''Kalkabrino'' is a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

in three acts and three scenes, with choreography by

Marius Petipa Marius Ivanovich Petipa (russian: Мариус Иванович Петипа), born Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa (11 March 1818), was a French ballet dancer, pedagogue and choreographer. Petipa is one of the most influential ballet masters an ...

and music by

Léon Minkus Ludwig Minkus (russian: link=no, Людвиг Минкус), also known as Léon Fyodorovich Minkus (23 March 1826, Vienna – 7 December 1917, Vienna), was a Jewish-Austrian composer of ballet music, a violin virtuoso and teacher. Minkus is no ...

Première performance

The ballet was first presented by the

Imperial Russian Ballet The Mariinsky Ballet (russian: Балет Мариинского театра) is the resident classical ballet company of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russ ...

on 13 February 1891, on the

Julian calendar The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandr ...

(25 February 1891 in the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...

) at the

Imperial Mariinsky Theatre The Mariinsky Theatre ( rus, Мариинский театр, Mariinskiy teatr, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music th ...

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 ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Original cast

The

principal dancer A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be male or female. The position is similar to that of '' soloist''; however, p ...

s at the première were: *

Carlotta Brianza Carlotta Brianza (1867–1930) was an Italian prima ballerina, dancing with La Scala in Milan and later with the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg. Biography Born in Milan, Brianza studied at the ballet school of La Scala under Carlo B ...

— as Marietta/Draginiatza *

Enrico Cecchetti Enrico Cecchetti (; 21 June 1850 – 13 November 1928) was an Italian ballet dancer, mime, and founder of the Cecchetti method. The son of two dancers from Civitanova Marche, he was born in the costuming room of the ''Teatro Tordinona'' in Ro ...

— as Reuben *

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 ...

— as Kalkabrino *

Felix Kschessinsky Felix may refer to: * Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name Places * Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen * Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, ...

— as René, Marietta's father *

Nikolai Legat Nikolai Gustavovich Legat (russian: Никола́й Густа́вович Лега́т) (30 December 1869, Moscow – 24 January 1937, London) was a premier dancer with the Russian Imperial Ballet from 1888 to 1914, and also with the Mariin ...

— as Olivier *

Marie Petipa Marie Mariusovna Petipa (russian: Мари́я Ма́риусовна Петипа́; 17 (29) October 1857 – 16 January 1930) was a noted Russian ballerina. She was born in St. Petersburg, the daughter of Marius Petipa (under whom she s ...

— as Cigala.

Production notes

*This work was not produced with the participation of Minkus, who had already retired to Vienna in 1886. Instead, the score was a pastiche of airs extracted from several ballets.

References

Ballets by Marius Petipa Ballets by Ludwig Minkus 1891 ballet premieres Ballets premiered at the Mariinsky Theatre {{russia-stub

Première performance

Original cast

Production notes

See also

References