L. Minkus, "La Bayadère" (ballet): content

Ballet L. Minkus "La Bayadere" is among the most famous Russian ballets of the 19th century. Ludwig Minkus became the author of the music, the libretto belongs to Sergei Khudyakov, and the choreography to the legendary Marius Petipa.

How the ballet was created

Bayaderek called Indian girls who served as dancers in the temples, where they were given by their parents because they were unloved and unwanted.

There are various versions that explain why the idea arose for creating a performance on a plot exotic for Russia at that time. For certain it is not known, therefore disputes between historians of theater are conducted till now.

The idea of creating "La Bayadere" belongs to the main choreographer of the Russian Imperial troupe - Marius Petipa. According to one version, he decided to stage such a performance in Russia under the influence of the French ballet "Shakuntala", whose founder was his elder brother Lucien. The author of the music for the French production was Ernest Reyer, the author of the libretto, based on the ancient Indian drama Kalidasty, - Theophile Gauthier. The prototype of the main character was Amani - a dancer, a prima of the Indian troupe, touring in Europe, which committed suicide. Gaultier decided to stage a ballet in memory of her.

But there is no evidence that this is really so. Therefore, it can not be asserted that the "La Bayadere" (ballet) was born under the influence of "Shakuntala". Its content is very different from the plot of the Parisian production. In addition, Petip Jr.'s ballet appeared on the Russian stage only 20 years after the production in Paris. There is another version of the emergence of Marius Petipa's idea of creating "La Bayadere" - a fashion for the eastern (in particular, Indian) culture.

The author of the music was an Austrian of Czech descent who served at the Russian Emperor, composer, violinist and conductor - Ludwig Minkus. "La Bayadere" became one of the most famous of his works.

Literary basis

The libretto designer of the ballet was Marius Petipa himself together with the playwright SN Khudekov. According to historians, the literary basis of "La Bayadere" was the same Indian drama of Kalidast, as in the production of "Shakuntala", but the stories of these two ballets are very different. In the opinion of the theater scientists, the libretto also includes a ballad by V. Goethe "God and the Bayadere", according to which a ballet was created in France, where the main part was danced by Maria Taglioni.

Ballet Characters

The main characters: the bayadere Nikia and the famous warrior Solor, whose tragic love story is told by this ballet. Photos of the central characters are presented in this article.

Dugmanta - Raja Golconda, Gamzatti - daughter of Raja, Great Brahmin, Magdavaya - fakir, Taloragva - warrior, Aya - slave, Jampe. And also warriors, bayaders, fakirs, people, hunters, musicians, servants ...

The plot of the ballet

This is a play of 4 acts, but in each theater there is a "Bayadere" (ballet). The content is preserved, the basic idea is invariable, the same libretto, the same music and the same plastic solutions are based on the same, but the number of actions in different theaters can be different. For example, in the Mikhailovsky Theater (St. Petersburg) there are three acts in ballet instead of four. For many years the score of Act 4 was considered lost, and the ballet was staged in 3 acts. But in the funds of the Mariinsky Theater it was still found, and the original version was restored, but not all theaters switched to this version.

In ancient times, the events of the play "La Bayadere" (ballet) unfold in India. Contents of the first act: the warrior Solor at night comes to the temple to meet there with Nikia, and invites her to flee with him. The great Brahmin, rejected by her, becomes a witness of the meeting and decides to take revenge on the girl.

The second act. Raja wants to extradite his daughter Gamzatti to the brave warrior Solor, who tries to refuse such an honor, but the raja appoints a date for the wedding. The great Brahmin tells the Raja that the warrior has met in the temple with Nikia. He decides to kill the dancer by giving her a basket of flowers with a poisonous snake inside. This conversation is heard by Gamzatti. She decides to get rid of her rival and offers her wealth if she refuses Solor. Nikiya is shocked that her lover marries, but can not refuse him and rushes at the daughter of a rajah with a dagger in a fit of anger. A faithful servant Gamzatti manages to save his mistress. The next day in the castle of Raja begins a celebration on the occasion of his daughter's wedding, and Nikiya is commanded to dance for guests. After one of her dances, she is handed a basket of flowers, from which a snake creeps out and stings it. Nikiya dies in Solor's arms. Thus ends the second part of the play "La Bayadere" (ballet).

Contents of the third and fourth acts. Solor mourns for Nikia. During the wedding ceremony, he sees in the air a shadow of his beloved, she looks at him tenderly. The great Brahmin completes the wedding ceremony, after which a terrible earthquake occurs, and the angry gods destroy the temple. The souls of Solor and Nikiya unite to be together forever.

Composer

The author of music for the ballet "La Bayadere", as already mentioned above, is composer Minkus Ludwig. He was born on March 23, 1826 in Vienna. His full name is Aloysius Ludwig Minkus. As a four-year-old boy, he began studying music - he learned to play the violin, at the age of 8 he first came on stage, and many critics recognized him as a child prodigy.

At the age of 20. L. Minkus tried himself as a conductor and composer. In 1852 he was invited to the Vienna Royal Opera as the first violinist, and a year later he became a conductor of the orchestra in the serf theater of Prince Yusupov. From 1856 to 61, L. Minkus served as the first violinist in the Moscow Imperial Grand Theater, and then began to combine this position with the post of conductor. After the opening of the Moscow Conservatory, the composer was invited to teach the violin there. L. Minkus wrote a large number of ballets. The very first of them, created in 1857, is the "Union of Peleus and Thetis" for the Yusupov Theater. In 1869 one of the most famous ballets was written - Don Quixote. Together with M. Petipa, 16 ballets were created. The last 27 years of his life the composer lived in his homeland - in Austria. The ballets of L. Minkus still enter the repertoires of all leading theaters of the world.

Premiere

On January 23, 1877, for the first time, the ballet La Bayadere was presented to the Petersburg public. The theater in which the premiere took place (the Bolshoi Theater, or, as it was also called, Kamenny) was located where the St. Petersburg Conservatory is now. The party of the main heroine of Nikia was performed by Catherine Vashem, and in the role of her lover the dancer Lev Ivanov shone.

Different versions

In 1900 M. Petipa himself edited his production. She was in an updated version at the Mariinsky Theater, and the party of Nikiya danced M. Kshesinskaya. In 1904, the ballet was transferred to the stage of the Moscow Bolshoi Theater. In 1941, the ballet was edited by V. Chebukiani and V. Ponomarev. In 2002, Sergei Vikharev was re-edited this ballet. Photos from the presentation of the Mariinsky Theater are contained in the article.