| Ballets and revivals of Marius Petipa |
|---|
*Paquita (1847, *1881) |
The Awakening of Flora (in French, Le Réveil de Flore), (a.k.a. Flora's Awakening, or incorrectly as The Flower's Reawakening or The Reawakening of the Flowers) is an anacreonic ballet in one act, with choreography by Marius Petipa, music by Riccardo Drigo, and a libretto written by Petipa and Lev Ivanov.
The ballet was first presented at a court performance at Petergof in honor of the wedding of the Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna to the Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich by the Imperial Ballet on 9 August [O.S. 28 July] 1894. The principal dancers were Mathilde Kschessinskaya as Flora, Anna Johansson as Aurora, Olga Leonova as Diana, Nikolai Legat as Zephyr, Pavel Gerdt as Apollo, Alexander Gorsky as Aquilon, Vera Trefilova as Amour/Cupid, and Claudia Kulichevskaya as Hebé.
The work was given a second premiere for the general public on 20 January [O.S. 2 January] 1895 at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre with the same cast. This performance was a farewell benefit for the ballerina, Anna Johansson (daughter of the great teacher and dancer, Christian Johansson).
Contents |
[edit] Revivals and restagings
This work was revived by Askhat Galiamov for the West Australian Ballet under the title, Le Réveil de Flore. It was first presented at the Quarry Amphitheatre during the festival called Ballet at the Quarry, on February 14, 2006, in Perth, Australia. Louise Chalwell danced the role of Flora.
The Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet presented a complete reconstruction of the original 1894 production. The choreographic reconstruction was supervised by Sergei Vikharev, and the threesome of Pavel Bubelnikov, Lyudmila Sveshnikova, and Elena Belyaeva restored Drigo's score. Choreography was restored from the Stepanov Choreographic Notation of the Sergeyev Collection. This modern production was first presented by the Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet during the VIIth International Ballet Festival on April 12, 2007, at the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russia. The principals were Eugenia Obratzova as Flora, Xenia Ostreikovskaya as Aurora, Svetlana Ivanova as Diana, Vladimir Shkliarov as Zephyr, Maxim Chaschegorov as Apollo, Valeria Martynyuk as Cupid, and Daria Sukhorukova as Hebé.
[edit] Notes
- There exists near complete choreographic notations of Petipa's original choreography for The Awakening of Flora, which were made, around 1894, in Stepanov Choreographic Notation by Vladimir Ivanovich Stepanov himself. Today, these notations are part of the Sergeyev Collection, which is housed in the Harvard University Library Theatre Collection.
- Although many studies of ballet in tsarist St. Petersburg credit this ballet as the work of both Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, it was choreographed solely by Petipa himself, with Ivanov serving as his assistant in rehearsals.
- Riccardo Drigo's music was hailed as a masterwork of ballet music by the balletomanes and critics of the day, and was even formed into an orchestral suite. The Adage of the ballet's Pas d’action includes a violin solo written especially for the great violinist Leopold Auer.
- This ballet was a favorite with the Ballerinas of the Imperial St. Petersburg stage, among them Anna Pavlova, who included an abridgement of the work in her company's repertory.
- Conductor Richard Bonynge recorded an abridgement of Riccardo Drigo's score for The Awakening of Flora as performed by Anna Pavlova's company. The recording has been included on the Decca Records releases Homage to Pavlova (1972), and Fête du Ballet (2001).
[edit] Libretto
Tableau 1 — It is night. Flora, the goddess of Spring, is deep asleep with her nymphs; Diana, the goddess of Moon, guards their peace. With the approach of dawn, a freshness is felt in the air. Diana hides in the clouds.
Tableau 2 — Aquilon, the northern wind, rushes stormily over the locale; his cold breath of wind awakens Flora and forces her to seek refuge in the foliage. The appearance of chilling dew brings Flora to despair, and she implores Aurora, the goddess of the dawn, to help them.
Tableau 3 — Aurora consoles Flora with tender caresses and announces that Apollo, the god of day, who will end their sufferings, is following behind her. Aurora, Flora, and her nymphs perform a waltz.
Tableau 4 — With the appearance of resplendent Apollo, everything becomes animated. Smitten with the beauty of Flora, Apollo kisses her. At his call, Zephyr, the god of the gentle west wind, flies to his beloved Flora's embrace. He is followed by Cupid and her little amours. "You must be his helpmate," Apollo tells her, "It is the will of the gods." Everyone is delighted; Cupid, amours, and nymphs rejoice over the lover's happiness. A classical Pas d’action is performed.
Tableau 5 — Mercury, messenger of the gods, announces Hebé, the goddess of youth, and Ganymede, cupbearer to the gods. They present Flora and Zephyr a cup of nectar and proclaim that Jupiter has given them eternal youth.
Tableau 6 — A procession. The chariot of Bacchus and Ariadne is accompanied by bacchantes, satyrs, fauns, sylvans, and others. A Grand pas is performed by all assembled, followed by a rousing finale.
Apotheosis — Olympus is revealed; Jupiter appears, Juno, Neptune, Vulcan, Minerva, Ceres, Mars, Pluto, Proserpina, Venus, and others.
[edit] Dances and scenes
- №01 Introduction
- №02 L’apparition de Diane —nocturne
- №03 L’apparition d’Aquilon
- №04 La rosée — scherzo
- №05 L’apparition d’Aurore
- №06 Valse
- №07-a L’apparition d’Apollon
- №07-b Entrée de Zéphyr
- №07-c Entrée de Cupidon — pizzicato
- №08 Pas d’action
-
- a. Adage
- b. Variation de Zéphyr
- c. Variation d’Hébé
- d. Variation de Flore
- e. Grande valse
- №09 L’arrivée de Mercure, Ganymède et Hébé
- №10 Grand cortège — bacchanale
- №11 Grand pas
- №12 Galop générale
- №13 Apothéose – La révélation d’Olympe
[edit] Sources
- St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres. Celebration at Peterhof, Ezhegodnik Imperatorskikh Teatrov 1893/1894, 426-9.
- Mariinsky Ballet. Souvenir program for the reconstruction of Petipa's The Awakening of Flora (from the VII International Ballet Festival) at the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russia.
- Petipa, Marius. The Diaries of Marius Petipa. Trans. and Ed. Lynn Garafola. Published in Studies in Dance History. 3.1 (Spring 1992).
- Petipa, Marius. Memuary Mariusa Petipa solista ego imperatorskogo velichestva i baletmeistera imperatorskikh teatrov (The Memoirs of Marius Petipa, Soloist of His Imperial Majesty and Ballet Master of the Imperial Theatres).
- Petipa, Marius. Lilian Moore, ed. and translator. Russian Ballet Master: The Memoirs of Marius Petipa.
- Wiley, Roland John. Dances from Russia: An Introduction to the Sergeyev Collection, Published in The Harvard Library Bulletin, 24.1 January 1976.
- Wiley, Roland John. The Life and Ballets of Lev Ivanov.
