The ballet of L. Minkus “La Bayadere” is one of the most famous Russian ballets of the 19th century. The author of the music was Ludwig Minkus, the libretto was written by Sergei Khudyakov, and the choreography by the legendary Marius Petipa.
How ballet was created
Laurels were called Indian girls who served as dancers in temples where their parents gave them because they were unloved and unwanted.
There are various versions that explain why the idea of creating a play on an exotic plot for Russia at that time arose. This is not known for certain, therefore disputes between theater historians are still ongoing.
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", the creator of which was his older brother Lucien. The author of the music for the French production was Ernest Reyer, the author of the libretto, which was based on the ancient Indian drama Calidasta - Theophile Gauthier. The prototype of the main character was Amani - a dancer, the prima of the Indian troupe, who toured Europe, who committed suicide. Gauthier decided to put ballet in memory of her.
But there is no evidence that this is true. Therefore, it cannot be argued that it was precisely under the influence of “Shakuntaly” that “La Bayadere” (ballet) was born. Its content is very different from the plot of the Paris production. In addition, the ballet of Petipa Jr. entered the Russian stage only 20 years after the production in Paris. There is another version of Marius Petipa’s idea of creating “La Bayadere” - a fashion for oriental (in particular, Indian) culture.
The author of the music was an Austrian of Czech origin, who served with the Russian emperor, composer, violinist and conductor - Ludwig Minkus. La Bayadere has become one of his most famous works.
Literary basis
The developer of the ballet libretto was Marius Petipa himself, together with playwright S.N. Khudekov. According to historians, the literary basis of La Bayadère was the same Indian drama Kalidasta as in the production of Shakuntal, but the plots of these two ballets are very different. According to theater experts, V. Goethe’s ballad “God and La Bayadere” is also included in the libretto; a ballet was created on it in France, where Maria Taglioni danced the main part.
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 Golkonda, Gamzatti - the daughter of Raja, The Great Brahmin, Magdavaya - fakir, Taloragwa - warrior, Aya - slave, Dzhampe. And also warriors, bayadere, fakirs, people, hunters, musicians, servants ...
The plot of the ballet
This is a performance of 4 acts, but each theater has its own La Bayadere (ballet). The content is preserved, the main idea is unchanged, it is based on the same libretto, the same music and the same plastic decisions, but the number of actions in different theaters can be different. For example, in the Mikhailovsky Theater (St. Petersburg) in the ballet there are three acts instead of four. For many years, the score of Act 4 was considered lost, and the ballet was staged in 3 acts. But it was still found in the funds of the Mariinsky Theater, and the original version was restored, but not all theaters switched to this version.
In ancient times, the events of the performance "La Bayadere" (ballet) are unfolding in India. The content of the first act: the warrior Solor comes to the temple at night to meet with Nikiya there, and invites her to escape with him. The great brahmin, rejected by her, becomes a witness to the meeting and decides to take revenge on the girl.
The second act. Raja wants to give his daughter Gamzatti to the valiant warrior Solor, who is trying to refuse such an honor, but the Raja sets a date for the wedding. The great brahmin tells the Raj that the warrior met with Nikia in the temple. He decides to kill the dancer by presenting her with a basket of flowers with a poisonous snake inside. This conversation hears Gamzatti. She decides to get rid of her rival and offers her wealth if she refuses Solor. Nikia is shocked that her lover will marry, but cannot refuse him and, in a fit of anger, rushes at the daughter of the Raja with a dagger. Gamzatti's faithful servant succeeds in saving her mistress. The next day, a celebration commemorates his daughter’s wedding at Raja Castle, and Nikiya was ordered to dance for the guests. After one of her dances, she is handed a basket of flowers, from which a snake crawls out and stings her. Nikia dies in Solor's arms. So ends the second part of the performance "La Bayadere" (ballet).
The content of the third and fourth acts. Solor mourns Nikia. During the wedding ceremony, he sees the shadow of his beloved in the air, she looks at him with tenderness. 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 Nikia unite to be together forever.
Composer
The author of the music for the ballet La Bayadere, as mentioned above, is the 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 to study music - he learned to play the violin, at the age of 8 he first appeared on the 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 received the position of bandmaster of the orchestra in the castle theater of Prince Yusupov. From 1856 to 61, L. Minkus served as the first violinist at the Moscow Imperial Bolshoi Theater, and then began to combine this position with the position 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, was 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. L. Minkus ballets are still included in the repertoires of all the leading theaters in the world.
Premiere
On January 23, 1877, the ballet La Bayadere was first 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 located. The part of the main character Nikiya was played by Ekaterina Vazem, and the dancer Lev Ivanov shone as her lover.
Different versions
In 1900, M. Petipa himself edited his production. She went in an updated version at the Mariinsky Theater, and M. Kshesinskaya danced the Nikiya part . 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 again edited this ballet. Photos from the performance of the Mariinsky Theater are contained in the article.