Bayadère

Bayadère is a Ballet in 3 acts and 7 tables of Marius Petipa, on a music of Leon Minkus, represented for the first time at the Théâtre Mariinsky of Saint-Pétersbourg the January 23rd 1877.

  • Act 1

Scene 1 - an Indian temple : a noble warrior, Solor, want to offer to the Rajah a tiger and send his friends to hunting, while it remains close it temple to see its Nikiya beloved, one of the Bayadère S, dancers who keep crowned fire. He swears his faith to him. Large the Brahman, also enthusiast of Nikiya, surprises them and jealousy conceives some.
Scene 2 - the palate of the rajah : the rajah offers the hand of his Gamzatti daughter to Solor. This one, held by its made oath in Nikiya, does not want to accept, but it is obliged to obey. The large Brahman comes to find the rajah to reveal the secret relations between Solor and the bayadère Nikiya to him. Gamzatti, surprising this conversation, makes come Nikiya to announce its engagement to Solor to him. Nikiya refuses to believe it, the two rivals quarrel. Nikiya threatens Gamzatti of a dagger but a servant retains his arm. Gamzatti thinks of débarasser of the bayadère insolente.
  • Act 2
engagement of Gamzatti and Solor : during the festival, Nikiya is brought to dance in front of the guests. Aiya, the maidservant of Gamzatti, presents to the bayadère a basket flowers. It hid a snake which pricks Nikiya mortally. The large Brahman intervenes to offir in Nikiya an antidote if however it agrees to be with him. Rejecting this possibility, seeing well that Solor would not give up Gamzatti, the bayadère is let die and curses them.
  • Act 3
the kingdom of the Shades : Solor, despaired by death of Nikiya, takes refuge in the dreams which the Opium gets to him and sees the phantoms of the dead bayadères appearing to him… Among them, Nikiya which forgives him.

The original production of Bayadère finished on an epilog (act 4) where Solor, after its vision of the kingdom of the Shades, was constrained to marry Gamzatti. The avenger prophecy of the bayadère was carried out then, a terrible storm burst and the palate collapsed on the guests of the wedding, absorbing rajah, large Brahman, Gamzatti and Solor… which joined in beyond its bayadère beloved.

Other versions

The romantic topic of the Bayadère had already inspired several choreographers before Petipa:

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