Corsair (ballet)

The ballet was created based on the Byron poem of the same name, composed in 1814. The libretto was written by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Joseph Mazilier .

Before Adan, Byron's poem was also transferred to the music scene by other composers, in particular J. Verdi composed the opera of the same name in 1848.

But ballets were also staged. The first known ballet production under the same name was held at the La Scala Theater in Milan in 1826 in the choreography of the Italian choreographer Giovanni Galzerani (it .: Giovanni Galzeran); the Italian ballet catalog mentions another production of 1830, which remained in the repertoire until 1842, the composer of these ballets is unknown; during these same years, the French choreographer Albert staged his ballet The Corsair, in 1837, the Royal Theater in London , to the music of Nicolas Box . But these ballets have not survived to date.

Only this ballet has survived and continues to march through the musical scenes of the world.

The librettists of ballet performances of the 19th century Jules Henri Vernois de Saint-Georges and Joseph Mazilier painted a colorful picture of the life of corsairs. Since the production of the play, the choreography has changed, musical numbers have been added, but the plot has remained the same from 1856 to the present day:

There was a brisk trade in Adriopol Square. Buyers of different nationalities and skin colors examined goods, and slaves were also sold there. Suddenly, corsairs appeared on the square with their leader Conrad. He had a meeting with the Greek woman Medora, a young pupil of the owner of the market, Isaac. The girl, standing on the balcony, already noticed the appearance of her lover and gave him a signal with the help of a bouquet of flowers, which was called a village. In the bouquet, even the smallest and inconspicuous flower had its own definite meaning. And Conrad immediately realized what Medora wanted to tell him. Soon, the girl went to the square with her guardian. While the owner of the market carefully examined the slaves, the lovers managed to exchange a few words.

Suddenly, Seyid Pasha appeared on the square, who decided to choose a new slave for his harem. Seeing Medora, Pasha decided to buy it, no matter how much it costs. He offered Isaac a price that he could not refuse, since he was greedy and stingy. Medora realized that her fate was being decided, and rushed to Conrad for help. The young man assured the girl that they would be able to protect her from any troubles. At the direction of their leader, the corsairs arranged funny dances, enthralling slaves and Medora in them, and then quietly led them away. Angry Isaac rushed after them, trying to return the pupil. But he was not thinking about the honor of the girl, but about the lost money promised for her by the pasha. Then the corsairs took him with them.

The pirates returned to their cave by the sea. Medora noticed that the girls brought to the camp were frightened by such an environment. They began to ask the Greek woman to help them free themselves from the new captivity. After the conversation, Medora and Conrad let the girls go free. Birbanto, a friend of the leader of the corsairs, was dissatisfied with his order and began to incite his comrades to a riot, but few supported him. Then he promised Isaac to help return his pupil, and he would pay him gold for it.

Birbanto with the help of sleeping pills put Conrad to sleep and kidnapped Medora. Resisting, the girl injured him with a knife. Having received money from Isaac, he calmly returned to the camp. No one ever found out about his betrayal. When Conrad woke up, he immediately rushed to the rescue of the girl. At this time, Isaac brought Medora to the palace of Seyid and handed it to Pasha.

Disguised as wanderers ’clothing, the corsairs reached the Pasha’s palace and asked for an overnight stay. Seid could not refuse hospitality to the holy dervishes and offered to settle in the garden. At night, the corsairs sneaked into the Pasha’s palace and, freeing Medora, began to rob him. Seyd's guard fled from fear.

Birbanto quietly left the pasha’s house and called the city guard. The leader of the corsairs was captured and sentenced to death. Medora vowed to die with him. Then Seid promised to keep the corsair alive if she agreed to become his wife. Young Greek woman agreed to any sacrifice for the sake of her beloved.

Among the slaves of the harem was the beautiful Gulnara. She decided to help Medora. In the morning, under the wedding coverlet, Gulnara stood next to Seyid, and Pasha put a wedding ring on her finger. When he figured out the deception, the young people were already far away. The ship of corsairs rushed into the open sea, together with the lovers on the deck, the crew of the ship feasted. Birbanto decided to finish his vile business by shooting Conrad, but he threw him into the sea. No one noticed how the storm began. The ship carried a sliver on coastal cliffs. When the storm calmed down, weary, but lively lovers, who blessed their fate, got ashore.

Source: Summary of the Corsair ballet in 2 minutes

Konrad (corsair), Birbanto (his friend), Isaac Lankedem (merchant), Medora (his pupil), Seyid Pasha, Sulma and Gulnara (wife of the Pasha), Eunuch, Corsairs, Slaves, Guard.

The French composer Adolf Adan , one of the founders of romantic ballet, wrote music that reflects a romantically tense background of choreographic action, as an illustration of the storyline of Byron's poem.

In 1858, for the St. Petersburg production of the ballet, Caesar Pugni supplemented the performance with his musical numbers and orchestras.

• 1856 - Opéra de Paris (Garnier), Paris .

“Le Corsaire” - ballet in 3 acts and 5 scenes (based on the poem of the same name by J. Byron). Composer Adolf Adan
The premiere took place on January 23 at the Paris Opera . Choreographer Mazilier, Artists E. Depléschen, C. Cambon, J. Thierry and Martin.
Parts were performed by: Medora - K. Rosati , Conrad - D. Segarelli .

• 1858 - Bolshoi Theater , Petersburg

The premiere took place on January 12 at the Bolshoi Stone Theater . Choreographer J. Perrault (with partial use of Mazille choreography. Artists A. A. Roller , G. G. Wagner and Petrov. Conductor K. N. Lyadov
The parts were performed by: Medora - E.I. Fridberg , Konrad - Marius Petipa , Isaac Lankedem - A.N. Pisho , Birbanto - P.F. Malavern , Gulnara - L.P. Radina , Seyid Pasha - J. Perrot

• The insert number “Pas d'esclave” was added to the music of P. G. Oldenburgsky directed by M. I. Petipa.
• 1858 - Bolshoi Theater , Moscow

The premiere took place on November 3 at the Bolshoi Theater . Choreographer P.F. Malavern , artists A. Bredov , F.K. Waltz , P.A. Isakov, Fornari and F.I. Shenyang Parts performed: Medora - P.P. Lebedeva , Conrad - F. Montasu, Birbanto - Frederic, Seyid Pasha - Theodore (Shion)

• 1863 - Mariinsky Theater , Petersburg

The premiere of the new production took place on January 24 at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg . Choreographer M.I. Petipa. Artists A. A. Roller and G. G. Wagner
The part of Medora was performed by M.S. Petipa (Surovshchikova) .

• 1865 - Bolshoi Theater , Moscow
• September 20 - the resumption of the performance. Conductor P.N. Luzin

The part of Medora was performed by A. I. Sobeshchanskaya

• 1867, October 21 - Opéra Garnier . Composer Adolf Adan

The performance was resumed with the addition of “Pas des fleurs” to the music of Leo Delibes .

• 1868 , January 25, the scene “Lively Garden” was added to the music of L. Delibes.

The part of Medora was performed by Adele Grantzova .

• 1888 - Bolshoi Theater , Moscow
• March 3 - the resumption of the performance. Choreographer A. N. Bogdanov , conductor S. Ya. Ryabov

The part of Medora was performed by: L. N. Geiten (later - O. N. Nikolaeva , P. M. Karpakova , M. N. Gorshenkova , E. N. Kalmykova, A. A. Dzhuri , L. A. Roslavleva , E. Grimaldi ).

• 1880 - Mariinsky Theater

The resumption of ballet on November 30 . Artists G. G. Wagner, M. A. Shishkov , A. A. Roller and M. I. Bocharov
The part of Medora was performed by E.P. Sokolov.

• 1899 January 13 - the resumption of the play. Added Waltz and Adagio to the music of Ricardo Drigo . Artists O. K. Allegri, V. Surenyants, S. N. Vorobyov, P. B. Lambin (sets) and E. P. Ponomarev (costumes)

The Medora part was performed by:

• P. Legnani , K. Rosati , G. Dor , L. A. Roslavleva , Yu. N. Sedova , E. Grimaldi , Anna Pavlova , Tamara Karsavina , L. N. Egorova, Olga Preobrazhenskaya , E. A. Smirnova, Olga Spesivtseva
• 1912 - Bolshoi Theater , Moscow

New production. Ballet in 3 acts, 7 scenes. Music : Caesar Pugni , A.G. Rubinstein , C. Goldmark, Edward Grieg , Antonin Dvořák , Leo Delibes , Frederic Chopin , Peter Tchaikovsky , Ricardo Drigo (Drigo's nocturne Dreams of Spring , ca. 1915)
Choreographer : A. A. Gorsky . Artist : K. A. Korovin . Conductor A.F. Arends .
The parts were performed by: Medora - E. V. Geltser , Konrad - V. D. Tikhomirov , Birbanto - I. E. Sidorov , Seyid Pasha - V. A. Chudinov , Gulnara - V. A. Caralli .

• 1931 - The premiere took place on April 15 . Theater of Opera and Ballet named after Kirov .

Ballet in 4 acts (to the music of Adan and C. Punyi). Resumed Agrippina Vaganova (according to M.I. Petipa). Artists O. K. Allegri and P. B. Lambin. Conductor M.P. Karpov.

• 1955 - Premiere on May 31 .

The new production of the Leningrad Maly Theater in the music edition of E. M. Kornblit. Scenario Yu. I. Slonimsky (according to the libretto by A. Saint-Georges and J. Mazilier). Choreographer Pyotr Gusev (many scenes and dances of J. Perrault and M.I. Petipa were restored). Artist S. B. Virsaladze , conductor E. M. Kornblit
The parts were performed by: Medora - G. N. Pirozhnaya, Konrad - V. S. Zimin.

• 1973 - Premiere on June 5 .

New production of the Theater. Kirova, orchestration of M. A. Matveev, script and staging in a new edition of K. M. Sergeev (according to Petipa). Artist S. M. Yunovich, conductor V. G. Shirokov
The parts were performed by: Konrad - R. M. Abdyev, Birbanto - A. V. Gridin, Seyid Pasha - E. N. Mikhasev, Gulnara - S. V. Efremova.

• 1958 - Premiere on October 6 .

New production of the Theater. Stanislavsky
Ballet in 3 acts, 7 scenes (with music by Adan and Delibes, processing and instrumentation by V.N. Knushevitsky )
Choreographer N. G. Grishina, artist V. A. Ludmilin , conductor V. A. Edelman
The parts were performed by: Medora - V.T. Bovt, Konrad - Maris Liepa , Birbanto - V.V. Chigiryov, Seyid Pasha - V.N. Ilyin, Gulnara - Eleanor Vlasov .

• April 11, 1968 - renewal: Medora - V.T. Bovt, Konrad - Yu. V. Grigoryev, Bir-banto - V.V. Chigirev, Seyid Pasha - A. A. Klein, Gulnara - E. E. Vlasova .

Resume Performance

• 1987 - Mariinsky Theater ^[2]

Ballet in 3 acts with a prologue and epilogue. Libretto by Vernois de Saint-Georges, Joseph Mazilier as amended by Yuri Slonimsky and Peter Gusev
Music by Adolf Adan, Cesare Pugni, Leo Delibes, Riccardo Drigo, Peter Oldenburgsky
Choreography by Pyotr Gusev based on a composition by Marius Petipa, renewed by O. M. Vinogradov (1987)

Set designer Teymuraz Murvanidze , assistant artist Mikhail Shishlyannikov, costumes by Galina Solovieva. Lighting Designer - Vladimir Lukasevich

Parties performed:

• Medora - Altynay Asylmuratova , Konrad - Eugene Neff Gulnara - Elena Pankova Ali - Farukh Ruzimatov , ^[3] Lankedem - Konstantin Zaklinsky . Trio of odalisks: Zhanna Ayupova , Margarita Kullik and Veronika Ivanova
• 2007 - Restoration of the performance on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater
• The premiere took place on June 21, 2007 .

The music used was Leo Delibes, Caesar Pugni, Peter Oldenburgsky, Riccardo Drigo, Albert Zabel, Julius Gerber ^[4] . Score restored by Alexander Troitsky

Choreography - Marius Petipa ^[5] . Production and new choreography - Alexei Ratmansky , Yuri Burlaka. The concept of musical drama - Yuri Burlaka. Production designer - Boris Kaminsky, costume designer - Elena Zaitseva. Costumes of Eugene Ponomarev ( 1899 ) were used ^[6] . Lighting Designer - Damir Ismagilov, Conductor - Pavel Klinichev

Parties performed:

• Medora - Svetlana Zakharova , Konrad - Denis Matvienko, Seyid Pasha - Alexey Loparevich, Birbanto - Rinat Arifulin, Zulma - Irina Zibrova, Gulnara - Ekaterina Shipulina , Lankedem - Gennady Yanin

2008 Perm Academic Opera and Ballet Theater Choreographer Vasily Medvedev Musical Director and Conductor - Anisimov, Alexander Mikhailovich Production Designer Boris Kaminsky Costume Designer Elena Zaitseva Medora - Natalya Moiseeva, Konrad-Sergey Mershin

• 2009 - New production on the stage of the Mikhailovsky Theater
• Premiered on March 13, 2009

Choreography by Marius Petipa and Peter Gusev as edited by Farukh Ruzimatov , new choreography by Georgy Kovtun. Set Designer Valery Leventhal , Conductor - Anatoly Rybalko

Parties performed:

Medora - Irina Perren , Konrad - Artyom Pykhachov, Gulnara - Sabina Yapparova, Ali - Viktor Ishchuk, Isaac Lankedem - Anton Ploom, Birbanto - Andrey Kasyanenko, Classical trio - Irina Kosheleva, Ekaterina Krasyuk, Victoria Kutepova

• 2011 - transfer of the production to the Rostov Musical Theater by Alexei Fadeyechev based on choreography by M. Petipa. Music by C. Pugni, L. Delibes, R. Drigo and P. Oldenburgsky. The premiere of May 19 on the chamber stage ^[7]
• 2012 - live broadcast of the ballet from the historical stage of the Bolshoi Theater on Youtube video hosting. ^[eight]
• April 3, 2012 - Novosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theater

The musical director and conductor is Peter Belyakin, choreography by Marius Petipa, Pyotr Gusev, Vyacheslav Khomyakov, revised by Vyacheslav Khomyakov and Igor Zelensky. Production: Vyacheslav Khomyakov and Igor Zelensky . ^[9]

• 2014 - Samara Academic Opera and Ballet Theater .

Musical director and conductor - Alexander Anisimov , choreographer - Vasily Medvedev, stage designer - Andrey Voitenko, costume designer - Elena Zaitseva.

The parts were performed by: Medora - Ekaterina Pervushina, Konrad - Kirill Sofronov, Gulnara - Ksenia Ovchinnikova, Ali - Victor Mulygin, Isaac Lankedem - Sergey Gagen.

April 25, 2015 in Vladivostok, the dress rehearsal of the ballet "Corsair" was held at the Primorsky Opera and Ballet Theater. The main choreographer of the theater Eldar Aliyev became the choreographer.

• 2015 - new edition in the Mikhailovsky Theater

Premiere - September 08, 2015

Libretto by Jules-Henri de Saint-Georges, revised by Michael Messerer.

Choreography by Marius Petipa, Konstantin Sergeyev as revised by Mikhail Messerer. Choreography fragments of Jules Perrault, Alexander Gorsky, Peter Gusev are used.

Choreographer: Mikhail Messerer. Assistant: Anna Razenko.

Musical director of the production and conductor: Pavel Klinichev. Assistant Musical Director: Valentin Bogdanov.

Sketches of scenery: Vyacheslav Okunev

Costume Designer: Tatyana Yastrebova

Lighting Designer: Alexander Kibitkin

Video: Victoria Zlotnikova

Parties performed:

Medora - Ekaterina Borchenko, Konrad - Leonid Sarafanov, Gulnara - Anastasia Soboleva, Birbanto - Andrey Kasyanenko, Pas des esclaves - Astghik Hovhannesyan, Victor Lebedev

Among the most striking differences of this statement from the previous edition (Farukh Ruzimatov) is the main male character. This is Conrad.

• Over time, the performance of the variations of ballet dancers became more virtuosic, the variations became more complicated, but the followers of the ballet traditions tried to preserve Petipa's choreographic drawing. The performance acquired its bright colors in the scenography of Muraz Murvanidze , staged by the Mariinsky Theater in 1987 , and his aesthetic implementation staged by Farukh Ruzimatov on the stage of the Mikhailovsky Theater , in 2009 . ^[ten]

“Based on the performance of Marius Petipa - Peter Gusev, which exists in the theater, we tried to create a new version, more dynamic, vibrant and spectacular. Scenography and costumes were created by Valery Leventhal , one of the most outstanding ballet artists of our time. ”

- Farukh Ruzimatov ^[11]

“The current premiere is a two-act ballet, the embodiment of a dream of adventure and fairy tales with a happy ending. The new creative implementation of the ballet “Corsair” Farukh Ruzimatov, recognized by the public and critics as one of the most prominent performers of the role of Ali in the history of ballet art, recreated in the performance both the “robber romance” of pirate life and the atmosphere of everyday life in Greece from the Ottoman period: bright colors of oriental bazaars, Sultan’s harems, the spicy pleasures of the south. ”

- Mikhailovsky Theater ^[12]

• “The ballet Corsair is more than a century and a half. I sought to create an interesting performance that will captivate the public and preserve the brilliant choreographic finds of Marius Petipa and his predecessors and followers. Performances continue to live if they are updated. ”

- Michael Messerer. September 01, 2015 ^[13]

• 1971 - L.A. Entelis . “100 Ballet Libretto”, compilation and revision = materials from the collection were used in the book. "75 ballet libretto." - L .: Art. Leningrad branch, May 1960.

• "Corsair" on the site of the Mariinsky Theater
• The official website of the Mikhailovsky Theater. "Corsair" Premiere: March 13, 2009
• "Corsair" on the site of the Bolshoi Theater
• Repertoire of the Mariinsky Theater Ballet