''La Péri'' is a

fantastic The fantastic (french: le fantastique) is a subgenre of literary works characterized by the ambiguous presentation of seemingly supernatural forces. Bulgarian-French structuralist literary critic Tzvetan Todorov originated the concept, characte ...

ballet choreographed by

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 ...

(1779-1854) to music composed by Friedrich Burgmüller. With a scenario devised by

Théophile Gautier Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and rem ...

and Coralli, scenery designed by Charles Séchan,

Jules Diéterle Jules Diéterle (8 February 1811 – 22 April 1889) was a 19th-century French architect, also a draftsman, painter, painter on porcelain, sculptor and theatre decorator. Biography Born in Paris, Diéterle, son of Jean Georges Diéterle,Fr ...

Édouard Desplechin Édouard Desplechin His name is often spelt "Despléchin" » with an acute accent. (12 April 1802 – 10 December 1871), was a 19th-century French scenic designer, one of the most famous of his time. Biography He created numerous settings for ...

, Humanité Philastre, and Charles Cambon, and costumes designed by Paul Lorimer and Hippolyte d'Orshwiller, it was first presented by the

Paris Opera Ballet The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded ...

at the

Académie Royale de Musique 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 ...

on 17 July 1843.

Scenario

The ballet, in two acts, three scenes, had a typically Romantic plot dealing with a mortal's love for a supernatural being. Gautier's scenario was inspired by his attraction to the Orient and was devised for his favorite ballerina,

Carlotta Grisi Carlotta Grisi (born Caronne Adele Josephine Marie Grisi; 28 June 1819 – 20 May 1899) was an Italian ballet dancer. Born in Visinada, Istria (present-day Vižinada, Croatia). Although her parents were not involved in the theatre, she was broug ...

, in the guise of a Persian fairy. She appears to the wealthy and world-weary Sultan Achmet, danced by

Lucien Petipa Lucien Petipa (December 22, 1815 – July 7, 1898) was a French ballet dancer in the early 19th century ( Romantic period), who was the brother of Marius Petipa, the famous ballet master of the Russian Imperial Ballet. He was born in Marseilles a ...

, in one of his

opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...

dreams, and he falls in love with her. To test his love, she takes the form of a runaway slave, Leila. Achmet is imprisoned for refusing to surrender her to her owner, but in an apotheosis the walls of his prison vanish and he is seen entering paradise with the Péri.

Choreography

Coralli's choreography provided Grisi with two striking dances: a ''pas de songe'' that culminated in her daring leap from a six-foot-high platform into her partner's arms, and a ''pas d'abeille'', a decorous striptease prompted by the invasion of an imaginary bee. The ballet's immediate success did much to revive Grisi's flagging reputation. It was soon produced on ballet stages in theaters all over Europe.

Historical note

French composer

Paul Dukas Paul Abraham Dukas ( or ; 1 October 1865 – 17 May 1935) was a French composer, critic, scholar and teacher. A studious man of retiring personality, he was intensely self-critical, having abandoned and destroyed many of his compositions. His b ...

(1865-1935) wrote a "''poème dansé''" entitled ''La Péri'' in 1911 that was first choreographed by

Ivan Clustine Ivan Nikolayevich Khlyustin (russian: Иван Николаевич Хлюстин; 22 August 1862 – 21 November 1941), usually referred to outside Russia as Ivan Clustine, was a Russian dancer, ballet master, and choreographer. He was "offered ...

in 1912 and that has since been choreographed in many versions by other choreographers, including

Frederick Ashton Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton (17 September 190418 August 1988) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer. He also worked as a director and choreographer in opera, film and revue. Determined to be a dancer despite the oppositi ...

Serge Lifar Serge Lifar ( ua, Сергій Михайлович Лифар, ''Serhіy Mуkhailovуch Lуfar'') ( 15 December 1986) was a Ukrainian ballet dancer and choreographer, famous as one of the greatest male ballet dancers of the 20th century. No ...

, and

George Skibine George Boris SkibineGeorge Boris Skibine in ''South Carolina, Naturalization Records, 1868-1991'' (russian: Юрий Борисович Скибин; Yuri Borisovich Skibin; January 30, 1920 – January 14, 1981), also known as Youra Skibine, was ...

. None of them has any connection to Coralli's ballet set to the Burgmüller score.Mary Clarke and David Vaughan, eds., "''Péri, La''," in ''The Encyclopedia of Dance and Ballet'' (New York: Putnam's, 1977).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peri (Burgmuller) 1843 ballet premieres Ballets premiered at the Paris Opera Ballet 1843 compositions

Scenario

Choreography

Historical note

See also

References