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Marius Petipa, the "father
of classical ballet," was
born in Marseilles, France,
in 1819. He began his
dance training at the age
of seven with his father,
Jean Petipa, the French
dancer and teacher.
Marius was educated at
the Grand College in
Brussels and also attended
the conservatoire, where
he studied
music.
Although he disliked
dancing in those early
years, his progress was so
great that he made his
debut in 1831 in his
father's production of
Gardel's La
Dansomanie.
In 1834 Jean Petipa became
Maitre de Ballet at the
theatre in Bordeaux and it
was here that Marius
completed his education. At
the age of sixteen, he
became premier danseur at
the theatre in Nantes, where
he also produced several
short
ballets.
In 1839 Marius left Nantes
to tour North America with
his father, and on their
return visit went to Paris.
The following year he made
his debut at the Comedie
Francaise, where he
partnered Carlotte Grisi in a
benefit performance. He
continued his studies with
A. Vestris and became a
principal dancer in
Bordeaux.
Petipa next went to Spain in
1845, to work at the King's
Theatre. While in Madrid,
he studied Spanish dance
and choreographed
Carmen et son Terero,
La Perle de Seville,
L'Aventure d'une fille de
Madrid, La Fleur de
Grenade, and
Depart Dour la Course
des
Toureaux.
Petipa returned to Paris as a
principal dancer, but in
1847 left for Russia. He had
signed a one-year contract
with the St. Petersburg
Imperial Theatre, but was to
remain there for the rest of
his
life.
As a principal dancer, Petipa
often appeared with Fanny
Elssler and was much
acclaimed for his
performances in such ballets
as Paquita (which
he restaged and in which
made his debut), Giselle,
La Peri, Armida, Catarina,
Le Delire d'un peintre,
Esmeralda, Le Corsaire
and Faust.
Considered an excellent
dancer and partner, his
acting, stage manners and
pantomime were held up as
examples for many
generations of
dancers.
When Giselle was
revived in 1850, Petipa
made some changes in the
Wilis scenes, which became
the Grand Pas des Wilis of
1884. In 1854, he married
Maria Sourovshchikova, a
student in the graduating
class of the Imperial School,
who later danced in many of
her husband's ballets.
(Petipa's second marriage
was to Lubova Leonidovna,
a member of the Moscow
Ballet, in 1882.) In 1854 he
became an instructor in the
school, while continuing to
dance and to restage ballets
from the French
repertoire.
Sources differ on the first
original work he staged for
the Imperial Theatre: some
state it was The Star of
Granada, others
that it was A Marriage
During Regency. But all sources
concur that his first great
success was The
Daughter of Pharoh
(staged in six weeks), which
resulted in his appointment
as Choreographer-in-Chief in
1862 -- a position he held for
nearly fifty
years.
In 1869 Petipa became
Premier Ballet Master of the
Imperial Theatre. The value
of his accomplishments is
inestimable: he produced
more than sixty full-evening
ballets and innumerable
shorter works and he is
considered to have laid the
foundation for the entire
school of Russian ballet. The
ballet repertoire in the Soviet
Union is still based mainly
on his
works.
Those who felt the dramatic
content of ballet should be
strengthened began to
oppose Petipa toward the
end of his career. His noble
classicism and consciousness
of form was considered
old-fashioned, and in 1903,
at age 84, Petipa was forced
to retire from the Imperial
Theatre as a direct result of
the failure of his ballet,
The Magic Mirror.
His last years were filled with
bitterness and
disillusionment because his
beloved theatre had been
taken away. He died in St.
Petersburg in
1910.
Marius Petipa is considered
one of the greatest
choreographers of all time.
He researched the subject
matter of the ballets he
staged, making careful and
detailed preparations for
each production, and then
worked closely with the
designer and composer.
Petipa elevated the Russian
ballet to international fame
and laid the cornerstone for
20th Century ballet. His
classicism integrated the
purity of the French school
with Italian
virtuosity.
Sources: Researched and compiled by Fran Michelman. |
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