Sergei Vikharev's reconstruction of Marius Petipa & Alexander Glazunov's original 1898 production of "Raymonda" for the Teatro alla Scala. Broadcast of October 27, 2011.
**Résumé of danses/scenes -
Act II: "Cour d'amour" -
--01 Ouverture
--02 Marche
--03 Entrée d'Abdéràme
--04 Pas d'action -
--a. Grand adage
--b. Variation d'Henriette (Mlle. Preobrajenskaya)
--c. Variation de Clémence (Mlle. Kulichevskaya)
--the "Variation de Béranger", known today to be a solo for Jean de Brienne, has been transferred to its familiar though historically inaccurate position in the Pas classique hongrois of Act III)
--e. Variation de Raymonde (Mlle. Legnani)
--f. Grand coda
Grand divertissement -
--05 Entrée
--06 Pas des esclaves sarrasins
--07 Pas des mariscos
--08 Danse sarrasine
--09 Pandéros
--10 Scéne: Les échansons
--11 Coda générale / Bacchanalia
--12 L'arrivée de Jean de Brienne et Roi André II
--13 Le combat
--14 Dénouement et final
**Libretto -
Act II: "Cour d'amour" - The courtyard of the castle of the Countess de Doris
The feast in honour of the arrival of Jean de Brienne is taking place. Paladins, knights, lords from neighbouring castles, eminent ladies, troubadours, minstrels & other guests attending the Cour d'amour enter. Raymonda welcomes her guests. She is happy with the decorations of the courtyard, but she cannot hide her uneasiness caused by Jean de Brienne's delay. Accompanied by a rowdy train of followers, Abderakhman makes his entrance. Raymonda immediately recognizes the Saracen seen in her dream. She is agitated & gives orders for him to be stopped from entering the castle courtyard. The countess Sybille, however, advises her niece to provide hospitality for anyone on that day (Grand Pas d'action). Captivated by Raymonda's beauty, Abderakhman reveals his passion for her, but remembering the warnings of the White Lady, Raymonda rejects him with contempt. She prefers the attentions of other knights who do not frighten her. Abderahman becomes even more insistent. He calls his slaves & he has them perform oriental dances for Raymonda (Grand divertissement). After the dances, Abderakhman orders his cupbearers to enter. They pour a potion into everyone's cup, causing all the guests to become drunk (Les échansons). Once he realises that the only way to possess Raymonda is by force, Abderakhman orders his shield bearers to abduct her. But at that moment, de Brienne arrives at the castle accompanied by King André II, his followers & army. Jean de Brienne frees Raymonda from the hands of the Saracens & tries to seize Abderakhman. The King commands the two rivals to put an end to the matter in a duel, during which the ghost of the White Lady appears on the castle tower. Abderakhman is dazed by intervention & de Brienne deals his fatal blow (Dénouement). The King joins the hands of Raymonda & Jean de Brienne.
**Notes -
**The male variation traditionally associated with Jean de Brienne in the so-called "Raymonda Pas de dix" of Act III originally preceded Raymonda's variation in the Grand pas d'action seen here. This variation was first performed by Nikolai Legat in 1898 as the troubadour Béranger, & explains why the character is seen dancing alone in the Grand coda at 16:58. The solo retained its original position for many years until it was transferred to the final Pas classique hongrois, probably for the first time in 1948 for the revival of Konstantin Sergeyev at the Kirov.
**As I stated in previous clips, Pierina Legnani's abilities as a ballerina were really something - her dances went through little changes in over 110 years. Raymonda's variation at 14:24 shows how extraordinary she really was. Legnani's entrechat quatres done sur le pointe caused a sensation at the premiere of "Raymonda" in 1898. They are restored here.
**The music for the scene "Les échansons" was originally intended to accompany a "Danse orientale" for Raymonda. Petipa transformed it into the number seen here where Abderakhman gives the guests mind-altering beverages.
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Petipa & Glazunov's Raymonda 4/4, La Scalaby mrlopez26811,917 views
@theamazingsoter - yes all of the sets are completely restored, even the costumes. The problem with this performance is the tempi kept by the dancers, the ballerinas in particular. It is entirely too slow, something modern day dancers do endlessly. Dancers of Petipa's maintained musically correct tempi.
mrlopez2681 3 months ago
I don't know about the others, but the sets of this act (and the dream scene) are IDENTICAL to the sketches of the original designs shown in La Scala's website. It's admirable how faithfully they managed to restore these beautiful decors.
As for the choreography, I was very surprised to see how much Henriette's and Clémence's variations have been changed over the years. I'm still not sure which version of Henriette's variation I prefer.
theamazingsoter 3 months ago