The Corsair

See also: Corsair (homonymy)

the Corsair is a Ballet in 3 acts, 5 tables and an epilog, which had several authors and versions, whose most known of Marius Petipa in 1899 is that.

Inspired by a poem of Lord Byron ( The Corsair , 1814), the history has all the romantic ingredients likely to allure the librettists of ballet of the 19th century: an intrigue with bounces, an exotic framework (the Greece under the Ottoman Empire) made popular by the tables of Delacroix, a perfectly romantic hero.

Versions of Giovanni Galzerani

The Italian choreographer Giovanni Galzerani (1780 - 1865) gives a first version of it to the Scala of Milan in 1826, then one second in 1830 and the last, which remained a long time with the repertory of the Italian ballets, in 1842.

Version of Albert

Albert (1789 - 1865) composes his version of the Corsaire in 1837, for the King' S Theater of London, on a music of Nicolas Bochsa.

Version of Joseph Mazilier

On a music of Adolphe Adam, Joseph Mazilier (1801 - 1868) creates his version of the Corsaire on January 23rd 1856 with the Opéra of Paris. It will remain with the poster during two years and will be taken again in 1867, with additions of Léo Delibes.

Version of Jules Perrot

January 24th 1858, Jules Perrot (1810 - 1892) gives a version of the Corsaire to Saint-Pétersbourg, according to that of Mazilier.

Versions of Marius Petipa

Undoubtedly the most known versions and most imposing, those of Marius Petipa (1818 - 1910) take as a starting point the preceding ones as far as they deviate some.

It had already taken part in 1858 in the version of Perrot in Saint-Pétersbourg and a recovery gives some, only, on February 6th 1868 with the Théâtre Mariinsky, with musical additions of Leon Minkus.

Petipa then entirely works over again the part, while being based on the compositions of Adolphe Adam, Cesare Pugni and Léo Delibes and by integrating the majority of the former additions there. The first representation takes place with the Théâtre Mariinsky on January 13rd 1899.

One particularly applauds it a new “step of three” which, with the wire of time, will become a “step of two” made famous in the whole world for Rudolf Noureev in the Années 1960. The most famous interpreters of the Corsaire of Petipa remain Anna Pavlova and Tamara Karsavina, which has the appearance of a reference still today.

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