After the extraordinary success of the Italian Prima BallerinaVirginia Zucchi's performances in La Esmeralda in St Petersburg, Petipa went on to produce some of the finest ballets in his repertoire for Italian ballerinas. One of these great ballets was The Vestal, which was created for the benefit performance of Elena Cornalba. The ballet was a phenomenal success and among ballet historians, it is considered the predecessor of The Sleeping Beauty. Many critics who saw the première commented unanimously that the work was the epitome of the Ballet à Grand Spectacle. Set in Ancient Rome, the ballet was built on fantastical themes, complete with gods and goddesses, Emperors, and the like. The sets, costumes, and props were considered the best yet seen on the Imperial stage. Mikhail Ivanov's music proved to be the first successful score for the ballet that was provided by a symphonic composer.[1]
Although the ballet was not notated and is not performed today, at least two variations from the ballet's score are used in different pieces. One variation is that entitled L'Armour, which was composed and added to the score by Riccardo Drigo as a variation for Cupid, the God of Love. This variation was performed with great acclaim by the ballerina, Maria Anderson and appears in the Bolshoi Ballet's staging of the Paquita Grand Pas Classique, staged by Russian choreographer, Yuri Burlaka. Burlaka also utilised another supplemental variation by Drigo for his Awakening of Flora Pas de quatre; this variation is entitled L'Echo and was composed and added to the score by Drigo for Elena Cornalba.
^Wiley, Roland John (2007). A Century of Russian Ballet. Dance Books Ltd, Hampshire.
External linksedit
Yuri Burlaka's Awakening of Flora Pas de quatre featuring the supplemental variation L'Echo by Riccardo Drigo
The Bolshoi Ballet's performance of the Paquita Grand Pas Classique featuring the supplemental variation L'Armour by Drigo
January 01, 1970
vestal, this, article, about, ballet, type, priestess, vestal, virgin, other, uses, vestal, disambiguation, vestale, grand, ballet, three, acts, four, scenes, with, choreography, marius, petipa, music, mikhail, ivanov, ballet, first, presented, imperial, balle. This article is about the ballet For the type of priestess see Vestal Virgin For other uses see Vestal disambiguation La Vestale en The Vestal is a grand ballet in three acts and four scenes with choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Mikhail Ivanov The ballet was first presented by the Imperial Ballet on 17 February O S 29 January 1888 at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg Russia La VestaleMikhail Mordkin as Lucio ca 1900ChoreographerMarius PetipaMusicMikhail IvanovLibrettoSergei KhudekovPremiere17 February O S 29 January 1888 Imperial Mariinsky Theatre St Petersburg RussiaGenreGrand ballet Contents 1 History 2 Roles and original cast 3 References 4 External linksHistory editAfter the extraordinary success of the Italian Prima Ballerina Virginia Zucchi s performances in La Esmeralda in St Petersburg Petipa went on to produce some of the finest ballets in his repertoire for Italian ballerinas One of these great ballets was The Vestal which was created for the benefit performance of Elena Cornalba The ballet was a phenomenal success and among ballet historians it is considered the predecessor of The Sleeping Beauty Many critics who saw the premiere commented unanimously that the work was the epitome of the Ballet a Grand Spectacle Set in Ancient Rome the ballet was built on fantastical themes complete with gods and goddesses Emperors and the like The sets costumes and props were considered the best yet seen on the Imperial stage Mikhail Ivanov s music proved to be the first successful score for the ballet that was provided by a symphonic composer 1 Although the ballet was not notated and is not performed today at least two variations from the ballet s score are used in different pieces One variation is that entitled L Armour which was composed and added to the score by Riccardo Drigo as a variation for Cupid the God of Love This variation was performed with great acclaim by the ballerina Maria Anderson and appears in the Bolshoi Ballet s staging of the Paquita Grand Pas Classique staged by Russian choreographer Yuri Burlaka Burlaka also utilised another supplemental variation by Drigo for his Awakening of Flora Pas de quatre this variation is entitled L Echo and was composed and added to the score by Drigo for Elena Cornalba Roles and original cast editRole Dancer Amata Elena Cornalba Lucio Pavel Gerdt Claudia Maria Gorshenkova Senator Julius Flac Felix Kschessinsky The High Priest Nikolai Aistov Lelia Anna JohanssonReferences edit Wiley Roland John 2007 A Century of Russian Ballet Dance Books Ltd Hampshire External links editYuri Burlaka s Awakening of Flora Pas de quatre featuring the supplemental variation L Echo by Riccardo Drigo The Bolshoi Ballet s performance of the Paquita Grand Pas Classique featuring the supplemental variation L Armour by Drigo Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Vestal amp oldid 1132208936, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
