The Haarlem Tulip

"The Haarlem Tulip" (AKA "The Tulip of Haarlem", or "The Tulip Field") - "Fantastic ballet" in 3 Acts-4 Scenes, with choreography by Lev Ivanov and Marius Petipa(?), and music by Baron Boris Vietinghoff-Scheel.

First presented by the Imperial Ballet on October 4/16 (Julian/Gregorian calendar dates), 1887, at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia. "Principal Dancers -" Emma Bessone (as Emma), Pavel Gerdt (as Peters), and Alfred Bekefi (as Andreas).

Revivals

*Revival by Claudia Kulichevskaya and Pavel Gerdt under the title "The Tulip Field" for students of the Imperial Ballet School, first presented on April 3–15, 1902 in the school's theatre.

*Revival by Alexander Shiryaev for the Imperial Ballet, with a new "Pas de Trois" fashioned from the "Pas de Six" from the ballet "Javotte" by Camille Saint-Saëns. First presented on April 16–28, 1903 at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre. "Principal Dancers -" Vera Trefilova (as Emma), Nikolai Legat (as Peters), and Gyorgy Kiaksht (as Andreas). With Tamara Karsavina, Elena Poliakova, and Mikhail Obukhov in the "Pas de Trois".

Notes

*Most historical essays concerning 19th century Russian Ballet that mention this work credit both Petipa and Ivanov as choreographer (one exception is the "Yearbook of the Imperial Theatres 1902-1903"), as do contemporary press accounts of the premiere and subsequent revivals. The exhaustive research conducted by Roland John Wiley for his book "The Life and Ballets of Lev Ivanov" tell that it was in fact Ivanov who staged the entire work, and if Petipa did contribute in any way to the production it is not known.

*"The Haarlem Tulip" was taken out of the repertory of the Imperial Ballet not long after a performance on December 7/20 1905 on the stage of the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre. It was brought back for what would be its last performance on April 30/May 13, 1917.