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 -
--Princess Aurora - Eugenia Obraztsova
--Prince Désiré -Anton Korsakov
--The Lilac Fairy - Anastasia Kolegova
--Diamond Fairy -Viktoria Tereshkina
--White Cat -Yana Selina
--Princess Florine -Yulia Bolshakova
--Blue Bird -Vitaly Scherbakov
**Résumé of pieces for this clip -
Pas de quatre -
--Variation de la fée-Diamant
--Coda
--Pas de caractère -Le Chat botté et la Chatte blanche
--Pas de deux -L'Oiseau bleu et la Princesse Florine
**Notes -
Not long before the 1890 premiere, Tchaikovsky wrote a 10-bar intro for "Puss in Boots & the White Cat" (which has never been included in any "complete" recording of the Tchaikovsky's score that I know of). I have read here & there that the Mariinsky restored it for this production, but none of the 3 performances I have - one of which is the 1999 premiere -include it. Very odd!
Of all of the pieces in this production, the "reconstructed" Blue Bird pas de deux is the most odd. I have decided to include an excerpt from the Stepanov notation expert Doug Fullington's note on the choreography of this production:
"The Kirov's "reconstructed" Blue Bird pas de deux is an interesting, if not altogether successful, mix of the old Soviet version & steps from the choreographic notation. For example, at one point in the Soviet version the Blue Bird supports Princess Florine with his right hand & then steps in front of her and kneels, replacing his right hand with his left. The choreographic notation of this passage clearly indicates that he lets go of Florine with his right hand & performs a saut de basque while passing in front of her, finishing in fourth position. Florine then steps to piqué arabesque, using the Blue Bird's shoulder for support. The notated passage is not only more virtuosic than the Soviet version, it also involves more spacious and fluid partnering, an important difference between many modern versions of classical ballets & their notated counterparts...The timing of the final steps of the Blue Bird adagio have been modified by the Kirov to conform to the choreographic notation. Even so, once Florine is on the Blue Bird's shoulder, instead of following the notation by coming off his shoulder immediately & performing a quick chaîné turn into her final kneeling position, she stays on his shoulder long enough to flick her hands, à la mid-century Soviet style, & is awkwardly lowered to her knee for an anti-climactic finish.
"Princess Florine's variation likewise has been only partially restored. The opening step is still danced as a piqué arabesque fouetté, although the notation clearly indicates an enveloppé. At least the step is danced with each pique on the melodic downbeat, rather than changing to the second beat as in the old production. Other timing, however, is questionable. After the first step, the Kirov has restored a connecting combination from the notation consisting of two echappées, passé, pirouette en dehors. While this combination replaces the time-biding & wrist-flicking usually found at this point in the variation, it begins one beat late, throwing off the timing of the next combination of echappé, passé, & three hops on the left pointe, while the right leg moves through a low enveloppé to passé & arabesque. This movement of the right leg should mirror the three rising notes in the melody, but the Kirov reconstruction places it one beat late. The final combination has not been restored. As notated, it includes three series of chaîné turns. The Kirov Florines perform different turns & also substitute a different final pose for the one given in the notation, which is en face, right foot tendu back, arms à la seconde with palms turned up à la Bournonville.
"The Blue Bird variation, performed (during the premiere) by Anton Korsakov, included a reconstructed second combination of sauté à la seconde, landing in attitude fondu. The second combination usually performed is a set of tour jetés, and Vasili Sherbakov, who danced the second performance, actually performed the tour jetés, rather than the reconstructed step.
"More timing problems occur in the coda. After the Blue Bird's famous brisé volé diagonal, Florine performs her piqué rond de jambe turns at half speed. This error affected the timing such that the reconstructors have been forced to open the 16-bar cut in the music to fit in all of the steps. Further, the 16 bars are too much...so some extra steps have been inserted as the couple makes their way to the corner for their final diagonal."
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YouTube Mix for Sleeping Beauty
6:53"Sleeping Beauty" reconstruction 15/17 The Mari...by mrlopez268112,818 views
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