita Pas de Trois: Variation 2 Allegretto (Pugni) ................... 350 Ex. 4 Paquita Pas de Trois: Variation 3 Moderato.................................. 351 Ex. 5 Paquita Pas de Trois: Variation 4 Moderato (Adam)..................... 352 Ex. 6 Paquita Pas de Trois: Coda............................................................ 353 Ex. 7 Paquita Grand Pas: Intrada ............................................................ 354 Ex. 8 Paquita Grand Pas: Adage ............................................................. 356 Ex. 9 Paquita Grand Pas: Variation 1 ..................................................... 357 Ex. 10a-c Paquita Grand Pas: Coda (1-3) .......................................... 358-60

A CHRONOLOGY OF THE BALLETS OF LUDWIG MINKUS

1857 1862 1863 1864 1866 1868 1869 1871 1872 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886

L’Union de Thésis et Pélée Dva Dnya v Venetsi (Two Days in Venice) Orfa* (choreographer Arthur Saint-Léon) Fiamma d´amore (Salamandra) Pygmalion* Fiammetta Neméa (Paris Opéra) Zolotaya rybka/Le Poisson doré (The Golden Fish) La Source (Paris Opéra) Sprühfeuer (Kärntnertortheater, Vienna) Don Kikhot/Don Quixote (choreographer Marius Petipa) (Moscow) Le Lys (choreographer Arthur Saint-Léon) Dvye zvezdy (Two Stars)* Camargo (choreographer Marius Petipa) (St Petersburg) Le Papillon La Naiad et le Pêcheur (The Naiad and the Fisherman)* Les Brigands Les Aventures de Pélée Son v letnyuyu noch' (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)* Bayaderka/La Bayadère Roksana (Roxane, la belle Albanese) La Fille des neiges Tsiryul’nik Frizak (Frizak the Barber)* Mlada La Fille du Danube* Zoraya, ili Mavritanka v Ispanii (Zoraya, or A Moorish Girl in Spain) Paquita* Pâquerette* Noch' i dyen' (Night and Day) Giselle Le Diable à quatre (The Devil to pay)* Les Pillules magiques

The Ballets of Ludwig Minkus

1887 1891 1897 1899 1907

xvii

L’Offrande à l’Amour Fiammetta* Kalkabrino** Les Noces de Thésis et Pélée** Tanz und Mythe (Ein Maskenfest) (composed for the Vienna Court Opera) Die Dryaden** (Vienna Court Opera) Rübezahl** (Vienna Court Opera)

*

New productions of old works, with revised orchestrations, arrangements or additions by Minkus

**

New productions using Minkus’s compositions, but with uncertainty about the extent of his personal involvement

INTRODUCTION

The composer Ludwig Minkus presents one of music’s biggest mysteries. Who was he? Hardly anything is known about him, and yet he occupied an influential post in the theatres of the Imperial ballet in late nineteenth-century Russia. He is commonly understood as the predecessor of Tchaikovsky, but as a musician to have been so feeble as to be beneath contempt. For decades any attempt at finding some reference to him would end up with the small article written by N. Montagu-Nathan for the fifth edition of Grove’s Dictionary, in which Minkus is dismissed as “thirdrate, and even that classing may possibly be regarded by some as an understatement” (adding insult to injury). Barrymore Laurence Scherer observed that “I have never come across another composer who has been the object of such blistering condemnation as Minkus, and whose life has been so poorly recorded.” In spite of everything, the scorn and the obscurity, Minkus is far from being forgotten. Since the early 1960s, and the defection to the West by Rudolf Nureyev and then Natalia Makarova, Minkus’s name has slowly started to surface again. At the same time the conductor Richard Bonynge made a series of ballet recordings which presented some short excerpts from three of Minkus’s works, and provided a morsel of something so surprising and wonderful that one yearned to taste more. Over the following four decades, thanks to the dynamic abilities and imaginative powers of the two dancers, the world came to know that Minkus’s music was still part of a living tradition in the Soviet Union, and indeed, that his name was intimately linked to that of the legendary ballet master, Marius Petipa. Two of the choreographer’s works had survived there in some degree of authentic preservation from the 1870s to the present day. These two works, Don Quixote (1869) and La Bayadère (1877), were presented fully for the first time to fresh audiences all over the world. In spite of attempts to ignore or apologize for the music, these ballets proved to be immensely successful wherever they were given. Indeed, the nature of this success, consolidated as it has been by the many touring companies from the Russian Federation (that carry their precious dancing traditions around the globe), has resulted in both these old ballets becoming new repertory pieces. The extent of this success, as with any

2

Introduction

ballet, lies largely in the power of the score to bring the dancing to life and touch the emotions of the audience. So poor Minkus, never properly edited or published, although played in a variety of variable arrangements, has become increasingly known throughout the world. It is indeed a type of new life for one who was thought to be dead. The musical and dramatic power of both ballets has taken people by surprise. The stories have a very real human appeal, the choreography attracts the admiration of balletomanes, and the music in its rhythm, verve and beauty of melody holds attention and engages the heart wherever it is heard. The fact that Don Quixote is a comedy (based on one of the world’s most cherished novels), about the search for truth and beauty even in the most ordinary things, and that La Bayadère is a tragedy which looks at the sorrows of love in passion, division, betrayal and death, means that the two together present a strangely pleasing, even satisfying, symmetry. The musician’s ability to respond with equal insight and effectiveness to the light and dark sides of the human condition touches on the very wellspring, the universal nature and appeal of drama. The scenarios, and the compulsive sweep of the music which brings them to life, represent an extraordinary contribution to danced theatre, and are a worthy offering to both the Muses of Drama and Dance. It is wonderful that they have been found again, and indeed opened up to a bigger audience than ever before. The following introduction seeks to discover something more behind the blank mask of Minkus’s life and work. What do we actually know about him as a man and as an artist? What sort of contribution did he make under the conditions and nature of his employment as a paid official of a state-run institution? What do we know about his oeuvre as a whole? What can we put together from the available material? What is the nature of the music for those few works that have survived the years, and have come to the fore again in recent years, to delight those who have ears to hear? I hope this introduction can throw at least a ray of light on an Unknown—a minstrel whose beautiful songs have been disregarded for too long. Consideration of Minkus’s career links two of the greatest eras in the history of ballet—the French Romantic and Russian Classical. Any study touching on these eras is indebted to a series of scholarly works that have shaped and continue to expand our knowledge and thinking about the period. Ivor Guest’s groundbreaking work on the Paris Opéra (The Ballet of the Second Empire, 1953 and 1955) covers the first of Minkus’s great successes, Néméa. Guest’s The Romantic Ballet in Paris (1966), with Marian Smith’s Ballet and Opera in the Age of ‘Giselle’ (2000) provide

The Ballets of Ludwig Minkus

3

indispensable research into the production of ballet in mid-nineteenth century Paris and the status of ballet composers at the time. Guest’s edition of the letters of Arthur Saint-Léon (Letters from a Ballet Master. The Correspondence of Arthur Saint-Léon. Edited by Ivor Guest, 1981) provides the vital bridge between Paris and the burgeoning Russian school of the late nineteenth century, and incidentally in the figure of this last great choreographer of the French Romantic ballet, the key connection for Minkus between the schools. The composer’s friendship with Saint-Léon gives us precious clues into his otherwise inscrutable private life, and moves us into the crucial era of Marius Petipa, the dominating figure of the Imperial Russian ballet and Minkus’s greatest collaborator. Here Natalia Roslavleva’s Era of the Russian Ballet, 1770-1965 (1966) remains the classic study of this period, and a link with what for her was still a living tradition. Her work provides the scholarly framework for the immensely important memoirs of Petipa and such dancers as Vazem and Kschessinska, and is expanded and supplemented with authority by John Roland Wiley in his study Tchaikovsky’s Ballets: Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker (1985). His translation and editing of A Century of Russian Ballet: Documents and Eyewitness Accounts, 1810-1910 (1990) is now the chief source of original material for those unable to read Russian themselves. The exploration of this world, and other questions on the nature and state of Russian ballet scholarship, are examined by Tim Scholl in Sleeping Beauty—A Legend in Progress (2004). The work of all these scholars is acknowledged with admiration and gratitude. The archival heritage of scenarios and scores by Minkus remains one of the great untapped treasures of the Maryinsky Theatre Archives. Recent researches have begun to explore this hoard, works such as that by Albrecht Gaub on Mlada, that incidentally involved Minkus (1998), and the rehabilitation of the original version of La Bayadère, first by Nureyev in 1994, and then by Pavel Gerchenzon for Sergei Vikharev in 2002. However, the life of Minkus, the corpus of his ballets, and those particular works that do survive in the repertoire, are so poorly documented and understood that some critical investigation of them is needed before further detailed source and historical-critical material is explored. Of crucial importance to this study has been the help of the late George Verdak of Indianapolis (d. 1993) who generously made copies available from his huge collection of ballet scores, a kindness continued by his heir Dace Dindonis before her untimely death on 29 April 2001. Other essential contributions were made by Prof. Marina Tcherkasina of Kiev who made available to me a precious repetiteur’s score of La Bayadère,

4

Introduction

and Gina Boaks, librarian at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden who provided me with a copy of the ‘forgotten’ act 4 of La Bayadère. Special details about Minkus’s life were provided by the International Minkus Society (Vienna), which, since 1985, and under the chairmanship of Hermann K. Reischitz, has been researching and documenting the life and work of the composer in Vienna, Paris, St Petersburg, and Moscow. I am very grateful to Mr Reischitz. Particular thanks go to Elaine Thornton for her help in transliterating and translating Russian, as well for her careful proof-reading. Her expertise and dedication, particularly in the compilation of the Index, have been indispensable to this book. Richard Arsenty was kind enough to make many suggestions. Amanda Millar has shown great skill and endless patience in compositing this complicated text. I am so grateful to all of them. This book is dedicated to the memory of George Verdak and Dace Dindonis. Robert Ignatius Letellier Cambridge 23 March 2008

ALOYSIUS LUDWIG MINKUS

1) Origins and Name Minkus, true child of the Habsburg Empire, was of Jewish stock. His father Theodor Johann Minkus was born in 1795 in Groß Meseritsch, Mähren (now Velké MeziĜící, near Brno, Moravia, in the Czech Republic) and his mother Maria Franziska Heimann in 1807 in Pest, Hungary. His parents moved to Vienna where they converted to the Catholic faith on the same day, and were married in church on the next. The nature and motivation of their conversion is not known: this was the only way at the time to secure a permanent and professional home in the imperial capital, Vienna. The composer was born Aloysius Bernhard Philipp Minkus on 23 March 18261 in the heart of old Vienna (Wien-Innere Stadt), six months after his famous contemporary Johann Strauss the Younger. He was baptized on the same day in the cathedral parish of St Stephen’s, in the presence of his godfather, Bernard Philipp von Lackenbacher (a banker). In sources over the past hundred years the many different variants and spellings of Minkus’s name can be ascribed, firstly, to the casual contemporary attitude to the writing of names, and, secondly, to the adaptation of his name to the various places of his work. His baptismal name in its Latin form Aloysius became Germanized as Alois, then familiarized into Lois, which in turn became the Frenchified Louis. In Russian this was translated back into German as Ludwig with his father’s baptismal name (Theodor) added as the obligatory patronymic in its Russian form of Feodorevich (Fyodorovich), resulting in Ludwig Feodorevich Minkus. Then, according to either the place of publication or performance, he was known as Léon or Luigi, with his surname varied as either Minkous or Moincous. As a violinist child prodigy Minkus signed all school assignments and concert programmes as Alois Minkus. During his time in Russia, all official papers like Imperial contracts were usually underwritten as Ludwig Feodorevich Minkus. Later he often signed himself as Louis Minkus.

6

Aloysius Ludwig Minkus

2) Early Life Theodor Minkus was a wholesale merchant of wine in Moravia, Austria and Hungary, and established a restaurant in the city centre of Vienna, significantly with its own little orchestra. The child Alois thus grew up in an environment of the live music of his day and its interpreters. From his fourth year he received private tuition in the violin, and before beginning his studies at the Konservatorium der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in the city, which lasted from 1838 until 1842, had appeared in various concert halls as a soloist and been acknowledged by public and critics alike as a child prodigy. He began composing while still a student, and five pieces for violin were published in 1846. His public début as a performer was at a recital in Vienna, the same program later given again in Budapest. A notice appeared in the Viennese newspaper Der Humorist (18 October 1845) observing that a certain “Louis Minkus” had emerged as one of the most talented young violinists of the previous season, combining “a conservative style with a glittering performance”.2 During this period of the mid-1840s he began composing light dance music, perhaps for his father’s Tanzkapelle, one of the many such orchestras then so ubiquitous in the Habsburg capital. Gale states that he briefly conducted such an orchestra which actually competed with that of Johann Strauss the Younger. (Strauss later knew Minkus’s brother, Eugen, a Viennese bank director.)3 Certainly, in this city of Lanner and the Strausses, he was imbued with the dance, and the waltz rhythm flowed in his very blood, as the music of his maturity shows. The ten years 1842-52 of Minkus’s life are poorly documented. He did however at various times make application for travel documents to Germany, France and England. There is no further evidence that he visited Paris at this time, as is often stated.4 In 1852 Minkus was invited to take the position of violin soloist in the orchestra of the Vienna Court Opera. But because this meant that he also had to fulfill normal orchestral ensemble duties, he resigned towards the end of 1852 to take up a musical position abroad.

3) The Early Years in Russia Minkus had been engaged by the powerful and immensely wealthy Russian nobleman Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov, as director of his serf orchestra in St Petersburg, a position Minkus held until 1855.5 In that same year 1855 Minkus married a native of his home city,

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Maria Antoinette Schwarz (born in 1838 in Hietzing, Vienna, and died 1895 in Vienna) in the Catholic Church of St Catherine’s in St Petersburg. With Minkus’s reputation as an instrumentalist established in the Russian capital, he now joined the orchestra of the Italian Opera at the Bolshoi Theatre (or Mikhailovsky Theatre) in St Petersburg6 as director, soloist and composer. His career as a composer of ballet music appears to have begun in 1857 with a small ballet on a theme he would later return to, The Union of Thetis and Peleus. In 1862 he composed an entr’acte for the Russian staging of Adolphe Adam’s Orfa (Paris, 1852) at the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre.7 Here he also made arrangements of the ballets Two Days in Venice (1862) and Pygmalion (1863). He continued working as a violin virtuoso and teacher, a contemporary account noting that “he has a broad, singing bow and an extremely graceful performance.”8 Indeed, the few known non-balletic works he wrote were all for his instrument: Twelve Études for Solo Violin, and a Chante d’Été and Romance sans Paroles for violin with piano accompaniment. His reputation as a concert artist continued to grow. In February 1863 a reviewer in the Moscow Herald commented approvingly: [His] playing is very precise. The left hand and the bow strokes are beautifully worked out. He always plays with classical calm, without any gymnastics or tricks favored by most young violinists. 9

In 1861 Minkus took over the post of leader/concert master of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow where he also served as conductor. From 1864 he had two further positions in Moscow, as professor of violin at the newly established Conservatoire (Tchaikovsky was to join the staff in 1866), and as Inspector of the Imperial Theatre Orchestras.10 He was also appointed ballet composer at the Moscow Bolshoi, with responsibilities for composing incidental dance music for opera and dramatic productions, his contract stipulating an annual payment of two thousand roubles. Minkus’s first full length ballet, the three-act Plamya lyubvi, ili Salamandra (The Flame of Love, or the Salamander, also called Fiammetta),11 was given its first performance on 13 February 1864 at the Bolshoi Theatre (with Marfa Muravyeva in the leading role12). The scenario and the choreography were by Arthur Saint-Léon, the most important dance master of the day in both Paris and Russia.13 Saint-Léon’s influence secured this work production in the French capital. Perhaps it was for this occasion that Minkus accompanied Saint-Léon to Paris to mount the work at the Académie Royale de Musique. The portrait by the Parisian photographer B. Braquehais suggests that Minkus visited Paris during the 1860s, although no applications for leave have yet been found in the

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Moscow or St Petersburg Theatre archives. Reduced to two acts, and re-christened Néméa, ou l’Amour vengé (with a scenario by Henri Meilhac & Ludovic Halévy), the ballet was performed at the Paris Opéra on 11 July 1864, with considerable success (again with Marfa Muravyeva, and with Eugénie Fiocre as Cupid14). It remained in the repertoire for seven years, attaining 53 performances by 1871, earning 7,202.80 fr. in receipts.15 The ballet received a third transformation when on 15 March 1868 it was given at the Teatro Communale in Trieste, as Fiamma d’amore. The French periodicals of the time referred to “the young Russian violinist” (his name given as ‘Minkous’ in transliteration of the Russian spelling); Arthur Pougin described him as “violinist et compositeur russe”.16

Fig. 1: Ludwig Minkus: Photograph by B. Braquehais (Paris, c. 1864)

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By now Minkus was becoming known internationally. So when five years later the Paris Opéra ordered a new grand ballet from Saint-Léon to a libretto by Charles Nuitter, Saint-Léon involved Minkus in the project, securing for him a hand in the composition of the first act and second scene of the third act of this new work, La Source. The other two scenes were entrusted to the young, unknown Léo Delibes, thirty at the time, who had drawn favourable attention to himself in the preparation of the ballet music for the première of Meyerbeer’s posthumous L’Africaine in 1865. The first performance of La Source on 12 November 1866 was a great success for the young man, whose bold and colourful composition was praised at the expense of Minkus’s subtler contribution which was universally dismissed as weaker. The ballet as a whole was also very successful, with 73 performances until 1876. It actually made less in receipts than Néméa (6,750.37 fr.). Saint-Léon immediately began planning another work with Nuitter and Delibes, one which would crown the young French composer’s success with triumph: Coppélia. This was premiered on 25 May 1870, the last of Saint-Léon’s work, and the last great success of the French Romantic ballet at the Salle Le Peletier before the crisis of the Franco-Prussian War, and the end of the Second Empire. Saint-Léon had continued to work with Minkus, despite his busy engagements in Paris. Thus on 20 November 1866, for the celebration of the Tsarevitch’s wedding, he oversaw the production of a one-act ballet, Zolotaya rybka (Le Poisson doré) (The Golden Fish), with Minkus’s music, at the Bolshoi Theatre in St Petersburg. The latter work (based on Alexander Pushkin’s Legend of the Fisher and the Little Fish), was then developed as a three-act ballet for the same theatre a year later (8 October 1867). Another collaboration followed two years after that, a partial arrangement of La Source, given in St Petersburg as Liliya (Le Lys) in 1869. Saint-Léon had been a real friend and inspiration to Minkus, but a second choreographer was to have an even greater effect on the history of ballet generally, and on Minkus in particular—Marius Petipa.17 The latter came to Russia in 1847 with his father, Jean Petipa,18 who settled in St Petersburg in 1848 where he became a teacher at the Imperial Ballet Academy. Marius Petipa, having followed a brilliant career as first solo dancer of the St Petersburg ensemble, undertook his first essay in choreography in 1860. His first full-length work was Doch’ faraona (Pharoah’s daughter) with music by Cesare Pugni, premiered at the Maryinsky Theatre. For his Moscow début at the Bolshoi Theatre, he collaborated with Minkus on Don Kikhot (Don Quixote), a scenario he had devised and which reflected his professional experience in Spain. This

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work, premiered on 14 December 1869, was a landmark in the history of Russian ballet, and further initiated the beginning of an extraordinary collaboration between choreographer and composer that would last for two decades. The success of this ballet was extraordinary, one Moscow critic noting: “All the dances in Don Quixote possess the character of the country where the action takes place. Languid grace, passion and pulsating life are all reflected in them.” Its appeal to the Russian audiences has been so durable that the work retained its place in the repertories of Russian ballet companies for more than a century, and shows no signs of diminishing popularity.

Fig. 2: Arthur Saint-Léon

The composer and choreographer were set for a series of successes through the 1870s and into the 1880s. A one-act arrangement of Two Stars appeared in St Petersburg in 1871. Minkus consolidated his growing reputation with a new five-act version of Don Quixote, tailored to the

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tastes of the more aristocratic St Petersburg audiences, and premiered there on 9 November 1871. Equally popular was La Bayadère, produced by Petipa in St Petersburg in January 1877, one of Minkus’s greatest scores and one of Petipa’s supreme masterworks. It was received with enormous acclaim, remained in the Russian/Soviet repertory, and with Don Quixote became the most lastingly successful of all Russian ballets written before the Tchaikovsky masterpieces.

4) The Collaboration with Marius Petipa The resounding success of Don Quixote must have played its part in the next major step in Minkus’s career, his appointment as first Court Ballet Composer of the Imperial Theatres in St Petersburg in 1872. The death of Pugni on 26 January 1870 had created a lacuna, and Minkus, with his growing experience of the stage, must have been the obvious candidate to take his place. Minkus held his new post from 1872 to 1885. He was also responsible for the library and musical instruments at the Bolshoi Theatre. His salary was a modest 2,000 roubles a year (approximately $1000), which was doubled in the 1880s. As part of his new duties he was asked to compose the ballet music for the opera Mlada. This had been commissioned by Stepan Gedeonov, the Director of Imperial Theatres,19 as a joint composition from Alexander Borodin, César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The project was never completed,20 so Minkus revised and expanded his own material some years later to fit an independent ballet scenario (Mlada, 2 December 1879).21 The seasons following his appointment saw one ballet after another by Minkus appearing at the Bolshoi and Maryinsky Theatres, all to Petipa’s choreography. In fact, between 1869 and 1886 Petipa produced only five of eighteen new ballets without music by Minkus, making this the most important collaboration in the careers of both artists. The following list uses details of dating, casting and reception from Petipa’s own list as given in his memoirs.22 All dates are given in the old style of the Julian calendar as used in Imperial Russia until after the Russian Revolution, being twelve days behind the Gregorian calendar adopted by the rest of the world.

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Fig. 3: Marius Petipa in middle age

-Camargo (3 acts, 17 December 1872) (with Adèle Grantzow23 and Pavel Gerdt24) -Le Papillon (The Butterfly) (4 acts, 6 January 1874) (scenario by Saint-Georges) (with Yekaterina Vazem25 and Gerdt) (a great success) -Les Brigands (The Robbers) (4 acts, 26 January 1875) (with Vazem) -Les Aventures de Pélée (The Adventures of Pelius) (with musical interpolations by Delibes) (3 acts 5 scenes, 18 January 1876, Maryinsky Theatre) (with Yevgenia Sokolova26) (a great success) -Son v letnyuyu noch’ (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) (using

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Mendelssohn’s incidental music) (1 act, 14 July 1876) (staged at the Hermitage, with Sokolova, Maria Petipa27 and Gerdt) -Bayaderka (La Bayadère) (The Temple Dancer) (4 acts, 7 scenes, 23 January 1877) (for the benefit of Vazem, with Gerdt) (a great success) -Roksana (Roxane, la belle Albanese) (4 acts, 29 January, 1878) (for the benefit of Sokolova) (the Emperor Alexander II liked the ballet very much, and praised Petipa’s work) -La Fille des neiges (The Snow Maiden) (3 acts, 7 January 1879) (with Vazem and Gerdt) -Tsiryul'nik Frizak (Frizak the Barber) (1 act, 11 March, 1879) (for the benefit of the corps de ballet) -Mlada (1 act, 2 December 1879) (with Sokolova) (a great success) -Zoraya, ili Mavritanka v Ispanii (Zoraya, or A Moorish Girl in Spain) (4 acts, 7 scenes, 1 February 1881) (for the benefit of Vazem) (a great success) -Paquita (additions to Edouard Deldevez’s score,28 a Pas de Trois and Grand Pas) (27 December 1881) (with Virginia Zucchi29 and Vazem) -Noch’ i dyen’ (Nuit et Jour) (Night and Day) (1 act, Moscow 18 May 1883) (staged in Moscow for the coronation of Emperor Alexander III) (with Mlles Sokolova, Gorshenkova, Nikitina, and MM. Gerdt and Johansson30) -Les Pillules magiques (du diable/enchantées) (The Magic Pills/Pills of the Devil/Enchanted Pills) (a fairy tale) (1 act, 9 February 1886) (a great success) -L’Offrande à l’Amour, ou Les Plaisirs amoureux (The Offering to Love, or Amorous Pleasures) (1 act, Moscow 22 July 1886) (with Yevgenia Sokolova and Maria Petipa) -Kalkabrino (3 acts, 13 February 1891) (libretto by Modest

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Tchaikovsky) (with Carlotta Brianza,31 Enrico Cecchetti32 and Pavel Gerdt) In 1886 the post of Court Composer of Ballet Music for the Imperial Theatres in St Petersburg was abolished by the new Director of Imperial Theatres, Ivan Alexandrovich Vsevolozhsky. He took the opportunity of Minkus’s 60th birthday to retire him, on a tiny pension of 570 roubles (less than $300).33 This risible sum was the equivalent of the pension given to the lowliest dancer of the corps de ballet—far too little for nearly 30 years of faithful duty in the Imperial service. On 9 November 1886 he was given a benefit performance: Paquita with Virginia Zucchi and Les Pillules magiques. Reporting on 10 November, an anonymous reviewer of the farewell benefit summarized Minkus’s achievements: “An enormous variety of melodies, brilliant orchestration and, chiefly, consistency of musical style were guaranteed every time Minkus’s name was placed on the poster.”34

Fig. 4: Ludwig Minkus in middle age: Photograph (Russia, 1875)

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After Minkus had left Russia, the critic Konstantin Apollonovich Skalkovsky gave an account of Minkus’s career in Russia. He wrote in 1899: ... the talented Czech composer Mr Minkus served in the state theatres for thirty-one years. In the 1860s he was already inspector of music in the Imperial Moscow Theatres, and after Pugni's death was appointed, in 1871, composer of ballet music in St Petersburg. For the modest salary of 2,000 roubles Mr Minkus was obliged to write a new ballet every year, rework old ones, compose supplementary pas, and the like. In all Mr Minkus wrote sixteen new ballets; the best of them—Fiametta, La Bayadère, Zoraya—are distinguished by the clear and lively melody so necessary for dances. His march from Roxana was the favourite piece of Emperor Alexandre II, who in general did not love music. Several units of our troops stormed the Plevna to the music of this march. Mr Minkus also worked in Paris with Delibes, and in collaboration with him wrote the music for the ballets Néméa and La Source. The latter has made the rounds of Europe. With the new theatre administration Mr Minkus's pay was quickly doubled, and then, with the same dispatch, it was decided that a composer of ballet music was no longer required. Since that time music has been commissioned from various people, sometimes successfully, as with Glazunov and Tchaikovsky (in The Sleeping Beauty), but for the most part unsuccessfully. Rubinstein showed us—that ballet music demands a specialist. Not one balletmaster wanted to set dances to his music for the ballet The Grapevine, for the simple reason that not one ballerina could perform them.35

This is a balanced record, some inaccuracies notwithstanding (the chronology of the Roxana March; Minkus did not actually work in Paris; and did not collaborate with Delibes on Néméa). The way was now clear for fresh talent in a new approach to the challenges of writing music for ballet.36 In effect, apart from the few works of Tchaikovsky, Glazunov, and Drigo,37 the composers who took his place, Fitinhoff-Schell (The Tulip of Haarlem, 1887; Zolushka [Cinderella], 1893), Armsheimer (Halte de Cavalerie, 1896), Schenk (Bluebeard, 1896)38 made facile contributions which have not lasted as repertory pieces. The directorate indeed had to call on Minkus again in his retirement (for the revival of Fiammetta in 1887), and to create another new ballet with Petipa, Kalkabrino (13 February 1891). The music for this last collaboration was considered to be the composer’s greatest score, even though Russian experts are not in agreement about the nature of its origins.

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5) The Years of Retirement Minkus, aged 65, left Russia after this last première, to return to his home city of Vienna. Here he lived quietly in semi-retirement, on the rented third floor of an apartment in the Karl Ludwig Strasse, the home of his friend, the famous pianist and teacher, Theodor Leschetizky,39 with whom he regularly played billiards.40 His wife Maria died in 1895, and he owned very little.41 His last surviving relative was his niece Clara who lived to be nearly a hundred, and had many fond memories of him.42 The years of his retirement saw him compose Tanz und Mythe in 1897. This work, designated Ein Maskenfest, was intended for the stage of the Court Opera. The libretto, however, was felt to be out of character for contemporary tastes, and was not accepted by Gustav Mahler, the director. Minkus also arranged a short ballet for the Viennese stage, Die Dryaden, produced in 1899. Rübezahl (1907) was a pasticcio by the ballet conductor Lehner cobbled together from music by Minkus, Delibes and Strauss, but without Minkus’s cooperation. He later moved to an apartment in the Gentzgasse (now demolished) where he spent his last years. From here he was taken to the hospital where he died from pneumonia in the extremely cold winter of 1917. Minkus died on 7 December 1917, at the advanced age of 91, and was buried in the Döblinger Cemetery.43 The exact date of his death, for a long time a mystery, was established in 1976 from documentation available in the parish register and burial records of the city of Vienna.44 His death came two months after the October Revolution had swept away the Russia he had known, and two years before the Treaty of Versailles would destroy the old waltz empire that had always been his spiritual home. Even his resting place would become a source of mystery. In 1939, as part of the National Socialist policies, all cemeteries were systematically cleansed. Any remains deemed ethnically undesirable (especially if of Jewish provenance), or without any documented subscriber to the annual cemetery fees, were exhumed and deposited in an anonymous mass grave. Minkus would have failed the criteria on both counts. Even after Minkus had returned to Vienna, he remained one of the most popular ballet composers in Russia. Mlada was produced in the 1897-98 season at the command of the Tsar. On the occasion of the state visit of Kaiser Wilhelm II to Tsar Nicholas II in 1897, Petipa mounted a balletic pasticcio, Les Noces de Thésis et Pélée, arranged from the earlier ballet by Minkus and Delibes. Petipa himself oversaw a new production of La Bayadère in 1900; in 1902 the young Anna Pavlova gained recognition of her star status in this ballet. Camargo was revived on 28 January 1901

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in a new version by Lev Ivanov for the farewell of Pierina Legnani.45 La Source was revived by A. Koppini in St Petersburg in 1902. Don Quixote, which had received more than 200 performances by the turn of the century, was the subject of a major and highly influential revival by Alexander Gorsky at the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow, 6 December 1900, and later at the Maryinsky Theatre, St Petersburg on 20 January 1902. His vision of the ballet was to determine its interpretation for the next sixty years.

Fig. 5: Ludwig Minkus: Site of his grave in Vienna (1917-39)

6) The Artist and the Man: the Testimony of Arthur Saint-Léon In the light of all this, it is interesting to see what shreds of information about Minkus as composer and collaborator we can scratch together from the available records. The correspondence of Arthur Saint-Léon provides a few precious clues about both man and musician.46 It also contrasts strongly with the attitude of Marius Petipa, who worked with Minkus most intimately for twenty-two years (1869 to 1891; after Pugni's death in 1870 Minkus became the choreographer's principal musical collaborator and wrote sixteen compositions for him), and yet he never so much as once mentions Minkus’s name in the course of his memoirs of the heyday of his reign at the Imperial Ballet.47 It is attitudes like this, reflecting the perceived place of the composer in the scheme of things, that have done so

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much to sustain the harmful neglect and indifference to Minkus. The association between Saint-Léon and the composer, on the other hand, was strong, both in personal and professional terms. The choreographer formed an affectionate friendship for Minkus, and found working with him easy. Ivor Guest observes that: “He was accustomed to dictating requirements to Minkus, with whom he used to stay when visiting Moscow, and he was frequently making suggestions to Delibes.”48 However, this does not quite convey the closeness and harmony of the working relationship that is attested to frequently in the correspondence. The sense of an equal partnership is reflected in the affecting description of the collaborators on the night of the première of La Source, taking place in Paris hundreds of miles away. Writing to his special friend and the principal recipient of his letters, Charles Nuitter, Saint-Léon observed on 13 October 1866. Last Monday we thought that La Source was being given, as we were working on the new ballet at Minkus’s. From time to time we stopped and paced up and down.49

Saint-Léon, indeed, referred to the work as a collaboration, as in his telegram to Paris. Minkus and my ballet sent to David. For sale of music write to Delibes.50 (SL 80)

The composition of Le Poisson doré can be traced in its various stages, and reveals the striking closeness of the working relationship. Minkus, with whom I am living and working out a ballet on a national legend, wishes to be remembered to you [Emile Perrin]. (16 November, 1865) (SL 64) I am living at Minkus’s, and we are preparing a grand Russian ballet for next year. (18 November 1865) (SL 66) I have used my stay in this latter city to prepare an act and a half of music with Minkus with your agreement. That will speed up Zolotaya rybka considerably. (16 April 1866) (SL 72) Minkus has left me, he went to Moscow this morning. The music for act 2 is ready. Three more scenes to do! So far the ballet goes well. A thousand cose a tutti, and best wishes from Madame Minkus and your friend. (4 November 1866) (SL 86)

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The successful completion of the ballet, the two stages of the première, and the choreographer’s appreciation of the musician, are all noted. A great success this evening. The first part of my ballet Zolotaya went off perfectly, congratulations from the Emperor and all the Grand Dukes... The house was superb. They played the three national anthems, Russian, English and Danish, and the unison chorus from L’Africaine, then the fourth act of the same opera, and after that my ballet. Minkus’s music was successful. Dances, scenery, effects, nothing went wrong. Length 48 minutes. (8 November 1866) (SL 90)

The first part of Le Poisson doré had been given at a gala performance at the Bolshoi Theatre, St Petersburg, that very evening, 8/20 November 1866, with Lebedeva as Galia, Kantsyreva as the Golden Fish and the Page, Stukolkin as Taras, and Ivanov as Petro. The Crown Prince of Denmark and the Prince of Wales were present. The complete version of Le Poisson doré was given at the Bolshoi Theatre, St Petersburg, on 26 September/8 October 1867, with Guglielma Salvioni51 making her Russian début as Galia. In my opinion, too, the ballet is also one of the best. After the première, I did not feel it necessary to cut a single measure. It is extraordinary, for the Petersburg public I think it is a little too refined. Minkus had a success, and the scenery is splendid. The last 2 acts are being given at the gala for the marriage.

The gala took place on 18/30 October 1867. Salvioni appeared in scenes 4 and 6 of Le Poisson doré. There are also records of the collaboration on Le Lys, but these are much more succinct since Minkus largely used the music he had contributed to La Source. My ballet [Le Lys] is where it was when I left it, and much has been forgotten. Minkus is here and now I must press on with it. (14 September 1869) (SL 110) Yesterday, 2 November, was the première of my ballet Le Lys for the return of Grantzow. 400 bouquets greeted our ballerina on her entrance in the second act....Minkus’s music is very good. Scenery and costumes were brilliant. No other ballet has ever caused me such trouble. I am worn out and very happy to have finished. (3 November 1869) (SL 113)

Le Lys was first performed on 21 October/2 November 1869. It was the first ballet which Grantzow created. It is based on a Chinese legend.

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Saint-Léon also throws light on the relationship between the artist and the critics, a perennial issue of concern. He reveals this to have been an enduring concern of Minkus, most presciently in the light of the virtual death of his reputation during most of the twentieth century. I am afraid of the press. Minkus and I are not on friendly terms [with them]. Happily the public is there. (5 November 1866) (SL 88) On Sunday, God willing, I shall see Minkus and Grantzow. I shall soothe the despair of the former, who has been very badly and unjustly treated by Léa (Journal de Pétersbourg), gets worked up too, but at least he is mentioned, while in none of the three articles, including the Débats, have I come across my name... (8 November 1866) (SL 92)

Le Journal de St. Pétersbourg was the most influential foreign paper. Minkus is also shown in association with other artistic collaborators, largely because of his work on La Source. His close affinity with the choreographer led to musical revisions of close details, not a characteristic of sloppy workmanship. Tonal integration of his scores is indeed a feature of his work. Also Minkus sends me three measures to interpolate after the Waltz of Death, fourth scene, which ends in E-flat. These three measures will be a better transition to the motif in G, 4 bars, which follows. Delibes pointed this out to me, and Minkus asks either M. Cadeau or Delibes to orchestrate them. (10 November 1866) (SL 78-9)

He carefully chose a musical agent to represent his interests at the Opéra in distant Paris. Minkus has written to me and wishes M. Cadeau, with whom he has a special understanding, to represent him. As for the tempi of everything, I place myself entirely in the hands of my nervous collaborator and friend Delibes who will not let anything flag. If necessary, Minkus can write a letter to M. Perrin relating M. Cadeau. (30 August 1866) (SL 77)

He also shows the usual concerns for his royalties. Saint-Léon’s observations show a real sincerity of interest in Minkus’s affairs. You know I am in agreement for the royalties to be divided in quarters. Can you look after the sale of Minkus’s author tickets as advantageously as possible? (10 September 1866) (SL 79)

There are interesting details about the procedures surrounding the publication of the score and sale of the musical rights. Saint-Léon’s

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generous help extended even further. Apparently Delibes has not sold the music. The ballet is positively out of favour in Paris. (25 November 1866) (SL 95) Delibes has written to me. I will answer him in a few days. Meanwhile please hand him the enclosed authority from Minkus who thanks him and will write to him as soon as he has arranged his last scene...Since Delibes asks me how to send Minkus the money for the sale of the music, I will tell him. He merely has to go to M. Bazin, the notary at 8 rue Menars, and deposit the 500 francs in my name for Minkus’s account, then let me know by letter and I will act as banker. (18 January 1867) (SL 102)

Most interesting of all, however, from a personal point of view in trying to find out something about this forgotten and unknown artist, are the fascinating vignettes emerging incidentally from Saint-Léon’s letters that help us to build up some pale notion of Minkus’s personality. The choreographer had a very genuine fondness for Minkus. Not only did he live with him in St Petersburg during his Russian sojourns, but he frequently telegraphed him (“I telegraphed Minkus on Wednesday at midday”) (SL 89), and observed details of his health (“We are out of luck, including Minkus....Minkus prostudilsya tozhe, which means he has a cold too”) (SL 81). Reference to Madame Minkus gives a rare glimpse into Minkus’s domestic situation. There is no other information about his family circumstances.52 Other observations by Saint-Léon provide brief but powerful testimony to Minkus’s life and work in the great Russian cities. The choreographer conjures up a warm picture of life in Moscow, and the vibrant nature of its artistic life. Minkus’s violinistic skills and professional involvement in the newly founded Conservatoire emerge clearly. This morning, seeing Grantzow dancing the famous elegiac mazurka, and Minkus playing the solo, I thought of you and our Source in Paris. In spite of that I prefer Moscow to St Petersburg, and very much. First of all, I am in my element here. People adore the ballet, which dominates the repertoire....Then in Moscow there is real milk, real butter, cigars...and real artists and good fellows such as Rubinstein, Wieniawsky, Door, Honoré, pianists, and the famous quartet Laub, Cossman, Cserny and Minkus. (25 November 1866) (SL 95)53

Minkus clearly had a full professional life in both academic and artistic circles. Indeed, of his few extant letters, most relate to his work at the Conservatoire. Of the 12 surviving in the collection of Letters of Foreign Musicians of the 19th and 20th Centuries in the Archives of the Museum of

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Musical Culture in Moscow, the majority are addressed to the composer and teacher Karl Karlovich Albrecht about the concerts Minkus arranged there during his time at the Conservatoire (1866-72).54 Such professional circles would have meant inevitable contact with his fellow Austrian Theodor Leschetizky during the years of the pianist’s sojourn in St Petersburg (1852-68). In the light of this busy life, it is rather surprising to see Saint-Léon revealing something close to depression and lack of motivation in Minkus’s character. Minkus drives me to despair, he is very lazy, he no longer wants to write ballet music or to play quartets in Russian society, and he wants to give up his post as Inspector. In short he wants to live on income he does not have. (1 December 1866) (SL 97-98) Minkus, of whose laziness I had only a faint idea, arrives in a few days’ time to finish and to supervise the last rehearsal. (18 December 1866) (SL 99)

Perhaps the problems relate to the frustrations experienced on both professional and artistic levels. There are hints that he found the demands made upon him, and the incessant travelling between St Petersburg and Moscow very trying. Minkus left today. He is very sorry about his schedule and begs me to send his best wishes to you as well as to Delibes. (2 October 1867) (SL 107)

He nevertheless revealed a keen sense of friendship for his collaborators, and a sense that he was looking out for new projects. The ladies thank you for your good wishes, Minkus too. He is going to write to you on the subject of the libretto. (18 January 1867) (SL 103)

Saint-Léon finally provides us with some precious clues about the composition of the famous Don Quixote. In one of his last letters from Russia, he brings alive the difficulties and challenges Minkus faced in his professional life, as well as details about his fiery temper and keen concern for his own artistic contribution to the ballet. Minkus, who left this evening for Moscow in spite of the delays travellers are experiencing because of the burning of the Msta Bridge, asks and begs me to remember him to you. He is on the point of finishing his Don Quichotte for Petipa. (3 November 1869) (SL 113)

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Yesterday I answered a letter from Minkus. He is quarrelling with everyone on account of the music for Don Quichotte which he was late in delivering. He has a beastly temper, but in May when he gets his pension he will cheer up. I opened the letter to send him your good wishes. (6 January 1870) (SL 120)

Fig. 6: Ludwig Minkus: Late photograph

For all Minkus’s tardiness and irascibility, Saint-Léon appears to have been deeply fond of his Viennese friend. The many references to his warm greetings to the associates in Paris, often sent via the choreographer’s letters, reveal something of a concerned and affectionate temperament. All the best to Delibes, and from Minkus. (13 October 1866) (SL 82)

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Aloysius Ludwig Minkus I have carried out your orders, and Madame, friend Minkus and Grantzow, send you thousands of good wishes. (25 November 1866) (SL 96)

This kindly impression is borne out by the single precious testimony of Minkus in his old age, come down to us from the pen of Countess Angèle Potocka, the sister of Theodor Leschetizky’s third wife, Eugénie Benislawski: Among Leschetizky’s intimates, few are more thought of than the genial composer Minkus. He has rented the third floor of the villa on Karl Ludwig Strasse, and takes his meals at my sister’s table, where his fine wit and delicate tact are important elements of enjoyment for all. I have often been questioned by strangers concerning the distinguished-looking whitehaired gentleman with the bright eyes shining through gold-rimmed spectacles, the scanty locks and beard of old fashioned cut, who listens at the class meetings with the appreciation of a connoisseur. M. Minkus is very quiet in manner, and so retiring that few people think of him as the author of the exquisite ballet music so much in vogue, especially in Russia.55

7) The Reputation Despite his many works and lasting success in Russia, Minkus fell into complete oblivion in the wider musical world. He came to be considered a mediocre purveyor of an inferior genre—ballet music. The problem with the perception of this type of music was famously addressed by Tchaikovsky in his reaction to Taneyev’s criticism of his Fourth Symphony. His rebuttal, incidentally, also helped foster the negative attitude to Minkus. I have no idea what you consider ‘ballet music’, or why you would object to it. Do you look upon every melody in a lively dance rhythm as ‘ballet music’? If so, how can you reconcile yourself to most of Beethoven’s symphonies, in which you will find such melodies on every page? Or do you intend to say the trio of my Scherzo is in the style of Minkus, Gerber56, or Pugni? To my mind, it does not deserve such criticism.57

This negative attitude must be understood in the context of a wider musical discourse. In the early part of the nineteenth century, choreographers like Salvatore Viganò and Gaetano Gioia had been giant figures, able to create a ballet as an entity in itself, not only devising the plot and arranging the scenario, but selecting, arranging or even composing the music themselves so as to achieve the effect required at

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every level of the creation. Such universal talent did not sustain itself, with some exceptions like Giovanni Casati, who, in his long and fertile career at La Scala, worked as dancer, ballet master, choreographer, and composer of many scores, and bridged the period between Viganò’s danced dramas and Manzotti’s grand Scala ballets.58 By the mid-century a choreographer was often a second rate dancer with little musical knowledge, and lacking in ideas or taste. This had implications for the function and consequent perception of worth attached to the ballet composer in the mid-nineteenth century. As Marian Smith has pointed out, from the 1830s, with the development of the Romantic school in Paris, composers were expected to play a special part in communicating the plots of ballet-pantomimes to the audiences, and were obliged to create new scores for each new work, even if this did invariably mean borrowing music from other composers. Because the music was required to fit the choreography, the composer needed to work closely with the ballet master, and sometimes with the dancers as well. Unlike most ballet music written today, the music was then expected to help the audience follow the action, to convey the mental moods and processes that could not be transmitted in mime and facial gestures. What was required of the composer was the ability to create and sustain atmosphere, a facility for suggesting and supporting movement, and the invention of a flow of dance music which was conventional, even basic in structure, rigidly regular in the length of phrases, but animated by a rhythmic inventiveness within the individual phrase. The music provided for the ballet had to be dansante, with rich but light and lively melody, and uncomplicated, regularly phrased rhythmic and orchestral structures to accentuate the movement. The music for the mimed scenes (scène d’action) had both to set the mood of the drama and accompany the action, as later with silent films. So until the mid-nineteenth century, much of the effectiveness of the ballet-pantomime rested with the composer whose role was likened to that of a storyteller with a mission to explain and translate the scenes.59 The music fell into two categories. The first is the dramatic or pantomime music, with frequent changes of metre, tempo and key, that followed the vagaries of the characters’ emotions. Halévy, in Manon Lescaut (1830), was the earliest ballet composer to use recurring themes; Adam, especially in Giselle (1841), not only repeats themes as they are, or changes their keys to affect the mood, but also changes their tempo and rhythm to highlight the dramatic intent of the story. The second category was the specifically dance music with regular bar phrases, single key, metre and tempo, likened to the recitatives and sung numbers of an opera. The

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dances might be expanded into a special setpiece, as divertissement within the story line, where the emphasis would be appropriate to the setting and ethnicity of the characters. The typical styles were given added definition by the growing importance of ballet in opera, as in Auber’s La Muette de Portici (1828), where a significant development in dramatic practice occurred in a cross-fertilization of genres that involved a mime-dancer in the title role; or in Meyerbeer’s Robert le Diable (1831), where the central scene of the opera, the temptation by demonic spirits, is realized entirely in ballet—both pantomime and dance. The style of the music, especially for the dancing dimension in the ballet-pantomimes, became ubiquitous in the nineteenth century, and carried over into works that still remain in the repertory, with such famous post-1850 works as Don Quixote and Coppélia. In spite of the preeminence of the choreographer, musicians like Hérold, Schneitzhoeffer, Labarre, Bürgmüller, Deldevez, Benoist and especially Adam were accorded their proper place as artistic collaborators in the finished work.

Fig. 7 Adolphe Adam

In Russia, from the time of Catterino Cavos and Alexei Verstovsky, the composer was always named the particular author. But in the world of ballet, especially from the 1860s onwards, the ballet master was considered the special author, which, in the narrow perception, he was. He

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choreography, the mise en scène, and commissioned the composer who was obliged to follow his careful specifications—the number of musical movements, their relationship to tempi and metre according to the dance and nature of the mime. The dance master had the right to insert new numbers with music by other composers if necessary, making any alterations that seemed necessary. All this was without the composer’s consent. In Petipa’s 1888 revival of Adam’s Giselle he required just such extra pieces in acts 1 and 2 that were provided by Minkus, and are still retained in performing editions.

Fig. 8 Cesare Pugni

The composer was, moreover, reined in creatively by a series of rules that laid down expectations with regard to ballet variations, duets, ensembles, character dances and action dances. These rules were considered fixed, according to the aesthetics of the ballet, and were endorsed by theatre contracts.60 In the Imperial theatres, therefore, the ballet master’s authority over the composer was sanctioned by law. The first requirement of such specialist composers was to acknowledge the visual component in ballet. The music was to accompany something watched, and had to supplement the spectacle, as well as complementing the movements of the dance.61 The second requirement was subservient responsiveness to the needs of the ballet master and ballet dancers. The

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composer would often have to write four to five melodic passages for a particular variation or pas to be chosen by the choreographer, as well as tailoring the music to fit any changes. There would have to be numerous optional repeats of various phrases, anticipating cuts in production. A large ensemble dance would have to be composed in sections—an opening, four or five melodic passages, and a coda—to be assembled by the ballet master depending on how much music was needed. Sometimes the music had to be composed for a dance that had already been choreographed. Then there was the need to interpolate the music from other composer's ballets, because a dancer wanted to incorporate a favourite pas or variation from another work. These interpolations often required the house composer to tailor the music of any surrounding numbers for smooth transitions. Tchaikovsky is credited as being the first composer to have revolted against this practice, especially after the mediocre Moscow première of Swan Lake. Anna Sobeshchanskaya, the prima ballerina, had asked Petipa to create a special pas de deux in act three for her benefit performance. Petipa devised the dance to music by Minkus, a situation that Tchaikovsky had refused to accept, and offered to write new music for her. As she had not wanted to change Petipa’s choreography, Tchaikovsky wrote his own composition following Minkus’s music measure for measure to accommodate the steps she had learned.62 When Tchaikovsky came to write the music for Petipa’s Sleeping Beauty, he was happy to write the music according the choreographer’s exact metrical specifications, an experience he found challenging and rewarding.63 The tendency to regard the composers of ballet music as, at best, journeymen, and, at worst, hacks regrettably incidental to the process, was increasingly challenged by the presence of ballet in opera. Here the music was often provided by great masters of the lyric stage, as dance became more and more integral to the Romantic view of Gesamtkunstwerk. With the emergence of Delibes and Tchaikovsky, composers of very superior gifts, the perception of the role of music in ballet began to change. Increasingly the ballets became known by their composers’ names rather than by that of the choreographer. The situation had changed so much by the early twentieth century that Stravinsky and Prokofiev could write ballet music without fear of disdain, and count such creativity among their best known work.

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Fig. 9: Riccardo Drigo

There is still an innate sense of artistic unease about ballet music. Even Minkus’s most persuasive advocate, Barrymore Laurence Scherer, felt the need to qualify his enthusiasm in such terms: “Admittedly, Minkus was not a great composer. He wrote no symphonies, no chamber music, no operas, to my knowledge, no work in any genre by which we normally measure the stature of contributors to the art, ballet music usually being considered sort of a ‘poor relation’.”64 It has been Minkus’s misfortune to be caught between these two worlds of perception. He has been regarded as a shoddy craftsman of hackneyed rhythmic formulae and bland foursquare melodies. It has become a cliché of musical criticism that he and composers like him are beneath serious critical consideration. Much has been made of his alleged tendency to compose dances whenever they came into his mind, then file them away in a special cabinet of drawers labelled “marches, adagios, waltzes” until the time came for him to construct a new score. This disregards the fact that most composers keep notebooks for their ideas and sketches, and that such famous figures as Handel and Rossini were inveterate self-borrowers, not only of ideas, but whole movements or scenes.65 The famous pas de deux in act 2 of Swan Lake, was, moreover, borrowed by Tchaikovsky from his earlier abandoned score for the opera Undine.

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Aloysius Ludwig Minkus

Fig. 10: Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky

In Minkus’s case, this practice has been held up to ridicule. Sergei Lifar described Minkus (along with Pugni and Drigo) as one of the “real hack-writers of music”. This contempt has led to flagrant disregard of even the basic standards of scholarly procedure.66 He is not discussed at all in Humphrey Searle’s Ballet Music (1958).67 Michael Stegemann assures us that Minkus “himself was so very practical a craftsman that he would never have claimed his works to be sacrosanct: they were the raw material from which the choreographers created their production, while the composer remained modestly in the background.”68 Such attitudes generate a carelessness in handling the musical medium of the ballets. In any case, analysis of the little of his music that we have to hand, often in imperfect editions, shows a concern for tonal integration and melodic appropriateness that belies any crass carelessness of composition. It is significant that none of Minkus’s scores was published in full. Only six of his works were printed in his lifetime, some only partially, and all of them in piano score: —Néméa (Paris: Heugel, 1865) (excerpts) —La Source (Paris: L. Parent, 1867) (with Delibes) —Le Poisson doré ( St Petersburg: Th. Stellowsky, c. 1870) —La Bayadère (St Petersburg: A. Büttner, c. 1880) (excerpts)

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—Don Quixote (St Petersburg: Th. Stellowsky, 1882; Moscow: A. Gutheil, c. 1890) —Nuit et Jour (St Petersburg: A. Büttner, c. 1885). Brief arrangements were also made from Le Papillon, Roxana and Mlada.69 This situation has contributed to the unfortunate state of ignorance about his music, and the difficulty of establishing proper performing editions of those scores that have nonetheless survived the century and half of neglect.70 Every time his music has been revived it has invariably been in an arrangement made by a conductor or practical musician who has sat in some kind of artistic judgement on the composer, and presented a version of his work that has often violated the style and harmonic language of the original. Minkus's Don Quixote was for Petipa and later choreographers also a kind of musical "quarry" from which they could help themselves as required, and in which they arbitrarily did as they pleased. Thus the score can scarcely any longer be judged by criteria of autonomy and aesthetics as Minkus's composition: far more does it represent a practical performing state of the work as it has become stylised after more than 120 years. After the revision by Petipa himself (for St Petersburg in 1871), which must have been made in close collaboration with Minkus, Alexei Bogdanov presented in Moscow (1887) the first new production of Don Quixote that came into being without consultation with the composer. Critical changes to his score, in customary use to the present day, were then made by the choreographer Alexander Gorsky in 1900, again for the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, who supplemented or replaced for dramatic reasons: he had recourse, for example, to music by Riccardo Drigo (for what became two of the most famous moments in the ballet—Dulcinea’s Variation in act 3 and Kitri’s Fan Variation in act 4), and Anton Simon71 (Mercedes’s Spanish Dance in act 2/act 4). When La Bayadère was revived in 1920 by Feodor Lopukov,72 the score was adapted by Boris Asafiev.73 Gorsky’s practice in 1900 was followed by Rostislav Zakharov 40 years later when he produced Don Quixote afresh for Moscow, and in doing so interpolated musical numbers by Vassily Solovyev-Sedoy74 (a ‘Carmencitta’ and Sailors’ Dance for act 2—both stylistically jarring). In 1948, the choreographer and dancer Nikolai Zubkovsky introduced the famous Golden Idol episode in La Bayadère, with music adapted by Pavel Emilievich Feldt.75 It can thus be estimated how much these scores must have been changed since their first performances.76

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Fig. 11: Don Quixote Act 4: Pas de Deux

The composer and conductor John Lanchbery has been preeminent among the arrangers. Here is his own manifesto. “Like all 19th century ballets that have stayed in the Russian repertoire, the music of Don Quixote has long ago been tinkered with, added to, and subtracted from without mercy. When Nureyev commissioned me to do a completely new version of it for the Vienna Opera House in 1966, I therefore suffered no pangs of conscience in trying to improve the hotchpotch which has survived as Minkus’s score. I adapted it to the lighter story line which Nureyev wanted, wrote a few new numbers, brushed up all that we thought worth saving, but above all, set out by completely re-orchestrating the whole work to get away from the bread-and-butter scoring of Minkus. In particular, I tried to bring greater authenticity to the Spanish numbers, but in spite of this somewhat alarming catalogue of what I have done, I am sure that enough of Minkus’s own special genius, that of sparkling instant melody, shines through.”77 Lanchbery’s arrangement of the score of La Bayadère is even more radical, and in fact amounts to a re-writing of the music. He stated time

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and time again in interviews his low opinion of Minkus’s music, and it shows in this arrangement of the score. Music is cut, his own compositions are interpolated with stylistic discordancy, the orchestration is heavyhanded and pretentious, and the incessant harmonic revision is seriously destructive of the original conception. That approaches are changing was heralded by Rudolf Nureyev’s new production of La Bayadère for Paris in 1992. Worthy though Natalia Makarova’s version may have been, she nevertheless condensed the original four-act work into three, used an arrangement of Minkus’s music, and made various cuts throughout. Nureyev went back to the original sources, using not only the Petipa notes, conserved in the Bakhrouchine Theatre in Moscow, to give authenticity to the dramatic scenes, but also obtained the original Minkus score. Mario Bois (Musical Editions Mario Bois, Paris) described the day in 1989 when Nureyev arrived in his house announcing his intention to re-stage the ballet using the complete original score of Minkus, the official ballet composer of both the Bolshoi and Maryinsky companies. He had been to Russia at Mikhail Gorbachev’s invitation for a lightning 48 hour visit, and amidst all his commitments with ceremonies, ballets and meetings, he had managed to obtain a photocopy of Minkus’s manuscript score. He sought the help of John Lanchbery who was happy to cooperate on this fresh approach. After they arranged the piano score, they began with the orchestration, remaining very respectful to Minkus, and put together a solid musical text in the six months before rehearsals began.78 The Kirov Ballet’s new production of La Bayadère is a reconstruction of Petipa’s 1900 version of the ballet for the Imperial Theatres in St Petersburg. This production was undertaken by Sergei Vikharev, a ballet master of the Kirov, who had access to Nikolai Sergeyev’s choreographic records of the ballet in Stepanov notation, which are now kept in the Harvard Theatre Collection. Minkus’s full score has also been pieced together following researches by Pavel Guerchenzon on the two volumes of Minkus’s hand-written score kept in the Maryinsky Theatre Music Library, and can now be heard in its entirety.79 The trend has continued in the sensitive way in which David Coleman revived and arranged the score of Paquita in 2001 for the revival at the Paris Opéra. Using both the 1846 score of Edouard Deldevez and Minkus’s 1881 additions, he maintained most of the original score and when necessary provided orchestrations that are true to the style of the period, “rather than resorting to the modern practice of over-sweetening ballet scores to the point of saccharine disgust.”80

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Fig. 12: La Bayadère: An example of the Stepanov notation, 1900

Study of the music, even as we have it, leads to a far more complex art than most would popularly imagine, with concerns for colour, mood, modality, motif and form that belie the caricature of Minkus presented by received critical perception. A positive contemporary reevaluation is provided by Joseph Gale, who appreciates the composer’s innate musicality and his special Terpsichorean appeal: “Minkus’s music is so graceful, pliable, and melodious that it has been mined, repeatedly, by modern choreographers....[He] was a serious and disciplined musician who worked without complaint under subservience to the choreographer; he was a conscientious craftsman and a consummate melodist. As a man of his time, his misfortune was to be working at the end of an era, when the conventions he had mastered were becoming passé.”81 The late Soviet ballet historian Natalia Roslavleva inimitably perceived Minkus’s innate understanding of movement, and put her finger on the magical ingredient in his music: “Minkus revealed in full his understanding of dance requirements, a variety of melody and above all, that general emotional upsurge so typical of the Don Quixote score, making its music infectious both for the audience and dancers.”82 This irrepressible energy and subliminal charge of feeling are the special characteristics of his music. And whether in comic or serious vein, it is “sparkling, lively and filled with lilting melodies that lift the heart.”83

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Fig. 13: La Bayadère Act 3: The Kingdom of the Shades (1992)

8) Minkus’s Ballets: the Performance History in the Twentieth Century Minkus’s comic masterpiece, Don Quixote, and its tragic counterpart, La Bayadère, as well as to a lesser extent his much esteemed contribution to Paquita, were very successful from the first, and have always retained their popularity in Russia. In spite of the cataclysmic nature of revolution, war and vast social upheaval at every level, the maintenance of the ballet traditions fostered in the Imperial theatres of Moscow and St Petersburg has been an anomalous constant in Russian/Soviet life. A consideration of the performance tradition and reception history of these works in the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, represents a remarkable record of endurance and new life, as quietly but surely these old ballets have become better known, gained some appreciation outside Russia, and then gradually spread throughout the world to establish themselves as nothing short of admired, and indeed loved, repertory pieces. The transition from the heyday of the old Imperial Ballet under Petipa

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was marked in the early years of the twentieth century by fresh productions of the two ballets that gave them innovative impetus, and established them as enduring favourites of the Russian/Soviet public. In both instances, the advent of a powerful new dancer/choreographer has served at various times as a trajectory for new and wider directions in the production and appeal of these works. Marius Petipa firmly fixed La Bayadère and Don Quixote as principal works among his artistic legacy, a situation developed by Alexander Gorsky’s school of dynamic movement in ballet. The huge talent and international outreach of Anna Pavlova meant that both ballets were taken out of Russia and presented to a worldwide public, albeit in the abridged versions of Laurent Novikov prepared for her touring schedules. In the meantime in Russia itself, despite Stalinism and the Second World War, fresh choreographical ideas were subtly modifying and enriching the received traditions vested in both ballets (Agrippina Vaganova with La Bayadère and Rostislav Zakharov with Don Quixote). Between 1926 and 1978 alone in the Soviet Union, Moscow and Leningrad not included, Don Quixote was staged 44 times. This process would continue at the height of the Cold War. Cherished tradition and new revivifying insights were embodied in the brilliant young dancer Rudolf Nureyev who caused uproar in Leningrad in 1958 by introducing his own flourishes to the role of Solor in La Bayadère. He, and the ballerina Natalia Makarova, were to add to the frisson of those years by defecting from the Soviet Union, and bringing their wonderful talents and practical knowledge of the Russian tradition to the West. It was on the tour of 1961 that act 3 of La Bayadère, the famous Kingdom of the Shades, “finally came out from under the proverbial bushel...when Leningrad’s Kirov Ballet showed it to the West on one of its then rare tours.”84 Both dancers, in gratitude for their reception and freedom, sought to transmit their knowledge of the cherished Russian traditions to their adopted countries. The Shades Scene became a repertory staple under their tutelage. But both went even further, with Nureyev producing a complete Don Quixote in Vienna (1966), and Makarova the first ever complete La Bayadère in the West (New York, 1980). At this same period, an unexpected boost to Minkus’s name and reputation came through the unlikely agency of ice-skating. When the champion John Curry won the gold medal for men’s figure skating at the Winter Olympics in 1976 at Sapporo, Japan, he used music from Don Quixote for his acclaimed routine.85 Just as the victors’ specialities are always aped at every move, so their music is also assimilated, and the lovely strains of the wedding pas de deux were suddenly to be heard in ice-rinks around the world.

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Both Don Quixote and La Bayadère, in a variety of arrangements, were now adopted by ballet companies in all the continents, and became repertory staples in just a few years. Dancers and audiences have always responded to the intimate and deeply successful welding of music and movement in these works, even when, as has inevitably been the case, the music has been in a variety of arrangements of varying completeness and quality. With the growing fame and spread of these ballets, however, there are signs of deepening appreciation for the composer’s magical contribution. Once again, Nureyev, in his new productions of both works for the Paris Opéra, set a new direction, especially with La Bayadère (1994) when he insisted on returning to Minkus’s original score, with magnificent results. The process of critical reappraisal has continued with the recreation of the 1900 version of La Bayadère by the theatre of its birth, the Maryinsky, which staged a new production by Sergei Vikharev in 2002. Another boost to the growing rediscovery came in the reconstruction of the original Paquita by the French choreographer Pierre Lacotte (Paris, 2001). Minkus’s famous additions to this score by Edouard Deldevez were now heard in their proper context for the first time since 1881, and with increased appreciation of their elegant appropriateness.86 For all the disadvantages of his foreignness, hidden life, effaced reputation and shoddy treatment by musicians and critics, Ludwig Minkus, the “maligned minstrel”, has slowly, rather miraculously, begun to emerge from the shadows, and cautiously to take his place among the pantheon of admired composers. Don Quixote and La Bayadère are loved by thousands throughout the world, and now actually referred to as ballets ‘by Minkus’. His own musical skills are gradually being more appreciated, and one can only hope that the considerable legacy of his forgotten scores will prove an artistic heritage the present generation will soon hasten to rediscover. The following selective-representative list gives an indication of some productions of the Minkus ballets over 108 years.87 1900 1900 1901 1902 1902

Maryinsky Theatre, St Petersburg La Bayadère (new production) (Marius Petipa) Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow Don Quixote (6 December) (new production) (Alexander Gorsky) Maryinsky Theatre St Petersburg (28 January) Camargo (Lev Ivanov) Maryinsky Theatre, Don Quixote (20 January) (Gorsky) Maryinsky Theatre, La Bayadère (with Anna Pavlova)

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1902 1903 1904 1907 1910 1914 1916 1917 1919 1923 1923 1924 1924 1925 1926 1928 1929 1932 1934 1940 1941 1948 1948 1949 1951 1957

Aloysius Ludwig Minkus

Maryinsky Theatre, La Source (A. Koppini) Peterhof (March) The Kingdom of the Shades given as a separate entity for the first time during a gala performance for the visiting German emperor Bolshoi Theatre, La Bayadère (31 January) (Gorsky and Vasily Tikhomirov, with small changes to Petipa) Bolshoi Theatre, La Bayadère Bolshoi Theatre, La Bayadère Maryinsky Theatre, La Bayadère (Nikolai Legat introduced changes to the act 1 pas de deux) Maryinsky Theatre, La Source (Nikolai Sergeyev) Bolshoi Theatre, La Bayadère (Gorsky, new version, with new costumes, scenery and choreography) Maryinsky Theatre, Petrograd La Bayadère (last act dropped) (Fyodor Lopukov, for the ballerina Olga Spessivtseva) Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow (31 January) La Bayadère (Gorsky and Tikhomirov, reinstatement of Petipa’s Kingdom of the Shades) Riga Opera Ballet, Latvia The Kingdom of the Shades (Nikolai Sergeyev, after Petipa) Anna Pavlova’s Company Don Quixote, La Bayadère, (abridged versions) (Laurent Novikov) Don Quixote Royal Opera House Covent Garden, London (8 September); Manhattan Opera House, New York (17 October) Kirov Theatre, Leningrad La Source (Agrippina Vaganova and Ponomaryov) Sydney Opera House (20, 27 May), Don Quixote (Pavlova) Paris Opera La Source (Soirée de Fête) (Léo Staats) Brisbane (30 March), Adelaide (28 June) Don Quixote (Pavlova) Kirov Theatre, Leningrad (13 December) La Bayadère (Agrippina Vaganova, for the ballerina Olga Spessivtseva) Russian Ballet, Bournemouth Pavilion (5 March) La Rêve du Rajah (= The Kingdom of the Shades) (Sergeyev) Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow (10 March) Don Quixote (Zakharov) Kirov Theatre, Leningrad (10 February) La Bayadère (Vladimir Ponomaryov and Vakhtang Chabukiani, after Petipa) Kirov Theatre, Leningrad La Bayadère (with interpolations by Nikolai Zubkovsky) Paris Grand Ballet de Marquis de Cuevas, Paquita (Balanchine) Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo Paquita (Danilova) New York City Ballet, Paquita (Balanchine) Maly Theatre, Leningrad Paquita (Konstantin Boyarsky)

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1958 1958 1961

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Helsinki, National Ballet of Finland Don Quixote (Georges Gué) Kirov Theatre, Leningrad La Bayadère (with Rudolf Nureyev) Kirov Ballet, Paris Opéra La Bayadère (the Kingdom of the Shades) 1961 Kirov Ballet, London Covent Garden (4 July) La Bayadère 1961 Kirov Ballet, New York Metropolitan Opera (14 September) La Bayadère 1962 Liverpool Empire Theatre, Ballet Rambert (28 June) Don Quixote (Witold Borkowski); Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London (26 July) 1963 The Royal Ballet, London (27 November) Kingdom of the Shades (Nureyev, after Petipa) 1964 London, Drury Lane Royal Academy of Dancing Gala Paquita (Nureyev) 1964 Stuttgart Ballet La Source (pas de deux) (John Cranko) 1966 Bolshoi Ballet, New York Don Quixote 1966 Vienna State Opera (1 December) Don Quixote (Nureyev) 1967 London Festival Ballet Paquita (Casenave) 1967 National Ballet of Canada, Toronto (27 March) The Kingdom of the Shades (Eugen Valukin, after Petipa) 1968 New York City Ballet La Source (pas de deux) (Georges Balanchine) 1970 The Australian Ballet (28 March) Don Quixote (Nureyev). This version was staged by the Zurich Ballet, the Norwegian National Ballet, the Paris Opera Ballet, the Boston Ballet, PACT Ballet (Pretoria), the Central Ballet of China, the Matsuyama Ballet, La Scala Ballet (Milan), the Royal Ballet of Flanders 1970 London Coliseum, Festival Ballet (1 July) Don Quixote 1970 La Scala Milan Paquita (Marika Besobrasova) 1970 Vienna State Opera Ballet, Salzburg Paquita (Besobrasova) 1971 American Ballet Theatre, New York Paquita (Besobrasova) 1972 Australian Ballet Don Quixote 1972-73 Iranian National Ballet Company La Bayadère (Natalie Conus) 1974 Paris Opéra Kingdom of the Shades (Nureyev) 1974 American Ballet Theatre, New York (3 July) Kingdom of the Shades (Natalia Makarova, after Petipa) 1975 Zagreb Ballet The Kingdom of the Shades (incorporated into Le Corsaire) (Wazlaw Orlikovsky) 1975 Scottish Ballet, Edinburgh Paquita (Casenave) 1977 Paris Opéra, Don Quixote (Gorsky) 1977 BBC broadcast Kirov Ballet, La Bayadère, Paquita 1977 American Ballet Theatre, New York Kingdom of the Shades

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1978

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American Ballet Theatre, Washington D.C. (28 March), Don Quixote (Mikhail Baryshnikov) 1978 Ballet de Lorraine, Don Quixote 1978 Classical Ballet Company, San Remo, Don Quixote (Liliana Cosi and Marinel Stefanescu) 1979 CAPAB Ballet, Cape Town Don Quixote (16 March) (Veronica Paeper) 1980 American Ballet Theatre, New York (21 May) La Bayadère, Paquita (Makarova) 1980 English National Opera, London Don Quixote (Nureyev) 1981 Vienna State Opera Don Quixote 1981 Royal Ballet, Covent Garden The Kingdom of the Shades 1982 National Ballet of Canada, Don Quixote (Nicholas Beriozov) 1982 Ballet de Lorraine, Paquita (Balanchine) 1983 American Ballet Theatre, New York Don Quixote 1983 Royal Danish Ballet, Don Quixote (Yury Grigorovich) 1984 American Ballet Theatre, New York Metropolitan Don Quixote, Paquita 1985 Baths of Caracella, Rome Don Quixote 1985 Rome Opera House Paquita 1985 Split Ballet Ensemble and Studio Don Quixote 1985 London Festival Ballet, autumn tour (Manchester, Bristol) (October) The Kingdom of the Shades 1985 Bucharest (Opera Nationala Bucuresti) Don Quixote 1986 Ballet de l’Opéra de Paris Don Quixote (Rudolf Nureyev) 1986 London Festival Ballet, London Sadler’s Wells (July) The Kingdom of the Shades 1986 Tallinn Estonia Don Quixote 1987 Teatro alla Scala, Milan Don Quixote (Rudolf Nureyev) 1987 The Australian Ballet (28 April) The Kingdom of the Shades 1987 Teatro de la Vaguada, Madrid Don Quixote 1987 Cesky Balet, Brno Don Quixote 1987 Les Ballets Trockadero di Monte Carlo Paquita 1987 St Petersburg Mussorgsky State Academy of Opera and Ballet Don Quixote 1988 The Australian Ballet (21 September) Paquita 1989 The National Academic Ballet Theatre of the Republic of Belarus, Don Quixote, La Bayadère 1989 Basel Ballet, Don Quixote (Heinz Spoerli) 1989-90 Covent Garden, London (18 May) La Bayadère (Makarova) 1990 Kirov Ballet, Teatro di Verdura, Palermo (July), La Bayadère

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(Oleg Vinogradov, after Petipa) The Australian Ballet (24 July) Paquita Bolshoi Ballet, Moscow (17 November) La Bayadère (Yury Grigorovich, after Petipa) 1991 Maryinsky Theatre, St Petersburg, Paquita 1991 American Ballet Theatre, New York Don Quixote (Vladimir Vasiliev) 1991 Ballet de Santiago, Don Quixote (Hilda Riveros) 1992 Natal Performing Arts Council, Durban (July) Don Quixote 1992 Ballet de l’Opéra de Paris (8 October) La Bayadère (Nureyev, after Petipa) 1992 Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires Don Quixote 1992 Russian State Perm Ballet, Don Quixote 1992-93 Vienna State Opera, Don Quixote 1993 The Australian Ballet (26 February) Don Quixote 1993 Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin Don Quixote 1993 Covent Garden, London Don Quixote (Baryshnikov) 1993 New York City Ballet Paquita (George Balanchine) 1994 Diablo Ballet, Contra Costa County (10 March) Paquita (Balanchine) 1994 Paris Opéra (May) La Bayadère (Nureyev) 1994 Balletto del Cremlino Don Quixote, La Bayadère 1995 Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow Don Quixote (rev. Grigorovich) 1995 American Ballet Theatre, New York Don Quixote (Kevin McKenzie and Susan Jones) 1995 Houston Ballet Don Quixote (Ben Stevenson) 1995 Korean National Ballet Company La Bayadère (Marina Kondratyeva) 1995 WAVIC La Bayadère (Noriaki Kori) 1996 Southern California Theatre Association Don Quixote 1996 Performing Arts Council of the Transvaal, Pretoria La Bayadère (Dawn Weller) 1997 Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires (23, 29 March) La Bayadère, (30 August) Paquita 1997 Australian Ballet School Don Quixote 1997 Theatre de Longjumeau (Ballet de Kiev) Don Quixote 1997 Covent Garden, London (10 April), La Bayadère 1997 Berlin Opera (December), La Bayadère (Malakhov) 1998 The Australian Ballet (20 February) La Bayadère 1998 Munich Bayerische Staatsballet (24 March) La Bayadère 1998 Palma de Mallorca Don Quixote 1991 1991

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1998 Arena, Cyprus, Ballet Nacional de Cuba, Don Quixote 1998-9 Bucharest Don Quixote 1999 Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow Don Quixote (Alexei Fadeechev’s revision of the Petipa-Gorsky version) 1999 Greek National Opera Ballet (March-April) La Bayadère, (July) Don Quixote 1999 Russian National Ballet, South African tour (Durban and Pietermaritzburg) (18-30 October), Paquita 1999 Les Ballets de Trockadero de Monte Carlo, Genoa Paquita 1999 Ballet Minnesota, St Paul Paquita 2000 Shanghai (September), La Bayadère 2000 Hong Kong (October), Don Quixote (Kevin McKenzie) 2000-01 Opera Romana Iasi Don Quixote 2000-01 Covent Garden, London (Kirov Ballet Company) Don Quixote, La Bayadère 2000 Bolshoi Ballet, Los Angeles (23 June) Don Quixote 2000 Ballet de Lorraine Don Quixote 2000 National Ballet of Lithuania, Vilnius Don Quixote 2000 Bucharest Don Quixote 2001 Paris Opéra Ballet Paquita (26 January) (Pierre Lacotte’s recreation of the whole ballet) 2001 Ballet Minnesota, St Paul (17 May) La Bayadère 2001 Bolshoi Ballet, Savonlinna, Finland (2-4 June), Don Quixote 2001 Vienna State Opera. (2 June) La Bayadère 2001 Europa Auditorium, Bologna Don Quixote 2001 Kulturana Olomouc Don Quixote 2001 Tokyo International Forum Don Quixote 2001 The Royal Ballet, Covent Garden (December) Don Quixote 2002 Ballet of St Petersburg, New York City Center (March), Don Quixote 2002 Paris Opéra (April) Don Quixote 2002 Kirov Ballet, New York Metropolitan Opera House (May-July), La Bayadère, Don Quixote 2002 Greek National Opera Ballet (17-18 July) Don Quixote 2002 Kazakhstan Don Quixote 2002 St Petersburg, new production of La Bayadère (July), re-creation of the 1900 version 2002 Russian National Ballet, South African tour (Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Pretoria) (July), Don Quixote 2002 Orlando Ballet Don Quixote 2002 Bucharest Don Quixote

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Tallinn Estonia (March) Don Quixote Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, Vienna (14 March) Paquita 2003 San Francisco Ballet (March) Don Quixote, (April) Paquita 2003 Festival Ballet Theatre, Los Angeles (2-7 April) Don Quixote 2003 Llubjiana (May) La Bayadère 2003 The Australian Ballet (30 May) Paquita 2003 Bucharest Opera (7 June) Don Quixote 2003 Kirov Ballet, London (July) La Bayadère 2003 Arena di Verona (August) Don Quixote 2003 Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet (24 September) Don Quixote 2003 Mongolia Ulan Bator (12 October) Don Quixote 2003 Boston Ballet (16 October-2 November), Don Quixote 2003 Ballet Nacional de Cuba, Colombia, Missouri (3 November), Don Quixote 2003 Slovakian National Ballet Don Quixote 2003 Opéra National de Paris Don Quixote 2003 Opera Roman Timisoara Don Quixote 2003 Teatro Massimo di Palermo Paquita (Lacotte) 2003 Paris Opéra Ballet, Paquita (Lacotte) 2003-04 La Scala Milan Don Quixote 2004 Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, Amherst MS (26 February) Paquita 2004 Teatro Communale di Ferrara (February) La Bayadère 2004 Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow (March) Don Quixote 2004 Paris Opéra Ballet (March) Don Quixote 2004 Macao (28 March), La Bayadère (Guanzhou Ballet) 2004 Naples (April), La Bayadère (Derek Deane) 2004 Teatro Communale di Modena (2 April) La Bayadère 2004 Latvian National Opera Ballet Company, Riga (17 April) Don Quixote 2004 Ballet Minnesota, St Paul (28 April) Don Quixote 2004 Teatro San Carlo di Napoli (May) La Bayadère 2004 Maryinsky Theatre, St Petersburg, (7 July) La Bayadère “Stars of the White Nights Festival” 2004 Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (Polish tour, 18 October7 November) Paquita 2004 Bolshoi Ballet, University of Minnesota (23-24 October), Don Quixote 2004 Grigorovich Ballet di Krasnodar, Parma, La Bayadère (30-31

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2004 2004 2004 2005 2005 2005 2005 2005 2005 2005 2005 2005 2005 2005 2005 2005 2006 2006 2006 2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 2008 2008

Aloysius Ludwig Minkus

October) (Yuri Grigorovich) Teatro Romolo Valli, Venice Don Quixote L’Accademia Centro Studi Musicale, Bergamo Don Quixote Bolshoi Ballet, Covent Garden London Don Quixote Moscow Stanislavsky Ballet, Royal Festival Hall, London (14 January) Don Quixote St Petersburg Ballet Theatre, Sheffield (17-18 January) La Bayadère Maryinsky Theatre, St Petersburg (6, 8 February) La Bayadère Split Ballet Ensemble and Studio (11 February) Don Quixote Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, US tour (Iowa, 26 February) Paquita Russian State Ballet of Siberia, UK tour (Cambridge, 17 March) Don Quixote Colorado Ballet, Peter Pan (based on the music of La Source, arr. Martin Fredmann) (16-25 April) The Australian Ballet, Canberra (22 May-2 June) La Bayadère American Ballet Theatre, New York (May-July) Don Quixote Bolshoi Ballet, Metropolitan Opera House, New York (18-30 July) Don Quixote San Francisco Ballet (20-23 July) Don Quixote Miami City Ballet Paquita Kiev Opera and Ballet Theatre of the Ukraine and the State Ballet of Georgia, both Don Quixote and La Bayadère in repertory Houston Ballet (8-18 June) Don Quixote Bolshoi Ballet, Covent Garden (13-15 August) Don Quixote Ballet Nacional de Cuba, Sadler’s Wells, London (5-8 September) Don Quixote Bavarian State Ballet, Munich (28 February), La Bayadère Bolshoi Ballet, Savonlinna, Finland (20-21 July), Don Quixote Bolshoi Ballet, English National Opera (10-11 August), Don Quixote Bucharest (11 August) La Bayadère Birmingham Royal Ballet (3-5 October), Paquita Kirov Ballet, New York City Centre Season (1-10 April), La Bayadère (Kingdom of the Shades), Don Quixote (Pas de Deux), Paquita (Grand Pas) New National Theatre, Tokyo (4-6 April), La Bayadère

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Fig. 14: Ludwig Minkus: Signature

Notes 1

The date 28 March 1826 is also given. Various spellings of the family name have been given: Minkus, Minkous, Mincous. There is also disagreement about the forenames. He was born Aloysius Ludwig, although he used Léon Fyodorovich in Russia. Variants of Louis, Ludwig, Ljudvig, Alois[ius], Aloysius Ludwig are also found (see the World Biographical Index and New York Public Library Dance Collection Catalogue). Details of the year of his birth have varied from 1826, 1827 to 1840, while those for his death have been given as 1890, 1907, and 1911. There has also been disagreement as to whether he was of Russian, Polish, Czech, German-Austrian or Hungarian descent (Adolphe Jullien in 1876). Minkus appears as Austrian, Polish and Hungarian in the World Biographical Index. The most helpful introductions to Minkus are by Barrymore Laurence Scherer, “Maligned Minstrel. Putting in a Good Word for Ludwig Minkus, composer of La Bayadère,” Ballet News, 1:11 (May 1980): 22-23, 45; Joseph Gale, “Léon Minkus” in The International Encyclopedia of Dance, ed. Selma Jeanne Cohen (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), 6 vols., 4:428-430; and the Wikipedia entry, “Ludwig or Léon Minkus” [http://en.wikipedia. org/wik/Ludwig_or_L% C3%A9on_minkus]. A full discussion of the variants of his name is given in the Wikipedia entry, with some speculative licence about Minkus changing his religion: “It has been assumed that it was during his early years in Russia that Minkus changed his name from Aloisius Ludwig Minkus to Léon Fedorovich Minkus, yet in Russia he has always been referred to as Ludwig Minkus, and not Léon Fedorovich Minkus. It seems likely that when first in Russia Minkus merely dropped his forename of Aloisius in favor of his middle name, Ludwig, as contemporary press reports and various libretti of ballets he scored during the 1870s and 1880s refer to him always as either Mr. Minkus, L. Minkus, or Ludwig Minkus. Another reason that might

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explain the common thought of Minkus being renamed Léon Fedorovich during his first years in Russia is the 19th century Russian practice of naming non-Russian-natives with a more localized form of one’s original name. The name of Fedor would often suffice if no Russian equivalent of the name existed, hence the name 'Fedorovich'. It could be that Minkus' father's name was Fedor, as in Russia the middle name is usually a patronymic, yet this speculation does not explain the origins of the name Léon. It is also likely that Minkus did not change his name from Ludwig Minkus to Léon Fedorovich Minkus until after he left Russia in late 1891, which would explain why he is known as Léon Fedorovich Minkus mainly outside of Russia. Another likely explanation for the change of name is that it is possible Minkus converted to Russian Orthodoxy soon after his arrival in Russia, for which he would have been given a Russian name, perhaps maintaining the name for religious purposes while still carrying on with the name of Ludwig Minkus as a professional name. It could very well be that Léon Fedorovich is merely just an error passed on from source to source to the present day, and that the composer never once had such a name during his lifetime.” 2 Gale, “Léon Minkus,” 428. 3 Eugen von Minkus was later ennobled for his civic services. His granddaughter Clara was the last surviving relation of the composer. Minkus and Johann Strauss (Sohn) would have met in St Petersburg during the annual visits that Strauss made there with his orchestra (1853-69). There was a further possible link in connection with the ballet Cinderella: “[Strauss’s] biographer (and author of the libretto for his Gypsy Baron), Ignatz Schnitzer, speculates that on a visit to Russia, Strauss may have seen the Ballet of the Imperial Maryinsky Theatre in St Petersburg dance its version of Cinderella with music by Ludwig Minkus, and that Strauss must have met Minkus. The latter conjecture is likely because Minkus had been born in Vienna and had begun his musical career there. Also, Strauss knew Minkus’s brother, a Viennese bank director. However, the 1893 Maryinsky Cinderella (with choreography by Marius Petipa, Lev Ivanov and Enrico Cecchetti) has music by Baron Schell; possibly Minkus conducted it. Cinderella ballets were not rare, and Strauss, who toured widely, might have seen one of them. His own, however, seems to have been the only ‘modern’ version.” See George Jackson, “Cinderella and the Waltz King,” Danceview: A Quarterly Review of Dance (Summer 1998): 2 4 See Bruce R. Schueneman and William E. Studwell, Minor Ballet Composers: Biographical Sketches of Sixty-Six Underappreciated Yet Significant Contributors to the Body of Western Ballet Music (New York: Haworth Press, Inc., 1997, 2007): “Minkus was in Paris by the 1840s” (p. 61). The Wikipedia entry states, “In early 1846 the 19-year-old Minkus relocated to Paris, where he made a career as a violinist and conductor,” but gives no authority for this. 5 Minkus’s involvement with the Prince also had a theatrical dimension to it, and incidentally introduced him to the fabulous dimension of old Russia. The Yusupovs were an ancient noble family, influential at Court for some 300 years, during which time they had accumulated a fortune bigger than that of the Tsars themselves. They had, moreover, subsidized personal theatrical and musical activities since the eighteenth century. Virginia Cowles describes the situation

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when Catherine the Great ascended the throne: “Those whose families had been members of the nobility for some generations not only possessed huge properties but fantastic numbers of serfs. Prince Yusupov, for example, was said to own over twenty thousand serfs in fifteen provinces. He not only used them as carpenters and goldsmiths and ebony makers but formed a theatre company and a corps de ballet. He had his own theatre where he gave performances for his friends. Prince Kropotkin...had a hundred-piece orchestra...” (The Romanovs [Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1974], 94). Scherer adds other complementary details: “...as a birthday gift, one of the Yusopov princes gave his wife the highest mountain in the Crimea. One of Prince Nikolai’s thirty-seven estates was equipped with a zoo, a special picture gallery to house the portraits of each of his 300 mistresses and an elegant private theatre in which performances were given by the prince’s own acting troupe, his ballet company and his orchestra. Over the members of these companies, most of whom were serfs, Prince Nikolai had absolute authority—at his command, the entire corps would dance in the nude. To supplement the native talent of his serfs and to keep performance standards high, foreign artists were engaged now and then” (Scherer, “Maligned Minstrel,” 23). 6 Until 1886, the principal theatre of the Imperial Ballet was the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre in St Petersburg (a separate theatre from the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, 1821-24, rebuilt 1856). In that year the Imperial Ballet moved to the new Maryinsky Theatre. The Grand (or ‘Bolshoi’) Theatre in St Petersburg, begun by Catherine the Great in 1774, opened in 1783, was later destroyed by fire and rebuilt in 1836, just in time for the première of Glinka’s A Life for the Tsar. It was the home of government-supported opera and ballet until 1885 when it was declared unsafe. The buildings then reconstructed on the site became the home of the Conservatoire and the office of the Imperial Musical Society. Opera had also been given from 1855 at the Theatre Tsirk (Circus Theatre) directly opposite the Bolshoi. This was burnt down in 1859, and rebuilt in 1860 by the architect A. Cavos (son of the composer Catterino Cavos) as the Maryinsky Theatre. Here the principal conductor from 1863 to 1913 was the composer Eduard Napravnik (1839-1916). 7 Wikipedia, p.3. 8 Gale, “Léon Minkus,” 429 for both quote and translation. 9 Gale, “Léon Minkus,” 429. 10 In the piano score of Néméa (1865) Minkus is referred to as “Inspecteur de la Musique des Théatres Impériaux de Moscou”. 11 Arthur Pougin, Supplément et Complément (1880) to François-Joseph Fétis’s Biographie universelle des musiciens. 12 Marfa Nikolayevna Muravyeva (b. Moscow, 29 June 1838, d. St Petersburg, 15 April 1879). Russian dancer, she studied at the St Petersburg Imperial Ballet School, and became a member of the Bolshoi Theatre there. She was much admired in the Romantic repertory, also very successful in Moscow, and one of the first Russian ballerinas to dance at the Paris Opéra (1863-64). 13 Arthur Saint-Léon (1821-70), French dancer, choreographer, ballet master and teacher. He studied with his father, a ballet master at the courts of Tuscany and

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Stuttgart. His début was in Munich (1835), and he studied further in Paris with Albert, before being appointed premier danseur in Brussels (1838). He went to Turin, Milan, Vienna and London where he created Phoebus in Perrot’s Esmeralda (1844). He toured extensively all over Europe with Fanny Cerrito (his wife, 184551), and choreographed his first great successes for Paris (Le Violon du diable, 1849), before being appointed teacher at the Paris Opéra where he was in charge of ballet divertissements for many years. He succeeded Perrot as ballet master of the St Petersburg Imperial Theatres (1859-69) (where his greatest success was The Little Humpbacked Horse, 1864) and was also ballet master at the Paris Opéra (1863-70) (La Source, 1866; Coppélia, 1870). He was much admired as a dancer, for his ballon and élévation, and as a choreographer for his gifted adaptations of national dances. 14 Eugénie Fiocre (b. Paris, 2 July 1845, d. 1908). French dancer. She was première danseuse of the Paris Opéra (1865-75), and much admired for her beauty, especially in her many assumptions of travesty roles. She created Frantz in Coppélia (1870). 15 See Ivor Guest, The Ballet of the Second Empire (London: Pitman Publishing, 1953, 1955 [two vols.]; as one 1974), p. 259. 16 See Note 6. 17 Marius Petipa (1818-1910), dancer, choreographer and legendary Imperial ballet master, was to be the principal collaborator in Minkus’s life. He studied with his father, Jean Antoine Petipa, and after dancing in Brussels and Nantes, toured North America with his father in 1839. He became principal dancer in Bordeaux, before going to Madrid in 1845 where he studied Spanish dancing. After appearing in Paris, he accepted an offer to fill the post of premier danseur to the St Petersburg branch of the Imperial Russian ballet which had became vacant after the departure of Emile Gredlu. He arrived in the city on 24 May 1847, and chose to make his début as Lucien in Paquita in September of that year, with Mlle Andreyanova in the title role. See Cyril W. Beaumont, Complete Book of Ballets (New York: Garden City Publishing, 1938), 383-4. Natalia Roslavlava also points out that, “His début as Lucien d’Hervilly in Paquita...brought him immediate recognition, though largely for his mimetic powers and ability to perform character dances...As a dancer Petipa was never a great classical virtuoso...”. See Era of the Russian Ballet, 1770-1965 (London: Victor Gollancz, 1966), 86-87. 18 Jean Petipa (Paris 1796-St Petersburg 1855) was ballet master in Brussels for many years (1819-32, 1833-35, 1841-43), and founded the Conservatoire de la Danse. He also worked as a choreographer in Bordeaux and Madrid before settling in St Petersburg in 1848 where he became a teacher at the Imperial Ballet Academy. 19 Stepan Alexandrovich Gedeonov (1815-78), Director of Imperial Theatres (1867-75). “Gedeonov was an extremely kind man, but affected an air of severity” (Marius Petipa, Russian Ballet Master, 46). 20 It is interesting to see how Rimsky-Korsakov described the episode in his own memoirs. He shows no particular knowledge of Minkus, who is mentioned en passant in the most cursory way; his later work on the subject is ignored

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completely. “Within the same period falls the following work allotted to members of our circle. Gedeonov, Director of the Imperial theatres at the time, had conceived the idea of producing that which should combine ballet, opera, and spectacle. For this purpose he had written the program of a stage performance in four acts on a subject borrowed from the Elba Slavs and had commissioned V.A. Krylov to work up the text. Mlada, with its mixture of fantasy and everyday reality, was a most graceful subject for musical treatment, Gedeonov asked Cui, Borodin, Moussorgsky, and myself to compose the music for it; moreover, Minkus, the official ballet composer of the Imperial theatres, was to compose the incidental ballet music...Gedeonov’s scheme was not destined to be realized. Soon he left the post of Director of Imperial Theatres and vanished from sight. The Mlada affair dropped into oblivion, and all of us turned to the work we had left for it; whatever we had composed found its way into other compositions later” (Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov, My Musical Life. Translated from the fifth revised Russian edition by Judith A. Joffe. Edited with an introduction by Carl von Vechten (London: Eulenberg Books, 1974), 110-112. 21 The definitive investigation of this fascinating and unfulfilled project has been undertaken by Albrecht Gaub, Die kollektive Ba[l]et-Oper “Mlada’”: ein Werk von Kjui, Musorgskij, Rimskij-Korsakov, Borodin und Minkus (Studia Slavica musicologica, 12) (Berlin: E. Kuhn, 1998). Originally presented as the author's doctoral thesis at Universität Hamburg, 1997, it includes bibliographical references (p. 586-601) and index, as well as the Mlada (1872) libretto in both German & Russian. 22 Marius Petipa, Russian Ballet Master: The Memoirs of Marius Petipa. Edited with an Introduction by Lilian Moore (London: Macmillan, 1958), 96-98. 23 Adèle Grantzow (b. Brunswick, 1 January 1845, d. Berlin, 7 June 1877). German dancer. The daughter of the Brunswick ballet master Gustav Grantzow, she studied with her father and in Paris with Mme. Dominique and became première danseuse in Hanover, where Saint-Léon saw her. He later took her to Moscow as a première danseuse, where she made her début in his Fiammetta, with La Fille mal gardée and Diavolina as her other great successes. In Paris she made her début as Giselle in 1866, and the role became hers exclusively until the ballet was taken out of the repertory in 1868. Saint-Léon created Naila in La Source for her, but she had to withdraw because of a foot injury—the first of many accidents which brought her career to a premature end. In St Petersburg she created SaintLéon’s Le Lys (869), and Petipa’s Camargo (1872). In Paris she again had to withdraw from rehearsals of Coppélia. She died after one of her legs had been amputated. 24 Pavel Andreyevich Gerdt (orig. Paul Friedrich Gerdt) (b. nr. St Petersburg, 4 December 1844, d. Vommala, Finland, 11 August 1917). Russian dancer and teacher. He studied at the Imperial Ballet School with Petipa and Johansson, graduating in 1864, and joining the company of the Imperial Theatre, becoming the most famous Russian dancer of his time, a premier danseur of such distinction that every ballerina felt honoured to appear with him. His unique gifts as a mime enabled him to continue his active career long after he had passed his prime as a

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dancer. He considered Rudolf in Petipa’s new production of La Fille du Danube to be his greatest role. He created leading parts in Petipa’s and Minkus’s Camargo (1872), Le Papillon (1874), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1876), La Bayadère (1877), La Fille des neiges (1879), La Nuit et le Jour (1883) and Kalkabrino (1891), also in Petipa’s The Sleeping Beauty (1890), Cinderella (1893), Halte de Cavalerie (1896), and Raymonda (1898), as well as Ivanov’s Nutcracker (1892), and Petipa’s and Ivanov’s Swan Lake (1895). His farewell performance was as Don Gamache in Don Quixote in 1916. He started teaching in 1909, and his mime and pas de deux classes were especially sought after by dancers such as Pavlova, Karsavina, Kyascht, Fokine, Legat, Tikhomirov, and his daughter Yelisaveta. 25 Yekaterina (Ekaterina) Ottovna Vazem (b. Moscow, 13 January 1848, d. Leningrad, 1937). Russian dancer. She studied at the St Petersburg Imperial Ballet Academy, graduating in 1876, and then joined the St Petersburg Bolshoi Theatre, where she became Petipa’s favourite ballerina (1864-84). He choreographed for her Le Corsaire (1868), Le Papillon (1874), Les Bandits (1875), La Bayadère (1877), La Fille des neiges (1879), Zoraya (1881), the Grand Pas in his new version of Paquita (1881), and La Nuit et la Jour (1883). She was technically brilliant, but cool. Later she appeared as a guest in America, and created a sensation when she participated in some classes at the Paris Opéra. She retired in 1884, but continued to teach at the Academy where her pupils included Pavlova and Vaganova. She wrote her reminiscences, Memoirs of a Ballerina of the St Petersburg Bolshoi Theatre (Leningrad, 1937). 26 Yevgenia (Eugenia) Pavlovna Sokolova (b. 1 December 1850, d. Leningrad, 2 August 1925). Russian dancer and teacher. She studied at the Imperial Ballet Academy, graduating in 1869, and then joined the St Petersburg Bolshoi Theatre where she became one of the most popular ballerinas of the Petipa era (1896-86), creating the leading roles in Minkus’s Les Aventures de Pélé (1876), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1876), Roksana (1878), Mlada (1879), La Nuit et la Jour (1883), L’Offrande à l’Amour (1886). She then became a famous teacher: her pupils included Pavlova, Karsavina, Yegorova, Spessivtseva, and Trefilova. 27 Maria Mariusovna Petipa (b. St Petersburg, 1857, d. 1930). Russian dancer. The daughter of Marius Petipa and Maria Surovshchikova, she studied with her father and Christian Johansson, making her début as the Blue Dahlia in the ballet of the same name (1875). She developed into an admired character dancer, creating many national dances in ballets and operas, parts in her father’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1876) and L’Offrande à l’Amour (1886), as well as the Lilac Fairy in her father’s Sleeping Beauty (1890). 28 Paquita, ballet in 2 acts and 3 scenes; libretto Paul Foucher; choreography Joseph Mazilier (1801-68); music Edouard-Ernest-Marie Deldevez (Paris Opéra, 1 April 1846). 29 Virginia Zucchi (b. Parma, 1847, d. Monte Carlo, 12 October 1930). Italian dancer and teacher. She studied with Blasis and Lepri in Milan, and began dancing in the Italian provinces in 1866, then in Rome, Milan, Berlin, London, and St Petersburg (1885-92) where she appeared at first in a café concert. Her brilliant Italian virtuosity won her great success, and she was commanded to dance for the

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Tsar, and then invited to join the Maryinsky Theatre where she was influential in perfecting the technique of the St Petersburg school. Her fascinating acting ability added to her dazzling technique. Her greatest successes were in Manzotti’s Brahma, and the Petipa versions of La Fille mal gardée, La Fille du Faraon, Esmeralda, Paquita, and Coppélia. After her return from Russia she appeared on only rare occasions, but choreographed ballets for opera productions (some for the Teatro Colon), and also opened a school in Monte Carlo where she taught until her death. 30 Christian Johansson (b. Stockholm, 20 May 1817, d. St Petersburg, 12 December 1903). Swedish dancer and teacher. He studied at the Royal Swedish Ballet School, and with Bournonville in Copenhagen, becoming the premier danseur in Stockholm (1837), where he often appeared with Marie Taglioni. He went to St Petersburg in 1841, where he made his début in La Gitana, after which he was appointed premier danseur. He was much admired, and continued dancing until 1869. He started teaching in 1860, and after his retirement, became chief of the Imperial Ballet School where several famous dancers were among his pupils, including Kschessinska, Preobrazhenskaya, Gerdt, and his daughter Anna. He is considered one of the chief architects of the Russian school of dancing. 31 Carlotta Brianza (b. Milan, 1867, d. Paris 1930). Italian dancer. She studied with Blasis, becoming prima ballerina of La Scala. A tour of the United States followed in 1883, and she created a sensation when she appeared at the Arcadia Theatre in St Petersburg in Manzotti’s Excelsior (1887). This led to an engagement at the Maryinsky Theatre, where she made her début with Enrico Cecchetti in Ivanov’s The Tulip of Haarlem (1889), going on to create Aurora in Petipa’s Sleeping Beauty (1890), and the leading role in his Kalkabrino (1891). Later in the year she returned to Western Europe. After her retirement she taught in Paris. Diaghilev engaged her to dance Carabosse in his London production of The Sleeping Princess in 1921. She is said to have committed suicide in Paris. 32 Enrico Cecchetti (b. Rome, 21 June 1850, d. Milan, 13 November 1928). Italian dancer, ballet master and teacher. He was the son of two dancers, and made his début aged 5 in Genoa. He studied with Lepri, a pupil of Blasis, toured the United States with a small troupe, and made his adult début in 1879 at La Scala, then appearing as guest premier danseur in various European capitals, before reaching St Petersburg in 1887 (in The Tulip of Haarlem). In 1890 he became second ballet master of the Imperial Theatres in St Petersburg, and from 1892 taught at the attached school where he contributed considerably to the improvement of the technical standards of the dancers. Among his pupils were Trefilova, Yegorova, Pavlova, Sedova, Vaganova, Kschessinska, Preobrazhenskaya, Karsavina, Gorsky, Legat, Fokine, Obukov, and Nijinsky—later also Massine, Bolm, Lopokova, de Valois, Danilova, Makarova, Dolin and Lifar. In 1902 he moved to the ballet school of the Warsaw Opera House, but returned to St Petersburg to open a school of his own until Diaghilev engaged him in 1910 as ballet master for his company. In 1918 he opened a ballet school in London with his wife, and was in charge of the Milan La Scala Ballet School (1925-28). He choreographed some ballets, but none has survived. He is one of the greatest teachers in the history of ballet.

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Scherer, “Maligned Minstrel,” 23. In 1886 the director of the Imperial Theatres, Ivan Vsevolozhsky, initiated drastic reforms for the St Petersburg Imperial Theatres. The changes for which he is most known today were his relocation of the Imperial Ballet and Opera from the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre (declared unsafe in 1886) to the Maryinsky Theatre, and the abolition of the post of First Imperial Ballet Composer. The last score Minkus wrote as First Imperial Ballet Composer was for Petipa's The Magic Pills, which was also the first new ballet to be produced at the Maryinsky Theatre. Soon after the abolition of Minkus’s post, Vsevolozhsky began to commission more musically sophisticated (or "symphonic") composers to provide ballet music for new works, though at the time this was not considered very successful by audiences and critics. The first "non-specialist" composer to score music for the Imperial Ballet was Baron Boris Fitinhof-Schell, who in 1887 scored music for the ballet The Tulip of Haarlem, choreographed by Petipa's second balletmaster Lev Ivanov. The second was the Italian composer Riccardo Drigo, who scored the music for Ivanov's The Enchanted Forest in 1887, and for Petipa's The Talisman in 1888 (Drigo had been engaged as musical director of the Imperial Italian Opera, as well as chief conductor of both the Imperial Ballet and Opera in 1878). The third composer to be commissioned by Vsevolozhsky was Mikhail Ivanov, who wrote the music for Petipa's 1888 ballet The Vestale, set in ancient Rome, which premiered to great success. And finally there was Tchaikovsky who composed music for Petipa's The Sleeping Beauty in 1890. Contrary to popular belief, Petipa still preferred to work with composers who specialized in scoring ballet music (of whom Minkus was considered one of the best), as the general view was that symphonic composers did not make good composers of ballet music (Wikipedia, p. 4). 34 “Farewell benefit of L. Minkus” in Novosti i birzhevaya gazeta [News and Stock Exchange Gazette] (11 November 1886):3, cited in Roland John Wiley, Tchaikovsky’s Ballets. Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1985), 279. 35 Konstantin Apollonovich Skalkovsky, V teatral’nom mire [In the Theatre World] (St Petersburg, 1899). Wiley, Tchaikovsky’s Ballets, 312. 36 Wiley, Tchaikovsky’s Ballets, 101. 37 Although the post of First Imperial Ballet Composer was abolished, the Italian composer Riccardo Drigo (Padua, 30 June 1846-Padua, 1 October 1930) essentially succeeded Minkus as chief composer of ballet music to the Imperial Ballet. Though he was by no means a "symphonic" composer, his music was a little more sophisticated than that of Minkus regarding orchestration, counterpoint, melody, and rhythmic verve. His greatest scores - The Talisman (1889, with Petipa), The Magic Flute (1893, with Ivanov), The Awakening of Flora (1894), The Pearl (1896) and Harlequin's Millions (1900, all with Petipa), demonstrate some evolution in the music of the so-called "specialist ballet composer", an art form which became completely extinct due to the events following the Revolution of 1917. 38 The ballet composers Baron Boris Alexandrovich Fitinhoff-Schell (1829-1901), Johann Ivanovich Armsheimer (1860-1933), Peter Petrovich Schenk (1870-1915).

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Comtesse Angèle Potocka, Theodor Leschetizky. Translated from the French by Geneviève Seymour Lincoln (New York: The Century Co., 1903), 282. 40 The life of Theodor Leschetizky (1830-1915) overlaps with that of Minkus in many instances. Like Minkus, he was a subject of the Habsburg empire, and of Slavonic origins, born in Lancut, Lemberg in Austrian Poland on 22 June 1830 (four years after Minkus). He studied first with his father who took him to Vienna where he became a pupil of the famous Czerny. He acquired a mastery of the piano with amazing facility, and was himself teaching by the age of 15. He attended the University of Vienna as a student of philosophy until its closure in the wake of the 1848 Revolution. He left for Russia in 1852 (at the same time as Minkus who took up his position with Prince Yusupov’s Petersburg orchestra in 1853). His initial concerts in St Petersburg were very successful, and he soon attracted many pupils. Like Minkus he became an official in Imperial employ, while active as music director to the Grand Duchess Helen. In 1862 Anton Rubinstein, who had recently opened the St Petersburg Conservatoire, appointed him as teacher (again parallelling Minkus’s experience with the Moscow Conservatoire where he taught the violin). After 16 years in Russia, Leschetizky returned to Vienna (1868) as Minkus did in 1891 after a career of 38 years in Russia. Here he married his second wife Anna Yesipova; they were divorced in 1892, and he was to marry again twice. He made occasional concert tours, but concentrated mainly on teaching. As Leschetizky’s fame grew, pupils flocked to his studio in Vienna, the most illustrious of them being Paderewski and Schnabel. He died in Dresden on 22 June 1915, aged 85 (just two and half years before Minkus, who died aged 91 in 1917). Even in his old age, Leschetizky seems to have had prodigious energy and been fond of billiards: “After the day’s work is over, he can entertain a table-full of people for several hours in the evening, begin to play billiards at midnight, go to bed at 3 or 4 a.m., and then turn up fresh for the lesson next morning at 12." See Annette Hullah, Theodor Leschetizky (Living Masters of Music) (London: John Lane, The Bodley Head, 1906), 77. 41 Gale describes his retirement as “embittered,” and says he moved from one unfashionable address to another (“Léon Minkus,” 430). 42 This information is from Hermann Reischitz who met Clara von Minkus in her last years. 43 Perhaps Minkus was an early victim of the Spanish Influenza, the worst pandemic to afflict the human race, with the exception of the Black Death. More than 21, 640,000 people died worldwide, over 1% of the world’s population. 44 Nicholas Slonimsky, writing in September 1971 observed; “High on my list of missing persons is Aloysius Ludwig Minkus, an Austrian ballet composer, who was attached to the Imperial Theatres in St Petersburg, Russia, until 1891, when he was pensioned off and promptly vanished. Not a year passes without my getting a request for information about Minkus. I went through the usual motions, trying to trace him to the place of his final rest, in Russia and in Austria, but to no avail. He was spurlos versunken. Anyone reading these lines know what happened to Minkus?” (Preface, Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Fifth Edition. Completely Revised by Nicolas Slonimsky. With 1971 Supplement [New

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York/London: G. Schirmer, 1971], xii, and Supplement, 163). The answer must have come, because a biographical entry on Minkus, with the details of his death, appears in the sixth edition. 45 Pierina Legnani (b. 1863, d. 1923). Italian dancer. She studied with Beretta in Milan, then joined the company of La Scala, became prima ballerina in 1892, and appeared in London (Alhambra Theatre, 1888-90), Paris, Madrid and St Petersburg (1893). In London she introduced 32 fouettés into the ballet Aladdin, and now incorporated these into the 1895 production of Swan Lake. Such virtuosity dazzled her audiences, and encouraged emulation among Russian dancers. She returned to St Petersburg every year until 1901, and was appointed prima ballerina assoluta (the only holder of this title with Kschessinska). She created Odette-Odile in Petipa’s and Ivanov’s Swan Lake (1895), and other leading roles in Petipa’s The Talisman (1895), Halte de Cavalerie, La Perle, Barbe-Blue (all 1896), and Ruses d’amour (1900). Her farewell in St Petersburg was in Minkus’s Camargo (with new choreography by Ivanov) (1901), a legendary performance. After her retirement she was an adjudicator at the La Scala examinations for many years. 46 Arthur Saint-Léon, Letters from a Ballet Master. The Correspondence of Arthur Saint-Léon. Edited by Ivor Guest (London: Dance Books, 1981) [SL=Saint-Léon]. 47 Petipa in fact ignores all the composers he worked with in the 59 ballets he created between 1849 and 1903, apart from listing their names in his catalogue of works. See Russian Ballet Master: The Memoirs of Marius Petipa, 95-100. 48 The Correspondence of Arthur Saint-Léon, Introduction, 33. 49 The Correspondence of Arthur Saint-Léon., 82. Charles Nuitter was the archivist at the Paris Opéra and the librettist of both La Source and Coppélia. 50 The Correspondence of Arthur Saint-Léon, 80. 51 Guglielma Salvioni (b. Milan, 1842, d. ?), Italian dancer. She studied at La Scala Ballet School, graduating in 1856, and then danced in various Italian theatres, and at the Paris Opéra (1864-67) where she created Naïla in Saint-Léon’s La Source (1866) and the ballerina in his Pushkin-inspired The Golden Fish in St Petersburg (1867). She became prima ballerina of the Vienna Court Opera (1870-73) where she created Myrrha in Paul Taglioni’s Sardanapal in the inaugural ballet performance of the new opera house in the Ring (1869). 52 “Regarding his own family life, his wife is only referred to in any easily accessible source as Madame Minkus, and it is not clear whether she and the composer ever had children” (Wikipedia, p.2). 53 Nicholas Rubinstein (1835-1910), younger brother of Anton, founded the Moscow Conservatoire. Jozef Wieniawski (1837-1912), Polish pianist, was the brother of the court violinist in St Petersburg, Henryk Wieniawski. Anton Door (1833-1919), Viennese pianist, was then teaching at the Moscow Conservatoire. Honoré was a pianist and music teacher who was married to a singer of the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow, Irina Ivanova Honoré. Bernhard Cossmann (1822-1910), cellist, and Ferdinand Laub (1832-75), violinist, were both professors at the Moscow Conservatoire. Franz Czerny (1830-1900) was the well-known piano teacher. 54 Karl Karlovich Albrecht (1836-1893), son of the famous conductor, became a member of the Moscow opera orchestra in 1854, and in 1860 collaborated with

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Nicholas Rubinstein in organizing the Moscow Conservatoire. In 1866 he was appointed inspector there and taught elemental theory. He was an intimate friend of Tchaikovsky and a notable figure in the Moscow musical world. He was later director of the Conservatoire. On three occasions (1865, 1867, 1871) Minkus writes asking Albrecht to provide the score and orchestral parts for Meyerbeer’s incidental music to Michael Beer’s Struensee. 55 Potocka, Theodor Leschetizky, 282-83. 56 Yuly Gustavovich Gerber (1831-83), violinist, ballet conductor and composer (e.g. for Petipa’s Trilby, or The Devil at Home (Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow, 1870). 57 Quoted in Herbert Weinstock, Tchaikovsky (London: Cassell, 1946), 180. 58 Giovanni Casati (1811-95) studied at the La Scala Ballet School with Vestris, and danced at La Scala (1821-33). He then worked as a choreographer in various Italian cities, as well as at Covent Garden in London, the Vienna Court Opera, and the São Carlos in Lisbon before returning to Milan as the director of the ballet school at La Scala (1868-83). He was married to Margherita Wuthier, a favourite pupil of Blasis. He links the early and late stages of nineteenth-century Italian ballet with considerable stylistic wealth and artistic dignity. See Phaidon Book of the Ballet. Edited by Riccardo Mezzanotte, with a preface by Rudolf Nureyev. Translated from the Italian (Oxford: Phaidon Press Ltd., 1981), 123. 59 See Marian Smith, Ballet and Opera in the Age of 'Giselle' (Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2000), 4-5 in the wider context of Music and the Story in ballet-pantomime (pp. 3-18). 60 See E. M. Levashyova, cited in Dorothea Redepenning, Geschichte der russischen und sowjetischen Musik (Laaber: Laaber, 1994), 1:350. 61 Wiley, Tchaikovsky’s Ballets, 5. 62 See George Balanchine in his interview with Solomon Volkov, cited by Michael Stegemann (p. 19) in “Léon Minkus: In Quest of an Unknown” (Königsdorf: Capriccio, 1995), 14-21. 63 A typical example of this kind of pattern that Tchaikovsky found so helpful was provided by his brother Modest in the Chronological List of Tchaikovsky’s Compositions from 1866-1893. “The following programme was suggested to Tchaikovsky [for The Nutcracker] by the gifted ballet-master Petipa: No. 1 Soft music, 64 bars No. 2 Tree is lit up. Sparkling music. 8 bars. No. 3 Enter children. Animated and joyous music. 24 bars. No. 4 Moment of surprise and admiration. Few bars of tremolo. No. 5 Entrée des Incroyables, 16 bars, rococo (tempo di minuetto) No. 7 Galop. No. 8. Enter Drosselmeyer. Awe-inspiring but comic music. A broad movement, 16-24 bars. The music gradually changes character—24 bars. It becomes less serious, lighter, and finally gay in tone. Grave music for 8 bars then pause. Repeat the 8 bars—pause. 4 bars which express astonishment.

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No. 9 Eight bars in mazurka rhythm. 8 more. 16 still in mazurka rhythm. No.10. A piquant, spicy valse, strongly rhythmic. 48 bars.” Appendix A of The Life and Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky. Edited from the Russian, with an Introduction, by Rosa Newmarch (London: John Lane The Bodley Head, 1906), 747-48. It is interesting that Tchaikovsky followed the suggestion exactly. 64 Scherer, “Maligned Minstrel,”23. 65 Scherer, “Maligned Minstrel,” 45. 66 “How sad then, that the Orchestre de Opéra National de Paris directed by Vello Pahn, couldn’t have shown a little of that respect not only to Minkus, but also to Nureyev, Lanchbery, and the exceptional dancers of the Paris Opera Ballet. One of the evenings I was there, it was rumoured that the troupe had been hit by sickness and injury, but this was not evident. It was the motley collection of musicians in the orchestra pit who were ravaged by some vicious form of sleeping sickness, not that it prevented them from playing ‘footsie’ during the overture. On another occasion, some were singing. And as far as their playing was concerned, at times they were barely audible, so much so, that it was reported that Isabelle Guerin (who created the role of Nikia in 1992), threatened to leave because she couldn’t hear the music. It is a curious thing, but given Stravinsky or Prokofiev, the orchestra have no problems. They also tackle Wagner reasonably well. In the past, Lanchbery has occasionally had problems with orchestras who have deliberately played ‘ballet music’ badly. Those concerned would do well to listen to Daniel Barenboim, who recently conducted Tchaikovsky for the Berlin State Opera Ballet, or the Bolshoi or Kirov orchestras, where the quality of the music is one of the high spots of the evening” (Arts & Culture, ballet. “A Birthday Tribute to Rudolf Nureyev”), 5 [www.gay.ru./english.art/ballet/nuriev] 67 Humphrey Searle, Ballet Music. An Introduction (1958). Second revised edition (New York: Dover Publications, 1973). 68 Stegemann, “Léon Minkus,”21. 69 Four of the ballets appeared only as medleys: Néméa as a suite of dances (Néméa. ou L’Amour vengé...Musique de Louis Minkous. Airs de ballet. Transcrit pour piano par Maximilien Graziani), La Bayadère as a miscellany of themes (La Bayadère. Potpourri sur motifs de L. Mincous pour piano par Jean Resch), Roxana as a potpourri (Roksana. Selections (kadril, vals: potpourri...Perelozhil dlya fortepiano Jogann Resch), Le Papillon and Mlada as quadrilles (e.g. Mlada kadril muzyka L. Minkusa = Mlada quadrille: nach Motifen von L. Minkus / arr. v. Hermann Reinbold). Johann Resch (1830-1889) features prominently in the arrangements of Minkus’s music. 70 Wiley summarizes the disadvantages as these have adversely affected Minkus’s reputation and the history: “As the work relates to its time La Bayadère is also typical: in concealing the identity of its author; in the competition with Italian opera for rehearsal space and for a public; and in the regrettably incomplete legacy of documents which would help us to reconstruct its history” (Tchaikovsky’s Ballets, 23). 71 Anton Simon (b. 1851, d. in Russia, c. 1918). French composer. He studied at

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the Paris Conservatoire with Marmontel (piano), settled in Moscow in 1871, and taught at the Philharmonic Institute until 1891. He wrote three operas, all produced in Moscow (Rolla, 1892, The Song of Triumphant Love, 1897, The Fisherman, 1899), two ballets (The Stars, 1898, Living Flowers, 1900), piano and clarinet concertos, a symphonic poem, chamber music (including 22 pieces for brass instruments), piano pieces and 100 songs. 72 Feodor Vasilievich Lopukov (also Fyodor Lopokov) (1886-1973). Russian dancer, choreographer and dancer. Studied at the Imperial Ballet Academy (1905), and became a great character dancer. Studied further with Gorsky in Moscow (1909) and Pavlova in America (1910). Joined the Maryinsky Theatre and remained there until 1970, as director (1922-30, 1944-47, 1955-8). Became a leading avant-garde choreographer, and also a custodian of the classical tradition. 73 Boris Vladimirovich Asafiev (1884-1949). Russian composer who wrote music for 27 ballets, especially Vainonen’s Flames of Paris (1932), Zakharov’s Fountain of Bakhchisaray (1934) and Lavrovsky’s Prisoner of the Caucasus (1938). 74 Vassily Solovyev-Sedoy (b. St Petersburg, 25 April 1907). Russian composer. Studied at the Conservatoire, graduating in 1936. His works included the ballet Taras Bulba (Leningrad, 1940), musical comedies (A Faithful Friend, 1945, The Dearest Thing, 1952), numbers of songs on patriotic subjects, and film music. 75 This information came from a biographical study of Nikolai Zubkovsky published in St.Petersburg in 1993. The monograph lists the solo divertissement in Zubkovsky's chronology: 1948 (the year the solo was choreographed and danced by Zubkovsky): “BOZHOK [i.e. little god] - NOMER V SOBSTVENNOYE POST. [a number added to a production?] - "BAYADERKA" L. MINKUSA. POST. M. PETIPA [La Bayadère L. Minkus. Production M. Petipa].” A publicity card from the Soviet era (photographed by Stanislas Suborov) has the same image of the Golden Idol as the cover of the Zubkovsky book. The listing does not suggest Minkus's authorship of the solo itself, rather just as composer of the production of La Bayadère into which it was inserted. The background materials from the time of the Kirov's new/old Bayaderka make no specific reference to the Zubkovsky solo with regard to its music. However, the 'Golden Idol' (bozhok) music is an arrangement by Pavel Emilievich Feldt of the Marche persane from Minkus’s Le Papillon (1874). Feldt (1905-1960) was a composer and conductor who worked at the Kirov and Maly Theatres where he assisted in the realisation of a number of important ballet scores for the Leningrad companies from the 1930s to the 1950s, and also conducted the first performances of Shostakovich's The Limpid Stream (1935), Khachaturian's Gayane (1942) and Spartacus (1956). The monograph also contains the choreography for the variation in a written-out form. Elsewhere it provides a full written description of the classes Zubkovsky taught. His wife Inna Zubkovskaya was an outstanding dancer who appeared with the Kirov in 1961 at the Royal Opera House and taught in the Leningrad Choreographic School. 76 Stegemann, “Léon Minkus,” 20. 77 John Lanchbery, Programme notes to the Festival Ballet performances of Don Quixote (London: Coliseum, 1979).

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Mario Bois recalls the scene with Nureyev and Lanchbery: “Listening to the pair of them reading the music together must have been rather like watching Petipa with Tchaikovsky, for Rudolf started pouncing on certain melodies, identifying a pas de deux....John’s contribution was to find the linking material and ensure harmonisation with the barest of changes....” (Arts & Culture, Ballet. “A Birthday Tribute to Rudolf Nureyev”) 5. 79 The original costumes of the 1900 production have been meticulously reproduced, based on the original sketches by Yevgeny Ponomaryov kept in the St Petersburg Theatre Library, and the technical descriptions of the fabrics in the Russian State History Archives. The sets have been reproduced from the original canvases stored in the Maryinsky Theatre Archives, except for the Kingdom of the Shades and the final act which are based on the original designs in the St Petersburg State Museum of Theatre and Music (Kevin Ng, “Kirov Ballet, La Bayadère, July 2002, New York Metropolitan Opera House [http://www.ballet.co.uk.magazines].) The conscientious creativity of the production has been regarded very positively: “All praise to Sergei Vikharev for his revival not only for the choreography, but also for restoring the magnificent sets and costumes, and having faith in Minkus— by using the complete version of the score which is the copyright of the Maryinsky Theatre, and to which the Maryinsky Theatre Orchestra did full justice” (Mary Clarke, “The Kirov in London: A Review of the Petersburg company’s London Season,” Dancing Times [September 2003]). 80 “Take note, Mr. Lanchbery” (Jeannie Szoradi, “Olé, Monsieur Lacotte!”—POB Paquita Review) [http://www.danze.co.uk]. 81 Gale, “Léon Minkus,” 430. 82 Roslavleva, The Era of the Russian Ballet, 95-96. 83 James Munson, “The Royal Swedish Ballet in London,” Contemporary Review, 267:1555 (August 1995): 92. 84 See Robert Greskovic, Ballet1.0.1. A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving the Ballet. Foreword by Mikhail Baryshnikov (New York: Hyperion, 1998), 359. 85 At the Winter Olympics of 1976, certain judges did not approve of John Curry’s style because he emphasized grace and artistic expression over athleticism. Curry defended his skating as being in the tradition of Olympic figure skating pioneer, Gillis Grafström. Nonetheless, for the 1976 Olympics, Curry supplemented his natural elegance with dynamic jumps. He performed in freestyle a long program to the pas de deux from Ludwig Minkus’s Don Quixote. Although the Soviet and Canadian judges awarded the first place to their own skaters, overall the judges gave Curry 105.9 points out of a possible 108 points. This remains the highest point total in the history of men’s figure skating and Curry won a clear victory. John Anthony Curry died of an AIDS related heart attack on 15 April 1994. 86 “Pierre Lacotte is a choreographer...who understands and...adores the 19thcentury manner of dancing. He lives and breathes the enchainements of the Franco-Romantic and Russo-Classical styles...[he] was the pupil of Lubov Yegorova, one of the great ballerinas of the Silver Age of the Imperial Russian Ballet at the turn-of-the-century. Yegorova instilled in Lacotte a great passion and understanding of the 19th-century manner in ballet” (Jeannie Szoradi, “Olé,

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Monsieur Lacotte!”—POB Paquita Review) [http://www.danze.co.uk] 87 This list is derived from reference works, like Beaumont, Complete Books of the Ballets, 354-359, 383-384; Phaidon Book of the Ballet. Edited by Riccardo Mezzanotte, With a preface by Rudolf Nureyev. Translated from the Italian, 131132, 138; Ivor Guest, The Ballet of the Second Empire, 45-46; Noel Goodwin, “Léon Minkus” in International Dictionary of Ballet. Ed. Martha Bremser (Detroit: St James Press, 1993), 2:960-962. Most of the modern productions have been researched from the internet and some from the NYPL Dance Catalogue.

THE MINKUS BALLETS: THE SCENARIOS

This chapter reviews the ballet scenarios prepared by the librettists and choreographers used by Minkus, and seeks to investigate something of the origins, reception and performing histories of each. One of the original libretti is accessible complete and in translation (Sergei Khudekov’s La Bayadère);1 seven others are available in a fairly full format (Arthur Saint-Léon’s Fiammetta, Charles Nuitter’s La Source, and Marius Petipa’s Don Quixote and La Nuit et le Jour, Saint-Georges’s Camargo and Le Papillon,2 Paul Foucher’s Paquita, Khudekov’s Zoraya, and Modest Tchaikovsky’s Kalkabrino).3 There is a ring of familiarity about some of the others, based as they are on famous literary works (Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Pushkin’s The Fisherman and the Little Fish), on Greek mythology (Les Aventures de Pélée), on poetry (L’Offrande à l’Amour), or on Russian folklore (Stepan Gedeonov’s Mlada). The full original versions of these sources are fairly easily available. Insights about the scenarios and their history often come by way of incidental contemporary documentation, like correspondence (SaintLéon), or commentaries in memoirs or criticism (like those of Petipa, Yekatarina Vazem and Konstantin Skalkovsky) (Les Brigands, La Fille des neiges, Les Pillules magiques). Some memories exist about these works, often contained in sources that have become famous in themselves (like Cyril W. Beaumont’s Complete Book of Ballets [1938] where the detail of some plots is based on performing records); others are preserved in recollections from a living tradition (as with Natalia Roslavleva in the Era of the Russian Ballet [1966], who wrote from the heyday of the Soviet tradition when memories of the early twentieth century were still current). The modern collection of translated materials pertaining to the history of the Imperial Russian Ballet by Roland John Wiley (A Century of Russian Ballet: Documents and Eyewitness Accounts, 1810-1910 [1990]) provides an invaluable reference point.

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The ballets Minkus set to music span some thirty years of the nineteenth century (1860-90) and embody trends typical of the time. The first scores were for the last great dance master of the French Romantic School, Arthur Saint-Léon. Works like the Hungarian Fiammetta and the Persian La Source provide good examples of the type of fantastic ballets current in the 1850s and 1860s, where an everyday scenario is intersected by supernatural beings and sometimes an anthropomorphised nature. Coppélia, Saint-Léon’s last and greatest work with Léo Delibes (1870), follows the same pattern, but with a rationalized supernatural. Petipa and Minkus’s adaptation of Saint-George’s Le Papillon made use of a similar type of storyline, as does their adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Their very last collaboration on Kalkabrino would return to this type of storyline, with Modest Tchaikovsky’s Provençal story of peasants, smugglers and evil spirits. Saint-Léon’s greatest ballet for Russia was his work with Cesare Pugni, Konyok-Gorbunok (The Little Humpbacked Horse) (1864), based on a Russian fairy tale. He tapped into the same material in Le Poisson doré with Minkus, but rather less successfully. The adaptation of La Source for the Russian stage as Le Lys also made use of Oriental legend, this time from China (Three Arrows). Minkus would once again set legendary material in the four-act Mlada, based on the mythology of the Western (Elba) Slavs. Petipa’s first collaboration with Minkus, for the Pas de Trois in Paquita (1847), reflected the dancer’s love for Spain, stemming from his stay there and his training in Spanish dancing. The scenario by Paul Foucher was a realistic one, a tale of intrigue, love, loss and restitution during the Napoleonic occupation of the Iberian peninsula (1808-14). The local colour was a decisive factor for Petipa in choosing a theme from Cervantes’ novel Don Quixote in his first full-length work with Minkus. The earthy realism of the story is unique in the choreographer’s oeuvre, although tempered by the supernaturalism of the Dream Sequence. SaintGeorges’s libretto Camargo continued the realistic approach, and was based on actual events in the famous dancer’s life from the early eighteenth century. Realism, exoticism and the supernatural were all combined in the Indian La Bayadère. Khudekov’s book, based on a drama by the Sanskrit poet Kalidasa, tuned into the vogue for Orientalism sweeping Europe in the wake of Meyerbeer’s L’Africaine (1865) and Verdi’s Aida (1871). The Oriental and the Spanish, which worked so well for Petipa, were artfully combined in another Khudekov scenario Zoraya, set in the days of the Moorish kingdom of Granada.

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Mythological themes returned for a brief vogue in the late 1870s. In 1876, the year of Delibes’ Sylvia, the French composer collaborated with Minkus again in Les Aventures de Pélée, with Petipa’s book using elements of the ancient Greek stories. This was not a genre that seemed to have a lasting appeal, and attention turned more to topical nationalistic issues. The upheaval in the Balkans during this decade culminated in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877. Petipa’s response was to produce two ballets that catered to the resurgent Slavic nationalism, Roksana (1878) and Frizak (1879). The achievements of the new age of scientific and social progress were the subject of the optimistic actuality of the art of this period. The brotherhood of the continents was celebrated in Petipa’s Les Brigands (1875) to the detriment of the minimalist plotline, while the geographical conquest of the Arctic was eulogized in the topical expeditionary fable of La Fille des neiges (1879), where once more the drama was sacrificed to a series of emblematic gestures. The movement towards triumphalist exhibition of the achievements of the period generated the new type of spectacle known as the féerie, originating in Italy and developed in France, where display and variety, coupled with staging ingenuity, dignified by allegorical characters and parabolic action, served to bolster the positivist world view of the times. Minkus’s last works for Petipa are examples of this type, specifically requested by Ivan Vsevolozhsky, Director of the Imperial Theatres from 1881: Nuit et Jour (1883), Les Pillules magiques (1886) and L’Offrande à l’Amour (1886). In these one-act works formal action is subordinated to invention, phantasmagoria and transformation. The first, for the coronation of Alexander III, uses the allegory of the hours to celebrate the unity of the regions of Russia; the second focuses on danced presentation of card and board games, toys and lace from different countries; the third is a gala spectacle on the allegories of mythological love. All dates for premieres in Russia are given in the old Julian calendar, that is, twelve days behind the Gregorian calendar.

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Fig. 15: Arthur Saint-Léon

The Saint-Léon Ballets 1) Fiammetta (4 acts, St Petersburg; 13 February 1864) (scenario Saint-Léon) (with Marfa Muravyeva) 2) Néméa (2 acts, Paris, 11 July 1864) (scenario Halévy & Meilhac) (with Muravyeva and Eugénie Fiocre) (an adaptation of Fiammetta) 3) La Source (The Spring) (3 acts, 4 scenes, Paris, 12 November 1866) (scenario Charles Nuitter; choreography Saint-Léon) (with Salvioni) 4) Le Poisson doré (The Golden Fish) (3 acts, St Petersburg 1867) (scenario Saint-Léon, after a tale by Pushkin) 5) Le Lys (The Lily) (3 acts, St Petersburg, 21 October 1869) (scenario Saint-Léon, after a Chinese legend Three Arrows) (with Adèle Grantzow) (an adaptation of La Source)

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Fig. 16: Marius Petipa in old age

The Petipa Ballets 1) Don Kikhot (Don Quixote) (4 acts 8 scenes; Moscow, 14 December 1869) (scenario Petipa, after episodes in Cervantes’ novel) (with Anna Sobeshchanskaya) 2) Camargo (3 acts, 17 December 1872) (scenario Saint-Georges) (with Adèle Grantzow) 3) Le Papillon (The Butterfly) (4 acts, St Petersburg, 6 January 1874) (scenario by Saint-Georges) (with Yekaterina Vazem) 4) Les Brigands (The Robbers) (4 acts, St Petersburg, 26 January 1875) (with Vazem)

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5) Les Aventures de Pélée (The Adventures of Peleus) (3 acts 5 scenes, St Petersburg, 18 January 1876) (with Yevgeniya Sokolova) 6) Son v letnyuyu noch’ (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) (using Mendelssohn’s incidental music) (1 act, St Petersburg, 14 July 1876) (staged at the Hermitage, with Sokolova, Marie Petipa and Pavel Gerdt) 7) Bayaderka (La Bayadère) (The Temple Dancer) (4 acts, 7 scenes, St Petersburg; 23 January 1877) (scenario Sergei Khudekov) (for the benefit of Vazem) 8) Roksana (Roxane, la belle Albanese) (4 acts, St Petersburg; 29 January, 1878) (for the benefit of Sokolova) 9) La Fille des neiges (The Snow Maiden) (3 acts, St Petersburg, 7 January 1879) (with Vazem) 10) Tsiryul'nik Frizak (Frizak the Barber, or The Double Wedding) (1 act, St Petersburg, 11 March, 1879) (for the benefit of the corps de ballet) 11) Mlada (4 acts, St Petersburg, 2 December 1879) (with Sokolova) 12) Zoraya, ili Mavritanka v Ispanii (Zoraya, or A Moorish Girl in Spain) (4 acts, 7 scenes, St Petersburg, 1 February 1881) (for the benefit of Vazem) 13) Paquita (additions to Edouard Deldevez’s score, a Pas de Trois and Grand Pas) (scenario Paul Foucher) (St Petersburg, 27 December 1881) 14) Noch’ i dyen’ (La Nuit et le Jour) (Night and Day) (1 act, Moscow, 18 May 1883) (for the coronation of Emperor Alexander III) (with Sokolova, Vazem and M. Johansson) 15) Les Pillules magiques (du diable) (The Magic Pills/Pills of the Devil) (ballet-féerie) (1 act, Maryinsky Theatre, St Petersburg, 9 February 1886) (a great success)

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16) L’Offrande à l’Amour, ou Les Plaisirs amoureux (The Offering to Love, or Amorous Pleasures) (1 act, Moscow, 22 July 1886) (with Sokolova and Marie Petipa) 17) Kalkabrino (3 acts, Maryinsky Theatre, St Petersburg, 13 February 1891) (scenario Modest Tchaikovsky) (with Carlotta Brianza).

1. Fiammetta / Néméa Fiammetta Fantastic ballet in 4 acts. Scenario: Arthur Saint-Léon. Music: Ludwig Minkus. Choreography: Arthur Saint-Léon. First Produced: Bolshoi Theatre, St Petersburg, 13/25 February 1864. SYNOPSIS Act 1. The Kingdom of Cupid Homage is paid to the god. Terpsichore and her maidens dance for the divine residents of Olympus. Mercury interrupts the proceedings to tell of a noble youth, Count Friedrich Sternhold, who does not believe in love or its presiding divinity. He has squandered his inheritance on wild living, and now hopes to recoup his loses by marrying the daughter of the Princess Millefleurs. This girl, Ragonda, is love with Otto, and both have entreated the protection of Cupid. He conjures up the couple who appear on one side, and then the Count on the other. The Count appears in a pavilion marked with the notice “Love is forbidden here”, surrounded by his dissolute companions who are drinking, gambling, and making merry with some Gypsy women. Cupid resolves to take up Ragonda’s cause, summons his followers around the altar of love, and from the sacred flame brings forth a beautiful girl Fiammetta. He commissions her to ensnare the Count without conceding anything, and flies off with her on this mission. Act 2. The estate of Count Sternhold in the Tyrol. On the left is the pavilion, on the right a barn. There is a hedge in the background, and beyond this a splendid landscape.

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Fig. 17 Néméa: Frontispiece of the piano pot-pourri

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The Count is making merry with his friends, as in the vision of the first act. Their carousing is interrupted by the sound of a shot, and they run to the fence to investigate. Here they find Cupid, disguised as a huntsman. Despite his cool behaviour, they invite him to join the company, and he is amused to read the sign on the pavilion. Before they drink his health, he asks if he could fetch his Gypsy friend, who is nearby in the woods. They agree, and Cupid brings on Fiammetta in disguise. During the dancing that follows she begins to exert a fascination on the Count to the amusement of his friends. As the evening falls, peasants are seen returning home. Cupid invites them to tarry for some refreshment, and they entertain the company with Tyrolean dances. Cupid draws the Count’s attention to endearing scenes of affection, some parents with a baby, a young couple in love yearning to be married whom Cupid helps by giving them money. When the Count is charmed by these scenes, Cupid points to the forbidding notice on the pavilion. When the Count’s servant Martini mocks his master’s changing attitude, Cupid causes him to fall in love with an old woman, to the amusement of the company. Peace settles over the company who join in a berceuse. The Count’s tutor arrives, admonishes his charge, and urges him to get on with his betrothal to Ragonda in order to ward off his financial ruin. The Count agrees to do so after one more dissipation. He asks Fiammetta to become his mistress, but she reacts with coolness. After a quarrel with Cupid who pretends to be angry at the Count’s impertinence, Fiammetta tries to cheer him with her dancing. The Gypsy women return, and the orgy commences with a drinking song. The tutor returns to remind the Count of his commitments, and to close the party. He bids farewell to his friends, conscious of his passionate feelings for Fiammetta. Cupid in the meantime replaces the notice on the pavilion with another: “The House of Pure Love”. Act 3. A Gothic Hall in Princess Millefleur’s castle. The Princess is attended by Otto and her ladies-in-waiting. She receives news of the imminent arrival of Count Sternhold, and calls her daughter to tell her the news. Ragonda can scarcely conceal her dismay, and while the Princess and Otto go to receive the guests, the ladies try to console her. Her maid Yolande plays a game of flowers with her, offering two bouquets, one of scabious for sadness and one of roses for joy, which she must choose with closed eyes. She makes sure Ragonda picks the roses. Otto appears on the balcony, full of anxiety, but is consoled by

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Ragonda’s reassurances that she will never marry another. Otto hides as the Princess returns with the guests. Ragonda greets the Count coldly, and he, preoccupied with thoughts of Fiammetta, does not pay her proper attention. The Princess puts this down to his tiredness from his journey, and suggests that the marriage contract be signed in the morning, after he has rested in the castle for the night. He agrees, and left alone with Martini, falls asleep on his couch. The servant seeks out another couch in an alcove, but is startled by a ghostly figure. He awakens his master in his fright, and the Count, on going to investigate, is himself the recipient of a series of apparitions. He sees Cupid and Fiammetta embracing, then Otto and Ragonda, and finally Fiammetta alone who tells him that she can never be his. He seems exhausted, and calls for help. Servants rush in followed by the Princess, Ragonda and their friends. They try to soothe the Count, unaware of what has upset him. Act 4. The castle grounds. In the background a terrace is set out for the wedding reception. The Princess, Ragonda, the Count and his tutor are all seated at the table. Peasants enter and dance for the bride, presenting her with flowers. Cupid now appears, disguised as a notary, and accompanied by Fiammetta in the guise of his daughter. The Princess is amazed at the girl’s beauty. In a scene of mime, Ragonda decides to tell her mother about her love for Otto, while Fiammetta induces the Count to break off his engagement to Ragonda. The notary tears up the contract, and to the astonishment of all, brings Ragonda and Otto together, pointing out that they truly love each other, while the Count really loves Fiammetta, and was actually about to marry Ragonda for her wealth. Fiammetta, however, is not of the terrestrial world: she is transmuted into fire and disappears. As the Count rushes at the notary, he is transformed into the God of Love. All do Cupid homage, and the princess gives her blessing to the marriage of Otto and Ragonda. Marfa Muravyeva, one of the first Russian dancers to tour extensively abroad, achieved great success in the part of Fiammetta. (In Moscow the ballet was called The Salamander.) The production was notable for the introduction of new stage devices, like shadow effects with convex mirrors and electric light (according to Pleshcheyev4). The ballet remained in the repertory for some ten years. Later Russian interpreters of the title-role were P. P. Lebedeva (1865), A. Grantzow (1868), E. P. Sokolova (1869),

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and M. Ogoleyt (1874). Muravyeva’s achievements brought her to the attention of Emile Perrin, the director of the Paris Opéra, who invited her to dance there. She repeated her success in Paris on 11 July when she appeared in a condensed two-act version of Fiammetta called Néméa, ou L’Amour vengé, with a scenario adapted by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, the librettists of Offenbach’s most sucessful operettas. The new cast shows the change in character names: Count Molder ......................................................................... Louis Mérante Moko, the Count's friend ......................................................................Dauty Istwann, a Gypsy ............................................................................... Chapuy Kiralfi, Hermiola's fiance .................................................................Rémond Minden, Hermiola's father ................................................................. Lenfant Néméa, a village maiden ...................................................Marfa Muravyeva Cupid ..................................................................................... Eugénie Fiocre Katerina, Hermiola's mother.............................................................Caroline Ilka, a Gypsy......................................................................................... Aline Hermiola.............................................................................. Marie Sanlaville Yolanda .....................................................................................Marie Pilatte A little Faun..........................................................................................Verne Néméa SYNOPSIS: Act 1. A clearing in a Hungarian forest, with a statue of Cupid, half-hidden in flowers, on the one side, and a terrace marking the boundary of Count Molder on the other. Villagers are celebrating the marriage between Hermiola and Kiralfi. The girl Néméa, however, detaches herself from the merrymaking. Proceedings are interrupted by the arrival of the local lord, Count Molder, and his friends. He discourteously turns his attentions to the bride, and her father appeals to Cupid for help. The Count pushes him aside, and in so doing knocks over the statue of the god from its pedestal. Later, Néméa returns to confide her sorrows in Cupid, and whispers the name of the man she loves. As she looks up, she finds the empty plinth occupied by the god himself, who smiles, and tells her that her beloved is guilty of a grave

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Fig. 18: Néméa: Marfa Muravyeva in the title role

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offence. Night falls, and the nymphs, fauns and glow-worms dance in the glade. They vanish on the return of the Count, and he looks at the fallen bust, still on the ground. As he leaves, Cupid again occupies the pedestal and points menacingly at the Count’s castle. Act 2. A magnificent room in the castle, which opens into another where there is a table covered by the remnants of a banquet. Dawn is breaking. The Count and his friends have been making merry all night. They hear strange music, and see a group of strolling players passing by. The Count summons their leader (who is Cupid in disguise), and asks to be entertained by the beautiful girls of the troupe. Néméa is brought in, and the Count is smitten. She eludes him consistently, however, and Cupid assures Molder that she will never be his. The Count is enraged and draws his sword, but Cupid turns him to stone. Néméa intercedes with the god, whereupon the walls of the castle dissolve. The Temple of Love is revealed, with the statue of Cupid restored to its pedestal. All do homage to the god. The Count begs for forgiveness, and when Néméa adds her prayers, Cupid smilingly pardons him. Néméa, ou l’Amour vengé was given its first performance on 11 July 1864. Empress Eugénie hurried into town from Saint-Cloud to be present, even though she was in official mourning for the King of Württemberg. Also in the audience were many dancers, including Marie Taglioni, Pauline Montessu, Fanny Cerrito, Marie Petipa, Marie Guy-Stephan, Mme Dominique, Zina Merante and Marie Vernon. Minkus’s score was praised by many of the critics. “It is, to the platitudes of La Maschera,5 what a strophe by Musset is to a vaudeville couplet”, Jouvin conceded; and Gautier, remarking its “haunting, dreamy quality”, was reminded of the songs of gypsies, and observed that “the harmonies introduce those sweet and somewhat effeminate falterings, whose secret Chopin and Glinka knew so well”. Roqueplan singled out Saint-Léon's choreography for its “imagination and originality, his ability to handle masses, his research in seeking motifs for his pas, his talent in achieving variety of effect, and the fertility he shows in making use of all the resources of the company”. The first act contained the berceuse, a pas seul by Muravyeva; an hongroise; a pas de dix by Mme Dominique's pupils, "performing ballonnes with comical conscientiousness"; and a pas des lucioles, danced in electric light by

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twenty-four girls wearing miniature oil-lamps attached to their foreheads. The second act was not so interesting by comparison with the first, including a pas de la pomme by Dauty, Eugenie Fiocre and Marie Pilatte; a pas de cinq, in which Muravyeva was partnered by Chapuy; and finally a chanson à boire, danced by Muravyeva.

Fig. 19: Néméa: A rehearsal in the Paris Opéra

Muravyeva was warmly received, but her technical shortcomings did not pass unnoticed. “Parcours, cabrioles, and ample movements are denied her”, wrote Roqueplan. “Her worn-out pointes scrape the stage without stabbing it, except when she is supported by a partner who gives her the perpendicular line and rigidity. She has no batterie; her feet have never known the feeling of an entrechat six. Finally, her arms, which are never fully extended and move jerkily, allow of no fullness of movement. Nevertheless, the impression Mlle Muravyeva creates on the audience cannot be denied, although it can be explained.” 6

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Printed Music/Arrangements Néméa ou L’Amour vengé. Ballet Pantomime en deux actes par M. M. Henri Meilhac, Ludovic Halévy et Saint-Léon...Musique de Louis Minkous...Transcrit pour Piano par Maximilien Graziani. (Paris: Heugel, 1865) (four excerpts) 5, 7, 5, 9pp. (Berceuse, Berceuse Valse, Chanson à Boire et Galop, Mazurka-Hongroise, Noce-Hongroise, Polka des Lucioles, Valse Hongroise). Zastolnaya pesn’ iz baleta "Fiameta”/ L. Minkus; aranzhirovka I.A.N. Bogorad.1926. 1 ms. score (4 p.). For band; originally for orchestra. Antrakt iz baleta "Fiametta": dlya dukhovogo orkestra/ muzyka L. Minkusa; instr. I. Donskoi. Moskva: Gos. muzykalnoe izd-vo, 1935. 1 score (16 p.) For band; originally for orchestra.

2. La Source / Le Lys Fantastic Ballet in three acts and four scenes. Scenario: Charles Nuitter and Arthur Saint-Léon. Choreography: Arthur Saint-Léon. Music: Ludwig Minkus (first and fourth scene) and Léo Delibes (second and third scene). Sets: Despléchins, Lavastre, Rubé, Chaperon. Costumes: Loumier and Albert. First Produced: Théatre Impérial de l’Opéra, Paris, 12 November 1866. Principal dancers: Guglielmina Salvioni (Naila), Eugenie Fiocre (Nouredda), Louis Mérante (Djemil), L. Marquet (Morgab). La Source (The Spring) SYNOPSIS7 Act 1. A spring flowing amidst the rocks of a mountain defile Naïla, the spirit of a spring in a mythical Persia, is protected by the hunter Djemil, who prevents the Gypsy Morgab from polluting the stream with poisonous plants. Djemil falls in love with Nouredda and picks a beautiful flower from a precipitous crag for her sake, refusing a reward but daring to lift her veil to see her lovely face. To punish the offence, her brother ties him up with rushes and condemns him to die of thirst beside the spring. Naïla sends the waters of the stream over Djemil's bonds and sets him free, and although she reproaches him for having picked her magic flower, promises to help him win his loved one.

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Act 2. The Khan’s palace Accompanied by Morgab, Nouredda arrives at the palace of the Khan, her promised husband. They are joined by Djemil who, with his enchanted flower, conjures up a spring from which Naïla emerges. As soon as he sees her, the Khan prefers her to Nouredda. The rejected girl swears to avenge herself with the help of Morgab.

Fig. 20: Léo Delibes

Act 3. The mountain defile Once more Djemil offers his love to Nouredda, but her brother interrupts them and tries to kill him. He is again saved by Naïla, who bids him flee with Nouredda, although the water spirit, desolate that her love is unrequited, warns him that Nouredda does not care for him. He begs her to

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use the magic flower to make the girl fall in love with him, and Naïla, well knowing that her life is bound up with that of the flower, sacrifices herself by hanging it over Nouredda's heart, which at last warms towards Djemil. Naïla grows pale and slowly dies as the jet of water from the spring ceases to flow. The ballet was originally conceived for Adèle Grantzow, but as she hurt her foot during rehearsals, and was then detained in St Petersburg for the Tsarevitch’s wedding, Lucien Petipa and Charles Nuitter decided to pass on the role to Guglielma Salvioni. She was accomplished, but more limited as a soloist. The choreographical directions were sent on from Russia by Saint-Léon.

Fig. 21: Charles Nuitter

Nuitter’s scenario gave the ballet its Oriental setting, and was criticized for being too long: the second act should be halved, and much of the

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action condensed. "The final scenes are very well done, and as moving as the simple mime permits." As regards the music, the first and last scenes were composed by Ludwig Minkus, and the second and third by Léo Delibes. Delibes, now a man of thirty, had studied composition at the Conservatoire under Adolphe Adam, and had entered the Opéra as second chorus-master in 1865. His contribution to the score was noted for its many delightful melodies, his first essay at ballet music. In Jouvin's opinion, his music was "vivacious and especially lively", and contrasted effectively with the plaintive melodies of Minkus. Gautier wrote that Delibes "has no less talent by being a Frenchman, and has acquitted himself well of the task set him. We seem to recognize in the score some reminiscences, perhaps not sufficiently disguised, of Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream music. Nevertheless they fit in there very well: is not a ballet a mimed symphony?" "The style of the two composers," asserts the critic of La France Musicale (18 November 1866), "is essentially different and easily recognizable at a first hearing. M. Minkus's music has a vague, indolent, and melancholic character, full of grace and languor. That of M. Delibes, fresher and more rhythmic, is much more complicated in orchestration, and sometimes a little more ordinary. I should add that this difference in style is perfectly justified by the contrasting character of the two parts of the ballet." The critic of the Ménestrel declares that "the first act, despite several pretty details, seemed a little thin, but the music of the last scene contains some charming and often very expressive melodies. The second act is brilliant and does great credit to M. Delibes; it is certainly the most successful and most noteworthy portion; the whole of the score could have been entrusted to the young composer, and this will doubtless be done on another occasion." The first recording of the complete score in 1990 allowed for a more balanced assessment, with a recent critic rating Minkus’s contribution more favourably, and commenting on his “well-crafted music well suited to the story.” 8 The dancers drew favourable attention. La France Musicale reported: "The role of the Spring (Naïla) is...very well filled by Mlle. Salvioni ...a most intelligent artist, whose dancing is full of fire and intrepidity, and whose mime is most remarkable...M. Merante plays Djemil. He is a conscientious artist...who knows how to invest his roles with their appropriate character and likeness." Saint-Léon was nonetheless anxious to have Salvioni replaced by Grantzow, who was famed for her retraites

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sur pointes. La Source was revived the following year with Grantzow, who came from Russia to take the part of Naïla; she performed with considerable success. The situation was difficult for Salvioni who created a role conceived for Grantzow, for their styles were very different. "Mlle Salvioni dances and mimes the role of the Spirit of the Spring with much talent; she is pure, correct and lively", wrote Gautier. "Considering the nature of the character, one would like to find something a little gentler, more fluid, more pliant in her charm and her poses. That would suit her type of beauty, which is rather that of Diana than of a naiad." Salvioni made up for her lack of grace by feats of great strength that seemingly cost her no effort. "She excels", said Saint-Victor, "in those daring pas and vehement poses reminiscent of the violent design of Florentine painting. At times the brilliance of her style is a little dimmed by faulty timing, possibly caused by fatigue and anxiety about her foot. Her miming, like her dancing, is very Italian in flavour.” The third Naïla was another Italian, Angelina Fioretti, who danced the part on December 23, 1867. The two French dancers, Eugénie Fiocre and Léontine Beaugrand, also made a deep impression. Eugénie Fiocre, in the role of Nouredda, was a great success, especially in the Guzla dance. To Gautier she seemed "the prettiest blonde houri ever to have worn the bonnet and corset of pearls in the Mohammedan paradise. Her charming body shaded by light gauze specked with gold, is displayed with an exquisite grace in the pas de la guzla, one of the prettiest in the ballet." Other critics were less kind and described her pas as "a kind of Oriental cancan" and were greatly shocked by her costume, which, one critic said, "could not have been more disgraceful.” The young artist Edgar Degas was in the audience, and deeply taken by her beauty. His painting of her in the first act, sitting pensively by the spring, was to be the first of his many famous studies of the Paris Opéra ballet. Beaugrand's part was very small, limited to a short variation in the pas des voiles in the beginning of Act 2, but she danced it so perfectly that the whole house burst into applause. “Mlle Beaugrand had only one variation, but she made of that simple pas a little masterpiece of finesse and precision”, wrote Saint-Victor. A sum of 33,446.21 francs was expended on the production, and most of this went on the sets. Of the three used in this ballet, only one had been taken from store—the second, depicting the gardens of the Khan's palace, had originally been painted by Cambon and Thierry for Act 1 of the unperformed Zara. The most praised was that for the first and last scenes and co-designed by Despléchin and constructed under the guidance of

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The Minkus Ballets: The Scenarios Sacré, the chief machinist. It consisted chiefly of a high realistic mountain built upon the stage, with a spring of real water gushing from its side. In the first act, this spring flowed, limpid and abundant, amid lush undergrowth and marvellous exotic flowers, bathed in the first rays of a morning sun simulated by electric light: when the curtain first went up, the set was applauded on its own account, although some criticism was raised that the natural water contrasted too harshly with the painted rocks. In the last scene, the spring dried up, leaving nothing but a wasted crater at the foot of the bare, arid rock. Another scenic effect had been successfully employed in the third scene, in Morgab's tent when the gipsy had thrown a handful of herbs into her brazier and a bluish mist had been seen to rise— an illusion created by raising a gauze curtain.

Other Versions Arthur Saint-Léon arranged a new version entitled The Lily for Adèle Grantzow. Le Lys, ballet in 4 acts, was first performed in St Petersburg on 21 October/2 November 1869. Saint-Léon moved the action from Persia to China, but the music and dances were mostly borrowed from La Source. It was the first ballet which Grantzow created, and she was provided with the opportunity of dancing out a melody on a specially invented “Chinese” musical instrument.9 Produced in Italy under the title La Sorgente, and at the Viennese Court Opera as Naïla in 1878, The Spring has also had several more recent revivals: by A. Koppini at St Petersburg in 1902, by N. Sergeyev as a farewell evening for Agrippina Vaganova at St Petersburg in 1916, and again, with choreography by Vaganova and Ponomaryov, at Leningrad in 1925. Léo Staats used the music (in an arrangement by Henri Büsser) for dances in his Soirée de fête at the Paris Opéra in 1928. Separate versions of the pas de deux were arranged by John Cranko for Stuttgart in 1964 and by Balanchine for the New York City Ballet in 1968. 10 Printed Music/Arrangements La Source. Musique de Minkous (1er & 4me Tableaux) et Léo Delibes (2me & 3me Tableaux) (Paris: L. Parent, 1867). Piano score (155pp.). La Source: ballet en 3 actes et 4 tableaux (Paris: Heugel & fils, 1883, 1900, 1947). Piano score. La Source: ballet en 3 actes et 4 tableaux. Paris: E. Gérard, 1900? La Source: ballet en 3 actes et 4 tableaux (Melville, NY: Belwin Mills, 1985). Piano score. Reprint.

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3. Le Poisson doré (The Golden Fish) Fantastic ballet in 3 acts. Scenario: Arthur Saint-Léon, after a tale by Pushkin. Choreography: Arthur Saint-Léon, Music: Ludwig Minkus. First Produced: Part I—Bolshoi Theatre, St Petersburg 8/20 November 1866: Praskovia Lebedeva (Galia), Klavdiya Kantsyreva (the Golden Fish and the Page), Timofei Stukolkin (Taras), Lev Ivanov (Petro); Full version— Bolshoi Theatre, St Petersburg, 26 September/8 October 1867. Principal dancer: Guglielmina Salvioni. In 1867 Saint-Léon attempted another ballet on a Russian theme. Immediately upon his return from the highly successful Moscow première of The Humpbacked Horse he completed The Golden Fish, supposedly inspired by Pushkin's poetic fairy-tale (itself based on a German folktale, “The Fisherman and His Wife”), but so altered that no one was able to recognize it. A poor fisherman catches a talking golden fish, an enchanted prince, who asks in mercy to be thrown back into the sea. The fisherman complies, and returns to his hut of sticks and mud where his angry old wife upbraids him for his stupidity in not asking for a reward. The fisherman returns to the sea and calls on the fish who provides them with a fine house. But the wife is not satisfied, and asks repeatedly for incrementally more wonderful spells from the fish. The cottage becomes a noble residence, a royal castle, an imperial palace, the papal basilica. Her request to become the equal of God, however, leads to catastrophe, and they are returned to their little hut of sticks and mud.

The old Russian woman from Pushkin's poem became a Ukrainian girl, Galia; the old fisherman her young Cossack husband, Taras. In preparing The Golden Fish Saint-Léon did not seem to assimilate even the amateur advice he had had at the time of the creation of The Humpbacked Horse. Pushkin’s tale provides the merest framework for the scenario which is more concerned with providing opportunities for dance and local colour. Act 1 depicts the magical rise to fortune. Taras and Galia appear in the context of a Cossack milieu with set dances from Kazan. The relationship between them is developed, Galia’s dissatisfaction with her place as a fisherman’s wife emphasized. The crucial water scene ensues, when Taras throws out his net, the Golden Fish appears, and is saved through Taras’s kindness. Magic shells given to Taras by the fish are thrown into the Dnieper, bringing about the magic transformation to wealth and splendour, the incremental process of the wife’s growing greed and ambition conflated into this one great change in fortune. The rest of the act

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celebrates the new-found prosperity. Galia is seen in front of her mirror admiring her new self, an opportunity for some set national (Polish) ensemble dancing (mazurka, cracoviak), with an extended solo opportunity for Taras.

Fig. 22: Le Poisson doré: Frontispiece of the piano score (St. Petersburg)

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Act 2 develops the celebration of the good fortune, with Galia hailed a powerful monarch in the setting of her palace. Peasants bring her the traditional homage of bread and salt in her private apartment, which then changes to a luxurious chamber in the palace where there is a solemn entry of her court, complete with jester and musicians. This first part is dominated by triumphal marches which give way to more national dancing, again of an essentially Polish flavour (polskoi, cracoviak) with a long scene for the jester and musicians, and, very interestingly in the light of later developments, a dance for Bayadères with scarves. The relationship between Galia and Taras is developed in a big pas de deux that leads into the finale. Act 3 sees fortune succumb to hubris. The action is essentially static, divided between two set scenes, the first in the garden in front of Galia’s palace, the second, introduced by a long intermezzo, the Dances of the Roses on a fantastic island with an underwater scene (scène sous-marine). Only at the end is the plot resumed, with Galia’s triumphant dance that leads to the reversal of fortune and the return to origins in the finale which presents a thematic montage of all that has gone before. The first part of Le Poisson doré was given at a gala performance at the Bolshoi Theatre, St Petersburg 8/20 November 1866, with Lebedeva as Galia, Kantsyreva as the Golden Fish and the Page, Stukolkin as Taras, and Ivanov as Petro. The Crown Prince of Denmark and the Prince of Wales were present. The complete version of Le Poisson doré was performed at the Bolshoi Theatre, St Petersburg, on 26 September/8 October 1867, with Guglielmina Salvioni making her Russian début as Galia. Saint-Léon had limited co-operation from Salvioni. She performed many technical feats in the leading role of the Cossack wife, but could not be expected to create a Ukrainian character. The ballet was filled with novelties of every kind, with tricks performed by machines, such as a flight on a magic carpet, and the sudden rising up of a diamond castle. But nothing could save The Golden Fish from failure. It was the focus of repeated attacks by the critics, and it was used by Saltykov-Shchedrin as the point of issue in his bitter pamphlet, Project of a Contemporary Ballet, where all the absurdities of Saint-Léon were set down with most sarcastic remarks.11 The score, comprising fifteen numbers, shows a remarkably fluid concept of danced action, with only a few formally designated dances: mazurka, cracoviak and march in act 1, cracoviak, polonaise and march in act 2, and none actually named in act 3 in its two extended dance sequences. There is very high percentage of mimed dance in the score, with the finale particularly remarkable for its extended and durchkomponiert character, with the story thematically rehearsed in a long

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series of reminiscences. After The Golden Fish Saint-Léon produced three more ballets in St Petersburg: two curtain-raisers and a considerable four-act composition, The Lily, to music by Minkus (based on La Source). In vain did he rack his brain for novelties. His ballets, repeating one and the same pattern, were now played to half-empty houses. In 1869 the Directorate did not renew Saint-Léon's contract, and he left for Paris where, shortly before his death in 1870, he created Coppélia, which in the eighties found its way to Russia, there to attain a long and successful existence. Saint-Léon was not solely instrumental in the decline of the Russian ballet and its temporary loss of a positive ideal. Coppélia proved that he was capable of much more. But he was typical of the popular taste and was willing to be a useful tool in the hands of the artistic Directorate. It was the Russian dancers and the two Russian schools, always preserving the national tradition, who saved the ballet of that period from complete decline. Much in this respect was done by the Moscow ballet, freer from the constraints of officialdom and under less obligation to amuse at all costs.12 For Minkus The Golden Fish represented something more positive. That its musical qualities were recognized and had some popular appeal is suggested by the appearance of the complete score in piano arrangement within two years of the première—the first full work by the composer to be published in Russia. Printed Music/Arrangements Le Poisson doré. Ballet fantastique en trois actes composé par Mr. SaintLéon, musique de L. Mincous. Arrangé pour le piano par G. Schubert. (St Petersburg: Th. Stellowsky, c. 1870). Piano score (116 pp.).

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Fig. 23: Le Poisson doré: Frontispiece of the piano score (Moscow)

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Fig. 24: Le Poisson doré: Klavdya Kantsyreva as the Gold Fish

4. Don Kikhot (Don Quixote) Ballet in a prologue and four acts. Choreography and scenario by Marius Petipa: Music by Ludwig Minkus. Sets and costumes by Pavel Isakov, Fyodor Shenyan, and Changuine. First Produced: Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow, 14/26 December, 1869. Principal dancers: Wilhelm Vanner (Don Quixote), Anna Sobeshchanskaya (Kitri), Sergei Sokolov (Basil), Polina Karpakova (Dulcinea), Vassily Geltser (Sancho Panza), Leon Espinosa (Harlequin), Dmitri Kuznetsov (Gamache), Pavlova (Juana). The ballet Don Quixote is based on episodes from Miguel de Cervantes’ famous novel Don Quixote de la Mancha (1605). The hero is a parody of the knight-errant and, at the same time, a perfect exponent of chivalric nobility. The plot of the ballet concerns the unsuccessful attempt by a rich man, Comacho (called Gamache in the ballet) to marry the beautiful Quiteria (Kitri), who in turn is in love with Basilio (Basil), a young man from her village. There have been many adaptations of the work: 1) The story was first arranged for the ballet in 1740 by Franz Hilverding

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in Vienna. 2) Another version was presented at the Paris Opéra in 1743 under the title Don Quichotte Chez la Duchesse, with music by Joseph Boismortier. 3) In 1768 Jean Georges Noverre mounted a new version of Don Quixote in Vienna to the music of Josef Starzer, a satire on Angiolini. 4) Don Quixote was also adapted into a ballet in Milan as Don Chisciotte at La Scala in 1783 by the balletmaster Paolo Franchi with music by Angelo Tarchi. 5) Franchi's version of the work served as the inspiration for yet another ballet adaption of Cervantes' tale, staged by Antoine Pitrot to music by Niccolo Zingarelli. 6) The Ballet of the Paris Opera gave another version of Don Quixote in 1801 under the title Gamache's Wedding, staged by Louis Jacques Milon. 7) Charles Didelot, known today as the "father of Russian Ballet" staged a two act version of Don Quixote in St Petersburg for the Imperial Ballet in 1808. 8) James Harvey D'Egville produced a version of the work with music by Venua at Her Majesty's Theatre in London in 1809. 9) Salvatore Taglioni, uncle of Paolo, staged a production at the Teatro Regio in Turin in 1843. 10) Paul Taglioni (uncle of Marie Taglioni) presented his own version of Don Quixote with music by Strebinger for the Berlin Court Opera Ballet in 1850. Although there have been all these adaptations of the work, the most celebrated and enduring version was created by the choreographer Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus, first presented on 14/26 December 1869 by the Ballet of the Moscow Imperial Bolshoi Theatre. 1) The Moscow Scenario (1869) Prologue. Scene 1. The Study Don Quixote’s friends Sampson Carrasco and his wife Antonina are busy with household chores, dusting a bookcase, and putting into a cupboard some rusty armour and a pasteboard helmet. The old gentleman enters, convinced that evil magicians have moved his books. He seats himself in an armchair, opens a huge old tome and reads stories from ancient romances, full of brave knights, fabulous giants, and beautiful

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ladies. He nods off, his dreams filled with wild apparitions. As darkness falls, the local bumpkin Sancho Panza enters through a window, pursued by several angry village women from whom he has stolen a chicken. Don Quixote, rudely awakened, sends the women away. He tells Sancho of his determination to seek out adventure as a knight-errant and commissions Sancho to be his squire. The Don takes out the pasteboard helmet but it falls to pieces, so at Antonina’s suggestion, they use a basin for his helmet. Together he and Sancho set out on their adventures. Act 1. Scene 2. The Square Amidst a bustling crowd, Kitri, the daughter of the local innkeeper, steals out to meet her lover, the barber Basilio. Her father disapproves of this relationship, and sends Basilio away. The rich but foppish Gamache is also in love with Kitri, and goes to Lorenzo to ask for her hand in marriage. The latter is delighted to accept, much to the dismay of the young lovers who mock Gamache. Dancing begins in the square. A group of toreadors try to kidnap some girls, but their relatives hasten to their aid. Don Quixote arrives mounted on his old nag Rosinante, with Sancho following behind on a donkey. Sancho sounds a horn, and Lorenzo comes out of the inn. The Don takes him to be the local lord of the castle, and falls to his knees offering his services. He is invited into the inn, while Sancho remains in the square. He is surrounded by young girls who make him play blindman’s buff. The young men arrive and throw him into the air on a blanket. Don Quixote hastens to his rescue. He notices Kitri and hails her as his paragon Dulcinea. He interrupts her duet with Basilio to dance the minuet. The crowd collects again, with general merrymaking. Kitri and Basilio take the opportunity to make their escape, but are seen by Don Quixote who sets off after them with Sancho. Act 2. Scene 3. The Gypsy Camp Kitri, disguised as a boy, is seen walking with Harlequin from a troupe of travelling actors. They guess she is a girl and ask her to stay with them.

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Scene 4. The Puppet Theatre Forewarned of his arrival, the chief of the gypsies plans to play a trick on Don Quixote. Assuming a mantle and crown, the chief sits enthroned to receive him. The Don is deceived, and does him homage. The chief orders a festival to be given in the knight’s honour. It begins with Gypsy dances and is followed by a performance of the marionette theatre by the troupe. The Don is initially delighted, but, enthralled by the action of the puppets, he mistakes the soldiers for real and attacks the theatre. The gypsies are frightened by the commotion, and Kitri and Harlequin run off. Don Quixote falls in a faint. Scene 5. The Windmills Sancho leads his donkey, carrying the wounded knight, through the trees. He places the old man on the grass, and goes to sleep. As the moon rises, Don Quixote thinks he sees the face of Dulcinea, and tries to approach her. Windmills hide the moon from view, and fearing that evil magicians have taken her, he attacks the mills, seeing them as giants. His lance is caught up in the sails, and he is flung into the air, to land unconscious on the ground. Scene 6. The Wood Don Quixote’s slumbers are troubled by fantastical dreams. Fairies and gnomes are followed by monsters, particularly an immense spider which weaves a huge web. He slashes the web which vanishes to reveal a beautiful garden, filled with lovely ladies, presided over by the Queen of the Fairies and Amor. In the midst of them is Kitri in the form of Dulcinea. The vision fades. Act 3. Scene 7. The Square Back in the town square, Kitri and Basilio join in the general dancing. Lorenzo and Gamache enter, and Lorenzo decides that the time is right for

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him to give his blessing to his daughter’s union with the nobleman. Basilio pretends to stab himself out of despair, and as he lies dying begs to be united with Kitri. His wish is refused and Don Quixote challenges Gamache to a duel for this unkindness. The latter refuses to fight, and when the Don pulls off his wig, the merrymakers drive him out of the inn. Lorenzo agrees now to unite Kitri and Basilio, and no sooner has this happened than Basilio springs up and reveals his ruse, to general rejoicing. Act 4. Scene 8. The Tavern A magnificent festival is held in honour of Don Quixote. Suddenly the Knight of the Silver Moon appears and challenges Don Quixote to a duel. The old man is defeated. His adversary turns out to be his old friend Sampson Corrasco who forces the Don to lay down his arms for at least a year. The sorrowful knight agrees, lays aside his armour, and followed by Sancho, sets off for home. Before Petipa could assume full control of the St Petersburg company, the Directorate of the Imperial Theatres required him to produce a major work in Moscow. This was to be Don Quixote, with music by Minkus, on a Spanish topic, a work that was to become one of Petipa’s greatest realistic creations. The great success of the work, which stood quite apart from his assignments completed for St Petersburg, stemmed partly from his acumen in discerning the different requirements of the Moscow and St Petersburg audiences. He intuited that for Moscow he would need to provide a work with logical plot development, more in the nature of a good play with rounded characters, as well as opportunities for local colour. The Moscow version of Don Quixote was substantially different from the production of the same work prepared for St Petersburg two years later (9 November 1871). The Moscow Don Quixote (in four acts and eight scenes) was a robust comedy built around the interpolated story of Quiteria and Basilio from the second volume of Cervantes’ great novel. The extent to which Petipa had been inspired by the events of the novel itself can be demonstrated by the excerpt from Part II, Book 2, chapter 3, where the inspiration for the Dream Sequence is to be found. While Sancho passed his time in this manner, Don Quixote was attentive in observing about a dozen countrymen, who entered in at one side of this

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spacious arbour, mounted upon beautiful mares, each of them accoutred with rich and gay caparisons and hung round with little bells. They were clad in holiday apparel and coursed around the meadow in a body several times, with joyful moorish shout, crying out, 'Long live Camacho and Quiteria, he is rich and she is fair, and she the fairest of the universe.' Some time thereafter various sets of dancers appeared in different parts of the arbour; one of them consisted of twenty-four sword dancers, all of them clean, well made, jolly swains, clad in fine linen, and carrying white handkerchiefs embroidered with silk of various colours. There was one dance that pleased the knight prodigiously: a chorus of twelve most beautiful damsels under fourteen, clad in green, with locks either plaited or flowing loose, but all so fine and flaxen as to rival those of Phoebus herself, and crowned with garlands of roses, jessamine and woodbine. This beautiful bevy was led up to the dance by a venerable old man and an aged matron, both more agile than could be expected from their years. A bagpipe was their music, and with modesty in their looks and, lightness of foot, they tripped it away the prettiest in the world. After these, there was an emblematic dance of eight nymphs, divided into two bodies; the god of Love led one, and Interest the other; Cupid with his wings, his bow, his quiver, and arrows; Interest clad in gold, and silk of rich and various colours. The nymphs, attendants on Cupid, were Poetry, Discretion, Pedigree, and Bravery. The attendants on Interest were Liberality, Bounty, Treasure, and Quiet Possession. The whole masque was preceded by a wooden castle drawn by savages clad in ivy and hemp dyed green. On the front, and on each of the four sides of the machine, was inscribed, 'The Castle of Discretion.' Four able musicians played on the tabor and the pipe. Don Quixote asked one of the nymphs, what author had composed this entertainment, and being told it was the production of the parson, ‘I’ll lay a wager,' said he, ' that this same curate, is more a friend of Camacho than of Basilius...’ 13

The mock suicide is similarly taken directly from the novel (Part II, Book 2, Chapter 4): So saying, he [Basilius] laid hold of the staff, and drew from it a middling tuck; then fixing that which may be called the hilt on the ground, he threw himself with great energy upon the point, which in an instant came out bloody at his shoulder, leaving the unhappy youth weltering in gore, transfixed to the ground by his own weapon...The curate...exhorted him to fix his attentions upon the health of his soul...To this remonstrance, Basilius replied that, he would by no means confess, until Quiteria should first grant him her hand, a favor which would give him courage to undergo his confession...The hands of Basilius and Quiteria being joined, the tender-hearted curate, with tears in his eyes, pronounced the nuptial benediction, and fervently prayed that God would grant forgiveness and

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The ballet’s emphasis was on the basically merry adventures of the young lovers and the old knight and his rascally squire. Kitri (created by Anna Sobeshchanskaya) and Basilio (Sergei Sokolov) find the support and beneficent patronage of Don Quixote. It is ultimately a story about ordinary people striving to find everyday happiness, a topic most unusual for ballet in Russia of the 1860s. This basic orientation did rule out fantasy, but the ballet is always touched by humour. The encounter with the travelling troupe of actors sustains the picaresque, especially with the old device of the heroine en travestie. Kitri takes part in a charming comic dance in which Sancho, dressed as Harlequin (the famous danseur grotesque, Espinosa), and armed with a cage à la Papageno, tries to catch larks—Sobeshchanskaya and six coryphées dressed in bird costume. Even the deranged Don Quixote’s fraught delusions are etched with humour. When he sees in the rising moon his beloved Dulcinea, the moon by pathetic fallacy reflects the sadness of the situation. Great tears were seen to roll down its cheeks, thank to the skill of the Bolshoi’s mechanist Karl Waltz. But the mood was suddenly changed when the sadness was transmogrified into laughter as the moon began to smile benignly on the poor old man, much to delight of the audience. His attempt to save the moon from imaginary giants results in a delirious fight with turning windmills, and his subsequent dream in the woods is presented in this humourous vein. The old knight’s nightmares involve fighting with huge cacti and various monsters of incredible shape like a giant spider. Only at the end of it all he is able to see Dulcinea (Pelagaya Karpakova, since in the first version he did not confuse his protégée Kitri with his ideal beloved). The forced marriage of Kitri to Gamache proffered even more overt instances of humour. Basilio’s faked suicide comes close to slapstick, with Don Quixote insisting that the dying barber be united with his beloved. No sooner are they married than Basilo jumps up full of life, and the newlywed couple with their friends celebrate, wishing farewell to the old knight who departs for more wonderful adventures. The joyful atmosphere of the ballet was buoyed up by Spanish and

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other character dances, for the principals as well as the ensemble. Kitri and Basilio dance to a languid serenade, and then to a morena. The company have a zingara, jota and lola, as well as the dance of the torreros with swords, for the male corps de ballet. Petipa clearly recalled his youthful experiences in Spain, dancing and playing the castanets with the dancers of Andalusia. Reviews in the Moscow press were favourable. The Universal Gazette (109 [16 December 1869]) reports: "all the dances in Don Quixote possess the character of the country where the action is taking place. Languid grace, passion, and pulsating life are all reflected in them. We hear castanets, accompaniments of Spanish dancing." Such features were characteristic not only of the choreography but the music as well. More than ever before, in this ballet Minkus showed his intuitive understanding of the requirements of dance—melody, and an upward emotional surge so typical of this score that it continues to exert an infectious hold on both dancers and audiences. His ability to create the feeling and atmosphere of Spain was as able as any of his contemporaries, and is just as effectively expressed in the other dance forms—the czardas, the mazurka and, above all else, the waltz. Petipa’s scenario enabled the music, with its special concern for colour, to spring directly, organically, from the action, and to sustain the buoyant spirit of comedy. This is how Don Quixote in its Moscow version became a ballet d’action in the true sense. The place of this ballet in the early and particularly dynamic stage of Petipa’s Russian period reveals some typical characteristics. The pas d’action forwards the narrative in the manner of Jules Perrot, his teacher. Petipa’s own preference for the purely academic dance reveals itself in the various special interludes only tangentially related to dramatic exigencies. These are characterized by technical perfection in the attitudes and steps, the variety of enchaufements, and the stylized character dances invariably based on folk origin. So often the pas de deux from his ballets have been extracted and used as bravura showpieces by virtuoso dancers, as is particularly the case with this work.

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2) The St Petersburg Scenario (1871) Prologue. Scene 1 The Study Don Quixote, the would-be knight, reads about the past, is caught up in nightmares and sees visions of great deeds. His retainers Sampson Carrasco and Antonina stand by him. The comic rascal Sancho Panza is enlisted into the Don’s dream of knight-errantry, and the two set out on their adventures. Act 1. Scene 2. The Town Square The Don enters and we meet the innkeeper Lorenzo and his wife, as well as their attractive daughter Kitri. The old man sees in her his ideal beloved Dulcinea. She dances a tender serenade with her preferred suitor Basilio, and another reluctantly with the man preferred by her father, the foppish noble Gamache. The crowd scene features a simulated bullfight. Act 2. Scene 3. Inside the Inn There is much intrigue around the hand of Kitri. Basilio feigns suicide out of despair, and asks to be married to Kitri as he dies. This is refused and Don Quixote challenges Gamache to a duel. Gamache refuses to fight. Lorenzo is persuaded to bless the dying Basilio and Kitri, whereupon the former revives, and he and Kitri escape together, pursued by Lorenzo and Gamache, with the Don and Sancho in their wake.

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Act 3. Scenes 4-5. The Gypsy Camp There is a festival of csardas and tziganes. Don Quixote attacks the marionette theatre during the performance held in his honour. Act 4. Scene 6. The Windmills Don Quixote attacks the windmills which he imagines are evil giants holding Dulcinea captive. He is knocked unconscious. Scenes 7-8. The Wood The Don has fantastic dreams, fighting monsters, and then seeing Dulcinea in the midst of a garden filled with beautiful women. As the vision fades, the Don meets a duke and his hunting party. The Duke invites the old knight to be his guest. Act 5. Scenes 9-10. The Duke’s Palace There is a celebration in honour of the Don. It fêtes the marriage of Kitri and Basilio, with the crowning virtuoso pas de deux for the young couple. Epilogue Scene 11. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza set out again on their quest. When Don Quixote was transferred to St Petersburg, the situation was very different. It was presented at the Maryinsky Theatre, St Petersburg on 9/21

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November, 1871, this time in 5 acts and 11 scenes. The cast included Alexandra Vergina (Kitri), T. A. Stukolkine (Don Quixote), N. O. Goltz (Gamache), L. I. Ivanov (Basil), and A. Bogdanov (Lorenzo). Petipa had been officially appointed head of the St Petersburg ballet in 1869, and had to undertake the great task of moulding it into the company he needed to realize his numerous projects. Now he had to produce something that would appeal to a very different, affluent and aristocratic audience. Changes were made to the story, and he requested a new fifth act in three scenes from Minkus. Don Quixote no longer regarded Kitri simply as his protegée. He now actually mistakes her for Dulcinea, and she appears as such in the Dream Scene. This meant that the double role could now be taken by one ballerina who could be provided with more varied material. Greater emphasis was now placed on this big classical scene, where Kitri/Dulcinea was surrounded by a large corps de ballet and seventy-two children dressed as cupids. The cupids reappeared in the new fifth act at the Court of the Duke and Duchess, characters new to the scenario. The Grand Pas de Deux, accompanied by soloists and the corps de ballet, was danced by Vergina, who was partnered not by Basilio (Ivanov), but by Pavel Gerdt, who was brought in just for the sake of partnering. Many of the comic scenes were removed, as were some of the character dances from the Moscow version. Those dances that remained lost much of their national character, being transformed by classical steps and style, a process that saw the gradual evolution of academic character dancing that is a special feature of Petipa’s choreography, and would become a treasured element of the Russian classical heritage. The result of all this was that the Petersburg Don Quixote was not as popular as the earlier Moscow version. A contemporary review of the first performance singled out Stukolkine’s excellent realization of Don Quixote. The double part of Kitri/Dulcinea was seen as too difficult for Vergina’s abilities, but she was praised for her double tours in the Grand Pas d’Adage and her daintiness in the Pas d’Eventail. Radina showed brilliance in a chica, Kschessinsky and Tshislova distinguished themselves in a Mexican dance, as did Gerdt and Prikhunova in a pas de demicaractère. Other Spanish dances, including the mock bullfight, were performed by Simskaya and eleven danseuses dressed as men, and by Kemmerer and Ladaeva in the Jota Aragonesa. Don Quixote became established in the repertory, and its continued life on the Russian stage bears testimony to the appeal of its exuberance, the life-asserting and life-loving nature of its dances. Generations of Russian ballet-masters and dancers have preserved these in essence, even if in the process much has been changed. It is still part of the repertory, and is

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given today in three acts and seven or eight scenes. It passed into the twentieth-century repertory through the important reconstruction by premier danseur and régisseur Alexander Gorsky in 1900, after his move to Moscow from St Petersburg. This was his first opportunity to realize his ideas of a dramatically conceived action ballet on a grand scale, and he revised the choreography considerably, causing an uproar because of its unaccustomed character realism. The ballet again took on a new lease of life in the Soviet era in the 1940 version by Rostislav Zakharov, which remains in the in the repertory of the Bolshoi Ballet. 3) The Gorsky Scenario (1900) Prologue Scene 1. The Study Don Quixote, obsessed by stories of medieval chivalry he reads in ancient tomes, saves the local rascal Sancho Panza from the wrath of the townspeople from whom he has stolen a chicken. He tells Sancho of his decision to become a knight errant, improvises a suit of armour, and designates Sancho his squire. Together they set out on knightly quests. Act 1 Scene 2. A Barcelona marketplace Kitri, the beautiful innkeeper’s daughter, is in love with Basil, a poor barber, but her father Lorenzo wishes her to accept the offer of the rich buffoon Gamache, and turns away Basil. The townspeople make merry in a series of Spanish dances, including a mock bullfight and appearances by the toreador Espada and Mercedes, the street dancer. Don Quixote arrives at the inn astride his horse Rosinante and believes he recognizes in Kitri his loved and idealized lady Dulcinea. He interrupts her dance with Basil and makes her join in a minuet with him. Sancho Panza tries to kiss the young girls, is caught, and thrown in a blanket by the young men. Don Quixote observes how much Kitri and Basil are in love, and sees them run away together amidst the general merriment.

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Fig. 25: Don Quixote: From Gorsky's 1900 production

Act 2. Scene 3. A Gypsy encampment among the windmills Some gypsies offer shelter to the fleeing Kitri and Basil. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza arrive, and are received courteously by the gypsies. Some strolling players stage a puppet performance. The enacted story inflames Don Quixote’s imagination: he believes Dulcinea to be in danger, and attacks the marionettes as if they were enemy soldiers, sending the company fleeing in disorder. Scene 4. Don Quixote and the Windmills The windmills now creak into motion, and the old knight, taking them to be hostile giants, charges at them. He is caught up on one of the revolving sails, and falls to the ground. Wounded, he falls into a feverish sleep.

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Scene 5. Don Quixote’s Dream He dreams that he is in Dulcinea's garden, filled with light and beauty, inhabited by ethereal beings, dryads of the forest, presided over by their Queen. Kitri and Mercedes appear, accompanied by dreamlike figures of ideal womanhood, headed by Amor. But the dream fades away with the onset of dawn. Lorenzo and Gamache arrive in pursuit of the fugitive lovers: Don Quixote gives them false directions, in order to help the lovers. Sancho Panza, however, indicates the right path, and Lorenzo and Gamache follow his advice. Act 3. Scene 6. A tavern in Barcelona A festive crowd gathers. Basil and Kitri arrive in rapturous mood, and are happy amidst their friends, headed by Espada and Mercedes, until Lorenzo and Gamache arrive. Kitri is told she must marry Gamache. Scene 7. The Mock Suicide Basil pretends to kill himself. Kitri entreats Don Quixote to intercede with her father, so that she can marry the apparently stricken Basil. The ruse succeeds: the marriage is no sooner performed, than Basil throws off the pretence, and springs back merrily to life. Gamache accepts the inevitable, as does Lorenzo. Act 4. Scene 8. The Wedding The crowd enters to fete the marriage of Kitri and Basil, who perform their wedding pas de deux. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza now leave, always in search of the unattainable ideal, the fair Dulcinea.

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Fig. 26: Don Quixote Act 1: Entry of Kitri (1988)

Gorsky’s version added some new music by Anton Simon, a Spanish Dance for Mercedes in act 1, and the Variation of the Queen of the Dryads (Souvenir du Bal) from the scene of Don Quixote's Dream (The Garden of Dulcinea or The Kingdom of the Dryads) in act 2 that is still retained as part of the ballet's performing tradition. In 1903 Gorsky staged his version of the ballet for the Imperial Ballet. The role of Kitri was danced by Mathilde Kschessinska, and Riccardo Drigo composed two new variations for her—the famous Variation of Kitri with the Fan for the Grand Pas de Deux, and a variation for Kitri (Dulcinea) in Don Quixote's dream. Both of these additions remain part of the performance tradition of the ballet to the present day. Zakharov, when he produced Don Quixote afresh for Moscow 40 years later, interpolated musical numbers by Vassily Solovyev-Sedoy (Carmencita and a Sailors’ Dance in act 2). Anna Pavlova added to the repertory of her company a new and condensed version of Don Quichotte with choreography by L. Novikov and scenery and costumes by Korovine, which was well received. The part of Kitri has been taken by many famous dancers, for instance, Yevgenia Sokolova, Anna Pavlova, and Tamara Karsavina.

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The necessity of providing a lean horse and plump donkey for the ballet has led to many amusing incidents. Petipa himself related this story from 1869: ‘I recall the production of the ballet Don Quixote. On the eve of the first performance of this big ballet of mine, I went to the cavalry grounds (on Semenovsky Place) and searched for a long time until I found a horse worthy of the role of Rosinante. At the very first performance, the Grand Dukes came back stage to admire the horse with the drooping head, jutting ribs, and stiff back leg, answering exactly to Cervantes’ description of him. “Petipa!” the grand Duke Constantine Nikolaievich asked me, “Where did you get a horse which fills the role of Rosinante so perfectly?” “I succeeded in finding him on the Semonovsky military grounds, Your Highness!” “How much did you pay for him?” “Nine roubles, Your Highness.” “A gift, Petipa! In him you acquired a great actor to add to the personnel of your company.” My purchase of this horse really had an enormous success; on his appearance the entire audience broke into irrepressible laughter, and applauded a long time.’15

When Don Quixote was revived at St Petersburg in 1875 Sancho Panza had to walk on foot, for it was impossible to find a donkey. The horses hired in London for the Pavlova Company's production of the ballet were generally much too well-fed for the part of Rosinante and had to be made up accordingly, often to such good effect that there were visits from the officials of the R.S.P.C.A.16 Other modern adaptations of the Don Quixote theme have been: 1) Aurel von Milloss’s Le Portrait de Don Guichotte (Paris, 1947) (music Gofreddo Petrassi, for Jean Babilée); 2) Tatyana Gsovsky (German State Opera, Berlin, 1949) (music L. Spies); 3) Ninette de Valois (Sadler’s Wells Ballet, Covent Garden, London, 1950) (music Roberto Gerhard, with Robert Helpmann, Margot Fonteyn, and Alexander Grant); 4) Sergei Lifar, Le Chevalier errant (Paris, 1950) (music Jacques Ibert); 5) George Balanchine (New York City Ballet, 1965) (music Nikolai Nabokov, with Richard Rapp, Suzanne Farrell, Deni Lamont). Printed Music/Arrangements Don Quichotte. Ballet en cinq actes avec prologue et epilogue et onze tableaux arrangé pour le piano à deux mains Musique de L. Mincous.

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S. Petersbourg chez Th. Stellowsky, 1882. Piano score (166pp.). Don Quichotte: ballet en cinq actes = Don Kikhot / musique de L. Mincous. Moscou : A. Gutheil, [189-?] piano score (166 p.) Pas de Deux from ‘Don Quixote’. Arranged by Peter March. New York: Ballet Music, 1956. Pas de Deux from ‘Don Quixote’ by Louis Minkus. Orchestration by Robert Irving. London: J. & W. Chester Ltd., 1959. Piano score (12pp.). ‘Don Quichotte’ (pas de deux). Arrangement et Réduction pour Piano seul de Daniel Stirn. Paris: Gérard Billaudot, 1971. (9pp.) Don Quichotte: ballet en cinq actes de Marius Petipa. Godesberg: Rob. Forberg-P. Jurgenson Musikverlag, 1978. Don Quixote. Ballet in Five Acts By Marius Petipa. Music by Ludwig Minkus. Reproduced from the Th. Stellowsky St Petersburg Edition. Edited, and with a Prefatory Note by Baird Hastings. London and New York: Dance Horizons & Dance Books, Ltd., 1979. Piano score (x, 167pp.). ‘Don Quixote’: Pas de Deux. Arranged by William McDermott. MS. Collection of Musical Scores, ca. 1850-1982. Don Kikhot: balet v trekh dyestviyakh. Moskva: Izd-vo Muzyka, 1982, 1989.

5. Camargo Ballet in 3 acts and 5 scenes. Scenario: Jules Henri Vernoy de SaintGeorges and Marius Petipa. Choreography: Marius Petipa. Music: Ludwig Minkus. Sets: Andrei Roller. Costumes: Yevgeny Ponomaryov. First Produced: Bolshoi Theatre, St Petersburg, 17/29 December 1872. Principal dancers: Adèle Grantzow (Marie Camargo), Simskaya (Madeleine Camargo), Nicholas Goltz (Camargo père), Paul Gerdt (Vestris), Lev Ivanov (Comte de Melun). SYNOPSIS Act 1. Scene 1. The garden of M. Camargo’s house. To the left a terrace and a summer pavilion. In the background a wall with a low gate. The neighbouring house rises above the wall, with windows that overlook the garden. In a summerhouse servants are preparing a table for a meal under the instructions of Madeleine, the elder daughter of Camargo. She tries to harry the maids, and looks at the windows of the neighbouring house. When the

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servants depart, a window next door opens, and a young man appears. He is in love with Madeleine and throws her a bouquet and a letter asking to meet with her. As she hears her father approaching, she tells him to hide. Camargo enters and chides his daughter for dressing too coquettishly. A servant brings in the guests, and Camargo leads them into the summerhouse. Marie appears, running after butterflies with her net, in total disregard of the guests. She eventually catches one of them with her net, obliging her father to apologize for her and present her to his friends who compliment her on her charm. As the guests sit down to their meal, the great dancing master Vestris arrives with his violinist. Madeleine recognizes the young man from the neighbouring house. He turns out to be the Comte de Melun, notorious for his amorous adventures. Vestris is unwilling to disturb the dinner, and proposes coming back the next day, but Marie insists on having her lesson immediately. The violinist begins the lesson with a pas de deux, but Marie finds it sluggish, and quickens her steps. The Comte finds himself increasingly drawn to Marie even though he has already promised to marry Madeleine. Camargo is displeased with Marie’s excited dancing, and feels the modern trends are unsuited to modest young women. He illustrates his point by initiating a pavane with one of the ladies present: all the guests join in. As twilight falls, the guests begin to leave. Vestris brings out a playbill announcing a fancy dress ball in Saint-Germain, and invites the sisters to accompany him and his companion to the ball. The Comte tries to persuade Madeleine to agree, while Vestris works on Marie. The sisters finally agree to go, and the men promise to fetch them later. Camargo returns to see off the remaining guests, and conduct his two daughters indoors. After some time, marked by the lowered curtain, Vestris and the Comte appear, in long cloaks. Camargo comes with a servant to lock up the summerhouse: he finds the bill for the ball, and pockets it just as the sisters come out of the house steathily. After some indecision, they run out of the garden followed by the cavaliers, as Camargo reappears and locks the garden gate. Scene 2. A conservatory in Saint-Germain, colourfully illuminated. Tables are distributed around, with people feasting. The partygoers are in masks. The ball has commenced, and a quadrille is playing, the different episodes marking the various arrivals of the guests. Vestris and De Melun enter with the two sisters, in dominos and masks. The Comte is now preoccupied with Marie to the neglect of Madeleine. Marie is enraptured by the dancing, and disappears into the crowds. Madeleine goes to look for

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Fig. 27: Camargo: Cracoviak, titlepage of the piano score

Fig. 28: Camargo: Pas de Deux, Pierina Legnani and Sergei Legat (1900)

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her. The dancing ends, and the Comte now decides to abduct Marie. He instructs two masked servants to carry her off at a given signal. The guests reenter with Vestris, and ask him to dance for them, and his performance is received with applause. Marie now enters in a different mask, and dances a cracowiak, to great approbation, especially from the young men. Camargo enters at this moment. The Comte signals to his servants to carry Marie off, while Camargo, having found Madeleine, upbraids her for coming to such a place. Increasingly worried at not finding Marie, he leaves with Madeleine. The dancing is resumed with verve. Scene 3. Marie Camargo’s dressing room in Count De Melun’s house Marie, although kidnapped by De Melun, is reassured by his kindness and happy at his promise of marriage. She is busy with her toilet when Madeleine rushes in. She shows Marie the letter the Comte wrote to her, so that they find that they are both victims of the same false promises, and vow to be avenged on the Comte. Marie sends Madeleine into an adjoining room while receiving De Melun’s guests, all of whom try to flirt with her. Vestris also comes in, and presses upon his pupil an invitation from the Duc de Mayenne to a garden festival. She accepts thinking it will provide opportunity for revenge, and asks Vestris to rehearse her dance with her. He hides under the table at the approach of the Comte, who begins lunch with Marie, aware that Vestris is under the table. He feeds him tidbits from the table, and eventually laughingly brings him out. He agrees that Marie shall go to the garden festival, and swears his love for her. She is enraged, and shows him the letter he wrote Madeleine. He asks pardon for his flirtatiousness, but Marie resolves henceforth to live for art alone, and runs out. De Melun is about to vent his wrath on Vestris, when Camargo arrives, and forces his way in. Madeleine rushes out of the adjoining room, to support her father who demands to know who Marie’s kidnapper is. Madeleine is about to identify the Comte, but he entreats her to remain silent. Camargo demands satisfaction, and now Marie runs in to her father who pushes her aside as unworthy, although she professes her innocence, begs his forgiveness, and affirms her decision to live for art alone. Vestris shows him the invitation from the Duc de Mayenne, and urges him to allow Marie to participate. Camargo gives his consent, then leaves taking his daughters with him. De Melun is disconsolate at losing the only woman he has really loved.

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Scene 4. A magnificent garden with kiosks, statues and vases of flowers Guests are promenading in the shaded walks of the garden, among them the Spaniard Don Hernandez and his wife, both in dominos and masks. They are observed by a young man, the Comte in fact, who, having already forgotten Marie, is now in pursuit of this lady. She is complicit in this, and at a prearranged signal, changes places with a woman dressed in an identical costume. Donna Hernandez and De Melun are making their escape when they meet the Duc de Mayenne who invites the Comte and his companion to sit with him, something they cannot refuse. The festival begins, with two masques representing Winter and Summer. Of all the dancers, Marie achieves the greatest success although this is hardly noticed by the Comte who is so taken up with his new infatuation. Marie decides to take her revenge, and slips off the mystery lady’s mask, just as De Melun is passionately kissing her hand. Don Hernandez angrily leaves with his wife, threatening the Comte. Marie explains her actions to the Duc, her desire to be avenged on the man who had promised to marry her sister. The Duc insists that the Comte ask Camargo for the hand of Madeleine, and promises to ask the King to approve the marriage. Vestris and Marie are invited to appear in the Royal festival. Scene 5. A hall in the Palace of Versailles The Comte, Madeleine and Marie are waiting for the King, who enters amidst a grand retinue. The couple ask for the Royal permission to marry which is duly granted, and they are invited to attend the festival. During this entertainment, a grand divertissement is performed, with Marie in the leading role. She enjoys great success, and is established as a famous dancer. The ballet eulogizes two of the most legendary names of eighteenthcentury ballet history. Gaetano Vestris (1728-1808) was born in Florence, and having studied in Italy, made his Parisian début as a dancer in 1748, where he enjoyed one triumph after another. He was the first dancer to appear without a mask, and was considered the most modern dancer of his time. He become chief choreographer in 1770, before eventually handing over the job to Noverre six years later. He continued dancing until 1782, and then concentrated increasingly on teaching and the career of his famous son Auguste. He was a formidable technician and a great artist in his own right. Marie Ann de Curpis de Camargo (1710-70), the French dancer, was born in Brussels, of Spanish descent. She made her debut as a

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dancer in Brussels at an early age, and later studied at the Paris Opéra Ballet School. She appeared on stage at the Opéra in 1725, becoming the rival of the reformer Marie Sallé, and retired in 1751. Camargo is an important link in the development of ballet, because she shortened her skirt a few inches to reveal the instep, which allowed her to dance more freely and perform steps of elevation, in which she was brilliant. She is also credited with being the first dancer to wear drawers while dancing, of inventing the entrechat-quatre (c. 1730) and making the ninety-degree turnout of the feet proper for ballet dancing. The ballet Camargo is based partly on historical fact, for one night in the month of May, 1728, Marie Camargo and her sister were abducted by the Comte de Melun and taken to his mansion. A letter to Petipa from the famous librettist Saint-Georges (29 November 1867) puts the creation of this ballet into some perspective: "Dear Petipa, This letter will be delivered to you by Mlle Grantzow, whose talent I literally adore. Mlle Grantzow has had a brilliant success in Paris in my ballet, The Corsair. She is not only a superb dancer, but a distinguished pantomimist. Therefore, I recommend that you stage for her our charming ballet Camargo. You will never find a better performer, and then, I hope, I will see her in it in Paris, where you will stage it. I will be doubly excited: first, at seeing you again, and secondly, I am certain that my success will be divided with her, and with you. The best of wishes from your devoted Saint-Georges.’17

The historical occurrence, transferred to the stage, was greeted with enormous enthusiasm by both critics and public, thanks in part to the superb performance of Grantzow. The ballet was splendidly produced for her benefit. The mimed scenes were well arranged, and there were some fine variations and wonderful ballabiles. Camargo was enthusiastically received by press and public alike.

Other versions An earlier ballet entitled Camargo was created by Hippolyte Monplaisir (scenario and choreography) with music by Costantino dall' Argine at the Scala on January 11, 1868; it was revived by Marzagora, still at the Scala, for the Carnival of the same year, and at the Regio in Turin during the 1871 Carnival. The most famous revival of Saint-George’s scenario was twenty-nine years after the premiere, in St Petersburg, with the Petipa choreography adapted by

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Lev Ivanov, and Minkus’s music of course. The scenery was by Oreste Allegri. This historic event took place on January 28, 1901, when Pierina Legnani chose the title role for her farewell evening and gave a performance that has remained famous in the annals of the Maryinsky Theatre.18 Printed Music/Arrangements Maurischer Tanz : aus dem Ballet "Kamargo” von L. Minkus ; [arrangiert von] Hermann Reinbold. Moscou: A. Gutheil, [189-?] 5 p. of music For piano; originally for orchestra. A Russian Dance and Pavane were also printed.

6. Le Papillon (The Butterfly) Ballet-pantomime in 4 acts. Scenario: Marie Taglioni and Vernoy de Saint-Georges. Choreography: Marie Taglioni and Marius Petipa. Music: Ludwig Minkus. First performance: Bolshoi Theatre, St Petersburg, 6/18 January 1874. Principal dancer: Yekaterina Vazem (Farfalla). SYNOPSIS. Act 1. The house of Hamza The ancient sorceress Hamza is making up in front of a mirror in the hopes of rejuvenating herself sufficiently to attract Prince Djalma, whose kiss could give her back her youth and beauty. She catches the beautiful Farfalla mimicking her and tries to strike the girl with her crutch, but misses her and injures her own servant Patimate. At that moment Djalma enters, and instead of paying court to her, kisses Farfalla, while his guardian reveals his suspicion that it is Hamza who once kidnapped the daughter of the Emir. When the spiteful sorceress falls asleep, Farfalla tickles her with a flower, fluttering around her like the insect whose name she bears ("Farfalla” being the Italian word for butterfly). Some ladies of the court amuse themselves by chasing the gaily coloured insects, and so Farfalla falls into their net and is passed on to the prince. In pinning her down, he recognizes the girl and allows her to fly away with the swarm. She is soon recaptured by Hamza, but Patimate sets her free and traps his mistress in the net instead, sending the old witch to the Emir as the kidnapper of his daughter.

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Act 2. Hamza’s garden Under threat, Hamza makes Farfalla reappear and restores her to the Emir, who affiances her to Djalma. The sorceress, however, succeeds in coming between the two just as they are about to embrace, thus receiving the kiss which by its magic will give her back her youthful charms. When the Prince still repulses her, she sends him to sleep in an enchanted garden and turns Farfalla into a butterfly once more. Djalma awakes to find Farfalla fluttering about him. He grasps the creature and conceals her. The wedding procession approaches preceded by a torch carrier. Attracted by the light, the butterfly is caught in the flames; her wings are singed and she faints, changed back to her womanly form, into the Prince’s arms. The spell is broken and Hamza is turned into a statue. This, the only ballet choreographed by Marie Taglioni, was the first to have a score composed by Offenbach. It was also the triumph of the unfortunate Emma Livry, who was to die at the age of twenty only a few months later, on July 26 1863, from burns sustained during a rehearsal of La Muette de Portici, when her tutu caught fire from a proscenium light. She was a thin, rather plain girl whose success was due to her technical and artistic gifts alone. The critics wrote of her that "her steps would have left no imprint on the flowers." Commenting on her favourite pupil's admirable performance, Taglioni said. "It is true that I never saw myself dance, but I must have danced like her!'. She gave poor Emma a photograph bearing the famous inscription: "Make the public forget me, but do not forget me yourself."19 This was another revival of an older ballet by Petipa, whose habit was to adorn the old work with a series of character and classical dances in the new spirit of his inspiration. He did it with La Fille du Danube and now with Le Papillon. In both instances, he had now to recreate the aerial roles created by Marie Taglioni and Emma Livry respectively for the more earthy gifts of Yekaterina Vazem.20 The revival turned out to be a great success, as she recounted in her Memoirs. “The middle of the 1873/4 season marked the beginning of my own repertoire; before then I had only danced old ballets produced for other ballerinas. At the beginning of 1874 I appeared for the first time in a grand ballet produced by Petipa especially for me, The Butterfly. The story of the ballet, written by the Parisian ballet librettist Saint-Georges, was not, God knows, especially engaging. At the time this ballet was produced, Petipa probably took into account that a ballet The Butterfly, to the same scenario

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but with music by Offenbach, had been performed successfully in Paris by the ballerina Emma Livry, who was burned on the stage of the Grand Opéra during a dress rehearsal of the opera La Muette de Portici. Minkus wrote the music for The Butterfly here; Petipa produced very many dances for this ballet, and in general they were interesting. Here, incidentally, in the 'Dances of the Butterflies', I had a variation to a waltz by Venzano, which at the time enjoyed great popularity. The celebrated Adelina Patti sang it at the Italian opera in Donizetti's Linda di Chamounix. In this variation, which began with temps requiring elevation, I made two pirouettes renversées on pointe and stopped, as they say in ballet, à la seconde (in second position). This was new. Before that Dor did the same pirouettes in Le Corsaire, which astonished everyone, but on demi-pointe, which was much easier. The variation ended with my jumping on one pointe, which no ballerina had ever done before. The balletomanes immediately christened this pas the 'Vazem Variation', to the Ferraris, Dor, Grantzow Variations, etc., already in existence. As regards participants in the performance, The Butterfly was well produced. Golts, Lev Ivanov, and Alexandre Bogdanov played its acting roles, and all the best soloists performed the dances, led by Madaeva, Radina, Kschessinsky, and of course Gerdt, who excelled in his ethereal variation in the 'Dances of the Butterfly'. The character dances were very effective: Persian, Malabar, and especially the dance of the Circassian women, performed by the corps de ballet armed with lances.”21 Another of Petipa’s additions to the ballet was a Variation for Prince Djalma. When La Bayadère was revived in 1900, the premier danseur Nikolai Legat interpolated Minkus’s variation into the Grand Pas d’Action in the last scene of the work where it has subsequently stayed as a solo for Solor. Printed Music/Arrangements Papillon Quadrille (the Verdak Collection).

7. Les Brigands (The Robbers) Ballet in 4 acts. Scenario and Choreography: Marius Petipa. Music: Ludwig Minkus. First Produced: Bolshoi Theatre, St Petersburg, 26 January/7 February 1875. Principal dancer: Yekaterina Vazem. The scenario of this ballet was based on the Miguel Cervantes’ novella, La Gitanella, taken from the Novelas Ejemplares (1605). Presumably the

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story did not originate with Cervantes; most likely he drew it from an earlier oral tradition. This tale gave rise to two important ballets, certainly known to Petipa, that might well have had their influence on the Petipa-Minkus work. The first, La Gitana (ballet with prologue in 3 acts, libretto and choreography by Filippo Taglioni, 5 December 1838, Bolshoi Theatre St Petersburg, with music by Schmidt and Auber), was created by Marie Taglioni and N. O. Goltz. The ballet tells of Lauretta, the daughter of a duke, who is abducted when only 7 years old and brought up by a tribe of gypsies, and of Ivan, son of the governor of Nizhny Novgorod, who falls in love with her. The title role became one of Taglioni’s biggest successes when she danced it in London in 1839. The second, La Gypsy (a ballet-pantomime in 3 acts, libretto by Vernoy de Saint-Georges, Paris Opéra, 28 January 1839) with music by Benoist, Thomas and Marliani and choreography by Mazilier, attained 42 performances, and remained in the repertory until 1844. Les Brigands centres around the abduction of Angela, Countess Aldini’s daughter (Kusnetsova). In the prologue the role of Angela was played by the pupil Nedremskaya, and by Vazem in the other two acts. Ten year later, Angela is found and freed by Captain Pepinelli (Stukolkin) and the Countess gives her consent to their marriage. The ballet concluded with a series of dances called ‘The Allegory of the Five Parts of the Globe’, consisting of the ‘March of the Five Elements’, the ‘Dances of the Five Continents’, and separate dances from different parts of the world. Vazem’s virtuosity was a source of astonishment: with endless cabrioles in the Pas de Enchanteresse, and variations en pointes in ‘The Fortune Teller’. Her versatility was displayed in the national dances of ‘Cosmopolitan Europe’. Petipa was praised for his dance arrangements, but criticized for their lack of connection with the main theme, especially in the apotheosis which was resembled a random divertissement. Vazem provides a helpful account of this work in her memoirs: “The following season Petipa's ballet The Bandits was given for the first time for my benefit performance; it was of purely 'passing' interest, devoid of story and choreographic content. Its piéce de resistance was the concluding divertissement, entitled 'The Allegory of the Continents', which was totally unrelated to the story of the ballet. It was doubtless suggested to the balletmaster by the féeries which began to come into fashion on western stages at that time, especially those of Italy and Paris. In this artistically dubious 'allegory', numerous representatives from five continents promenaded in front of the audience and then performed various national dances in constantly changing stage illumination. For me, a classical ballerina, Petipa found nothing better than the number,

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'Europe—cosmopolitan'. I came on in a costume which represented an odd combination of the dress of various nationalities, and danced in succession, with brief pauses, a Spanish cachucha, a German waltz, a French cancan, an English gigue, and finally a Russian dance. I remember I was greatly troubled as I had to dance the cancan alone, which as everyone knows is always performed by a couple. I got out of this difficulty by deciding to perform it imagining I had a cavalier, and cancanned this solo to the merry sounds of the allegro from Suppe's famous overture The Queen of Spades. Before that I had never danced a cancan in my life, but I was told it didn't come out too badly. The public insisted on an encore but I did not consent, considering successes like this below my artistic dignity. I encored only the last dance—the 'Russian'. The ovations of our public after this 'cosmopolitan' were a most revealing verdict about the level of its artistic taste. I was quite disturbed that I had performed a marvellous classical variation in this ballet to Auer's violin solo, my apparent success in which, for all the dance's solid virtues, could not compare with what came to me for this 'cosmopolitan' nonsense.”

8. Les Aventures de Pélée (The Adventures of Peleus) Mythological ballet in 3 acts and 5 scenes. Scenario and choreography: Marius Petipa. Music: Ludwig Minkus, with interpolated numbers by Léo Delibes. First Produced: Bolshoi Theatre, St Petersburg, 18/30 January 1876. Principal dancers: Yevgeniya Sokolova (the Goddess Thetis), Pavel Gerdt (Peleus), Lyubov Savitskaya (Cupid), Maria Gorshenkova (Venus), Christian Johansson (Jupiter), and Lev Ivanov (Adonis). The ballet is also known as Les Noces de Thésis et Pélée. Peleus, during a hunt, accidentally kills King Euryation and flees to Thessaly. There he finds refuge at the court of King Acastus, whose wife Hippolyte fall in love with him. Peleus repulses her and in revenge she tells her husband that Peleus had tried to seduce her. The king commands that Peleus be chained to a rock and left to the mercy of wild animals. But the goddess Thetis and her Nereids save him. Under Cupid’s spell, she falls in love with Peleus and takes him to Olympus where Jupiter blesses their union. Sokolova distinguished herself with Gerdt in La danse des Nereids and in Les Tranformations. There were Bacchic and Infernal Dances, and some massed groupings in the Olympus Scenes, The costumes and scenery were very ordinary, and the music was found to be colourless and unmelodious. Yet the ballet proved surprisingly successful.

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Revivals Later, on the occasion of the state visit of Kaiser Wilhelm II to Tsar Nicholas II, Petipa mounted a balletic pasticcio, Les Noces de Thétis et Pélé, in 1 act and 3 scenes, for the Imperial Ballet on 28 July/ 9 August 1897 at Peterhof, arranged from this earlier work, with Riccardo Drigo making additions and revising Minkus's score. Music by Delibes was interpolated on this occasion—the suite of dances from his incidental music to Victor Hugo’s Le Roi s’amuse (Paris, Comédie Française 1882). Principal Dancers—Mathilde Kschessinska (as the Goddess Thetis), Pavel Gerdt (as Peleus), Olga Preobrazhenskaya (as Cupid), Olga Leonova (as Venus), Lyubov Roslavleva (as Flora), Alexei Bulgakov (as Jupiter), and Sergei Legat (as Adonis).

9. Son v Letnyuyu Noch’ (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) Ballet in 1 act, using the incidental music by Felix MendelssohnBartholdy, arranged by Ludwig Minkus. First produced: the Hermitage Theatre of the Winter Palace, St Petersburg, 14/26 July 1876. Principal dancers: Yevgeniya Sokolova, Marie Petipa, Pavel Gerdt. This miniature ballet was built on scenes from Shakespeare’s play, determined by the musical numbers contained in Felix Mendelssohn’s famous incidental music. Overture, 1) Scherzo, 2) “Over hill over dale”, 3) “You spotted snakes”, 4) The Spells, 5) Entr’acte (Hermia seeks Lysander, and entry of the rude mechanics), 6) “What hempen homespuns”, 7) Nocturne, 8) The Removal of the Spells, 9) Wedding March, 10) Fanfare and Funeral March, 11) Bergomask, 12) Wedding March reprise, 13) Finale: “Through the house”. The Mendelssohn score was shaped by Petipa to suit his intentions, with Minkus attending to the rearrangement of the numbers, and providing bridging music and some interpolated themes. For Vera Krasovskaya, this ballet represented an important moment for Petipa: “It was as if the choreographer were preparing himself for the meeting with Tchaikovsky and Glazunov when the dance and the music had to fuse into a single body of poetic images.”22 The ballet was revived in May 1889 for the state visit of the Shah of Persia.

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An anecdote involving this ballet by the balletomane and critic Konstantin Skalkovsky throws some light on the work, and further indicates a perceived contemporary decline in theatrical standards. This situation would lead to the ballet reforms under the director Ivan Vsevolozhsky during the 1880s: The following case demonstrates the theatre supervisors' indifference to the dictates of the public. Although the affiche announced that [Petipa's] ballet A Midsummer Night's Dream was to be given, for some backstage reason they performed only half the ballet, and, moreover, the worse half. The entire first part, in which Mme Vazem danced, was cut, although this ballerina calmly danced the very same day in another ballet, which means that her legs were in good order. After the half of Dream which was deleted, only the part where Bottom treats himself to hay was left but the ballet managers might better have kept the hay and treated the public to dances. La Vivandiere has two acts which they joined into one; this caused, as in the stories of Nemirovich-Danchenko, the sun to rise twice on the same day, once from either side of the stage!23

Shakespeare’s life and plays, seen through the rosy haze of Romanticism, inspired numerous stage adaptations. Giovanni Casati’s ballet Shakespeare, ossia Il Sogno di una Notte di Mezza Estate (with music by Carlo Giorza) was produced at La Scala Milan on 27 January 1855, and used Shakespeare’s friendship with Queen Elizabeth I as its principal theme. It introduced Falstaff as a character, and included a pageant in which the playwright is shown his own poetic creations (Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and Othello). The early performances of this ballet were very successful, and would have been remembered, even if it did fall into later oblivion. It is further significant because the original cast included Claudina Cucchi (1834-1913)—the first real success for one of the leading Italian stars later to enjoy great popularity in St Petersburg during this most splendid period in Russian ballet history.24

10. Bayaderka (La Bayadère) (The Temple Dancer) Grand Ballet in 4 acts and 7 scenes. Scenario: Sergei Khudekov. Choreography: Marius Petipa. Music: Ludwig Minkus. Sets and costumes: I. Andreyev, M. Bocharov, P. Lambin, A. Roller, M. Shishkov, H. Wagner. First Produced: Bolshoi Theatre, St Petersburg, 23 January/4 February, 1877. Principal dancers: Yekaterina Vazem (Nikia), Pavel Gerdt (Solor), Lev Ivanov (the Rajah), Maria Gorshenkova (Aiya), Maria M. Petipa (Gamsatti).

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Fig. 29: Sergei Khudekov

SYNOPSIS Act 1. Scene 1. A temple in India. A young warrior Solor has just completed a successful hunt with his friends, and sends his servant to the Rajah with the tiger as a present. He lingers in the temple, hoping to see the principal votive dancer, Nikia, with whom he has fallen in love. She returns the love, even though it violates her chastity. The High Brahmin has also fallen in love with her, and presses his case. She refuses indignantly, and he swears vengeance. The fakirs dance around the sacred fire, and are attended by the bayadères. One of their number, Magdaveya, tells Nikia that Solor is waiting for her. She comes out of the temple, and dances rapturously with Solor. They swear their love at the sacred fire, observed malevolently by the High Brahmin. Scene 2. The Rajah's palace. The Rajah is delighted with the present, and decides Solor would be the perfect spouse for his daughter. When the young soldier appears, the

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Rajah offers Gamsatti’s hand in marriage. Solor, afraid of offending the ruler, is unable to turn down the great honour. He is, morerover, captivated by the princess’s beauty, and forgets his vow to Nikia. The Brahmin appears, and tells the Rajah of Solor’s involvement with Nikia. This is overheard by Gamsatti. Nikia, as principal temple dancer, has been summoned to pray a blessing over the princess. Gamsatti calls Nikia and tells her the name of her future husband, but Nikia refuses to believe her. Gamsatti tries to bribe Nikia to give him up, and when she refuses, they quarrel. Nikia tries to stab the princess, but is disarmed by Gamsatti’s maid Aiya. After Nikia has gone, Aiya offers to have her killed. Act 2. A square in front of the palace (The betrothal of Solor and Gamsatti) The betrothal is heralded by a splendid procession and divertissement. The Rajah and his daughter are carried in on palaquins, while Solor enters on an elephant. Various groups dance for the royal party. Solor and Gamsatti come forward to celebrate their betrothal. The Rajah orders Nikia to perform a blessing for the occasion. During the dance Aiya presents her with a basket of flowers in which a venomous snake is hidden. Nikia is bitten, and the fakir kills the snake. The Brahmin offers Nikia an antidote in exchange for her love, but she refuses and continues to dance, despite growing delirium, until she drops lifeless.

Fig. 30: La Bayadère: Stage design for act 2 (1877)

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Act 3. Solor’s room, and then a dream landscape (The Kingdom of Shades) Solor is grief-stricken at Nikia's death. The fakir, wishing to distract him from his pessimistic mood, summons a snake-charmer. Solor smokes opium and falls asleep. He dreams that his spirit wanders in the kingdom of shadows. The ghosts of dead bayadères appear before him. At last he finds Nikia among them and swears that he will never forsake her again. They are rapturously united.

Fig. 31: La Bayadère: Nikia's death (1877)

Act 4. The interior of the temple, then an apotheosis Solor, after his visit to the Kingdom of Shades, goes to the temple for the blessing of his marriage to Gamsatti. They are haunted by the ghost of Nikia as they dance. A thunderstorm begins: the bayadère's prophecy is fulfilled. There is a terrible earthquake; the temple falls in ruins, and all are crushed to death. In an apotheosis the transfigured forms of Solor and Nikia, united at last, are seen floating in the air against the backdrop of the Himalayas.

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This ballet represents Marius Petipa's first unqualified triumph at the Imperial Theatre of St Petersburg. The success was partially owing to the lavish spectacle. Alexander Benois left a vivid description of the splendour of the première: ... a magnificent tropical park with palm trees and baobabs growing in profusion. In the distance one could see a procession approaching; it consisted at first of cardboard figures, but soon the real ones filed across the stage to disappear in the opposite wing and then form a group in the background. The appearance of the bejewelled elephant caused me to clap my hands with delight, but the innumerable heads and arms of the gilt idols made me feel distinctly uncomfortable, and I could hardly keep my seat at the sight of the ‘royal tiger’ nodding his head from side to side. He was so convincing. But what enchanted me more than anything—more than the warriors in their golden armour, more than the beautiful veiled maidens whose arms and ankles jingled with bracelets—was the group of blackamoors who approached dancing, twirling and tinkling their bells.25

Fig. 32: La Bayadère: Yekaterina Vazem as Nikia (1877)

The ballet was brought to production despite considerable difficulties, not least the budget economies insisted on by Baron Karl Kister, the Director of Imperial Theatres from 1875 to 1881. At the same time, the Italian Opera in St Petersburg was receiving a disproportionate share of the amenities of the Bolshoi Theatre. There was also the personal tension between the principal ballerina, Yekaterina Vazem, and Petipa.26 Sergei Lifar wrote: “Petipa knew how to profit from the ideas of Perrot, the

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dramatist of the dance, and, equally, from those of Saint-Léon, singer of the dancing aria, the solo, and after twenty years of collaboration with the two masters he created the Russian ballet which, at the end of the nineteenth century, was to lead the whole world.” 27 Petipa had lived in Russia and had worked in Russian ballet for thirty years at the time of the creation of La Bayadère. Trends in Russian art exerted considerable impact on his sharp artistic sensibilities as he developed understanding and affection for the country that had adopted him. Petipa's friend and collaborator, Sergei Khudekov, not only a balletomane but a publisher as well, wrote in his History of Dancing: "A Frenchman by birth, Petipa was Russian at heart from head to foot." 28 In 1877 Petipa created a ballet, where one scene at least, with the highly emotional music of Minkus, came closer to symphonism than anything in Wenzel Reisinger's rather flat treatment of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, premiered unsuccessfully exactly a month later (4 March 1877 in Moscow). This scene was "The Kingdom of the Shades" from act 4 of La Bayadère. This work, arranged to a programme by Khudekov and Petipa, had much in common with the Parisian Sacountala of Lucien Petipa (1858).29 It was also based on the famous play by the Indian classical poet and dramatist, Kalidasa.30 There were some similarities, and many differences. King Dushyanta while hunting in the forest sees the maiden Sakuntala and contracts with her a summary marriage, giving her a royal ring when he leaves her. Later she sets forth to join him, but loses the ring while bathing in a pool. This has the unfortunate effect that the king does not recognize her, and she returns to the forest, where she gives birth to Bharata, the founder of a glorious race. Presently a fisherman catches a fish which has swallowed the royal ring. This is taken to the king, the spell from which he has suffered is removed, and he now remembers Sakuntala, and goes to seek her.

Nineteenth-century ballet was populated with supernatural female creatures, such as sylphs, wilis, shades, water nymphs, and later swans. They gave theatrical justification for using the corps de ballet in a sort of abstract choreography not tied to the human condition, and they appealed to the contemporary taste for idealized, fantasized womanhood. The bayadère, intiated into general consciousness by Goethe’s ballad “Der Gott und die Bajadere” (1797), was a Hindu temple dancer, sensual and loving, but inaccessible because of her holy service and association with divinity. Awareness of this type spread through the operatic stage where it enjoyed special favour (Catel’s Les Bayadères, 1810, Spohr’s Jessonda, 1823, and Scribe and Auber’s Le Dieu et la Bayadère, 1830). In the ballet,

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it was Théophile Gautier who brought bayadères into his scenario for Sacountala (1858). Pepita himself had included them in the Armenian caravan at the opening of La Fille du Faraon (1862).

Fig. 33: La Bayadère: Lev Ivanov as Solor (1877)

In 1839 a touring company of authentic Indian bayadères visited Paris, and Gautier wrote enthusiastically about the troupe's principal dancer Amani. Years later in 1855 he recalled the tragic fate of this beautiful artiste who, pining for her beloved India, had hanged herself in a fit of depression in claustrophobic smog-ridden London. As homage to her, he wrote the scenario for the ballet Sacountala, derived in part from Kalidasa's play. The work was first performed in Paris on July 14, 1858 by the Ballet du Théâtre Impérial de l´Opéra, with music by Ernest Reyer, and choreography by Lucien Petipa. This work is the principal inspiration for Marius Petipa's La Bayadère. La Bayadère was produced for the benefit of Vazem, who was very impressive in this tragedy about a dancer, particularly in the scenes of jealousy and death. La Bayadère offered Petipa the chance to exploit exotic dances, since the ballet contained a variety of pseudo-Indian dances. There was a "Hindu Dance", in Kathak style, with bells attached to the ankles, performed by Lyubov Radina (later the role passed to the choreographer's daughter, Maria Petipa) with Felix Kschessinsky and Alexander Pichaud. Matilda Madayeva danced the Jampé, a dance of

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unidentified origin, in which one end of a transparent scarf was attached to the performer's leg, the other to her head. A popular number was the Danse Manu, in which the danseuse (Vera Zhukova), bearing a pitcher on her head, teased two little girls who asked her for a drop of water.31 The Manu32 was merely a part of a grand divertissement in the second act, which opened with a ceremonial procession, with Solor mounted on a huge artificial elephant while King Dugmanta [=Dushyanta] and Princess Gamsatti were carried in palanquins. Demi-caractère dances were followed by one of Petipa’s greatest conceptions, a magnificent classical Grand Pas, for twenty-four danseuses, twelve danseurs, twelve small and twelve average pupils, two senior girlpupils as bayadères and two coryphées. This grand ensemble, at one moment filling the entire stage, and then leaving it free for the two bayadères, served as the introduction to the grand pas de deux performed by Maria Gorshenkova and Pavel Gerdt (while Lev Ivanov acted the part of Solor). Then came Nikia's tragic dance of benediction followed by delirium, choreographed by Petipa as a danse d'action, with the feelings expressed directly through movement. Her dying scene was beautifully done: as she stood alone in the centre of the stage, the crowd stepped right back. Nikia raised her arm to the sky, drew herself up as if defying those who had betrayed her, and collapsed. Every movement in the choreography leads up to this moment of ultimate tragedy. The next act started with the "The Kingdom of the Shades"—a superb achievement on the part of both Petipa and Minkus, preserved to this day as one of the greatest treasures of the classical legacy. It is one of the most remarkable entrances for the corps de ballet in the entire balletic repertoire. The scene was conceived as a vision seen by Solor, drugged with opium. Down a high ramp, seemingly from nowhere (Petipa's contemporaries said that visually he was influenced in this scene by Gustave Doré's designs for Dante's Divine Comedy—Paradise), stepped one by one the dancers of the corps de ballet in white tutus, with white scarfs attached to their heads and wrists. The thirty-six Shades, in identical long white tutus, enter one after the other executing an initial arabesque penchée/ arabesque-renversée in profile, posé cambré, port de bras, a twophrase theme hypnotically repeated, followed by the same slow series of steps, creating the mesmerising impression of an endless row in crescendo, leading into a choreographic counterpoint of technical and enchanting perfection. All performed one and the same movement, as if on a musical scale. When the complete first line had descended the ramp, with the next one in its wake, it continued the same pattern par terre, until the entire

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stage was filled with figures moving in symphonic harmony to the same haunting melody. The soli that followed stemmed from this background.

Fig. 34: La Bayadère Act 3: The Kingdom of the Shades (1900)

Fig. 35: La Bayadère Act 3: Entry of the Shades (1963)

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In the original production, the Shades danced in a castle on a fully lighted stage. But when the ballet was revived in 1900, Petipa relocated the scene to the mountains of the Himalayas on a darkened stage, a practice that has become traditional in all modern stagings of the work. La Bayadère, in many ways, represents Petipa's ultimate achievement. Its unity of drama and lyrical dance reveals the strong, if indirect, influence of Russian dramatic theatre and the Russian school of symphonic music that was being evolved in those years. This ballet distils the quintessence of Petipa's choreographic style: a slender dramatic thread, little more than a romantic atmosphere, provides the pretext for a composition of pure dance, crystalline in inspiration and realization. “Many critics have likened this ethereal spectacle to a spreading mist or billowing clouds. But the most striking aspect of this passage is its serene lyricism, an enchanting, dreamlike quality suggesting the vision of the grieving Solor.”33 It is one of the highpoints in Petipa’s art, a seminal moment, whose influence reverberates in Balanchine's geometrical abstractions. Mikhail Baryshnikov said of this scene: "It is Petipa's idea of life in the beyond, a world of peace, dignity, symmetry, and harmony—a world that can be fully explained and presented through the medium of the finest classical choreographic and dance techniques ... Poetically it is unmatched in the classical repertory."34 The instrumental inspiration of the scene was particularly striking to contemporary viewers. "The Shades" was regarded as the first successful experiment in the “symphonization of the dance”. This process has always been ascribed to music alone, related to the creation of the great symphonic ballets of Tchaikovsky. In reality Russian choreography was gradually evolving a symphonic idiom with its own means, even with simpler musical forms. "Choreography could have arrived at symphonic imagery only with its own armament" says Krasovskaya, in an analysis of “The Shades" in all its movement. From here it was but one step to a future encounter with great symphonic music.35 For Krasovskaya something of this ideal is already attained in La Bayadère, “a ballet that reached the heights of dance symphonism”.36 The achievement of choreographer and composer here attain very considerable heights, and are worthy of greater critical recognition. David Brown, in discussing Swan Lake, observes of Tchaikovsky’s ballet that “...as a product of the Russia of its time, when the grandest ornaments of the repertoire were the confections of Minkus and Drigo, it was almost visionary in its perception of the dramatic possibilities within the form”.37 Something of this visionary quality certainly also infuses the Kingdom of the Shades. No one could express this better than Arlene Croce, who captures the

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sublime sense of mystical detachment it evokes, and how it relates to the rest of the work both temporally and symbolically: “The subject of ‘The Kingdom of the Shades’ is not really death, although everybody in it except the hero is dead. It's Elysian bliss, and its setting is eternity. The long slow repeated-arabesque sequence creates the impression of a grand crescendo that seems to annihilate all time. No reason it could not go on forever......Ballets passed down the generations like legends, acquire a patina of ritualism, but La Bayadère is a ritual, a poem about dancing and memory and time. Each dance seems to add something new to the previous one, like a language being learned. The ballet grows heavy with this knowledge, which at the beginning had been only a primordial utterance, and in the coda it fairly bursts with articulate splendor."38 Petipa's method of danced orchestration arose partly from the fact that he was musically educated, having studied at the conservatoire in Brussels where the violinist Henri Vieuxtemps was a fellow student. However, so far as ballet was concerned, he assigned a subsidiary role to music, and seemed to conduct his choreographic experiments quite separately from the score. On the other hand, he was concerned about finding good music much earlier than is usually realized. As early as 1870 he had planned a ballet on Slav themes with music by Serov, a project terminated by the composer’s sudden death. Although there has always been a residual reluctance to ascribe any merit to Minkus, the music he provided for the Kingdom of the Shades scene is integral to its effectiveness. It sets the tone and mood with unwavering aptness, in its gentle arching conception, the design of the flow, seamless in its principles of extension and variation, with a melodic concept sustained over Bellinian length, and a whole series of imaginative modes and styles in the different movements. Tim Scholl has commented on the sheer simplicity of the concept: “The deserved fascination with this stunningly simple formal structure rests in the limpid beauty of both the musical and dance phrases and in the correspondence between the musical and choreographic phrases. As the corps de ballet enters the stage, one by one, performing identical choreography, the dance and the music lend the desired sense of timelessness and infinity to the scene.”39 Much of the success was also to do with the prima ballerina, Yekaterina Vazem, the first Nikia. The evening was in fact dedicated to her benefit, and her dancing was praised. Despite being a benefit, with tickets more expensive than for the opera, the first performance played to a full house. At the end the audience applauded for more than half an hour. Reviews were all complimentary, although they complained of Petipa’s licence in dealing with historical fact. Vazem was a considerable virtuoso,

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particularly for the time, a typical Petipa ballerina, whose well-trained supple body was an obedient instrument in the hands of the choreographer. This was of particular importance for The Shades, where the essential meaning of the ballet, the fine texture of sustained feelings, was conveyed through dance. For Vazem with her limited acting abilities, a range of expressiveness came through the body, essential in the kind of choreography created by Petipa. She was a danseuse de force for whom no technical difficulty existed (like repeating a challenging variation on her steel pointes, or performing double pirouettes, a great rarity at this time). In La Bayadère she decided to prove that she was not only a terre à terre dancer, and surprised even Petipa by traversing in three leaps the huge stage of the Bolshoi Theatre, with its seven wings. On a stage of these dimensions, where it was possible to present spectacular productions such as La Fille du Faraon or La Bayadère, the ballerina required special skill and unusual presence to appear in and effectively use the huge space.40 News of Vazem's brilliance as a dancer reached Europe through many visitors to Petersburg, and in the spring of 1873 she received an advantageous offer to dance over the course of three years for three summer months of every year in the United States of America. This engagement was to include appearances at the Universal Exhibition of 1876 in Philadelphia. It is worth citing Vazem’s own account of the benefit performance: The rehearsal ran its normal course. We finally came to the last act and the pas d' action. I stood in the first wing, waiting for my entrance. I was seething with righteous indignation—a voice within spurred me on to great deeds. I wanted to teach the conceited Frenchman a lesson and demonstrate clearly, right before his eyes, what a talent I was. My entrance came. At the first sounds of the music which accompanies it I strained every muscle—my nerves tripled my strength—and literally flew out on to the stage, vaulting past the heads of dancers who were kneeling there in groups. Crossing the stage in three jumps I stopped, as if rooted to the ground. The entire company, on the stage and in the hall, broke out in a storm of applause. Petipa, who was on stage, immediately satisfied himself that his treatment of me was unjust. He came up to me and said: 'Madame, forgive, I am a fool. ..' That day word circulated about Vazem's 'stunt'. Everyone working in the theatres tried to get into the rehearsal of La Bayadère to see my jump. Of the performance itself nothing needs be said. The reception given me by the public was magnificent. Besides the last act, we were all much applauded for the scene, 'The Kingdom of the Shades', which Petipa in general handled very well. Here the groupings and dances were infused with poetry. The balletmaster borrowed drawings of groupings from Gustave Dore's illustrations of 'Paradise' from Dante's

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The Minkus Ballets: The Scenarios The Divine Comedy. I had a great success, in the variation, accompanied by [Leopold] Auer's violin solo, with the veil which flies upwards at the end. The roster of principals in La Bayadère was in all respects successful: Lev Ivanov as Solor, Golts as the Great Brahmin, Johanson as the Rajah, Gorshenkova as his daughter. Gerdt in classical dances, Radina, Kshesinsky and Picheau in the Hindu Dance of Scene 3—all contributed much to the success of La Bayadère, as did the considerable efforts of the artists Wagner, Andreyev, Shishkov, Bocharov, and especially Roller, who also distinguished himself as the machinist of the masterful destruction of the palace at the end of the ballet.41

Petipa trained successive generations of Russian dancers, enriched the art of dancing with new steps and movements, and developed and extended academic technique. He introduced elements of character, but never opened up new paths. He reigned supremely over the specialized and refined art of the Imperial Russian Ballet, but was mainly the guardian and preserver of academic traditions. The original production of La Bayadère did not long survive Vazem’s retirement. Nonetheless, between the premiere and her farewell on 17 February 1884, when Petipa produced it a second time, it was given an astonishing 70 or so performances. In fact, after its premiere in St Petersburg, it almost never left the repertory. In 1900 a revival was mounted to mark the fortieth anniversary of the dancer Pavel Gerdt’s artistic career. He took the role of Solor in Petipa’s third production that remained largely unchanged. The entrance of the Shades was presented on a darkened stage (it had originally been brilliantly illumined), and the number of dancers was expanded from 32 to 48. Much of the music was shortened, and although the dancers received glowing reviews, Petipa’s choreography was found to be boring, long and uninteresting, The ballet in fact underwent only slight modifications in the successive major revivals in 1884, 1900, 1923 and 1941, and served as a vehicle for many Russian ballerinas. It is significant that in 1903 it became the first ballet to bring Anna Pavlova fame as a great dramatic dancer. The ballet remained in the Soviet repertory, presented in an altered and truncated edition. The fourth act disappeared from productions in the 1920s. The Maryinsky may well have been short of stagehands, and have found it difficult to mount the ambitious act which calls for the destruction of a temple. Further, in 1925 the sets were destroyed in a flood. Much of the choreography from the fourth act was then incorporated into act 2 in later stagings. In the west it became known chiefly in a version limited to the fourth act and entitled The Kingdom of the Shades, which consists of an ensemble

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for the female corps de ballet, a pas de trois for three Shades with a solo variation for each of the three ballerinas, then the entrance of Solor with a variation of vigorous virtuosity, followed by the meeting with Nikia and a wonderful pas de deux by the two reunited lovers in a world of unreality.

Other versions 1) A landmark in the reception history of La Bayadère was Alexander Gorsky’s version for the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow on 25 January 1904. Lyubov Roslavleva danced Nikia and Mikhail Mordkin was Solor. Gorsky made only small changes in Petipa’s choreography, and this version was staged in 1907 and 1910. 2) In 1917 Gorsky produced a version of his own with new decor and costumes by Konstantin Korovin who based his designs on paintings and sculptures from ancient Indian temples. Dancing figures on old bas-reliefs and poses on brass statues also influenced the patterns of Gorsky’s new dances, although many felt that the poetic lyricism of the Scene of the Shades, where the dancers had always worn white tutus, had been disturbed.

Fig. 36: La Bayadère: Anna Pavlova as Nikia (1902)

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Fig. 37: La Bayadère: Alla Shelest as Nikia, Kirov

3) In the Soviet Ballet, Vasily Tikhomirov reduced the scenes from 7 to 5, with restoration of Petipa’s choreography and the traditional costumes in the Kingdom of the Shades (Moscow, Bolshoi Theatre, January 31, 1923). 4) Agrippina Vaganova, Leningrad, Kirov Theatre, December 13, 1932. 5) Vladimir Ponomaryov, Leningrad, Kirov Theatre, February 10, 1941. Principal dancers: Natalia Dudinskaya and Vachtan Chabukiani. 6) The Kirov Ballet on tour (fourth act only, entitled Shadows) Covent Garden, London, July 4, 1961, and the Metropolitan, New York, September 14, 1961. Principal dancers: Kaleria Fedicheva and Sergei Vikulov, Kirov Ballet. 7) Rudolf Nureyev (one act, entitled Kingdom of the Shades), Covent Garden, London, November 21, 1963. Danced by Margot Fonteyn, Rudolf Nureyev, Royal Ballet. 8) Natalia Makarova (one act), New York; July 1974; danced by Cynthia Gregory, Ivan Nagy, American Ballet Theatre; in 1977, Gelsey Kirkland, Mikhail Baryshnikov. 9) Natalia Makarova staged the complete ballet with a reconstructed fourth act for American Ballet Theatre (New York, 1980). 10) La Bayadère has been repeatedly produced by leading ballet companies all over the former Soviet Union (which ceased to exist on 26

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December 1991) 11) Rudolf Nureyev produced it for the Paris Opera Ballet in 1992. 12) Dawn Weller produced it with the restored fourth act for PACT Ballet in Pretoria, South Africa in 1996. 13) Sergei Vikharev reconstructed the entire ballet, with the fourth act restored, along the lines of Petipa’s 1900 production and using Nikolai Sergeyev’s notated scores, for the Maryinsky Theatre, St Petersburg in 2002. Printed Music/Arrangements La Bayadère. Potpourri sur motifs de L. Mincous pour piano par Jean Resch (St Petersburg: A. Büttner, c. 1890) (21pp.). La bayadère. Arranged by Peter March. New York: Tchaikovsky Foundation, 1972. La Bayadère: a compilation consisting of excerpts from act IV, "The kingdom of the shades" / Ludwig Minkus; piano score; edited by Joseph Ortiz. New York: Lyrebird Music Press, 1975. (32 pp. of music; 33 cm).

Fig. 38: La Bayadère: Vakhtang Chaboukiani as Solor (1935)

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Manuscript Arrangements La bayadère. New York: Tchaikovsky Foundation, 1965. La bayadère / by Ludwig Minkus ; arr. by Peter March. (c1967). Piano score. 24 p. of ms. music ; 33 cm. Reproduction, with page numbers in red ink. Caption title; in caption: Orchestra material available. At foot of caption page: c. 1967 Ballet Heritage. On cover: New York: The Tschaikovsky Foundation. (Harkness Ballet Foundation. Collection of musical scores, ca. 1850-1982.) La bayadère pas de deux / L. Minkus; orchestrated by William McDermott. [c1967?] 1 ms. score (47 pp.); 36 cm. (Harkness Ballet Foundation. Collection of musical scores, ca. 1850-1982.)

Fig. 39: La Bayadère: The earthquake in act 4 (1877)

11. Roxane, la beauté du Monténégro/la belle Albanese (Roxana, the Montenegrin Beauty/the Beautiful Albanian) Fantastic Ballet in 4 acts. Scenario: Sergei Khudekov. Choreography: Marius Petipa. Music: Ludwig Minkus. First Produced: Bolshoi Theatre, St Petersburg, 29 January/10 February, 1878. Principal dancer: Yevgeniya Sokolova. The story is based on contemporary troubles in the Balkans. A Muslim

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The story is based on contemporary troubles in the Balkans. A Muslim living in Montenegro is love with an orphan girl Roxana, but his passion is not reciprocated. In revenge he spreads a rumour that Roxana is enchanted, and the cause of recent national tragedies, since she is held in thrall to her dead mother, a vampire butterfly. A Montenegrin youth saves her from the fury of the crowd, but discovers that the spell is true. He follows Roxana to a fantastic wood to find her surrounded by ghostly wilis who lose their power at daybreak. He uses this knowledge to save her. The vampire butterfly is killed and he and Roxana are married. The ballet was very successful for Petipa who invested it with picturesque local colour, using Montenegrin dances like “The Dance of the Eagle”, the Kolo, the Goro, the Raviola. Sokolova was much admired as Roxana, and the Emperor Alexander II, not known for his love of music, praised Petipa’s work.42 The ballet became known widely by its German title, Roxana, die schöne Montenegrinerin. The most famous number in the score, the March Kranli, was performed at a concert in St Petersburg in March 1878 at the benefit for the Russian wounded in the war with Turkey.43 On 5 March the Treaty of San Stefano, signed outside Constantinople, ended hostilities, reducing Ottoman power by giving Romania, Serbia and Montenegro independence, so the nationalist theme of the ballet tuned into a highly emotional Slavic frame of mind. Konstantin Skalkovsky mentions the fame of the march in his theatrical memoirs. Printed Music/Arrangements Roxana-Marsch aus dem Ballett: Roxana. Die schöne Montenegrinerin. Musik von L. Minkus, Componist der Ballete: Kamargo, La Bayadere, Schneetochter, Le Papillon, etc. Für Piano übertragen von Johann Resch. Zum ersten Mal aufgeführt zu St Petersburg im Invaliden Concert März 1878. Hamburg: D. Rahter [188?], 7pp. (Chernogorski March/ March-Kanli, Fast March.) Roksana. Selections; arr. Kadril, vals: popurri iz fantasticheskovo baleta Roksana krasa chernogorii/ muzyka G. [i.e. L] Minkusa; perelozhil dlya fortepiano Jogann Resh. S. Peterburg: U A. Bitnera, [188-?], 11, 7 pp. of music. Selections from the ballet arr. for piano. Title also in French: La beauté du Montenegro. Caption titles in French. Pl. no.: 1889-1890 (Rocsana valse—Rocsana quadrille).

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Fig. 40: Roxana: Titlepage of the piano potpourri

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12. La Fille des neiges (The Snow Maiden) Fantastic Ballet in 3 acts and 5 scenes. Scenario: Marius Petipa. Choreography: Marius Petipa. Music: Ludwig Minkus. First Produced: Bolshoi Theatre, St Petersburg, 7/19 January 1879. Principal dancer: Yekaterina Vazem. This fantasy was inspired by the enthusiasm that greeted Baron Nordenskjöld’s Arctic expedition in 1878-79, which opened the NorthEast passage and was a major development for Russia, both politically and economically.44 This work, in its celebration of current events, embraces a positivist point of view, an artistic trend that would soon find its most famous balletic expression three years later in Luigi Manzotti’s Excelsior (1881)45 with music by Romualdo Marenco.46 Act 1 takes place at a small seaport in Norway where preparations are being made for a Polar expedition. Scandinavian dances were introduced (Celtringers, the dance of the Northern Gypsies; Norwegian Wedding Dance). Act 2 depicts the hardships of the crew amidst the Land of the Snows, with Dances of the Migratory Birds, the appearance of the Daughter of the Snows in an adage, and a Dance of the Snowflakes. Act 3 is devoted Love and Rebirth, with dances for the flowers. The ballet was received with enthusiasm, and used as a benefit for Petipa on 28 January when he was presented with a silver tankard and tray. The Vazem memoirs provide a vignette of this strange work which seemed to have little narrative coherence. “The next new ballet Petipa produced for me was first performed at my benefit at the beginning of I879. It was called The Daughter of the Snows and as I have indicated it must be counted among Petipa's unsuccessful works. With the public, at least, it had little success. I appeared on stage only in the second and third acts, which were devoted to classical dances; the first was filled with character dances of the northern peoples. Now I positively cannot remember the ballerina's dances—they probably did not amount to much. At the end of the ballet Gerdt, as the captain of the icebound vessel, and I and others played out a scene of 'love and rebirth', but of what it consisted I cannot now say. The Daughter of the Snows did not hold the stage for long, and was taken out of the repertoire.”47 Petipa himself implies that fortunes of the work were adversely affected by changing management and poor investment in production: At the death of Gedeonov, Baron Kister was appointed as Director of the Imperial Theatres. With this appointment there began an era of economy in production. Baron Kister did not like to spend money for this

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The Minkus Ballets: The Scenarios purpose, and insisted that old materials be used. "To renovate, to repair, to touch up" became the only occupation of all the ateliers, during the staging of new works. Occasionally this stinginess had sad consequences. I staged a ballet called The Daughter of the Snows, in which the well-known and wonderful dancer, Mlle Vazem, appeared. In this ballet we had to change the scenery very rapidly, when the winter landscape changed to summer and back again. At the second performance of The Daughter of the Snows, this change turned into a complete fiasco. The wings, as well as the set at the back, cracked, toppled over, and broke in pieces. The machinist at that time was Legat, a relative of the Legat family of ballet dancers. The disastrous incident of the scenery so affected him, that he lost his reason right there on the stage. Apparently this illness was hereditary in the Legat family...48

The ballet was known for its Waltz of the Snowflakes, an idea that would later be used to such effect in Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker.49

13. Tsiryul'nik Frizak (Frizak the Barber) Comic Ballet in 1 act. Scenario and Choreography: Marius Petipa. Music: Ludwig Minkus. Produced: Bolshoi Theatre, St Petersburg, 11/23 March, 1879. This short work was devised and produced for the benefit of the whole corps de ballet. The music was arranged by Minkus on themes derived from Italian opera (from the works of Gioacchino Rossini, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Vincenzo Bellini and Giuseppe Verdi). The principal dancers at the première included Maria Gorshenkova and Pavel Gerdt. This comic work offered popular dances like La Permission de Dix Heures, a pas de deux and a waltz danced by pupils. This work was possibly a revival of Frisac, ou La Double Noce, originally produced by the choreographer’s father, Jean Petipa, for the Ballet du Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels on 19 February 1822.

14. Mlada Fantastic Ballet in 4 acts by Ludwig Minkus, based on a text by Gedeonov for an earlier opera to be written with Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin, Cui, and Mussorgsky. First Produced: Bolshoi Theatre, St Petersburg, 2/14 December 1879. Principal dancer: Yevgeniya Sokolova.

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SYNOPSIS: Slav lands, 9th to 10th century. Act 1. Scene 1. Arkona in Mstivoy’s lands Mstivoy’s daughter Voyslava is troubled: in her passion for the Arkonian prince Yaromir she has poisoned Mlada in order to replace her in Yaromir's affections. Yaromir has spurned her, and encouraged by her old nurse Svyatokhna, she appeals to Morena, Queen of the Underworld, who will help her if she pledges her loyalty. All is plunged into darkness, and Morena appears, calling on the dark forces to help Voyslava. Yaromir arrives to celebrate midsummer. Morena causes Yaromir to fall in love with Voyslava, and he pledges his troth. Mstivoy orders a dance of celebration (a redowa). Scene 2. A garden, with a lake in the distance Yaromir falls into a charmed sleep, and the ghost of Mlada shows him how she was murdered by Voyslava with a poisoned bouquet. He awakes in confusion, and is summoned to the festival. Act 2. A lakeside valley outside the Temple of Radegast Tradespeople from many countries have gathered for the festival. The princes of the land assemble in procession, and the High Priest leads a divination rite. Mstivoy orders an entertainment (Lithuanian dance). A folk ritual begins in which couples kiss periodically (Kupala Wheel Dance). At every moment, Mlada’s shade materializes between Yaromir and Voyslava, and separates them. Yaromir runs off in pursuit of this shade. Voyslava curses Morena whose magic has proved weaker than Yaromir’s love for her rival. Her father leads her away.

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Act 3. A gorge at the summit of Mount Triglav At the Fantastic Kolo, the shades of departed souls weave their midsummer garlands. Mlada enters leading Yaromir. He begs her to forgive him, and admit him into the silent world of the shades, but she intimates that he must first endure a trial. The moon turns crimson, and the Witches’ Sabbath ensues, the bright shades replaced by the monsters and demons of Chernobog’s entourage (The Hellish Kolo). Morena beseeches the evil god to allow Voyslava to have Yaromir. The break of dawn ends the orgy, with Yaromir asleep beneath a tree. He decides to return to the Temple to ask the priests to explain the meaning of his visions. Act 4. The Temple of Radegast Yaromir watches the priests perform their ceremonies. Mlada’s shade appears, begging Yaromir to renounce marriage with Voyslava; the High Priest tells him to wait for the night, when the shades of ancient heroes will appear, and reveal the truth to him. With nightfall, the shades emerge and tell him: “Voyslava has indeed poisoned Mlada. Avenge her!” Voyslava enters in pursuit. She confesses her crime, and tells him it was due to the power of her love for him. When the priest wishes to bless their marriage, Mlada’s ghost appears again. Yaromir refuses to marry Voyslava. Mstivoy draws his sword and throws himself on Yaromir, but Voyslava interposes herself, and falls down mortally wounded. She calls on Morena to avenge her. It becomes dark, and Morena commands the dark forces to send storms and earthquakes to destroy the temple. The city of Retra is submerged. When the storm subsides, a rainbow illumines the sky, and the shades of Yaromir and Mlada are seen embracing on the Holy Rock, surrounded by beneficent deities. When Minkus was appointed Composer to the Imperial Theatres in 1872, he was asked to compose the ballet music for the opera Mlada. This had been commissioned by Stephan Gedeonov, the Director of Imperial Theatres, as a joint composition from Alexander Borodin, César Cui, Modest Mussorgsky, and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.50 The project was never completed, and Minkus revised and expanded his own material some years later to fit an independent ballet scenario (Mlada, 2 December

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1879). Thus the second stage in the Mlada project is the ballet by Marius Petipa with music by Minkus, the form in which the subject first reached the stage. It is not certain when the music was composed, nor yet which pieces originated from 1872, although it is known that the ballet-opera project had nearly been completed by then, and that the various contributors had used their work in other compositions. Even if the ballet had been regarded as a substitute for the original bold conception, it is still not clear why its appearance was so delayed. The premiere was on 2 December 1879 at the Maryinsky Theatre in St Petersburg, as a benefit performance for the dancer E. P. Sokolova. The re-appearance of the scenario is also likely to have been a gesture of honor for Gedeonov who died on 15 September 1878, although his name is rather surprisingly missing from the credits. The full title of the ballet was Mlada. Fantastichesky balet v chetverekh dyestviyakh i devyati kartinakh M Petipa. Muzyka L Minkusa, a fantastic ballet in four acts and nine scenes by M. Petipa. Music by L. Minkus. The libretto was printed in time for the first performance, and is the first text published with regard to the Mlada project. 51 The action differed from that of the ballet-opera of 1872, particularly in the fourth act, so that one can surmise that the ballet of 1879 is not so much based on the ballet-opera of 1872, but rather on the original ballet scenario of 1870. It is not clear whether the printed form of the libretto stems from Gedeonov: in the printed version only the choreographer is mentioned as the author of the ballet, although he is not likely to have worked out the full detail of the libretto. Most probably the text of the ballet libretto of 1879 was actually worked out by Gedeonov and edited by Petipa (with the help of someone with a thorough command of Russian), as is further testified by the ballerina E. O. Vazem.52 There is simply no way of establishing just how far the text of the printed libretto corresponds to the lost ballet scenario of 1870. The libretto of 1879 in large measure reads like a detailed list of contents for the ballet-opera of 1872. For example, in act 1 the vocal text is directly paraphrased. The scene descriptions and stage directions are overwhelmingly integrated into the text, and often expanded. These expanded scene descriptions recur with minimal changes in RimskyKorsakov’s ballet-opera of 1890. The ballet of 1879 differs slightly in some passages from the scenarios of both ballet-operas:

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Act 1. In the 1879 ballet, Svyatokhna is not identical with Morena. Her role is limited to inspiring Voyslava to invoke Morena. The maid runs away only after Morena’s appearance. Svyatokhna’s whereabouts after this point remain unclear. The first of Yaromir’s dreams is not in Arkona, but apparently shifted to Retra (“A garden, with a lake in the distance”—there is no lake in Arkona, but there is Retra). In the second dream Mlada is not killed by a poisoned ring, but a poisoned bouquet. The conclusion of the act does not correspond to the expected version by Cui of 1872: Yaromir is not called back to the forests by his followers, but to the Kupala Festival as in the Rimsky-Korsakov version of 1890. Act 2. The market scene is not followed closely. The Varangians are missing. In their place appear an armed Norman and an Avar merchant. There is no fist-fight, nor an entry by Lumir (this character is completely missing). In the Kupala Wheel Dance Mstivoy gives up trying to console Voyslava in her despair (unlike Rimsky in 1890): instead he leads her away secretly. Act 3. The action of the ballet appears to correspond with the 1872 conception. Act 4. Yaromir appears at the very beginning, that is before the rituals in front of the Temple of Radegast. Mlada’s shade appears to him, once again begging Yaromir to renounce marriage with Voyslava. This should take place in the context of the succeeding rituals in front of the Temple. When the priest wishes to bless the marriage, Mlada’s ghost appears again. Yaromir leaves Voyslava standing, and refuses to marry her. Mstivoy draws his sword and throws himself on Yaromir, but Voyslava interposes herself, and falls down dead. It becomes dark, and Morena is avenged in the tempest that follows. The conclusion of the act corresponds with that in Rimsky’s ballet-opera. The idea to have the priest appear as an evil accomplice of Mstivoy is dramaturgically interesting, and justifies the destruction of the temple. In

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the ballet-operas (1872 and 1890) the rituals before the Temple of Radegast, which stand outside the action, are given a more dramaturgical motivation. The 1872 conceptions of the long dialogue between Yaromir and the Priest, the entry of the princely ghosts, and the duet between Yaromir and Voyslava depend heavily on the spoken (i.e. sung) word, and did not lend themselves to the medium of ballet.53 There are no apparent contemporary critical reactions to Minkus’s ballet in the 1879 version. Krasovskaya wrote that the ballet had only average success with regard to the Classical dances, while the public praised the national dances—the Redowa, the Wheel Dance, the Czech and Lithuanian Dances.54 On the other hand, Vazem in her memoirs describes a negative public reaction to both the “boring Old Slavic dances” and the “rather monotonous Classicality” of the ballet.55 The fact that no printed form of the score appeared underlined the lack of success, and after only a season the ballet was withdrawn from the repertoire. The ethereal Fantastic Kolo was designed for the celebrated Maryinsky female corps de ballet (80 maidens in a row wearing tutus), in emulation of Petipa’s fabled Kingdom of the Shades sequence from La Bayadère.56 Rimsky-Korsakov’s opéra-ballet was not completed until 1892, and was not initially very successful. He was dismayed when Tsar Nicholas II, at the wish of the ballerina M. F. Kschessinska, requested the revival of Minkus’s ballet: it was performed with great success in the 1896-97 season,57 but in a thoroughly revised form, the title now reading Mlada. Fantastichesky balet v chetverekh dyestviyakh i shesti kartinakh s apofeozem M Petipa. Muzyka L Minkusa (fantastic ballet in four acts and six scenes with an apotheosis by M. Petipa, music by L. Minkus). The reduction to six scenes (with the added apotheosis) can be explained by the fact that the scenery for Rimsky-Korsakov’s ballet-opera of 1892 was used for the ballet: the scene descriptions in the printed libretto of the latter work correspond exactly. The many changes in the action of the scenario from that of 1879 can also be traced to the model of the Rimsky-Korsakov work. The fundamental reworking of the ballet also affected the music. The manuscript of the score in the Music Library of the Maryinsky Theatre (MS No. 61) has been bound several times, with folios removed and appended at the end, and many cuts indicated. There may even be some interpolations. As by this time Minkus was living in Vienna, all this almost certainly must have happened without the composer even being informed. Modern copyright applied in Russia only later, and the music of a house composer was deemed to be the property of the theatre concerned. It is not known who undertook the revisions, and quite likely that some of

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the cuts were already introduced in the 1879 season. This revised version of the ballet was more successful than the original version, although it has never been revived.58 Printed Music/Arrangements Mlada: fantastichesky balet v 4-kh dyestviyakh: Khorovod: ispolnyayut / muzyka L. Minkus = Russischer Reigen: Ringtanz / arr. H. Reinbold. (Hamburg: D. Rahter, [189-?]). For piano; originally for orchestra ( 7 pp.). Mlada kadril/ muzyka L. Minkusa = Mlada quadrille : nach Motifen von L. Minkus / arr. v. Hermann Reinbold. Hamburg : D. Rahter, [189-?] Piano (7 pp.). A Bohemian Dance, Gypsy Dance and Potpourri were also published.

15. Zoraya, ili Mavritanka v Ispanii (Zoraya, or A Moorish Girl in Spain) Grand Ballet in 4 acts and 7 scenes. Book: Sergei Khudekov. Choreography: Marius Petipa. Music: Ludwig Minkus. First Produced: Bolshoi Theatre, St Petersburg, 1/13 February, 1881. Principal dancer: Yekaterina Vazem. SYNOPSIS: Act 1. Scene 1. The garden of the Caliph’s harem The odalisques are whiling away the time, listening to the jester. The Caliph’s daughter is announced, and Zoraya enters with her confidante Tisbah. She invites the odalisques to dance with her, and there is much merriment. The governess calls the odalisques away, and Zoraya remains to enjoy the cool of evening. She and Tisbah are startled to see a young man, Soliman, climb over the wall into the garden. While Tisbah keeps watch, he falls on his knees and declares his love for Zoraya, averring to venture all for her sake. As the governess approaches, Zoraya gives him a flower, and hurries away. Soliman asks Tisbah to arrange another meeting before disappearing over the wall.

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Scene 2. The Caliph’s throne room Amidst great pomp, The Caliph receives his minister, ambassadors and important visitors, notably Abderraman and Ali-Ben-Tamarat, rulers from North Africa. They are accompanied by Soliman and the guards. Tamarat is announced as the favoured suitor for Zoraya’s hand, and she is summonsed to meet him. She and Soliman can hardly contain their dismay. She is nonetheless required to dance the Caliph’s favourite dance, and accompanied by negroes and odalisques enchants the assembly. Twice during the dance Soliman approaches and reassures her, to the growing anger of Tamarat who vows vengeance. All are invited to the betrothal feast. Zoraya remains behind and asks Tisbah to bring Soliman. He enters, and kneels at her feet while she tells him that she must obey her father. She bids farewell, and Soliman rushes out in despair. Tamarat, who has hidden behind a pillar and overheard the interview, swears that Soliman will die. Act 2. A public square Soliman is overcome with grief and sits by the wall of his house, while some gypsies ply their trade in the street. Tamarat, disguised in a cloak, bribes two of the gypsies to murder Soliman later that evening. The square fills with onlookers anxious to see the wedding procession. Soliman comes to see Zoraya for the last time as she passes by with her father and Tamarat in a carriage. Soliman throws himself under the wheels, but Tamarat orders it to drive on, in spite of Zoraya’s grief. Soliman is rescued by Hazdai, the great court physician. Act 3. Scene 1. A long narrow room, illumined by arched windows. A door leads into the Caliph’s palace. Hazdai has Soliman brought into the palace and placed on a couch; examination shows that the young man has not been seriously hurt. Tisbah hears the verdict and runs to tell Zoraya. Hazdai sends everyone out of the room, and leaves Soliman alone.

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Scene 2. Soliman’s dream Zoraya appears to Soliman in his disturbed dreams. In a fantastic divertissement, she, in the guise of a houri, and surrounded by her attendants, tries to win his love. Scene 3. The same room as scene 1 Soliman is fast asleep after his dream visions. Tisbah clears the way for Zoraya who come to watch over her beloved. When they hear footsteps they hide behind a curtain, and observe Tamarat enter with the two gypsies. He tries to force them to kill Soliman on pain of death, and when they refuse, decides to do it himself. Zoraya rushes out her hiding place, while the gypsies flee, and Tisbah runs for help. The Caliph enters with his retinue, and Zoraya tells him of Tamarat’s behaviour. He maintains that Zoraya has invented the story, but when the two gypsies are brought in, they admit that Tamarat bribed them to kill Soliman. Tamarat is obliged to confess his guilt, and is refused the hand of Zoraya. He departs vowing vengeance. Zoraya tells her father of her love for Soliman, and when Hazdai reminds the Caliph of Soliman’s noble birth, he consents to their union. Act 4. The gardens in front of the Caliph’s palace The Caliph enters the gardens in state, accompanied by Zoraya, Soliman and Hazdai. He blesses the marriage of Zoraya and Soliman, and the occasion is celebrated with dances in honour of the couple. This ballet, coming four years after La Bayadère and twelve after Don Quixote, marks an interesting reformulation of ideas on the part of Petipa. Using Sergei Khudekov again as his scenarist, there was an attempt to combine both elements that had made the earlier works so successful: an Oriental story but set in a context that allowed for the exploitation of the Spanish ideas that were so close to Petipa’s experience and training. Much of the music reflected the Iberian character suggested by the period of the Moorish occupation (710-1492) when so much of the temperament and style of Spanish dance and music were imbibed from the Afro-Arabic

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culture of the kingdom of the Zegris and Abencerage in Granada, the last Muslim state in Spain (1232-1492). It is sometimes asserted that the Danse des Toreadors and the Valse Fantastique from this work were interpolated by Alexander Gorsky into his 1900 restaging of Petipa's Don Quixote. However, these pieces are already found in the score of Don Quixote published in 1882, and would appear to be original to that score. Despite the emotional strain of the rehearsals for his opera The Maid of Orleans, Tchaikovsky attended the first performance of Zoraya.59 He left no comment, but the critic of the Petersburg Gazette wrote admiringly of Minkus’s music, which he found “at times beautiful, graceful, and full of colour, and its masterful orchestration reveals the great talent of the composer.” This opinion was corroborated a year later in 1882 by the critic of the Moscow Herald who found the music “extremely melodious and...gracefully and elegantly orchestrated.”60 Printed Music/Arrangements Bolero: iz baleta "Zoraya" / L. Minkus. [Coupled with Latyshsky tanets: iz baleta "Konek-gorbunok" / TS. Puni.] (Soviet Union: Muzyka?, 195-?) 10 pp. of music. (Series Biblioteka akkordeonista, 37.) For accordion; originally for orchestra. The Moroccan March was also published.

16. Paquita Ballet-Pantomime in 2 acts and 3 scenes. Scenario: Paul Foucher; Choreography: Joseph Mazilier (1801-68); Music: Edouard-Ernest-Marie Deldevez. First Performance: Paris Opéra, 1 April 1846. Additional choreography by Marius Petipa, with interpolations to Deldevez’s score by Ludwig Minkus (a Pas de Trois and a Mazurka and Grand Pas) (24 September 1847 & 27 December 1881) SYNOPSIS: Act 1. A rocky landscape with a Gypsy camp The action is set in Spain during the French occupation in the time of Napoléon (1808-14). Paquita (Grisi) is a Gypsy girl who saves a French

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officer, Lucien (L. Petipa), from a plot to murder him. Lucien's father, a French general (Monet), wishes him to marry the Spanish Governor's daughter, Dona Seraphina (Pierson), but the Governor views the proposed alliance with such distaste that he bribes the Gypsy chief Inigo (Elie) to kill the young Frenchman. Act 2. Inigo’s cabin Inigo offers Lucien a glass of drugged wine, but Paquita, who has heard of the plot, changes the glasses, and as a revolving fireplace brings the hired assassins into the Gypsy cabin, she and Lucien, standing with their backs to the fireplace, are taken outside to safety. Act 3. The Governor’s ball Paquita restores Lucien to his father during a ball. The Governor is arrested, and Paquita discovers that she is herself of noble birth, thus removing the obstacle which stands in the way of her marrying Lucien.

Fig. 41: Paquita: Students of the Imperial Ballet School in the Children's Polonaise and Mazurka (St. Petersburg, c: 1900)

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The critic Fiorentino called this ballet "a mimodrama in all its primitive naivete.” However, Carlotta Grisi's performance as Paquita and the lavishness of the production—some 30,000 francs were spent on the final ball scene alone—helped to secure a satisfactory success at the premiere on 1 April 1846. The choice of period for the ballet's setting was rather risky. Sixteen years before, Scribe, Aumer and Halévy’s ballet of Manon Lescaut (1830), with its evocation of the mid-eighteenth century, had shown how the fashions of the not very distant past might appear ridiculous to modern eyes.61 Paquita evoked a later period, the First Empire, to some observers a situation no more acceptable to the contemporary tastes of 1846 than the ancien régime to those of 1830.62 Marius Petipa produced this ballet (for which he seems to have retained a special affection) for his St Petersburg début on 24 September 1847; perhaps it was at this stage that he asked Minkus to compose new music for a pas de trois in act 1. Petipa revived it again in 1881, and this time requested that Minkus write a grand pas for the last scene. This was designed for the ballerina, premier danseur, six premières danseuses and eight second soloists, and is preserved to the present day as a treasure of the classical legacy. Petipa initiated this scene with a mazurka for eighty pupils of the ballet school, a practice that is still followed.63 It is these two pieces which have survived in the repertory. Over the years, this Spanish flavoured divertissement has become a kind of miniature gala performance, with an array of solos lining up a series of ballerinas.64 In such cases, the Pas de Trois is included within the Grand Pas. Otherwise, the Grand Pas becomes a classic pas de deux, following the usual formula: intrada—adage—male variation—female variation—coda. Printed Music/Arrangements Pas de Trois from ‘Paquita’. Arranged by Peter March. New York: Ballet Music, Tchaikovsky Foundation, 1957. Grand Pas from ‘Paquita’, grand ballet (by Ludwig Minkus, Riccardo Drigo, Albert Zabel and others).Coytesville, NJ: Ballet Heritage, 1966. Pas de Trois (de ‘Paquita’). Arrangement et Réduction pour Piano seul de Daniel Stern. Paris: Gérard Billaudot, 1971. (10pp.) Grand Pas from ‘Paquita’. Arranged by Peter March [for piano and orchestra]. Godesberg: Rob. Forberg-P. Jurgenson, Musikverlag, 1976. (27pp.) Paquita. Arranged by Jonathan McPhee. [New York?]: Boosey & Hawkes, 2000.

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17. Noch' i Dyen’ (Nuit et Jour/La Nuit et le Jour) (Night and Day) Allegorical ballet in 1 act. Scenario and choreography: Marius Petipa. Music: Ludwig Minkus. Scenery: Bocharov and Waltz. Costumes: Charlemagne, Baron Klodt, and Grigoriev. First Produced: Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow, 18/30 May, 1883. Principal dancers: Mlles Sokolova, Gorshenkova, Nikitina, Vazem; and MM. Johannson and Gerdt. SYNOPSIS: A pastoral landscape, the edge of a forest bordering on a lake. The moon shines through the leaves. Spirits of the Day are shackled near the sanctuary where the sacred fire of the sun is burning. All nature is peaceful. A star, the messenger of the night, announces the arrival of her sovereign. The other stars are persuaded to descend from the heavens, and to take part in the festival of darkness. A group of naiads and nereids rise up from the depth of the lake, while dryads emerge from the trunks of the ancient oaks. All dance in the moonlight. They are joined by wilis, the delicate offspring of the clouds, and swans transformed into women who dance a round, while ferns clasp them in their feathery arms. The Queen of the Night appears in the midst of this fantastic assembly. She joins in the merrymaking, but always watches for the spirits of the day since their appearance will mark the end of her reign. The moon sinks behind the mountains as the last hour of the night passes by, and the horizon is illumined by the first rays of the new dawn. The Morning Star breaks the chains of the captive spirits of the sun so that they can engage in the eternal conflict with the deities of darkness. A fierce battle rages, but Time appears and brings the conflict to an end. Night must inevitably give way to Day. The dawn colours the sky red, and finally disperses the spirits of darkness. The way is now open for the Sun which floods the landscape with golden rays. The Queen of Day with her companions greets the Star of Light. All nature comes alive, as the trees stir, leaves unfold at the touch of the rays, flowers rise on their erect stalks, and open. Colourful birds dart about, while insects and butterflies perform a song of peace and love in the golden light. A swarm of bees appears, and collect their offerings from the flowers.

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Fig. 42: Nuit et Jour: Titlepage of the Büttner piano score

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A distant song is heard. Representatives from the different provinces of Russia arrive to celebrate the festival of light. The spirits of the day vanish, and the birds and insects fly off. The hillsides are covered with people, and the lake is covered in boats. The nations of the Empire are united in giving homage to the Star of the Day which shines in splendour and radiates happiness and abundance. All the provinces are represented. Dancing begins, and at the climax, the Spirit of Russia appears, carried by an eagle and floating over all the people and groups representing the arts, sciences and industries. Fame proclaims the glory of Russia, and bright clouds forming an aureole are dispersed to reveal a great panorama of the cities of Russia. Printed Music/Arrangements Nuit et jour: ballet / de Marius Petipa; musique de Louis Minkous; édition pour piano. (Hambourg: D. Rahter; St. Pétersbourg: A. Büttner, [ca. 1885]); piano score (45 pp.) "Representé au spectacle gala le 18 Mai 1883 à l'occasion du couronnement de Sa Majesté l'Empereur Alexandre III."

18. Les Pillules Magiques (du diable) (The Magic Pills/Pills of the Devil) Ballet-Féerie in 1 act. Scenario and choreography: Marius Petipa. Music: Ludwig Minkus. First Produced: Maryinsky Theatre, St Petersburg, 9/21 February 1886) This was the first new ballet to be given at the new Maryinsky Theatre. Petipa had to produce quite a number of ballet-féeries on the orders of the Directorate of the Imperial Theatres in the person of Ivan Vsevolozhsky. The new director was very interested in the current fashion in ballet, and concerned particularly with purely external elegance and beauty. The plot existed merely for the purpose of displaying amusing sets of dances. He had a special partiality for the latest Parisian diversion: the féerie. This gained a wide popularity in the 1880s, with its predominance of spectacular divertissements, as varied as possible, especially in the wake of the huge success of Manzotti and Marenco’s Excelsior (1881), a revue extolling the progress of civilization, and produced in Paris, London, and twice in St Petersburg in 1887. Other spectacles like Round the World in Eighty Days and Voyage à la Lune (after Jules Verne, with music by Offenbach) saw the début of Virginia Zucchi in St Petersburg in a café-

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concert in 1885. One or two professional dancers were supported by great numbers of costumed extras who were not expected to know much about dancing. Petipa viewed the new development negatively, denying Excelsior, for example, any artistic value, and confiding to Auguste Bournonville that he abhorred the "new vulgarities". He was nonetheless obliged to satisfy the corrupted tastes of the public and obey the orders of the officials.65 However, being a true artist, Petipa used all novelties with discretion, transforming anything borrowed from other sources into something artistically his own and suitable for ballet. After the advent of the féerie he re-arranged crowd scenes and ensembles in some of his old productions, such as Le Roi Candaule, on a grander scale. In The Magic Pills, a French féerie produced on the orders of Vsevolozhsky on 9 February, 1886, at the Maryinsky Theatre with the participation of dramatic actors and singers, but with the entire ballet company also taking part, Petipa utilized the chance to create varied dances.

The Games A series of formal scenes and situations characterizes the abstract action. Thirty-two dancers represent playing cards, in appropriate velvet costumes and wigs, with colour coordination corresponding to the suit— the spades brunettes and the hearts with golden hair. The corps de ballet are arranged in patterns based on the moves of the various card games. There are also several dozen pieces of dominos wearing the appropriate number of dots on panels attached to their chests, and similarly with movements imitative of the game, the dancers reclining on the floor to form sets of play.

The Toys The virtuoso techniques learned from the Italian guest-dancers were used to sustain mechanical illusion. The Spinning Top Dance created for Zinaida Frolova was made up of a giddy series of tours during which rows of multi-coloured ribbons sewn on to the bodice of the dancer blurred into a single pattern, as is the case with real toys. The effect was carried into the coda, with the tottering Spinning-Top falling on its side.

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The Kingdom of Lace This is realized as a varied suite forming a unified whole, with a series of inventive variations for lace personified from various countries, the various national characters conveyed through the vocabulary of the classical ballet.66 Printed Music/Arrangements Pillules enchantées: Variation, musique du ballet par Mincous. St. Pétersbourg : E. J. Michelet, 1886. piano score (3 p.)

19. L’Offrande à l’Amour, ou Les Plaisirs amoureux (The Offering to Love/Cupid, or Amorous Pleasures) Allegorical ballet in 1 act. Scenario and choreography: Marius Petipa. Music: Ludwig Minkus. First Produced: Peterhof, 22 July/3 August 1886. Principal dancers: Yevgeniya Sokolova and Marie Petipa. This was possibly a refashioning of the old ballet first produced in Russia in 1827 by Charles Didelot (with music by Catterino Cavos). Petipa choreographed it in the style of the anacreontic ballets. The ballet was first presented by the Imperial Ballet on 22 July/3 August 1886, at Peterhof, and on 25 November/7 December 1886 at the Imperial Maryinsky Theatre. It was in this work, in the role of Chloë, that Yevgeniya Sokolova took her farewell on 25 November 1886, after twenty years on the stage.67 There was a revival by Lev Ivanov for the Imperial Ballet, presented on 26 September/8 October 1893 at the Imperial Maryinsky Theatre, with Olga Preobrazhenskaya as Chloë. This work was Minkus's last composition for the Imperial Ballet as First Imperial Ballet Composer before the post was abolished in 1886 by Ivan Vsevolozhsky, the director of the Maryinsky Theatre.

20. Kalkabrino Fantastical ballet in three acts. Scenario: Modest Tchaikovsky. Choreography: Marius Petipa. Music: Ludwig Minkus. First Produced: Maryinsky Theatre, St Petersburg, 13/25 February 1891. Principal dancers: Carlotta Brianza (Marietta and Draginiatza). Pavel Gerdt (Kalkabrino). Nicholas Legat (Olivier). Enrico Cecchetti (Reuben).

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SYNOPSIS: Act 1. A village in Provence. Rene’s inn is in a grove of olive trees. A chapel can be seen in the distance, among the trees Workers are gathering the olive and grape harvest. Since tomorrow is a feast day, Rene, an innkeeper and their supervisor, allows them to stop work early. The young men led by Olivier propose a dance. There is such enthusiastic participation, that the dancers do not hear the church bells calling them to prayers. A monk enters and rebukes the people who follow him into church. Olivier remains behind waiting for his beloved Marietta, Rene’s daughter, a flower-seller. He hides in the trees, and showers her with leaves when she arrives. They express their love for each other. Rene emerges from the church, and is angered to see his daughter with Olivier. He does not wish her to marry a poor man, and orders her indoors. A number of strangers approach. They are a group of smugglers, among them Cigala, Reuben, Agalia. Rene is reluctant to serve them until their leader Kalkabrino produces a belt of gold. Marietta and the girls bring in wine, and Kalkabrino is struck by her beauty, to Cigala’s jealous anger. The smugglers flirt with the girls, and ask them to dance. Kalkabrino becomes more captivated by Marietta, and asks for her hand. In spite of her distress and Rene’s hesitation, he insists on being married to her immediately. As the monk emerges from the church, Kalkabrino asks him to perform the service. When he refuses, and also turns down an offer of money, the smuggler becomes enraged. He reveals his identity to general consternation, and vows vengeance. The monk seeks to exorcize him, the sky darkens and evil spirits swirl around him, claiming him for themselves. Rene returns the money, but Kalkabrino now tries to take Marietta by force. Olivier and the young men drive the smugglers away. They leave threatening vengeance. Act 2. A forest illumined by the setting sun Evil spirits led by Malacorda dance in a glade, rejoicing at the prospect of claiming the soul of Kalkabrino now that he has been cursed. To prevent Kalkabrino from repenting, she chooses one of the spirits, Draginiatza, to assume the likeness of Marietta. As the spirits leave, the

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smugglers approach. Cigala and the women of the band try to distract their leader who is obsessed with thoughts of Marietta. Just then Draginiatza emerges from a thicket in her assumed identity. Kalkabrino is overwhelmed, and when she asks the chief to free her, agrees to let her join the smugglers. The modest Marietta suddenly becomes a brazen and emboldened girl who delights them with her dancing. As the smugglers lead her to their camp, the evil spirits return to rejoice at the progress of their wicked plot. Act 3. The ruins of an ancient amphitheatre. The smugglers’ camp is to one side. All is bathed in moonlight. At the smugglers’ camp Kalkabrino presents Draginiatza as his brideto-be. The band illuminate the camp with torches, and roll out barrels of wine to celebrate the betrothal. Draginiatza appears in a sumptuous dress, and captivates everyone by her brilliant dancing. She seizes a torch and the camp is filled with an eerie glow. Many of the smugglers flee, but Kalkabrino is hopelessly besotted. The evil spirits swarm about the camp, dancing in frenzy until dawn. The smuggler chief begs Draginiatza to go with him, and embraces her. At that moment she loses her likeness to Marietta, and appears in her demonic form. She conjures up a vision of Marietta being married to Olivier by the monk, and seizing Kalkabrino, drags him down to Hell. In Kalkabrino Petipa's choreography (typical of the academic structure he had created, with the advantage of always having the same corps de ballet, the same theatre, and the same enlightened despotic power at his disposal) laid particular stress on the dual role of Marietta and Draginiatza danced by the star of La Scala, Carlotta Brianza. She met with the same overwhelming success as she had enjoyed the year before in the part of Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, displaying yet again that Italian virtuosity which the unquestioned mastery of Carlo Blasis had imposed on the stages of the world. The fascinating dual role of the innocent Marietta/demonic Draginiatza served as a model for Petipa’s production of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake which followed four years later at the Maryinsky Theatre on 15/27 January 1895. The ballet also saw the appearance of another famous Italian dancer, choreographer and teacher Enrico Cecchetti. He had appeared in Excelsior

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in London in 1885, and had brought the ballet to St Petersburg as part of a visiting Italian company playing at the Arcadia. He created the Bluebird and the mimed role of Carabosse at the première of The Sleeping Beauty in 1890. His powerful miming and virile and athletic technique had an enormous influence on the style of dancing in the Imperial theatres. Virtuoso male dancing was now taken up by the Russians. Both Brianza and Cecchetti represented the new Italian influence: “In general, Italian dancers brought a fresh way of looking at dance, and the interaction of Italian virtuosity and passion with Russian elegance and schooling produced the stars whose names still linger...”68 Another remarkable figure to star in this premiere was the Russian dancer, Nicholas Legat, who was to succeed Petipa as ballet master in 1903, and eventually to become director of the Imperial Ballet School, and one of the most famous of all dance teachers.69 The double ballerina role was soon taken over by the brilliant young Russian dancer Mathilda Kschessinska,70who achieved great success. Minkus’s last ballet represents, therefore, a decisive moment in a period of change and future development in the history of the Russian ballet. Kschessinska’s own recollections provide a personal insight into the first performances of this work. During the 1892-1893 season I received my first ballet, Calcabrino; a three-act ballet by Marius Petipa to Modeste Tchaikovsky's book and music by Minkus, the recognised purveyor of ballet scores at the time. I worked diligently with Cecchetti, anxious to make myself ready for such an important role and striving fully to attain the virtuosity which the Italian dancers were then demonstrating on the Russian stage. Italian technique called for abrupt, precise, clear-cut movements, while Russian and French techniques are more lyrical, softer, more expressive, even in steps most marked with brio and virtuosity. It was only later that I was to return to our own technique, realising its grace and beauty. I danced Calcabrino on November 1st 1892, succeeding Carlotta Brianza, who had just left our theatre. I had a great success. Critics and balletomanes showered me with praise. I was partnered by Enrico Cecchetti, my teacher; following the examples of Virginia Zucchi and Guerdt, I kissed him on the stage. This is what A. Plestscheev wrote about my first appearance in a leading role: ‘M. F. Kschessinska took Carlotta Brianza’s place on November 1st 1892 in Calcabrino, in which she danced the roles of Mariette and Dragonianza. She gave a youthful and highly talented interpretation, which bore the marks of hard work and stubborn determination. Can it be so long ago that Mile. Kschessinska first appeared on the stage? Is it not just recently that we read of her debut? And here she is already deciding to be Mlle. Brianza’s successor! This

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Kalkabrino was Minkus’s last score for the Russian ballet, and by all accounts, one of his best.

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Supplementary material 1. Ondine (The Naiad and the Fisherman) Ballet-Fantastique in 3 Acts and 5 Scenes. Choreography by Marius Petipa after Jules Perrot. Original score by Cesare Pugni—1843. Revived on 27 October/8 November 1874 at the St Petersburg Bolshoi Theatre by the Imperial Ballet, with revisions and additions by Ludwig Minkus. Ondine was originally produced by Jules Perrot to the score of Cesare Pugni at Her Majesty's Theatre, London, on 22 June 1843. The ballet was first presented in Russia as The Naiad and the Fisherman on 30 January 1851, staged by Jules Perrot with revisions and additions by Cesare Pugni at the St Petersburg Bolshoi Theatre for the Imperial Ballet. Marius Petipa presented a one-act version of the ballet on 25 January 1867 for a gala performance at Peterhof with revisions and additional music (including 2 new variations composed especially for the prima ballerina Yekaterina Vazem for the Pas de l'Ombre) by Cesare Pugni. Petipa then presented his revision of the complete ballet on 27 October 1874, with revisions and additional music by Léon Minkus. In 2000 Pierre Lacotte presented a revival of this ballet for the Kirov/Maryinsky Ballet based on Perrot's original 1843 production, with Pugni's score restored from a violin reduction. 2. Swan Lake (The Sobeshchanskaya Pas de Deux) Supplemental Pas de Deux composed by Ludwig Minkus especially for the Prima Ballerina of the Bolshoi Theatre Anna Sobeshchanskaya (a standard classical pas de deux, consisting of a short Entrée, an Adagio, variation for the danseur, variation for the ballerina, and a Coda). Choreography by Marius Petipa. Premiered circa April, 1877. On 26 April 1877 the prima ballerina Anna Sobeshchanskaya made her debut in the original 1877 production of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake at the Moscow Imperial Bolshoi Theatre. The ballerina disliked the dances of the ballet's original choreographer Julius Reisinger, as well as Tchaikovsky's score. She then travelled to St Petersburg so that the choreographer Petipa could arrange for her a pas de deux to new music composed especially for her performance by Minkus. The pas would be interpolated into Act 3 of Swan Lake in substitution of Tchaikovsky's original Grand Pas de Six. When Tchaikovsky received the news that another composer's music

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was to be put into his ballet in substitution of his original Pas (standard practice in nineteenth-century ballet) he protested, and agreed to write the ballerina another pas de deux in place of the one arranged by Petipa to the music of Minkus. However, the ballerina had no wish to change Petipa's choreography, and so Tchaikovsky agreed to write a pas for her that would correspond bar for bar, and note for note with Minkus's music, allowing the ballerina to retain Petipa's choreography even without rehearsals. It has been proposed that the music was simply re-orchestrated by Tchaikovsky, and not re-written "bar for bar and note for note". Of Tchaikovsky's work on the Minkus-scored pas, all that is known for certain is that the composer made no revision of any kind to the first variation (for the danseur), leaving Minkus's original music untouched. Regarding the second variation (for the ballerina), Tchaikovsky only re-orchestrated it. As to what extent Tchaikovsky revised the Entrée, Adagio, and Coda, is not known. This Pas de Deux was thought to be lost for many years. A répétiteur of the music was re-discovered in 1953 in the archives of the Bolshoi Theatre. George Balanchine utilized this music in 1960 for a pas de deux he arranged for the ballerina Violette Verdy, and the danseur Conrad Ludlow under the title Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, as it is still known today. What became of Minkus's original version of the Pas is not known. 3. La Fille du Danube (The Daughter of the Danube) Ballet-Pantomime in 2 Acts and 4 Scenes. Choreography by Marius Petipa after Filippo Taglioni. Original music by Adolphe Adam—1836. Revived on 24 February/8 March 1880 at the St Petersburg Bolshoi Theatre by the Imperial Ballet, with additions and revisions by Ludwig Minkus in 1880. La Fille du Danube was originally produced by Filippo Taglioni on 21 September 1836, at the Académie Royale de Musique. The first production in Russia was on 29 January 1838 in a staging by Marie Taglioni and Filippo Taglioni at the St Petersburg Bolshoi Theatre for the Imperial Ballet. In 1999, the balletmaster Paul Chalmers revived Taglioni's original version of this ballet for the Verona Ballet of Verona, Italy.

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4. Paquita Ballet-Pantomime in 2 Acts and 3 Scenes. Choreography by Marius Petipa after Joseph Mazilier & Pierre Frédéric Malavergne. Original score by Edouard Deldevez—1846. Music re-orchestrated by Konstantin Lyadov— 1847. Revived on 27 December 1881/8 January 1882 at the St Petersburg Bolshoi Theatre by the Imperial Ballet, with additions by Ludwig Minkus. Paquita was originally produced by Joseph Mazilier on 1 April 1846 at the Académie Royale de Musique. The first production in Russia was on 26 September 1847, staged by Marius Petipa and Pierre Frédéric Malavergne, with the score of Deldevez re-orchestrated by Konstantin Lyadov, at the St Petersburg Bolshoi Theatre for the Imperial Ballet. Petipa added new dances to Minkus's music for his revival of 1881: for the first act, a Pas de Trois (known today as the Minkus Pas de Trois or the Paquita Pas de Trois), and for the second act, a Children's Polonaise & Mazurka for students from the Imperial Ballet School, and an elaborate Grand Pas Classique.72 5. Pâquerette Ballet-Pantomime in 4 Acts and 7 Scenes. Choreography by Marius Petipa after Arthur Saint-Léon. Original score by François Benoist—1851. Additions by Cesare Pugni—1860. Revived on 10/22 January 1882 at the St Petersburg Bolshoi Theatre by the Imperial Ballet, with additions by Ludwig Minkus. Pâquerette was originally produced by Arthur Saint-Léon to the music of François Benoist at the Académie Royale de Musique, on 15 January 1860. The first production in Russia was on 28 January 1860, staged by Arthur Saint-Léon, with additional music by Cesare Pugni, at the St Petersburg Bolshoi Theatre by the Imperial Ballet. Marius Petipa added new dances with music by Minkus for his revival of 1882. 6. Giselle Ballet-Fantastique in 2 Acts and 2 Scenes. Choreography by Marius Petipa after Jean Coralli & Jules Perrot. Original score by Adolphe Adam with additions by Frédéric Burgmüller—1841. Revived on 5/17 February 1884, at the St Petersburg Bolshoi Theatre by the Imperial Ballet, with revisions, re-orchestrations, and additions by Ludwig Minkus.

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Giselle was originally produced by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot for the Ballet of the Académie Royale de Musique to the score of Adolphe Adam, with additions by Frédéric Bergmüller, on 28 June 1841. The first production in Russia was on 18 December 1842, staged by the balletmaster Antoine Titus at the St Petersburg Bolshoi Theatre by the Imperial Ballet. Jules Perrot then mounted his own version of the ballet on 15 December 1848. Marius Petipa produced another revival of the ballet in 1850, based on the indications of Perrot for the ballerina Carlotta Grisi, while adding new choreographic elements of his own (specifically to the Grand Pas des Wilis). In 1866 Petipa revised Giselle for the ballerina Adèle Grantzow, for which Minkus composed Giselle's famous waltz variation in the Grand Pas de Deux of Act 2 (this variation is based on Adam's original motif sometimes called the Love Theme for Giselle and Albrecht). On 5 February 1884 Petipa produced what is today considered to be his definitive revival of Giselle. For this event Petipa commissioned Minkus to tailor and re-orchestrate much of Adam's original score, as well as compose an additional pas de deux for the characters Giselle and Albrecht. In 1887 Petipa again revised Giselle, this time for the ballerina Emma Bessone. For this occasion Minkus composed a new variation for the ballerina, the famous Pas Seul, or Variation of Giselle for Act 1 of the ballet. This variation was lost for some time, but was resurrected by the ballerina Olga Spessivtseva in the 1910s for her own performances in Giselle. Apart from the Pas de Deux Minkus composed for Act 1, all of his interpolations are still retained as part of Adam's score in every production of Giselle around the world. In Russia most companies (particularly the Bolshoi Ballet and the Kirov/Maryinsky Ballet) still perform Adolphe Adam's score as revised/re-orchestrated by Minkus in 1884. The choreographer Gerard Arpino used the rarely heard 1884 Pas de Deux for Giselle and Albrecht by Minkus for his ballet L'Air d'Esprit, produced in 1978 for the Joffrey Ballet.

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Notes 1 Sergei Nikolaievich Khudekov (1837-1927) was a St Petersburg balletomane, publisher of the Petersburg Gazette, author of ballet scenarios, and of a History of Dancing in 4 volumes. The libretto La Bayadère is published in Roland John Wiley’s A Century of Russian Ballet: Documents and Eyewitness Accounts, 18101910 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990), 291-303. 2 Jules Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges (1799-1875) was one of the most prolific dramatists of the nineteenth century. He provided libretti for innumerable operas (especially for Halévy), opéras comiques (La Fille du régiment for Donizetti) and ballets. He collaborated with Théophile Gautier and Jean Coralli (and, unofficially, with Jules Perrot) on Giselle, and with Marie Taglioni on Le Papillon. With Marius Petipa, he devised the plots for La Fille de Faraon, Camargo, and Le Roi Candaule. 3 Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1850-1916), Russian dramatist and librettist, brother of the composer. After five years in the civil service, he devoted himself to literature, and soon became a popular figure on the Moscow and St Petersburg stages. After his brother’s death, he devoted himself to his memory and produced a monumental three volume biography. He wrote libretti for his brother, Napravnik, Arensky, Koreshchenko, and Rachmaninov. 4 Alexander Pleshcheyev, Nash Balet (St Petersburg, 1897). 5 La Maschera, ou Les nuits de Venise, ballet in 3 acts, scenario by Vernoy de Saint-Georges, choreography Giuseppe Rota, music by Paolo Giorza, first performed on 16 February 1864. It was performed 25 times until 1865. 6 Guest, The Ballet of the Second Empire (London: Pitman Publishing, 1955, 1958. Rpt. in one vol., 1974); 198-199. 7 See Beaumont, Complete Books of the Ballets, 354-359. Phaidon Book of the Ballet. Edited by Riccardo Mezzanotte, with a preface by Rudolf Nureyev. Translated from the Italian (Oxford: Phaidon Press Ltd., 1981), 130-131. Ivor Guest, The Ballet of the Second Empire, 45-46. 8 Noël Goodwin, “Delibes/Minkus/Drigo,” Dance and Dancers, 486 (September 1990): 30. 9 Roslavleva, Era of the Russian Ballet, 94-95. 10 See Horst Koegler, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Ballet (London: Oxford University Press, 1977), 495. 11 Roslavleva, Era of the Russian Ballet, 75. Mikhail Yegrafovich Saltykov, pseud. N. Shchedrin (1826-89), Russian writer and satirist, born in Tver. He was exiled to Vyatka because of his satirical story Contradictions (1847), but later became a provincial vice-governor of Ryazan (1858-60) and Tver (1860-64); retired from the civil service (1868) and devoted himself to literature, in particular as editor of radical periodicals, and author of satirical books, aimed especially at bureaucrats and the gentry (Gubernskiye ocherki, 1856-57). He edited with Nekrasov the radical Notes of the Fatherland, and of his many books, The Golovlyov Family (1876) and the Fables are among those translated. 12 Ibid., 75.

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Miguel de Cervantes [Saavedra], The History of Don Quixote de la Mancha: With an Account of His Exploits and Adventures (Halifax: Joseph Harley, 1842), 454-55. 14 The History of Don Quixote, 457-59. 15 Petipa, Russian Ballet Master, 76-77. 16 M. Dandré, Anna Pavlova in Art and Life (1932) 17 Petipa, Russian Ballet Master, 90. 18 R. Mezzanotte, Phaidon Book of the Ballet, 135. 19 Guest, The Ballet of the Second Empire, 139-147; R. Mezzanotte, Phaidon Book of the Ballet, 128. 20 Wiley, Tchaikovsky’s Ballets, 2. 21 Yekaterina Ottovna Vazem, Memoirs [Zapiski baleriny Sankt-Petersburgskogo Bol’shogo teatra, 1867-1884 (Leningrad and Moscow, 1937)] in John Roland Wiley, A Century of Russian Ballet: Documents and Eyewitness Accounts, 18101910 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990), 284. 22 Vera M. Krasovskaya, Russian Ballet Theatre of the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century (Moscow-Leningrad, 1963), 14. 23 Konstantin Apollonovich Skalkovsky, V teatral’nom mire [In the Theatre World] (St Petersburg, 1899). Wiley, A Century of Russian Ballet, 312. He prefaced this anecdote with a longer comment on the general laxness of standards: “Despite the threefold management of regisseur, balletmaster and special functionary in charge of ballet, a lot of rubbish was given in place of the ballets announced in the repertoire for which the public had gathered. In these circumstances, without much ado, the most important pas and variations were deleted without substitutions. It was like giving an opera and deleting its best arias or quartets. A lack of artists might have justified this, but many artists, including the most talented, sat around with nothing to do. And why should the public care, paying twice as much money at the new rate, for various insignificant backstage considerations? If there was nobody to dance, the management ought to have forced Messieurs the regisseur, balletmaster, and special functionary to perform a pas de trois, and not put before the public the scraps of a work. To give only part of the goods for money is a deceptive trade practice-an act forbidden by statute in the legal code.” 24 R. Mezzanotte, Phaidon Book of the Ballet, 123. 25 Cited by Dale Harris, “La Bayadère: An Historical Overview,” About the House, 8:2 (1989): 45-46. 26 Vazem had a low opinion of the man: “In private life Petipa was a typical Frenchman, outwardly polite, false and artificially jovial. He was distinguished by a great weakness for the fair sex, started up love affairs with whomever came along, from society women to theatre seamstresses, and was extremely proud of his conquests” (Memoirs, 284). 27 Sergei Lifar, From the Old to the New (Paris, 1938). 28 Sergei Khudekov, A History of Dancing, 4 vols (Petrograd, 1918). 29 Sacountala, ballet-pantomime in 2 acts, scenario by Théophile Gautier, choreography by Lucien Petipa, music by Reyer (Paris Opéra, 14 July 1858).

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There were 24 performances until 1860. 30 Kalidasa, great Indian poet and dramatist, who wrote in Sanskrit. His work included three verse dramas, and two epics. He is best known for his play Sakuntala which was translated by Sir William Jones (1746-94), the orientalist who mastered Sanskrit and was a pioneer in the science of comparative philology. His translation of Sakuntala dates from 1771. Kalidasa probably lived at the beginning of the third century A.D. (Monier-Williams). His work reflects classical Hindu ideals in their purest form, much of it being based on traditional accounts of the past which are no longer available. 31 “This dance provided early theatrical experience for generations of pupils from the school. Many a ballerina of today of the Kirov Theatre appeared as a child in "Danse Manu", and so did Galina Ulanova” (Roslavleva, 100). 32 The term Manu became a type of synonym for Hindu. In Hindu mythology, Manu is the progenitor of the human race, an emanation of Brahma. To him are traditionally ascribed the Laws of Manu, sacred injunctions forming part of the Veda. William Jones had begun collecting ‘The Institutes of Hindu Law, or Ordinances of Manu’. 33 See Victor V. Vanslov, “La Bayadère” in in The International Encyclopedia of Dance, ed. Selma Jeanne Cohen (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), 1:393. 34 Mikhail Baryshnikov, “Baryshnikov on La Bayadère,” hppt://www.abt.org/rep/bayadere/ b.baryshnikov.html 35 Krasovskaya, Russian Ballet Theatre of the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century, 14. 36 Ibid., 18. See also Arlene Croce writing in The New Yorker: "Motor impulse is basic to Petipa’s exposition of movement flowing clean from its source. It flows from the simple to the complex, but we are always aware of its source, deep in the dancer’s back, and of its vibration as it carries in widening arcs around the auditorium. This is dancing to be felt as well as seen, and Petipa gives it a long time to creep under our skins. Like a patient drillmaster, he opens the piece with a single, two-phrase theme in adagio tempo (arabesque cambré port de bras), repeated over and over until all the dancers have filed onto the stage. Then, at the same tempo, with the dancers facing us in columns, he produces a set of mild variations, expanding the profile of the opening image from two dimensions to three. Positions are developed naturally through the body’s leverage—weight, counterweight. Diagonals are firmly expressed....The choreography is considered to be the first expression of grand scale symphonism in dance, predating by seventeen years Ivanov’s masterly designs for the definitive Swan Lake...." 37 David Brown, Tchaikovsky, 2:78. 38 Arlene Croce, The New Yorker. 39 Scholl, Tim. Sleeping Beauty—A Legend in Progress (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004), 95. 40 It was for Vazem that Petipa composed many pas of extreme difficulty, such as the "Pas des Eventails" in Le Corsaire, in after years not danced by any other ballerina. While Vazem was not a great mime, through hard work she achieved success in parts requiring acting ability: Pharaoh's Daughter and La Bayadère, and

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was even entrusted in 1876 with the purely mimed name part in the opera Fenella (The Dumb Girl of Portici), performing it with success in the company of brilliant singers of the Italian opera such as Patti, Lucca, and Mazini. 41 Vazem, Memoirs, 288. 42 Marius Petipa, Russian Ballet Master: The Memoirs of Marius Petipa. Edited with an Introduction by Lilian Moore (London: Macmillan, 1958), 97. 43 Roxana-Marsch aus dem Ballet: Roxana Die schöne Montenegrinnerin. Musik von L. Minkus. Componist der Ballete: Kamargo, La Bayadere, Schneetochter, Le Papillon etc., für Pianoforte übertragen von Johann Resch (Hamburg: Fr. Kistner, 1879). 44 Baron Nils Adolf Erik Nordenskjöld (1832-1901), Swedish scientist and Arctic explorer, was the first to navigate the Northeast passage, the sea-route through the north of Scandinavia and Russia. It was first sought in 1553 by the English seamen Willoughby and Chancellor, to establish trade with China and the Far East. Their venture failed, and the passage was eventually made by Nordenskjöld in 1878-79. It was subsequently used by Russian icebreakers opening up routes for the Siberian timber industry. 45 Luigi Manzotti (b. Milan, 2 February 1835, d. Milan, 15 March 1905). Italian dancer and choreographer. He was very successful in Rome as a mime, and choreographed his first ballet in 1858 (La Morte di Masamniello). From the first he revealed a special gift for spectacular effects, as revealed in such works as Moro delle Antille, Michelangelo e Rolla, Cleopatra, and Pietro Micca. He went to Milan in 1872, and surpassed his Roman successes with Sieba (Turin, 1878), and the extraordinary trilogy Excelsior (Milan, 1881), Amor (Milan, 1886), and Sport (Milan, 1897). In these works he became master of the ballo grande; they treated allegorical and historical subjects of great significance, with huge casts and overwhelming spectacle. His productions were a succession of related episodes expressed in mime, with simple but effective ensembles by dancers, and striking processions by well-drilled extras. They were enthusiastically received at La Scala and throughout Europe, and he became enormously famous. 46 Romualdo Marenco (b. Novi Ligure, 1 March 1841, d.. Milan, 9 October 1907). Italian composer, conductor, and violinist. He was violinist and bassoonist at the Teatro Andrea Doria in Genoa, and began his career as a composer there with the ballet Lo Sbarco di Garibaldi a Marsala, and two symphonies. He continued studying, however—learning counterpoint and composition briefly with Emilio Taddei, but left him to continue on his own, using the methods of Fenaroli and Stanislao Mattei. Afterwards he toured as a violinist, and played first violin in various orchestras, until in 1873 he became deputy concert leader and director of ballet music for seven seasons at La Scala. He composed three operas and two operettas, but his musical fame was achieved with the composition of dance music, from his collaboration with the choreographers Luigi Manzotti, Antonio Pallerini, and Fernando and Giovanni Pratesi, on large historical or allegorical themes that provided opportunities for lavish displays with large numbers of dancers and extras. Marenco was particularly associated with the great successes of Manzotti (Sieba, 1878; Excelsior, 1881; Amor,1886; Sport, 1897), which clearly expressed

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the yearning for progress and the humanitarian ideals of the age. Marenco’s passionate energy and melodic vitality was largely contributory to the huge success of the celebrated Excelsior, a historical apotheosis of human civilization, with a cast of 508. It was performed 103 times in the first year, and opened the new EdenThéâtre in Paris in 1883 where it ran for nine months. It has been revived frequently, and since 1967 it has been staged successfully in both Florence and Milan. 47 Vazem, Memoirs, 289. 48 Petipa, Memoirs, 56. 49 Wiley, Tchaikovky’s Ballets, 221. 50 Albrecht Gaub, Die kollektive Ba[l]et-Oper “Mlada’”: ein Werk von Cui, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin und Minkus (Studia Slavica musicologica, 12) (Berlin: E. Kuhn, 1998). 51 Gaub, 117. 52 Vazem, Zapisky baleriny, 74. 53 Gaub, 139-141. 54 V. M. Krasovskaja, Russkij baletnyj teatr, 36. 55 Vazem, Zapisky baleriny, 74. 56 See Mlada in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera (Ed. Stanley Sadie) 4 vols. (London: Macmillan, 1992), 3:416-418. 57 Edward Garden. “Ludwig Minkus.” In The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Ed. Stanley Sadie (London and New York: Macmillan, 2000), 16:719. 58 A. A. Gozenpud, Russky operny teatr na rubezhe XIX-XX vekov i F I Shalyapin [The Russian opera theatre at the turn of the 19th to 20th centuries and F. I. Chaliapin] (Leningrad, 1974), 86. 59 Weinstock, Tchaikovsky, 222. 60 See Joseph Gale, “Léon Minkus,” 430. 61 Manon Lescaut, ballet-pantomime in 3 acts, scenario by Eugène Scribe, choreography by Jean Aumer, music by Fromental Halévy (Paris Opéra, 3 May 1830). The ballet achieved a very respectable 47 performances until 1832. 62 Ivor Guest, The Romantic Ballet in Paris (London: Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons Ltd.), 1966; 252-253. 63 Roslavleva, Era of the Russian Ballet, 88-89. 64 See Robert Greskovic, Ballet 1.0.1. A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving the Ballet. Foreword by Mikhail Baryshnikov (New York: Hyperion, 1998), 562. 65 See Auguste Bournonville's Mit Teaterliv (Copenhagen, 1st part 1848, 2nd part 1865, 3rd part 1877). This observation comes from the third part, during Bournonville’s trip to St Petersburg and Moscow in 1874. Reflecting on his impressions of the Bolshoi Theatre in St Petersburg, he noted: “I sought in vain to discover plot, dramatic interest, logical consistency, or anything which might remotely resemble sanity. And even if I were fortunate enough to come upon a trace of it in Petipa’s Don Quixote, the impression was immediately effaced by an unending and monotonous host of feats of bravura, all of which were rewarded with salvos of applause and curtain calls....However, I could not always agree with the enraptured admirers, for the obvious lascivious tendency that pervades the

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whole choreographic movement...These baroque fashions are allowed at the Parisian theatres, and are usually imitated with tasteless exaggeration abroad...I could not suppress these and similar observations during my conversations with Johansson and balletmaster Petipa. They admitted that I was perfectly right, confessed that they privately loathed and despised this whole development, explained with a shrug of the shoulders that they were obliged to follow the current of the times, which they charged to the blasé taste of the public and the specific wishes of the high authorities” (My Theatre Life. Translated from the Danish and Annotated by Patricia N. McAndrew [London: Adam & Charles Black, 1979], 58182.). 66 Roslavleva, Era of the Russian Ballet, 114-115. 67 Roslavleva, Era of the Russian Ballet, 104. 68 Wiley, A Century of Russian Ballet, 351. 69 Nikolai Gustavovich Legat (b. St Petersburg, 27 December 1869, d. London, 24 January 1924). Russian dancer, ballet master, choreographer and teacher. He studied with his father, Gustav Legat, and at the Imperial Ballet School with Gerdt and Johansson, graduating in 1888. He joined the Maryinsky Theatre and became one of its most respected dancers. He was a brilliant technician, and appeared in 70 ballets over twenty years, including Petipa’s Kalkabrino (1891) and Ivanov’s The Nutcracker (1892). He was the favourite partner of Kschessinska, Pavlova, and Trefilova, and succeeded Petipa as ballet master in 1903. He choreographed several ballets, but concentrated increasingly on teaching, and eventually became director of the Imperial Ballet School where he succeeded Johansson. Among his many famous pupils were Egorova, Preobrazhenskaya, Sedova, Vaganova, Karsavina, Fokine, Nijinsky, and Bolm. He left the USSR with his wife Nadine in 1923, and succeeded Cecchetti as ballet master of Diaghilev’s company, and settled in London in 1926, where he opened a ballet school at Colet Gardens. Among his pupils were Nemchinova, Danilova, Lopokova, Inglesby, Fonteyn, de Valois, Dolin and Lifar. After his death, the school was continued by his wife. He was an outstanding representative of the traditional Russian school of dancing, and one of the most famous of teachers. 70 Mathilda Maria-Felixovna Kschessinska (b. Ligovo, 31 August 1872, d. Paris, 6 December 1971). Russian dancer and teacher. She was the daughter of the popular Polish character dancer Felix Kschessinsky. She studied at St Petersburg Imperial Ballet School with Ivanov, Vazem, and Johansson, graduating in 1890. She then joined the Maryinsky Theatre, becoming ballerina (1892), prima ballerina (1893) and prima ballerina assoluta (1895). After 1904 she appeared only as a guestballerina but continued dancing frequently at the Maryinsky Theatre, and also occasionally in the West (with Diaghilev’s company, 1911-12). She enjoyed her greatest successes in demi-caractère roles, such as Kitri and Esmeralda, and created roles in Petipa’s Le Reveil de Flora (1894), Les Saisons and Les Millions d’Arlequin (1900). She was the mistress of the Tsarevitch and then the morganatic wife of Grand Duke Andrei, and wielded great influence, her palace being a focal point of social life. She left Russia in 1920, to live on the Côte d’Azur, and opened a school in Paris in 1929. Her last appearance was at a charity gala in London in

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1936. 71 See Mathilde Kschessinska, Dancing in Petersburg. The Memoirs of Mathilde Kschessinska, H.S.H. The Princess Romanovsky-Krassinky. Translated by Arnold Haskell (1960; Alton: Dance Books, 2005), 45-47. 72 Yekaterina Vazem speaks of this revival in her memoirs. She characteristically adds her own perspectives, touching on a feature indicative of the changes in the later Romantic ballet: the prevalence of episodes, brilliant in themselves, but disconnected from the Romantic ideal of unity between dramatic action, music and dance: “For my benefit in 1881 Petipa revived an old ballet by Mazilier, Paquita, which had not appeared on our stage for quite some time. The ballet, dating from the 1840s, had a naïve melodramatic plot and a set of larger-than-life ‘evil’ and ‘virtuous’ characters. From the choreographic point of view there was not much to speak of and it was completely out of date anyway. Petipa created new choreography for all the dances and episodes, with the exception of the corps de ballet’s ‘cloak dance’, a curious example of Parisian ensemble dancing, where men’s parts are danced by women en travestie. Petipa presented the last episode as a grand celebration, with a newly choreographed Grand Pas to the music of Minkus at its centre. In this scene the prima ballerina and her partner appeared, as well as several other soloists and a number of secondary dancers. The Mazurka in the same act, performed by students of the Theatre School, was also very popular, although there can hardly be any logical explanation why that Polish national dance should crop up in Saragossa, where Paquita is set.”

THE MINKUS BALLETS: THE MUSIC—STYLE

Because Minkus provided the choreographers and public with what they wanted, he has been condemned as a hack composer. His work is hard to come by, but when it is heard as it should be performed, it has a powerful effect on both dancers and audience. When Petipa set out to win back an audience for the ballet in 1869, he produced Don Quixote in Moscow, a great and enduring success which vindicated his determination. Much of this success was because of the music, which is ablaze with attractive invention,1 as the world found when entranced by the skating of John Curry. .

1) Melody One of Minkus’s greatest strengths was his ability to create a variety of strong melodies. Indeed, melodic appeal is the first thing which strikes one about this composer’s work. John Lanchbery observed that “Minkus possessed the gift of instant melody; tunes probably flowed out of him in an endless stream”.2 Joseph Gale speaks of the “arching melodies” of La Bayadère, and describes him as “a consummate melodist.”3 Petipa saw this as the vital element in ballet music, as he advised Alexander Serov in a memorandum sent to him via the Directorate of the Imperial Theatres in 1870, when they were planning to write a work on a Slav theme: “compose melodious music, as this is the most important requisite for the production of dances.”4 Minkus must have suited Petipa’s requirements perfectly: not only did he provide hundreds of strongly defined, catchy melodies, but he had the power to imbue his compositions with a particular verve, an impassioned sense of motion and rhythm that conveys “an appealing liveliness that can set anyone dancing”.5 This combination of strongly lined melody and defined rhythm is both physically propulsive and emotionally compulsive, giving the music a crisp purposefulness and sharp definition, in slow as well as fast tempi, which is always both vivid and vivacious. This abundance of melodic charm and rhythmic verve, the ability to give

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emotional feeling and mood to situation, without dominating it, shows dancers to advantage, whether in the contrasting variations (as in the three solo Shades in La Bayadère) or in ensembles for the corps de ballet, in all of which “a certain elegance of phrase often adds distinction.”6 The adagios in all Minkus’s work have an extraordinary melodic extension, with very substantial emotional charge innate to the lyricism, as in the famous pas de deux from Don Quixote (which has long enjoyed a continued existence as a separate showpiece for dancers) or the legendary entrance of the Shades in La Bayadère, with its interwoven sequences establishing a tonal tapestry of symphonic dimensions. The extended structure of this and the Adagio from the Grand Pas in Paquita are handled with Tchaikovskian authority. The melody is conceived in eightbars, the usual four-bar extension doubled. The first part (A1) moves largely in semitonal steps, thirds and sixths moving between f' and g, with a gravitational pull downwards in the first part. The second four-bar extension (A2) repeats the material of the second bar of A1, then varies it in a gradual upwards ascent (from e' to b') before a sudden descent of a seventh to c'-sharp, to initiate the last bar which sees a more compressed ascent of an octave from d' to d'', infusing an added emotional uplift. The whole extension is immediately repeated in octaves, the pulsing bass accompaniment continuing to sustain the contrasting middle section (B). This also functions as a development, with thematic elements of A appearing in variation, before the tumultuous recapitulation of the opening theme A1+2 in octaves and then full chords, with reinforced orchestral strength. Elements of B are brought into the diminuendo coda before the final flourish.

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Ex. 1 Adagio from the Grand Pas in Paquita

2) Harmony This fulfils another aspect of Petipa’s requirements, that the music “by its melodies and motifs conform to the character of the locale and action of the ballet.”7 Commentators on the scores written for Paris mentioned the

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strong sense of feeling and atmosphere instilled by the music. Gautier, perceiving Minkus’s harmonic abilities in Néméa, remarked on its “haunting, dreamy quality”, was reminded of the songs of Gypsies, and observed that “the harmonies introduce those sweet and somewhat effeminate falterings, whose secret Chopin and Glinka knew so well”. La Source showed a similar concern with mood and emotion: “M. Minkus's music has a vague, indolent, and melancholic character, full of grace and languor.”8 Natalia Roslavleva famously commented on the composer’s capacity to elicit “a general emotional upsurge”, and this is a defining quality.9 Certainly, to interfere with Minkus’s lucid and precise harmonies is to cloud the tonal sound and adversely affect the nature and impact of this music. Lanchbery’s rearrangements of La Bayadère for Makarova provide the obvious case in point. His introduction of fussy inner voices and weakening of the tonal clarity and chordal emphasis diffuses the music and vitiates its impact, fudging its rhythmic thrust.10 The coda of the act 3 pas de deux in Le Poisson doré provides a good example of imaginative counterpoint: busy, rushing semiquaver staccato figurations in the high treble over a brisk 2/4 quaver rhythm are given a striking structural dimension by the addition of an inner cello voice that adds depth and an unexpected emotional resonance.

Ex. 2 Coda from the act 3 Pas de Deux in Le Poisson doré

Each of Minkus’s ballets is characterized by a distinct mood, sustained as a defining character throughout: the sensuous melancholia of Fiammetta, the reverie, fairy quality of La Source, the brilliant vibrancy of Spain tinged with sadness and bittersweet nostalgia in Don Quixote, the tragic foreboding and passionate aspiration of La Bayadère, the elegant buoyancy and stylish detachment of Paquita. The Andantino (A-major, 3/4) from Néméa provides a typical example

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of the harmonic techniques used by Minkus in sustaining the particularly emotional atmosphere of his slow movements. A pedal on the tonic A (bass octaves initially), sustained for four bars, establishes a fundamental base of tranquillity in the framing ritornello, over which the soothing opening sequence of sixths rises serenely. Immediately, chromatic modification in the second bar (a neutralizing of the root G, into D major) destabilizes the harmony and generates a gentle pathos, a play on emotion intensified in the fourth bar when the dominant seventh is surprisingly flattened (root position to second inversion) which leaves one in the air.

Ex. 3 Andantino from Néméa

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The narrowly cursive melody of the central section commences over a droning bassline (tonic-mediant-dominant), with a sudden plunge into the relative minor of f-sharp minor. A neutralizing of G in the second bar takes the key into b minor, as a small tonal histoire is unfolded, with movement in and out of the major and minor. The restless but sensuous mood is intensified by techniques like the introduction of the chord of the flattened sixth (the Italian sixth) in the sixth bar, generating a further sense of irresolution as the melody is moved higher, and the arpeggios become more spacious. These suddenly contract into thirds and fourths (bars 1314) as the melody launches into its third and climactic reprise. Tension is gently intensified all the time by the diminishing intervals of the bass, with addition of the supertonic (bars 14-15), the introduction of the sharpened French sixth (bar 16) and reiterated fifths as the melody soars in crescendo to its climatic e'''. A rapid diminuendo smooths the little drama back into the tranquillity of the dreamy ritornello. A small story—emotional but restrained—has been unfolded in the language of harmony.

3) Dance Forms and Rhythm Minkus used national dance forms for narrative as well as decorative purposes, including the jota, seguidillas, and the fandango in the comic narrative in the Seville Square, the csardas in the Gypsy Camp, and the more traditional waltzes and polkas of the Magic Garden (in Don Quixote). Such scenes derive much from the character of the atmospheric dances written for them, with barcarolles, polkas, mazurkas, galops and marches in profusion. Most of the numbers in Minkus's ballets are in either duple or triple time, rarely, if ever, straying to a different time signature (2/4, 4/4, 3/4, 6/8, and 12/8 are the predominant time signatures Minkus utilized). Occasionally he composed dances in 5/4, 7/4, even sometimes alternating from 4/4 and 3/4 (as in the Dance of the Slaves in act 2 of La Bayadère). A good idea of the variety and usage of rhythmic patterns used by Minkus is provided by act 2 of Don Quixote which is divided more or less equally between dance and mime, including some of the most famous scenes Minkus composed (the Puppet Theatre at the Gypsy Encampment, Don Quixote’s Tilting at the Windmills, and the Dream Sequence—The Kingdom of the Dryads or The Garden of Dulcinea): Scene 1 No. 24 Introduction (Allegro, F major, 6/8) Entrée of Don Quixote, Kitri and Basilio (Maestoso, F major, 4/4)

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No. 25 Gypsy Dance (Presto con fuoco, a minor, 2/4) No. 26 Le Théâtre des Marionettes (Allegro, C major, 2/4—Più mosso—Moderato, F major, 6/8—Presto, d minor, 2/4) No. 27 Bataille avec les moulins à vents (Andante, g minor, 4/4— Presto assai, g minor, 3/4) Scene 2 No. 28 Le Rêve de Don Quichotte (Andantino, G major, 12/8) No. 29 Les Dryads (Allegretto, D major, 2/4) No. 30 L’Amour (Allegro, G major, 2/4) No. 31 Dulcinea’s Variation (Moderato, G major, 3/4) No. 32 Coda (Allegro, G major, 6/8) No. 33 Le Reveille de Don Quichotte (Più mosso, G major, 6/8)

Ex. 4 Variation for Amor from Don Quixote

Within the two scenes there are four instances of 2/4, two of 3/4 and two of 4/4, four of 6/8, and one of 12/8––six duple and seven triple time signatures. Common time is reserved for mime alone (the entry of the principals, and Don Quixote’s weariness and troubled sleep). The busy opening scene-setter and concluding action are in 6/8, as is the central episode of the Puppet Theatre—rapid and subtle mixtures of dance and mime. The coda of the Dream is also in this rhythm—a spiky barcarolle with a lyrical but vigorous waltz-trio that seems determined to undercut any sentimentality. The brisk duple 2/4 is reserved for the vivacious dances that characterize the exotic Gypsies, as well as the bizarre and fantastical episodes of the Puppet Theatre, and the lively dances in the Dream. The classic triple time 3/4 is used in two very diverse ways: for the mock-heroic mimed attack on the windmills, and its polar opposite, the

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danced apparition of Dulcinea, where the waltz takes on its full romantic nature. (This is immediately counterposed by the busy triple 6/8 of the coda which purposefully begins to counteract the romance atmosphere.) Multiple triple time, the purling, undulating 12/8, is used once only, reserved for the heart of the act and actually of the whole ballet—the hero’s dream and vision of the transcendently and unattainably beautiful, spun out gently at languorous length. The disposition of rhythm shaping the episodes of the act is thus revealed as far from haphazard in usage, or mechanical in application. It underpins the thematic implications of the action, and the dances this gives rise to, with imagination and sensitivity. The rhythmic interest generally across the ballets does reveal a preponderance of waltz-time, whatever the dancers represent, whether it be Gypsies, bull-fighters, Oriental temple dancers, or ghosts.11 The waltz is a major feature of Minkus’s scores and occurs in innumerable variations, from fast and brilliant showpieces, through melancholic moderatos, to extended andantinos of considerable emotional weight. “Minkus was especially good at writing waltzes, having never lost the affinity for dreivierteltakt that was part of his Viennese upbringing.”12 These waltzes, meant for the ballet, are not as symphonically ambitious as the concert pieces of the Strauss family, but they are just as melodically fresh, and consistently avoid sentimentality. They are nonetheless a principal vector for exploring a spectrum of emotion, and become a musical correlative of every conceivable nuance of mood, from extrovert ebullience, teasing flirtation and sad self-containment (in act 1 of Don Quixote where there are no fewer than five waltzes), to public celebration, brittle exhibitionism, and dreamy detachment (in acts 2 and 3 of La Bayadère). Use of tempo, pitch, tonality, the tessitura of melodic ideas, the length and depth of the bass, an upwards surge in the movement and a recurrent seasoning of chromatic notes, especially in these rising figures, lend the waltzes a surprisingly strong emotional appeal. The high light waltz for Kitri’s entry in act 2 of Don Quixote illustrates something of Minkus’s originality here. The 3/8 time gives the dance a quick quaver propulsion suited to its grazioso style, while the melodic structure of the opening bar disturbs the predictable rhythmic expectation: the anticipated heavy first beat on the lengthened quaver first note is deflected— first by the quaver rest, and then by the triplet demisemiquaver turn, sustained into the second bar by a slur to the staccato quaver. The effect is to infuse the triple metre with a duple-time inflection that adds a pleasingly subtle element of the unexpected, an impression also borne out by the calm second subject, where the motor rhythm of the downward

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waltz beat in the bass is softened into a sustained lengthened crotchet, in effect a b-minor drone. The very different intrada of the famous pas de deux in the last scene is also a waltz, but the forward propulsion is retarded by the very even and consistent crotchets of the accompaniment, and again by varying the rhythmic effect of the triple time of the opening bar: the recurrent minims in the melodic line of the second, third and fourth bars again instilling an element of duple timing. The second subject uses some chromatic syncopation, with the melodic unit crossing over into the second bar, as well as the drone effect in the bass to vary the rhythmic flow. The preoccupation with the waltz was central to nineteenth-century musical emotionalism, and its link with even frustrated love or spectral delusion goes back to the Ball Scene in Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique (1830) and the Ballet of the Nuns in Meyerbeer’s Robert le Diable (1831). It was also central to Tchaikovsky’s perspective, even outside the ballets. “Tchaikovsky had a positive genius for the waltz, not merely in the seemingly inexhaustible fertility of his melodic invention, but also in his ability to order different waltz themes to make a larger entity.”13

4) Colour and Atmosphere The sustaining of atmosphere and furthering of emotional action in setpieces is therefore everpresent, even if the creation of local colour is realized in the conventional terms of orchestral expression, both formal and tonal. Much of the special colour of Le Poisson doré derives from the evocation of a Cossack background as appropriate mood for the folktale. The simple life of the fisherman Taras and his wife Galia is located in this milieu established by the Entry of the Cossacks and following Dances from Kazan. The artificial atmosphere of their ascendancy through the magic of the Golden Fish is embodied in a register of Polish themes, with a mazurka, ‘polskoi’ and two cracoviaks used to symbolize the rather vulgar splendour of Galia’s palace and court festivities (an analogy familiar from Glinka’s A Life for the Tsar). The finale of Nuit et Jour presents a cycle of ten national dances from various parts of the Russian Empire: karavot, pas tartar, danse des sauvages, pas finnois, pas cosaque, petite russienne, mazurka, lesghinka, and trepak.

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Ex. 5a Sequidilla from act 1 of Don Quixote

Ex. 5b Sequidilla from act 1 of Don Quixote

Ex. 5c Sequidilla from act 1 of Don Quixote

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Ex. 5d Sequidilla from act 1 of Don Quixote

The use of Spanish colour and dances is a major achievement in Don Quixote, and in brio and invention compares on equal terms with other contemporary Iberian evocations by composers like Chabrier and Waldteufel. In fact, in the depiction of a range of moods and emotions, Minkus offers much more in his varying palette. Act 1 of Don Quixote contains a moreño, a seguidilla, and a jota. One is consistently drawn into the atmosphere and mood of Spain by the effectiveness of the re-created national style. The rhythm establishes a breathlessness, with rapid triple times, often with triplets on the second beats of bars. There are extended melodic fanfares, punctuated by chordal gestures in thirds and triads, with characteristic rising or falling fourths. Recurrent Scotch snaps, on the one hand, and artful fermate on the other, provide impulse, while ever-present semiquaver iterations (usually moving within a range of thirds or sixths), constitute contrasting second subjects. All important dotted sequences, alternating with triplet flourishes, or chains of semiquaver runs peaking in rhetorical chords in imperfect cadences, serve both as propulsive powerpoints and semantic vectors. The seguidilla illustrates all these points. When it came to the evocation of the East, Minkus was restricted to the practice of the day (like the restrained Orientalism of L’Africaine) rather than experimenting with authentic folk melodies on exotic instruments. In response to the libretto, however, Nikia should first be seen playing a veena, an Indian guitar, at a window of the temple before appearing to dance with Solor (as now happens in the restored 1900 scenario at the Maryinsky Theater). It is therefore a little unfair to assert that “what he wrote quite unabashedly disregards the possibilities of musical suggestiveness present within the resources of the symphony orchestra.” On the whole the issues of appropriate colour and nuance are adhered to. Even in the traditional variation music there is no discordancy of key or basic mood. To say that “the bravura music of [the variations] has lost all contact with the setting and atmosphere of the ballet”14 is to understand the sustaining of atmosphere too narrowly. Minkus is criticized here in relation to Tchaikovsky’s magisterial creation of variations in the nature

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of the seventeeth-century dances in the Hunt Scene of act 2 of The Sleeping Beauty, in which he seems to realize the atmosphere of a bygone age without recourse to pastiche. But how could Minkus be expected to do the same for the totally removed and alien Hindu modalities of a remote past? In terms of his age and experience, he seems to have managed very well, using syncopation and “other rhythmic disjunctions in contexts of Indian ethnicity.”15 Far more appropriate to such a comparative process would be consideration of his as yet unedited score for Camargo which sought to reproduce the world of early eighteenth-century France. What is certain is that Yekaterina Vazem who created Nikia in La Bayadère wrote admiringly in her memoirs of Minkus’s superb management of melody “and its coordination with the character of the scenes and dances.”16

5) Narrative and Mime Mime was of course an essential feature of nineteenth-century ballet, an aspect that is often difficult for modern audiences, for whom narrative music has often acquired disturbing overtones of the silent cinema.17 The music is mimetic in relation to the scenario: extrovert and processional in ceremony, dissonant and chromatic in situations of confusion, treachery and confrontation. Modern productions of Don Quixote depict the mock suicide of Basilio in exaggerated slapstick, which only adds to the perception. This has been the reaction among Russian dancers, for example, in the recent revival of the 1900 production of La Bayadère, who prefer the old Soviet version because it contains more dancing than mime. Much of scene 2 of the ballet involves extended scenes of confrontation between Gamsatti and Nikia, realized in mime, with a fluid orchestral commentary that is indeed melodramatic in more senses than one. However, there are also scenes where the music for the mime has real power and fresh invention, like Don Quixote’s mad delusions in the Prologue, his fight with the windmills later in act 2, and most especially, the Marionette Theatre in the Gypsy Scene which precedes it, where the various sections, the changing sounds and harmonic textures, effectively realize the interplay between external events and disturbing psychological process.

6) Orchestration Minkus’s orchestra was large. Most scores call for piccolo, flutes, oboes, cor anglais, bassoons, cornet, trumpets (all in pairs), four French

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horns; three trombones, tuba, harp, strings, and five or so percussion instruments (snare drum and bass drum, triangle, tambourine, and glockenspiel).18 Occasionally he used the gong, piano, and castanets. Even with this large ensemble, passages for full orchestra are used carefully, and retained for special emotional or climactic use. He usually used the same combination of instruments, unless required to set a special mood, and exploited the brass or woodwind sections only to thicken the music when needed. Most of the main melody is given to the first violin and flute sections, often doubled up with second violins and violas, giving recurrent two-part writing. Scherer describes Minkus’s “somewhat unadventurous though highly workable textbook style of orchestration— first violins on the melody, doubled in the tutti passages with plenty of cornet and trumpet, double basses and lower brasses firmly marking the downbeats, and the drum and cymbals punctuating climaxes.” The Kingdom of the Shades from La Bayadère provides examples of this kind of scoring for double bass pizzicato and bass drum.19 A piece like the Entrance of the Toreadors in act 1 of Don Quixote, however, is hardly unadventurous. Here brilliant brass fanfares in parallel staccato chords are succeeded by a more flowing second subject of strutting strings and bold answering dotted woodwinds, which by any standards is an exhilarating and brilliant orchestral tour de force. Sancho Panza’s Blind Man’s Buff and Blanketing Scene, on the other hand, uses rushing strings in the most delicate but invigorating way. The effectiveness of the tonal impact belies the received picture of bland and banal colouring (see also pp. 233, 239). Minkus’s music for La Source reveals anything but commonplace instrumentation. The shimmering colours and consistently delicate scoring, with scurrying strings, rapid staccato woodwind writing and diaphanous textures recall the heyday of the fairy music of early German Romanticism. In Don Quixote the Iberian setting calls for bright colours and a vivid orchestral sheen, while the music of public drama and ceremonial, passion, night and dreams in La Bayadère elicits a spectrum of tonal shading, from prominent and vigorous trombone writing in the march which opens the wedding procession in act 3, furious timpani in the Dance of the Wild Men (danse infernale), to the rich harp writing in the Kingdom of the Shades. Minkus always carefully balances the balletic need for simple textures and solo passages with more dramatic use of fuller sonorities, in public scenes of celebration or ritual, or when dramatic considerations dictate, where fuller sounds are brought into play. To say that the orchestration “always favours the violins, with limited interest in the woodwind and brass”20 does not bear scrutiny with the score

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of La Bayadère. This has remarkable writing for the lower woodwind and brass (consistently linked with the darker sides of the story and the Chief Brahmin, the villain of the piece), while the heroine is associated with upward surging strings, and her love for Solor with flute and harp. Indeed Minkus showed a special talent in composing for solo violin, an instrument he himself excelled in, and also an ability to write for the harp. There are several for both in his ballets. The violin and harp solos were written with the talents of the famous violinist Leopold Auer and harpist Albert Zabel in mind, both of whom served as instrumental leaders in the orchestras of the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre and Maryinsky Theatre throughout the late 19th century. Many instruments are used by Minkus for special effects, especially in these numerous obbligato solos.21 The voluptuous delights of the Chanson à boire in Néméa are conceived as the adagio of a fiery csardas, the sultry hedonism conjured by use of the solo cello suggesting Hungarian braggadocio in its skips and strutting dotted rhythms. Don Quixote is associated with lower trilled strings and muted trumpets, and the love music with solo cello (in act 1) and solo clarinet (in act 4). Similarly, in Le Poisson doré, the big act 2 pas de deux is dominated by a long cello solo. The heroine Galia’s dissatisfaction is conveyed by cornet solos in all three acts, her ambition in act 3 by two extended solos for the flute. The emotional fulfilment of her dreams, and its relationship to Taras and the Golden Fish, is suggested by an intermezzo in the middle of act 3 that looks back to the act 2 love music in an elaborate solo for the cello. Similarly, in La Bayadère the various stages of Nikia’s emotional development are punctuated by long solo recitals—the flute in the fresh anticipation of love (act 1), the cello in betrayal and death (act 3), the violin in transfigured otherworldly rapture (act 4). The whole mystery of night and dreams is given to the harp and combined strings and woodwinds (act 3).

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Ex. 6 Csardas from Néméa

The violin solos in the ballets indicate the intuition of a virtuoso, like the Pas de la Guzla in La Source, the Alla Polacca female variation in act 2 of Le Poisson doré, the impassioned Adagio of the Grand Pas in Paquita, and the pas de deux at the heart of Kingdom of the Shades in La Bayadère. This extended solo in two parts is the highpoint of Minkus’s writing for the instrument.

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Ex. 7 Andantino and Allegretto from the act 3 Pas de Deux in La Bayadère

The long 2/4 A-major Andantino that constitutes the cantabile heart of the scene is a 50-bar meditation evolving from a simple asymmetrical melody on three notes (e-sharp, d-sharp, f) with a central semiquaver skip, over a barely rocking arpeggio, rising to the sixth and leading note, and then imperceptibly falling by two semitones. It is repeated twice, on the third occasion raised by a fourth, ascending to f'''' and descending by way of a gossamer semiquaver run to d''. The effect is one of great stillness and composure, an effect continued in the second subject, a rounded arch b' to a'' down to a', delicately decorated by a turn and tiny staccato run. This leads into a series of runs culminating in trills and an upward leap of an octave, moving into a sequence of rising crotchet trills, reaching a climax on e''' and a cascading demisemiquaver mini-cadenza that initiates the reprise of the melody as a freely rhapsodic variation embroidered by semiquaver runs and figures until the final impassioned ascent to e'''', and the staggered descent and rise from a-a'''. The later 6/8 Allegretto variation is also in A-major, and presents an entirely different mood and challenge for the soloist. Arresting dotted chords and a staggered cadential semiquaver flourish on the violin, from g'''' down to d', announce a more extrovert style. The dance is gently launched by a compact waltz rhythm over which a poised legato melody for the violin unfolds—also confined to a narrow range, fourth, sixth, seventh in the four-bar extension. Three variants follow, until an ascent by a tenth in the last initiates a more propulsive version of the waltz rhythm

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(Mosso) and a new section dominated by bravura, with four staccato semiquaver runs from e' to e''' in intervals of thirds and fourths, each with a fleet demisemiquaver echo effect in triplets and sextuplets that carries the ascent in alt to e'''' and g''''. The runs incrementally consolidate the upward drive of the melodic impulse before launching into the final Vivace section. Here two sets of brilliant rushing staccato semiquaver passage-work, with appoggiature marking each group of six notes, culminate in quaver staccato trajectories with intervals of octaves and tenths in the upper part of the stave. The effect is one of delicate and scintillating display in the context of a yearning but serene and controlled melodic medium.

7) Recurring Themes and Dominant Tonalities The impact of this careful application of the orchestral palette is reinforced by a limited but effective use of recurring themes, each ballet consistently identifying a key factor in this way: the theme of the Spring and its fate in La Source; the three spheres of action in Don Quixote (the old knight and his heroic but elegiac quest, the Spanish exuberance of the young lovers, the mystical realm of dreams); while in La Bayadère the main protagonists each have their own motif (Nikia, Solor, the Chief Brahmin, the Fakir), as does the notion of tragic love. These themes are subjected to subtle variation appropriate to the dramatic needs of the story. The weaving of such themes into the texture of the music with its special local colour contributes to larger unity, and makes for a considerable homogeneity of effect within the sound world of each score. This is underscored by a purposeful application of tonality; La Source is dominated by B-flat major, Don Quixote by G major, and La Bayadère by D major, each in its own system of tonal drama. Take, for example, the famous act 1 of Don Quixote. The act is dominated by G major. The twenty numbers are arranged in a careful sequence and system in which five sections are situated within a meticulously planned tonal whole.

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Section 1: sets the scene and introduces the young lovers 1. Opening dance (6/8) G major 2. Entry of Kitri (3/4) G major 3. Kitri and Basilio (6/8) e minor 4. Moreño (3/8) G major 5. Scene with Lorenzo e minor The happy normal life of the townspeople is established in G. Kitri preeminently embodies the ideal of vivacious freedom and grace, and her entry makes her the perfect expression of this world. Her love for Basilio is struggling and hidden, waiting to be declared, so in the relative minor, the dark side of G. When they exult in their love in the exuberant moreño it is in the radiant major. The futile colloquy of the young lovers with her father Lorenzo, however, is part of their frustration, and so reverts to the minor. Section 2: the comic rival introduced 6. Entry of Gamacho 7. Seguidilla (3/8)

A major A major

Don Gamacho is the buffo foil to the young lovers, the antihero aspiring to the hand of the young heroine. His pompous fussiness is the comic variant on the way of romantic love. His key in the supertonic A major is mock-heroic, entirely different but not to be taken seriously. Once he has been safely returned to his home, the crowd dance away his memory in their passionate seguidilla. Section 3: the serious rival introduced 8. Entry of Espada (2/4) 9. Dance of the Toreadors (2/4) 10. The Bull Fight (2/4) 11. Air Espagnol (3/8) 12. The Street Dancer (3/4) 13. Coda (3/8)

F major B-flat major d minor/D major B-flat major d minor/D major F major

This self-contained episode presents Espada, the toreador aspirant for Kitri’s hand. Unlike the ridiculous Gamache, he is heroic and glamorous, and therefore a very different rival for the barber Basilio. His key of F major is a seventh away from the lovers’ G major, suggesting his serious contention and social difference. This is linked also to the key of B-flat to which the toreadors enter in brilliant procession. Their grandezza relates to

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the heritage of Spanish chivalry, a point emphasized by the Air espagnol that follows later, also in B-flat. The Bull Fight that Espada oversees is in d minor and the tonic D major, as is the Dagger Dance for the Street Dancer, Mercedes, the reassuring dominant to the tonic of G major used for the young lovers. The brilliant coda for all these participants returns to the F major of Espada’s heroic entry to frame this central and selfcontained episode of national colour. Section 4: The entry of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza 14. Scene (4/4) B-flat major 15. Sancho Panza and the Girls (2/4) E-flat major This episode balances the appearance of Gamache earlier, and is full of the pathos and yet genuine heroism of Don Quixote. It is interesting to see that his advent is in the key of B-flat, just identified in the previous section with Spanish chivalry and national pride. The comic foil comes in the antics of the bumbling ‘squire’ and his adventures with the village girls, culminating in his blanketing, the E-flat major of this scurrying comic scene the mediant to Don Quixote’s solemn and processional B-flat. Section 5: the celebration of life and love 16. The Girlfriends of Kitri (3/4) D major 17. Pas de Deux for Kitri and Basilio (2/4) G major D major G major 18. Variation: Basilio (3/4) D major 19. Variation: Kitri (2/4) B minor 20. Coda (2/4) D major G major D major The extended finale of the act is the counterpart of the big opening episode, and returns to the young lovers. The friends of Kitri join in an act of communion in a beautiful waltz in D major, picking up on the brilliant folk activities of the central episode. They make way for the pre-nuptial pas de deux of the lovers that essentially shapes the rest of the act. It is humorous in its opening G major, the special key of the lovers, and shifts to the reassuring dominant D major in the more reflective and emotional middle section, with the touching intervention of Don Quixote who causes Kitri (his perceived Dulcinea), to dance the minuet with him (also in D). The resumption of the cheery opening G-major section establishes the

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carefree mood, sustained in the D-major and relative b-minor variations for the couple. The coda of the duet becomes a general ensemble with the townspeople launching the fleet Allegro vivace in D major, the lovers enjoying a central episode of virtuoso elevations in their G major, and the whole concluding brilliantly in D major as the lovers escape amidst the joyful ensemble activity of their friends. Each of the five sections has been fitted carefully into an architectural structure reinforced by a purposeful and emblematic use of tonality. In La Bayadère, with its tragic fable and more dramatically polarized universe, the opportunity for even more symbolically utilized key systems is greater. The prelude establishes b minor/D major in relation to the Fakir, representing the convoluted public face of Hindu religion on the one hand, and the open self-offering nature of the bayadère Nikia on the other. The public function of the consecrated temple dancers is realized in A major and A-flat major, ethereal keys indicating the beauty of the bayadères (and especially Nikia) in their religious activity, both detached and spiritual. Recurrent g minor seems to suggest an earthly pull on the spiritual (as in Nikia’s beautiful but troubled soliloquy with solo flute), the dance of the Fakirs, and the confrontation between Nikia and the Chief Brahmin, where the elevated colloquy is suddenly pulled down into earthly passion by the revelation of his sexual desires—in a move from G major to g minor. The pas de deux between Nikia and Solor, on the other hand, moves in the opposite direction—from g minor to G major, as if prophetic of their love, destined for immortality. In the Allegro con fuoco finale, as the Brahmin espies them, the move is into b minor, with a radiant return to G as the lovers bid farewell. The whole act is held between an initial b minor and the move to the spiritual G major. The other acts follow similar patterns—with act 1 scene 2 moving from the happy C major of Gamsatti’s anticipated betrothal to Solor, to the tonic c minor of her furious confrontation with Nikia. In act 2 there is similar pattern, a movement from major to minor. The public celebration in recurrent and alternating G and D major (with some C and A/A-flat intercalation) moves to the tragic denouement of Nikia’s danced nuptial blessing in b minor which changes into the relative e minor of G major, only the closing moments of her death reasserting something hopeful in the final tonic E major. Act 3 is infused by Nikia’s D major, which dominates seven of the eleven movements, with a drive from g minor (the opening entr’acte) to G major (Coda 1) becoming D major (Coda 2), with the luminous A major of her spiritual calling dominating the pas de deux. There is a pull between d minor (a sense of duty) and g minor (a sense

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of the earthly) and the tonic majors of each which signify freely given love (D major) and a perception of the heavenly (G major). The relative minor keys of both these majors suggest the metaphysical implications: b minor (evil and destructive forces) must become D major (all that is good and positive), while e minor (death) must be transformed into G major (life or immortality). G and D dominate the Kingdom of the Shades, and impart the final radiant tonal colouring to the score. The first coda of the Kingdom of the Shades embodies the best of Minkus's musical instincts. The strong melodic line with its upward drive sweeps up and down the stave to powerful and sustained rhythmical impulses, all with an atmospheric emotional undertow generated by effective control of inflected harmony and recurrent tonality. The torrential effect of the music, even without the visual dimensions of scenery and dance, combines exhilaration and sentiment in a highly original manner— brilliant, attractive, touching and inventive. The analysis that follows considers the musical dimension of Minkus’s ballets, those scores that have survived in the repertoire, and indeed, through productions, recording, and DVD have a widespread and expanding currency in the world. His contributions to La Source and Paquita, and the two Petipa ballets that have survived in performing traditions, are increasingly understood to be masterpieces: the irrepressibly comic Don Quixote and the tragically visionary La Bayadère—the light and dark faces respectively of the dramatic experience.

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Ex. 8 Coda 1 from The Kingdom of the Shades in La Bayadère

Notes 1

Ian Woodward, Ballet (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1977), 370 John Lanchbery, cited in Laurence Barrymore Scherer, “Maligned Minstrel,” 23. 3 Joseph Gale, “Léon Minkus” in The International Encyclopedia of Dance, ed. Selma Jeanne Cohen (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), 6 vols., 4:429, 430. 4 Roslavleva, Era of the Russian Ballet, 99. Mikhail Ivanov, the composer of The Vestal, left a record of Petipa’s instructions to composers: “I had occasion to learn 2

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about the specialist composer's requirements, of which I had but a vague understanding before, from Petipa when I set to work on the ballet. It is not a complicated science, and to understand it is not difficult. One must realize, however, that Petipa in the early stage of his acquaintance with every composer had to repeat his pedagogical course on choreography and its musical requirements. But he was patient, a true foreigner as regards courtesy, and never complained of the boredom which he probably suffered when explaining to novices the ABCs of his art. He listened through every page patiently, invariably submitting it to his censorship. He loved piquant music, lively and animated rhythms, but he never evaluated what had been written except for the arrangement of its parts — whether their length and dimensions, their general plan, corresponded with the dances he had already conceived” (see Wiley, A Century of Russian Ballet, 351). 5 Scherer, 23. 6 Noel Goodwin, “Léon Minkus” in International Dictionary of Ballet. Ed. Martha Bremser (Detroit: St James Press, 1993), 2:960-962. 7 Wiley, Tchaikovsky’s Ballets, 5. 8 La France musicale, 18 November 1866. 9 Roslavleva, Era of the Russian Ballet, 96. 10 The record of Lanchbery’s work on the score is disturbing: “...I have tried to ‘clean up’ the music of La Bayadere somewhat, to make it more interesting harmonically and much more interesting orchestrally without too many anachronisms. Where melodies are repeated I have sometimes varied the times slightly. Here and there at Natalia Makarova’s request I have composed new sections, and once or twice a new number” (John Lanchbery, “Minkus and the music of Makarova’s La Bayadère”. Programme notes to the Royal Ballet performances of La Bayadère (London: Covent Garden, 1989). 11 Goodwin, “Léon Minkus,” 962. 12 Scherer, “Maligned Minstrel,” 23. “His unending fund of melody was at its best in waltz-time, obviously because of his early life in Vienna; when in doubt, he wrote in this rhythm, and it is fun to note that in his tragic ballet La Bayadère, a story of fatal snake-bite, unrequited love and a haunted temple in mythological India, the best musical number is when a corps de ballet of beautiful Hindi ladyghosts waltz around the stage to a Viennese 1-2-3" (John Lanchbery, Notes to Don Quixote [London: Coliseum, 1978]). 13 David Brown, Tchaikovsky: A Biographical and Critical Study (London: Gollancz, 1978, 1982; reprinted in Gollancz Paperbacks, 1992), 2:79. 14 Wiley, Tchaikovsky’s Ballets, 290. 15 “A reviewer of the first performance observed: “many original, lively motifs, at times fascinating rhythm which attempts to reproduce the so-called couleur locale.” See Wiley, “Music in the first La Bayadère”. Programme notes to the Royal Ballet performances of La Bayadère (London: Covent Garden, 1989). 16 Wiley, A Century of Russian Ballet, 286. 17 Goodwin, “Léon Minkus,” 692. 18 Wiley, “Music in the first La Bayadère”. Another requires strings, flutes,

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piccolo, clarinets, cornet, oboes, bassoons, contrabassoon, three trombones, bass trombone, 2 English horns, four French horns, trumpets, tuba, often 2 harps, drums (snare drum and bass drum), timpani, triangle, tambourine, and glockenspiel (Wikipedia, p. 7). 19 “Minkus was also quite fond of the bass drum, as well as pizzicato for double bass, used mostly for marking time.... Such writing is not at all a testament to any lack of imagination on the part of Minkus - he simply wrote this way because it was faster, as he often had very little time to orchestrate after what was needed musically was decided by the Balletmaster, not to mention that a more complex musical structure would have been rejected by both the Balletmaster and dancers alike” (Wikipedia, p. 7). 20 Goodwin, “Léon Minkus,” 692. Lanchbery puts it more fully: “His orchestration seems often uninspired: the woodwind and brass parts tend to have limited interest with melodies almost always given to the first violins...thickened with a woodwind instrument or two if the music is soft and quick, or with a cornet or two if it is loud and not too agile” (Lanchbery, “Minkus and the music of Makarova’s La Bayadère”. Programme notes to the Royal Ballet performances of La Bayadère in London: Covent Garden, 1989]). 21 Wiley, Tchaikovsky’s Ballets, 23. Joseph Gale adds an interesting perspective about the recurrence of instrumental solos in the ballets of the time: “His skill as an instrumentalist in turn played a role in the way he orchestrated. Minkus was superior in this respect to Cesare Pugni, whom he was to succeed in St Petersburg. Both knew, however, that the orchestral musicians were generally of high quality. Many were foreigners imported to boost the level of the Russian players. Thus Minkus, like Pugni, wrote extensive solos for them. Henri Wieniawski, who was a young violinist at the Bolshoi Orchestra at the time, programmed Minkus’s music when he was a renowned violin virtuoso” (“Léon Minkus,” 429).

LA SOURCE Act 1 Prélude 1. Introduction fantastique 2. L’Ephémère, Scène dansée 3. Scène 4. Marche de la Caravane 5. Berceuse 6. Pas de Guzla 7. Scène 8. Scène dansée (Apparition de Naïla la fée de la source) 9. Valse 10. Scène et Danse 11. Danse des Sylphes et des Lutins 12. Variation de Naïla 13. Scène et Danse 14. Galop 15. Scène finale Act 3 scene 2 29. Scène et Danse (Finale)

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The musical examples are all taken from the piano score La Source (Paris: L. Parent, 1867). The numbers Minkus provided for the ballet La Source, written in collaboration with the young Léo Delibes, are the earliest of his music to survive in the repertoire. They are of particular interest for establishing certain characteristics that remain constant features of Minkus’s style. The scenario, with its love story and fantastical world of magic and animate nature, has a detached, otherworldly quality, especially in the opening and closing scenes with Naïla, the spirit of the spring. Minkus’s score establishes and sustains this mood, and shows him a true Romantic in this type of genre writing.

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Fig. 43: La Source: frontispiece of the piano score

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ACT 1 Prélude (Maestoso, g minor, 4/4; Un poco più mosso, E-flat major) Great portentous dotted chords in g minor sound twice, the repeat rising by a seventh, establishing a fairly dark mood, a series of light recurrences of the opening dotted figure sustaining the gloomy impression. The theme will be associated with the evil Gypsy Morgab, the enemy of the elemental heroine Naïla. Her fated story is reflected wistfully in a quiet clarinet theme (lengthened minim and turning quaver triplet), a sinuous motif that will be germane to the thematic symbolism of the watery story. The second part of the prelude begins suddenly, enharmonically with a pure and simple theme in octaves: a phrase of four semitonally ascending crotchets, either just falling or rising to a held semibreve, this melodic cell undulating some seven times on a ground bass of thirds and sixths (for the strings) and an ostinato of shallow rippling semiquaver arpeggios in thirds (b to e, rising as high as d') for the clarinets and bassoons.This ostinato is soft but distinct in its effect, and the whole is a tone poem of purling water and gentle, aspiring but restrained emotion, an effect intensified by the tremolos, diminuendo sinking of the theme, and its crescendo ascent to a great tremolo E-flat major cadence. This is Naïla at home in her element, with all serenely in harmony in the natural order. Such beautiful cantabile writing will be a special feature of Minkus’s work.

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Ex. 1 La Source Prelude.

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1. Introduction fantastique (Vivace, g minor/B-flat major, 3/8) As day breaks, goblins, insects and butterflies flit among the flowers. The conjuring up of nature and magical beings is the heritage of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and a consistent Romantic preoccupation, where Weber, Mendelssohn, and Nicolai established a tradition that Minkus tunes into effortlessly. Trilled semiquaver figures (e''-d'') on clarinets and bassoons with answering upward runs a fifth below (a' to c''), bounced off a bass of pizzicato strings in rising quaver thirds and answering semiquaver sixth chords in root position, establish the motivic cell of this extended piece, a scherzo in fact. Occasionally the staccato figure of the accompaniment becomes a mercurial riposte in the melodic line, across four octaves (g-g', e''-e'''). The minor key contributes to a certain muted feeling (A1). A contrasting section ensues (Lento, 4/4), actually the quietly descending triplet figure from the prelude (for clarinets and flutes), associated with Naïla (B). The fleet scherzo theme quickly reasserts itself, the bass now a string tremolo, sustaining the light texture (A2), before the resumption of A1, which scurries along in trills and runs, changing into the relative major en route, and making way for another contrasting section (Allegretto, G major, 6/8). A beautiful cantabile melody in high octaves, over rising splashes of harp (G bass, an upwards octave run B to b, a triadic fifth) evokes the serenity of the watery prelude (C), and relates to Naïla as the presiding spirit of this enchanted place. Unfolded over sixteen bars, it has its own trio section (interplaying woodwind triplets over a fleet waltz rhythm) (D), before the resumption of the cantabile (C), and the return to the scherzo theme (A1+A2), shifting between the minor and major, and concluding with the sudden dolce resumption of the rising and falling clarinet triplet from the prelude (B) that brings the whole piece to a muted and rather wistful conclusion. The piece is carefully constructed as A1-B-A2-A1-C-D-C-A1-A2-B, a fine example of a rondo scherzoso.

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Ex. 2 La Source Fantastic Introduction.

2. L’Ephémère, Scène dansée (Andante, E-flat major, 2/4) A rather sad theme emerges out of a bass tremolo, the woodwinds playing in high octaves, falling and then rising (A), as a vignette of the birth, life and death of a mayfly is depicted. The brooding seriousness is dispelled by a plucked chord and flute skirl, as the strings imitate the buzzing of insects in a rapid demisemiquaver trill over plucked sixths in the bass, a figure relating closely to the fairy chorus that opens act 1 of Weber’s Oberon (Allegro moderato, 4/4) (B). The darting movements of the mayfly are depicted in another scherzo variant, busy iterative violin figures over a sprung bass in duple rhythm (bass and answering dyads an octave above), all given a melancholic patina by the use of the minor key (Allegretto, c minor, 2/4) (C). This binary movement comes to brisk end, as the wistful opening theme (A) returns dolce on the woodwinds, and the mayfly dies (Andante, E-flat major). This theme comes to depict the cruel fragility of the natural order, beautiful but transient, something of the lacrimae rerum, the sadness at the heart of all creation. But the inevitable natural processes

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resume, as the theme of the previous rondo scherzoso is taken up again (Vivace, g minor, 3/8), linking the event of the mayfly to the picture of nature busy around the spring, and integrating the piece into the thematic and symbolic implications of the story.

Ex. 3 La Source The Mayfly.

3. Scène (Moderato, c minor, 4/4) A hunter, Djemil, comes the spring to quench his thirst. His advent is heralded by a phrase of descending dotted notes (semiquaver-lengthened crotchet) and answering quaver triplets, the latter then rising over sustained horn and bassoon harmonies. The two parts are played over each other in brief canon, then in octaves, concluding on beautiful horn chords, as behoves the hunter. As he approaches the spring to drink, a string arpeggio in the major E-flat major (e-e') announces the presence of water and its presiding spirit. Djemil’s theme softens into a tender lyrical recital in emotional octaves and changes in the accompaniment which rises into the treble, the arpeggios becoming pulsing thirds in a little instrumental aria. The hunter is drawn to the stream in an emotional affinity. This is suddenly broken by the advent of the Gypsy Morgab, who is announced by the brutal chromatic dotted chords familiar from the opening of the

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Prelude. Her role is potentially fatal for Naïla, since she tries to poison the spring with toxic herbs. Like the witch Madge in La Sylphide (1832), she embodies an unmotivated force for evil that seeks the destruction of the heroine for its own sake. Her motif is thus one of fatefulness for the spirit of the spring, and is linked in its dotted nature to that of Djemil. Even though he prevents the Gypsy from doing her evil deed, he will eventually be responsible for Naïla’s death, and is thus related to Morgab in fatefulness. The confrontation between hunter and Gypsy takes place to diminished thirds on the second violins and violas with Djemil’s theme on bassoons and contrabassi in the bass, leading to Morgab’s chords which are pulled short by three demisemiquaver tutti chords across both staves. Djemil’s theme is reasserted on the violas and full horn passage, leading to a reprise of the little lyrical effusion that marks his friendship with the spring and its spirit, this trailing off in a gentle restatement of his theme with its reflective chords on both flutes and then horns. 4. Marche da la Caravane (Marche, C major, 4/4) A caravan is seen approaching, and Morgab, by way of avenging herself, prophesies to Djemil that he will fall in love with the girl they are escorting to her future husband. The March of the Caravan is another variation on the scherzo theme, presenting as it does an elegant marcia giacosa/goiosa. Two themes are presented homophonically. The first is a sprightly, springing, staccato theme descending in triplets and dotted figures, in sixths and thirds over C chords, finding rest and impetus on a C chord, before rising symmetrically to fall and rest on the dominant G (A1+A2). The repeat is in the dominant returning to the tonic before the second subject, in fact a lyrical melodic variant of A, over a strongly sprung quadruple rhythm with a big leap between the bass (invariably B or E) and an answering triad (varying between a dyad, sixth or octave, but invariably rooted on ci) (B). The sequence is repeated four times, with a virtuosic adaptation of melody, harmony, orchestration and dynamics, as the piano colloquy between Morgab and Djemil passes into the growing crescendo and tutti advent and arrival of the caravan. The second subject (B) becomes more and more lyrical, and the first more chordal and emphatic as this crisp, buoyant march progresses.

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Ex. 4 La Source March of the Caravan

5. Berceuse (Andante, e minor, 2/4) The caravan halts at the spring, and the company relax in the shade around the spring. The midday heat, the weariness of the travellers, the heavy air, are all conjured up in the berceuse. This setpiece unfolds a languorous oboe melody, a dreaminess inculcated by semitonal intervals, with euphonious leaps of sixths and fourths, and melodic symmetry (b' up to g'' back to b') over a gently strummed accompaniment that becomes an upward moving semiquaver arpeggio (f to f') in the octave, a version of the melody that is floated over it in the binary repeat of the melody. A delicate staccato variant in staccato semi- and demisemiquavers is twice repeated before the melody is recapitulated (dolce), in the major key of E major, in thirds, sixths and octaves, over shallow arpeggios, drifting off into sleepy haziness (dolcissimo).

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Ex. 5 La Source Berceuse.

6. Pas de la Guzla (Andantino, 5/4, a minor) Djemil conceals himself, and watches as the girl, Nouredda, emerges from her tent to dance. This is designated a ‘guzla’, after an ancient one-stringed bowed instrument. The ancient origins of the csardas are touched on here, as the dance is modelled on the verbunkos, with a slow, melancholic opening followed by a fiery allegro. Minkus’s origins in the AustroHungarian lands, and his proficiency as a violinist, are all in evidence in this vivid character piece. A deep, fervent triple rhythm (crotchet bass A, full answering quaver octave chords, e-e', with distinct fermata) provides the trajectory for a simple melodic figure of a turn on the dominant e' (crotchet-quaversemiquaver) ascending by a sixth to linger in a lengthened crotchet on c'', descending by a fourth to the tonic a'-sharp. The pattern is repeated in symmetrical inversion, and, in differing tonal variants, provides the blueprint for the whole eight-bar extension of the melody (A1). It is conceived as a cantabile violin solo, and given an emotional lift on its repeat by octave doubling (A2), and on the third assumes a prototypical csardas sound by having the melody in a descending variant played in thirds by the first violins, with the accompaniment broadened into full crotchets without fermate, the melody raised a fourth on its repeat (A3). There is a violin solo decoration of the line before the variant in thirds is played again (A3), and the whole melody then given in its octave doubling (A2). A new variant (Un peu animé) sees the figure in thirds played as a single melodic line descending the stave (A4), before the resumption of

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the octaves in tempo uno (A2). The Vivace (F major, 2/4) follows, a breathless flurry of string work, a spiky staccato quaver figure with intervals of fourths and sixths (g''-c''-a''c'') followed by a semiquaver swirl (twice repeated)—then rising to a quaver d''' semiquaver d'''-f''', falling to a crotchet c''' (repeated), rising and falling in semiquaver figures between b'' to d''' to a'' to c''' to crotchet f''. The rhythm is a vigorous duple time (bass f and answering dyadic sixth chords, with triangle and tambourines). A contrasting slower middle section sees semiquaver figures, alternately jerkily dotted and slurred semitones and fourths, moving up and down the top of the treble stave between f'' and f''', before the resumption of the frenetic opening section brings the whole to an exciting conclusion.

Ex. 6 La Source Dance with the Guzla.

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7. Scène (Andantino, F major, 4/4) Nouredda observes a beautiful flower growing high among the rocks, above the spring. She is filled with an overwhelming desire to possess it, but because of its perilous position, no one in the escort is prepared to risk his life to satisfy her wish. Djemil steps forward and offers to pluck it for her. As Nouredda gazes on the flower, a beautiful melody emerges, a simple upward semitonal rise on the oboes and clarinets, a minim c'' ascent through a quaver step (d''-e'') to crotchet g'', the same pattern then repeated in reverse (a'' down to c''). This second bar is repeated twice, in high octaves, then the integral four-bar melodic contour, the whole recurring da capo. Upward rising quaver arpeggios (f to f') link this with the watery motifs of the spirit of the spring, as it represents the flower or lily that captures the essence of Naïla’s being. A heavy theme suddenly begins on the second violins, rooted on the dominant f', descending by a fifth, rising in a semiquaver figure to g', and starting all over again. A ponderous idea on the double basses begins a counter subject at the same time, taking over a variant of the treble melody on its repetition to become a fugato, the pattern twice repeated in a rather surprising twelve bar passage of counterpoint, resolving in an upward rush over reiterated seventh bass chords to a chord of C. Nouredda has espied the Lily, and is filled with an overwhelming desire to possess it, the intensity and obsessiveness of her feelings reflected in the tangle of lines. Djemil from his hiding place sees an opportunity for meeting and ingratiating himself with the beautiful stranger. His dotted, falling theme is heard, passing briefly into the lyrical aria on the first violins that captures his tragic association with Naïla. She eventually will be the one to suffer from his love for Nouredda, and the melodious theme is suddenly overwhelmed by the ascending-descending semiquaver runs of Nouredda’s covetousness. This is given an extra ominousness by a change into the relative minor, the tremolo bass with recurrent diminished sevenths, and culminating in the dotted chords of Morgab’s motif, with an eerie passage of violin tremolos over deep octave chords, all on flattened D. The theme of the Lily rises again, floating in the major on oboes, flutes then clarinets, before being overtaken by complex interweaving of Nouredda’s desire in the minor, this time more extended and complicated in its counterpoint and canonic effects, the downward sliding semiquaver theme eventually taking over, and completely overwhelmed by the wide reiterated dotted chords of Morgab’s motif, rising to great tremolo chords

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of G. A sudden enharmonic shift sees the reprise of the March of the Caravan, both A and B parts played assertively, but the previous pattern now reversed, as the march moves into a pattern of extended decrescendo, fading away into pianissimo. None of Nouredda’s entourage are prepared to do her bidding, so Djemil steps forward boldly and having taken their place, begins the perilous ascent.

Ex. 7 La Source Scene.

8. Scène dansée. Apparition de Naïla la fée de la source (Andante, Aflat major, 4/4) Djemil scales the rockface, but as he crawls along a branch, it snaps, and he falls, having first, however, grasped the Lily. This is his entry into the realm of the spring, into Naïla’s sanctuary: her theme begins immediately, and the whole of Djemil’s adventure is accompanied by it, as she hovers protectively throughout. In the Prelude it was played some six times in the key of E-flat major; in this full rendition it occurs 20 times in the key of Aflat major, a more radiant tonality, with a rapt, mystical potential. The four crotchets are always rising or falling in semitones or thirds, and either moving up to the held minim, or falling gently down to it. The rippling arpeggios are crisp and lucid, while the sustained chordal harmonies of each bar are constantly shifting between thirds, sixths, fifths, octaves and tenths, so that each bar conveys a subtly different emotional appeal. After the twelfth reprise, the melodic line descends in shimmering chords over E tremolos. The melody is played six more times before the melodic formulation is

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systematically shivered into tremolo variants rising and falling with chromatic sharpening over eleven bars. It is recapitulated again twice, with horns adding to the texture, before the last six bars, where the full orchestra takes over, the arpeggios rising in higher crests, the melody deliquescing in ethereal tremolos chains of sevenths (g''-f'''), octaves (e''e'''), then rising sixths (c'''-a''') before the final piano chord of A. Throughout his adventure and mishap, Djemil has been protected by the guardian presence of Naïla, despite his desecration of the Lily. 9. Valse (Allegretto, A-flat major, 3/4) Djemil, triumphant in his mission, rejects the money offered to him by Nouredda’s brother. As his reward, he asks instead to be allowed to see her face. The waltz to which this occurs is a kind of danced cabaletta to the preceding andante. Its triple rhythm is relaxed and full in crotchets (a bass A answered by horns in sixths). A confident melody, also in crotchets, moves upwards in semitones (c'' to g'') before descending in stages (semitones, thirds and sixths), coming home to the tonic on a'. The first part of the melody is given to clarinets, violins and cellos, with flutes added in the second descending part. The second subject sees the treble line in octaves, with a variant of the melody, for the whole orchestra, before the reprise of the first subject, with an exhilarating quaver run to the final A chord. Djemil’s brief moment of Viennese exultation is over all too soon. 10. Scène et Danse (Andante, E-flat major, 2/4) Djemil boldly raises Nouredda’s veil. She steps back in alarm, dropping the precious Lily. Djemil is seized and bound for his impertinence, and as punishment, left to die in the desert. These events take place to a scene of dance which increasingly becomes mime. The dance itself is most unusual (a lazy duple rhythm in staccato semiquaver bass, with answering sixth in second inversion and thirds) buoying up a relaxed theme in echoing staccato chords (two semiquaver octaves [g''-e''-g'''], descending by a third [e''-b''-e'''] to a crotchet [c''-a''-c''']) for the woodwind (flutes, oboes, clarinets), followed by semiquaver rising triplet (b''-c''-d''), then falling in dotted steps by thirds and semitones from e'' to g'. A wistful second subject sees crotchets rising in octave semitones, falling in a semiquaver run in a perfect arch (g'-g'' up to b'-b'' down to g'-g''), then ascending to fall a sixth in crotchets (e''-e''' to g'-g''). The rhythm becomes less sprung as the melody is varied along the top of the stave in trills and descending semiand demisemiquaver figures.

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Ex. 8 La Source Waltz.

Ex. 9 La Source Scene and Dance.

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The buoyant melody is resumed, but the rhythm is nearly obviated in a series of chromatic bass tremolos with a dotted variant of the melody rising and falling in octaves, again with strong chromatic inflection. The perky melody is recapitulated, but passes immediately into the rising and falling dotted octaves before trailing away into a series of crescendodecrescendo octave tremolos across both staves, full treble chords of E over bass chords of A, as Djemil is left trussed up to perish. 11. Danse des Sylphes et des Lutins (Allegro, g minor, 4/4) However, the waters of the spring rise, and, with the attendant sylphs and goblins of the element, come to Djemil’s aid, flowing around him and loosening his bonds. The music returns to the fairy atmosphere of the opening scene. Another mercurial scherzo ensues, a homophonic exercise in staccato quaver thirds, fifths, sixths and octaves for woodwinds and strings. A semiquaver on the second beat, and on alternate beats of the third bar, gives an extra skip to the fleet flow of this quicksilver music. The middle section sees a pulsing quaver bass with appogiated quaver notes, heavy caesuras, and rising stacccato quaver figures rising a sixth in thirds in every second bar, before the resumption of part of the opening movement, in sixth chords, dashing up and down the treble scale from the initial G chord (g'-g'') to the final g''-g''' and final cadence.

Ex. 10 La Source Dance of the Sylphs and the Goblins.

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12. Variation de Naïla (Molto moderato, E-flat major, 4/4) Naïla, the spirit of the spring, appears before him. Her brief variation continues the ethereal mood, and is again essentially homophonic. It is scored for the strings, with its treble sixth semiquaver staccato chords providing a trajectory for the skipping, delicate melody as it moves from c'', rising by falling semitones to f''', then down to b', then up again to e'''. The second subject, in octaves, over a sprung duple rhythm, sees the flutes rising by a semitone (d''-e'') to descend in semitones (f'-f''), through a magical trill, to leap up a fifth and follow the same falling pattern. The slurred quaver-semiquavers are separated by fermate, maintaining the staccato pattern. The opening sequence is repeated, concluding with a più mosso stretta of upward rushing tremolo strings over pulsing sixths, with crescendo and trills adding to the excitement. 13. Scène et Danse (Allegro, g minor, 6/8; Allegretto, B-flat major) Although grateful to Djemil for having protected her from Morgab, Naïla reproaches him for plucking the Lily. The music of this scene relates directly back to the opening Introduction fantastique. The principal theme of the rondo is heard again (A), and rushes upwards to a sudden silence. The key changes to the tonic major, and the beautiful cantabile theme (C), in its high octaves over rising harp splashes, is unfolded fully. The contrasting middle section (D), in its waltz rhythm, and little semiquaver woodwind turns, builds up an atmosphere of the greatest delicacy and charm. On its repeat, the emotional tension is raised by the heightened pitch, preparing the way for the reentrée de Naïla, who brings the reprise of the theme to its conclusion.

Ex. 11 La Source Scene and Dance.

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14. Galop (Allegro moderato, E-flat major, 2/4) Naïla’s fairy love for the mortal hunter seems exultant, and like Djemil’s celebratory waltz after successfully plucking the Lily, the two seem to revel in their partnership in the brilliant galop they now dance. A brisk duple time (e bass, answering third) establishes a frenetic rhythm, with triadic staccato quavers in a compressing sequence (octave, seventh, sixth, fifth), through a legato quaver turn down to a decisive fifth, providing the basic melodic unit of this frenetic dance (A). The second part of the melody has a triplet quaver figure in thirds answered by two chords—an enriched octave, with a triadic fourth chord a fifth below. After a threefold repetition, the triplet figure is extended into a descending figure of chordal quavers (B), leading into the repeat of A. Changing pitch, use of octave doubling, sees a fourfold repetition of A and B leading into a busy coda of semiquavers in figurations along the top of the treble stave, leading by way of a descending run into a brilliant series of tonic-dominant cadences.

Ex. 12 La Source Galop.

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15. Scène finale (Maestoso, g minor, 4/4) Naïla offers to grant Djemil a wish, and he asks to rejoin Nouredda. This will be the decision that will prove fateful for the fairy of the spring, and the way in which Morgab’s malevolence is wreaked on her. So it is appropriate that the request and the granting of it conjure up the harsh mode of the Gypsy’s motif, the fortissimo opening of the prelude, twice repeated, with a brief recollection of Djemil’s theme on the clarinets and bassoons, leading to a four bar crescendo, tremolos in sixths and then octaves (g'-g'') leading to the decisive closing chords of G as Djemil moves off, abandoning his good genius. ACT 3 scene 2 29. Scène et Danse (Allegretto moderato, g minor-G major, 3/4) The spring is now drying up. Naïla is overcome with sadness. Causing the lovers to appear before her, she tells Djemil that Nouredda’s love for him is not true. He accepts this, but replies that it lies within her power, by using the magic flower, to make it so. She tells him that if she were to do this, she must herself die. Then, after a moment’s hesitation, she makes the final sacrifice and expires by the spring as the water ceases to flow, while the lovers are exchanging their vows. The colloquy between the fairy and the mortal shapes the musical structure of the scene, a dialectic, with a disturbed A-subject, representing Djemil and Nouredda, alternating with a elegiac tender B-subject for Naïla. She is distraught at Djemil’s attachment to the fickle Nouredda, since she loves him. The lovers appear before her, as if on a troubled journey, and she tries to convince Djemil of the emptiness of his passion. But her pleading is in vain, and he does not hesitate to ask her to use the magic of the Lily, even when she tells him it must mean her demise. Her sad reflection is depicted in the solo flute, and her sacrificial action to the theme of the Lily. Her death means their love, and the final apotheosis a comment on this self-offering. The scene is constructed on a rondo pattern, agitated marching sixths in root position (g-a-d') on bassoons and lower strings initiating a flight motif in dotted quaver-semiquavers rises in thirds and fourths, g' to a stressed quaver on f'', this figure repeated a fifth higher, the clarinets and flutes alternating. This is given again and leads into the second part, a descending answering phrase above the stave, a triplet semiquaver turn descending via the quaver-semiquaver-quaver figure of the flight motif

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(b'' down to e'' up to a'') (A). This is immediately countered by a slow beautiful waltz melody in the relative major, on the clarinets, dropping from g'' via a quaver fall, a minim on c'', and crotchet on b', this phrase repeated then rising incrementally until e''' is reached in a little climax, the whole melody then repeated in octaves enriched by horns and the ophicleide in the languorous waltz rhythm (B). The flight music is repeated, and the waltz (plus animé) moves onto a third subject, a variant on the waltz melody in staccato quaver filigree along the top line of the treble stave (C), then returning in ternary structure to the plus animé. The flight music and the waltz repeat their colloquy, the waltz rising to the e''' and immediately an emotional conclusion (rallentando) and cadence on E.

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Ex. 13 La Source Scene and Dance.

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The horns, clarinets and bassoons muse, sustained for two bars, then initiate an Allegro moderato (G major, 4/4) reprise of the Theme of the Lily which, floating serenely on sustained bassoons and harp arpeggios, is given some twelve times, its symmetrical phrase rising and falling within its narrow tessitura, and subtly varied in harmony and pitch, reducing to a solo flute over low treble sixth tremolos, and then a solo reflection descending in sad reminiscence from g'''' to a morendo e''-flat. The theme is then given again, five times, in shimmering arpeggios over its rippling accompaniment, rising higher as an apotheosis before the final bars of rich fanfares in rising chords of sixths, repeated four times, until the final dotted cadential chords on G.

Fig. 44: La Source: frontispiece of the piano score

DON QUIXOTE 1. Introduction PROLOGUE 2. Tableau 3. Entrée de Don Quichotte Apparitions 4. Scène de Don Quichotte et Sancho Panza Act 1 5. Introduction (Place en Barcelone) 6. Entrée de Kitri 7. Kitri et Basilio (Pas de Deux) 8. Moreño 9. Scène (Lorenzo, Kitri et Basilio) 10. Entrée de Gamache 11. Seguidilla 12. Scène des Toréadors 13. La Danseuse de la Rue (the Street Dance) 14. Course de taureaux 15. Pas de couteaux 16. Coda 17. Entrée de Don Quichotte et Sancho Panza 18. Sancho Panza et les Filles (Rondo) 19. Les Amies de Kitri 20. Scène (Pas d’Action) (Basilio et Kitri) 21. Variation 1 (Basilio) 22. Variation 2 (Kitri) 23. Coda Act 2 24. Introduction (Campement des Ziganes) Entrée de Don Quichotte, Sancho Panza, Kitri et Basilio 25. Danse des Ziganes 26. Théâtre des Marionettes 27. Andante (Bataille avec les moulins à vents) 28. Le Rêve de Don Quichotte 29. Les Dryads 30. L’Amour

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31. Dulcinea’s Variation 32. Coda 33. Le Reveille de Don Quichotte (Scène de la chasse) Act 3 34. Introduction (Place en Barcelone) 35. Entrée de Kitri et Basilio 36. Scène (Le Suicide burlesque de Basilio) 37. Finale Act 4 38. Introduction (Marche) 39. Air Espagnol 40. Scène 41. Pas de Quatre 42. Intrada 43. Adage 44. Variation 1 (L’Amour) 45. Variation 2 (Basilio) 46. Variations 3 (L’Évantail) (Kitri) 47. Coda 48. EPILOGUE

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Fig. 45: Don Quixote: Frontispiece of the Stellowsky piano score (1882)

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The musical examples are from the piano score Don Quixote (St Petersburg: Th. Stellowsky, 1882). 1. Introduction The ballet begins with a thematically important prelude (Maestoso, g minor, 4/4), a hushed meditation, as a dark chord of g minor (octave triad of G in second inversion, with triad treble first inversion in B-flat) progressing through an augmented sixth, first inversion to second inversion to root provides a melancholic bass for a trilled four-note appoggiated sequence (f'-sharp-g'-d'-e') in the lower treble for the lower strings, a sense of weighty dignity modified by trills that lifts into a firmer ascending figure in quaver-semiquaver dotted rhythm, sinking back into the bass with the four note-motif suggested in this lower pitch. The dotted figure then rises and falls twice over sustained thirds in the bass, these opening into sixths and fifths before the resumption of the trilled four-note motif over the chords of the opening bars, which now sink in inverted sequences through seven bars, to an imperfect cadence on D, a Picardy third providing a muted (ppp) but striking uplift of expectation, and preparing us for a sudden change of mood. This dark opening sequence is key to the whole ballet, being a portrait of Don Quixote, and capturing something of his mystique. Lost in his own world of age and dreams, it is dark and confusing. His stolid four-note theme is tremulous, but in spite of his debility the echo of heroism (traditionally depicted in dotted rhythms) rises and falls in his heart, sinking away into darkness.

Ex. 1 Don Quixote Prelude (Don Quixote).

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The prelude suddenly launches into a vigorous and enharmonic change of mood (Allegro, G major, 3/8). Over a rolling tremolo (G1-G), a high bright staccato woodwind theme in sixths and thirds emerges, the first quaver immediately passing into a Scotch snap of double semiquavers (sixth contracting to third). This continues in three descending quavers in thirds, the melodic phrase sustained over another two bars, the melody thickened into triads, the snap extended into four semiquavers (two sixths contracting to two fifths) before moving into a descending double quaver (third to fourth). This is repeated in descending pitch with chromatic modulation and thematic fragmentation over a crescendo, the double descending quaver repeated four times in an exciting build up to the resolution. This comes in the full statement of a bold theme of two strongly staccato chords (semiquaver octave-crotchet fifth) repeated three times, rising to the dominant in the third repeat, to resolve itself in a figure of two semiquavers and a quaver (descending sixth, fifth, fourth), the accompaniment (open octave followed by a second inversion chord) syncopating the melody. The melody enters a symmetrical b-section, like a trumpet fanfare in quavers (thirds, sixths, thirds), the first two bars excitingly open, the second moving through a descending semiquaver snap into a resolving crotchet in thirds. The theme is full of the rhythmic and harmonic vitality of Spanish folk music. It is repeated and then moves into a brief development characterized by downward rushing runs in sixths and a truncated restatement of the melody, cut short by three second inversion double octave quaver chords rooted on D, and pulling the flow short in a caesura.

Ex. 2 Don Quixote Prelude (The Young Lovers).

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A third section now commences (Andantino, G major, 12/8) in another total change of mood. Over a sustained drone of g and a series of arpeggios (two ascending sixths, g-b-d, b-d-g), a long slow melody is unfolded, serene and hypnotic because of its sliding motion, as four dotted crotchets move in intervals of thirds and semitones (b'-d'-e'-d'), and then in the b-section by way of rhythmic variation, as the long notes are divided into crotchets and quavers, and the contours raised upwards (b d e f g d). The repeat of the melody is then varied with appoggiatura and a descending motion for the b-section (b d a b), the final two notes now swooping by a fifth, from a down to d. On the third repeat, the b-section moves upwards in octave doubling, to b'', and after a long holding note, begins a fourth repetition, but this time with higher pitch and an enriched harmonic variation of the melody, now played in octaves, with an inner sequence of thirds, first along the top line then the lower, with some delicate chromatic seasoning (a sharpening of the d''). The line thins into unison which serves as the transition to the fourth recall as the melody is now played in octave doubling, starting b'-b'' and rising in crescendo to g''g''', the arpeggios becoming simple upward triplets, compressing from octave intervals, to sixths and fifths, and carrying the melody on a more intensive iteration, the drone also shifting in sympathy with the melodic line. This octave doubling is repeated in the fifth and final presentation of the melody, the drone returning to its G focus, the climactic g''' sustained, and the last phrase of the melody repeated, and rising to a climactic ciii to c'''', the arpeggios suddenly becoming pulsating quaver chords rooted on d, and then a web of tremolo as the melody concludes in appogiated chords in second then first inversion and four whispered trails of quavers in rising sequence, from f' to f''' and the final chords of G.

Ex. 3 Don Quixote Prelude (The Queen of the Dryads).

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The prelude is the key to the whole ballet, presenting first a musical portrait of Don Quixote, dignified and solemn, frail and yet resolute, then of the two worlds which dominate his vicarious adventures: the bright, bustling and colourful world of daily town life where the tale of the lovers Kitri and Basilio takes place, and the intangible realm of imagination and the spirit which is both actual and abstract, the sphere of dreams and romance. The two worlds are the recurrent métier of the Romantic ballet, where the realistic genre of mime and folk dance (represented by the earthy Fanny Elssler) was consistently juxtaposed with the ethereal dance of the supernatural world of spirits and fairies (embodied preeminently in the pure Marie Taglioni). Both worlds were established in symbiotic relationship in La Sylphide (1832), the first full length Romantic ballet, and again and definitively in Giselle (1841), where the first act is ‘realistic’ and the second ‘romantic’. The prelude also establishes the key of G as the tonal core of the work. PROLOGUE (La Maison de Don Quichotte) 2. Tableau The curtain goes up in the home of the old knight Don Quixote, a denizen of past times, a dreamer and reader of ancient romances. The daily chores of his household are busily taking place, with the local villager Sancho Panza trying to steal a chicken from the kitchen. The music is a fast moving action piece (Allegro, 2/4, C major), a descending staccato string motif ending in a trilled quaver-semiquaver figure that is repeated three times at a higher pitch, and varied with some downwards rushing string writing, sustaining the sense of domestic bustle. Rather curiously, the music regularly slips into the relative minor, and as a consequence has a slightly restrained and nervous edge to it. The busyness is pulled short by some big chords in dotted rhythm that announce the arrival of the old knight.

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Ex. 4 Don Quixote In Don Quixote's House.

3. Entrée de Don Quichotte With music familiar from the Prelude, Don Quixote enters (Maestoso, a minor, 4/4). The tremulous and ruminating four-note motif followed by the ascending rhythmically dotted figure, are unfolded at greater length. The dotted notes are eventually announced with considerable power and a certain grandeur, the four-note motif played as great chords, then over rocking arpeggios and later a pulsing bass, developed (dolce) in an extended passage of some lyrical feeling into a new theme, a triplet flurry in the line acting like a melodic turn, and introducing a note of pathos. This is intensified by the rising pitch, octave doubling, and pulsing bassline, before returning to the opening statement. The knight’s character is thus elaborated in terms of his stiff awkwardness and natural dignity, the dotted rhythms asserting his chivalric heritage and melancholic pathos. The bustling theme of the household is resumed (tempo 1, 2/4), as the domestic activities go on around him, and he turns to his great tomes of romance. Slowly the great chordal dotted rhythms again interrupt the flow, and begin a passage in which the falling string theme, moving down into the bass, enters into an exchange with the chords. The process of reading unlocks the power of Don Quixote’s imagination, and slowly begins to overpower the mundane reality around him. The descending household motif is further developed, played by alternating strings and woodwinds with persistent chromatic colouring, over tremolo triads in the bass, with both harmonic diminishment and augmentation introducing a world of clouded harmony, culminating in big b minor chords that are modulated back to the tonic in Don Quixote’s dotted rhythm.

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Apparitions The old man’s reading has now taken possession of him completely, and he now imagines himself assailed by phantoms and ghastly spectres. Over high tremolo writing in diminished thirds (e''-flat-a''), the dotted rhythms are plunged into the deep bass, and rise ominously and ponderously in great chromatically augmented octaves, suddenly ascending into the treble in sharp crisp triads, like a cry of fear (A). The tremolo strings become inflected figurations over emphatic triads (f' sharp-a'-c') (B), as his waking dream becomes even more vivid, he glimpses the vision of his ideal lady, Donna Dulcinea, whom he must defend. As the nightmare intensifies, the pitch rises, both the A- and B-passages being repeated with an ever growing sense of drama, the pitch peaking at f'''' before the frenzy dies down, with descending thematic recall of the fright over wide and calming octave tremolos of G in the bass, culminating in a big restatement of the dotted chords, as though the old man had recovered from his bad dream, and was regaining his self-confidence.

Ex. 5 Don Quixote Don Quixote's Day Dreams.

4. Scène de Don Quichotte et Sancho Panza Having lived through the terror of his delusions, Don Quixote is now filled with a new sense of identity and mission. To strutting dotted rhythms in strong triadic chords (Allegro moderato, C major, 4/4), the theme of his heroism, as heard on his entry, is boldly restated in amplification, ascending to an emotional climax in octaves, with full octave chords in the

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accompaniment. He has decided to resume the ancient role of knighterrant, and sally forth into the world to defend the innocent.

Ex. 6 Don Quixote Don Quixote's Quest.

At this point the music suddenly changes in mood (Vivace assai). To the quick, tripping household rhythms of the opening tableau, a series of quick sliding triplets, moving both up and down and with strong fermate, announce the entry of the rather bumbling and comic character of the fat villager Sancho Panza. He bursts into the study, clutching the stolen hen, and pursued by irate villagers. This scurrying theme is interrupted by Don Quixote’s typical dotted theme, although now played lightly, and without disturbing the rhythmic flow of the busy accompaniment. The two themes are contrasted against each other in light interplay, and pick up ideas again from the opening tableau. The whole musical episode is repeated, as the old man drives away the townspeople, and frees Sancho Panza from his frustrated pursuers. He sees Sancho’s advent as a providential answer to prayer, and decides to make him his squire on the great new adventure. The motor rhythm suddenly gives way to a sustained note on f and an arpeggiated bass (f to d' to g), as Don Quixote’s dotted theme, in its extended form, is purposefully but gently played over it. The old man induces Sancho to follow him as his ‘squire’, ‘arms’ him for the venture, and filled with inspiration, leads him forth to begin the chivalric quest. A rustling tremolo bass (the sixth c-f-a varied with the seventh b-d-f-a) is now played out over 20 bars, as the scurrying triplet associated with Sancho Panza and the variant on Don Quixote’s heroism are played alternately, very softly and gently, slowly beginning a crescendo eventually marked by full treble octave chords of the dotted theme, the scurry theme

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eventually repeated six times before a sudden fortissimo statement of the dotted chords, this time across both staves in full double octaves, thrice repeated before the full tremolo cadence held for three and a half bars brings the scene to very positive and uplifting C major conclusion, and reinforces Don Quixote’s heroic quest. ACT 1 (Place en Barcelone) After the entirely mimed Prologue, the scene is now set for Act 1 which is virtually entirely danced, and as a Romantic evocation of Spain, remains a breathtaking tour de force of local colour and danced comedy.

Ex. 7 Don Quixote Marketplace in Barcelona.

5. Tableau The curtain goes up on a busy market square in Barcelona. To a reiterated triadic bass (g-a-b') rhythm of alternating crotchets and quavers, a bustling dotted theme announces a smooth flowing and friendly dance in the mode of a tarantella (Allegro vivace, G major, 6/8). The first subject is marked by strong fermate, giving a skipping quality; the second subject has no pauses, and its more lyrical character is emphasized by the consistent use of thirds and the sustained harmonies of dotted octave chords. The dance winds down by descending pitch and decrescendo, the triplet extension of the second subject moving from g'' to G over thirteen bars. 6. Entrée de Kitri The emotional temperature is immediately sent soaring by a crisp and vivid orchestral figure (Allegretto, G major, 3/8), three series of brief descents, thirds over an octave bass, the first two short, the third longer,

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the rhythmic energy established in the opening figure (doubled lengthened quaver followed by a demisemiquaver), the jumping quality emphasized by a sevenfold repetition descending from a'' to g'. This introductory figure immediately brings in a strong triple rhythm, a waltz rhythm in fact, G quaver followed by two quaver triadic sixths in second inversion, all of equal length, creating a measured effect and retarding the onward impulse. The fluent melody, played grazioso, high above the stave, is given an unexpected freshness by beginning on the mediant (b''), and having its opening definition within a range of three notes, a lengthened quaver on b'' rising by a turn to d''' through c''' back to b''. The second phrase uses the descending figure of the introduction before the return of the opening phrase of the melody, this time in the tonic which then rises in the fourth phrase by way of a staccato upward run in thirds, from a graced g'', down to e'', then up to a graced e'''. A distinct emotional reference is opened in the harmony, with the subtle introduction of a fleeting enharmonic chromatic semitone in the turn of the upward run, a mere flash of sound that injects a distinct nuance, creating an open yearning feeling that gives the melody a weight that seems disproportionate to its purpose. The waltz is suddenly changed from a mere dance routine into a vector of emotion and atmosphere, as it seems to try to define the situation and character of the dancer, in this case the heroine Kitri, a tenderness and vulnerability, a comment on the transitoriness of life and beauty, the fragility of love. The succeeding sections sustain this mood, as the second episode shifts into a more reflective e minor mood (dolce), and the melodic line with its runs is varied into a downward movement, strongly inflected chromaticism (reiterated augmentation of c'') strengthening a melancholic overtone, the beat smoothed somewhat by sustained drone on B. The A section returns suddenly with an octave reinforcement of the opening bars adding a touch of exhilaration, this mood growing as the pitch rises incrementally, and upward runs, after two downward cascades, increase in number, eventually becoming a busy staccato figuration at the top of the stave, before the melody is repeated in full in octaves, the line enriched inwardly in thirds, with its characteristic semiquaver run and augmented e’s. The whole piece is a definitive statement about an aspect of Minkus’s art. The waltz appeared to dominate his emotional musical reactions, perhaps hardly surprising for a native of Vienna, and is recurrently the medium of a happy outpouring inflected with an indefinable and inescapable sadness.

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Ex. 8 Don Quixote Entry of Kitri.

7. Kitri et Basilio (Pas de Deux) Kitri is now joined by her lover, the handsome young barber Basilio. They yearn to be married, even though with his modest profession things look difficult for the young couple. They express their love, dancing the first of their pas de deux (Andantino, e minor, 6/8). The bright assurance of the waltz is now turned inside out, as the same material of key and tempo is used in a different mode, in the sad relative minor of the comfortable G, the animated triple time now slowed into the measured strummings of a sad serenade. A long, langourous melody for the cello is unfolded over eight bars. Like the waltz, it starts outside the tonic, on the dominant (b'), and progresses in semitonal intervals, with the emotional rise of a fifth

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Ex. 9 Don Quixote Kitri and Basilio.

(emphasized by a dolce), before lingering for a lengthened crotchet on the tonic (e''). It then descends, touching its lowpoint at g' before recommencing its span, any sense of repetition obviated by varied lingering in note length, higher pitches, a slight demisemiquaver embellishment of the line. The second subject (B) is a development of the melody, entirely in octaves, and itself divided into six little subsections of statement and answer, a rising quaver triplet leading into a melancholy variant on the first part of the melody with an affecting semiquaver triplet, and changed orchestration. The A-melody is then repeated in its entirety, before the faster C-section, a sextuplet run of demisemiquavers followed by a staccato five-semiquaver woodwind figure in octaves with inner thirds followed by grace-notes and trills that occurs four times. The rhythm, in suddenly speeding up, captures the underlying waltz character, and moves steadily to a series of four quick upward demisemiquaver triplet runs and the final E chord. The overall effect of this duet is rather like that of a csardas, the A-section approximating the slow lassú movement, the concluding C-section the quick friss of the Hungarian dance.

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Fig. 46: Don Quixote: The Entrance of Kitri (1988)

8. Moreño The mood changes suddenly as the final bar of the duet becomes the opening chords of the succeeding dance (Presto, G major, 3/8). This is designated a moreño, and plunges one headlong into the essentially Spanish character of this act. The pulsating rhythm, with the triplet on the second half of the first beat, relates this to the bolero, and the symmetrical melody, a graced double semiquaver turn, launches into a dotted quaversemiquaver figure, first leaping down (d''' to g'') then springing up (a'' to e''') before descending again by way of the semiquaver turn, giving the music an exhilarating propulsion, a factor reinforced by the rhythm which changes from the bolero to triple time (octaves and double triads in the root position). The élan is sustained in the second half of the melodic line by a punctuation of treble octave chords based on the dotted quaversemiquavers, introduced by a joined demisemiquaver figure that releases even more kinetic energy and initiates a series of busy treble figurations developed from the opening turn of the melody. A da capo of the A and B sections leads into a brilliant coda, with the demisemiquaver figure and the semiquaver turn developed into downward rushes played in alt. It is these gruppetti of three fleeting notes (f''-a''-g'' fermata) then six longer ones (f''a''-g''-d''-b''), the rapid repetition of the semitones, and the wider descending intervals of a fourth and then a third, that inject the peculiarly

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Spanish inflection, the tincture of enharmonic chromatic semitones adding an emotional undertow. This, sustained by a flurry of shallow little runs over a heavily syncopated dotted bass (triad-octave), brings this joyous celebration for the two lovers to a breathless conclusion.

Ex. 10 Don Quixote Moreño.

9. Scène (Lorenzo, Kitri et Basilio) Lorenzo, Kitri’s father, storms out of his inn to separate the lovers (Allegro, e minor, 4/4). He opposes their union, having found a wealthy suitor for his daughter, the local dignitary, Don Gamache. His angry importunity is reflected in the peremptory, full dotted chords in fourths and sevenths and the repetitious sequence, suggesting unresolved anger. The idea is countered in the figure that immediately follows in the lower strings, a rising semiquaver triplet, dotted quaver-semiquaver leading to a trill, lifting by the wide interval of a fourth, all in octaves, and resolving in a chord of E, which represents Basilio’s manly stance to Lorenzo. The sequence is then repeated, the intractable opposition of the father to the young couple reflected in overlapping treble and bass octaves of the quarrel motif in canon. Tension rises with Basilio’s string motif now confined to the treble, over tremolo bass triads. Lorenzo remains impervious to the couple’s pleas, and Basilio’s assertion that he is humble but an honest worker at his trade. Kitri’s sorrowfulness and her lover’s frustration are given a certain pathos by a softening of his theme, now played some five times in a woodwind (principally oboe) variation over a sustained B and arpeggios moving upwards by an octave (B to b), the theme going through ascending variations in pitch, eventually enriched in octave doubling and upward emotional triplet flurries. Having reached d''' fortissimo, it descends, always in octaves, and over tremolo bass in first and second inversion. Kitri is taken indoors and Basilio leaves the scene in disappointment to a restatement of his theme, and a sad clarinet postlude with strong chromatically inflected bassoon thirds under octave woodwind harmonies (rising and falling until the morendo cadence in E).

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Ex. 11 Don Quixote The Pains of Love.

This scene is entirely in mime, in a vein of tragi-comedy, and brings to a conclusion the first scene of act 1. This establishes the characters of the young lovers, their romantic aspirations and the opposition of the girl’s father. Crowd scene, solo, pas de deux and mime have presented a range of genres and national colour, and established the métier of romantic love as G major, with its sad and unresolved underside in the relative e minor. 10. Entrée de Gamache The scene is now set for a moment of pure comedy as the wealthy but older nobleman, Don Gamache (Camacho) comes out of his house (Moderato, A major, 4/4). Everything about him suggests his somewhat pompous affectation, his sartorial excess, his exaggerated formalities and foppishness. He comes out of his house to a descending staccato theme punctuated by little demisemiquaver upwards runs, his mincing steps interrupted by small bows, his old world ceremoniousness rendering him rather anachronistic and ridiculous. The third of these fussy gestures is continued in a little cascade of descending dotted thirds, rather like the inverse of Basilio’s rising motif in the preceding scene, almost as if Don Gamache were assuming and reversing Basilio’s role as suitor. A busy little motor figure of bobbing thirds begins in the bass, as the themes are repeated. Lorenzo tries to get Kitri to meet the fiancé he has chosen for her, and a burlesque unfolds in which the young lovers make fun of Don Gamache behind his back. They make him look even more ridiculous as they play little tricks on him. Basilio’s theme, freed from the defiance and melancholia of the previous scene, rises and falls playfully, eventually

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asserting itself in a series of dotted double octave chords as their mockery gathers pace. Don Gamache seems oblivious to the realities around him, and his opening themes are played again da capo, in total insouciance as he returns home, still teased by the townsfolk, and getting himself into even further predicaments. A series of descending triplets over octave tremolos played più mosso, from e''' to b', marks the final stages of his excursion into the square, returning up to e''' and the final closing E chords as he falls into his house. The closure in the dominant leaves a sense of his somewhat disfunctional and accident-prone personality. The comedy and mime elements, with their strong connection to the commedia del’arte, have been unfolded in these two scenes: the frustrated young lovers, the irate parent who opposes their union, and the alternate suitor, rich but foolish and unromantic. Don Gamache’s music in A major breaks the tonic nexus of G major-e minor which characterizes the young lovers and relates to the world of romance and transformation.

Ex. 12 Don Quixote Entry of Gamache.

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11. Seguidilla The departure of Don Gamache sees an explosion of movement and colour, as the townspeople come forward and celebrate their corporate identity in a series of set character pieces that give this act its verve and integration. They commence with a seguidilla (Allegro con fuoco, A major, 3/8). Immediately one recognizes the theme from the prelude, where, emerging from a melodic variant, and when fully stated, in the key of G major, it was used to establish the Iberian colour of the story about to unfold. Here the frank sonorousness of A major, continued from Gamache’s scene, takes on a new brilliance in this surge of energy. The triplet appoggiature, the answering fanfares in thirds, the demisemiquaver runs, the rapid sequential figures depressing from octave, seventh, sixth fourth and third, give the music tremendous propulsion. The Spanish flavour is established and sustained: the second subject, with octave semiquaver quadruplets, like the rapid strumming of guitars, the little triplet figures in thirds moving up and down within a very narrow range of a fifth, and in the third subject where the little fanfare figures (in thirds, fourth, fifths and sixths) in the first theme become the iterated driving force launching high triplet demisemiquaver upward runs. These eventually lengthen in the fourth episode into semiquaver runs in octaves (d'' to a''), becoming long semiquaver staccato runs (a' to d'''). The fifth episode sees three semiquaver triads imperceptibly separated by fermate and launching into the recurrent semiquaver triplet which now moves laterally within the range of a third. The reiterated triadic bassline resembles a guitar accompaniment more than ever, and after seven rapid repetitions, the propulsion is infectious. The opening chords (octave-fifths, but this time without appoggiature), repeated eleven times, are brought in over a syncopated bass to conclude the piece in an whirl of orchestral, rhythmic and dynamic brilliance (see also pp. 176-7.). 12. Scène des Toréadors There is hardly time to draw a breath before the next dance commences (Allegro, F major, 2/4). To a series of exhilarating double fanfares (dotted rhythms, thirds into sixths into octaves) with a seven-bar extension, repeated with cadences in C and F respectively, a group of toreadors take the stage in formation, headed by their leader, Espada. To a swaggering march, they perform a series of impressive manoeuvres, their activities borne up by the irresistible forward rush of the music. The episode begins on the leading note rather than the tonic, giving it an extra keenness, this

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being emphasized by the opening figure, a crotchet ascending by way of a quadruplet semiquaver, moving in semitones and a fifth before briefly touching the tonic. This kinetic launching figure is continued in four brisk staccato open octave chords (three quavers and one lengthened crotchet) and an arc of rising and falling dotted figures (quavers and semiquavers, from e'' up to b'' down to g''), all over a relentless motor of a quaver bass note and third, in fifths and octaves. This whole eight-bar sequence is repeated thrice, with the dotted arc rising in pitch each time (to e''', to b''', to c''''), before an emphatic C chord heralds a repeat of the two sections, the fanfares (A) recurring as before, but the march movement (B) given twice, moved up into the subdominant and doubled in octaves. This moves directly into the coda, heralded by high bright octave fanfares in alt (f''-f''') over powerful, sustained then descending trombone octaves in the bass (f-f'), this figure then carried up into the treble for the traditional show-stopping tonic-dominant peroration, given a breathless twist by a sudden octave descent for the solo timpani before the last full dotted chords. The effect of the whole piece is one of torrential, visceral excitement (see also p. 179). The toreadors have not only deepened the couleur locale dramatically, but in their leader Espada have introduced a serious male rival to the hero Basilio.

Ex. 13 Don Quixote Entry of the Bullfighters.

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13. La Danseuse de la rue (the Street Dancer) A charming Street Dancer now enters, in characteristic waltz tempo (Allegro non troppo, B-flat major, 3/4). The music of this dance, like Kitri’s earlier entrance, is filled with wistful emotion. The melody moves within the range of a fourth, and is initially defined by semitonal steps (f''-e''-g''-e'') before the rise of a fourth (to b'', in octave) and a descent (by semitones again, a''-a''-g'', in thirds). Interestingly, the melody sustains a tonal edge, beginning outside the tonic which is touched only once, and otherwise avoided in the threefold repetition of the melody until its full restatement. This delicate appeal is sustained by use of a variety of means: wide-ranging but fleeting intervals in the recurrent triplet appoggiature; a sudden emotional upward surge before the full restatement of the melody, with the quaver figure of the opening measure of the melody as a threefold ascending-descending figure; the measured nature of the waltz rhythm in crotchets; a delicate inflection of augmented G’s and E’s, the reflective B-section in g minor. It is greatly reinforced at the recapitulation where the melody is restated in octaves, and rises in extended staccato quaver runs to the cadence.

Ex. 14 Don Quixote The Street Dancer.

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14. Course de Taureaux A double fanfare on F announces the next stage of the scenario. Deep tremolos (A to a) with upward chromatic runs on the lower strings, followed by a series of strongly punctuated rising double woodwind quavers in sixths (Allegro, d minor, alla breve), announce the onset of a simulated bullfight. The toreadors rush on with their capes, while a young boy from the crowd pretends to be the bull. The woodwind figures, now in thirds in alternating octaves, lead to another series of fanfares over octaves and thirds followed by a downwards plunge by the strings through three octaves. The fight itself now ensues (Allegro, D major, 3/4). A staccato double semiquaver and a double quaver in thirds launches a frenetic bolero accompaniment, with the semiquavers repeated, and initiating an upwards semiquaver run from f'' to a'', landing on a semiquaver and stressed crotchet which provides a moment of lingering (also a''). The second cell of the melody is similar, a semiquaver turn landing on the same two note pattern, then a repetition of the pattern with the second cell twice repeated. Another upwards staccato run leads to a second passage with octave leaps (e'' to e''' and e' to e''), sforzandi A-chords and downward semiquaver runs through the octave, thrice repeated as the ‘bull’ charges the toreadors. Deep fanfare figures (crotchet-double semiquaver-double quaver) followed by the downward semiquaver runs, four times repeated, raise the emotional temperature, this becoming pulsing semiquaver-quaver staccato chords in the treble over powerful trombone bass octaves. This leads into the repeat of the opening melody, which comes to a furious and breathless conclusion, and which also brings in a variant of the fanfares. 15. Pas de couteaux The excitement continues (Moderato, d minor, 3/4), with strongly dotted figures in octaves and upward rushing semiquaver runs, preparing the next episode in this highly colourful interlude. Daggers are fixed in a line in preparation for a virtuoso display by the prima ballerina, who will perform a traditional knife dance. The dance itself is another waltz (Moderato, D major, 3/4), rather different from the other two so far heard in this act. The rhythm is very strong, the bass note in D octave (D-d), with its triadic chords in first inversion and firm fermate, marking a deeper and more emphatic time. The melody is very purposeful and in extended sequence over eight bars. Once again a certain tension is instilled by initiating the melody outside

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the tonic: it starts on the mediant a'', rising to a doubled dotted crotchet on d'', this phrase being repeated before a leap down to sharpened a'', rising, and then falling by way of a slurred dotted sequence down to e''. A series of three progressive rising semiquaver turns, with appoggiatura and augmented second note, and landing on a quaver, raise the pitch excitingly by a fifth then a third to b'', before the return of the descending dotted sequence, and the repeat of the melody at a higher pitch. After a transition passage, with propelling kinetic figures in octaves and then thirds, which harness a new burst of energy, the whole theme is given twice again, this time in full octaves, before the coda begins (Vivace assai). Fanfares similar to those in the Bull-Fight (double semiquaver-double quaver) followed by the rising semiquaver cluster, repeated four times with pitch eventually rising to e''' and f''', all over highly chromaticized and varied tremolo sixths, builds up to a substantial climax (measured rising quaver octaves, from a'-a'' to a'''-a''''), preparing us for the final dance of this episode.

Ex. 15a Don Quixote Dance with Knives (1).

Ex. 15b Don Quixote Dance with Knives (2).

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16. Coda Without any preliminaries, we are plunged into a frenetic dance (Allegro, F major, 3/8) for the corps. The bass line is nearly identical with the preceding scene, but now like a speeded-up waltz. The arching melody develops in two parts, the principal cell in the opening bar flying up an octave, a staccato figure of quaver-double semiquaver-lengthened quaver, rising f''-a''-b''-c''', then via a grace note up to quaver f''' then down to semiquaver f''. The second cell varies the pattern at a lower pitch (a semiquaver turn, g'' to b'' to g'', with repeat of the snappy graced figure, c''' to c''). The whole is immediately given again in varied pitch, the plunging octave now g'''-g'' and f''' to f''. The second subject sees an intensification of the Spanish atmosphere (reminiscent of the earlier seguidilla), the reiterated high treble staccato thirds in an arch of a sixth (c to g to c) using the rhythmic pattern of the opening bar (quaver—double semiquaver— lengthened quaver), the skip of the double semiquaver and the narrow range capturing a feel of flamenco. Emotional excitement is fostered by octave use of the propelling cell, the recurrence of the semiquaver turn in the second segment of the melody, and by a sforzando downward rush of the rhythmic pattern (from sixth to fifths to fourths to thirds, b'' to d''), the line then rising to plunge again, the last bars redolent of Iberia in a reiterated triplet semiquaver figure (f'''-e'''-f''') and the rushing semiquaver thirds of the cadence. This dance concludes an almost self-contained section of act 1. After the introduction of Kitri and Basilio and their love complications, the second scene presented Don Gamache, the comic foil. The stage was then free for a celebration of local colour as all the people danced, the street dancer performed, and then all watched the local festival of the toreadors, headed by their dashing leader. The street dancer combined these different spheres by performing her Sword Dance, and led the concluding communal jota. The scene is now open for a return to the main plotline. 17. Entrée de Don Quichotte et Sancho Panza A series of stiff dotted chords (Allegro, B-flat major, 4/4) announces the arrival of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, on their respective nag and ass. The chords in sevenths rise to e''', instilling a sense of openness, and extending into a little dotted sequence over sustained open sevenths, rising by way of quaver triplets to firmer more dignified staccato crotchets, the sequence repeated, resolving in F and B chords, with a little quaver fanfare of thirds and fourths over the F chords that herald Sancho Panza’s mock

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heroic fanfare on his cow horn (a series of triplets, on b', f' and d'). These strange arrivals, at once grotesque in their bizarre attire, and yet in the old knight’s gaunt dignity, strangely impressive, are welcomed rather cautiously and ushered into Lorenzo’s inn. These ceremonies of welcome are unfolded to a ritornello (Meno mosso tempo di marcia), the brisk little walking rhythms given a dotted skip in every second bar, and the dotted melodic figure and triplet of the arrival music extended into alternating themes that recall the music of the knight-errant in the Prologue. The piece in fact becomes a miniature mock-heroic march (rather like the later genres of Gounod’s Funeral March of a Marionette, and Pierné’s March of the Toy Soldiers), the triplets gradually taking over from the dotted resolution, as poor Don Quixote settles his weary bones at a table in the inn. The grand chivalric dreams of the Prologue are being modified by the mundane realities of life.

Ex. 16 Don Quixote Entry of the Knight and his Squire.

18. Sancho Panza et les Filles (Polka) The old knight’s squire, on the other hand, is anything but exhausted. Picking up on his mischievous adventures in the Prologue, he begins to flirt outrageously with the village girls (Allegro scherzando, E-flat major, 2/4). He is pursued up and down the square, upsetting the market and causing general mayhem until he is captured, and with the help of the local lads, is punished by being tossed up and down in a blanket. The music of this delightful picaresque episode is of the fleetest kind. A rhythm of rapidly iterated staccato quaver sixths and octaves (focussed on B and b, g and g') keeps up a motor motion throughout the piece. The melody is light and delicate, and falls naturally into two segments: in the first, appoggiated staccato quavers leaping in octave (b' to b''), are followed by a tracery of four quavers in descending semitones (g'' to f''), then two more quavers, now rising by a third (d'' to f''), then falling a semitone to a trilled crotchet which sinks downwards by a fourth to a slurred quaver. The second four-bar segment sees the falling crotchet-quaver figure repeated twice, first leaping upwards by an octave and falling by a third

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(e''' to c'''), this repeated with the descent of a fourth (e''' to b'') and the return of the quaver tracery with semitone drop (a'' to g''), concluding on another crotchet-quaver fall, this time reduced to a third (g'' to e''). Once again, a tonal edge is introduced by the melody beginning outside the tonic (on the dominant B instead of E-flat), and the tonic is touched only in passing in the first part, and thrice in the second, including the long trills on e''' and the home note. The mercurial melodic pattern has a Mendelssohnian fluency in its onward rush, and after repetition, is varied in a B-section—a repeat in octaves of the first four bars, without any appoggiature, and with the opening interval reduced to a semitone (d'' to f'').

Ex. 17a Don Quixote Sancho Panza and the Girls.

The sections are repeated A-A-B-B-A-A-A (at a higher pitch)-B-B-A-A. As the reprobate Sancho begins his blanketing, a new C-section commences, the fourth repeat of A begins as normal, but the quaver tracery starts to fall in pitch, and seems to pull at the melodic fibre, which begins to unravel, the rising octave motif now cut off by repetition of the quaver figure which becomes a mechanical repetition of falling fifths, the motor accompaniment also changing for the first time to staccato bass octave chords, culminating in full chord of B. With a striking touch of verisimilitude, Sancho’s dizzy befuddlement is depicted, as a long octave drone (b to b') is held over eleven bars, with a descending chain of thirds (lengthened crotchet and three staccato quavers falling in semitones), thrice repeated at a lower semitonal pitch, this reducing to only a crotchetquaver figure in thirds. The pattern of the last two notes is twice repeated, and then again, only an octave lower, this pattern echoed in the lower bass. Sancho’s mental confusion is further emphasized in the chromatic

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inflection of flattened B’s and G’s. So melodically, rhythmically, and tonally the dance has been most effectively used to express a mental condition. The confusion lasts but a moment, and the old codger is at his tricks again. The rondo is resumed with verve, the A-theme played thrice before the beginning of the coda (Più mosso). This C-section is built out of variations on the first three bars of A, the theme played twice at a lower pitch in fourths and thirds to tremolo bass, before an upward springing dotted figure followed by a monotone version of the rondo rhythm (D), twice repeated, leads breathlessly into the final bars. This comic scene concludes the fourth episode of act 1 which now returns to the story of the young lovers.

Ex. 17b Don Quixote Sancho's Befuddlement.

19. Les Amies de Kitri The girls of the square, all friends of Kitri, now begin a dance of their own (Allegro non troppo, D major, 3/4). A series of bright summoning chords, suspended in the dominant A, finally modulating to the tonic, launch a very firm and measured triple tempo, with deep octave bass and answering triads establishing a pervasive homophony of D. The melody, also very firm and measured, largely in crotchets, is announced immediately in octaves, with a spring in the first bar provided by double staccato quavers on the opening note, and a magical augmentation of E in the third. The line of the melody moves purposefully in semitones, thirds and fourths in a low arc, in the first two bars, rising by a fourth in the third, during which the tonic is consistently avoided. Only in the fifth bar is there a sudden rise by

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a sixth to the tonic which is briefly held, before a descent by semitones to the augmented E, then rising and falling again by two descending figures of lengthened crotchet and two quavers, coming to rest on f', creating a melodic arc of eight-bars. This first section (A) continues with a repeat of the four opening bars, and then another at an octave higher. The second section (B) continues the emotional heightening of the rise in pitch, as open octaves (d' to d'') in alternate quaver and lengthened crotchets, now firmly fixed on the tonic, suddenly take on a downward movement, via lengthened crotchet and a quaver triplets, d''' down to the augmented e'', before lingering on a lengthened minim f'', the whole repeated a fifth below, and then in octaves, generating an overwhelming sense of tenderness and emotion. This is intensified on the third repeat by a reversal of expectation, as the falling triplets are a changed into a stepping, upwards run in octaves (from f' to f'', f'' to f''', with enharmonic augmentation of the G’s and E’s), and a double reprise of the opening (A) waltz on the octave in alt. The third section (C) is built out of an ascending crescendo figure of six quavers, an appoggiated aii, four staccato notes rising in semitones (g' to e''), which is answered after a brief fermata by a rising quaver semitone (c'' to d''). The unbroken crotchet bassline is now varied, sustained rising and falling drone notes replacing the firm marking bass note, and the answering double crotchet also softened from triads to dyads. The quaver figure rises and falls at various pitches some eleven times before the sudden irruption of the D-section, where to one’s great surprise, there is a sudden change of mood and rhythm, as the very Spanish theme of the Seguidilla (in A major), first heard in the Introduction (in G major), returns in harmonic, rhythmic and tonal variation (in D major). The waltz time gives way to rapid, pulsing octave chords in D, the waltz theme twice trying to reassert itself by way of the ascending octave run of both sections B and C, before a crescendo monotone hammering out of the rhythmic pattern of the melody (A). This builds up a little reservoir of potential energy, which is released in the full, octave restatement of the melody, repeated twice, as the young couple enter the dance together in a blaze of emotion. The C-section is repeated, as is the D-seguidilla, bringing the dance to rapturous conclusion. This dance represents a special moment in the score. It marks the resumption of the story of Kitri and Basilio, and in the unfolding of the most extended and sumptuous waltz of the four to be found in act 1, reasserts the interests and mood of romantic love. The recurrence of the seguidilla reinforces the Spanish locale and the lighthearted, comic element, and in the small drama of the jostling themes, give a compressed

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musical summary of this part of the story.

Ex. 18 Don Quixote Kitri's Friends.

20. Scène (Basilio et Kitri) The fusion of comic and romantic moods is now consolidated in the pas de deux for the young lovers which follows (No. 20a). Unlike the first duet early in the act, a melancholic movement reflecting the frustration of the pair, this is on a larger scale and of a more varied mood (Andantino, G major, 2/4). A perky staccato rhythm, built out of a G bass note and answering triad (g-b-d'), creates the mood for a jerky comic theme, three graced quavers (b'''-e'''-d'''), with strong fermate, a little demisemiquaver triplet run and a cheeky dotted semi-demisemiquaver cluster rising in alternating semitones g''-f'' lifting to a lengthened crotchet on a'' (rising by a fifth on the second repeat, falling by a third on the third) and ascending vivaciously by a chromatic semiquaver run in octaves to a brief and full chord of G. The second part of the pas de deux, with statuesque classical poses by the lovers, is in an entirely different mood (No. 20b). The key changes enharmonically to D major, and the quirky little rhythm gives way to freeflowing accompaniment, bass note on d with semiquaver arpeggios rising to d'. The melody unfolds initially in four bars as an octave statement in the dominant (a' to a''), rising by a fifth to f''' and descending down to g' using a variant of the dotted semiquaver runs of the first part as an integral

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aspect of the arching contour. The second four-bar part of the melody, also in octaves, is a third lower (g' to g''), and rises immediately by a sixth to e''', then holding d''', before falling in another arch to f''. This pattern is repeated, each time a third lower, before a low variant of the melody begins over pulsing bass semiquavers. The effect is of an aspiring if restrained melancholic lyricism, without grand passion. The situation becomes even more complex. Just as the rhythm begins to change back to the perky steps of the opening dance, Don Quixote, who has been watching from the inn, thinks he sees in Kitri a personification of his ideal Dulcinea. As if in a trance, he steps forward, ousting Basilio to take her hand. He obliges her to dance the formal steps of a minuet (Tempo di Menuetto, D major, 3/4). Several bystanders, including Don Gamache, are drawn into the dance. The stately style of the courtly dance, with its melodic turn, and clear but sonorous harmonies, is unfolded in several reprises, with variant of thirds and octaves, and arpeggios eventually taking the place of the formal chordal bass. The perky rhythm haltingly reasserts itself as Basilio takes his partner away from the old knight, to initiate a full reprise of the comic G major Tempo 1. The climax is reached with sforzando tremolos in the bass, and the re-emergence of the last variant of the lyrical melody of the romantic pas de deux, which over the sustained tremolos, rises to a crescendo on g''' and a clever variant of the cheeky dotted figure of the comic duet in rising sixths, to the final decisive G chord conclusion. This scene has provided a brilliant highpoint for the protagonists of the story, the young lovers and Don Quixote. All three have been brought into dramatic interaction while fulfilling the need to move the action of the act forward and provide a substantial set number. Not only is there a pas de deux, but two or three very different styles—the comic, romantic and classical, as first Kitri and Basilio dance, then Kitri and Don Quixote, then the young lovers again. The pattern ABCAB presents an elaboration on the usual expectation for an adage.

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Ex. 19a Don Quixote Pas de Deux.

Ex. 19b Don Quixote Adagio.

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Ex. 20 Don Quixote Minuet.

21. Variation 1 (Basilio) A variation for Basilio now follows (Allegro, D major, 2/4). The fervent staccato rhythm (bass in octave D, with two semiquaver and four quaver triads in the first inversion) becomes the pattern of the melody (fourfold repetition joined by a four semiquaver twirls) leading to a series of three descending semiquaver triplets to give an eight-bar extension. The fast triple time, skips on the second beat and flurry of triplets give the piece a strong Spanish flavour, and identify it as a jota. It is played as binary AB, and gives Basilio and the friends who join him an exciting showpiece.

Ex. 21 Don Quixote Basilio's Variation.

22. Variation 2 (Kitri) Kitri now has her turn (Allegro vivace, b minor, 2/4). The regular pulsing triadic bass chords buoy up a swiftly moving melody of lengthened crotchets and sliding semiquavers, first in the dominant (g''), then falling a fifth to the tonic (b'), before rising breathlessly by way of a series of ascending dotted figures and demisemiquaver slips to f'''. Each part is repeated, with a middle section (C) in which the melody is given as sixths

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in the first inversion, before the reprise of A and B brings the ternary structure to fervent conclusion, the rising demisemiquaver slips, twice repeated, leading into the full final B chord.

Ex. 22 Don Quixote Kitri's Variation.

23. Coda Variation on the traditional structure of the pas de deux continues in the finale which now ensues (No. 23a), a joyful general ensemble rather than a coda for the two lovers (Allegro vivace, D major, 2/4). Bright, arresting chords in the dominant A modulate to D and set in motion a rapid staccato quaver rhythm (a triad in sixths or octaves, with bass note D) over which a fleet rising staccato quaver melody in open octaves rises and falls in a near perfect eight-bar arch (a'-a'' to b'-b''). The contour is symmetrical, with the opening cluster rising by semitones from the dominant to the tonic (A to D) in the first bar, jigging in heavily staccato between D-sharp and E, then rising from E-sharp to F, the E and G chords given extra fullness as triads in first inversion and also extra marcato emphasis. The second four bars see the four-quaver cluster descending by semitones, with the three bars of staccato exchange now falling D-C, D-C, C-B. The effect is one of mercurial motor movement, this being sustained by the second subject, which by way of a quaver turn sees another rising and falling arch (g'' to g''' to g'', a'' to g''' to a'' the second time) moving up and down in little leaping semitonal semiquaver-quaver steps, all separated by tiny fermate. After a reprise of the first subject, low D chords with two treble chords (in first inversion, D and E) break the motor rhythm: high staccato chords (also in first inversion) rise in dotted rhythm from A to G, an emphatic 2/4

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bass initiating a new C section in G major (No. 23b). The dotted chords of the transition provide the pattern for the highly rhythmical fortissimo melody, rising semitones (lengthened quaver-semiquaver, from d'' to g''), then the same pattern falling, first by a semitone then by a sixth, down to a' then rising b' to c'', and answered by two sforzando chords in E and D, second inversion, as Basilio holds Kitri aloft. The second half of the melody sees the dotted quaver-semiquaver cluster in excited downward semitonal falls (e''' to b''', d''' to c'''), the answering chords in D and E now an octave lower.

Ex. 23 Don Quixote Act 1 Finale (Jota)

A D-section ensues, with the melodic pattern played in a high octave variant, climbing in graduated and chromatic steps from g'-g'' to g''-g''', with truncated descents punctuated by emphatic D and G chords. The reprise of the A-section leads into the extended conclusion. The breathless A-section resumes its helter-skelter course, as Sancho Panza adds to the melée by stealing another hen and initiating a pursuit by the irate market folk. The A-theme is subjected to some quick variations of melody, pitch and rhythm, and as the musical exhilaration rises, the seguidilla theme of the overture returns as a brilliant iterative climax, the young lovers using the growing comic chaos to escape initially unnoticed, but then pursued by Lorenzo and Don Gamache, with Don Quixote, full of concern, struggling on after them, Sancho Panza in his wake.

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ACT 2 After the danced first act, the second presents a mixture of modes, the first scene more mime than dance, the second more dance than mime. The role of the lovers is secondary to that of Don Quixote who actually dominates this act in three of the most famous setpieces in ballet, the Marionette Theatre, the Battle with the Windmills, and the Dream Scene. All the scenes present variations on the theme of the knight-errant, the tension between actuality and dream, the quest for beauty and truth, the pull of romantic love. Scène 1 (Campment des Ziganes) (Gypsy Camp) 24. Introduction The scene shifts to a camp in the wild countryside, with derelict windmills in the background, the haunt of Gypsies (Allegro, F major, 6/8) (No. 24a). They bustle about their activities to a rollicking triple time over droning lengthened F chords, a vigorous hopping melody with strong emphasis on the second beat, descending in semitones and recurrent fourths from f'' to fi in textured triads, before leaping up and descending again in the characteristic fourths (A), the melody then varied with descending figures in octaves, reducing to sevenths, sixths and fifths, with the drone broken into staccato triads and octaves (B), intensifying the buoyant but leisurely feel of a barcarolle. A surging passage for staccato strings in octaves leads to a repeat of the first two sections.

Ex. 24 Don Quixote Gypsy Camp.

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Entrée de Don Quixote, Kitri et Basilio The activities are interrupted by the arrival of the old knight and the young lovers (Maestoso, F major, 4/4). Don Quixote’s themes announced in the very opening bars of the Prelude are heard again: the growling chromatic trills and grace notes leading into the rising dotted figure in octaves. As the Gypsies surround the group suspiciously and menace them, the old knight’s theme moves into the motif of the knight-errant heard at the end of the Prologue, now played sempre piano, but with great dignity and even grandezza. The dotted rhythms, now in fervent staccato triads, proudly bear aloft the chivalrous theme with its semiquaver skips, rising dotted figures and triplets, as he explains his mission to find and protect the beautiful Dulcinea (Kitri). The Gypsies are more reassured by Basilio’s ingenuous description of himself as a simple barber, and allow them to join the camp, hiding them in their midst. His theme from the interview with Lorenzo in act 1 (No. 9) is also strongly dotted, a shallow downward arch in octaves (a'-a'' to c'-c''), an initial quaver-semiquaver figure followed by two triads in second inversion, then rising in alt by way of a staccato quaver run and a repeat of the dotted figure, this time a simple line (No. 24b). The theme is given a friendly mobility by a change in bass line—busy upward rising triplet sixths, that contrast with the powerful staccato chords of the chivalric motif. The musical characterizations of the hero and anti-hero are juxtaposed in some eight bars of counterpoint that are repeated, as the Gypsies weigh them up and allow them to stay. The barcarolle is resumed (Tempo 1), with both A and B parts repeated, as the life of the camp goes on.

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Ex. 25 Don Quixote Basilio, Don Quixote and the Gypsies.

25. Gypsy Dance The Gypsies dance (Presto con fuoco, a minor, 2/4). This is a sumptuously melancholic variant on the csardas, with the usual slow-fast binary pattern changed into a more elaborate ternary structure fast (A-B)-slow (C')-fast (C'')-fast (A-B). Brisk staccato quaver chords of A lead, by way of a slurred semiquaver run (g'' to a'') into a theepart figure of double quaversstaccato quaver, that becomes the rhythmic pattern of the piece. After a repetition of A, a B-section brings in a variant of the semiquaver run in a low rising-falling arch within the interval of a third (first on a and then an octave higher on a'), over bass tremolo in octave E. The A section is now repeated in C major, in expanded chordal variation, the semiquaver runs now descending by a whole octave, and leading to a climactic series of such runs and punctuating dotted chords, followed by a transitional passage built on the triple quaver, with the last quaver rising by an octave. This leads directly into a new melody (dolce) (C) that returns to the relative minor, a long crotchet (d'') leading into a turned semiquaver triplet and then falling further by way of the triple quaver figure of the Asection, repeated a fourth lower, then rising by way of the falling semiquavers (now a chromatic run) to a three repeated an octave higher

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(d'''). The rhythm becomes an emphatic broken triad of bass note and third, in fact the slow section of a csardas, that, with a sforzando reprise of the semiquaver run launches into the fast section, the speed increasing with each of the three repeats of the melody, always above the treble stave. The return of the triple quaver figure in treble thirds, in great chords in the bass, and in a rising crescendo, leads precipitately into the reprise of the A- and B-sections, and to a breathless climax as the Gypsies conclude their dance. The scene is now cleared for a troupe of travelling puppeteers who set up their stage for a performance.

Ex. 26 Don Quixote Gypsy Dance.

26. Théatre des Marionettes The Puppet Theatre (Allegro, C major, 2/4) is one of the great set pieces of this ballet, a substantial piece of durchkomponiert melodrama that relates to Don Quixote and his vivid life of imagination where dreams and ideals take the place of reality in all its mundane harshness. Rising trills and a falling dotted figure followed by the same strongly dotted rhythm (quaver-semiquaver), rising by a third and then falling by a

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sixth, then punctuated by an upward demisemiquaver run of a fourth, create a mechanical atmosphere, a sense of spiky angularity, as the theatre is set up, and the puppets put on show. The motif is repeated in thirds and fourths, with an internal leap of an octave, and then developed slightly over a strong but light 2/4 rhythm in the strings, the bright trilled opening figure on flutes and violins repeated at various pitches, and rising to an emphatic series of dotted semiquavers in high octaves of E as the performance unfolds. The story of young lovers, frustrated by a cruel third party, reflects the predicament of Kitri and Basilio. For Don Quixote, the young heroine seems to personify his beloved Dulcinea, vulnerable and menaced by dark forces. His inflamed imagination mistakes the toy soldiers for real ones.

Ex. 27a Don Quixote The Puppet Theatre.

A creeping downwards passage in octaves, a long minim descending by the dotted rhythm of the puppet figure to rest on a crotchet a fifth below, repeated again a fifth lower, and eventually sinking to four bars of trilled minims (D1-D), initiates a change of atmosphere, as the spectacle begins to work on Don Quixote’s imagination. Suddenly a series of triadic chords (moderato and pianissimo on the clarinets) (crotchets, quavers, a defining triplet, and stressed lengthened minim), thrice repeated, always a third higher, introduces an air of mystery (No. 26b). Full descending woodwind chords capture the move into the relative minor, the sinister chords now played in empty octaves in the deep bass (especially the bassoons) under treble tremolos on A. This figure, thrice repeated, each time a third higher in pitch, increases the tension, and reflects the growing confusion taking place in the old knight’s mind as in the darkness and flickering lights, under the spell of the spectacle, reality becomes increasingly blurred. The music recalls the first episode in the ‘Apparitions’ experienced in the waking dream of the Prologue.

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Ex. 27b Don Quixote The Puppet Theatre.

The A chords (in second inversion) over F octaves initiate a new section (Più mosso) in which, as the story on stage becomes more tragic, Don Quixote becomes more and more agitated. Over tremolo triads with frequent augmentation, a dotted octave figure (quaver-lengthened semiquaver) in rising and descending semitones, becoming quaver triplets on repetition, the second beat a marked triadic chord, the sequence then repeated at the higher dominant pitch, conveys a sense of growing tension and pain (with the characteristic ‘weeping’ figure of descending semitones). Don Quixote’s mental agitation becomes overwhelming. A huge fortissimo chord and octave tremolos of F lead to a quaver run from d'' to b''', this repeated, and culminating in a series of very sharp and staccato dotted chords in rising octaves (with inner thirds), syncopated over a plunging octave bass.

Ex. 27c Don Quixote The Puppet Theatre.

The next section (Moderato, F major, 6/8), sees a series of high triadic woodwind quaver chords (in root position), followed by descending chords (in first inversion and thirds) leading to the trilled figure from the opening marionette sequence (but with grace notes, and rising by fourths and fifths), this time over a tremolo augmented sixth (No. 26c). The whole is repeated three times before a sixfold repetition of the trilled figure, initially in alt, and descending for the last two instances. The atmosphere

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is cold and eerie: the puppets seem to mock Don Quixote, while the Gypsies seem to be transformed into grotesque monsters, looming and menacing, as though a darker underside had broken through everyday reality, and turned it into a nightmare. The analogies are with the Cloister Scene in act 3 of Meyerbeer’s Robert le Diable, where the powers of darkness break through the surface of normalcy in the rising of the profligate nuns from their tombs. The high woodwind chords recall the opening of their Bacchanale in the moonlight, and the trilled sequence the mounting excitement of their dance. In the final section (Presto, d minor, 2/4), Don Quixote loses control, and in a mad scene, attacks and destroys the puppet theatre, also laying about him at the Gypsies. Over fervent demisemiquaver tremolos, a fortissimo lengthened quaver in first inversion leads into furious upward semiquaver runs, the dotted quaver-semiquaver motif of the marionettes (given in triadic chords of the second inversion) and the rising fifth of the trilled figure (a sixth on d'' rising to the full octave chord d''-d'''), the sequence being repeated three times, before the chords, now in full octaves, rise in a staccato octave run into a repeat of the passage. The piece culminates in the fervent fourfold repetition (in high D full staccato octaves) of the motif of Don Quixote’s heroic quest, as heard at the end of the Prologue. The old man falls in a faint, while the young lovers escape, and the Gypsies flee. Scene 2 (Scène du Rêve) 27. Andante (Bataille avec les moulin à vents) Don Quixote lies alone in the darkness, as the full moon rises (Andante, g minor, 4/4). To heavy weighted chords of G, his characteristic trilled minims sink slowly to rise sluggishly in his characteristic dotted rhythms. As he comes to consciousness, sustained bass chords in thirds and sixths and the slow rising of the dotted figure and its extension into a long line of crotchets and minims, rising and falling in semitones, create a sense of great sluggishness and weariness. The impression is intensified by a secondary inner line of the dotted motif, falling and rising at intervals of thirds, fifths and sixths. The opening trills return in decrescendo, and become a heavy line of minims, descending in chromatic progression to rest in four bars of semibreves, all above the weighted bass triads in root position second inversion sequence. The piece becomes a little tone painting of Don Quixote’s wearied and fevered mind, an effective piece of psychological depiction growing out of his characteristic motifs.

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The sense of darkness and confusion continues as, still haunted by the trauma of the puppet theatre, the old knight continues to see visions in the night (Presto assai, g minor, 3/4).

Ex. 28 Don Quixote The Windmills.

As the wings of the windmill turn in the night breeze, the flickering shadows caused by the tracery of the torn sails in the moonlight look like a huge spiderweb, and the windmills themselves with their wings appear as giant spiders. Eerie high quaver tremolo figurations (e''-d'', c''-d''), with stress on the first notes (a forte-piano effect) and augmentation of the C’s, begin a juddering motion, this being emphasized by the rhythmical anomalies of the bassline (quaver triads rooted on g, in the pattern of one, silence for one and half bars, then four staccato crotchet chords, rest for half a bar, then another chord). This pattern, with variation of pitch and stress, is repeated nine times, the bass rising higher by semitones each time. On the fifth repetition, the crotchet is expanded into a double series of long double minims (German sixths alternating with triads augmented on root f' intensifying the sense of drama and fear). The staccato crotchet clusters then return another four times before beginning a descent in staccato octaves, from c-c' down to A-A1). The motif was first heard in the Prologue, during Don Quixote’s haunted day dreams. Now the ‘apparitions’ born of his reading appear to be for real. As the wings begin to turn more quickly, Don Quixote is overcome. He

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sallies forth with his lance to attack the giants. The tremolo pattern suddenly changes, lengthened minims pulsing fortissimo as semiquavers in the rise of a third (g'' to b''). Huge plodding octave chords in lengthened minims rising from G-G1 to e-E, falling slightly, then dropping down to GG1, and repeated, create a sense of great power and movement, the tension rising even more as the old knight launches himself at the windmills (No. 27). The tremolos shift to the bass where, as a succession of augmented sixths, they sustain the excitement of the drama—buoying up the descending octaves in chromatic runs (g''' down to g'), the interchange of tonic and dominant chords in sixths and fourths. The climax, reached on reiterated chords of D, during which Don Quixote is lifted off the ground and hurled through the air, is immediately followed by a reprise of the attacking music, shifted into a process of diminution, as the treble tremolos now become descending octaves (g'' to g', then g' to g), and the plodding bass is repeated but this time piano, and drained of all its power. Don Quixote now lies senseless on the ground, and enters the realm of the unconscious. This is the next stage of this exploration of his Romantic world of dreams. 28. Le Rêve de Don Quichotte Don Quixote finds himself in the most beautiful of gardens (Andantino, G major, 12/8). In the music first heard in the Prelude, and now played again in its entirety, the Queen of the Dryads appears, surrounded by her translucent entourage. The gently arching, seamless melody, rising always higher to emotional climax on its sinuous arpeggios, the evocation of a dreamworld, unattainable loveliness and harmony, make this the heart of the old knight’s quest for the realms of perfect beauty and goodness. It is at the centre of the drama, and one of the principal statements of the Romantic ballet. It is one of the most sustained and famous scenes of the Classical ballet blanc, the ‘white ballet’ danced by ethereal beings in the moonlight, again deriving its origins from the Cloister Scene in act 3 of Meyerbeer’s Robert le Diable, where the apparitions are either malign (as also in Giselle), the victims of enchantment (as in Swan Lake), or the spirits of the blessed (as in La Bayadère).

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29. Les Dryads The Queen’s attendants dance before Don Quixote’s enraptured eyes (Allegretto, D major, 2/4). Firm staccato time (d bass and first inversion triads) holds aloft a crisp and energetic melody in the mode of a gavotte, two strongly marked and separated notes on f'' skipping, by way of a turn on the fourth beat, to rise by a fourth to a'' and fall by staccato to a crotchet on the sharpened tonic (d''). It then rises by semitones to f'' to commence the melody again, this time lifting by a sixth in the second half. The second subject rises in three octave chords, with inner enrichment of thirds or fourths (b'-b'-c') to an extended semiquaver figure falling from b'' to f'' and rising by dotted staccato steps to f''', then resting on e''' before starting all over again: A1-A2-B1-B2-B1-B2-A1-A2. The C-section emerges out of the reprise of A2 by way of two demisemiquaver octave runs in thirds (f' to f''), then a longer third chromatic run (c'' to a'') with the a'' reiterated in semiquaver and demisemiquaver, this leading to other rapid figurations with turns and trills (C2), the whole then repeated and leading into the Dsection which sees the semiquaver staccato figurations rising and falling brilliantly (with a sprinkle of upper mordents) in the top of the treble scale (between b' and f'''), then falling down to g' before the reprise of A1. The whole dance has an elegant verve and classical detachment about it.

Ex. 29 Don Quixote The Dryads.

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30. L’Amour The next episode, for a Cupid figure personifying love itself (Allegro, G major, 2/4), while also in duple time, establishes a different atmosphere in the bassline (an octave quaver bass note and triple quaver triad in first inversion). The melody sets up a busy moto perpetuo with a semiquaver turn on e''' falling by thirds to a staccato quaver duplet (from b'' down to g''), the same sequence rising and falling in different pitches (from f''' down to d) through this brief, restless, and stylish piece (see also p. 173). 31. Dulcinea’s Variation It has become traditional to play a variation at this point for Dulcinea (Kitri) who now appears as Don Quixote’s ideal (Moderato, G major, 3/4). This is a beautiful slow waltz by Riccardo Drigo (from his interpolated pas de deux in Le Corsaire), with a leisurely crotchet bass line (G bass and triad/octave answering chords), and low slow melody in lengthened minims rising in semitones from e' to g', descending by crotchets to sharpened d', and then beginning the repeat with rises of a fifth. The melody is then repeated a third time, now an octave higher, with a delicate counterpoint of quaver tracery underpinning the line. A transition of full chords and upward runs leads into a chordal variation that carries the flow back to the recapitulation, this time in octaves above the stave, with the rhythm carried up into the treble as thirds, and moving by way of an upwards quaver run to the final G chord. This waltz has a slow, languorous quality, and is very different from the other waltzes in the ballet. It casts the vision of Kitri as Dulcinea in a rather grand and unattainable light, rather like the dream itself.

Ex. 30 Don Quixote Dulcinea's Variation.

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32. Coda The conclusion of this grand dream vision now begins (Allegro, G major, 6/8). A strongly staccato bass of reiterated triads rooted in G, rather like a rocky, angular barcarolle, sees a triplet semiquaver beginning in alt on d''' rising by a seventh to c''''. This figure is thrice repeated before descending by quaver semitones back to d''', the whole figure moving higher and lower in pitch for eight bars before the reprise. It then immediately launches into a very different rhythm and slower tempo (poco meno, mosso), indeed that of another waltz. The triple tempo (rapid quaver triads over sustained lengthened crotchets) sees the launch of a melody doubled in octaves from the first note (f' to f'') in the first two bars before contracting in its descent to one line. This initial harmonic fullness, the long initial note, rising fourth and leisurely quaver descent to the mediant, rise then fall to the supertonic, then lifting by way of the rising triplet of the opening idea creates a sense of spaciousness and emotion reinforced by the second subject with its semitonal octave quaver rise of a fifth (through the sharpened tonic) to a crotchet before falling in the little semiquaver triplet. This is repeated in slight variation at a semitone higher, sustaining a floating rhapsodic atmosphere. The B-section is repeated before a variation of A ensues (the semiquaver-quaver triplet turn followed by an answering double quaver figure in thirds), all in waltz tempo.

Ex. 31a Don Quixote Coda of the Dream Scene.

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Ex. 31b Don Quixote Coda of the Dream Scene.

The return of the barcarolle rhythm sees a C-section, a low melody, arching within the narrow confines of d' to a' to d'. It lifts on repeat and then on the third reprise doubles in octaves. This leads straight back into the sumptuous waltz (B), given twice, before the recapitulation of A begins. It is truncated, however, as the last plunging octave descent suddenly introduces a change in volume, rhythm and melodic structure. The bass is given to tremolo fifths which sustain long dotted minims rooted on the tonic, while the treble ascends incrementally in every second bar, by way of a quaver figure, to the leading note. Having touched g'''', this figure then passes into a fleeting succession of the semiquaver-quaver triplet turn, rising progressively over a root triad, and culminating in a succession of dotted E chords, the motif of the heroic quest, as the enchantment fades away and finally disappears on great chords of C and G. 33. Le Reveille de Don Quichotte (Scène de la chasse) The vision has faded, the heroic enterprise nothing more than mock battles and vanishing dreams. Don Quixote is alone on the ground as dawn begins to break (Più mosso, G major, 6/8). The theme of the knightly quest is played softly in rich bass octave chords of G and low treble sixths and thirds, as Sancho Panza comes in to find his master. He is followed by Lorenzo and Gamache, in pursuit of the missing lovers. The old knight is filled with a new sense of energy and resolution, the knightly quest now fortissimo rising to the high treble (d''-d''', in the first inversion over lengthened bass octave crotchets). A fresh theme emerges, rising strongly

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in lengthened crotchet and quaver octaves (g-g' to g'-g'', down to b-b'), through a quaver turn, to triads descending in thirds down to a full octave chord (b-b'), all above the staccato bass chords of the quest motif. The theme is repeated an octave higher, with great nobility, as Don Quixote, practising his true role of knight-errant, gives the comic pursuers false directions to help the young lovers. Lorenzo and Gamache set out in one direction, while the old knight and his squire choose the other, and set off with great dignity, the act concluding with a magisterial fff restatement of the knightly quest, this time an octave higher.

Ex. 32 Don Quixote Act 2 Finale (The Awakening of Don Quixote).

ACT 3 (Place en Barcelone) 34. Introduction We are back in the square in Barcelona, near Lorenzo’s inn, where the townspeople are bustling about their affairs (Allegro, D major, 6/8). Over a series of staccato full bass octave chords and triads in a fairly relaxed triple time, a high semiquaver triplet turn on d''' settles on a quaver fourth (g''-c''), and rises by a semiquaver skip back to d''' and then up to e'''. The pattern of this barcarolle-like melody is repeated a third lower, before moving into an identical rhythmic pattern of dotted quavers rooted in d'', but without the opening semiquaver triplet. The pattern is repeated, with the second section now cast in octaves. The whole of A and B are given again in binary form, only this time the bass of the B-section is varied by upward rising staccato arpeggios (a-a'). A transitional section C sees a rhythmical variation, as the bass line is raised in pitch and changed into

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alternating triadic crotchets and quavers, with thirds in g' and b' and a slight melodic decoration of rising and falling triplets, eventually ascending in octaves to launch the reprise of the A-section, and culminating in a climactic iteration of the rhythmic pattern of the melody.

Ex. 33 Don Quixote Square in Barcelona.

35. Entrée de Kitri et Basilio The moment is ripe for the reentry of the young lovers (Allegro, G major, 3/4). Double quaver and crotchet fanfares followed by an upward-rushing quaver staccato run, initiate another waltz. The staccato rhythm in crotchets (bass octave on G, with two answering root triads) launches into a vigorous melody in triadic octave chords (b''-b''' in second inversion). This rises to C on the second, and emphatically to D on the fourth minim, and falls by semitones in a double staccato quaver, hitting the tonic D in another minim, dropping by a quaver triplet turn to quaver a'', to be emphatically punctuated by an A chord in alt. The melody is repeated three times with minor variations of pitch before rising in an extended staccato quaver figure over three bars (from a'' to g'''). After a repeat, the second subject is lower in pitch (a'-a''), but emphatic in volume (fff) and verve (the crotchet chords now staccato quavers), with strong chromatic modification of the fourth chord and a low staccato quaver run (d to b' to d'). After the return of the A-section, a C-section (in C major) ensues enharmonically, the rising staccato quaver figure now adapted as the opening figure (f' to f''), answered by another falling figure (quaver d'' minim g''), this same figure repeated in amplified D and G octave chords (sforzandi). This pattern recurs four times in variations of

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pitch. It moves into a contrasting D-section: the propulsive waltz rhythm gives way to a sustained C, with low drones in thirds (E-G) keeping the rhythm in mind, but like a memory.

Ex. 34a Don Quixote Entry of Kitri and Basilio.

Ex. 34b Don Quixote Entry of Kitri and Basilio.

A variant of the second subject of the waltz (B), rising piano in staccato quavers in octaves, settles on a minim (e''-e'''), this figure rising and falling, down to a' and eventually up to a'''', like a wistful recollection, before the sudden resumption of the vigorous rising C-section, and the reprise of the G major A-section open into the brilliant coda, with the rising quaver figure transformed into a series of staccato octave cascades in alt over the dotted tonic-dominant concluding chords. Kitri and Basilio have reentered to a dazzling and vivacious waltz that captures the verve and passion of their relationship.

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36. Scène (Le Suicide burlesque de Basilio) The young lovers are happy with their friends until the arrival of Lorenzo and Gamache, footsore from their wild goosechase in the forest (Allegro, a minor, alla breve). In music reminiscent of the confrontation in act 1 (No. 9), the lovers are separated, Kitri’s father insisting that she marry Gamache, and Basilio leaving in distress. The melodramatic scene of mime is set over bass demisemiquaver tremolo of E, later rising to F. A little quaver turn sets up a nervous figure of tension (e'-f'-e'-g'-sharp), this rising to a little emphatic dotted third a seventh and ninth above (d''-f''), adding a sense of dissonance. On the repetition, the quaver turn ascends to triads in second inversion, eventually becoming a climactic series of dotted chords in sixths and octaves, repeated four times, rising to a series of high minim C chords in crescendo until a final E.

Ex. 35 Don Quixote The Mock-Suicide.

A series of plodding quavers mark a transition to a complete change of mood, as the melodrama gives way to comedy (Allegretto, A major, alla breve). Basilio rushes back in a great black cloak, draws out his barber’s razor, and pretends to take his own life in despair. As he lies apparently wounded, Kitri begs Don Quixote to prevail upon Lorenzo to give them a final blessing. Gamache turns in fury upon Don Quixote, who pulls off his wig in a mock duel. Gamache accepts the inevitable, as does Lorenzo, after some coaxing. This extended scene of burlesque unfolds over music of comic mime, a plodding staccato quaver in pianissimo octaves setting up an ostinato of changing chordal texture, dynamics and pitch, slowly rising over four repetitions into the treble. On every fourth bar it is varied by a skipping crotchet-quaver-semiquaver figure. On the fifth repeat, the skipping dotted figure takes on melodic dominance (pp poco animato), and the plodding ostinato becomes a distinct 2/4 rhythm. On the fourth reprise, the ostinato is resumed, and the dotted figure skips straight up to e''', only to cascade down as a series of graced quaver triplets, this pattern then predominating for eight bars in growing diminuendo. Tempo 1 sees the return of the plodding ostinato (hollow treble octaves over first

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inversion triads), the treble becoming a single line, falling ever lower, the triads in root position on A, the whole sinking away in semibreves sustained on a low octave of A (A-a) for four bars, until the final forte graced quaver. No sooner has the blessing been bestowed, than the apparently dying Basilio jumps up, thoroughly alive, and now betrothed to his beloved. 37. Finale With Basilio’s ploy successful, and the young lovers at last united, there is an explosion of joyful feelings, as the couple lead the company in communal celebration (Presto, D major, 2/4). Over pulsing octave quavers (a-a') a series of high staccato quaver figures in the high treble builds up the tension which bursts into a rapid double rhythmic triad over which the cascading graced triplet quavers of the previous scene, beginning in alt, move up and down the stave in a vivacious galop (A). The second subject (B) takes up the quaver octaves of the introduction, the two sections alternating, with graced single quaver notes and little rising figures of skipping demisemiquavers strung along, leading to a brief reprise of B, and the final exhilarating blaze of tonic-dominant staccato quavers.

Ex. 36 Don Quixote Act 3 Finale (Presto).

ACT 4 (Place en Barcelone) 38. Introduction (Marche) A mood of celebration is established as preparations are made for the wedding festivities of Kitri and Basilio (Allegro, G major, 4/4). The bold diatonic crotchet octaves, a sprung step of a double quaver on the third beat, initiates a bold and happy march as the whole populace gradually

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fills the square. The rhythm is strong duple time, the bass line in crotchets with a bass note in octaves (D-d), the answering chord in sixths (rooted on f). The downward movement of the opening bar (A) moves incrementally upwards in dotted staccato steps and a rising quaver figure with firm cadence (B). The sections A and B are repeated, before the C-section, the first of two trios, begins (a decisive crotchet chord, an ascending quaver run, followed by another decisive crotchet chord), this being repeated four times with incidental variations of pitch. After repeats of A and B, the Dsection (second trio) begins, lengthened crotchets in octaves (b'-b'') falling in dotted semitones down to g', then rising powerfully in strong, marked, steady crotchets from b'-b'' to d''-d''' before falling in a slurred quaver figure down to a'-a''. The whole of this second trio is repeated before the reprise of A and B, which sees the company assembled for the celebration.

Ex. 37 Don Quixote March.

39. Air Espagnol (Spanish Dance) In some modern productions a dance originally in act 1 is inserted at this point for Gamache (Allegretto, B-flat major, 3/8). This gentle piece establishes a very regular and consistent metre (bass B with answering triads in root position). A high delicate melody in staccato quavers is launched from the mediant d'', rising by a third and fourth to c'' before descending, first to c'' (A1), then rising to f'', to descend once more, this time to the tonic b'' (A2). The Spanish flavour is infused in the semiquaver skips in the third and seventh bars on downward turns of the melodic line. After a repeat of the melody, there is a contrasting section, with high triadic octave quaver chords (sforzando) leading to a rising piano figure of three quavers and a stressed crotchet, this given four times (B), building up a mild internal tension which is resolved in a version of the second descending figure of the opening melody (A2), now falling in double-

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semiquaver-double-quaver thirds from a''-c''' to d'''-f'', this figure repeated twice, dropping down to f'-a', then briefly touching the tonic b' before a semiquaver run up to b'' (C). The semiquaver skip that characterizes the contours of the A melody is used four times, as the principal motif of this variation. B and C are repeated before the reprise of A, this time in octaves, the melody leading straight into the final rising B chord. 40. Scène Fanfares announce a dance (Allegro, G major, 4/4). A bustling bass arpeggio (broken staccato quaver triads moving in a shallow interval between g' and d') launches a rising staccato quaver figure rising in octaves (b'-b'' to e''-e'''), given a tonal edge by starting on the mediant. The melody descends in strongly separated quaver chords (from b''-b''' down to f''-f'''), the quaver figure then played in open octaves, again as a falling and rising turn (f''-f''' down to d''-d''' then up to f''-f''' again), the same figure repeated a third below. This pattern, played some ten times, piano with gentle crescendo-decrescendo dynamics, in variations of pitches as it climbs and descends the stave, sometimes a fifth or a seventh below the tonic, establishes a moto perpetuo of a light and airy type.

Ex. 38 Don Quixote Spanish Dance.

The flow is suddenly curtailed by fortissimo chords of F, the quaver figure melodically varied in expanding upward chords (third-sixth-octave), augmented sixths in the bass and dotted octave fanfares, this twice repeated, and then suddenly launching into the exultant D-section of the preceding March, as Kitri and Basilio enter, a veritable coup de théâtre. This is repeated three times, before the resumption of the bustling moto

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perpetuo, brings the piece to its busy conclusion. 41. Pas de Quatre The scene is now set for the great structural and emotional highpoint of the ballet, the famous pas de deux. The celebration of Kitri’s and Basilio’s wedding is the obvious solution to the search for love, but certainly not the answer to Don Quixote’s Romantic quest which remains an eternal dilemma of humankind. The pas de deux is introduced by a formal dance for four of Kitri’s friends (Presto assai, C major, 2/4). Spiky parallel treble triadic chords (sevenths, sixths, dyads above, fifths and sixths in second inversion, later octaves, below) establish a staccato ostinato in a pattern similar to that of the scene of the earlier mock suicide. Like that previous scene, there is melodic variant on the fourth bar (this time a quaver triplet turn or upward run of varying pitch). Similarly, there is a middle section in distinct duple time with crotchet bass and answering triad, characterized by a cascading series of quaver triplets descending by an octave (f'' to f'), before the reprise of the opening section which leads in crescendo to an unresolved climax. If the mock suicide was the burlesque harbinger of romantic union, this is the advent of the real thing.

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Ex. 39 Don Quixote Pas de Quatre.

42. Intrada The couple now enter to take centre stage (Allegro, A-flat major, 3/4). A sumptuous, melancholic waltz in the radiant key of A-major unfolds on the cellos in the lower treble range, three crotchets in the same rhythm as the bass (c'-b'-c'), rising a fourth to a lengthened minim f', then descending in semitonal stages through alternating minims and crotchets to d, before the melody is repeated again, a third lower, and then in its original pitch. The languorous nature of the melody (A) is underpinned by the measured crotchet bass line, with the answering element in constantly changing thirds and fourths and the bass note becoming a sustained lengthened crotchet drone. There is a contrasting middle section: quavers in staccato treble octave chords (g'-g''), firmly rooted on the dominant, with distinct fermate, beat a melodic pattern, dá-dá-de-da (B). This is developed in the fifth bar where

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all punctuation is removed, crotchets and minims broaden the flow and intensify an emotional appeal, with enharmonic augmentation of G, and a lift upwards to e''' on the leading note, this held for one-and-a-half bars with the rhythmic pattern dá-de-da, before falling in a leisurely staccato quaver run, d''-d' to a''-a' (C). B is now repeated, and then C, but as a variant in single line that caresses the top of the treble stave. The A-section is recapitulated thrice, this time in broad octave doubling, with the waltz rhythm strengthened by full octave bass and consistent answering sixths (either in root or second inversion), creating a sense of great lyrical strength and movement.

Ex. 40a Don Quixote Intrada (1)

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Ex. 40b Don Quixote Intrada (2)

43. Adage The great centre of the pas de deux ensues (Andante, E-flat major, 2/4). Over a slow semiquaver octave, bass and answering triad in root position, staccato and with fermata, opening and closing like a slow heartbeat, this long beautiful melody unfolds without preliminaries, over a span of eight bars (A). Cautious semitonal steps in lengthened quaver and semiquavers rise barely perceptibly from g' to rest on the submediant c'', then climbing again by semiquaver skip, trill and appoggiatura to rest on the supertonic f'', descending by similar semiquaver steps back to a long c'' with quaver slip to d' (A1). After a tiny pause a long d'' rises through a turn by a fourth to briefly linger on the tonic e'', before falling dramatically by a sixth down to g' for a moment, before rising again to linger on d'', descending by semitonal steps to hover on g'', and then by quaver-semiquaver to rest on a long home e' (A2). The melody spans a shallow arc in the first four bars, and then rises briefly to fall in the last four, all within the confines of a ninth. The avoidance of predictable symmetry, the consistent obviation of the tonic, instil an open yearning feeling. This is intensified in the second section (B) where a cell of the first part of the melody (A1) is subjected to variation of theme and harmony. Coursing bass figures, semiquavers opening out from a single note, through third, fifth and octave, then becoming upward rising arpeggios (Gg, c-c'), hold aloft great treble octaves (f'-f''), that reiterate the melodic pattern (crotchet-lengthened quaver-semiquaver-lengthened crotchet) to growing crescendo. The falling semiquaver figure of A varies the pitch before the fortissimo rise of a semitone to g'' with the semiquavers providing a falling echo (g''-d''), as decrescendo moves into a piano minim

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(seventh on g'). The sequence is repeated a semitone higher. The C-section provides the second variation on the melody, this time focussing on the second half of the opening theme (A2). The arpeggiated bass now takes on a rising and falling pattern (d to b to f), while the melodic variant is floating in a single woodwind line, a fifth above its initial form on f'', with a turn rising to b''', and lingering and caressing the top line of the stave in semiquaver figures, before sinking down to c'', then rising again to emphatic fortissimo octave chords (a triad on F and full chord on a diminished eighth).

Ex. 41 Don Quixote Adage.

This initiates a falling variant on the melody (piano) which on the second beat of the second bar rises to a pianissimo octave modified reprise of A moving (b'-b'') to crescendo forte, with a return to the opening-

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closing rhythm of the opening, this time with the bass note reinforced in octaves. A ritenuto ushers in the second reprise, this time on the tonic for the first time (e'-e''). The bass is now an impassioned hemidemisemiquaver tremolo triad (e-g-b), becoming a diminished triad in root position, and regularly shifting to sevenths and octaves, and seasoned with augmented triads and German sixths, as the octave melody ranges across the treble stave (e'-b''', with regular sharpening of D), in crescendo-decrescendo, reaching a fff climax, sinking away to pp, before ascending in alternating sixth and octaves to the huge final sforzando E chords (e''-e''' over e-e'). The effect is torrential and deeply emotional.

Fig. 47: Don Quixote Act 4: Pas de Deux: Grand Adage

44. Variation 1 (L’Amour) The first variation is for the character of Mercedes (Amour as she was in the Dream Sequence) (Allegro, G major, 6/8). This is a high, bright waltz, resolutely diatonic, brisk and elegant. The quaver rhythm sets the quick restless pace with its deep bass and very full answering triads. The melody, consistently played in octaves, and firmly fixed in the tonic, begins at the unusual altitude of g''', descending to the dominant in staccato quavers with a semiquaver skip in the last beat of the first bar. The second section has some rapid pointed semiquaver figurations leading to quicksilvery demisemiquaver skirls, and via the staccato semiquaver figure turned into a long upwards run, a quick reprise of the opening melody.

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Ex. 42 Don Quixote Variation 1 (Amour).

45. Variation 2 (Basilio) Basilio’s variation is next (Allegro, C major, 3/4). This is another waltz, this time in in a boisterous masculine mode. The rhythm is measured and purposeful, in crotchets, the bass note in octave of C, the staccato answering chords in first inversion. A lengthened crotchet octave on the mediant (e' to e'') rises by semitone quavers to a reiterated five-part quaver figure (g'-g'-g'-f'-g'), rising to a marked lengthened crotchet on d' falling slightly to double quavers on a', and resting on a minim g' (A1). The first three notes are really a launching pad for the reiterated quaver quintuplet, and the lengthened marked rising crotchet which becomes the fulcrum. All the rest of the phrase has the octaves enriched by inner harmonies of fourths. The tonic is consistently avoided, adding a keenness to the tone, this emphasized by the regular sharpening of the F’s. The last phrase of the melody is repeated, the minim lengthened before the quaver figure falls in empty octaves (a'-a'' down to d''-d'), with repose through quaver e'e'' being reached at last on the tonic minim c'-c'' (A2). The melody is repeated before the contrasting middle section in a minor. The quaver quintuplet figure recurs in thirds (rooted c''-c''-c''-d''), rising and falling by a third, before resting on a marked minim (a'-c''), the quavers then separating into three triplet turns beginning on b'' and rising to d''', sustained by harmonies a fourth below, before a bright quaver run (a'' to d''') initiates the reprise of A, bringing the piece to an exciting end.

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Ex. 43 Don Quixote Variation 2 (Basilio).

46. Variation 3 (The Fan) (Kitri) Kitri now has her turn (Allegro, E-flat major, 4/4). Her variation with a fan, specializing in virtuoso foot movements en pointe, has become legendary, even though this was a later addition inspired by Mathilda Kschessinska, with music thought to be by Drigo. Two great arpeggiated harp chords, the first in B, the second in E, leading to two octave harp runs (d to d'', back down to B the second time), initiate the dance proper in 2/4. The duple time is sustained by an octave triad (bass e with answering sixth in first inversion), and initiates a fluid motif with demisemiquavers triplets rising in thirds (b' to g', reaching a quaver on a''), this repeated a fourth higher, and then descending by a semiquaver run to the initial b'. This pattern is repeated three times with variations of pitch before the second subject, with higher bass line, and initiated by staccato quaver thirds, leads to eight semiquaver figures, descending from e''' by an octave/seventh/sixth/fourth to a downward turn (f''-e''-f''). The whole repeated a semitone higher, initiates the reprise.

Ex. 44 Don Quixote Variation 3 (Kitri).

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Fig. 48: Don Quixote Act 4: Pas de Deux: Kitri with fan

47. Coda The conclusion of the pas de deux now follows (Presto, C major, 2/4). Over a relentless duple rhythm (c bass and first inversion answering triad), a strongly staccato theme rises in quavers from c'' to c''', the initial trajectory is interrupted and given extra propulsion by a little downward, flexing run in semiquavers (c'' to g') which immediately leaps the fourth back to c''' in chords of thirds, falling down a third and leaping back to c''' in a sforzando triad in first inversion (A1). This sequence is repeated, the little semiquaver run and sforzando chord then repeated thrice an octave higher before leaping in quaver-semiquaver dotted rhythms up to c'''' rounded off by an emphatic C chord (A2). The second subject sees the rhythm varied (bass E with triple triad in root position) and a new melody, this time in octaves, a reiterated B chord (b''-b'''), varied by a semitonal semiquaver drop (a'-a'') in the pattern crotchet-quaver-semiquavercrotchet, followed by an upward run in octave quavers culminating in the same crotchet-quaver fall (a'-b'). The whole is repeated, with the quaver run eventually rising to g''-g''' (B).

Ex. 45 Don Quixote Coda.

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The dance unfolds in the pattern A1-A2-A2-B-B-A1-A2-B before a Csection: pianissimo runs in the treble leading to sf chords, with a chromatic run of staccato quaver-semiquaver dotted octaves (e-e' to f'''-f'''') building up in crescendo to a variant on the dotted figure characterized by octave fall and leaps. The concluding part of section-A1, with its downward semiquaver runs and sf chords moves into a reiterated series of the semiquaver runs, this time rising ever faster in six upward rushes to c'''' before descending in the staccato quaver octaves of section-B (c''''-c''' down to c'''-c'') to finish in a blaze of tonic-dominant chords over seven bars. The wedding celebrations are joyfully completed in the traditional symbols of marriage, dance and festivity. 48. EPILOGUE Don Quixote’s mission is accomplished, the lovers have been united through his benign patronage. He represents an eternal quest, however. So he and Sancho Panza set out again to continue their chivalric adventures, finding the poetry and beauty of life where for others there is only dull reality. The melancholy music of the knight-errant familiar from the finale of the Prologue sounds again as they ride off, the first ten bars of No. 4 (in a minor) leading enharmonically into the last seven bars (in C major).

Fig. 49: Don Quixote Act 4: Pas de Deux: Coda

LA BAYADÈRE Act 1 Scene 1 1. Prelude 2. Scène (Solor and the Fakir) 3. Marche des Brahmins 4. Sortie des Bayadères et Danse Sacrée 5. Scène (Grand Brahmin) 6. Danse des Fakirs (La Fête du Feu) 7. Entrée de Nikia 8. Variation de Nikia 9. Danse des Fakirs et Scène 10. Scène (Solor and the Fakir) 11. Pas Seul de Nikia 12. Scène et Pas de Deux (Nikia and Solor) 13. Scène et Reprise (Brahmin, Nikia and Solor) 14. Scène (Fakir, Solor and Brahmin) Act 1 Scene 2 15. Introduction (à la marcia) 16. Pas de Huit d’echarpe (“Djampe”) 17. Scène (Rajah and Gamsatti) 18. Scène (Rajah, Solor, Gamsatti) 19. Pas de Voile (Nikia and a Slave) (Pugni) 20. Scène (Grand Brahmin and Rajah) 21. Scène (Grand Brahmin and Rajah, Solor, Gamsatti) 22. Scène (Gamsatti) 23. Scène (Nikia and Gamsatti) 24. Scène (Nikia and Gamsatti) Act 2 25. Marche triomphale 26. Pas évantails (Moresco) 27. Valse des perroquets 28. Pas de Quatre (Polka) 29. Intrada (L’Idole doré) 30. Mazurka (L’Idole doré) 31. Pas Manu (Pas de Trois) (Polka) 32. Pas des Guerriers Indiens (Danse infernale) 33. Grand Pas d’Action

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34. Intrada (Pas de Quatre) 35. Adage (Solor et Gamsatti avec des coryphées) 36. Variation 1 (Pas de Quatre) 37. Variation 2 (Solor) 38. Variation 3 (Gamsatti) 39. Coda générale 40 Scène dansée de Nikia Pas de Bénédiction Pas de Panier (Réminiscence) Pas de Serpent (Scène de Folie) et Mort de Nikia Act 3 41. Introduction et Scéne 42. Scène (Le Charmeur de serpents) 43. Grand Scène du Rêve (Sortie des Bayadères) 44. Valse lento (Les Bayadères) 45. Scène (Solor et Gamsatti) 46. Adage 47. Andante (Les Bayadères) 48. Variation 1 (first solo bayadère) 49. Variation 2 (second solo bayadère) 50. Variation 3 (third solo bayadère) 51. Variation 4 (Solor and Nikia) 52. Coda 1 53. Coda 2 (Finale—Apothéose) Act 4 54. March (1. Allegro, C major, alla breve) (= no. 15) 55. Pas de Guirlandes (2. Andantino, A major, 4/4—Allegro moderato, A major, 3/4) 56. Intrada (3. Pas d’action. Allegretto, F major, 2/4) (= no. 34) 57. Pas de Deux (4. Adagio, C major, 12/8) (= no. 35) 58. Coda (5. Coda Allegro non troppo, F major, 6/8) 59. Finale (6. Scène finale Allegro, D major/b minor/D major, 6/8)

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It would make better sense if the scenario were divided into a classical 5act structure since the two scenes of act 1 each carry an innate dramaturgical weight and completeness of action. Each act has its own appropriate designation: act 1—The Festival of Fire act 2—The Rivals act 3—The Betrothal act 4—The Kingdom of the Shades act 5—The Wrath of the Gods The libretto of 1900 lists the music as performed in Petipa’s revival. Later interpolations are inserted. Act 1, Scene 1 no.1 Ouverture no.2 Scène première et entrée de Solor no.3 L'entrée du Grand Brahmane, les prêtres, et les fakirs no.4 Danse des prêtresses no.5 Scène dansée des fakirs no.6 Entrée de Nikia no.7 Variation de Nikia no.8 Scène dramatique du Grand Brahmane et Nikia no.9 Scène mimique de Solor et Madhavaya no.10 Scène de Nikia et le Veena no.11 Pas d'action de Nikia et Solor no.12 Scène mimique de Nikia et Solor no.13 Scène Act 1, Scene 2 no.14 Introduction et scène no.15 Danse d'jampe no.16 Entrée de Gamzatti supplement - Danse pour Nikia et d'esclave (Konstantin Sergeyev, 1952) (music: Cesare Pugni; La Esmeralda; 1844) no.17 Scène mimique du Grand Brahmane et le Raja no.18 Scène dramatique et final de Nikia et Gamzatti

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Act 2 no.19 Grand cortège Grand divertissement no.20 Danse des esclaves no.21 Valse éventails no.22 Valse des perroquets no.23-1 Danse pour quatre bayadères no.23-2 Danse pour quatre bayadères supplement - Bozhok or Little God (Nikolai Zubkovsky, 1948) (music: Ludwig Minkus/arr. Pavel Feldt; Marche persane from Le Papillon, 1874) no.24 Danse manu no.25 Pas indien no.26 Coda générale (in the Chabukiani/Ponomaryov production this number is used as a coda for the Grand Pas d'action) no.27 Scène dansée de Nikia no.27-1 Danse de Nikia no.27-2 Danse panier no.28 Scène et final - La mort de Nikia Act 3 Scene 1 no.29 Introduction et scène no.30 Danse du charmeur de serpent no.31 Scène de Gamzatti et Solor no.32 Entrée de Nikia et scène Act 3 Scene 2 no.33 Grand pas classique de l'ombres (The Kingdom of the Shades) no.33-1 Entrée de l'ombres no.33-2 Valse no.33-3 Entrée de Solor no.33-4 Entrée de Nikia no.33-5 Grand adage no.33-6 Variation 1 no.33-7 Variation 2 no.33-8 Variation 3 no.33-9 Variation de Nikia no.33-10 Grand coda Act 3, Scene 3 no.34 Scène et final

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Act 4 no.34 Introduction et scène no.36 Danse des fleurs de lotus no.37 Grand pas d'action no.37-1 Entrée no.37-2 Grand adage Variation de Solor (Nikolai Legat, 1900) (music: Ludwig Minkus, Variation de Djalma from Le Papillon, 1874) Variation de Gamzatti (Olga Preobrazhenskaya, 1900) (unknown) Variation de Gamzatti (Pyotr Gusev, 1947) (music: Cesare Pugni, Variation de Nisia from Tsar Kandavl, 1868) Variation pour Mlle. Mathilde Kschessinska (music: Riccardo Drigo, 1900) (composed for Kschessinska's performance) no.37-3 Grand coda no.38 La destruction du temple no.39 Apothéose - la résurrection de Nikia et Solor The musical examples are from the Hamburg potpourri of Johann Resch (c. 1880), a repetiteur’s piano score from Kiev (1981), a manuscript copy of the Kingdom of the Shades (c. 1980), and a copy of the original act 4 held in the library of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

Fig. 50: La Bayadère: The Procession in Act 2 (1977)

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Fig. 51: La Bayadère: Frontispiece of piano pot-pourri, with Vazem as Nikia (1880)

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ACT 1, Scene 1 [Act 1—The Festival of Fire] 1. Prelude The music (Allegro, b minor, 4/4) immediately announces the world of Hindu religion, the motif of the fakir, the holy ascetic, the religious beggar, who plays a pivotal role in the story. His dark dotted earthy theme moves between four notes (f'-g'-a'-g'-f') with emphatic chords, progressing down into the dark depths (A' sharp), before rising through a series of chords to an unresolved E. As a denizen of the temple, he is both servant and seer, a representative of a primitive strand of religious life. He is both motivator and observer, a servant of the servants of the gods. Their higher cult is represented by the aloof priestly caste of the Brahmins, and their mystical worship embodied in the bayadères, the ethereal vestals who mediate benediction through their sacred dance.

Ex. 1 La Bayadère Prelude (Fakir) The music suddenly opens into D major (Andante, 6/8), as a beautiful melody over rippling arpeggios is announced: the triad (a'-d''-g''' is played steadily, three times in succession, contracting for an instant to g'', then lingering on the lengthened minim chord b'-d''-g'', before descending in

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beautiful harmonies down to g'. The melody is repeated homophonically before being doubled in octaves, then restated in rich chords, and rising in octaves to e''' where it is held aloft in ecstasy. The whole is repeated, this time a third higher, and with frequent chromatic augmentation adding an emotional inner feeling to the rising contour of the melody. This theme is serene, steadfast, controlled, but passionate. Taken from the Kingdom of the Shades in act 4, it is the thematic focus of the story, to be identified with the character of Nikia the Bayadère, and her self-sacrificing love. In this respect, it is serves the same function as the famous Leitmotif of the swan in Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. In the same way, the prelude gives a compressed symphonic preview of the story about to unfold, with b minor and its relative major of D providing the tonal inverses of a moral universe. D major is the tonal heart of the score.

Ex. 2 La Bayadère Prelude (Nikia) 2. Scène (Solor and the Fakir) When the curtain rises we see a fakir, a Hindu ascetic, rush across the sacred grove and out of sight. He is a friend to Nikia, and on the positive side of the action. Hence his typical theme, related to the religious establishment, shares in D major even though it is a skulking, agitated motif, in dark orchestral colours, with prominent writing for the bassoons.

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He is followed by the Indian officer Solor and his warrior companions who enter to a brassy march-like movement in b minor, with a lyrical trio section that moves into D. Solor’s heroic status as a soldier and a hunter are established, but his real purpose is to see his secret love, the temple dancer Nikia. So he soon finds an ostensibly religious excuse to send off his companions, and summon his fakir confidant who helps him in his aspirations. Deep, rich chords suggest his reflection as the Fakir returns, but agitatedly reports that the priests are coming for the imminent ceremony before he disappears again, leaving Solor to longer meditation on his forbidden passion, the rich chords reinforced by strong cello writing. The interspersing of the two themes suggests the frustration of the young man and the fearful reluctance of the servant of religion, as his theme is powerfully reinforced in octaves. The pattern A-B1-B2-A-B1-BC-A-C-A gives the music a controlled structure, underlined by the shifting keys centre. Solor is also part of the Bayadère’s world, but his is still a very earthly passion. It is interesting that the music closes in the key of D, but with the tonal centre hovering around G. 3. Marche des Brahmins The assembly of priests now enters (Maestoso, E-flat major, 4/4), announced by the motif of the Chief Brahmin, a ponderous, descending phrase in huge three octave chords, repeated four times, the first piano, the second forte, a fourth higher, with three emphatic chords, the third returning to E, piano, the fourth forte, this time rising to the flattened submediant. It is remarkably like Wotan’s Leitmotif in the Ring cycle, the same descending forcefulness, the same portentous statement of authority, sinister in spite of the resolute E-flat major. The march itself gets underway, with the theme in rich, unctuous thirds, but punctuated at regular intervals by a pizzicato motif in the lower strings, a simple triplet (G1-A1-sharp-G1 and two G1 crotchets), which is repeated nine times, and adds a sinister undertow to the stately procession. The situation, and to some extent the musical imagination, resembles the March of the Priests in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. The trio, on the other hand, takes us into the world of Meyerbeer’s Le Prophète. The flowing melody, over sturdy dotted rhythms, repeated in octave doubling, with massed lower strings and bassoons, achieves an emotional uplift. Rather like the situation in the Meyerbeer opera, the principal player in the procession, the High Brahmin who enters at the trio, is a type of religious charlatan. Interestingly, the march trails off quietly, the trio truncated, with no reprise of the main march theme.

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Ex. 3 La Bayadère Entry of the Brahmin.

Ex. 4 La Bayadère March of the Priests. 4. Sortie des Bayadères et Danse Sacrée Flutes playing high, delicate figures initiate the entry of the veiled bayadères from the pagoda (Moderato, a minor, 3/4). A series of diminished fourths culminating in a diminished octave triad gives the a minor tonality a remote and slightly ethereal effect as they emerge, to continue the religious ceremony. The dignified dance around the sacred fire, directed at the High Priest, is filled with hieratic gestures. The tempo of the A major music is slower (meno mosso), like that of a stately mazur, with rising string figures, first in octaves, then homophonically, and punctuated by pulsating semiquaver woodwind figures in sixths, combining fragility with the stateliness of the movements. The formal gestures are underpinned by the slow staccato rhythm. The repetitions of

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the rising and falling woodwinds are given an emotional charge by the sharpening of the a’s, b’s and d’s, as at the centre the woodwinds rise to a sustained e''', descend in a short run, and rise to long g'''’s and f'''’s. All eventually trails off into clear resolving chords, the pulsating figure reduced to rhythm on a, as the bayadères move back into the pagoda.

Ex. 5 La Bayadère Sacred Dance of the Bayadères. 5. Scène (Grand Brahmin) In a stately Maestoso (F major, 4/4), the High Priest now calls for the principal Bayadère. Two of his themes are stated together, the descending authority motif in the treble, and the sinister undertow of unease with its augmented g’s in the lower bass. The first, familiar from the march, is scored even more richly for the brass. In fact it assumes an orchestral colour similar to the passage for the priests in the Marche Indienne from act 4 of L’Africaine. Given the ambiguous, if not maleficent role of the clergy in Meyerbeer’s opera, this is another association of both tonal and thematic implication. 6. Danse des Fakirs (La Fête du Feu) The fakirs then precipitately launch themselves into another religious dance (Allegro con fuoco, d minor, 3/2) around and over the sacred fire, their frenzied whirlings reflected in the reiterated upward triplets in rising semitones, heavily punctuated by long trilled augmented quavers and slurred rising semitones followed by a decisive chord in the opening and closing section of the ternary dance. The middle section is characterized firstly by frenetic sequences of the triplet figure, rising and falling in thirds

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over a bass of diminished triads, and then by the triplet figure expanded into treble octaves over a plunging bass line, also in octaves. The exotic frenzy is reflected in the unusual rhythm of 3/2.

Ex. 6a La Bayadère Dance of the Fakirs.

Ex. 6b La Bayadère Dance of the Fakirs. 7. Entrée de Nikia Shimmering tremolos (d' - d'') and d minor harp arpeggios change the mood immediately, into something remote and beautiful, as Nikia herself appears. Her Andante (B-flat major, 12/8) introduces the heroine in upward-surging music intimately related to the D major music of the prelude. The same pure purling arpeggios bear aloft a strong yearning melody that rises initially in simple semitonal steps (d'-e'-f'-g'), then sinking a tone to e' and rising imperceptibly again to f'; it continues aloft, with new emphasis, on bi, sinking to d' rising to g', dropping a little to e', and completing itself on c' which is held for a whole bar. As in the prelude, the melody is given an emotional charge by moving in triads that compress to single lines. The French sixth at opening of the second bar,

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with the sharpened c in the highest note of the arpeggio, injects particular feeling. The harmonic enrichment of the melody is increased on each of its four varied repetitions.

Ex. 7 La Bayadère Entry of Nikia. On the first repeat only the first part of the melody is given, a partial resolution in great octave chords followed by sforzando punctuation, with a dotted figure raising the octave chords into the high treble. The final two repetitions begin a sustained crescendo ritenuto, the arpeggios replaced by passionate tremolos, until they return on the last repeat with the ff tutti that sees the melody ascending in octaves to b in alt. The final descent emphasizes the diminuendo, before rising in another crescendodiminuendo to the final huge double octave chords. This music in its passionate yet controlled feeling sums up the character of the heroine and the noble self-exulting and self-sacrificing nature of her love.

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8. Variation de Nikia The Bayadère begins her religious duties with a slow ritualistic dance (Moderato, g minor, 2/4). The solo flute, favoured by Lord Krishna, emphasizes the religious purpose of the dance, and also the lone status of the protagonist. This is underlined by the harmonic transparency of the music: after the rich, emotional harmonies of Nikia’s entrée, the wistful, but cool and sacral flute is accompanied by the gentlest of sprung rhythms. The appoggiature and fermate give the music a cautious almost halting, character, only slightly adjusted by the sudden speeding up of the tempo (poco più mosso) as she completes her dance to the rapid figurations of the staccato flute. The overwhelming sense of restrained sadness is sustained by the surprising minor tonality of the dance. The public persona of the Bayadère would seem to be at odds with her inner self.

Ex. 8 La Bayadère Nikia’s Variation. 9. Danse des Fakirs et Scène The Brahmin has looked on with rapt attention, and now orders the fakirs to resume their dance around the sacred fire. To their characteristic theme, but one associated with their subservience to the Grand Brahmin, they resume their frenzied dancing (Allegro con fuoco, g minor, 2/2). The presence of other themes associated with the priest, the powerful descending motif forcefully punctuated with huge chords, appears in a yearning downward arch. The motif of the Fakirs combines with that of the Brahmin, sinking down into the dark depths, and brought to a

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highpoint of unresolved tension in a sequence of chords, as in the Prelude. This is not about the sacred dance, but about the Grand Brahmin and his forbidden passion for the unattainable Temple Dancer. The buried emotion now surfaces as, with the sacred ceremony going on, he declares his passion to the horrified Nikia, offers to give up everything for her love. Passionate tremolos again introduce this new episode of high emotion, the Brahmin’s theme stalking the deep bass, then rising into the treble, to reach a highpoint in double octave A. As Nikia adjusts to this disturbing revelation, and rejects it, a new Animato unfolds, rising and falling crotchet bass supporting a new theme spun out over six bars, full of tragic intimation. It is actually a transmutation of the Chief Brahmin’s theme, and a comment on the tragedy of the story: he is prepared to break his vows in order to pursue a forbidden passion for a consecrated virgin; she repudiates him, but is herself compromised by her own secret and illicit love for her warrior. The theme, rising crescendo and accelerando in sixths to an uneasy highpoint in D octaves, prepares the way for the tragic denouement of the story. As the Brahmin turns from Nikia, and they both withdraw, the dance of the Fakirs resumes in frenzy until they fall exhausted (This movement and disposition of characters is followed in the Bacchanale from Saint-Saens’s Samson et Dalila, while the thwarted courtship of the Brahmin is reminiscent of the unwanted attentions of Orion for Sylvia in Delibes’ ballet.) To serene and soft G major chords for the strings, the bayadères minister to the fakirs, offering them water from the sacred spring. When the woodwinds enter, the harmonies become even more luminous and pure in this contemplation of compassion and spiritual beauty. The Fakir appears furtively, as does Nikia. He tells her that Solor is coming, and will announce his presence by clapping his hands as his signal to her. In the meantime, the spurned Brahmin observes this scene with suspicion. A solo bassoon heralds this new sequence (Poco meno), with a return to g minor. The Priest’s motif is given in muted fragmented form, leading on to the downward arch of his frustrated aspiration, which is then mingled with pianissimo statements of the luminous harmonies of the bayadères’ compassion. 10. Scène (Solor et Fakir) The next scene (Poco meno mosso, C major, 4/4) sees the return of Solor and his excited exchange with the agitated Fakir. In extended mime they confirm the proposed signals of clapping and warning. It is interesting to note that the theme of tragic love heard in the dialogue between Nikia and

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the importunate Brahmin forms the musical commentary to this scene. The shift to a minor, and the heavy chromatic inflection of the music, is full of tragic anticipation. The illicit love between Nikia and Solor will be the source of disaster for them both. As the Fakir leaves and Solor hides, the high shimmering treble tremolos (crescendo-decrescendo) (e'-e''') raise the emotional temperature. 11. Pas Seul de Nikia The air is filled with harp arpeggios as Nikia appears alone from the temple portal (Andantino, f minor, 3/4). The harp cadenza reminds one of a similar entrée for Odette in act 2 of Swan Lake. Its simple series of runs and scales induces a hushed, mystical atmosphere that is sustained in the the dance which ensues, where the harp plays in duet with the flute. The harp accompaniment in the bass line (an upward rippling triplet followed by three triadic chord splashes) becomes an hypnotic ostinato for her slow polonaise, with the melody played by the flute in its lofty detachment, long minims of f'', b'' and c'' with appoggiature followed by a decorative cluster of four semiquavers. Once again the cool hieratic nature of this instrument underlines the Bayadère’s lofty detachment as she collects more spring water, while awaiting Solor’s impending arrival. The hushed elevated beauty of the piece, the vocalic embellishment of the melodic line, breathe the world of bel canto. The underlying sadness of the situation is emphasized by the minor mode of the otherwise radiant key of A-flat. Only in the cadence do the returning delicate upward scales of the harp arpeggio regain the major.

Ex. 9 La Bayadère Prelude (Nikia’s solo)

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12. Scène et Pas de Deux (Nikia et Solor) Solor’s three claps announce his appearance, and Nikia rushes into his arms (Allegro non troppo, E-flat major, 4/4). A rising figure (a lengthened crotchet descending by a tone) in ascent over bass tremolos reaches a quick climax in the transmuted theme of thwarted love, twice repeated. This instance of tragic irony launches without pause into the love duet itself (Moderato, 6/8). The surging love music shows its affinity with the Bayadère’s characteristic upward arching melodic contours. The ample arpeggios bear aloft a melody in unison strings and woodwind that moves from b', down to g' rapidly ascending to g'', and then imperceptibly sinking in semitones through f'' to rest at length on e''. The second, third and fourth bars of the melody are given an added emotional resonance by the sustained treble harmonies in thirds. The melody unfolds in fivefold repetition, growing in intensity, and gradually rising in tone and volume, reinforced in octaves until the climax is reached first in e''', and then in f''' before sinking into the sustained sixths and pedal point of e.

Ex. 10 La Bayadère Pas de Deux. 13. Scène et Reprise (Brahmin, Nikia and Solor) The lovers are observed by the furious Brahmin who suddenly appears menacingly in the background. The rapture of the Adage is broken by an agitated, heavily accented scurry that fatefully reintroduces the motif of thwarted love in truncated form (lengthened minim followed by three descending or ascending quavers) (Allegro appassionato, g minor, 4/4). The motif with its heavy double bass beat is repeated twenty-four times, and rises to a crescendo of high f’s and e’s, huge descending chords emphasizing the Brahmin’s vow of vengeance as he disappears again, once more leaving the lovers alone. Nikia and Solor renew the celebration of their love in the reprise of

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their pas de deux. The melody of their duet commences again, this time in passionate, reinforced elevation and augmentation (Poco meno, G major, 4/4). Beginning on an octave of D (d'' to d'''), with rising and falling cello crotchets replacing the arpeggiated bass, the melody is borne aloft twice, to g''' and b''', before making its usual descent diminuendo to g'. Tremolos see the theme drop in octaves into the low bass (A1), before a fortissimo statement (diminished octave in A) followed by descending triads that lead to an enharmonic shift to D major (Poco meno) and two final octave restatements of the love theme in rising and falling octaves over tremolos, until the final pianissimo chord. 14. Scène (Fakir, Solor, Brahmin) The return of the furious Brahmin is heralded by anxious reentry of the Fakir, to his theme familiar from the opening of the act (Allegro con fuoco, b minor, 2/4). He helps Nikia slip into the temple, while Solor escapes into the forest. Dramatic augmented tremolo triads enharmonically accompany a restatement of the love theme in octaves, first in the bass and then in the treble, and serving as a reminiscence of the pas de deux, while the Brahmin is left alone in futile rage, vowing to destroy the love of Nikia and Solor. A shift of rhythm and key (e minor, 4/4) heralds a succession of rising triplets in the high treble, repeated nine times, conjuring up his helpless rage, leading into a sequence of highly chromatic staccato chords that culminate in the resolution of the truncated motif of thwarted love (this time reversed: three quavers in octaves followed by big octave minim chords) that bring the scene [act] to its precipitate and dramatic conclusion. ACT 1 Scene 2 [Act2—The Rivals] 15. Introduction (à la marcia) The scene opens with processional music as the action shifts to the Royal Palace (Allegro, C major, alle breve). The entry of the court, with the Rajah, his advisers and guards, establishes the new sphere of action. The splendour and power of the secular world unfolds to a march-like movement, a brisk double quaver figure rising by a semitone (c'-d') settling into three staccato quavers rising by another semitone to e'. The figure is repeated twice, and in the fourth bar reinforced by heavy chordal punctuation. The effect is one of stolid dependability as the men of the court enter: the figure ascends to the leading-note, and the processional

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tone is intensified by powerful treading triads in the bass. With the entry of the women of the court, the tone becomes more vivacious, the rhythm changes to 2/4, with a new melody, an ascending series of staccato crotchets (g' to g'', falling by the two quaver figure f'' to e''), familiar from the opening theme, to settle on a minim (d''), continuing in high trilled a''’s and finding finality in an appoggiated figure in octaves (d'' to c''). It becomes in fact a polka à la Delibes with emphatic sprung rhythm (c shifting triad). The resumption of the opening processional movement, with the melody in treble octaves, brings the formal introduction to an end.

Ex. 11 La Bayadère March (Entry of the Court). 16. Pas de Huit d’echarpe (“Djampe”) A court divertissement then ensues for eight young women. They dance, holding a scarf above their heads, appearing to jump through their own hoops (Moderato, C major, 4/4). The spiky rhythm with its characteristic semiquaver hop in the second beat identifies it as a polacca. It has a light tripping quality, with an upward demisemiquaver run, like an extended appoggiatura, launching the bouncy melody with its tiny fermate and little propulsion points in semiquaver thirds. The high pitch of the melody, the basically treble accompaniment, add to the airiness of the piece, an impression also sustained in the Presto coda (A major, 2/4), a galop reminiscent of the ballet music in Glinka’s A Life for the Tsar. A melodic similarity and lightness is achieved with more fleet upward triplet runs and an urge to the high treble, largely in fifths. There is a poco più meno section, followed by an even higher reprise in octaves, but then, rather unusually, a move poco diminuendo to poco morendo as the festive atmosphere fades before the onset of more serious public affairs.

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Ex. 12a La Bayadère Pas de Huit (Dance with the Scarf) (1)

Ex. 12b La Bayadère Pas de Huit (Dance with the Scarf) (2) 17. Scène (Rajah et Gamsatti) With the exit of the warriors and dancing girls, the Rajah has the servants summon his daughter Gamsatti. She enters and greets her father who confirms his intention that she should marry the warrior-hero Solor. This initiates an extended mime sequence that will largely dominate the rest of the act. The scene (Moderato, F major, 4/4) opens with a stately theme in octave dotted-rhythms, repeated five times, before the motif smooths out and upwards, losing its staccato character, and resolves itself in a clarinet cadenza that heralds the entry of Gamsatti. The motif establishes the importance and gravitas of the Rajah, and by extension, the royal princess. She herself enters to her own theme, a melody of two repeated notes (f') that rises in semitones (g'-a'), which then repeats a' three times, before

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falling to g', and rising to dip again (d'-c'-b'-c'). The melody is played in octaves, and immediately repeated in shortened form, rising to f'''. The gentle sinuous arpeggios and pure F-major harmonies lend a sweetness, but limited and controlled feel to the melody in spite of its upwards direction. There is passing resemblance to Nikia’s entrance music, but it is pallid by comparison, and lacking all the Bayadère’s emotional surge and strength of purpose. These motifs dominate the colloquy between father and daughter in which she is told of her forthcoming marriage to Solor, the Rajah’s theme taking on a lyrical quality, rising in octaves over tremolos as he explains his plan. The mention of Solor is accompanied by rich, noble brass chords curiously punctuated by three notes on the bassoons. As Gamsatti retires to veil herself for the imminent meeting, her theme again rises in lyrical sweetness, an almost Mendelssohnian suggestion of wedding music. 18. Scène (Rajah, Solor, Gamsatti) Solor’s aide announces the approach of the warrior (Allegro, C major 2/2). The Rajah’s proposal disconcerts Solor, but is an offer that he cannot refuse. He is forced to compose himself, especially when Gamsatti appears. The opening section is dominated by the rich brass chords heard earlier. The resemblance to L’Africaine is once again very striking. The Rajah’s plan is unfolded to a noble melody in the lower strings that dominates the whole scene. It is counterpointed in each bar by a motif (AB-A) played pizzicato in octaves in a-minor, that adds a sinister undertow to the lyrical theme. It picks up from the bassoon motif in the earlier scene, and in fact relates to that theme of the Grand Brahmin heard in the act 1 procession of the priests. It is as though his malign influence is at work in the betrayal of Nikia’s love already taking place because of Solor’s weakness. Solor’s hesitation and dismay is reflected in four bars of double chords, immediately followed by a sharp emotional intensification of the marriage theme as Gamsatti is presented to him. The long lyrical theme is played again, moving into a dignified but fraught theme on the horns, as if Solor feels himself tragically helpless, this mood intensified by the decisive chords of his dismay. The tragic irony is compounded by the religious ceremony of betrothal that must now ensue. 19. Pas de Voile (Nikia et l’Esclave) The chief temple dancer (Nikia herself) comes to perform a public blessing on the betrothed couple. Held aloft by a slave, she enacts a

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blessing upon them, presenting a veil to the princess, and at the climax showering two armfuls of lilies in honour of Gamsatti. Nikia’s Adagio (Amajor, 3/4) sees a high melody, two crotchets (a''-b'') immediately followed by a pulsing figure of four semiquavers (f''-g''-f''-e''), repeated, then rising first to d''', sink a little, then up to e'''. The melody, contained between e'' and e''', and basically unfolding above the stave, has a high distant quality, this being intensified by the leisurely arpeggios of the accompaniment, with its corresponding semiquaver ostinato on the first beat of each bar. It grows in emotional intensity within the appoggiated second subject, with its fervent downwards runs, eventually reaching two high points of emotion (ascending and partially descending runs in thirds and sixths) and sustained high notes in sixths, eventually dying away in tiny runs and arpeggios.

Ex. 13 La Bayadère Pas de Voile (The Blessing). The whole is a sustained aria of hypnotic beauty played on the strings, with the harp coming in effectively at the climax. Both in musical inspiration and dramatic context, one is reminded of Micaëla’s aria in Carmen. The young girl goes on a sacred mission to the camp of the smugglers to find her errant love, and observes him in the clutches of her formidable rival. Like Micaëla, Nikia leaves after the performance of her public duty. (This sequence was added in 1954 by Konstantin Sergeyev

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for his wife Natalia Dudinskaya to the music of the Grand Adage from the Pas Classique in Pugni’s Esmeralda, 1844). 20. Scène (Grand Brahmin et Rajah) The mood suddenly changes (Maestoso, c minor, 4/4), as the High Priest’s dark and menacing theme is announced in the deep brass. He arrives announced by Gamsatti’s servant. He requests privacy with the Rajah, and tells him of the secret love between Nikia and Solor. The Brahmin’s theme dominates the music: it recurs eight times, a simple fanfare annunciation, and in various thematic guises, the fanfare itself becoming a stalking ground-bass over eleven bars, with the theme in broken fragments in the treble. 21. Scène (Grand Brahmin and Rajah, Solor, Gamsatti) In his rage, the Rajah determines to crush this duplicity, and punish Nikia’s broken vows. The Grand Brahmin realizes that this must mean her death (Allegro con fuoco, c minor, 4/4). Both Solor, who slips out when he realizes the nature of the Grand Brahmin’s complaint, and Gamsatti, from behind a pillar, have overheard all this. The agitated motif that accompanied the Brahmin’s witnessing of Nikia and Solor’s love, now surges into life again, this time in the lower strings, and alternating with his principal theme, which is now broken in passionate fermate, rises in chords to the negating double stroke C chords, and then as impassioned descent from f in alt. When the men withdraw, the theme is given quietly but menacingly over dark tremolos (Maestoso). The snake-like descent of the theme is broken by its decisive chords, that rise from the depths in ever-widening chordal harmony, to sink away into ritenuto pianissimo. Gamsatti sends her maid to summon Nikia again. 22. Scène (Gamsatti) Gamsatti enters in reverie fraught with melancholy (Andante, c minor, 4/4). A solo clarinet and wistful theme capture her mood as she looks towards the portrait of Solor and dreams of her wedding day.

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23. Scène (Nikia et Gamsatti) Nikia is brought in, and now the two women confront each other alone (Moderato, E-flat major, 3/4). Initially there is a deferential exchange, as Nikia bows to the king’s daughter, and Gamsatti admires her rival’s beauty. She offers Nikia a bracelet which the latter politely refuses. Gamsatti’s attitude changes: she contrasts the temple dancer’s humble state with her own wealth and power, then climactically points to Solor’s portrait. The exchange takes place to serene music as the two women are contrasted in their different themes. Interestingly, Nikia’s theme is that of the temple dancer, not her own personal melody. The Dance of the Bayadères interacts with Gamsatti’s Leitmotif, all couched in octave arrangement and serene arpeggios. The change is heralded by a great chord of G and a chromatic descent of the strings. 24. Scène (Nikia et Gamsatti) The women confront each other as deadly enemies (Allegro, c minor, 4/4). Rushing strings return the music of the High Priest’s disclosure to the Rajah. The Bahmin’s theme is forcefully restated, to be followed immediately by the motif of his thwarted love for Nikia. It is as though in the hatred of Gamsatti his vengeance is taking further effect. The theme gives way to the swirling motif of the High Priest’s rage. Nikia tries to stab Gamsatti but is held back by Aiya, a rising motif in lengthened crotchets and quavers over bass tremolos capturing the tension and drama that returns to the surging motif of rage and the High Priest, before falling headlong in multiple octave descent (a'''' down to A), and the decisive double chords of negation. A section of eighteen bars of double tremolos rising from the depths (C) to the heights (e''') (poco crescendo e accelerando), with recurrent diminished sevenths, and culminating in huge triple octave chords of G, captures the confusion and distress of the action. An upward rushing ascent of the strings clinches Gamsatti’s gesture of vengeance as the curtain falls. ACT 2 [Act 3—The Betrothal] 25. Marche triomphale The celebrations of the betrothal of Solor and Gamsatti are the occasion of the second [third] act, set outside the Rajah’s palace (the Grand Procession in Honour of the Idol Badrinata). The balletic convention of

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the extended, grandiose divertissement finds an archetypal expression here. It is initiated by a grand march (Tempo di marcia, G major, 3/4), in which all those participating in the celebrations make their festal appearance: spear- and fan-carriers, Brahmins, ladies carrying parrots, a group of Ethiopian children, a group of wild warriors and Amazons, a bronze idol on a litter, the Rajah and Gamsatti on palaquins, and finally Solor on an elephant, preceded by his tiger trophy from the hunt mentioned in act 1. The march itself is an open and brilliant piece of music, triads and thirds over a simple bass in octave leaps, the main subject surprisingly like the theme of the Orgie in Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots. The trio launches into a series of bright treble staccato octave chords (g'-g'') with the melody played in monolithic splendour by trombones and lower strings in great bass octaves (G-g). After four repeats, the melody then shifts into the treble for another fourfold turn, before initiating the extended coda. Solor takes Gamsatti’s hand and leads her to the porch of the palace, where the royal party are seated to watch the festivities. The situation is analogous to that of act 3 of Swan Lake, where Prince Siegfried’s coming of age festivities are the reason for the extended sequence of dances.

Fig. 52: La Bayadère Act 2 :The Procession—the Elephant (1992)

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Ex. 14 La Bayadère Triumphal Procession. 26. Pas évantails (Moresco) The first of the character dances is for twelve women with fans, twelve men with pikes, and eight Ethiopian boys (Allegro moderato, D major 3/4). The dance is a type of mazurka, petit, dapper, with a brisk staccato bass buoying up a fragmented theme that soon resolves into rapid staccato figurations in scalic movements up and down, with grace notes. Like the trio of the march, the pattern is reversed, with the rhythm in the treble and the running figure in the bass. The bright, crisp instrumentation, the harmonic clarity and spiky rhythm are reminiscent of Janissary music.

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Ex. 15 La Bayadère Fan Dance (Moresco). 27. Valse des perroquets The ladies holding parrots perform next, a smooth legato waltz (Allegro non troppo, G major, 6/8). The principal melody, after a preliminary long bi, follows a classic arching movement for the strings, from e', leaping up to f'', descending in steps down to ei again, before another ascent from g' to g'' where the note is held before a series of staccato iterations (f''-g''-a''g''-f''-f''-e''-g''-f''-e'') and a da capo. The second subject also starts on the long g' before rushing upwards in a semiquaver staccato run that fixes itself on six reiterated staccato a''’s for the woodwind. This is repeated six times in variation before the resumption of the first subject. The effect is to alternate sharp piqué steps with the lilting balancé of the waltz movement.

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Ex. 16 La Bayadère Waltz of the Parakeets. 28. Pas de Quatre (Polka) The more Classical elements in the scenario now begin to make their appearance. Four women in tutus and Indian choli tops (with bare midriff) take the stage briefly, surrounded by the former dancers and members of the procession who frame the stage. Their dance (Moderato, C major-A major, 2/2) is all pointe work and arabesque positions. The music is crisp, with bright strings and spiky woodwind, a simple descending staccato motif (c''' -a'') in the high treble followed by four repeated octave chords (e''-e'''), all rehearsed five times before finding a point of repose in a little flurry of legato quaver notes (a''-d'''-f''). The emphatic accompaniment and slightly halting quality lent by the staccati give the music a taut edginess.

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Ex. 17 La Bayadère Pas de Quatre (Polka).

29. Intrada (L’Idole doré) Another diversion now ensues, as to an exciting introduction, the Golden Idol is carried forward to centre stage (Allegro, D major, 6/8). The incremental quaver figures in triplets build up an immediate tension (poco a poco crescendo), a lack of tonal resolution adding to the innate sense of anticipation, the piece shifting its tonal centre constantly, and reaching its cadence on chords of A.

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30. Mazurka The Golden Idol suddenly becomes a Golden Man as the statue springs into life (Allegro moderato, D major, 5/4—the Marche persane from Minkus’s Le Papillon 1874). His incredibly athletic solo verges on the acrobatic, and is filled with gestures from Southeastern Asian dance, like angled arms and lotus-blossom hand positions. The reference is to Shiva, the Hindu Lord of the Dance, as his turns and jetées suggest. The emphatic brassy dotted theme, the heavy, pulling syncopated bass, the alternation of rich chordal writing with brisk staccato single upward runs and octave descents, regularly alternating, the appoggiated chords, fermate, heavy punctuation and chromatic seasoning, give the music an almost mechanical propulsion and precision, and reinforce the ironically statuesque character and brilliant virtuosity of the scene. (This dance was devised and choreographed by Nikolai Zubkovsky in 1941.)

Ex. 18 La Bayadère The Golden Idol

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31. Pas Manu (Pas de Trois) (Polka) The next diversion became famous in its own right. The Pas Manu (from the French for Gypsy, manouche? or for manne, basket?) presents a lone woman dancing on her pointes while balancing a water jug on her head, as two teasing girls with pitchers try to get her to pour them a drink (Allegretto, G major, 2/4). This perky, tinkly dance, with its sprung treble accompaniment, rapid semiquaver runs, points of punctuation and little fermate, is a piquant mixture of movement and stasis, with recurrent polka steps on points. The fluid water imagery and danced comedy are reinforced in the little coda where the girls chase the water-carrier, the runs en pointes that finish in a flourish of pas de chat reflected in the scurrying (più mosso) scalic figurations for the strings and woodwinds.

Ex. 19 La Bayadère Pas de Trois (Dance with the Pitcher)

32. Pas des Guerriers Indiens (Danse infernale) A violent contrast is provided by the following episode (Allegro con fuoco, C major, 2/4). Eight bare-chested men, led by a ninth with a tomtom storm onto the stage in a loud, fast and furious type of war dance. An even wilder couple storm into the midst of them, kicking and flinging their arms about. Frenzied drum beats lead into a descending octave semiquaver figure on c' and c, followed by three sets of descending double quavers, the first note of each on c', the second of each set either a fourth or third lower, this two bar pattern immediately repeated an octave higher, and then again with slight variation, the eighth bar abruptly truncated by a double octave chord of G. The second subject in a minor has an even greater primitiveness about it, repeated crotchet octaves (g' -g) followed by two more rising to a' and d'', with strongly syncopated and staccato triad quavers in the bass. The manic repetitiveness of the melodic structure, the obsessive rhythm and percussion, the relentless pace and sound and crashing chords, intensified in the Presto coda, give an impression of controlled savagery. The characters indeed are more wild men than

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warriors, their dance defying any specific generic categorization, rather like a primal infernal dance.

Ex. 20 La Bayadère Dance of the Indian Warriors (Danse infernale)

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33. Grand Pas d’Action The divertissement now gives way to the continuation of the storyline. The Grand Pas d’Action that follows occupies a central thematic role in the scenario: it represents the dramatic and emotional eclipse of the heroine and her very special, ideal vision of love, both spiritual and passionate. It crowns the triumph of her glittering and powerful secular rival, the representative of a very different earthly and sensual love, and also marks the burgeoning vengeance of the Bayadère’s mortal enemy, the Grand Brahmin in his foiled and rejected passion. In all these respects it is the polar opposite of the Pas de Deux of act 1 where Nikia and Solor lived out their daring and rapturous love, in spite of all its dangers and challenges to convention. In this duet, Solor is now a slave to convention: he has given up his true love and conforms to social expectation. In a sense, he has lost his true self, and the love celebrated here is meretricious and false. The parallels with Swan Lake, and Prince Siegfried, loving Odette in spite of her frightening enchantment, and yet deceived and held in thrall to Odile, are obvious. If the Pas de Deux of act 1 resemble the love at the lakeside in act 2 of the Tchaikovsky work, then this Pas d’Action is strongly analogous to the Black Swan Pas de Deux in act 3.

Ex. 21 La Bayadère Grand Pas d’Action: Intrada

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Unlike the Pas de Deux of act 1, which are alone and intimate, the Pas d’Action is a thrusting public duet with a substantial supporting cast. The act 1 duet is conceived as a simple, one movement adage, whereas this one is planned on the grandest scale, according to the structural formulae of the Classical ballet: intrada, adagio, variations and coda. 34. Intrada (Pas de Quatre) The poised, stylish and brilliant nature of the sequence is immediately established by the opening number (Allegretto, G major, 2/4). The four women who had featured in the Pas de Quatre (No. 27) come forward again, to music very similar to the earlier episode, and electrified by their formal classical dancing, big jumps, piqué attitude poses, and relevéegrand battiment moves. The music is again that of a polka, fervent sprung rhythms with a bright, crisp melody launching itself upwards in semitones from a sharpened c'' to a'', then descending three semitones to an emphatic triad, the descent and chord repeated, before the melody is resumed and gains new impulse from a little semiquaver flourish (f''-e''-d''-sharp-e''), before a da capo that is resolved in a quaver figure (seventh and sixth chords) and crotchet sixth. At the second subject, Solor and Gamsatti come forward in grands jetés and turning grands jetés, performed side by side, and criss-crossing each other. Musically the second subject, with rapidly rising semiquaver figurations, and a variety of chordal emphasis and chromatic spicing, raises the sense of excitement, this being intensified at the reprise by couching the first subject in octaves, the repeats, and the shimmering brilliance of the little coda. There is a crisp, almost mechanical quality, almost an arrogant flouncing, about the music and its triple repetition that reflects the virtuosity of the dancing. 35. Adage The slow movement which follows (Andante, C major, 12/8) is not only the centre of the duet, but the heart of this act, the triumph of a love that has rejected Nikia. The languid arpeggios (two to the bar) give rise to a moody melody initiated by a voluptuous full octave chord of E which then rises in dotted octave steps briefly to c'', a hesitant quality emphasized by tiny fermate between the chords, before falling slightly, rising again briefly to e''', falling, and then ascending by way of a smooth upward run (c'-c'') where the note is held much longer. The halting ascent begins again, this time over a rapidly pulsing bass line in thirds, reaching e''' which is again held for half the bar before being reinforced sforzando by a

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rushing upward run in chromatic demisemiquavers (e''-e''') and immediately repeated in truncated form, this time only to c''. This initiates another series of the dotted notes, rising this time to g''', with more of the demisemiquaver runs that lead right into a dolce second subject, a legato variant of the main melody played in rich octaves, and hardly rising above the treble clef. This is repeated in 6/8 and with much emotional chromaticism (the bass tremolos are full of diminished octaves, sevenths, fourths and thirds), with the melody thrice repeated, and rising higher on each occasion, the third seeing the octave doubling twice reaching a flattened e''', and the rapid runs again adding to the emotional surge.

Ex. 22 La Bayadère Grand Pas d’Action: Adage

Some unctuous modulation leads back to the truncated reprise of Tempo I, with accelerated movement in smooth octaves to the climactic g'''', and descent through six little demisemiquaver runs and pianissimo tremolos to the final sff chord. The four coryphées who framed the couple at their entry, now flank the central action as two trios, joined by two supporting dancers (“knights”). They accompany and fill out the central action, adding to the grandiose and somewhat statuesque ensemble. Just before the ending, the knights lift Gamsatti, and hold her high between them in a frieze of exultation as she triumphs in her victory. Significantly,

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it is these functionaries and not her betrothed who raise her aloft. The stately yet cautious movement of this piece reflects its public and celebratory nature. However, like the Black Swan Pas de Deux, which is so brilliant and attractive, but depicts a false situation, so this movement constitutes an antithesis to the private duet in act 1, where Solor danced in freedom with the chosen beloved, herself an exponent of self-sacrificing love, in formal and melodic exposition of transcendent feeling. 36. Variation 1 (Pas de Quatre) The impression is borne out by the succession of variations that now follow. The first of them (Allegretto, G major, 2/4) see the four female soloists return (as in Nos. 27 and 32) to perform another brief polka in parallel, with entrechats, runs and hops en pointe. The dance shares a generic similarity with the other two movements, a clear bright sound, with sharp rhythms and high, chattering semiquaver figurations. The effect is short, brilliant, and again somewhat automated, if charmingly distracting, even alienating, from the great emotional issues of the scenario.

Ex. 23 La Bayadère Grand Pas d’Action: Variation 1

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37. Variation 2 (Solor) The male variation (Allegro pesante, G major, 3/4) gives Solor his solo moment. He takes it up with bold affirmation, a quaver run (f'-a'') against a pulsing bass culminates in chord of B, and launches into a ponderous melody, octave chords in various triadic variants over a similar crotchet bass in emphatic, unhurried waltz time. The opening two bars have strong rests, again giving a slightly hesitant feel, this being counteracted by a little propulsive quaver (augmented G) prior to gathering energy in a lengthened minim seventh and a move up to e'''. The melody is repeated thrice before a symmetrical descending run (c'''-a'') ends the first section, and after gathering energy in two bars of quaver and crotchet repetition, moves into the second subject, a high twirling quaver figure (d'''-a''') followed after a short pause by two decisive octave chords. More turning figures reflect the dancer’s rotating and leaping movements, the octave melody returning in alt, with marcato descending trombones in octaves right down to G1 providing a huge surge of energy for the final accelerando and exhilarating quaver run up to g'''. The effect is brilliant and heartless, but fascinating in the pull between the stasis and elevation. (This was choreographed by Nikolai Legat in 1900, to music from Minkus, Le Papillon, 1874, and freshly choreographed in 1941 by Vakhtang Chabukiani.)

Ex. 24 La Bayadère Grand Pas d’Action: Variation 2

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38. Variation 3 (Gamsatti) The female variation (Allegro, A major, 3/4) sees Gamsatti take centre stage again, with some of the female corps de ballet coming forward to give her an even greater sense of importance and focus. Her music provides a counterpart to Solor’s: it is also a thrusting waltz, with big bold crotchet accompaniment, and with similar twisting figures and quaver runs. The opening motif has a little upward turning semiquaver figure followed by a seventh chord on b', and again like the male variation, with prolonged fermate, this time for two beats of the bar that gives the waltz rhythm unusual prominence. This, and the swirling harp writing, intensifies the propulsion and leads, after a repetition of the bar, into the upward quaver run (a'-g'') that culminates in a cadential chord. The melodic fermate focus attention on the dancer’s turning waltzing steps. There is a brief middle section, an octave legato variant of the melody with sustained minims in thirds and then triadic octave chords, leading to the upward run culminating on the chord g''-g''', and then e''-e''', before descending symmetrically back to the resumed main theme. The impression of crisp, precise virtuosity is compulsive. (This was choreographed in Petipa’s style by Pyotr Gusev in 1947, to Pugni’s music for the Variation of Queen Nisia in the Pas de Vénus from Le Roi Candaule, 1868.)

Fig. 53: La Bayadère Act 2: Gamsatti in the Pas d’Action

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Ex. 25 La Bayadère Grand Pas d’Action: Variation 3

39. Coda générale The glamour and vigour culminate in the coda (Allegro, Tempo di valse brilliante, D major, 3/4). The parrot ladies and Ethiopian children, in waltzing, crossing movements, cover the stage until the climactic entry of Gamsatti with the quartet of soloists from the Intrada. The focus of the dance is her triumphant sequences of fouettés. The music brings the series of vigorous waltzes to a new brash highpoint: powerful reiterated A chords in octaves, with an incrementally modulating treble line rising to a''', lead by way of a triple appoggiatura into yet another powerful waltz, the accompaniment in crotchets, the theme direct and bold, a quaver followed by a lengthened crotchet in sixths, another quaver followed by a minim in fifths, the pattern repeated, on the third occasion the minim becoming a lengthened fourth leading to a powerful rising quaver run that initiates the process again, the melody rising higher until e''', then starting all over again.

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Ex. 26 La Bayadère Grand Pas d’Action: Coda

The second subject, beginning with two fervent F chords, presents a variant of the main theme, a sequence of highpitched sixths and thirds compressing downwards, then opening out again four times, until a prolonged trill on c'' moves into a third subject. A C chord in octaves over a pulsing bass, followed by a crotchet c'', quaver e''-c'', minim b'', repeated, and leading into a series of high quaver figurations moving higher and hovering in repeated semitones above the clef (c'''-b'' the first time, e'''-d''' the second), provide the characteristic motif of the increasingly emphatic and exciting climax. It is repeated three times before the reprise of the first and second subjects. These, rising higher for effect, and moving into a final version of the quaver string figuration from the third subject, constitute the glittering coda (Più mosso). The bright energy of the music, its torrential progress and slightly

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vulgar vitality, the dazzling choreographic display it interprets, make it the appropriate expression of Gamsatti’s wilful and powerful personality, and the control over Solor it represents. 40. Scène Dansée de Nikia Pas de Bénédiction After the grandiose public gestures of the Pas d’Action, with its formal classical dance, the plot line is now more actively resumed in dramatic pantomimic nature with the reentry of Nikia (Allegro, b minor, 3/4). She is called upon in her official religious capacity to dance a blessing for the betrothed couple. The ironic situation, and the potentially tragic implications, are immediately felt in the complete change of tone in the music. Rising quaver triplets (d''-a'') over dark tremolo bass provide the gloomy accompaniment to her formal entry. The key of b minor sustains the dark mood as the double quaver figure is repeated nine times, before a descending pattern begins, augmented fifths in the bass intensifying the emotional charge. After two rising chords, a slow emphatic waltz tempo begins (Andante), with great harp chords. The waltz, celebrated with zestful brilliance in the previous scene, is now slowed down, into the plaintive mode of the csardas. Almost immediately, a cello begins a long melancholic melody, rising staccato quavers (b to f') linger at length on a semibreve g', descending by crotchet semitones (f''-e') to rest again in the lengthened minim f'. The melody is spun out twice, and on its third reprise varied, after the ascending quaver quintuplet and lengthened minim figure, by a responding inversely symmetrical quaver sextuplet, almost a trill (g'-f'-g'-a'-e'), then moving through a descending semitonal figure (quaver f' to minim e'), repeated a semitone lower, before finding repose in a little decorative appoggiatura that comes to rest on a lengthened minim b. The melody is repeated, before suddenly rising by way of the quaver run, used to initiate the sequence, to a French sixth (d'' to b''), which is answered by the quaver figure descending (d' down to sharpened a), then rising to minim f'. The French sixth is repeated, instilling an eerie unease in its minor mode, before the reprise of the melody. This chord was a feature of Nikia’s entry in act 1, and is obviously to be associated with her personality. The whole minor key musing conveys the heavy personal tension and dilemma of having to fulfil a solemn public office while hiding overwhelming personal inner grief. This recurrent theatrical situation of dramatic irony finds its best known examples in the court jester looking for his abducted daughter while joking with the courtiers in Rigoletto, or

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the broken-hearted husband having to play the comic cuckold while knowing that his wife has in fact betrayed him in Pagliacci. Pas de Panier (Pas de Réminiscence) The nervously rising quaver figures of the opening return (Più mosso), during which Gamsatti’s maid, Aiya, presents the Bayadère with a basket of flowers, supposedly a gift from Solor. The flowers, a symbol of love and devotion, distil a well of sadness, that initiates a new episode (Moderato, B major, 4/4) in which to a slow, rising crotchet arpeggio, the solo violin begins a wistful process of reminiscence, as the love music for Nikia and Solor from act 1 is delicately recalled, the emotional content growing with the melody cast in octaves, the arpeggiated crotchets of the bass enriched into thirds, sixths and fifths, and the sense of tragic loss and pain emphasized by the broken line, as if the memory were fatally slipping away. There is a strong reminiscence here of Giselle’s scene of growing abandonment at the end of act 1 of Adam’s ballet, as she recalls the vows exchanged with Albrecht. The melody rises to f''' before the huge cadential B chord. The anguish propels her into a frenzied dance (Allegro vivace, e minor, 2/4), a compulsive galop rhythm that continues the basic csardas structure of slow-tragic followed by fast-furious. The rhythm buoys up a frenetic and fragmented melody, a semiquaver triplet (g''-a''-g'') descending in quavers (f''-sharpened d''-b'') followed by an appoggiated triadic fifth, and after a repeat, continuing in semiquaver upward runs, and risingdescending quavers in sixths and octaves, sevenths and sixths, reflecting the rhythmic charge. Again as in Giselle, the music is fraught and frenetic, resolving in semiquaver figurations, before an enharmonic shift to E major and series of dotted rhythms, the French sixth again prominent in the bass, and this alternating with the rushing figurations until a trilled minim on g''' over a neutralized sixth, a double appoggiatura, followed by double quaver chords in E, results in a long fermata, and another enharmonic modulation, this time back to e minor. The semiquaver figuration over tremolo French sixth leads to an even longer pause, as Nikia, drawing out flowers for Solor, is bitten by a viper hidden in the basket. The similarity with Giselle’s stabbing is striking. The musical sequence is repeated, and moves straight into the passage of heavy chromatic dotted rhythms culminating in two weighty B chords, followed by a pregnant pause. Pas de Serpent (Scène de Folie) et Mort de Nikia Now the music launches precipitately (Allegro, E minor, 4/4) into an anguished delirium as Nikia struggles with the horror and the poison

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begins to take her over. A prolonged sixth (f'-b'-e') which then rushes upwards in a quaver run (d' sharp to d'' sharp), over tremolos with recurrent augmented fifths, initiates the great descending octave chords of the Grand Brahmin’s rejected and vengeful passion (a minim followed by three descending crotchets), repeated four times before being taken over by the trombones in low bass octaves. The theme of fatally thwarted love, in its characteristic falling lengthened crotchet-quaver semitones, rising incrementally, appears only to be swamped again by the Brahmin’s vengeance. Decisive dotted chords (quaver-minim) interrupt the various repetitions, finally dominating the flow of the music completely: a huge B chord sees a great ascent in octaves leading to the emphatic double quaver chords that initiate a long silence, which is then accentuated by an ominous bassoon figure in thirds and dull thuds in the low bass.

Ex. 27 La Bayadère Grand Scène de Nikia

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The Brahmin, in a last desperate attempt, offers Nikia an antidote if she will be his, but she refuses. Thin pianissimo tremolos in treble and bass grow in crescendo until they open into a prolonged octave treble semibreve chord of E over a bass chord on F. Two more low quaver chords are followed by silence, and then a huge semibreve chord reducing down to a French sixth before Nikia dies. There is an upward rush of strings from b to g''', more silence, then chords of B and E lead to the extended and low final e minor cadence, the looming presence of the High Priest once again foiled in love, but exultant in vengeance. ACT 3 [Act 4—The Kingdom of the Shades] 41. Introduction et Scène Act 1 took place in the morning in the Temple, in circumstances of privacy and seclusion; act 2 was a formal and more crowded affair, in the more public but privileged forum of the brightly lit palace; act 3 unfolded in the light of day and the glare of royal celebration. Act 4 moves into the world of night and dreams, into fantasy and the realm of the spirit in contemplation of the lost, the elusive, the unattainable, the ideal. The famous Kingdom of the Shades constitutes a major expression of the Romantic yearning and search for the transcendent, and remains an almost mystical artistic manifestation, certainly one of the high points of the history of the classical ballet. Solor is seen alone in his chamber at night, restless, filled with grief and disillusionment (Agitato, g minor, 4/4). Over rustling strings (triplets playing g–b-g) the theme of tragic thwarted love rises mournfully. It is extended, and rises to f'', falling back to f', starting again in emotional octaves, the bass changing to rapid pulsations. The melody wends its lonely way again, using the sustained note and descending triplet of the dying fall of the melody as the basis for a fervent threefold rising and then falling development of the theme, over pulsing quavers in thirds and sixths (including the significantly recurring French sixth on the first rising), until it is resolved in a series of sustained notes on octaves, slowly descending from b''-b' to e''-e'). The principal theme is now twice repeated, piano e dolce, then poco rallentando until a lengthened minim chord (full treble octave B over triadic bass octave G). Solor’s old ally the Fakir now interrupts his melancholy reveries, entering to his characteristic motif in dotted rhythms, all in the bass. He has his own remedy for Solor’s problems, and to a step-like quaver motif rising up from the deep, E to c, twice repeated, he presents the troubled

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warrior with a hookah, opens a basket and begins an act of snakecharming, as his motif rounds off the piece on a low chord of F.

Fig. 54: La Bayadère: The Kingdom of the Shades score cover

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Ex. 28 La Bayadère The Fakir and the Hookah (Pas Comique)

Fig. 55: La Bayadère Act 3: Solor with hookah

42. Scène (Le Charmeur de serpents) The Fakir begins his art while Solor smokes the hookah (Moderato, B-flat major, 2/4). An hypnotic atmosphere is immediately established by a humming bass, a pedal point of B and a drone in thirds (b-d') to which is added an ostinato, an appoggiated f broken every two bars by a fermata. A languorous clarinet solo begins on the third bar, a semiquaver turn (f'-c'), followed by a lengthened f', rising in quavers from f' to e', descending through another semiquaver turn (d'-c') and then a lengthened b', with the melody then repeated six times. It eventually lifts to f'' where it is held. A lively middle section then ensues (Più mosso, D major), a crisp sprung rhythm (quaver-triad) supporting a melody made up of semiquaver figuration, beginning on f'', descending to a', rising to c'' followed by two quaver figures (g''-a'), and then developed in a series of chromatic runs and descending Scotch snaps, until a long trill on d'' heralds the enharmonic resumption of the first subject, played by the high strings, with a continuation of the sprung bass. Solor by now has succumbed to delirium

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as a result of the opiate and the hypnotic ritual of the charming. This delightful reverie is also called a Pas comique.

Fig. 56: La Bayadère: Stage design for the Kingdom of the Shades (1980)

Fig. 57: La Bayadère: The Kingdom of the Shades (1963)

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43. Grande Scène du Rêve (Sortie des Bayadères) What now ensues is the very heart of the ballet, the highpoint of Minkus’s achievement, and one of Petipa’s choreographical masterpieces, and the very acme of the Romantic-Classical ballet. A languorous harp cadenza, an upward chromatic run from A to a'', A to c'', followed by seven descending double octave cascades from e''' to A, establishes a new mystical atmosphere. Solor sinks into a drugged sleep, and dreams a paradisal vision of the spiritual world in which he is visited by the shade of Nikia and the deceased bayadères. Through a translucent blue light, a slow procession of thirty-six white clad figures begins a slow and formal descent down a gentle slope, each following the exact gestures of their leader (Moderato, D major, 4/4). The music begins to unfold a vast tonal fresco, double triplet harp arpeggios providing a sinuous rocking bass for a high ethereal melody in violins and flutes conceived in three gently descending steps, double appoggiature initiating a crotchet-quaver figure, a triadic sixth descending by a semitone in the top note (b'') to a triadic fifth (a''), the root and middle notes remaining constant in oblique motion (f'' and d'' to f'' and d'') to the second inversion. After a tiny pause, the same figure is repeated, down a semitone (g'' to e''), this time the crotchet triadic seventh compressing to a triadic sixth, another fermata repeating the process, and another semitonal descent (e'' to d'') with the triadic seventh compressing to the triadic sixth in the first inversion. A tiny pause leads to a rising semiquaver triplet (c''-d''-e'') falling a semitone to d''. This pattern is repeated with semitonal descent (g''-f'', e''-d'', c''-b'') the second time, with the third triad a fourth compressing to a third. The third reprise sees the sixth compressing to a fifth (f''-e'') only for the pattern to be broken by the premature appearance of the triplet semiquaver run, the second bar seeing a return to the opening figure of the melody followed by another semiquaver run g''-sharp to a'', raising the emotional content which is reinforced by the fourth reprise where the top note of the opening seventh is now d''' compressing to c''' in the following sixth, and leading in the second bar to a minim trill on a'', ascending by way of a double grace note to a'''. The whole eight bar contour is now repeated, giving an impression of an arc of long melody, endlessly spun out (Section A). Barely discernible adjustments to harmony, tonality and pitch add subtle variety and ensure an almost imperceptible transition into the second subject. The bass changes to a pulsing quaver figure in octave triads, over which a simple melodic line (in the lower strings and woodwind with

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Ex. 29 La Bayadère Entry of the Shades

splashes of harp) is unfolded: a crotchet d'' descends by a sixth to a lengthened f' rising back again to d'' semiquaver, sinking by a semitone to a crotchet c'' which itself descends a semitone to a quaver b'', followed by a tiny fermata. The second bar sees the same pattern, a crotchet b'' descending by a semitone to a lengthened quaver a'', rising to semiquaver b' to a lengthened crotchet c''. The same pattern is repeated twice with subtle variants of tone and pitch before the whole melody, rising to the high stave, and embellished with double grace notes, moves into a resolving modality (Section B). The whole eight bar process is then repeated, this leading into the reprise of the whole A and the B sections. The bass resumes its rocking arpeggios for the third subject: in this more fragmented development, a high crotchet f''' (initiated by the low appoggiatura e'') on the woodwind, is followed by the two quavers d'' separated by a semiquaver sextuplet (on the harp), a variant trill, the high f''' repeated, and the quavers, now f'', separated by an upward run in sextuplets, recurs thrice with alternations of tone and pitch, until

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dissolving into three bars of harp variations on the sextuplet figure. Two bars of treble harp chords over the ceaseless arpeggios lead to a truncated repeat of section A, the reprise of the opening bars varied harmonically, with recurrent thirds and fourths, and a preference for the second inversion. The whole movement finally comes to its conclusion in a series of graced trills, rising by thirds from d'', to f'', to a'', before the final sustained D major cadence. All the bayadères are now assembled. The scene has unfolded as a sustained musical tone poem, the different sections seamlessly woven into one another (A-A-B-B-A-B-C-C-A), conveying a sense of unending melody, of remote, ethereal beauty and dreamy detachment. 44. Valse lento Four rising harp arpeggios (d-d''), followed by a small cadenza figure of incrementally rising quaver figures punctuated by three octave D chords (d-d') and culminating in an arpeggiated chord (d-d'''), provide the transition to a general ensemble for all the bayadères, dancing in eight lines of four (Allegretto, G major, 6/8). Their dance in fact turns out to be a gentle, slow waltz, the rather high melody rising (commencing on a lengthened crotchet on d''), then falling to a quaver on c''-sharp, rising by semiquaver to e'', sinking by way of a crotchet semitone to d'', and then rising by a third to a crotchet of g''.

Ex. 30 La Bayadère Waltz of the Bayadères

After the briefest of fermate, exactly the same pattern is repeated in a downward movement (g''-a''), in symmetrical inverse. This gentle melancholic melody (A) is repeated three times before a variant on the woodwind begins the contrasting middle section, which, rather surprisingly, turns out to be the melody of the cadenza figuration used in the harp prelude to the waltz (B). This is repeated four times before the sixfold resumption of the opening melody (A), the fourth and fifth repeats in emotional octave doubling, and the last sinking low in pitch and

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eventually trailing off via a gentle rising semiquaver run to the final pianissimo G major chord. The gentle mystical nature of the bayadères is perfectly fixed tonally. 45. Scène The personal element comes to the fore as Nikia emerges from the bayadères and joins Solor for the first time since act 1 (Allegro, a minor, 2/2). At last united, the music is full of tragic reminiscence, as the motif of fated love wells up over a tremolo bass, its low arching contour beginning a fervent upward movement on its repeat, eventually rising in little broken emotional triplets to a climactic chord, enharmonically augmented to D. The theme is now played piano in alt in C major, held aloft over surging harp arpeggios, each part of the melody repeated twice, the third and last reprise moving the pitch to e''', and reaching another climactic chord in D, which is broken into descending dotted chords, twice repeated, and then rising in a series of fervent punctuations, of alternating bass triad and treble octave dotted chords ascending to e''' where the theme is held, briefly and mournfully developed over tremolos in the reasserted a-minor, again finding climactic expression in the recurring dotted chords.

Ex. 31 La Bayadère Appearance of Nikia

46. Adage The scene is now set for Nikia and Solor’s great formal, Classical pas de deux (Andantino, A major, 2/4). Rising from a power point of a fifth (A-e), a slow Alberti bass (g-b'-g) provides the barely rocking accompaniment for an extended violin solo. The basic cell of the melody is very restricted (e'' crotchet-d'' sharp quaver-f'' semiquaver-e'' lengthened crotchet). This basic motive is played a sixth above, with grace notes, repeated five times, before rising to f''' and descending in a little semiquaver run back to the home e''. The whole sequence is repeated before launching into the second subject, a series of upward runs (a'-sharp to trilled e'' crotchet, leaping up

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to trilled e''' crotchet), the same figure repeated (a''-sharp to e''''), over slow pulsing bass triads. The upward run appears a third time (d''-sharp to a'), before rising in semitones up to e''' again in trilled crotchets, and then descending in feathery double descent demisemiquaver runs. The reprise of the A section begins a sixth below on g', and is characterized by semiquaver decorations of the melodic cell, eventually evaporating into an airy cadenza of double descending figurations, from e''', down to a, back up again to e'''. The characteristic timbre and style of the violin infuses the mood of this love duet with delicate passion, and bright clear ecstasy.

Ex. 32 La Bayadère Grand Pas de Deux

47. Andante Now all the bayadères come forward in a general movement of communal support and blessing (Andante, G major, 6/8). The generous, rippling arpeggios immediately instill a sense of serene action. The moment the melody begins in the third bar on a sixth with its rich octave doubling, one is taken back to the music of the prelude to act 1. This is the principal theme of the whole ballet, a melody of calm assurance, of rising feeling, of deep melancholia, and yet fervent in its contained passion and emotional upward pull. It is the motif of tragic sacrificial love embodied in the character of Nikia, and distils the symbolic heart of the story and

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Ex. 33 La Bayadère Andante

music. The melody is repeated in second inversion, the sweeping upward gravitation growing in intensity in the octave doubling and the pulsing bass. On the third reprise the melody is enriched even further, in great chordal statements and much emotional augmentation, eventually rising to f''''-sharp, as in the prelude. There is suddenly a quickening of the tempo into a second faster section in distinct waltz time, an upwards sliding demisemiquaver run (d''-f''-a''') reaching a d''' quaver sforzando and then descending in small semitonal steps of semiquaver-quaver (c'''-b'', a''-g''), separated by pronounced pauses, the pattern repeated in first inversion, and gaining a forwards propulsion by three rapidly repeated demisemiquaver quadruple runs, each rising incrementally to a decisive quaver (c''', e''', a'''), the whole being repeated before the slower resumption of the principal theme which is given three times in foreshortened form, rising to a climax, falling away, and finally culminating in an extended cadential sequence of dotted chords (triads and octaves) in the treble over octave tremolos in the bass. The effect is one of immense stateliness and great but controlled emotion. 48. Variation 1 A series of variations now follow, for the soloists among the bayadères. The first (Allegro, D major, 2/4) is a polka. The bouncy accompaniment (quaver bass note-triad) launches a brisk melody characterized by a semiquaver triplet (f''-g''-f'') slurring into a four quaver rising figure (e''sharp-f''-a''-g'') which forms the basis of the melodic development that follows. On the sixth repeat, the quaver figure is doubled in octaves, and descends f''+ f''' to a'+ a'', then rising by way of a double extension of the

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upwards rising triplet figure to a sforzando chord of E, this middle section being repeated in variety of pitch three times before a breathless resumption of the opening movement played più mosso.

Ex. 34 La Bayadère Variation 1

49. Variation 2 The second soloist is announced by a small rising fanfare that launches immediately into a fast waltz (Allegro, G major, 2/4). A staccato motif of four notes in double descent (e''-a'', f''-c'') over rapid waltz rhythm is repeated four times before culminating in a legato figure in octaves (quaver-lengthened quaver-semiquaver) falling in semitones, lengthened crotchet rising by a third, also repeated four times, before the reprise of the opening sequence. This time the legato octave figure continues into a passionate middle section, the waltz gaining in fervour through the interpolation of little propulsive triplet figures, familiar from the preceding variation. The opening sequence is now repeated, leading by way of an upward rushing semiquaver figure to the three decisive bars of the cadence.

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Ex. 35 La Bayadère Variation 2

50. Variation 3 The third coryphée immediately begins her solo (Moderato, D major, 2/4), the spiky bass note-triad buoying up a heavily dotted melody in a reiterated semiquaver-demisemiquaver-semiquaver staccato, with fermate separating slurred upward notes in a cyclical movement up and down the scale (a', moving by steps of semitones and thirds up to d''', down to d', then starting all over again). After a series of repeated b' and a'’s, the tempo accelerates, the dotted theme moving above the stave in increasingly reiterated figurations, in what amounts to a march stretta. After reaching g''', a semiquaver upward rush (d to d'''), leads to brief crescendo-restatement of the dotted theme, the semiquavers thickened into triads, and the final chord.

Ex. 36 La Bayadère Variation 3

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51. Variation 4 The recurrent dotted chords now lead to a violin cadenza (a varied downward descent in semiquavers, e''' to e, that heralds another duet for Solor and Nikia (Allegretto, A major, 6/8). Over a slow waltz rhythm, the violin unfolds a tranquil melody, which like the Andante earlier, is notable for its narrow range (crotchet c'-quaver e'-crotchet f'-quaver c'-crotchet d'quaver a'-lengthened crotchet g'). Only after this has been repeated three times, does development of the melody begin, a rise to lengthened b'' followed by delicate quaver embroidery, terminating in a long e'-d'-sharp. This eight-bar sequence is repeated, rising in the fourteenth bar to e'' before descending by quavers to a minim d'. At this point the tempo is accelerated (mosso), a brisk upward staccato semiquaver run (d'-c''') terminating in e''', followed by dotted quaver rising a semitone to f'', falling to semiquaver c'', rising to quaver d''', and then immediately by a demisemiquaver upward rush (e'-e'''). This sequence is repeated four times, before another tempo acceleration to vivace sees a cascade of rushing semiquavers run up and down the scale (from d''' down to g'', then up to e''''), finding a moment of retarding repose in a four-quaver figure marked by extreme octave leaps (a'''-a''-c''''-c'''-e''''-e'''), the passage repeated twice before the final quaver bar in A. The delicate and fluent violin solo, the radiant A major tonality, ensure a continuity with the earlier Andante, and give the mystical union of the lovers its own special tinta.

Ex. 37 La Bayadère Variation 4

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52. Coda 1 The bayadères come forward again to begin what is in fact the coda of the Grand Pas de Deux, and of the whole ballet itself (Allegro con moto, D major, 6/8). A pulsating waltz rhythm provides the trajectory for an impassioned melody that begins on the third bar in thirds: a lengthened f'+ a' rises to the tonic (d''+ f''), before returning to the dominant where it is held for a lengthened crotchet on f' before rising by quaver run to e'', the upward propulsion emphatically stressed after a tiny pause by a demisemiquaver quadruplet run to quaver b'', and then by a similar triplet run up to e'''. The melody begins again, this time descending from the third e''+ g'' down to e' before rising once more via the emphatic run to a'''. It follows the same course, the upward runs now breaking into a falling pattern of staccato quaver figures (g''-e''', e''-e''', c''-a'', a'-a''), before the principal melody is repeated, in fifths and sixths and descending octaves. It races up the scale again, falling to a variant of the spiky quaver figure, before the final high octave recasting of the melody which surges up to an impassioned a'''' before the cadence. The effect is one of torrential and exhilarating emotional exultation. There is a sudden change of key, and to powerful quaver octave chords playing over the same strong waltz rhythm, separated by strong fermate, Solor begins a solo variation. A small climax in dotted semiquaver-quaver A chords (c''-c''') is immediately followed by five octave quavers (g''sharp-g''-e''-e''-flat), the same sequence repeated, before the dotted chords, leading ever upwards, plunge into the downward octaves and surging concluding variant of the coda (Meno mosso).

Ex. 38 La Bayadère Coda 1

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53. Coda 2 (Finale—Apothéose) The final section is precipitately launched (Più mosso, quasi presto, D major, 2/4). The dotted figure of the first coda reappears in double quaver figures with little fermate (a'-a'-sharp-a'-b') in incrementally rising pitch, and in treble-bass unison, the galop breaking into strongly sprung bass triads, over which a long crotchet octave chord (f''-f''') descending via a six-quaver figure (f''' to f''), moves downwards in six double descending light octave dyads. The pattern is repeated four times, before the reprise of the unison dotted opening galop, the sequence alternating four times before a Vivo section leads by way of a series of bright reiterated quaver triplets above the stave and over chords in augmented fifths, to a final breathless rendition of the descending quaver figure twice repeated without the descending separated chords. The galop figure leads into the shimmering reiterated quaver triplets again, this time over strong bass chords in sixths and octaves, two great crotchet chords in D and F leading into the grand apotheosis: tremolo bass in octaves over which the theme of the prelude is unfolded in huge high octave minim chords to reach a lengthened chord of D, before the dotted chords in fifths and sixths, rising by a third, and finally ascending to the concluding cadence—huge semiquaver-semibreve chords of D fortissimo. The Pavlova version of the Kingdom of the Shades kept at Covent Garden, and recorded by Richard Bonynge, provides Minkus’s own music for the closing moments (see below).

Ex. 39 La Bayadère Coda 2

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Act 4 [Act 5—The Wrath of the Gods] In the original scenario, a further act follows. This had not been used until the revival by Makarova, reconstituted and largely re-composed by John Lanchbery. The full reconstruction of the 1900 production by Sergei Vikharev at the Maryinsky Theatre then followed in July 2002. In the great Temple of Brahma guests arrive for the blessing of the marriage of Solor and Gamsatti. During the ceremony he is haunted by the vision of Nikia which he alone can see. The gods, infuriated by the fate of Nikia, destroy the temple: a tempest is followed by an earthquake that kills everyone in the temple. The spirits of Nikia and Solor are reunited in eternal love. The Original Score 54. March (1. Allegro, C major, alla breve)* (= no. 15) This is the march that opens act 1 scene 2. There are indications for the curtain, entry of the Rajah, his daughter, the Bayadères, Solor and the Brahmin. 55. Pas de Guirlandes (2. Andantino, A major, 4/4—Allegro moderato, A major, 3/4) The Dance of the Lotus Blossoms is a garland dance for 24 maiden attendants, with its sprung rhythm, emphatic second beats, and narrow melody characterized by descending triplet figures. 56. Intrada (3. Pas d’action. Allegretto, F major, 2/4) (= no. 34) The great centre-piece of act 2 (in the 1941 Kirov production by Vladimir Ponomaryov and Vakhtang Chabukiani) finds its original location here. A variation for Solor is built into the reprise of the opening melody.

The Ballets of Ludwig Minkus

Ex. 40a La Bayadère Garland Dance (1)

Ex. 40b La Bayadère Garland Dance (2)

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57. Pas de Deux (4. Adagio, C major, 12/8) (= no. 35) These two pieces are the same as the big Pas de Deux for Solor and Gamsatti in act 2. In this original version the Shade of Nikia frequently intrudes into the wedding ceremony. (The score contains no solo variations for Gamsatti and Solor. The reconstruction retains Variations 2 & 3 [nos. 37 & 38] with the Soviet choreography.) 58. Coda (5. Coda Allegro non troppo, F major, 6/8) This piece is not used in the shorter Soviet version. 59. Finale (6. Scène finale Allegro, D major/b minor/D major, 6/8) The theme of thwarted love emerges over a tremolo triad that suddenly culminates in dotted chords. Nikia’s motif now emerges in a b minor variant over a b tremolo that becomes a chromatic ascending-descending surge (B-b to F-f and down again) on the trombones, as tempest and earthquake begin their destructive work. The treble theme rises from a augmented third (f'-sharp-d') to f''-f''', and recurs three times, alternating with a semiquaver chromatic rise (b' to e''') until a series of four high descending chromatic quaver octaves (g''-g''' down to b'-b'') and rising again in broken dotted figures all over a series of diminished sevenths and German sixths as the cataclysm reaches its climax. All gives way to huge reiterated major chords, over strong descent by the trombones into the low bass, the music of the prelude returning in thematic metamorphosis, rising in powerful upward surging contours, in great extended octave minim chords, reinforced by brilliant trumpet figures rising four times in thirds. Having reached the heights, the melody is caressingly repeated in slow emotional format with a surging accompaniment, before the return of the great descending brass chords leads into a reprise, the trumpet harmonies cutting through the very considerable orchestral tutti that moves into the sustained and climatic concluding D-chord. The eloquence and power is vested in the moving melodic variant and its harmonies. A sequence of three modulations from the tonic to the dominant forms the deep structure, the tonic slipping four times either into the seventh or the submediant in rising sequences. A transition from superdominant to supertonic governs the progression seventh-submediantsupertonic-dominant, before the final tonic-seventh-tonic.

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Fig. 58: La Bayadère: The earthquake in act 4 (1877)

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Ex. 41 La Bayadère The Earthquake

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Fig. 59: La Bayadère Apotheosis: the transfiguration of Nikia and Solor

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Ex. 42 La Bayadère Finale and Apotheosis

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The Lanchbery Arrangement/Reconstruction 53. Alla Marcia Solor wakes from his dream. The Rajah’s servants enter bearing gifts, and conduct him to the temple to marry Gamsatti. To fleeting music recalling the opening of the triumphal march at the beginning of act 2, he follows them, lost in his own reflections. 54. Vivo (= no. 30) In the empty Temple. A golden idol comes to life, and dances. The Mazurka from act 2 is transferred here. 55. Solenne The bridal party enter, and the marriage ceremony begins. The great solemn chords used at the presentation of Gamsatti in act 2 are played again, to be followed immediately by the motif of the High Priest, both in its chordal statement and more sinister reduction of menacing bassoons. 56. Moderato con moto Nikia’s shade appears, and dances sorrowfully. She is seen only by Gamsatti, who, oppressed by this haunting, runs in terror to her father. Nikia dances to cello solo with answering woodwind passages, reminiscent of the long Pas de Serpent at the end of act 3. 57. Allegro (= no. 19) The Rajah orders the ceremony to be hastened, and the couple are blessed by the bayadères, carrying little lamps in the palms of their hands. Nikia’s Pas de Voile from act 2 to Pugni’s music is transferred here as an ensemble piece for the temple dancers. 58. Vivo assai As the Chief Brahmin joins the hands of Solor and Gamsatti, great tremors begin, as an earthquake causes the temple to collapse. The motif of tragic love sounds, this leading to a series of sad reminiscences of the love music for Nikia and Solor in act 1. Rapid figurations and woodwind runs depict

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the tremors, interspersed with sad recollection of the love themes, leading to the entry music for Solor in act 1, and a sustained recounting of the confrontation music between Nikia and the High Priest in act 1. 59. Finale (Grand Apothéose) The peaks of the Himalayas appear above the ruins of the temple and palace, and the shade of Nikia is seen gliding through the air with Solor at her feet, gazing up at her in rapture. The terrestrial tumult increases, to be overtaken by a rather melancholy transmutation of the motifs of tragic love. The dramatic coherence of the restored last act is given positive critical consideration by Mary Clarke: “In the La Bayadère the surprise is the Act IV wedding... No longer a stumpy remnant of an act no one quite remembers, it is now a varied ricercar, and with all the ballet’s narrative and expressive motifs—life and death, prose and poetry, pageant and pas de deux—tightly interwoven, compressed, a fugue stated in tutus. There is nothing in ballet quite like it” (Dancing Times [September 2003].) A contradictory but thoughtful reflection on the dramatic compression of the traditional performing version is provided by Laura Jacobs: “A tighter Bayadère may be a better Bayadère. For where The Sleeping Beauty makes continuity, life, its theme, thereby benefiting from duration, a horizontal flow, La Bayadère is all vows and venom, a triangle between love, murder and eternity. The distillation that has occurred over the decades, the cutting away of explanatory scenes set to shallow music (as when the ghost of Nikia appears in Solor’s room before his dream of her begins), makes for steeper narration, drop off, a terrain more in tune with this ballet of pitch and abyss” (The New Criterion, 21:1 [September 2002]).

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Fig. 60: La Bayadère Act 2: The Procession—the Golden Idol

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PAQUITA Act 1 Pas de Trois 1. Intrada 2. Variation 3. Variation (Pugni) 4. Variation 5. Variation (Adam) 6. Coda (tempo di marcia) Act 4 Scene 2 Grand Pas 1. Introduction (Polonaise) 2. Intrada (Mazurka) 3. Adagio 4. Variation (tempo di bolero) 5. Variation (alla polacca) 6. Coda

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The musical examples are from the piano scores Pas de Trois (de ‘Paquita’). Arrangement et Réduction pour Piano seul de Daniel Stern (Paris: Gérard Billaudot, 1971) and the Grand Pas from ‘Paquita’. Arranged by Peter March (Godesberg: Rob. Forberg-P. Jurgenson, Musikverlag, 1976). After the two full ballets, the work by which Minkus is best remembered is the Grand Pas from Deldevez’s Paquita. The piece remains very popular as an independent dance divertissement, and only in recent times since the revival of the full ballet has it been seen in the context for which it was originally conceived, when Petipa staged the work at the Maryinsky Theatre in 1881. Minkus’s additions were conceived in two parts, a Pas de Trois for act 1 and a Grand Pas for the celebratory finale of act 2. The two sections have been performed separately and together in various permutations, and most effectively together as a small independent abstract work. Minkus responded to the challenge to write additional music for Deldevez’s score with great sensitivity, as he did for the dance inserted in act 1 of Adam’s Giselle. The Pas de Trois in particular shows a real adjustment to the style of the 1840s without ever becoming pastiche. PAQUITA: Pas de Trois 1. Intrada (Allegro, A major, 2/4) After an arresting upward rushing introductory figure in the dominant E, a cheery little polka follows, a sprung duple figure (bass note A with answering dyad e-c') buoys up a perky rising figure in fourths and thirds, characterized by a skipping semiquaver in the first beat, and staccato treatment of the second. The melodic contour is the usual four-bar extension, the first two rising (e' to d''), the second two falling (a'' to e''), with the resumed e' of the repeat completing the tonal arch. The third and fourth repetitions are varied by chromatic sharpening of the first two notes of the melody and subtle thickening by thirds. An eight-bar transition sees the melodic contour inverted over a bass drone in thirds and fifths, surmounted with a rising and falling cello counterpoint. A brief fanfare (in triple octave using the melodic rhythm), sees the melody twice repeated in the reprise, with chromatic tinting and thirds, and the fanfare figure transferred to the bass in fifths (predominantly root positions) now à la polacca, with the final descent of the melody in octaves.

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Ex. 1 Paquita Pas de Trois: Intrada

Ex. 2a Paquita Pas de Trois: Variation 1 (1)

Ex. 2b Paquita Pas de Trois: Variation 1 (2)

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2. Variation (Allegretto, D major, 6/8) The first variation immediately establishes a tranquil, even dreamy mood, with shallow upwards rising arpeggios (c-f-b) creating a hypnotically repetitious bass line over which the static drone-like melody of octaves in F (f'-f'') is unfolded. The crotchet-quaver pattern is repeated identically five times before descending and then rising in three semitonal quaver steps, a triplet figure that recurs as the chief feature of the melody. The tonic is maintained all the while by lengthened treble minims (d'') (A1). The second part of the four-bar extension sees the line rise by three semitones before repeating the progression of the last two bars of the opening melody, the descending semitonal sequence enriched harmonically in the first and second inversion (A2), before a repeat of the whole melody (A1+A2). The contrasting B section is in b minor, with the arpeggios transformed into a delicate waltz rhythm, and a variant of the melody, the octaves raised upwards (f''-f''') and characterized by threefold recurrence of the semitonal triplet in falling figures, varied by a grace note, and strengthened by a flexing figure in thirds on the fourth bar. The B is repeated, before the reprise of A in its entirety. 3. Variation (Allegretto, D major, 4/4) The second variation is a fleet scherzo-like dance, a bouncing bass rhythm (bass d with triadic answering sixth in second inversion, a-d'-f') serving as trampoline for a busy four-bar semiquaver staccato flute figure, rising and falling from a'' to g''' down to c'' to two lingering quavers that take it back to a''. The melody is repeated twice, passes through a più lento middle section variant, then on to the reprise and the coda. Here the melodic variant dances and skips in alt, the tonal range held in a narrow interval, the bass raised by an octave (a) and lightened to answering thirds and fourths with sustained harmony on the lower strings, before a final crescendo with the prancing intervals ranging from d''' down to d', then rising in a long chromatic run back up to d'' and the final quaver bars.

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Ex. 3 Paquita Pas de Trois: Variation 2 (Pugni)

4. Variation (Moderato, A major, 6/8) Full rhythmic octave chords (a to a'), staccato and with quaver fermate, rather like the strumming of a guitar, launch a spiky quaver melody on the dominant, characterized by wide leaps—initially of a sixth and then of an octave, with a rising trill of a third on the third beat, the quaver pauses of the bass now transferred to the melody, and adding to its jerky character. The rhythm in the meantime has assumed the triple time of a fast waltz. The first part of the melody ascends from e'' to c'', to rise and fall twice before moving down to e' (A). This buoyant arch then rises consistently but sinuously in the second four-bar extension, from g' to c''', with a semiquaver skip on the second beat (B). The whole is repeated before a middle section, with repeated semiquaver turns by way of variation on the trill, leads into a descending variant of the B passage. The semiquaver skip moves into a climactic transition of two bars, with reiterated chords in first inversion in crescendo, launching the exciting reprise of A and B, the turns of the transition leading to the final part of B in rising octaves and the closing A chords.

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Ex. 4 Paquita Pas de Trois: Variation 3

5. Variation (Moderato, D major, alla breve) This variation is actually music from Adam’s Le Diable à quatre. It is a typical male variation, very earthy and forthright, dominated by dotted rhythms. Much of the impact is generated by persistent use of thirds and octaves. The opening theme continues the jerky movement of the preceding variation, which moves along the top line of the treble stave. The second part is a series of rising and falling staccato quavers, also hovering about the treble line. The whole is twice repeated before moving into the coda, which is built on a repetition of the opening theme in octaves, followed by a heavily dotted variant on the opening theme in different harmonic thickenings. The harmony throughout is arpeggiated or homophonic.

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Ex. 5 Paquita Pas de Trois: Variation 4 (Adam)

6. Coda (Tempo di marcia, D major, 2/4) A brief low fanfare on the dominant A, unusually in decrescendo, leads into a vigorous duple rhythm (shifting between a bass note of A or d, with answering chord in thirds or second inversion). A fleet melody is bounced off two initial semiquavers (b'-b', a'-a'), before falling to the tonic d', then lifting in a quaver figure rising in thirds to d'', while at the same time remaining rooted on d'. A series of the semiquaver doublets sees the contours descending to an octuplet on e'. The basic four bar pattern thus established, it is repeated in various permutations of tone and harmony. It then descends via two more duplets to a and the quaver figure that remains rooted on a, while at the same time rising by a third, a fifth and a seventh to g'. The melody is repeated four times before essaying the middle section (meno vivo), a series of falling variations on the theme, all structured on the semiquaver doublets and the quaver figure, the latter eventually rising in octaves to a transitional episode in which the figure moves in the bass while cascading down in the treble in a series of chromatically inflected second inversions, gathering strength in two bars of heavily accented double octave iterations (molto ritenuto). It then returns to the A section which is played twice in octave doubling before the peroration. This sees the quaver figure repeated four times in falling and rising treble configurations of first and second inversions with chromatic seasoning (a sharpening of G switching the tonality briefly to A) and a heavy variant of the bass, until the climactic reappearance of the semiquaver doublets in the closing bars. This piece, part march part galop, moves with tremendous élan while retaining a mercurial fleetfootedness, and brings the Pas de

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Trois to an exhilarating conclusion. The conception of these dances, their light, cheerful mood and precise style, their buoyant spirits and tonal integration (the pattern A major-D major-A major-D major twice repeated) give them a special unity and breezy effect.

Ex. 6 Paquita Pas de Trois: Coda

PAQUITA: Grand Pas The second part of Minkus’s contribution to Paquita, the Grand Pas, or Pas de Six, is the more famous section, and contains some of the composer’s most recognized music. Coming at the end of the ballet, it is intended to exercise a climactic celebratory effect, as both structural and emotional highpoint of the action. The music rises to this different requirement with real imagination and flair. 1. Introduction (Polonaise) In the full version of the ballet, the final divertissement begins with a preliminary showpiece for the children’s corps, a stately polonaise in which the courtly formality of the dance is imitated in miniature. 2. Intrada (Tempo di mazurka, D major, 3/4) The formal Pas de Six begins with an extended mazurka. A striking fanfare in which a rising figure in quavers is thrice repeated, each time higher, first by a fifth, then by an octave, provides the opening theme (A). This leads straight into a leisurely unfolded melody in triple time, three

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crotchets, falling-rising semitones lifting by third from f'' to b'', then descending in quavers in two echoing runs, each a semitone lower than the other, down to c'', and then rising a semitone to rest on minim d'' that is at last in the tonic.

Ex. 7 Paquita Grand Pas: Intrada

The second half of the melody completes a symmetry, this time three quavers rising by semitones from c'' to rest on minim e'', the pattern repeated a semitone higher, to rest on minim f'' (B). The triple crotchet rhythm (bass d with answering sixth in first inversion) anchors the melody in a measured waltz-time. The melody is repeated four times before the second subject appears, a figure of a semiquaver and two crotchets, the first two tonally repetitious, the third either rising or falling by semitone, in an overall pattern of fifteen ascending and descending steps, all above the stave, in a chain of leisurely progress (C). This is underpinned by the waltz rhythm, consistent but constantly varied, in a sequence of thirds, fourths, fifths, sixths and sevenths, and modulating constantly from D to A to E to F-sharp to D. The opening fanfare figure A returns before C is repeated, and leads back into the opening B-section which moves rapidly to a new passage (D). The rising quaver figure of the opening fanfare is now transmuted into a semitonal figuration in alt, descending from d''' to a crotchet a'', from where it leaps in thirds to a long a'''', falling down to a'' on stressed crotchets then by way of a quaver skip on b'' down to a minim on e''. This is played four times, and repeated, before the leisurely C is resumed. The opening fanfare A recurs in variation heralding the coda which sees C and D repeated, before the last bars which return momentarily to a variant on B. This piece is conceived on a large scale, an elaborate rondo pattern of

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A-B-C-D-A-C-B-D-C-A-C-D-B underpinning the effortless flow of melodic sequences. 3. Adagio (Maestoso, G major, 4/4) Size and spaciousness very much characterize the grand adage which now follows. Portentous dotted D major chords (full treble octaves over hollow bass octaves resting on a sustained D) prepare the way for a big violin cadenza on the same dominant D (d' to d''' back to d', with arpeggios on the lower notes of the treble stave). The violin then initiates a broad melody, over a series of beating bass triplets (bass G with answering sixth chords in second inversion). The melody starts with a lengthened minim on the same d', moving in small semitones and thirds to the tonic (g') which is briefly held, before a leisurely descent, still in semitones, back to d', then leaping up a fifth to the supertonic and descending in thirds and fifths to b, which is held on another lengthened minim, before moving in quavers back to the favoured d (A1). The second half of the melody slowly descends to a, and rises back to d before making an emotional ascent to b', leaping dramatically down to ci, then in the last bar rising in quaver triplets to e'', symbiotically supported in bass octaves (A2). The entire melody is now taken up by all the orchestra, and played in octaves over the pulsing bass, rising in accented crotchets in the seventh bar to e'''. This carries the melody to a new high, the octave unison now in alt, a quaver figure in crescendo rising to the emotional pitch of g''-g''' (A1+A2), the course of the melody now developed by way of a slow, varied descent over four bars down to g'-g''. The calming emotion is reflected in the second subject, a dotted sequence of quaver-semiquavers falling in semitones from g'' to f', a high treble octave chord (f''-f'''), a trill on f'' (B1), followed by another descending figure, this time in quaver octave chords in the second inversion (d''-d''' down to e'-e'') (B2). This sequence is repeated, and the two themes briefly developed, reiterated dotted chords rooted on a' introducing a variant of the opening melody (A3), this being interspersed by two rapid downward demisemiquaver runs, the second a fourth higher than the first (variants on the second part of B2) (B3). This moves through the four accented crotchet chords back to a grand recapitulation of the principal melody in octaves, rising in crescendo again to the emotional climax of g''-g''' (A1+A2). The high feeling is gradually diffused by the two demisemiquaver runs on G (B3), each an octave lower than the other, with one last reminiscence of the grand melody (A1) in two miniature crescendi-decrescendi, a plangent G tremolo across both staves leading to

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the final sforzando chord.

Ex. 8 Paquita Grand Pas: Adage

This adagio is one of Minkus’s most accomplished achievements. It is a piece with real body and presence, both structurally and emotionally. There is a depth of very considerable feeling in the melody and its grand sweep, something both rhapsodic and melancholic. The music is further structured impressively. The prominent solo for the violin intensifies the emotional charge, and was probably written to be played by Minkus himself, as with the beautiful solo violin writing in La Bayadère. It also lends to the extended piece the feel of a miniature concerto, an effect sustained by the symphonic concept of the whole dance, structured as it is on a foreshortened sonata principle: A1-A2-A1-A2-B1-B2-B1-B2-A3-B3A1-A2-B3-A1. It forms an appropriate trio of magnificent adagios with those from the Pas de Deux in Don Quixote and the Kingdom of the Shades in La Bayadère. 4. Variation (Allegro non troppo, D major, 2/4) The ensuing variation is appropriately masculine in its fervour and propulsion. The semiquaver skip on the second half of the first beat establishes a bolero rhythm (D bass with answering sixth chords an octave above, in first inversion). The melody initially uses the rhythmic pattern of the bass as a trajectory for a rapid upwards semiquaver run, from an extended crotchet on a' up to a'', followed by a mini run (f'' to b''), falling by a third to rest on a lengthened crotchet e'' (A).

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Ex. 9 Paquita Grand Pas: Variation 1

After a repeat, a second melody emerges, an appoggiated high chord of D taking over the melodic pattern of the third bar of A (rising d'' to d''') and then descending via a semiquaver semitonal turn to rest on crotchet a'' (B1). On the third repetition, this semitonal figure is developed into a rising and falling descent down to d' (B2), giving the opening sequence an arching symmetry over 16 bars. The repeat of B1+B2 sees the melodic descent foreshortened, and rising to a four-bar melodic adaptation of the bass in double sixths (root position in the treble, first inversion in the bass) (C), this passing into a new melody. Two reiterated e'''’s hover briefly to fall to a'', then by skipping semiquavers and appoggiature descend to a crotchet a' (D). A sudden change of rhythm, a duple time (B bass quaver with answering dyads in fifths) infuses a new sprightliness. The same pattern is now repeated but shortened before the descent by the return of C, leading directly into full reprises of A and B. Another new melody appears, an iterative quaver skipping with grace notes, all held between e'' and e''' (E). The recurrence of the melodic bass figure (C) sees a return of D, and a full recapitulation of A and B1+B2. Again one is impressed by the structural control of the piece (A-B1B2-B1-B2-C-D-C-A-B1-B2-E-C-D-A-B1-B2-B1-B2), and its relentless rhythmic verve.

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5. Variation (Allegro moderato, G major 6/8) The second short binary variation introduces a polacca rhythm, a skipping triplet on the second beat, over which a svelte rising melody provides another fine opportunity for the solo violin. The high melody ascends in alt, descending to the low stave, before rising again in a series of arabesques and runs to an exhilarating high note. The reprise sees a series of elegant filigree decorations, the whole providing a charming airy variation for the ballerina.

Ex. 10a Paquita Grand Pas: Coda (1)

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Ex. 10b Paquita Grand Pas: Coda (2)

6. Coda (Allegro con fuoco, D major, 2/4) The conclusion of the Grand Pas establishes itself immediately as a galop, a furious duple rhythm setting the tone (bass note of D or A, dyadic answer an octave above in thirds or triadic sixths, in root position and first inversions). The propulsive melody is largely in quavers, starts in the minor b'', descending in thirds, fifths and sixths to f', then lingering on a'' iteratively before rising in quaver semitones back to b'', the whole repeated, then ascending on the third reprise to e''', before a cadence on F (A). After a repeat, a second melody begins on a'', the major dominant, more measured and dignified in crotchets, with a skip only on the second beat of the first bar, and restrained within a compass of a fourth until the sixth bar when there is a lift of a seventh to f'' and a leisurely semitonal descent to a'' via a sharpened b'' (B1). The scoring for horns and woodwinds sets it in contrast to the opening headlong rushing strings, as does the change in rhythm (quaver bass with crotchet-quaver answer in the usual sixth chords) which gives it a slight syncopation. The melody is repeated, this time raised an octave, and played in thirds by the strings and woodwinds (B2). The contrast is sustained by the third melody, a variant of B played more slowly (meno): a graced semiquaver turn on a sharpened d' rises in quavers by a sixth to e'', to descend by staccato semitones to a''. The pattern is twice repeated, each time a fourth higher, the third instance seeing the melodic figure extended into a series of six semitonally descending quavers, from a'' to sharpened d'' to e''—a staccato variation of the last three bars of B2 (C1). On the repeat, the third turn descends by a

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semitone, with the six semitonal staccato quavers now rising from b' sharp to g''-e'' (C2), in symmetrical mirror image to C1. C is repeated in its entirety, fragmenting into an accelerando build up to four climactic bars of imperfect cadences. A long minim on B, the submediant, now initiates a wonderful surprise, as the tempo changes suddenly to 3/4 and the beautiful mazurka (waltz) melodies of the opening dance sequence now return (Allegro moderato) (No. 1 B and C), building up to a high f''', descending in quavers to d'', and a full cadence on D. The opening galop A is now repeated, then B1-B2 and C1-C2, the turning figure eventually rising incrementally four times by semitones (a''-b''-c'''d'''), to another four bars of imperfect cadences, and a sustained chord on B. This turns unexpectedly to a repeat of B1 in treble octaves over staccato bass chords (triadic sixths), leading into the closing bars which are a variant of the opening fanfare of the whole Grand Pas (No. 1A).

Ex. 10c Paquita Grand Pas: Coda (3)

Once again the piece is impressively constructed: A-A-B1-B2-C1-C2C1-C2- No.2 Mazurka [B+C]-A-B1-B2-C1-C2-B-Mazurka [A]. Not only does it have the size, brio and exultation to provide a suitable climax to the suite, but in its resumption of melodies from the opening dance furnishes a frame for the whole of the Grand Pas. As it stands, the sequence is the basis for a pas de deux (intrada, adage, male variation, female variation

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and coda). The popularity of the two Paquita interpolations, however, has proved enduring and so great that the pieces have often been combined as a single suite, and performed as an independent one act divertissement. In this form, with a slight rearrangement of the opening Polonaise and Mazurka, it has been gradually expanded, by the addition of extra variations to the Pas de Six, into something considerably larger, and known inclusively as the Grand Pas. Grand Pas 1. Polonaise 2. Tempo di Mazurka (Allegro) 3. Adagio 4. Allegro Pas de Trois 5. Intrada 6. Variation (Moderato) 7. Variation (Moderato) (Cesare Pugni, Esmeralda) 8. Variation (Moderato) 9. Variation (Moderato) (Adolphe Adam, Le Diable à quatre) 9. Coda (Allegro Moderato) Pas de Six 10. Variation (Tempo di valse) (Léo Delibes) 11. Variation (Tempo di valse) (Cesare Pugni, The Little Humpbacked Horse) 12. Variation (Tempo di valse, moderato) (Riccardo Drigo, Le Roi de Candaule interpolation) 13. Variation (Allegro) (Ludwig Minkus, Don Quixote, Variation for Amor) 14. Variation (Allegro ma non troppo) (Tcherepnin, Le Pavillion d’Armide) 15. Variation (Andante) (Albert Zabel, from the Jardin d’amour interpolated in Le Corsaire) 16. Variation (Allegro) (Yuly Gerber, Trilby) 17. Variation (Moderato) (Riccardo Drigo, La Sylphide interpolation) 18. Variation (Allegro non troppo—tempo di bolero) 19. Variation (Allegro moderato—alla polacca) 20. Coda (Allegro con fuoco)

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Fig. 62: Paquita Act 3: Grand Pas (1980)

ADDENDUM

I. Alexander Sergeievich Pushkin The Tale of the Fisherman and the Golden Fish An old man lived with his goodwife By the shore of the deep blue ocean In a hovel of clay and wattle; They had lived there for three years and thirty. The old man netted fishes, The good-wife sat at her spinning. Once he cast his net on the waters; The net came up-full of sea-slime. Again he cast the net on the waters; The net came back-full of sea-weed. A third time the net sank in the waters And came up with one fish in it. No common fish, but a golden. The golden fish begged for mercy And spoke with the voice of a human: "Old man, throw me back in the ocean, I will pay you a splendid ransom: I will grant you whatever you wish for." The old man was amazed and awestruck: He had fished here for three years and thirty But never once heard a fish talking. Freeing the fish from the meshes He gave him fair words and gentle: "Golden fish, go your ways in peace now There is no need to pay me a ransom;

Go back to your deep blue seas And swim there and splash as you please." The old man returned to his goodwife And told her of this great wonder: "Today I netted a strange fish No common fish, but a golden; The golden fish spoke our language, lt begged to go home to the ocean, Promised a splendid ransom: To grant me whatever I wished for. I dursn't exact the ransom; Threw him back in the sea for nothing." The wife fell to scolding her husband: "Simpleton, silly old fat-head! Too soft to get boons of fishes! A new wash-trough at least you might ask for, Ours is split right down the middle!" He went back to the deep blue ocean. He saw that the ocean was ruffled. Then he raised his voice and shouted, And the golden fish came swimming: "What is it, old man, come tell me!" With a low bow, the old man made answer: "Be gracious, Lord of Fishes, My good-wife is angry with me,

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And gives me no peace with her nagging; She says that we need a new washtrough; Ours is split right down the middle." The golden fish made answer: "Never mind, old man, go in peace now, You will find a new wash-trough all ready." The old man returned to his goodwife, To find the new wash-trough all ready. But she scolded him now worse than ever: "Simpleton! Silly old fat-head! So you begged a great boon-a new wash-trough! But what profit is there in a washtrough ? Back, you simpleton, you, to the great fish, Make your bow to him: ask for an izba*." [* Izba-Russian peasant's log cabin.] He went back to the deep blue ocean (The ocean was dark now and troubled), Then he raised his voice and shouted, And the golden fish came swimming: What is it, old man, come, tell me!" With a low bow, the old man made answer: "Be gracious, Lord of Fishes, My good-wife is even more angry And gives me no peace with her nagging: The old ne'er content wants an izba." The golden fish made answer:

"Never mind, old man, go in peace now, You shall have your wish: a new izba." The old man returned to his hovel, Not a trace remained of the hovel; In its place-a brand-new izba With whitewashed, brickwork chimney, Oaken doors, a carved attic window: On the garden seat sat his good-wife Quite beside herself this time with anger: "What a fool you are, simpleton, fathead! So you begged a great boon, a low izba! Go back, make your bow to the great fish: I will not be a plain peasant woman, Let him make me a high-born lady." The old man went down to the ocean (The ocean was rough now and choppy). Then he raised his voice and shouted, And the golden fish came swimming: "What is it, old man, come, tell me!" With a low bow, the old man made answer: "Be gracious, Lord of Fishes! My good-wife's more wilful than ever And gives me no peace with her nagging; And now she has taken a notion That she'll not be a plain peasant woman But will be a high-born lady." The golden fish made answer: "Never mind, old man, go in peace

The Ballets of Ludwig Minkus now." The old man returned to his goodwife. And what does he see? A fine mansion. In the porch his good-wife is standing, Her rich jacket trimmed with sable, A high, brocaded head-dress, Pearls on her neck hanging heavy, Golden rings on her fingers And boots of soft, red leather . Before her, servants are bowing; She pulls their hair and strikes them. The old man hailed his good-wife : "How now, Mistress-MadamM'lady, Surely your heart is content now?" His good-wife greeted him harshly, And sent him to serve in the stables. A week went by, then another, And the good-wife, more self-willed than ever, Sent the old man back to the ocean. "Go back, make your bow to the great fish: Say I'II not be a high-born lady. Let him make me a mighty Empress. The old man took fright, and argued: "What, woman! You must be moonstruck! You talk and you walk like a fishwife, You will set your whole Empire laughing." The good-wife grew still more angry, Boxed her husband's ears and shouted: "How dare you argue, you peasant, With me, with a high-born lady? Get you gone to the sea, I tell you,

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Unless you want to be dragged there." The old man went back to the ocean (Black and threatening now, the blue ocean). Then he raised his voice and shouted, And the golden fish came swimming: "What is it, old man, come, tell me!" With a low bow the old man made answer: "Be gracious, Lord of Fishes! Again my good-wife's on the rampage; This time, she's taken a notion That she'll not be a high-born lady But will be a mighty Empress." And the golden fish made answer: "Never mind, old man, go in peace now! You will find your good-wife an Empress!" The old man returned to his goodwife. And what do you think ? A palace Now houses the shrewish old woman. She sits in state at her table. Great nobles and lords wait upon her, Serve her wine in a golden goblet While she nibbles at crested sweetmeats; Stern sentries mount guard about her Each with an axe at the ready. The old man took one look -his knees failed him! He bowed to the ground before her But spoke out: "All hail, dread Empress! Tell me, is your heart content now?"

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Not a glance did his good-wife spare him But ordered her men to remove him. Then the lords and great nobles came running, By the scruff of the neck they took him, And the sentries who stood in the doorways Saw him off with their axes, And the people shamed him with laughter. "Serve you right, witless old greybeard! Let that be a lesson to you To remember your place in future !" So a week went by, then another. The old woman grew more and more grasping. She sent courtiers to fetch the old man. They found him, brought him before her. Then the good-wife said to her husband: "Go back, make your bow to the great fish. I'll no more be a mighty Empress But will rule over Sea and Ocean. In the Deep I will make my stronghold And the golden fish shall serve me And swim back and forth on my errands." The old man dared not contradict her,

Was afraid to stand up against her. Again he went down to the ocean And saw-a black storm had arisen: Angry waves reared up to meet him, All a-quake, all a-swirl, all aroaring. But he raised his voice and shouted, And the golden fish came swimming: "What is it, old man, come, tell me!,. With a low bow the old man made answer: "Be gracious, Lord of Fishes! What can I do with the woman? The old fool will no longer be Empress, She will rule over Sea and Ocean; In the Deep she will make her stronghold And have you yourself to serve her And swim back and forth on her errands." The golden fish said nothing; With a flick of its tail in the water It swam away, back to the deep sea. The old man by the shore stood waiting For a long time, but got no answer. At last, he returned to his good-wife And there she sat on the threshold Of their old hut of clay and wattle And before her—the broken washtrough.

1833 (Alexander Pushkin. Selected Works. Volume One: Poetry. Translated from the Russian. (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1974), I:187-192).

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II. S. N. Khudekov’s Original Scenario The Bayadère Ballet in four acts and seven scenes with an apotheosis By Mr Petipa Music by Mr Minkus Presented for the first time at the Bolshoy Theatre on 23 January 1877, St Petersburg Editions Edouard Hoppe, Typographer of the Imperial Spb., 1877 DRAMATIS PERSONAE Dugmanta, rajah of Golconda Hamsatti, his daughter Solor, a wealthy and important kshatriya [a warrior of the royal caste] Nikia, a bayadère The Great Brahmin Madhavaya, a fakir Toloragva, a warrior Four fakirs Six kshatriyas Two attendants of Hamsatti A slave girl Brahmins, Brahmacarins, Sudras (servants of the rajah) warriors, bayadères, fakirs, pilgrims, Indian people, musicians and hunters. Permitted by the censor, St Petersburg, 12 January 1877 ACT 1 SCENE 1. The Festival of Fire The stage represents a consecrated forest; branches of bananas, amras, madhavis, and other Indian trees are intertwined. At the left a pond designated for ablutions. In the distance, the peaks of the Himalayas. The wealthy kshatriya Solor (a famous warrior) enters with a bow in his hand. Hunters are pursuing a tiger. At a sign from Solor, they run across the stage and are lost in the depths of the forest. Solor lingers for a time and orders the fakir Madhavaya not to leave this place, that he might find occasion to say a few words to the beautiful Nikia, who lives in the [nearby] pagoda. Then Solor exits.

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The doors of the pagoda open and from the temple the Great Brahmin emerges triumphantly; behind him follow munis [monastic wise men], rsi (seers), bramacarins (Indian priests), and finally gurus in long linen garments. The priests wear (pendants made of) cords on their foreheads, a sign of brahminesque rank. From the pagoda also emerge devadasi (bayadères of the first rank). Preparations for the festival of fire are being made. At the sides of the pagoda, and on its galleries, gather fakirs, yogas, and fadiny (wandering holy people). 'Where is our modest bayadère Nikia?' the Great Brahmin asks. 'I do not see her here. Order her to be called. She must adorn our spiritual procession with her dances.' Bayadères are charged with1ooking after the pagodas; they live in the pagodas and study with the Brahmins. Several bayadères go out after Nikia. Penitents handle the iron-fire, touching them to their bodies. Some have daggers, sabres, knives and other sharp instruments which they brandish; others hold burning torches. The fakir Madhavaya also takes part in the dance, but in doing so stops looking for the beautiful Nikia. At last the bayadère appears, in the doors of the pagoda. Illuminated by the reddish light of the torches, she attracts the general attention. The Great Brahmin walks up to her, lifts her veil, and orders her to take part in the dances. Nikia comes down from the steps of the pagoda and begins to dance. The dance 'Djampo' Then the sounds of the turti (bagpipes) and the vina (a small guitar) serve to accompany the graceful and languorous movements of the bayadère. These movements become faster and more lively, the or positively thunders, and the previous dance is taken up again. During this time the Great Brahmin does not take his enamoured glance from the beautiful bayadère. He walks up to her while she is dancing, and says: 'I love you...I am going mad with love for you...do you want me to protect you? ...I will make you first in our temple. ..I shall force people to worship you! ...You will be the goddess of all India...Only...return my love!' Nikia takes from him his brahmin's cord. 'You are forgetting who you are!' she says, 'Look at this cord! Sign of the high rank which you hold...I do not love you and never will.’

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She pushes him back in horror. 'Ah!', the Great Brahmin exclaims...'Mark well that I shall never forget this insult! ...this terrible offence! ...I shall use all my powers to take revenge on you! ...And my vengeance will be frightful! Nikia tries to get away. She joins the other bayadères, fills her vase from the sacred pond, and gives drink to weary travellers and those who take part in the dances. The fakir Madhavaya continues his original dance and his fanatical flagellation. Nikia goes up to him and offers water to cool him. The fakir makes use of the opportunity and says to the bayadère: 'Solor is nearby...he wants to see you.' Nikia is delighted with the news. 'Let him approach as soon as the celebration ends,' she answers, ‘I will be at the window. ..Knock three times, and I will come out.' 'Fine, I understand. Only quiet! They can hear us.' The fakir resumes his tortured dance, and Nikia walks away as if nothing had happened. The ceremony ends. The brahmins order the bayadères back into the temple. Everyone leaves the stage. The moon comes up. The windows of the pagoda are dark. Solor enters with the fakir, sits down on a pile of rocks and anxiously awaits the appearance of his beloved bayadère. A light appears in one of the windows of the pagoda. The sounds of a vina (guitar) are heard. Solor slowly approaches the window and knocks three times. The window opens and Nikia appears in it, holding a guitar. The fakir crawls along some branches and places a plank beneath which the bayadère descends, illuminated by the moonlight. Solor falls at her feet, then embraces her. They are happy. Nikia says, 'you are courageous! ...What grief it is that we cannot meet each other often! ... ' ‘I cannot live without you,' Solor answers, 'you are the air I breathe...' ‘Yes, but what is to be done? ...Look at these garments, I am a baydère! I must keep order in the pagoda. I was destined for this calling since childhood. I cannot give it up...You are my only consolation in life.’ The Great Brahmin appears in the doors of the pagoda. He sees the lovers embracing. In a burst of jealousy and wrath he wants to run to them but holds back, promising vengeance. He hides and listens to their conversation, then exits. ‘I know a way we can find happiness,' says Solor. 'Let us flee. In a few

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days I shall come for you ...I am rich...You have only to agree...’ ‘I cannot refuse you...I agree! Only swear to me before this temple that your heart will never belong to anyone else but me, and that you will be true to me your whole life! ...' ‘This I swear to you, and I call on Brahma and Vishna as witness, that I shall remain true to you my whole life! ...' ‘Alll right then, remember your vow...If you forget it, all possible misfortune will pursue you.' Look, though, it is beginning to dawn; we must part.' At this moment the fakir runs in with the news that the hunters are returning. The doors of the pagoda open, and the bayadères come out to the pond for water. Unnoticed, Nikia hurriedly enters the pagoda, and Solor watches as she appears at the window again. Having heard the girls approach, Solor hides among the trees. In triumph the hunters bring in a tiger they have killed. The kshatriya Toloragva tells Solor how they brought down the wild animal, but Solor listens distractedly, and looks pensively at his beloved's window. Finally he orders the hunters to return home and goes with them, planning to return soon. Nikia throws Solor a kiss from her window, and begins to play the same melody as before on her instrument. The Great Brahmin appears in the doors of the pagoda again. He calls on the gods as witness to his future vengeance. ACT 2 SCENE 2. The Two Rivals The stage represents a magnificent hall in the palace of the rajah Dugmanta. The rajah is sitting on pillows on a tiger skin. He orders that bayadères be called to entertain him, and proposes a round of chess to one of the kshatriyas. During the rajah's game of chess—a divertissement. After the dances, the rajah sends for his daughter Hamsatti, who enters with her girlfriends. 'Today, my child,' says Dugmanta, 'the day of your wedding to the brave warrior Solor will be set. It is time for you to marry.' '1 agree, father...Only I have yet to see my bridegroom...and I am not sure if he will love me.' 'He is my subject...He is obliged to fulfil my commands! ...Call him!' In a few moments Solor appears. When he enters, the rajah's daughter covers

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her face with a veil. 'It seems you have long been aware,' the rajah says, turning to him, 'that your marriage to my daughter will soon take place.' 'But sire,' Solor answers, embarrassed, I am not yet prepared to do this.' 'In childhood you were proclaimed Hamsatti's bridegroom, and now you must marry her. Come here, my daughter!' She goes to her father, and he removes her veil. 'Behold, Solor! ...Is she not beautiful! ...The finest pearl in the universe!...I am sure you will be happy with her.' * Marriages among Indians are contracted when girls are no less than seven and no more than nine years old, and boys are from twelve to fourteen. After a long wedding ceremony, at which a brahmin is present, the bride usually returns to her parents' home, where she stays until maturity. At that point there is another marriage ceremony, with other formalities. Solor looks and is struck by the girl's beauty, but recalling his beautiful bayadère, to whom he swore eternal love, he suddenly turns away. 'You are a brave kshatriya,' the rajah continues. 'I entrust to you the fate of my lovely child, and am certain that you, as no other could, will carry out your duty in relation to your future wife, marriage to whom shall be your happiness.' Solor is deeply troubled by the impending marriage. Perplexed, the rajah's daughter watches her betrothed, wondering what is causing his grief. 'He does not love me!...I do not please him,' she says. 'But he will nevertheless be my husband. ..Not for nothing am I a rajah's daughter. ..My will must be done! ...' 'Sire,' Solor says quietly, approaching the rajah, 'the news which you have announced to me is astounding. I openly confess that 1 cannot fulfil your desire.' 'What!? You make bold to disobey your rajah's command!?...I repeat my order to you: in three days you shall marry my daughter. Do you understand?' Solor realizes that the rajah cannot be propitiated, and feels devastated by this fateful command. A sudra (servant) announces the arrival of the Great Brahmin. 'Let him enter,' says the rajah. The Brahmin enters and bows down before the worldly sovereign. 'I know a great secret! ...I must tell you about it in private,' he whispers to the rajah, looking at Solor with hatred.

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'All leave!' the rajah orders, And you, Solor, see that you do not forget my command.' - All exit; the Brahmin and the rajah remain alone, except for the rajah's daughter, who hides behind the portiere and listens to their conversation. In a lively narrative the Great Brahmin describes what happened the night before. He declares that Solor does not love Hamsatti, but adores the bayadère with whom he is seen every night, and wants to run away with her. Indignant at his future son-in-law's behaviour, the rajah tells the Great Brahmin of his intention to destroy the bayadère. The Brahmin, wishing only Solor's death, is frightened at the thought of the serious danger to which he has exposed his beloved bayadère, and tells the rajah that her death will anger the god Vishna and set the god against them. The rajah, however, will not hear of this and announces to the Brahmin that tomorrow, during the celebration in honour of Badrinata, Nikia will, as usual, dance with flowers. In one of the baskets of flowers a serpent will be concealed which will crawl out, frightened at the dancer's movements, and bite her, causing her death. At these words the Brahmin's whole body shudders. Hamsatti, who heard everything from behind the portiere, wants to see the bayadère, and sends her slave girl to fetch her. The rajah, completely satisfied with the vengeance he has planned, exits with the Brahmin. Hamsatti sobs and cries in sorrow. She wants to hear from the bayadère herself that Solor adores her. The slave girl runs in with word of Nikia's arrival. Bowing, the bayadère approaches the rajah's daughter. Hamsatti looks at her and finds her beautiful. She tells Nikia of her impending wedding and invites her to dance in her presence on that day. Nikia is flattered by such an honour. Hamsatti wants to see the impression it will make on the bayadère if she knows the identity of her betrothed, and points to a portrait of Solor. Nikia all but goes mad with grief. She declares that Solor swore eternal love to her, and that his marriage to the rajah's daughter will never take place. Hamsatti insists that Nikia renounce Solor. 'Never!' answers Nikia, 'I would sooner die!' Hamsatti offers her diamonds and gold, and tries to persuade her to go off to another land. Nikia seizes the jewels that the rajah's daughter is offering to her and throws them on the floor.

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Hamsatti beseeches the bayadère to let her have Solor, and then to leave. With these words Nikia takes a dagger which has happened into her hand, and rushes at her rival. The slave girl, who has anxiously followed the bayadère's movements and intentions, defends her mistress with her body. Nikia, meanwhile, disappears from the palace. Hamsatti gets up and says: 'Now she must die!' * I know very well that Indians did not have portraits, and used this anachronism only to make the comprehension of the story easier. (Author's note.) SCENE 3. The Bayadère's Death The stage represents the façade of the rajah's palace from the side of a garden, with masses of huge flowers and broad-leaved trees. In the distance—the tower of the large pagoda of Megatshada, which reaches almost to the heavens. In the background, the light blue of the heavens themselves. The Himalayas are thinly covered with silvery snow. At the rise of the curtain the great procession of Badrinata is in progress. Brahmins pass, then four classes of bayadères (devadasi, natche, vestiatrissi, kansenissi), finally pagoda servants, various Indian castes, and others. Penitents enter with burning hot irons. The rajah, his daughter, Solor and other rich Indians are brought in on palanquins. The rajah takes his place on a platform and orders that the festival begin. At the end of the dances, the rajah commands the beautiful Nikia to come in, and orders her to entertain the public. Nikia comes out of the crowd with her little guitar. Her face is covered by a veil, and she plays the same melody she played in Act 1. Solor, placed near the rajah’s throne, listens attentively to this harmonious melody and recognizes his beloved. He gazes at her lovingly. Hardly able to conceal his wrath, the Great Brahmin watches him with suppressed malice. Seeing the bayadère's dance the rajah's jealous daughter uses all her strength to conceal her state of mind. Smiling, she comes down from the balcony and orders a basket with flowers to be presented to the graceful Nikia. Nikia takes the basket and continues her dance, admiring the pensive Solor. Suddenly a snake crawls out of the basket and strikes the bayadère in the heart. Its bite is deadly. Continuing her dance, the beautiful girl appeals to Solor for help, and he embraces her.

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'Do not forget your vow,' she gasps. 'You are sworn to me. ..I am dying....Farewell!' The Great Brahmin runs up and offers the dancer an antidote. But Nikia refuses the flagon and throws herself once again into Solor's arms. ‘Farewell Solor!... I love you. ...I die innocent!’ These are the bayadère's last words, after which she falls and dies. The rajah and his daughter triumph. As through a mist a shade is seen, behind which follow will-o'-the-wisps. It grows pale and vanishes among the icecaps of the Himalayas. ACT 3 SCENE 4. The Appearance of the Shade Solor's room in the rajah's palace. As the curtain rises, Solor is walking around the stage like a madman, now slowly, now in wild haste: He seems to be trying to remember something. He then falls, exhausted, on to a divan. The fakir Madhavaya watches him with a look of profound pity, then orders snake charmers brought in (a man and a woman), to drive the evil spirit from Solor's body. (Comic Dance.) Solor orders the fakir to dismiss them. There is a knock at the door. The fakir opens it. Hamsatti enter, the rajah's daughter, with a number of women retainers. She is magnificently dressed in gold and pearls. She turns to Solor with reproaches. The fakir informs her that he requires healing, not quarrels, whereupon Hamsatti wants to divert him, and is extremely amiable. She sits down next to him, caresses him and tries in every way to attract his attention. Solor at last revives, and takes her hand. At this moment the strains of the bayadère's song are heard. The shade of the weeping Nikia appears on the wall. Solor trembles. 'Oh! Now my misfortunes will begin,' he says, 'I forgot my vow! Remorse will pursue me my whole life.' 'Calm down! ...What's the matter?' Hamsatti says, and tries to console him. 'I beg of you...leave me...Tomorrow we shall see each other again! ...Tomorrow is our wedding. ..I feel unwell just now.... I must rest...’ Sorrowful, Hamsatti withdraws, bidding him farewell until the morrow. Solor goes over to the wall, but the shade is gone; it appears only at moments when his imagination is inflamed. 'You forgot your vow, unhappy man!'—it is as if the shade were speaking to him—'You plan to marry Hamsatti, and so to disturb my peace beyond the

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grave! But I still love you!' In vain Solor tries to catch Nikia's elusive shade. 'And I love you,' he answers. 'I have not forgotten you and love you as before.' The shade at last disappears. Solor falls unconscious on the divan. A dream comes over him and he falls asleep, never ceasing to think about the shade. Clouds descend. SCENE 5. The Kingdom of the Shades An enchanted place. Soft, harmonious music is heard. Shades appear while this music sounds—Nikia first, then Solor. DANCES Plastic Groupings 'I died innocent,' says Nikia's shade, 'I remained true to you. Behold everything around me. Is it not splendid! ...The gods have granted me all possible blessings. I lack only you!' 'What must I do in order to be yours?' Solor asks her. 'Remember your vow! You promised to be faithful to me! ... The melody that you now hear will protect you..., and my shade will guard you. ..I shall be with you in misfortune.' 'If you do not betray me,' Nikia continues, 'your spirit shall find rest here, in this kingdom of the shades.' A large concluding dance of the shades. Clouds descend. SCENE 6. Solor's Awakening Solor's room, as before. Solor is lying on his divan, in a troubled sleep. The fakir enters, pauses next to his master, and looks at him sadly. Solor awakens suddenly. He thought he was in Nikia's embrace. Servants of the rajah bring in expensive gifts and tell Solor that all preparations are completed for his wedding to the rajah's daughter. They exit. Obsessed with his thoughts, Solor follows them.

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ACT IV. SCENE 7 The gods' wrath The stage represents a large hall with columns in the rajah's palace. Preparations are underway for the ritual of sipmanadi (marriage) of Solor and Hamsatti. Warriors enter, together with brahmins, bayadères, and others. Hamsatti appears, followed by her father with his retinue. When the young warrior Solor appears, the rajah orders the festival to begin. During the dances the shade pursues Solor and reminds him of his vow. Hamsatti, meanwhile, does everything in her power to please her bridegroom, who grieves the whole time, and never stops thinking about Nikia. Four girls present a basket to the bride exactly like the one given to the bayadère, from which crawled the snake that bit her. Hamsatti rejects the basket in horror, as it reminds her of her rival—the cause of all her unhappiness. Recalling the basket revives the image of the poisoned bayadère in Hamsatti's mind. The shade appears before her, the bayadère appears to Hamsatti's troubled mind. The rajah's daughter flees from it and rushes into her father’s arms, begging him to hasten the wedding. The rajah orders the ceremony to begin. The Great Brahmin takes bride and groom by the hand. As the ceremony begins, the sky darkens, lightning flashes, there are peals of thunder, and it begins to rain. At the very moment when the Brahmin takes the hands of Solor and Hamsatti to join them, there is a fearful thunderclap, followed by an earthquake. Lighning strikes the hall, which collapses and covers in its ruins the rajah, his daughter, the Great Brahmin and Solor. APOTHEOSIS Through the rain the peaks of the Himalayas are visible. Nikia’s shade glides through the air; she is triumphant, and tenderly looks at her beloved Solor, who is at her feet. THE END (Typographer of the Imperial Spb. Theatres (Edouard Hoppe), Voznesenskii prosp., No. 5)

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III. Tables of Musical Contents from the Published Scores Le Poisson doré (St Petersburg: Th. Stellowsky, c. 1870) 1. Introduction 2. Entrances of Taras and Galia 3. Scenes in unison, dances, Finale 1 4. Rich chamber in the palace of Galia 5. Triumphal entry and exit 6. March 7. Polskoi 8. Cracoviak and Dance of the Jester and Musicians 9. Dances of the Bayadères with Scarves 10. Grand Pas and Finale 2 11. Entr’acte to Act 3 12. Scenes in the Garden of Galia’s palace 13. Solo for the violoncello 14. Dances of the Roses on the Fabulous Island 15. Finale 3

Don Quixote (St Petersburg: Th. Stellowsky, 1882) 1ème Acte 1. Introduction 2. Prologue 3. Entrée de Don Quichotte 4. Scène de Don Quichotte et Sancho 5. Allegro Divertissements 6. Allegro con fuoco (I) 7. Allegro vivace (II) 8. Allegro (III) 9. Presto con fuoco (IV) 10. Allegretto (V) 11. Allegro 2ème acte 1. Allegro vivace

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2. Allegretto 3. Andantino 4. Presto 5. Allegro 6. Moderato 7. Allegro con fuoco 8. Allegro 9. Allegro 10. Allegro 11. Air espagnol 12. Moderato 13. [Allegro] 14. Allegro 15. Allegro 16. Allegro non troppo 17. Andantino 18. Allegro 19. Allegro vivace 20. Coda: Allegro vivace 3 ème Acte 1.Allegro 2. Allegro 3. Allegro 4. Presto 4ème Acte 1. Andante 2. Andantino 3. Allegretto 4. Coda: Allegro 5. Più mosso 5ème Acte 1. [Allegro] 2. Allegretto 3. Presto assai 4. Pas de Quatre 5. Allegro 6. Andante

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7. Var.1 8. Var. 2 9. Var. 3 10. Coda: Presto

Nuit et Jour (St Petersburg: A. Büttner, c. 1885) Introduction (Moderato) La nuit (allegro moderato) Les étoiles La reine de la nuit (allegro) Nayades et Nymphes (Meno mosso) Cygnes Scène (Andantino, Allegro non troppo) Variation de Mme. Sokolowa (Meno mosso) Lutte des génies du jour et des génies de la nuit (Allegro, Moderato, Allegro) Lever du soleil (Moderato) Le jour (Allegro vivace assai) La reine du jour (Moderato, Andantino [solo cornet], Coda Presto assai) Variation de Mme. Vazem (Meno mosso [solo harp], Tempo 1, più mosso) Arrivée des paysans russes et danses nationales 1. Karavot (Moderato) 2. Pas tartar (Allegro non troppo) 3. Danse des sauvages (Allegro con fuoco) 4. Pas finnois (Moderato) 5. Pas cosaque (Allegro) 6. Petite russienne (Allegro) 7. Mazurka 8. Lesguinka (Allegro con fuoco, Moderato, Presto) 9. Trepak (Allegro) 10. Danse finale (Presto) Apothéose (Moderato)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Archives THE GEORGE VERDAK COLLECTION, Indianapolis (now part of the George Verdak Performance Trust at the Jordan School of Fine Arts, Butler University) (32 scores). THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY DANCE COLLECTION CATALOGUE (CATNYP: The Research Libraries Online Catalog) (56 items of printed and recorded music; 95 video recordings). THE NIKOLAI SERGEYEV ARCHIVE in the Theatre Collections of the Harvard University Library (archive of 24 ballet notations from the Maryinsky Theatre, including La Fille du Faraon, La Bayadère, Paquita, Esmeralda, The Sleeping Beauty, Raymonda). THE INTERNATIONAL MINKUS SOCIETY (IMS) (chairman Hermann K. Reischitz, Lambrechtsgasse 14, 1040-Vienna) (archive of some 50,000 pages of ballet music, music and other autographs, and rare works [esp. books] documented digitally [as photographs and electronic scans], devoted to Minkus and other ballet composers of the nineteenth century, esp. from the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy).

Books and Articles ARTS & CULTURE, ballet. “A Birthday Tribute to Rudolf Nureyev” [www.gay.ru./english.art/ballet/nuriev]. BALANCHINE, George. See Stegemann. BEAUMONT, Cyril W. Complete Book of Ballets (New York: Garden City Publishing, 1938). BOURNONVILLE, Auguste. Mit Teaterliv (Copenhagen, 1st part 1848, 2nd part 1865, 3rd part 1877). —. My Theatre Life. Translated from the Danish and Annotated by Patricia N. McAndrew (London: Adam & Charles Black, 1979). BROWN, David. Tchaikovsky: A Biographical and Critical Study (London: Victor Gollancz, 1978; reprinted in Gollancz Paperbacks, 1992). BUSSI, Francesco.“Romualdo Marenco.” In The New Grove Dictionary of

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Music and Musicians. Ed. Stanley Sadie. (London and New York: Macmillan, 2000), 15: 835. CHUJOY, Anatole and P. W. Manchester (eds). The Dance Encyclopedia. Rev. and enlarged ed. (New York, 1967). COWLES, Virginia. The Romanovs (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1974). DANDRÉ, Victor. Anna Pavlova in Art and Life (London, 1932). GALE, Joseph. “Léon Minkus” in The International Encyclopedia of Dance, ed. Selma Jeanne Cohen (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), 6 vols., 4:428-430. GARAFOLA, Lynn (ed.). Rethinking the Sylph. New Perspectives on the Romantic Ballet (Studies in Dance History, 14/15) (University of Wisconsin Press, 1997). GARDEN, Edward. “Ludwig Minkus.” In The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Ed. Stanley Sadie. (London and New York: Macmillan, 2000), 16:718-19. GOODWIN, Noel. “Delibes/Minkus/Drigo”, Dance and Dancers, 486. (September 1990): 30. —. “Léon Minkus” in International Dictionary of Ballet. Ed. Martha Bremser (Detroit: St James Press, 1993), 2:960-962. GRESKOVIC, Robert. Ballet 1.0.1. A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving the Ballet. Foreword by Mikhail Baryshnikov (New York: Hyperion, 1998). GUEST, Ivor. The Ballet of the Second Empire (London: Pitman Publishing, 1953, 1955 [two vols.]; as one 1974). —. The Romantic Ballet in Paris (London: Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons Ltd., 1966); 252-253. HASTINGS, Baird. Prefatory Note, Ludwig Minkus: ‘Don Quixote’. Piano score (London: Dance Horizons & Dance Books, 1979). HULLAH, Annette. Theodor Leschetizky (Living Masters of Music) (London: John Lane, The Bodley Head, 1906). INTERNATIONAL DICTIONARY OF BALLET. Ed. Martha Bremser. 2 vols. (Detroit: St James Press, 1993). JACKSON, George. “Cinderella and the Waltz King,” Danceview: A Quarterly Review of Dance (Summer 1998): 1-4. JORDAN, Stephanie (ed. and introd.). Fedor Lopukhov: Writings on Ballet and Music. Translated by Dorinda Offord (Studies in Dance History) (University of Wisconsin Press, 2003). KHUDEKOV, Sergei Nikolaievich. A History of Dancing, 4 vols (Petrograd, 1918). KOEGLER, Horst. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Ballet. (London:

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Oxford University Press, 1977). KRASOVSKAYA, Vera Mikhailovna. Russky baletnjy teatr vtoroj poloviny 19 veka (Russian Ballet Theatre of the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century) (Moscow-Leningrad: Iskusstvo, 1963). KSCHESSINSKA, Mathilde. Dancing in Petersburg. The Memoirs of Mathilde Kschessinka, H.S.H. The Princess Romanovsky-Krassinky. Translated by Arnold Haskell (1960) (Alton: Dance Books, 2005). LANCHBERY, John. “Don Quixote: the Music”. Programme notes to the Festival Ballet performances of Don Quixote (London: Coliseum, 1979). —. “Minkus and the music of Makarova’s La Bayadère” Programme notes to the Royal Ballet performances of La Bayadère (London: Covent Garden, 1989). LANZA, Andrea. “Cesare Pugni.” In The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Ed. Stanley Sadie (London and New York: Macmillan, 2000), 20:591-92. LEVASHYOVA, E. M. See Redepenning. LIFAR, Sergei. From the Old to the New (Paris, 1938). —. A History of Russian Ballet. Trans. Arnold L Haskell (New York, 1954). MANNONI, Gérard. “Minkus et la danse.” La saison de la danse (May 1981):42-43. MONTAGU-NATHAN, M., “Minkus, Ludwig” Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Fifth edition. (London: Macmillan). THE NEW GROVE DICTIONARY OF OPERA (Ed. Stanley Sadie) 4 vols. (London: Macmillan, 1992), 3:416-418. PETIPA, Marius. Russian Ballet Master: The Memoirs of Marius Petipa. Edited with an Introduction by Lilian Moore (London: Macmillan, 1958). PHAIDON BOOK OF THE BALLET. Edited by Riccardo Mezzanotte, with a preface by Rudolf Nureyev. Translated from the Italian (Oxford: Phaidon Press Ltd., 1981). PLESHCHEYEV, Alexander. Nash Balet (St Petersburg, 1897). POTOCKA, Comtesse Angèle. Theodor Leschetizky. Translated from the French by Geneviève Seymour Lincoln (New York: The Century Co., 1903). POUGIN, Arthur. Supplément et Complément (1880) to François-Joseph Fétis’s Biographie universelle des musiciens (Paris, 1860-5). PUSHKIN, Alexander. Alexander Pushkin. Selected Works. Volume One: Poetry. Translated from the Russian (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1974).

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REDEPENNING, Dorothea. Geschichte der russischen und sowjetischen Musik (Laaber: Laaber, 1994). RIMSKY-KORSAKOV, Nikolai Andreyevich. My Musical Life. Translated from the fifth revised Russian edition by Judith A. Joffe. Edited with an introduction by Carl von Vechten (London: Eulenberg Books, 1974). ROSLAVLEVA, Natalia. Era of the Russian Ballet, 1770-1965 (London: Victor Gollancz, 1966). SADIE, Stanley (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. 4 vols. (London: Macmillan, 1992), 3:416-418. SAINT-LÉON, Arthur. Letters from a Ballet Master. The Correspondence of Arthur Saint-Léon. Edited by Ivor Guest (London: Dance Books, 1981). SCHERER, Barrymore Laurence. “Maligned Minstrel. Putting in a Good Word for Ludwig Minkus, composer of La Bayadère,” Ballet News, 1:11 (May 1980): 22-23, 45. —. “Three Composers Who Knew What Dance Needed.” New York Times (27 March 1983). SCHOLL, Tim. Sleeping Beauty—A Legend in Progress (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004). SCHUENEMAN, Bruce R. and William E. Studwell, Minor Ballet Composers: Biographical Sketches of Sixty-Six Underappreciated Yet Significant Contributors to the Body of Western Ballet Music (New York: Haworth Press, Inc., 1997, 2007): Drigo 33-36, Minkus 61-65, Pugni 67-70. SLONIMSKY, Nicolas. Preface, Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Fifth Edition Completely Revised by Nicolas Slonimsky. With 1971 Supplement (New York/London: G. Schirmer, 1971). —. Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Eighth Edition. (New York, 1992). SEARLE, Humphrey. Ballet Music. An Introduction (1958). Second revised edition (New York: Dover Publications, 1973). SKALKOVSKY, Konstantin Apollonovich. V teatral’nom mire [In the Theatre World] (St Petersburg, 1899). See Roland John Wiley, A Century of Russian Ballet, 312. SMITH, Marian. Ballet and Opera in the Age of 'Giselle' (Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2000). SPENCER, Jennifer. “Riccardo Drigo.” In The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Ed. Stanley Sadie (London and New York: Macmillan, 2000), 7:595. STEGEMANN, Michael. “Léon Minkus: In Quest of an Unknown”

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(Königsdorf: Capriccio, 1995), 14-21. STUDWELL, William E. “The Choreographic Chain: Seventy years of Ballet Music.” Dance Scope 10:2 (1976): 51-55. SZORADI, Jeannie: “Olé, Monsieur Lacotte!”—POB Paquita Review [http://www.danze.co.uk]. TCHAIKOVSKY, Modeste Ilych. The Life and Letters of Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky. Edited from the Russian, with an Introduction, by Rosa Newmarch (London: John Lane The Bodley Head, 1906). VAZEM, Ekaterina Ottovna. “Memoirs of a Ballerina of the St Petersburg Bolshoi Theatre.” Translated by Nina Dmitrievich. Dance Research 3 (Summer 1985): 3-22; 4 (Spring 1986): 3-28; 5 (Spring 1987): 21-41; 6 (Autumn 1988): 30-47. —. Memoirs [Zapiski baleriny Sankt-Petersburgskogo Bol’shogo teatra, 1867-1884 (Leningrad and Moscow, 1937)] in John Roland Wiley, A Century of Russian Ballet (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990). WIKIPEDIA. “Ludwig or Léon Minkus” [http://en.wikipedia. org/wik/Ludwig_or_L% C3%A9on_minkus]. WILEY, Roland John. Tchaikovsky’s Ballets. Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1985). —. “La Bayadère in its historical context”, “The first production”, “Performance History”, “Music in the first La Bayadère”, “The afterlife of La Bayadère on the Imperial Stage”. Programme notes to the Royal Ballet performances of La Bayadère (London: Covent Garden, 1989). —. A Century of Russian Ballet: Documents and Eyewitness Accounts, 1810-1910 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990), 291-303. WOODWARD, Ian. Ballet (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1977).

La Source DACKO, Karen. “La Source.” In the International Dictionary of Ballet. Ed. Martha Bremser (Detroit: St James Press, 1993), 2:1330-2. DUNN, Thoms. “Delibes and La Source: Some Manuscripts and Documents.” Dance Chronicle, 4:1 (1981).

La Bayadère BARYSHNIKOV, Mikhail. “Baryshnikov on La Bayadère.” [http://www.abt.org/rep/bayadere/b.barishnikov.html] BENOIS, Alexandre. Reminiscences of the Russian Ballet. Translated by Mary Britnieva (London, 1941).

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CROCE, Arlene. "Makarova's Miracle" (1974). In Croce's Afterimages. (New York, 1978). HARRIS, Dale. “La Bayadère: An Historical Overview,” About the House, 8:2 (1989): 45-46. KRASOVSKAYA, Vera. Russkii baletnyi teatr vtoroi poloviny deviatnadtsatogo veka. (Leningrad, 1963). LOPUKHOV, Fedor. “Bayaderka.” In Marius Petipa: Materialy, vospominaniia, stati, edited by Ana Nekhendzi (Leningrad, 1971). —. “Khoreograficheskie stsena ‘Teni’ v balete Bayaderka.” In Lopukhov's Khoreografcheskie otkrovennosti (Moscow, 1972). MUNSON, James. “The Royal Swedish Ballet in London,” Contemporary Review, 267: 1555 (August 1995): 92. NUREYEV, Rudolph. Arts & Culture, ballet. “A Birthday Tribute to Rudolf Nureyev” [www.gay.ru./ english. art/ballet/nuriev]. PETIPA, Manus. Russian Ballet Master: The Memoirs of Marius Petipa. Edited by Lillian Moore. Translated by Helen Whittaker (London, 1958). PRITCHARD, Jane. “La Bayadère.” In the International Dictionary of Ballet. Ed. Martha Bremser (Detroit: St James Press, 1993),1:109-11. REYNOLDS, Nancy, and Susan Reimer-Tom. Dance Classics (Pennington, N.J., 1991). ROSLAVLEVA, Natalia. "Treasure from the Past." Dance and Dancers (May 1989): 25-28. SCHERER, Barrymore. "Maligned Minstrel: Putting in a Good Word for Ludwig Minkus, Composer of La Bayadère." Ballet News 1 (May 1980): 22-23. SOURITZ, Elizabeth. Soviet Choreographers in the 1920s. Translated by Lynn Visson (Durham, N.C., 1990). VANSLOV, Victor V. “La Bayadère” in The International Encyclopedia of Dance, ed. Selma Jeanne Cohen (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), 6 vols., 1:392-393. WEINSTOCK, Herbert .Tchaikovsky (London: Cassell, 1946), 180. WIKIPEDIA. “La Bayadère” [http://en.wikipedia. org/wik/ Ludwig_or_L% C3%A9on_minkus]. WILEY, Roland John, “La Bayadère in its historical context”, “The first production”, “Performance History”, “Music in the first La Bayadère”, “The afterlife of La Bayadère on the Imperial Stage”. Programme notes to the Royal Ballet performances of La Bayadère (London: Covent Garden, 1989). —. (trans. and ed.). A Century of Russian Ballet: Documents and Accounts, 1810-1910. Oxford, 1990. Includes an extract from

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Ekaterina Vazem's memoirs and the libretto of La Bayadere, with editorial notes. ZUBKOVSKY, Nikolai. Nikolai Zubkovsky [memoir in Russian] (St. Petersburg, 1993). Reviews: London 1964: BARNES, Clive; GOODWIN, Noël, and WILLIAMS, Peter. “La Bayadère.” Dance and Dancers (January, 1964). KARSAVINA, Tamara. “A Blue Transparency of Night.” Dancing Times (February, 1964). New York 1980: ANASTOS, Peter. “Ballet Relics: The Shroud of Leningrad.”Ballet Review 8:2-3 (1980). SMAKOV, Gennady. “The Tale of La Bayadère.” Ballet News (May 1980). London 1989: BARNES, Clive. “Treasures from the Past.” Dance and Dancers (May 1989). RENÉ, Natalia. “La Bayadère.” Dance and Dancers (May 1989). PRICHARD, Jane. “Bits of Bayadère in Britain.” Dancing Times (September 1989). MACAULAY, Alaistair. “In Death’s Dream Kingdom.” Dancing Times (November 1989). Paris 1992: SIRVIN, Rene. "Special Bayadère." Danser (October 1992): 34-36. London 2002: JACOBS, Laura. “How Good is the Kirov?” The New Criterion, 21:1 (September 2002). CLARKE, Mary. “The Kirov in London: A Review of the Petersburg Company’s London Season,” Dancing Times (September 2003).

Don Quixote ARIA, Barbara. Misha: The Mikhail Baryshnikov Story (New York, 1989). ADLER, Reba Ann, Claude Conyers and Victor V. Vanslov. “Don Quixote” in The International Encyclopedia of Dance, ed. Selma Jeanne Cohen (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), 6 vols., 2: 434-41. BAKHRUSHIN, Y: A. Aleksandr Alekseevich Gorskii (Moscow, 1946). BEAUMONT, Cyril W. "Don Quixote." In Complete Book of Ballets.

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Rev. ed. (London, 1951). BALANCHINE, George, with Francis Mason. “Don Quixote.” In Balanchine’s Complete Stories of the Great Ballets. Rev. and enl. ed. (Garden City, N.Y, 1977). CERVANTES [Saavedra], Miguel de. The History of Don Quixote de la Mancha: With an Account of His Exploits and Adventures (Halifax: Joseph Harley, 1842). CERVANTES SAAVEDRA, Miguel de. Don Quixote de la Mancha. Translated by Charles Jarvis; edited with an introduction by E. C. Ridley (The World's Classics) (Oxford and New York, 1992). CLARKE, Mary. “The Royal Ballet’s Don Quixote.” Dancing Times (December 2001): 10-11. DEGEN, Arsen. “Don Quixote.” In the International Dictionary of Ballet. Ed. Martha Bremser (Detroit: St James Press, 1993), 1:402-4. DENBY, Edwin. “About Don Quixote.” Dance Magazine (July 1965). “DON QUIXOTE” [in German].Tanzblätter (October 1977): 8-19. DORRIS, George. "Don Quixote in the Twentieth Century: A Mirror for Choreographers." Choreography and Choreographers, vol. 3: 4 (1994): 47-53. FRASER, John. Private View: Inside Baryshnikov's American Ballet Theatre (New York, 1988). GARAFOLA, Lynn (ed. and trans.). The Diaries of Marius Petipa (Studies in Dance History 3.1) (Pennington, N. J. 1992). HURWITZ, Jonathan. Don Quixote program notes and chronology. Souvenir program, PACT Ballet, 1994 season (Pretoria, 1994). KIRKLAND, Gelsey, with Greg Lawrence. Dancing on My Grave: An Autobiography (New York, 1986). KOEGLER, Horst. "Don Quixote." In The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Ballet (Oxford and New York, 1982). KRASOVSKAYA, Vera: "Don Quixote. A Dramatic Ballet” (in Russian). In Ruskii baletnyi teatr vtoroi poloviny deviatnadtsatogo veka…. (Leningrad, 1963). —.“Don Quixote in Moscow and Don Quixote in Petersburg” (in Russian). In Russkii baletnyi teatr nachala dvadtsatogo veka, vol. 1, Khoreografy (Leningrad, 1971). LAZZARINI, John and Roberta. Pavlova: Repertoire of a Legend (New York, 1980). PETIPA, Marius. Russian Ballet Master: The Memoirs of Marius Petipa. Translated by Helen Whittaker; edited by Lillian Moore (London, 1958). RAMBERT, Marie. Quicksilver: The Autobiography of Marie Rambert.

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(London, 1972). SLONIMSKY, Yuri. Don Quixote [in Russian] (Leningrad, 1934). STUART, Otis. Perpetual Motion: The Public and Private Lives of Rudolf Nureyev (New York, 1995). TROZINER, F. F. “Novoe v balete.” Saint Petersburg Gazette 19-20 (January 1902). WILEY, Roland John (ed. and trans.). A Century of Russian Ballet: Documents and Eyewitness Accounts, 1810-1910 (Oxford, 1990). NOTATED SCORE. Don Quixote, Pas classique espagnol. Benesh Notation score, notated by Jürg Lanzrein (1973). FILM. Australian Ballet, Don Quixote (1973); co-directed by Rudolf Nureyev and Robert Helpmann; co-produced by Rudolf Nureyev, Robert Helpmann, and John Hargreaves. Released through the Walter Reade Organization.

Mlada GAUB, Albrecht. Die kollektive Ba[l]et-Oper “Mlada”: ein Werk von Kjui, Musorgskij, Rimskij-Korsakov, Borodin und Minkus (Studia Slavica musicologica, 12) (Berlin: E. Kuhn, 1998).

Paquita CHAPMAN, John. “Paquita.” In the International Dictionary of Ballet. Ed. Martha Bremser (Detroit: St James Press, 1993), 2:1072-3. EDGECOMBE, Rodney Stenning. “Notes on Giselle and Paquita.” Dance Chronicle, 22:3 (1999): 447-452. GUEST, Ivor. “Paquita Returns to Drury Lane.” Dancing Times (December, 1964). MARKS, Marcia. “American Ballet Theatre.” Dance Magazine (September, 1971). “PAQUITA” in The International Encyclopedia of Dance, ed. Selma Jeanne Cohen (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), 6 vols., 1:392393.

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Discography Recordings LP and CD La Source Minkus/Delibes. La Source (Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Richard Bonynge) (CD) (Decca 421 431-2) (1990). Don Quixote Don Quixote (Pas de Deux) (London Symphony Orchestra, Richard Bonynge) (The Art of the Prima Ballerina, LP) (Decca SET 254-5) (1963). Reissued on CD, Fête du Ballet (468 578-2) (2001) Don Quixote (arr. John Lanchbery, The Elizabeth Trust Melbourne Orchestra, John Lanchbery) (LP) (CSD 3749) ((1973). Later with the Victoria Symphony Orchestra) (CD) (2004). Don Quixote (excerpts) (The Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, Georgi Zhemchushin) (Pilz Acanta 441007-2) (1989) Don Quixote (Sofia National Opera Orchestra, Boris Spassov) (CD) (Capriccio 10 540/41) (1995) Don Quixote (Sofia National Opera Orchestra, Nayden Todorov) (CD) (Naxos 8.557065-66) (2003) Don Quixote (Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Victor Fedotov) (CD) (Classical Records.ru CR-072/73) (2006) La Bayadère La Bayadère (The Kingdom of the Shades) (London Symphony Orchestra, Richard Bonynge) (The Art of the Prima Ballerina, LP) (Decca SET 254-5) (1963). Reissued on CD, Fête du Ballet (468 578-2) (2001) La Bayadère (The Kingdom of the Shades) (arr. John Lanchbery) (Sydney Symphony Orchestra, John Lanchbery) (LP) (ASD 1834251) (1983) La Bayadère (The Kingdom of the Shades) (The Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, Georgi Zhemchushin) (Pilz Acanta 441005-2) (1989) La Bayadère (arr. John Lanchbery) (English Chamber Orchestra, Richard Bonynge) (CD) (Decca 436 917-2) (1994). La Bayadère (The Kingdom of the Shades) (Boris Spassov, Sofia National Opera Orchestra) (CD) (Capriccio 10 544) (1995)

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Paquita Paquita (Pas de Deux). (London Symphony Orchestra, Richard Bonynge) (Pas de Deux, LP) (Decca SXL 6137) (1964). Reissued on CD, Fête du Ballet (468 578-2) (2001) Paquita (Pas de Dix) (arr. John Lanchbery) (Sydney Symphony Orchestra, John Lanchbery) (LP) (ASD 1834251) (1983) Paquita (Grand Pas) (The Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, Georgi Zhemchushin) (Pilz Acanta 441006-2) (1989) Paquita (Pas de Trois, Grand Pas) (Boris Spassov, Sofia National Opera Orchestra) (CD) (Capriccio 10 544) (1995)

VHS and DVD Don Quixote Don Quixote. VHS. Don Quixote (act 1 and excerpts from act 3, 1970s and 1980s). The Magic of the Bolshoi Ballet. Performances Legendary in Ballet History Never Previously Seen in the West (EVC 01) (1987). —. VHS/DVD. Rudolf Nureyev’s Don Quixote (1973). Australian Ballet, with Robert Helpmann, Ray Powell Director: Robert Helpmann, Rudolf Nureyev (B00004ZEQE) (2000) —. VHS/DVD. Mikhail Baryshnikov’s Don Quixote. American Ballet Theatre, with Mikhail Baryshnikov, Cynthia White and Richard Schafer (90 3969) (1983). —. VHS/DVD. The Kirov Ballet’s Don Quixote with Tatiana Terekhova, Faurouk Ruzimatov,Vladimir Ponomaryov (EVC 006) (1988); (B0006212TU) (2006). —. VHS/DVD. Don Quixote (Grand pas de deux). From Red Square, Moscow. From Essential Ballet: Stars of the Russian Ballet (1993) (Philips 07 166-3) (1994); (Philips Classics 0750842) (2001). —. DVD. Rudolf Nureyev’s Don Quichotte, Ballet de l’Opéra de Paris, with Aurélie Dupont, Manuel Legris, Jean-Guillaume Bart (2002) (DV-BLDQ). —. DVD. The Moscow City Ballet’s Don Quixote, with Nadezhda Pavlova and Sergei Gorbachev (OVCDVD A1) (2003). —. DVD. Don Quixote: Grand Pas de Deux. From The Magic of Russian Ballet (Philips Classics 0743074) (2004). —. DVD. Don Quixote: Grand Pas de Deux. From Grand Pas de deux (Warner-NVC Arts: 0603187722) (2004). —. DVD. The State Perm Ballet’s Don Quixote, with Nina Ananiashvili

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Bibliography

and Aleskei Fadeyetchev (Kultur B000BZIT7U) (2005). —. DVD. The Bolshoi Ballet’s Don Quixote (1978), with Nadezhda Pavlova, Vladimir Levachov, Maya Plisetskaya, Maris Liepa Conductor: Alexander Kopylov Band: Bolshoi Theatre Choir and Orchestra (B000TH8WKO) (2007). La Bayadère La Bayadère. VHS and DVD. La Bayadère Filmed on the stage of the Kirov Theatre, Leningrad (1977), with stunning performances by Gabriella Komleva and Tatyana Turekhova. USSR Gostelradio (250096 1977 1-56127-113-6). DVD D1113 (2008). —. DVD. La Bayadère Ballet de l’Opéra de Paris, directed by Rudolf Nureyev, with Isabelle Guérin, Laurent Hilaire, Elisabeth Platel (1994) (4509-96851-2) (1997). —. DVD. La Bayadère: The Royal Ballet (2004) by John Lanchbery, Altynai Asylmuratova, Irek Mukhamedov, and Anthony Dowell (B0001FR0M0) (2005). —. DVD. La Bayadère Minkus's ballet in the Makarova/ Lanchbery version, performed at the Teatro Alla Scala in 2006 and featuring Svetlana Zakharova and Roberto Bolle (B000M2EBX8) (2007). Paquita Paquita. VHS. Paquita: Polonaise and Mazurka. The Kirov Ballet at Covent Garden. From Essential Ballet: Stars of the Russian Ballet (1992) (Philips 07 166-3). —. DVD. Paquita. Opéra National de Paris. Pierre Lacotte’s Paquita with Agnès Letestu and José Martinez (DV-BLPAQ) (2003). —. DVD. Paquita: Grand Pas. American Ballet Theater at The Met (Warner-NVC Arts 3984265552) (2003). —. DVD. Paquita: Polonaise and Mazurka, Grand Pas de Deux. On The Magic of Russian Ballet (Philips Classics 0743074) (2004). —. DVD. Paquita (excerpts). From Kirov Classics (Arthaus 100006).

Music for Ballet Class La Bayadère (Minkus). The score of La Bayadère arranged for piano in the order of classical ballet class. Barre, centre work, ports de bras, adage, allegro and pointe work, with additional improvisations. (Norman Higgins Music) [www.dancedots.com].

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Music from Minkus. Ballet Class Music from New York City. A double length compact disc containing 48 repeated solo piano melodies for a complete intermediate ballet class by Douglas Schultz, pianist for Ballet Class, New York. (Cynosura Sound, MM17C) [www.danceclassmusic.com] . Favorite Classics for Ballet Class—Roudnev Barre. 28 selections for full barre and center work; includes works by Tchaikovsky, Minkus, Løvenskjold, Ober, Pergolesi, Offenbach, Minkus, Adam, Drigo, and more. Directed and produced by Dmitri Roudnev, former Bolshoi artist, Director Ballet Intensive from Moscow and the Dmitri Roudnev Ballet School of Chicago. All selections performed by: Regina Shestakova-Martin, accompanist for the Kirov Ballet theatre, Vaganova Academy, Ballet Intensive from Moscow, and Ballet Internationalé CD Length: 60 Minutes (Alva 57). (1) Warm-up tendu 6/8 Minkus, Don Quixote (2) Plie 12/8 Minkus, La Bayadère (3) Tendu 2/4 Minkus, Paquita (4) Tendu 2/4 Tchaikovsky, Theme & Variations (5) Degage (battement jete) 2/4 Offenbach (6) Ronde De Jambe Par Terre 12/8 Minkus, La Bayadère (7) Fondu 2/4 Tchaikovsky, Children's Album (8) Frappe 2/4 Tchaikovsky, Sleeping Beauty (9) Frappe or Petit Battement 2/4 Tchaikovsky, Sleeping Beauty (10) Adagio 12/8 Minkus, La Bayadère (11) Ronde De Jambe En L'air 2/4 Ober, Grande Pas Classique (12) Grande Battement 2/4 Schneitzhoeffer (13) Stretch 4/4 Russian Folk Melody Numbers 1-13 repeat Center (14) Adagio 3/4 Tchaikovsky, Swan Lake (15) Tendu 6/8 Shestakova (16) Fondu or Ronde De Jambe Par Terre 6/8 Pergolezi (17) Grande Battement 3/4 Drigo (18) Slow Pirouettes 6/8 Minkus, Don Quixote (19) Small Jump 2/4 Tchaikovsky, Pas de Trois (20) Ensemble 2/4 Minkus, La Bayadère (21) Jete 6/8 Glinka, Ivan Susanin (22) Brise 6/8 Adam, Giselle (23) Sissonne Ferme 3/4 Pugni, Frescoes (24) Sissonne fondu or Sissonne Ouverte 2/4 Levenskold, La Sylphide (25) Big Jump (waltz grand sissonne) 3/4 Adam, Le Corsaire (26) Big Jump (waltz grand sissonne) 3/4 Shtolz/Strause

Classics for Kids: Introduction to Ballet Class. A double length compact disc with 25 repeated solo piano melodies for a complete preballet

394

Bibliography

class, to introduce the beginning ballet student to the music from many famous ballets, including Sleeping Beauty, Flower Festival, Don Quixote and La Bayadère. (Steven Mitchell, piano, and Nan Keating), 9850C [www.alvas.com/music]). Igor Zapravdin Ballet Studio: the Barre Exercises, The Centre Exercises, and Allegro. Ballet Music from the Russian Imperial Theatre: The Best of Classical Piano Music for the Ballet Studio. Music by Vinzentini, Bajetti, Minkus, Drigo, Pugni, Glazunov, Delibes, Burgmüller, Nadaud, Messager, Armsheimer, Hertel. (Igor Zapravdin, piano) (Igor Nr. 1) [http://members.aon.at/lange.info][[email protected]] Music of the Russian Imperial Ballet 19th Century. Music by A. Adam, Burgmüller, Davidoff, Drigo, Gyrowetz, Carafa de Colobrano, Gärich, P. Hertel, Minkus, Pugni, Reber, Benoist, Schenk, Schneizhöffer, Marenco. (Igor Zapravdin, piano) (Igor Nr. 2) [http://members.aon.at/lange.info][[email protected]] Minkus: Raritäten der Ballettmusik. Music from Mlada, Nuit et Jour, Roxana, La Source, Le Papillon, Fiametta, Zoraya, Le poisson doré, Néméa, Les Aventures de Pélé, La Fille de neiges, Camargo, Les Brigands (Igor Zapravdin, piano) (2007) (Igor Nr. 3) [http://members.aon.at/lange.info][[email protected]] (1) 8 excerpts from Fiametta (2) 2 excerpts from Néméa (3) 7 excerpts from La Source (4) 2 excerpts from Das Goldfischlein (5) 1 excerpts from Le Papillon (6) 1 excerpts from Camargo (7) 2 excerpts from Die Schneetochter (8) 2 excerpts from Die Abenteuer des Peleus (9) 4 excerpts from Die Banditen (10) 1 excerpts from Zoraya (11) 4 excerpts from Mlada (12) 4 excerpts from Nacht und Tag (13) 4 excerpts from Roxana

INDEX

Adam, Adolphe, composer, 25, 26, 78, 157-8, 346, 352, 361 Corsaire, Le, 39, 50 (n. 25), 107, 110, 161 (n. 40), 258, 361 Diable à quatre, Le, xvi, 351, 361 Fille du Danube, La, xvi, 49-50 (n. 24), 109, 156 Giselle, xvi, 25, 27, 49 (n. 23), 157-8, 159 (n. 2), 220, 256, 319, 347 Orfa, xvi, 7 Albert, Alfred, costumier at the Paris Opéra, 75 Albert, François Dacombe, dancer and choreographer, 47-8 (n. 13) Albrecht, Karl Karlovich, composer and teacher, 22, 54-5 (n. 54) Alexander II, Emperor of Russia, 13, 15, 131 Alexander III, Emperor of Russia, 13, 63, 66, 148 Aline [Dorsé], dancer, 71 Allegri, Orest, stage designer, 108 Amani, Indian bayadère, 120 Andreyanova, Mlle., dancer, 48 (n. 17) Andreyev, I., stage designer, 114, 126 Angioli, Gaspare, choreographer, 87 Arensky, Anton Stepanovich, composer, 159 (n. 3) Argine, Constantino dall', composer, 107 Camargo, 107 Armsheimer, Johann Ivanovich, composer, 15, 52 (n. 38) Halte de Cavalerie 15, 49-50 (n.

24), 54 (n. 45) Arpino, Gerard, choreographer, 158 Asafiev [Asafyev], Boris Vladimirovich, composer, 31, 57 (n. 73) Flames of Paris, 57 (n. 73) Fountain of Bakhchiseray, 57 (n. 73) Prisoner of the Caucasus, The 57 (n. 73) Auber, Daniel-François-Esprit, composer, 26 Gitana, La, 51 (n. 30), 111 Dieu et la Bayadère, Le, 119 Muette de Portici, La, 26, 109, 110, 161-2 (n. 40) Auer, Leopold, violinist, 112, 126, 180 Aumer, Jean, choreographer, 145, 163 (n. 61) Babilée, Jean, dancer and choreographer, 101 Balanchine, George, dancer and choreographer, 38, 39, 40, 41, 55 (n. 62), 80, 101, 123, 156 BALLET SCORES (the choreographer is given where the composer is not known) Air d'Esprit, L' (Arpino), 158 Aladdin (Coppi), 54 (n. 45) Amor (Marenco), 162-3 (nn. 45, 46) Armida's Pavilion. See Pavillon d’Armide, Le (Tcherepnin), 361 Aventures de Pélée, Les (Thetis and Peleus, Wedding of

Index

396 Thetis and Peleus, The) (Minkus), xvi, 12, 50 (n. 26), 61, 63, 66; scenario: 112-3 Awakening of Flora, The, (Réveil de Flore, Le) (Drigo), 52 (n. 37), 164 (n. 70) Bandits, Les. See Brigands, Les Barbe-Bleu. See Bluebeard Bayadère, La, (Bayaderka) (Minkus), xvi, 1-2, 3-4, 11, 13, 15, 16, 30, 31-4, 35-7, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 49-50 (nn. 24, 25), 56 (nn. 69, 70), 57 (n. 75), 58 (n. 79), 61, 62, 66, 110, 139, 142, 159 (n. 1), 161 (n. 40), 167, 168, 170, 172, 174, 177-80, 181-3, 186-8, 18990 (nn. 10, 12, 15, 20), 256, 356; scenario: 114-130; original scenario (Khudekov): 367-76; musical analysis: 278-345 Bluebeard, (Barbe-Bleu) (Schenk), 15, 54 (n. 45) Blue Dahlia, The, 50 (n. 27) Brahma (Manzotti), 50-1 (n. 29) Brigands, Les, (Bandits, Les) (Minkus), xvi, 12, 50 (n. 25), 61, 63, 65; scenario: 110-12 Camargo (dall' Argine; later Minkus), xvi, 12, 16-17, 37, 49-50 (nn. 23, 24), 54 (n. 45), 61, 62, 65, 159 (n. 2), 178; scenario: 102-8 Chevalier errant, Le (Jaques Ibert), 101 Cinderella. See Zolushka Cleopatra (Giorza), 162 (n. 45) Coppélia (Delibes), 9, 26, 48-9 (nn. 13, 14, 23), 50-1 (n. 29), 54 (n. 49), 62, 84 Corsaire, Le (Adam), 39, 50 (n.

25), 107, 110, 161 (n. 40), 258, 361 Diable à quatre, Le (Adam), xvi, 351, 361 Diavolina (Pugni), 49 (n. 23) Doch' faraona. See Fille du Pharaon, La Don Kikhot, Don Quichotte See Don Quixote (Minkus) Don Quixote (Don Kikhot/Don Quichotte) (Minkus; Spies; Gerhard; Nabokov), xvi, 12, 9-11, 17, 22-3, 26, 31-2, 34, 35-7, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 49-50 (n. 24), 57-8 (nn. 77, 85), 61, 62, 65, 142, 143, 163 (n. 65), 167, 168, 170, 172-5, 176-7, 178, 179, 180, 183-6, 187, 356, 361; scenario: 86-102; musical analysis: 214-77 Dryaden, Die (Minkus), xvii, 16 Enchanted Forest, The (Drigo), 52 (n. 33) Esmeralda (Pugni), 48 (n. 13), 50-1 (n. 29), 280, 300, 361 Excelsior (Marenco), 51 (n. 31), 133, 148, 149, 152-3, 162-3 (nn. 45, 46) Fiammetta (Plamya Lyubvi, ili Salamandra) (Minkus), xvi, xvii, 7-8, 15, 49 (n. 23), 61, 62, 64, 75, 170; scenario: 67-71 Fille des neiges, La (Minkus), xvi, 13, 50 (nn. 24, 25), 61, 63, 66; scenario: 133-4 Fille du Danube, La (Adam), xvi, 49-50 (n. 24), 109, 156 Fille du Pharaon, La, (Doch' faraona) (Pugni), 9, 50-1 (n. 29), 120, 125, 159 (n. 2), 161 (n. 40) Fille mal gardée, La (Hérold/Hertel), 49 (n. 23), 51 (n. 29)

The Ballets of Ludwig Minkus Flames of Paris (Asafiev), 57 (n. 73) Fountain of Bakhchiseray (Asafiev), 57 (n. 73) Frizak (Tsiryul'nik Frizak) (Frizak the Barber, or The Double Wedding) (Minkus), xvi, 13, 63, 66; scenario: 134 Gayane (Khachaturian), 57 (n. 75) Giselle (Adam; also Burgmuller), xvi, 25, 27, 49 (n. 23), 157-8, 159 (n. 2), 220, 256, 319, 347 Gitana, La (Schmidt/Auber), 51 (n. 30), 111 Golden Fish, Goldfish, The. See Poisson doré, Le Grapevine, The (Rubinstein), 15 Gypsy, La (Benoist, Thomas and Marliani), 111 Halte de Cavalerie (Armsheimer), 15, 49-50 (n. 24), 54 (n. 45) Harlequin's Millions (Millions d’Arlequin, Les) (Drigo), 52 (n. 37), 164 (n. 70) Kalkabrino (Minkus), xvii, 1314, 15, 49-50 (n. 24), 51 (n. 31), 61, 62, 67,164 (n. 69); scenario: 150-4 Konyok Gorbunok. See Little Humpbacked Horse, The Liliya (Lily). See Lys, Le Limpid Stream, The (Shostakovich), 57 (n. 75) Little Humpbacked Horse, The, (Konyok Gorbunok) (Pugni), 48 (n. 13), 62, 81, 361 Living Flowers (Simon), 56-7 (n. 71) Lys, Le (Liliya, or Lily, The) (Minkus), xvi, 9, 19, 49 (n. 23), 62, 64, 75, 80, 84 Magic Flute, The,

397

(Drigo/Ivanov), 52 (n. 37) Manon Lescaut (Halévy), 25, 145, 163 (n. 61) Maschera, La (Les Nuits de Venise) (Giorza), 73, 159 (n. 5) Michelangelo e Rolla (Manzotti), 162 (n. 45) Midsummer Night's Dream, A (Son v letnyuyu noch') (Mendelssohn/Minkus), xvi, 12-13, 49-50 (nn. 24, 26, 27), 62, 66, 196; scenario: 113-14 Millions d’Arlequin, Les. See Harlequin's Millions Mlada (Minkus), xvi, 3, 11, 13, 16, 31, 48-9 (nn. 20, 21), 50 (n. 26), 56 (n. 69), 61, 62, 66, 133; scenario: 134-40 Moro della Antille (Manzotti), 162 (n. 45) Morte di Masaniello (Manzotti), 162 (n. 45), Muette de Portici, La (Auber), 26, 109, 110, 161-2 (n. 40) Naiad and the Fisherman, The (Ondine), (Pugni), xvi, 155 Néméa (L'Amour vengé) (Minkus), xvi, 2, 8, 9, 15, 30, 47 (n. 10), 56 (n. 69), 64, 67, 68, 170-1, 180, 181; scenario: 71-5 Noces de Thésis et Pélée, Les (Minkus/Delibes), xvii, 16, 112, 113 Noch' i dyen'. See Nuit et Jour Nuit et Jour (Noch' i dyen') (Minkus), xvi, 13, 31, 49-50 (nn. 24, 25, 26), 61, 63, 66, 175, 379; scenario: 146-8 Nutcracker, The (Shchelkunchik/CasseNoisette) (Tchaikovsky), 3, 49-50 (n. 24), 55-6 (n. 63), 134. 164 (n. 69)

Index

398 Offrande à l'amour, L' (Les Plaisirs Amoreux) (Minkus), xvii, 13, 50 (nn. 26, 27), 61, 63, 67; scenario: 150 Ondine. See Naiad and the Fisherman, The (Pugni) Orfa (Adam), xvi, 7 Papillon, Le (Offenbach/Minkus), xvi, 12, 31, 49-50 (nn. 24, 25), 56 (n. 69), 57 (n. 75), 61, 62, 65, 159 (n. 2), 281, 282, 307, 314; scenario: 108-10 Pâquerette (Benoist), xvi, 157 Paquita (Deldevez/Minkus), xvi, 13, 14, 33, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 48 (n. 17), 50-1 (nn. 25, 28, 29), 61, 62, 66, 157, 165 (n.72), 168-9, 170, 181, 187; scenario: 143-5; musical analysis: 346-62 Pavillon d’Armide, Le (Armida's Pavilion) (Tcherepnin), 361 Pearl, The (Perle, La) (Drigo), 52 (n. 37), 54 (n. 45) Perle, La. See Pearl, The Peter Pan (Delibes, Minkus arr. Fredmann), 44 Pietro Micca (Manzotti), 162 (n. 45) Pillules Magique, Les (Pillules du diable/enchantées) (Minkus), xvi, 13, 14, 52 (n. 33), 61, 63, 66, scenario: 148-50 Poisson doré, Le (Zolotaya Rybka, Golden Fish) (Minkus), xvi, 9, 18-19, 30, 54 (n. 51), 62, 64, 170, 175, 180-1, 377; scenario: 81-6 Portrait de Don Guichotte (Petrassi), 101 Prisoner of the Caucasus, The (Asafiev), 57 (n. 73) Pygmalion (Minkus), xvi, 7

Raymonda (Glazunov), 49-50 (n. 24) Réveil de Flore, Le (Drigo). See Awakening of Flora, The Robert le Diable (Meyerbeer), 26, 175, 254, 256 Roi Candaule, Le (Tsar Kandavl) (Pugni), 133, 149, 159 (n. 2), 282, 315, 361 Round the World in Eighty Days 148 Roxana (Roksana) (Roxane, la belle Albanese) (Minkus), xvi, 13, 15, 31, 50 (n. 26), 56 (n. 69), 63, 66; scenario: 131-2 Rübezahl (Minkus/DelibesStrauss), xvii, 16 Ruses d'amour (Glazunov), 54 (n. 45) Sacountala (Reyer), 119, 120, 160-1 (n. 29) Saisons, Les. See Seasons, The Samson et Dalila (Saint-Saens), 292 Sardanapal (Hertel), 54 (n. 51) Sbarco di Garibaldi a Marsala (Marenco), 162 (n. 46) Seasons, The (Glazunov), 164 (n. 70) Shakespeare, ossia Il Sogno di una Notte di Mezza Estate (Giorza), 114 Sieba (Marenco), 162-3 (nn. 45, 46) Sleeping Beauty, The (Spashaya Krasavitsa/La Belle au bois dormant) (Tchaikovsky), 15, 28, 49-52 (nn. 24, 27, 31, 33), 152, 153, 177-8, 344 Soirée de fête (Büsser, after Minkus), 38, 80 Son v letnyuyu noch' (Mendelssohn/Minkus). See

The Ballets of Ludwig Minkus Midsummer Night's Dream, A Source, La (Minkus/Delibes), xvi, 9, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 30, 38, 39, 44, 48 (n. 13), 49 (n. 23), 54 (nn. 49, 51), 61, 62, 64, 84, 170, 179, 181, 183, 187; scenario: 75-80; musical analysis: 191-213 Spartacus (Khachaturian), 57 (n. 75) Sport (Marenco), 162 (n. 45), 162-3 (nn. 45, 46) Sprühfeuer. See Fiammetta Stars, The (Simon), 56-7 (n. 71) Swan Lake (Lebedinoe ozero/Le Lac des cygnes) (Ivanov/Tchaikovsky), 28, 29, 49-50 (n. 24), 54 (n. 45), 119, 123, 152, 155-6, 161 (n. 36), 256, 285, 293, 302, 310 Sylphide, La (Schneitzhoeffer), 199, 220, 361 Sylvia (Delibes), 63, 292 Talisman, The (Drigo), 52 (nn. 33, 37), 54 (n. 45) Tanz und Mythe (Minkus), xvii, 16 Taras Bulba (Solovyev-Sedoy), 57 (n. 74) Trilby (The Devil at Home) (Gerber), 55 (n. 56), 361 Tsar Kandavl. See Roi Candaule, Le Tulip of Haarlem, The (Fitinhoff-Schell), 15, 51-2 (nn. 31, 32, 33) Two Days In Venice (Dva Dnya v Venetsi)(Minkus), xvi, 7 Two Stars (Dvye zvezdy) (Minkus), xvi, 10 Undine (Tchaikovsky), 29 Union of Thetis and Peleus (Minkus), xvi, 7 Vestal, The (M. Ivanov), 52 (n. 33), 188-9 (n. 4)

399

Violon du Diable, Le (Pugni), 48 (n. 13) Vivandière, La (Pugni) 114 Voyage à la Lune, La (Offenbach), 148 Zolotaya Rybka. See Poisson doré, Le Zolushka (Cinderella) (Fitinhoff-Schell), 15, 46 (n. 3), 49-50 (n. 24) Zoraya ili Mavritanka v Ispanii (Zoraya, or A Moorish Girl in Spain) (Minkus), xvi, 13, 15, 50 (n. 25),61, 62, 66; scenario: 140-3 Barenboim, Daniel, pianist and conductor, 56 (n. 66) Baryshnikov, Mikhail, dancer and choreographer, 40, 41, 123, 128 Bazin, notary in Paris, 21 Beaugrand, Léontine, dancer, 79 Beaumont, Cyril, ballet historian, 61 Beer, Michael, 55 (n. 54) Beethoven, Ludwig van, composer, 24 Bellini, Vincenzo, composer, 134 Benislawski, Eugénie, Theodor Leschetizky’s third wife, 24 Benois, Alexander Nikolaievich, painter, stage designer, art historian and critic, 118 Benoist, François, composer, 26, 157 La Gypsy, 111 Pâquerette, xvi, 157 Beretta, Caterina, dancer and teacher, 54 (n. 45) Beriozov, Nicholas, 40 Berlioz, Louis-Hector, composer, 175 Symphonie Fantastique, 175 Besobrasova, Marika, choreographer, 39 Bessone, Emma, dancer, 158 Bizet, Georges, composer, 299

400 Carmen, 299 Blasis, Carlo, choreographer, 50-1 (nn. 29, 31, 32), 55 (n. 58), 152 Bocharov, M., stage designer, 114, 126, 146 Bogdanov, Alexander [Alexei], dancer, 31, 96, 110 Bois, Mario, music publisher, 33, 58 (n.78) Boismortier, Joseph Bodin de, composer, 87 Bolm, Adolph, dancer, choreographer and teacher, 51 (n. 32), 164 (n. 69) Bonynge, Richard, conductor, 1, 335 Borkh, Count Alexander, director of the Imperial theatres, 133 Borkowski, Witold, director, 39 Borodin, Alexander, composer and scientist, 11, 48-9 (n. 20), 134, 136-40 Mlada, 3, 11, 48-9 (nn. 20, 21), 134, 136-40 Botch, Count. See Borkh, Count Alexander, Bournonville, August, choreographer, 51 (n. 30), 149, 163-4 (n. 65) Braquehais, B., photographer, 7, 8 Brianza, Carlotta, dancer, 14, 51 (n. 31), 67, 150, 152, 153-4 Brown, David, musicologist, 123 Bulgakov, Alexei, dancer, 113 Burgmüller, Frédéric [Friedrich], composer, 26, 157-8 Giselle, 25, 27, 49 (n. 23), 1578, 159 (n. 2), 220, 256, 319, 347 Büsser, Paul-Henri, composer, 38 Soirée de fête, 38, 80 Cadeau, musician at the Paris Opéra, 20 Camargo, Marie Ann de Curpis de, dancer, 106-7

Index Cambon, Charles-Antoine, stage designer, 79 Caroline, Mlle. [DominiqueVenettozza], dancer at the Paris Opéra, 71 Casati, Giovanni, dancer, choreographer and teacher, 25, 55 (n. 58), 114 Casenave, Roland, choreographer, 39 Catel, Charles-Simon, composer, 119 Les Bayadères, 119 Catherine II (the Great), Empress of Russia, 46-7 (nn. 5, 6) Cavos, Alberto, son of Catterino Cavos, architect, 47 (n. 6) Cavos, Catterino, composer, 26, 47 (n. 6), 150 Cecchetti, Enrico, dancer and choreographer, 14, 46 (n. 3), 51 (nn. 31, 32), 150, 152-4, 164 (n. 69) Cerrito, Fanny, dancer, 48 (n. 13), 73 Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel de, writer, 62, 65, 86, 87, 90, 101, 110-1 Chabrier, Alexis Emmanuel, composer, 177 Chabukiani, Vakhtang Mikhailovich [Chabukian, Chaboukiani, Vachtan], dancer and choreographer, 38, 128, 129, 281, 314, 336 Chalmers, Paul, choreographer, 156 Chancellor, Richard, English navigator, 162 (n. 44) Changuine, stage designer in Moscow, 86 Chaperon, Philippe-Marie, stage designer, 75 Chapuy, Alfred, dancer, 71, 74 Charlemagne, stage designer in Moscow, 146 Chopin, Frédéric François

The Ballets of Ludwig Minkus [Fryderyk Franciszek], pianist and composer, 73, 170 Christian IX, King of Denmark, 19, 83 Clarke, Mary, music critic, 344 Coleman, David, conductor, 33 Constantine [Konstantin] Nikolaievich, Grand Duke of Russia, 101 Conus, Natalie, choreographer, 39 Coppi, Carlo, composer, 54 Aladdin, 54 (n. 45) Coralli, Jean, choreographer, 157-8, 159 (n. 2) Cosi, Liliana, dancer and choreographer, 40 Cossmann, Bernhard, cellist, 21, 54 (n. 53) Cowles, Virginia, historian, 46-7 (n. 5) Cranko, John, dancer, choreographer and director, 39, 80 Croce, Arlene, critic, 123-4, 161 (n. 36) Cucchi, Claudina, dancer, 114 Cui [Kjui], César, composer, 11, 489 (n. 20), 134, 136-40 Mlada, 3, 11, 48-9 (nn. 20, 21), 134, 136-40 Curry, John, ice-skater, 36, 58 (n. 85), 167 Czerny, Carl, pianist and composer, 53 (n. 40) Czerny, Franz, piano teacher in Moscow, 21, 54 (n. 53) Danilova, Alexandra Dionysievna, dancer and teacher, 38, 51 (n. 32), 164 (n. 69) Dante Alighieri, poet, 121, 125-6 Dauty, François-Édouard, dancer, 71, 74 David, producer at the Paris Opéra, 18 Deane, Derek, choreographer, 43

401

Degas, Edgar, artist, 79 D'Egville, James Harvey, balletmaster, 87 Deldevez, Edouard-Ernest-Marie, composer, 13, 26, 33, 37, 50 (n. 28), 66, 143, 157, 347 Paquita, xvi, 13, 14, 33, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 48 (n. 17), 50-1 (nn. 25, 28, 29), 61, 62, 66, 157, 168-9, 170, 181, 187; scenario: 143-5; musical analysis: 346-62 Delibes, Léo, composer, 9, 12, 15, 16, 18, 20-1, 22, 23, 28, 30, 62, 75, 76, 78, 80, 112, 113, 192, 296, 361, Coppélia, 9, 26, 48-9 (nn. 13, 14, 23), 50-1 (n. 29), 54 (n. 49), 62, 84 Noces de Thésis et Pélée, Les xvii, 16, 112, 113 Rübezahl, xvii, 16 Source, La, xvi, 9, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 30, 38, 39, 44, 48 (n. 13), 49 (n. 23), 54 (nn. 49, 51), 61, 62, 64, 84, 170, 179, 181, 183, 187; scenario: 75-80; musical analysis: 191-213 Sylvia, 63, 292 Despléchin, Edouard, scene designer, 75, 79-80 Diaghilev, Sergei Pavlovich, ballet impresario, 51 (nn. 31, 32), 164 (nn. 69, 70) Didelot, Charles, choreographer, 87, 150 Dindonis, Dace, dancer and director, 3, 4 Dolin, Anton, dancer, choreographer and teacher, 51 (n. 32), 164 (n. 69) Dominique, Mme., teacher in Paris, 49 (n. 23), 73 Donizetti, Gaetano Domenico,

402 composer, 110 Fille du régiment, La, 159 (n. 2) Linda di Chamounix, 110 Door, Anton, pianist, 21, 54 (n. 53) Dor, dancer, 110 Doré, Gustave, artist, 121, 125 Drigo, Riccardo, composer, 15, 29, 30, 31, 52 (nn. 33, 37), 100, 113, 123, 145, 258, 275, 282, 361 Awakening of Flora, The, 52 (n. 37), 164 (n. 70) Enchanted Forest, The, 52 (n. 33) Harlequin’s Millions, 52 (n. 37), 164 (n. 70) Magic Flute, The, 52 (n. 37) Pearl, The 52 (n. 37), 54 (n. 45) Talisman, The, 52 (nn. 33, 37), 54 (n. 45) Dudinskaya, Natalia, dancer, 128, 300 Elie, dancer, 144 Elssler, Fanny, dancer, 220 Espinosa, Léon, dancer, 86, 92 Eugénie, Empress of the French, 73 Fadeechev, Alexei [Fadeyechev, Alexei], 42 Farrell, Suzanne, dancer and choreographer, 101 Fedicheva, Kaleriya, 128 Feldt, Pavel Emilievich, 31, 57 (n. 75), 281 Fenaroli, Fedele, music theorist, 162 (n. 46) Ferraris, Amalia, dancer, 110 Fétis, François-Joseph, musicologist, 47 (n. 11) Fiocre, Eugénie, dancer, 8, 48 (n. 14), 64, 71, 74, 75, 79 Fiorentino, Pier Angelo, music critic, 145 Fioretti, Angelina, dancer, 79 Fitinhoff-Schell, Boris

Index Alexandrovich, Baron, composer, 15, 46 (n. 3), 52 (n. 33), 52 (n. 38) Cinderella. See Zolushka Tulip of Haarlem, The, 15, 51-2 (nn. 31, 32, 33) Zolushka, 15, 46 (n. 3), 49-50 (n. 24) Fokine, Michael [Mikhail Mikhailovich], dancer and choreographer, 49-50 (n. 24), 51 (n. 32), 164 (n. 69) Fonteyn, Margot, dancer, 101, 128, 164 (n. 69) Foucher, Paul, librettist, 50 (n. 28), 61, 62, 66, 143 Franchi, Paolo, balletmaster, 87 Fredmann, Martin, musician, 44 Frolova, Zinaida, dancer, 149 Gale, Joseph, ballet historian, 6, 34, 45 (n. 1), 53 (n. 41), 167, 190 (n. 21) Gaub, Albrecht, musicologist, 3, 49 (n. 21) Gautier, Théophile, writer and critic, 73, 78, 79, 120, 159 (n. 2), 160 (n. 29), 170 Gedeonov, Stepan Alexandrovich, director of the Imperial theatres, 11, 48-9 (nn. 19, 20), 61, 133, 134, 136, 137 Geltser, Vassily, dancer, 86 Gerber, Yuly Gustavovich, composer, 24, 55 (n. 56), 361 Trilby, 55 (n. 56), 361 Gerdt, Pavel Andreieveich, dancer, 12, 13, 14, 49-50 (n. 24), 51 (n. 30), 66, 96, 102, 110, 112, 113, 114, 121, 126, 133, 134, 146, 150, 153, 164 (n. 69) Gerdt, Yelisaveta [Elizaveta] Pavlovna, dancer and teacher, 49-50 (n. 24) Gerhard, Roberto, composer, 101 Don Quixote, 101

The Ballets of Ludwig Minkus Gershenzon, Pavel, 3, 33 Gioia, Gaetano, choreographer, 24 Giorza, Carlo, composer, 114 Cleopatra, 162 (n. 45) Maschera, La, 73, 159 (n. 5) Shakespeare, 114 Glazunov, Alexander, composer, 15, 113, Raymonda, 49-50 (n. 24) Ruses d’amour, Les, 54 (n. 45) Seasons, The, 164 (n. 70) Glinka, Mikhail Ivanovich, composer, 73, 170, Life for the Tsar, A, 47 (n. 6), 175, 296 Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, writer, 119 Goltz [Golts], Nicholas O., dancer, 96, 102, 110, 111, 126 Gorbachev, Mikhail, politician, 33 Gorshenkova, Maria, dancer, 13, 112, 114, 121, 126, 134, 146 Gorsky, Alexander, dancer and choreographer, 17, 31, 36, 37, 38, 39, 42, 51 (n. 32), 57 (n. 72), 97, 100, 127, 143 Gounod, Charles-François, composer, 238 Funeral March of a Marionette, 238 Grafström, Gillis, ice-skater, 58 (n. 85) Grant, Alexander, dancer, 101 Grantzow, Adèle, dancer, 12, 19, 20, 21, 24, 49 (n. 23), 64, 65, 70, 77, 78-9, 80, 102, 107, 110, 158 Grantzow, Gustav, ballet master, 49 (n. 23) Gredlu, Emile, dancer, 48 (n. 17) Gregory, Cynthia, dancer, 128 Grigoriev, scene designer in Moscow, 146 Grigorovich, Yury, choreographer, 40, 41, 43-4 Grisi, Carlotta, dancer, 143, 145,

403

158 Gsovsky, Tatyana, choreographer, 101 Gué, Georges, choreographer, 39 Guerchenzon, Pavel. See Gershenzon, Pavel Guerin, Isabelle, dancer, 56 (n. 66) Guest, Ivor, ballet historian, 2-3, 18 Gusev, Pyotr Andreievich, dancer and ballet master, 282, 315 Guy-Stephan, Marie, dancer, 73 Halévy, Jacques-FrançoisFromental-Élie, composer, 25, 159 (n. 2), 163 (n. 61) Manon Lescaut, 25, 145, 163 (n. 61) Halévy, Ludovic, librettist, 8, 64, 71, 75 Händel, Georg Friedrich, composer, 29 Hastings, Baird, writer, 102 Helen, Grand Duchess of Russia, 53 (n. 40) Helpmann, Robert, dancer and choreographer, 101 Hérold, Ferdinand, composer, 26 Fille mal gardée, La, 49 (n. 23), 50-1 (n. 29) Hertel, Peter Ludwig, composer, 49 (n.23) Fille mal gardée, La, 49 (n. 23), 50-1 (n. 29) Sardanapal, 54 (n. 51) Hilverding, Franz, choreographer, 86-7 Honoré, pianist and music teacher in Moscow, 21, 54 (n. 53) Honoré, Irina Ivanovna, singer, 54 (n. 53) Hugo, Victor, author, 113 Ibert, Jacques, composer, 101 Le Chevalier errant, 101 Inglesby, Mona, dancer, 164 (n. 69) Irving, Robert, musician, 102

404 Isakov, Pavel, stage designer in Moscow, 86 Ivanov, Lev, dancer, 17, 19, 37, 46 (n. 3), 50 (n. 24), 51 (n. 31), 52 (nn. 33, 37, 54 (n. 45), 81, 83, 96, 102, 107-8, 110, 112, 114, 120, 121, 126, 150, 161 (n. 36), 164 nn. 69, 70) Ivanov, Mikhail, composer, 52 (n. 33), 188-9 (n 4) Vestal, The, 52 (n. 33), 188 (n. 4) Jacobs, Laura, ballet critic, 344 Joffrey Ballet, 158 Johansson, Anna, dancer, 51 (n. 30) Johansson, Christian, dancer, 13, 49 (n. 24), 50-1 (nn. 27, 30), 66, 112, 126, 146, 163-4 (nn. 65, 69, 70) Jones, Susan, choreographer, 41 Jones, Sir William, translator, 161 (nn. 30, 32) Jouvin, Benoit, music critic, 73, 78 Jullien, Adolphe, writer, 45 (n. 1) Kalidasa, poet and dramatist, 62, 119, 120, 161 (n. 30) Kantsyreva, Klavdiya, dancer, 19, 81, 83, 86 Karpakova, Pelagaya, dancer, 86, 92 Karsavina, Tamara, dancer, 49-51 (nn. 24, 26, 32), 100, 164 (n. 69) Kemmerer [Kemerer], Alexandra, dancer, 96 Khachaturian, Aram Ilych, composer, 57 (n.75) Gayane, 57 (n. 75) Spartacus, 57 (n. 75) Khudekov, Sergei Nikolaievich, librettist, 61, 62, 66, 114, 115, 119, 130, 140, 142, 159 (n. 1), 367 Kirkland, Gelsey, dancer, 128 Kister, Baron Karl, director of the Imperial theatres, 118, 133-4 Klodt, Baron, stage designer in

Index Moscow, 146 Kondratyeva, Marina Victorovna, dancer, 41 Koppini, A., choreographer, 17, 38, 80 Koreshchenko, Arseny Nikolaievich, composer, 159 (n. 3) Kori, Noriaki, choreographer, 41 Korovin[e], Konstantin Alexeievich, stage designer, 100, 127 Krasovskaya, Vera Mikhailovna, ballet historian, 113, 123, 139 Kropotkin, Prince, Russian aristocrat, 47 (n. 5) Krylov, V. A., writer, 49 (n. 20) Kschessinska [Kschessinskaya], Mathilde-Maria Felixovna, dancer, 3, 51 (nn. 30, 32), 54 (n. 45), 100, 113, 139, 153-4, 164-5 (nn. 69, 70), 275, 282 Kschessinsky [Kshesinski], Felix, dancer, 96, 110, 120, 126, 164 (n. 70) Kuznetsov, Dmitri, dancer, 86 Kyascht, Lydia Georgievna, dancer, 49-50 (n. 24) Labarre, Théodore, composer, 26 Lackenbacher, Bernhard Philipp von, banker, godfather of Ludwig Minkus, 5 Lacotte, Pierre, dancer and choreographer, 37, 42, 43, 58-9 (n. 86), 155 Ladaeva, dancer, 96 Lambin, Pyotr, stage designer, 114 Lamont, Deni, dancer, 101 Lanchbery, John, conductor and composer, 32-3, 56 (n. 66), 57-8 (nn. 77, 78, 80), 167, 170, 18990 (nn. 10, 12, 20), 336, 343-4 Lanner, Joseph, composer, 6 Laub, Ferdinand, violinist, 21, 54 (n. 53) Lavastre, Jean-Baptiste, scene

The Ballets of Ludwig Minkus designer, 75 Lavrovsky, Leonid Mikhailovich, dancer and choreographer, 57 (n. 73) Lebedeva, Praskovya, dancer, 19, 70, 81, 83 Legat, Gustav, teacher, 164 (n. 69) Legat, Nadine, wife of Nikolai, 164 (n. 69) Legat, Nikolai Gustavovich, dancer, ballet master, choreographer and teacher, 38, 110, 150, 153, 164 (n. 69), 282, 314 Legat, Sergei Gustavovich, dancer, 104, 113 Legat, machinist at the Imperial Theatre, 134 Legnani, Pierina, dancer, 17, 54 (n. 45), 104, 108 Lehner, musician and conductor in Vienna, 16 Lenfant, Louis-François, dancer, 71 Leoncavallo, Ruggiero, composer, 319 Pagliacci, 319 Leonova, Olga, dancer, 113 Lepri, dancer and teacher, 50 (n. 29), 51 (n. 32) Leschetizky, Theodor, pianist, 16, 22, 24, 53 (n. 40) Levashyova, E. M., historian, 55 (n. 60) Lifar, Sergei, choreographer, 30, 51 (n. 32), 101, 118-9, 164 (n. 69) Livry, Emma, dancer, 109-10 Lopukhov, Fyodor Vasilievich, 31, 38, 57 (n. 72) Lopokova, Lydia Vasilievna, dancer, 51 (n. 32), 164 (n. 69) Loumier, Paul, scene designer, 75 Lucca, Pauline, singer, 161-2 (n. 40) Ludlow, Conrad, dancer, 156 Lyadov, Konstantin, musician, 157 McDermott, William, musician, 102, 130

405

McKenzie, Kevin, choreographer, 41, 42 McPhee, Jonathan, musician, 145 Madayeva [Madaeva], Matilda, dancer, 110, 120 Mahler, Gustav, composer and conductor, 16 Makarova, Natalia, dancer and choreographer, 1, 33, 36, 39, 40, 51 (n. 32), 128, 170, 189 (n. 10), 336 Malakhov, choreographer, 41 Malavergne, Pierre-Frederic, choreographer, 157 Manzotti, Luigi, choreographer, 25, 50-1 (nn. 29, 31), 133, 148, 162 (nn. 45, 46) March Peter, musician, 102, 129, 130, 145, 347 Marenco, Romualdo, composer, 162-3 (n. 46) Amor, 162-3 (nn. 45, 46) Sbarco di Garibaldi a Marsala, 162 (n. 46) Excelsior, 51 (n. 31), 133, 148, 149, 152-3, 162-3 (nn. 45, 46) Sieba, 162-3 (nn. 45, 46) Sport, 162-3 (nn. 45, 46) Marliani, Marco Aurelio, composer, 111 Gypsy, La, 111 Marquet, Louise, dancer, 75 Marzagora, choreographer in Milan, 107 Massine, Léonide Fedorovich [Leonid Fyodorovich], dancer, choreographer, and teacher, 51 (n. 32) Mattei, Stanislao, music theoretician, 162 (n. 46) Mazilier, Joseph, dancer and choreographer, 50 (n. 28), 111, 143, 157 Mazini, A., tenor in St Petersburg, 161-2 (n. 40)

406 Meilhac, Henri, librettist, 8, 64, 71, 75 Melun, Comte de, French aristocrat, 107 Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Felix, composer, 12-13, 66, 78, 113, 196 Ein Sommernachstraum, 12, 66, 78, 113, 196 Mérante, Louis, dancer and choreographer, 71, 75, 78 Mérante, Zina, dancer, 73 Meyerbeer, Giacomo, composer, 55 (n. 54), 134 Africaine, L’, 9, 19, 62, 177, 288, 298 Huguenots, Les, 302 Prophète, Le, 286 Robert le Diable, 26, 175, 254, 256 Struensee, 54-5 (n. 54) Milloss, Aurel von, choreographer, 101 Milon, Louis-Jacques, choreographer, 87 Minkus, Clara, niece of the composer, 16, 46 (n. 3), 53 (n. 42) Minkus, Eugen, brother of the composer, banker, 6, 46 (n. 3) Minkus, Ludwig [orig. Aloysius Bernhard Philipp; also known as Alois; Aloysius Ludwig; Ludwig Feodorovich/ Fedorovich/Fyodorovich; Aloysius Léon; Léon; Lois; Louis; Luigi], composer. Origins and early life: 5-6, 45-6 (n. 1); reputation as a violinist: 6, 7, 8, 21; life in Russia: 6-7, 15; collaboration and friendship with Saint-Léon: 7-9, 17-24; collaboration with Petipa: 9-13; retirement in Vienna and death: 14, 16; critical reputation: 2435; performance history of

Index ballets: 35-44; musical style: 167-88; original scores: Aventures de Pélée, Les (Thetis and Peleus, Wedding of Thetis and Peleus, The), xvi, 12, 50 (n. 26), 61, 63, 66; scenario: 112-3 Bandits, Les. See Brigands, Les Bayadère, La (Bayaderka), xvi, 1-2, 3-4, 11, 13, 15, 16, 30, 31-4, 35-7, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 49-50 (nn. 24, 25), 56 (nn. 69, 70), 57 (n. 75), 58 (n. 79), 61, 62, 66, 110, 139, 142, 159 (n. 1), 161 (n. 40), 167, 168, 170, 172, 174, 17780, 181-3, 186-8, 18990 (nn. 10, 12, 15, 20), 256, 356; scenario: 114130; original scenario (Khudekov): 367-76; musical analysis: 278345 Brigands, Les, xvi, 12, 50 (n. 25), 61, 63, 65; scenario: 110-12 Camargo, xvi, 12-13, 16-17, 37, 49-50 (nn. 23, 24), 54 (n. 45), 61, 62, 65, 159 (n. 2), 178; scenario: 102-8 Don Kikhot (Don Quichotte, Don Quixote), xvi, 1-2, 9-11, 17, 22-3, 26, 31-2, 34, 35-7, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 49-50 (n. 24), 57-8 (nn. 77, 85), 61, 62, 65, 142, 143, 163 (n. 65), 167, 168, 170, 172-5, 176-7, 178, 179, 180, 183-6, 187, 356, 361; scenario: 86-

The Ballets of Ludwig Minkus 102; musical analysis: 214-77 Fetida i Pelei (Thetis and Peleus). See Aventures de Pélée, Les Fiammetta, xvi, xvii, 7-8, 15, 49 (n. 23), 61, 62, 64, 75, 170; scenario: 67-71 Fille des neiges, La, xvi, 13, 50 (nn. 24, 25), 61, 63, 66; scenario: 133-4 Lys, Le (derived from La Source), xvi, 9, 19, 49 (n. 23), 62, 64, 75, 80, 84 Midsummer Night's Dream, A (Son v letnyuyu noch'), xvi, 12-13, 49-50 (nn. 24, 26, 27), 62, 66, 196; scenario: 113-14 Mlada, xvi, 3, 11, 13, 16, 31, 48-9 (nn. 20, 21), 50 (n. 26), 56 (n. 69), 61, 62, 66, 133; scenario: 134-40 Néméa (L’Amour vengé), xvi, 2, 8, 9, 15, 30, 47 (n. 10), 56 (n. 69), 64, 67, 68, 170-1, 180-1; scenario: 71-5 Nuit et Jour (Noch' i dyen'), xvi, 13, 31, 49-50 (nn. 24, 25, 26), 61, 63, 66, 175, 379; scenario: 1468 Offrande à l’Amour, L’, xvii, 13, 50 (nn. 26, 27), 61, 63, 67; scenario: 150 Papillon, Le, xvi, 12, 31, 49-50 (nn. 24, 25), 56 (n. 69), 57 (n. 75), 61, 62, 65, 159 (n. 2), 281, 282, 307, 314; scenario: 108-10 Pillules magiques, Les , xvi,

407

13, 14, 52 (n. 33), 61, 63, 66; scenario: 148-50 Poisson doré, Le (Zolotaya Rybka), xvi, 9, 18-19, 30, 54 (n. 51), 62, 64, 170, 175, 180-1, 377; scenario: 81-6 Roxana (Roksana), xvi, 13, 15, 31, 50 (n. 26), 56 (n. 69), 63, 66; scenario: 131-2 Source, La, xvi, 9, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 30, 38, 39, 44, 48 (n. 13), 49 (n. 23), 54 (nn. 49, 51), 61, 62, 64, 84, 170, 179, 181, 183, 187; scenario: 75-80; musical analysis: 191-213 Sprühfeuer. See Fiammetta Tanz und Mythe, xvii, 16 Two Days in Venice (Dva Dnya v Venetsi), xvi, 7 Two Stars (Dvye zvezdy), xvi, 10 Union of Thetis and Peleus, The, xvi, 7 Zoraya ili Mavritanka v Ispanii, xvi, 13, 15, 50 (n. 25),61, 62, 66; scenario: 140-3 Adaptations, with reorchestration and/or additional new numbers by Minkus: Diable à quatre, Le, xvi, 351, 361 Giselle, xvi, 25, 27, 49 (n. 23), 157-8, 159 (n. 2), 220, 256, 319, 347 Fille de Danube, La xvi, 4950 (n. 24), 109, 156 Frizak, xvi, 13, 63, 66, 134 Naiad and the Fisherman, The, xvi, 155 Orfa, xvi, 7

408 Pâquerette, xvi, 157 Paquita, xvi, 13, 14, 33, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 48 (n. 17), 50-1 (nn. 25, 28, 29), 61, 62, 66, 157, 165 (n.72), 168-9, 170, 181, 187; scenario: 143-5; musical analysis: 346-62 Pygmalion, xvi, 7 Swan Lake, xvi, 28, 155-6 Adaptations using Minkus’s music (with or without his active participation): Dryaden, Die, xvii, 16 Noces de Thésis et Pélée, Les, xvii, 16, 112, 113 Kalkabrino, xvii, 13-14, 15, 49-50 (n. 24), 51 (n. 31), 61, 62, 67,164 (n. 69); 165 (n.72), scenario: 150-4 Rübezahl, xvii, 16 Minkus, Maria Antoinette (née Schwarz), wife of the composer, 7, 16, 18, 21, 24, 54 (n. 52) Minkus, Maria Franziska (née Heimann), mother of the composer, 5 Minkus, Theodor Johann, father of the composer, 5, 6, 45-6 (n. 1) Monet, dancer in Paris, 144 Monier-Williams, Sir Monier, literary scholar, 161 (n. 30) Monplaisir, Hippolyte, choreographer, 107 Montagu-Nathan, N., writer, 1 Montessu, Pauline, dancer, 73 Mordkin, Mikhail, dancer, 127 Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, composer, 286 Zauberflöte, Die 286 Muravyeva [Muravieva], Marfa Nikolaievna, dancer, 7, 8, 47 (n. 12), 64, 70-1, 72, 73, 74 Musset, Alfred de, poet, 73

Index Mussorgsky [Musorgskij], Modest Petrovich, composer, 11, 48-9 (n. 20) 134, 136-40 Mlada, 3, 11, 48-9 (nn. 20, 21), 134, 136-40 Nabokov, Nikolai, composer, 101 Don Quixote, 101 Nagy, Ivan, dancer, 128 Napravnik, Eduard, composer and conductor, 47 (n. 6), 159 (n. 3) Nekrasov, Nikolai Alexeievich, poet, 159 (n. 11) Nemchinova, Vera, dancer and teacher, 164 (n. 69) Nemirovich-Danchenko, Vladimir Ivanovich, playwright, novelist and producer, 114 Nicholas II, Emperor of Russia, 16, 113, 139 Nicolai, Karl Otto Ehrenfried, composer, 196 Nijinsky, Vaslav Fomich, dancer and choreographer, 51 (n. 32), 164 (n. 69) Nikitina, Alice, dancer, singer and teacher, 13, 146 Nordenskjöld, Baron Nils Adolf Erik, explorer, 133, 162 (n. 44) Noverre, Jean-Georges, choreographer, 87, 106 Novikov, Laurent, choreographer, 36, 38, 100 Nuitter, Charles, librettist, 9, 18, 54 (n. 49), 61, 64, 75, 77-8 Nureyev, Rudolph, dancer and choreographer, 1, 3, 32-3, 36, 37, 39, 40, 41, 56 (n. 66), 58 (n. 78), 128, 129 Obukov, Anatoly Nikolaievich, dancer and teacher, 51 (n. 32) Offenbach, Jacques, composer, 71, 109-10, 148 Papillon, Le, xvi, 12, 31, 49-50 (nn. 24, 25), 56 (n. 69), 57

The Ballets of Ludwig Minkus (n. 75), 61, 62, 65, 159 (n. 2), 281, 282, 307, 314; scenario: 108-10 Voyage à la lune, La, 148 Ogoleyt, M., dancer, 70-1 OPERAS Africaine, L' (Meyerbeer), 9, 19, 62, 177, 288, 298 Aida (Verdi), 62 Bayadères, Les (Catel), 119 Carmen (Bizet), 299 Dieu et la Bayadère, Le (Auber), 119 Fille du régiment, La, (Donizetti), 159 (n. 2) Fisherman, The (Anton Simon), 56-7 (n. 71) Gypsy Baron, The. See Zigeunerbaron Der Huguenots, Les (Meyerbeer), 302 Jessonda (Spohr), 119 Life for the Tsar, A (Glinka), 47 (n. 6), 175, 296 Linda di Chamounix (Donizetti), 110 Maid of Orleans, The (Tchaikovsky), 143 Mlada (Rimsky-Korsakov; also Cui, Borodin, Mussorgsky), 3, 11, 48-9 (nn. 20, 21), 134, 136-40 Muette de Portici, La (Auber), 26, 109, 110, 161-2 (n. 40) Oberon (Weber), 197 Pagliacci (Leoncavallo), 319 Pique Dame (Suppé), 112 Prophète, Le (Meyerbeer), 286 Queen of Spades, The. See Pique Dame Rigoletto (Verdi), 318 Ring des Nibelungen, Der (Wagner), 286 Robert le Diable (Meyerbeer), 26, 175, 254, 256

409

Rolla (Anton Simon), 56-7 (n. 71) Song of Triumphant Love, The (Anton Simon), 56-7 (n. 71) Zauberflöte, Die (Mozart), 286 Zigeunerbaron, Der, 46 (n. 3) Orlikovsky, Vaslav [Wazlaw], dancer and choreographer, 39 Ortiz, Joseph, musician, 129 Paderewski, Ignacy, pianist and composer, 53 (n. 40) Paeper, Veronica, choreographer, 40 Pahn, Vello, conductor, 56 (n. 66) Pallerini, Antonio, choreographer, 162 (n. 46) Patti, Adelina, singer, 110, 161-2 (n. 40) Pavlova, Anna, dancer, 16, 36, 37, 38, 49-51 (nn. 24, 25, 26, 32), 57 (n. 72), 86, 100, 126, 127, 164 (n. 69), 335 Perrin Emile, theatre director, 18, 20, 71 Perrot, Jules, dancer and choreographer, 48 (n. 13), 93, 118-19, 155, 157-8, 159 (n. 2) Petipa, Jean-Antoine, dancer and choreographer, 9, 48 (nn. 17, 18), 134, 165 (n.72) Petipa, Lucien, dancer and choreographer, 77, 119, 120, 144, 160 (n. 29) Petipa, Marie [Maria Mariusovna], dancer, 13, 50 (n. 27), 66, 67, 73, 113, 114, 120, 150 Petipa, Marius Ivanovich, dancer and choreographer, xvi, 1, 3, 913, 15, 16, 17, 22, 27, 28, 31, 33, 35-6, 37, 38, 39, 41, 42, 46 (n. 3), 48 (n. 17), 49-52 (nn. 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 31, 33, 37), 54 (nn. 45, 47), 55 (nn. 56, 63), 578 (nn. 75, 78), 159 (n. 2), 160 (n. 26), 161 (nn. 36, 40), 163-4 (nn. 65, 69, 70), 165 (n. 72),

410 167, 169, 187, 188-9 (n. 4), 280, 315, 325, 347, 367; ballet scenarios: 61-3, 65-7; Don Quixote: 86-7, 90-3, 95-7, 1012; Camargo: 102, 107-8; Le Papillon: 108, 109-10; Les Brigands: 110-12; Aventures de Pélée, Les: 112-13; A Midsummer Night's Dream (Son v letnyuyu noch'): 113-14; La Bayadère: 114, 118-29; Roxana: 131; La Fille des Neiges: 133; Frizak: 134; Mlada: 137-40; Zoraya: 140, 142-3; Paquita: 143-5; Nuit et Jour (Noch' i dyen'): 146, 148; Les Pillules magiques: 148-50; L'Offrande à l’Amour: 150; Kalkabrino: 150, 152-3; adaptations: Ondine (The Naiad and the Fisherman): 155; The Sobeshchanskaya pas de deux: 155-6; La Fille du Danube: 156; Paquita: 157; Pâquerette 157; Giselle: 157-8 Petrassi, Gofreddo, composer, 101 Le Portrait de Don Guichotte, 101 Pichaud, Alexander, dancer, 120 Pierné, Henri-Constant-Gabriel, composer, 238 March of the Toy Soldiers, 238 Pierson, dancer, 144 Pilatte, Marie, dancer, 71, 74 Pitrot, Antoine, dancer, choreographer and balletmaster, 87 Pleshcheyev [Plestscheev], Alexander, critic, 70, 153, 159 (n. 4), Ponomaryov, Vladimir, choreographer, 38, 80, 128, 281, 336 Ponomaryov, Yevgeny, artist, 58 (n. 79), 102 Potocka, Countess Angele, sister-inlaw of Theodor Leschetizky, 24,

Index 53 (n. 39) Pougin, Arthur, musicologist, 8 Pratesi, Fernando, choreographer, 162-3 (n. 46) Pratesi, Giovanni, choreographer, 162-3 (n. 46) Preobrazhenskaya, Olga, dancer, 51 (nn. 30, 32), 113, 150, 164 (n. 69), 282 Prikhunova, Anna Ivanova, dancer, 96 Prokofiev, Sergei, composer, 28, 56 (n. 66) Pugni, Cesare, composer, 9, 11, 15, 17, 24, 27, 30, 62, 155, 157, 190 (n. 21), 278, 280, 282, 315, 343, 346, 350, 361 Diavolina, 49 (n. 23) Esmeralda, 48 (n. 13), 50-1 (n. 29), 280, 300, 361 Fille du Pharaon, La (Doch' faraona), 9, 50-1 (n. 29), 120, 125, 159 (n. 2), 161 (n. 40) Little Humpbacked Horse, The (Konyok Gorbunok), 48 (n. 13), 62, 81, 361 Naiad and the Fisherman, The. See Ondine Ondine, xvi, 155 Roi Candaule, Le, 133, 149, 159 (n. 2), 282, 315, 361 Violon du Diable, Le, 48 (n. 13) Vivandière, La, 114 Pushkin, Alexander Sergeievich, poet, dramatist and novelist, 54 (n. 51), 64, 81 The Legend of the Fisher and the Little Fish, 9, 61, 64, 81, 363-6 Rachmaninov, Sergei Vasilievich, composer and pianist, 159 (n. 3) Radina, Lyubov, dancer, 96, 110, 120, 126 Rapp, Richard, dancer, 101

The Ballets of Ludwig Minkus Reinbold, Hermann, musician, 56 (n. 69), 108, 140 Reischitz, Hermann, chairman of the International Minkus Society Vienna, 4, 53 (n. 42) Reisinger, Wenzel [Julius], choreographer, 119, 155 Rémond, Félix, dancer, 71 Reyer, Ernest, composer, 120 Sacountala, 120, 160-1 (n. 29) Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai Andreievich, composer, 11, 489 (n. 20), 134, 136-40 Mlada, 3, 11, 48-9 (nn. 20, 21), 134, 136-40 Riveros, Hilda, choreographer, 41 Roller, Andrei, scene designer in St Petersburg, 102, 114, 126 Roqueplan, Nestor, theatre director, 73, 74 Roslavleva, Lyubov, dancer, 113, 127 Roslavleva, Natalia, ballet historian, 3, 34, 48 (n. 17), 61, 159 (n. 11), 170 Rossini, Gioacchino, composer, 29, 134 Rota, Giuseppe, choreographer, 159 (n. 5) Rubé, Auguste-Alfred, scene designer, 75 Rubinstein Anton, composer and pianist, 15, 53 (n. 40), 54 (n. 53) Grapevine, The, 15 Rubinstein, Nicholas, pianist and director, 21, 54-5 (nn. 53, 54) Saburov, director of the Imperial theatres, 133 Sacré, Victor, machinist at the Paris Opéra, 79-80 Saint-Georges, Jules-Henri Vernoy de, librettist, 12, 61, 62, 65, 102, 107, 108, 109, 111, 159 (nn. 2, 5); Camargo: 107-8 Saint-Léon, Arthur, dancer and

411

choreographer, xvi, 3, 7-9, 10, 17-24, 47-8 (n. 13), 49 (n. 23), 54 (n.51), 61-2, 64, 119; ballet scenarios: Fiammetta: 67; Néméa (L'Amour vengé): 73, 75; La Source/Le Lys: 75, 77, 78, 80; Le Poisson doré: 81-4; Pâquerette: 157 Saint-Saëns, Camille, composer, 292 Samson et Dalila, 292 Saint-Victor, Paul de, ballet critic, 79-80 Sallé, Marie, dancer, 107 Saltykov-Shchedrin, Mikhail Yegrafovich, writer, 83, 159 (n. 11) Salvioni, Guglielma [Guglielmina], dancer, 19, 54 (n. 51), 64, 75, 77, 78-9, 81, 83 Sanlaville, Marie, dancer, 71 Savitskaya, Lyubov, 112 Schell, Baron. See Fitinhoff-Schell Schenk, Pyotr Petrovich, composer, 15, 52 (n. 38) Bluebeard, 15, 54 (n. 45) Scherer, Barrymore Laurence, musicologist and critic, 1, 29, 45 (n. 1), 47 (n. 5), 179 Schmidt, composer, 111 Gitana, La, 51 (n. 30), 111 Schnabel, Arthur, pianist, 53 (n. 40) Schneitzhoeffer, Jean-Madeleine, composer, 26 Sylphide, La, 199, 220, 361 Schnitzer, Ignatz, librettist, 46 (n. 3) Scholl, Tim, ballet historian, 3, 124 Schubert, G., musician, 84 Scribe, Augustin-Eugène, librettist and dramatist, 163 (n. 61) Dieu et la Bayadere, Le, 119 Manon Lescaut, 25, 145, 163 (n. 61) Searle, Humphrey, ballet historian, 30 Sedova, Julie, dancer and teacher,

412 51 (n. 32), 164 (n. 69) Sergeyev, Konstantin, choreographer, 280, 299-300 Sergeyev, Nikolai, choreographer, 33, 38, 80, 129 Serov, Alexander, composer, 124, 167 Shakespeare, William, dramatist and poet, 61, 62, 113, 114 Shelest, Alla, dancer, 128 Shenyan, Fyodor, scene designer in Moscow, 86 Shishkov, M., scene designer in St Petersburg, 114, 126 Shostakovich, Dmitry Dmitrievich, composer, 57 Limpid Stream, The, 57 (n. 75) Simskaya, Mlle, dancer, 96, 102 Simon, Anton, composer, 31, 56-7 (n. 71), 100 Fisherman, The, 56-7 (n. 71) Living Flowers, 56-7 (n. 71) Rolla, 56-7 (n. 71) Song of Triumphant Love, The, 56-7 (n. 71) Stars, The, 56-7 (n. 71) Skalkovsky, Konstantin Apollonovich, music critic, 15, 52 (n. 35), 61, 114, 131, 160 (n. 23) Slonimsky, Nikolai, musicologist, 53-4 (n. 44) Smith, Marian, ballet historian, 2-3, 25 Sobeshchanskaya, Anna, dancer, 28, 65, 86, 92, 155 Sokolov, Sergei, dancer, 86, 92 Sokolova, Yevgeniya [Eugenia] Pavlovna, dancer, 12, 13, 50 (n. 26), 66-7, 70, 100, 112, 113, 131, 134, 137, 146, 150 Solovyev-Sedoy, Vasily, composer, 31, 57 (n. 74), 100 Taras Bulba, 57 (n. 74) Spessivtseva, Olga, dancer, 38, 50 (n. 26), 158

Index Spies, L., composer, 101 Don Quixote, 101 Spoerli, Heinz, dancer and choreographer, 40 Spohr, Louis, composer, 119 Jessonda, 119 Staats, Léo, dancer and choreographer, 38, 80 Starzer, Josef, composer, 87 Don Quixote, 87 Stefanescu, Marinel, choreographer, 40 Stegemann, Michael, musicologist, 30, 55 (n. 62) Stevenson, Ben, choreographer, 41 Stirn [Stern], Daniel, musician, 102, 145, 347 Strauss, Johann (Vater), composer, 6, 174 Strauss, Johann (Sohn), composer, 5, 6, 16 46 (n. 3), 174 Rübezahl, xvii, 16 Zigeunerbaron Der, 46 (n. 3) Stravinsky, Igor, composer, 28, 56 (n. 66) Strebinger, Matthias, composer, 87 Don Quixote, 87 Stukolkin, Timofei A., dancer, 19, 81, 83, 96 Suborov, Stanislas, photographer, 57 (n. 75) Suppé, Franz von, composer, 112 Pique Dame, 112 Szoradi, Jeannie, writer, 58-9 (n. 86) Taddei, Emilio, musical theoretician, 162 (n. 46) Taglioni, Filippo, choreographer, 111, 156 Taglioni, Marie, dancer, 51 (n. 30), 73, 87, 108, 109, 111, 156, 159 (n. 2), 220 Taglioni, Paolo (Paul), choreographer, 54 (n. 51), 87 Taglioni, Salvatore, dancer and choreographer, 87

The Ballets of Ludwig Minkus Taneyev, Sergei Ivanovich, composer, 24 Tarchi, Angelo, composer, 87 Don Quixote, 87 Tchaikovsky, Modest Ilych, librettist, 13-14, 55-6 (n. 63), 61, 62, 67, 150, 153, 159 (n. 3) Tchaikovsky, Pyotr [Peter] Ilych, composer, 1, 7, 11, 15, 24, 28, 29, 30, 52 (n. 33), 54-5 (n. 54), 55-6 (nn. 63, 66), 58 (n. 78), 113, 119, 123, 134, 143, 152, 155-6, 175, 177-8, 310 Maid of Orleans, The, 143 Nutcracker, The, 49-50 (n. 24), 55-6 (n. 63), 134. 164 (n. 69) Sleeping Beauty, The, 15, 28, 49-52 (nn. 24, 27, 31, 33), 152, 153, 177-8, 344 Swan Lake, 28, 29, 49-50 (n. 24), 54 (n. 45), 119, 123, 152, 155-6, 161 (n. 36), 256, 285, 293, 302, 310 Undine, 24 Tcherepnin, Alexander Nikolaievich, composer, 361 Pavillon d’Armide, Le, 361 Thierry, Joseph, scene designer at the Paris Opéra, 79 Thomas, Charles-Louis-Ambroise, composer, 111 Gypsy, La, 111 Tikhomirov, Vasily, choreographer, 38, 49-50 (n. 24), 128 Titus, Antoine, choreographer, 158 Trefilova, Vera, dancer, 50 (n. 26), 51 (n. 32), 164 (n. 69) Tshislova, dancer, 96 Ulanova, Galina, dancer, 161 (n. 31) Vaganova, Agrippina, dancer and choreographer, 36, 38, 50 (n. 25), 51 (n. 32), 80, 128, 164 (n. 69)

413

Vainonen, Vasily Ivanovich, dancer and choreographer, 57 (n. 73) Valois, Ninette de, choreographer and director, 51 (n. 32), 101, 164 (n. 69) Valukin, Eugen, choreographer, 39 Vanner, Wilhelm, dancer, 86 Vasiliev, Vladimir, choreographer, 41 Vazem, Yekaterina [Ekaterina], dancer, 3, 12-13, 50 (n. 25), 61, 65-6, 108, 109-10, 111-12, 114, 118, 120, 124-6, 133, 134, 137, 139, 140, 146, 155, 160 (n. 26), 161 (n. 40), 164 (n. 70), 165 (n.72), 178, 283 Venua, F., composer, 87 Don Quixote, 87 Venzano, Luigi, composer, 110 Verdak, George, ballet historian and director, 3, 4 Verdi, Giuseppe, composer, 134 Aida, 62 Rigoletto, 318 Verdy, Violette, dancer, 156 Vergina, Alexandra, dancer, 96 Verne, dancer, 71 Verne, Jules, novelist, 148 Vernon, Marie, dancer, 73 Verstovsky, Alexei Nikolaievich, composer, 26 Vestris, Auguste, dancer and choreographer, 55 (n. 58), 106 Vestris, Gaetano, dancer and choreographer, 106 Vieuxtemps, Henri, 124 Viganò, Salvatore, choreographer, 24-5 Vikharev, Sergei, choreographer, 3, 33, 37, 58 (n. 79), 129, 336 Vikulov, Sergei, dancer, 128 Vinogradov, Oleg, choreographer, 41 Volkov, Solomon, journalist, 55 (n. 62) Vsevolozhsky, Ivan Alexandrovich,

414 theatre director, 14, 52 (n. 33), 63, 114, 148, 149, 150 Wagner, H., scene designer in St Petersburg, 114, 126 Wagner, Richard, composer, 56 (n. 66) Ring des Nibelungen, Der, 286 Waldteufel, Emile, composer, 177 Waltz, Karl, mechanist in Moscow, 92, 146 Weber, Carl Maria von, composer, 196 Oberon, 197 Weller, Dawn, choreographer, 41, 129 Wieniawski, Henryk, violinist, 54 (n. 53), 190 (n. 21) Wieniawski, Jozef, pianist, 21, 54 (n. 53) Wiley, Roland John, ballet historian, 3, 56 (n. 70), 61 Wilhelm I, King of Württemberg, 73 Wilhelm II, Emperor of Germany, 16, 113 Willoughby, Sir Hugh, English

Index explorer, 162 (n. 44) Wuthier, Margherita, dancer, 55 (n. 58) Yegorova, Lubov [Egorova, Lyubov], dancer and teacher, 50 (n. 26), 51 (n. 32), 58-9 (n. 86), 164 (n. 69) Yessipova [Essipova], Anna, second wife of Leschetizky, 53 (n. 40) Yusupov, Prince Nikolai Borisovich, Russian aristocrat, 6, 46-7 (n. 5), 53 (n. 40) Zabel, Albert, harpist, 145, 180, 361 Zakharov, Rostislav, choreographer, 31, 36, 38, 57 (n. 73), 97, 100 Zhukova, Vera, dancer, 121 Zingarelli, Niccolò, composer, 87 Don Quixote, 87 Zubkovskaya, Inna Borisovna, dancer and teacher, 57 (n. 75) Zubkovsky, Nikolai, dancer, 31, 38, 57 (n. 75), 281, 307 Zucchi, Virginia, dancer, 13, 14, 501 (n. 29), 148-9, 153