Jean-Antoine-Nicolas Petipa (16 February 1787, Paris – 28 July 1855,
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
) was a French ballet dancer and the father of
Marius Petipa.
Life
Aged 8 he was in the revived production of the ballet ''Psyché'' by
Pierre Gardel
Pierre-Gabriel Gardel (4 February 1758, in Nancy, France – 18 October 1840, in Paris) was a French ballet dancer, ballet master, violinist, and composer., 2007. He was the younger brother of Maximilien Gardel, seventeen years his senior. In 1795 ...
, put on at the
Opéra de Paris
The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...
five years earlier. His débuts are only known from the programme of ballets and in a petition addressed by his father to the minister of the interior in 1799 with a view to obtaining one year's leave for his children, who were studying at the Opéra's dance school. Shortly afterwards young Petipa was enrolled in the troupe of
Filippo Taglioni
Filippo Taglioni (aka Philippe Taglioni; 5 November 1777 – 11 February 1871) was an Italian dancer and choreographer and personal teacher to his own daughter, Romantic ballerina Marie Taglioni. (He had another child who also danced ballet, ...
which criss-crossed Europe from 1807 after the closure of many Parisian theatres by imperial decree. The troupe set up a base in
Kassel from 1810 to 1812 but left this city when France invaded Prussia on the eve of the
invasion of Russia. It then went to look for other engagements, staying in Vienna and Naples.
Petipa was then taken on as a ballet master at
Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
for the 1813–14 season. He then hosted the Swedish prince
Bernadotte and the troupe the prince had formed, then headed the ballet at the Théâtre-Français in
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
several times. In January 1814 Petipa and his troupe put on a series of productions at Brussels, then moved to Paris on the reopening of the
Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin
The Théâtre de la Porte Saint-Martin is a venerable theatre and opera house at 18, Boulevard Saint-Martin in the 10th arrondissement of Paris.
History
It was first built very rapidly in 1781 under the direction of (1726–1810) to house th ...
. Premier danseur in the new troupe, Antoine Petipa began creating ballets such as ''Les Six ingénus'' (music by
Alexandre Piccinni) and ''Le Berger de la Sierra Morena'' (1815).
Taken on as ballet master at the Théâtre de
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
, Petipa had his eldest son
Lucien
Lucien is a male given name. It is the French form of Luciano or Latin ''Lucianus'', patronymic of Lucius.
Lucien, Saint Lucien, or Saint-Lucien may also refer to:
People
Given name
* Lucien of Beauvais, Christian saint
*Lucien, a band member ...
in 1815 and
Marius in 1818. In 1819, Petipa was recalled to Brussels as ballet master at the
Théâtre de la Monnaie
The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (french: Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, italic=no, ; nl, Koninklijke Muntschouwburg, italic=no; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National O ...
, remaining there until 1831. Summoned to Lyon,
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
and
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...
, Petipa returned to Brussels between 1833 and 1835 before moving to Bordeaux, where Lucien became premier danseur. The family then embarked for the United States of America in 1839, where they had a triumphal tour. On their return to Brussels between 1841 and 1843, Petipa put on new ballets there. In 1847 Petipa and his son Marius set up home in Saint Petersburg, where the father became professor to the Imperial School of Dance and the son began the brilliant career that would lead to his international renown.
Among his Russian disciples:
Lev Ivanov
Lev Ivanovich Ivanov (russian: link=no, Лев Ива́нович Ива́нов; 2 March 1834, Moscow – 24 December 1901, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer and later, Second Balletmaster of the Imperial Ballet. ...
,
Pavel Gerdt
Pavel Andreyevich Gerdt (russian: Па́вел Андре́евич Ге́рдт), also known as Paul Gerdt (near Saint Petersburg, Russia, 22 November 1844 – Vamaloki, Finland, 12 August 1917), was the ''Premier Danseur Noble'' of the Imperial ...
,
Timofey Stukolkin etc.
Main ballets
* ''Les Six ingénus'', after
Louis Duport
Louis-Antoine Duport (1781, Paris – 19 October 1853, Paris) was a French ballet dancer, ballet composer and ballet master.
Life
Born in Paris, Duport studied dance under Jean-François Coulon and began his career on the Boulevards and at the ...
(Brussels, 15 September 1814)
* ''Le Berger de la Sierra Morena, ou les Ruses d'amour'' (Paris, 16 February 1815)
* ''La Naissance de Vénus et de l'Amour'', after
Jean-Baptiste Blache
Jean-Baptiste Blache de Beaufort (17 May 1765, in Berlin – 24 January 1834, in Toulouse) was a German ballet dancer and ballet master active in France.
A student of Deshayes, he learned the violin and cello and had what was in essence a provin ...
(
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
1817)
* ''La Kermesse'' (
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, 1 September 1819)
* ''Clari'', after Louis Milon (Brussels, 23 December 1821)
* ''Monsieur Deschalumeaux'' (Brussels, 24 February 1822)
* ''Psyché et l'Amour'', after
Pierre Gardel
Pierre-Gabriel Gardel (4 February 1758, in Nancy, France – 18 October 1840, in Paris) was a French ballet dancer, ballet master, violinist, and composer., 2007. He was the younger brother of Maximilien Gardel, seventeen years his senior. In 1795 ...
(Brussels, 19 January 1823)
* ''Les Amours de Vénus ou le Siège de Cythère'', after Coindé (Brussels, 23 February 1824)
* ''Jenny ou le Mariage secret'' (Brussels, 23 January 1825)
* ''Frisac ou la Double noce'' (Brussels, 13 February 1825)
* ''Le Cinq juillet, ou l'Heureuse journée'' (Brussels, 9 July 1825)
* ''Monsieur de Pourceaugnac'' (Brussels, 5 February 1826)
* ''
Jocko ou le Singe du Brésil
''Jocko ou le Singe du Brésil'' (''Jocko or the Monkey of Brazil'') is a two-act play by Edmond Rochefort, inspired by a novel of Charles de Pougens (1824).
Plot
A rich Portuguese man travelling to Brazil captures a monkey which, during the ...
'' (Brussels, 14 December 1826)
* ''Gulliver'', after
Jean Coralli
Jean Coralli (15 January 1779 – 1 May 1854) was a French ballet dancer and choreographer, best known for collaborating with Jules Perrot in creating ''Giselle'' (1841), the quintessential Romantic ballet of the nineteenth century.
Early life ...
(Brussels, 22 February 1827)
* ''Les Petites Danaïdes, ou Quatre-vingt-dix-neuf victimes'' (Brussels, 18 February 1828)
* ''Les Enchantements de Polichinelle, ou le Talisman'' (Brussels, 8 March 1829)
* ''La Tarentule'', after
Jean Coralli
Jean Coralli (15 January 1779 – 1 May 1854) was a French ballet dancer and choreographer, best known for collaborating with Jules Perrot in creating ''Giselle'' (1841), the quintessential Romantic ballet of the nineteenth century.
Early life ...
(Brussels, 17 September 1841)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petipa
Dancers from Paris
1787 births
1855 deaths
19th-century French ballet dancers
French ballet masters
French choreographers
French male ballet dancers