Paquita is aballet in two acts and three scenes originally choreographed byJoseph Mazilier to music byÉdouard Deldevez andLudwig Minkus. Paul Foucher received royalties as librettist.[1]
Paquita is the creation of French composer Édouard Deldevez and Paris Opéra Ballet Master Joseph Mazilier.[2] It was first presented at theSalle Le Peletier by theParis Opera Ballet on 1 April 1846 and was retained in the repertory of the Opéra until 1851.[3]
In 1847,Paquita was staged for the first time in Russia for theImperial Ballet ofSt. Petersburg byMarius Petipa andPierre-Frédéric Malavergne, being the first work ever staged by Petipa in Russia. In 1881, Petipa produced a revival of the ballet for which he added new pieces specially composed byLudwig Minkus. This included thePaquita pas de trois for the first act and thePaquita grand pas classique and theMazurka des enfants for the last act. Petipa's version ofPaquita was retained in the repertory of theMariinsky Theatre until 1926.[3]
Petipa's 1881 additions forPaquita survived long after the full-length ballet left the stage. Today these pieces, particularly theGrand pas classique, are major cornerstones of the traditionalclassical ballet repertory and have been staged by ballet companies throughout the world.[3]
Petipa's choreography for the Imperial Ballet's production ofPaquita was notated in theStepanov method ofchoreographic notation around 1902. The notations were made while Petipa himself taught and rehearsed the greatAnna Pavlova for her début in the title rôle. Today, this notation is part of theSergeyev Collection, a cache of notations and other materials that document many of the works in the Imperial Ballet's repertory during the twilight of the Russian Empire.[4]
In 2001, director Brigitte Lefèvre asked French choreographerPierre Lacotte to produce a revival of the full-length two actPaquita for the Paris Opera Ballet. Although Lacotte re-choreographed all of the ballet himself, he restored Joseph Mazilier's originalmime sequences andmise-en-scène, as well as Petipa's 1881 additions.[5]Paquita was performed again by the Paris Opera in 2007.[6]
In 2014, the Stepanov notation expertDoug Fullington and Russian choreographerAlexei Ratmansky mounted a reconstruction of Petipa's final revival ofPaquita for theBayerisches Staatsballett.[7]
| Role | Paris, 1846 | St. Petersburg, 1847 | St. Petersburg, 1881 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paquita[8] | Carlotta Grisi | Yelena Andreyanova | Ekaterina Vazem |
| Lucien d'Hervilly[8] | Lucien Petipa | Marius Petipa | Pavel Gerdt |
The story takes place inSpain during the presence ofNapoleon's army. The heroine is the youngRomani girl, Paquita. Unbeknownst to Paquita, she is really of noble birth, having been abducted by Romani people when she was an infant. She saves the life of a young French officer, Lucien d'Hervilly, who is the target of a Spanish governor who desires to have him killed by Iñigo, a Roma chief. By way of a medallion, she discovers that she is of noble birth, being in fact the cousin of Lucien. As such, she and the Officer are able to get married.[5]
Marius Petipa added theGrand pas classique to the third act ofPaquita in 1881 for thebenefit performance of the Imperial Ballet'sPrima ballerinaEkaterina Vazem. The music was composed byLudwig Minkus, whose original composition featured aGrand adagio withcadenza for solo violin composed forLeopold Auer.
Anna Pavlova included theGrand Pas classique in her company's repertory.[8]
Rudolf Nureyev staged the piece in 1964 for theRoyal Academy of Dancing, and atLa Scala in 1970. Nureyev also staged it for theVienna State Opera Ballet andAmerican Ballet Theatre in 1971.[9] For all of his productions of the work Nureyev usedJohn Lanchbery's adaptation of the music. In 1984Natalia Makarova staged a new version of thePaquita grand pas classique for American Ballet Theatre[8] with music again arranged by Lanchbery. To date the company still retains Makarova's staging in their repertory, and many companies throughout the world have staged her version of the piece.
In 1974 the Ballet MasterNikita Dolgushin produced a staging of thePaquita grand pas classique for theMaly Theatre Ballet of St. Petersburg. For his production Dolgushin called upon the former ballerinaElizaveta Gerdt—who performed in Marius Petipa's original version of the piece— to assist in restoring thePaquita grand pas classique to its form as performed during the early 20th century.
In 1978 theKirov/Mariinsky Ballet's newly appointed artistic directorOleg Vinogradov staged a new version of thePaquita grand pas classique for the company, a staging largely based on the versionPyotr Gusev staged for the Maly Theatre Ballet in 1952. The Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet still retain Vinogradov's version in their repertory, and many companies throughout the world include his version of the piece in their repertories.
