Sleeping Beauty reconstruction 3/17 The Mariinsky Ballet; Obraztsova/Korsakov

Sergei Vikharev's controversial reconstruction of Marius Petipa & Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's original 1890 production of "The Sleeping Beauty" for the Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet.




**see clip 1 for notes on the production


**Cast -
--The Fairy Candide - Daria Vasnetsova
--The Fairy Fleur de farine - Yulia Kasenkova
--The Breadcrumb Fairy - Elizaveta Cheprasova (it appears that poor Cheprasova was having a bad day when this performance was filmed)
--The Fairy Canari - Yana Selina
--The Fairy Violente - Maria Chugai
--The Lilac Fairy - Anastasia Kolegova


**Résumé of pieces for this clip -
Grand pas d'ensemble (continued) -
--Variation I - Candide
--Variation II - Coulante-Fleur de farine
--Variation III - Miettes-qui tombent
--Variation IV - Canari--qui chante
--Variation V - Violente-échevelée
--Variation VI - La Fée des lilas-voluptueuse
--Coda générale

**Notes -
The Lilac Fairy's variation as we know it today is historically credited as being created in 1914 by Fyodr Lopukhov. It is retained in most productions of "The Sleeping Beauty". Below, I have pasted an excerpt from the Stepanov notation expert Doug Fullington's note on the Mariinsky's 1999 reconstruction which discusses production vs. notation. This passage concerns the choreography for the Fairy Candide's solo & the Lilac Fairy's solo -

"The final combination of the Candide variation resembles the 1952 production (by Konstantin Sergeyev) & is not the combination given in the notation, in which the dancer moves from plié/left foot tendu back to relevé on the right pointe, bringing the left leg through passé to développé front, repeated seven times on alternating feet before a final relevé to first arabesque on the right pointe. The Kirov girls perform relevé à la seconde from second position on alternating feet. Not only is this step not given in the notation, but as the dancers repeat the combination on alternate legs they do not pass through either fifth position or plié-coupé, which are standard connecting steps found throughout the Sergeyev Collection notations.

The Lilac Fairy variation is notated twice & both versions include pointe work. The first version is still very accurately danced by the Royal Ballet. The Kirov's 1952 production also includes this variation, but in a very watered-down form. The authorship of this choreography has been claimed by Lopukhov & dated 1914. Because the choreographic notation has been dated around 1903 & because the scribe for this variation appears to be the same as for the other fairy variations (including the second Lilac variation, headed "M[arie] Petipa," the creator of the role), Lopukhov's assertion of authorship is questionable.

The Kirov's Lilac Fairy variation follows neither notation, although claims have been made that their Lilac Fairy dances Marie Petipa's version. While the floor plan of the Kirov's variation follows that of Marie's, the steps differ from the notation. For example, the Kirov's Lilac begins with a diagonal of large jetés, traveling from upstage left to downstage right. The notation, however, offers the following first combination: after a starting pose with left foot tendu front, the ballerina steps forward on the left foot & piqués on the right foot in a low arabesque. Stepping through to plié on the left foot, she performs a pas de chat, leading with the right foot, to finish en face in fifth position, left foot front. She now steps to her right side, piqués on the right foot & brings her left foot to coupé front, while making a half turn to the left to face the upstage left corner. She pliés on her right foot, as her left leg moves to a low à la seconde, presumably while finishing the turn. (The lack of a left turn sign in the notation - indicated by a minus sign in parenthesis above the feet & legs stave - makes this turn slightly ambiguous.) She steps to plié-coupé on the left foot and is ready to begin again. The entire combination is performed three times. No jeté is indicated. The Kirov's final combination of penchée arabesques also is not given in the notation."

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Sleeping
• Beauty
• kirov
• Mariinsky
• ballet
• Tchaikovsky
• Petipa
• Obraztsova
• Korsakov
• Imperial
• Russia

[cubanmiamiboy]

Probably Lopukhov for Egorova, although the variation music had been composed by Tchaikovsky and choreographed, only to be taken out by Petipa himself due to the inability of Marie Petipa-(his daughter and the original Lilac)-to dance it.

[mrlopez2681]

@cubanmiamiboy - the Lilac Fairy's variation was not omitted by Petipa for the inital run of "Beauty", he just made it choreographically un-complex, as Marie Petipa was more of a character dancer.

[cubanmiamiboy]

@mrlopez2681 According to Elizaveta Gerdt-(Pavel's daughter, who danced as a child in the original production)-Marie never danced the variation done by her father, and so it was dropped. Then Egorova asked Lopukhov to choreograph a new one for her in 1914 when she danced the role at Krasnoe Selo-(which she passed to Elizaveta at Pavel's request). Lopukhov did so and the variation eventually made it to the notations as being created by Petipa, given that Sergeyev would have never allowed this.

[mrlopez2681]

@cubanmiamiboy - Unfortunately, accounts from Imperial-era dancers can be unreliable at times. The role of the Lilac Fairy was one of the reasons why the 1999 reconstruction of "Beauty" was so controversial. Elizaveta Gerdt's account is one of the reasons why generations of people in the Russian Ballet world thought that Marie Petipa didn't dance the prologue solo, or that she wore only one costume (in fact, Marie Petipa wore 3, all of which have been restored for the 1999 production).

[mrlopez2681]

@cubanmiamiboy - @cubanmiamiboy - Elizaveta Gerdt's account is the one that started the misconception of how Marie Petipa didnt dance a solo in the Prologue. Contemporary revues from 1890 mention the Lilac variation & Wiley discusses it in "Tchaikovsky's Ballets". Tim Scholl's book "Sleeping Beauty, A Legend In Progress" discusses the odd situation of how many generations of dancers & historians forgot that Marie Petipa danced at all in the prologue of "Sleeping Beauty".

[Firestarjude]

This Lilac Fairy variation is not the one that is notated. Doug Fullington has written about it on the For Ballet Lovers Only website.

[mrlopez2681]

I'll add an extract from Fullington's note in the description.

[theamazingsoter]

I don't understand why the Mariinsky has now replaced Coulante's double rond de jambe for two piqué turns. The piqués slow down the variation, and by the end of this pas we've already seen plenty of them. I do prefer the traditional Kirov version of Candide's variation, though (oddly enough, the relevés á la 2ndé also show up in Nureyev' production. I don't know where he got that from). On an unrelated note, I never get tired of watching Selina's variation - she's my ideal Fée Canari.

[slapmore]

Thank you very muchfor the excellent discussion on the Marie Petit Pas and this ballet. Glad you guys exist.

[keli1593]

hahaa the fairy of beauty!!!!! <3

[theamazingsoter]

@balletbunhead12 Just a bad pointe day, believe me. Cheprasova is actually a good dancer.

[theamazingsoter]

@Pattinson17cullen Lee la descripción del vídeo: la variación es así de simple porque fue creada para Marie Petipa, que no destacaba precisamente por su talento bailando en punta. Sus fuertes eran la danza de carácter y la mímica.

[balletbunhead12]

the dancer who performed the breadcrumb fairy variation almost fell at the begining and towards the end at aprox 2:55, in the tant de fleche section she failed to stay up an pointe.

she was not up to the caliber of dancing of the others

[Pattinson17cullen]

yo hice el hada de las lilas con un nivel mas alto de giros dobles y tengo 14

y ellas del marinsky pense en algo mas dificil la interpretacion excelente pero dificultad nada