Paquita

"For the Mexican singer, see Paquita la del Barrio"

Paquita is a ballet in two acts and three scenes, with libretto by Joseph Mazilier and Paul Fouché. Originally choreoghraphed by Joseph Mazilier to the music of Edouard Deldevez. First prrsented by the ballet of the Théâtre de l’Académie Royale de Musique in Paris on 1 April, 1846. The work was retained in the repertory of the Opéra until 1851.

In 1847 "Paquita" was staged for the first time in Russia for the Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg by Marius Petipa and Pierre-Frédéric Malevergne, being the first work ever staged by Petipa in Russia. In 1881 Petipa produced a revival of the ballet for which he added new pieces specially composed by Ludwig Minkus. This included the "Pas de trois" (a.k.a. the "Minkus Pas de trois" or "Paquita Pas de trois") for the first act, and the "Paquita Grand pas classique" and the "Mazurka des enfants" ("Children's mazurka") for the last act. Petipa's version of "Paquita" was retained in the repertory of the Mariinsky Theatre until 1926.

Marius Petipa's 1881 additions for "Paquita" survived long after the full-length ballet left the stage. Today these pieces, particularly the "Pas Grand pas classique", are major cornerstones of the traditional classical ballet repertory, and have been staged by ballet companies throughout the world.

In 2001, the Ballet Master Pierre Lacotte produced a revival of full-length, two act "Paquita" for the Paris Opera Ballet. Although Lacotte re-choregraphed most of the ballet himself, he restored Joseph Mazilier's original mime sequences and mise-en-scène, as well as Marius Petipa's 1881 additions.

Performance history

Other notable productions

*Marius Petipa and Pierre-Frédéric Malevergne for the Imperial Ballet. Musical orchestrations by Konstantin Liadov. First presented at the Imperial Bolshoi Theatre on OldStyleDate|8 October|1847|26 September.
*Marius Petipa for the Imperial Ballet, staged for the benefit performance of Ekaterina Vazem. Musical additions and revisions by Ludwig Minkus. First presented at the Imperial Bolshoi Theatre on OldStyleDate|8 January|1882|27 December 1881.

Original Interpreters

Plot Outline

The plot takes place in Spain during the occupation of Napoleon's army. The heroine is the young Gypsy girl, Paquita. Unbeknownst to Paquita, she is really of noble birth, having been abducted by Gypsies when she was an infant. She saves the life of a young French officer, Lucien d'Hervilly, who is the target of a Spanish governor who desires to have him killed by Iñigo, a gypsy chief. By way of a medallion she discover that she is of noble birth, being in fact the cousin of Lucien. As such, she and the Officer are able to wed.

History of the "Paquita Grand pas classique"

The "Paquita Grand pas classique" was revised in 1896 by Marius Petipa for a gala performance held at Peterhof in honor of Empress Catherine II. For the occasion the Imperial Ballet's newly appointed "Prima ballerina assoluta" Mathilde Kschessinskaya invited several ballerinas to participate in the performance by interpolating their favorite "classical variations" (or solos) from different works. Thus, the tradition of including an entire suite of solos for various ballerinas began, a tradition which is still in place today.

The "Paquita Grand pas classique" was first staged outside of Russia in 1964 by Rudolf Nureyev for the Royal Academy of Dancing. Nureyev subsequently staged the piece the ballet of La Scala in 1970, and for the Vienna State Opera Ballet and American Ballet Theatre in 1971. For all of his productions of the work Nureyev called upon John Lanchbery to reorchestrate the music. In 1984 Natalia Makarova staged a new version of the "Paquita Grand pas classique" for American Ballet Theatre with music again arranged by Lanchbery. To date the company still retains Makarova's staging in their repertory, and many companies throughout the world have staged her version of the piece.

In 1974 the Ballet Master Nikita Dolgushin produced a staging of the "Paquita Grand pas classique" for the Maly Theatre Ballet of St. Petersburg. For his production Dolgushin called upon the former ballerina Elizaveta Gerdt—who performed in Marius Petipa's original version of the piece— to assist in restoring the "Paquita Grand pas classique" to its form as performed during the early 20th century.

In 1978 the Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet's newly apponited artistic director Oleg Vinogradov staged a new version of the "Paquita Grand pas classique" for the company, a staging largely based on the version Pyotr Gusev staged for the Maly Theatre Ballet in 1952. The Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet still retain Vinogradov's version in their repertory, and many companies throughout the world include his version of the piece in their repertories.

olos of the "Paquita Grand pas classique"

The many different versions of the "Paquita Grand pas classique" are defined primarily by the various combinations of "classical variations" they contain. Here follows a list of the solos in place in the Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet's staging. The list below reveals who composed the piece, and in some cases what ballet they are taken from and/or for what dancer they were composed.

*№1 Female variation. Ludwig Minkus. Taken from Marius Petipa's 1892 revival of the ballet "La Naïade et le pêcheur". First performed by the ballerina Anna Johansson.
*№2 Female variation. Ludwig Minkus. Taken from Marius Petipa's 1891 ballet "Kalkabrino".
*№3 Female variation. Ludwig Minkus. Traditionally performed by the character Cupid in Marius Petipa's 1869 ballet "Don Quixote".
*№4 Female variation. Nikolai Tcherepnin. Taken from Mikhail Fokine's 1907 ballet "Le Pavillon d'Armide".
*№5 Female variation. Ludwig Minkus. Original variation performed by the lead ballerina of the "Paquita Grand pas classique". First performed by the ballerina Ekaterina Vazem.
*№6 Lead female variation. Riccardo Drigo. Taken from Drigo's additional music for Marius Petipa's 1892 revival of Filippo Taglioni's original 1832 version of the ballet "La Sylphide". Composed especially foe the ballerina Vavara Nikitina. The "variation" was later re-choregraphed by Petipa for the ballerina Anna Pavlova's début in "Paquita", and has remained the solos traditionalyl performed by the lead ballerina of the "Paquita Grand pas classique".
*№7 Lead male variation. Léo Delibes, male variation. The introduction of the "Mazurka" from the second act of the Delibes/Minkus ballet "La Source". The piece is taken from Delibes' portion of the score.

olos from other stagings

Although most versions of the "Paquita Grand pas classique" contain the same "classical variations" as other stagings, some versions include solos that other versions do not. The list below reveals the origins of solos found in other stagings.

* Female variation. Placed second in Natalia Makorva's staging for American Ballet Theatre. Music by Riccardo Drigo. Taken from Marius Petipa's 1899 revival of "La Esmeralda".
* Female variation. Placed third in Nikita Dolgushin's staging for the Maly Theatre Ballet. Music by Ludwig Minkus. Taken from Marius Petipa's 1876 ballet "Les Aventures de Pélée".
* Lead male variation. Placed sixth in Natalia Makorva's staging for American Ballet Theatre. Music by Cesare Pugni.
* Lead female variation. Placed sixth in Nikita Dolgushin's staging for the Maly Theatre Ballet by Riccardo Drigo. Taken from Lev Ivanov's 1901 revival of Marius Petipa's "La Camargo". Composed especially for the ballerina Pierina Legnani.

Gallery of historical images