''Le Jeune Homme et la Mort'' is a ballet by

Roland Petit Roland Petit (13 January 192410 July 2011) was a French ballet company director, choreographer and dancer. He trained at the Paris Opera Ballet school, and became well known for his creative ballets. Life and work The son of shoe designer Ros ...

, choreographed in 1946 to Bach's

Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor ''Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor'' (BWV 582) is an organ piece by Johann Sebastian Bach. Presumably composed early in Bach's career, it is one of his most important and well-known works, and an important influence on 19th and 20th century pas ...

BWV The (BWV; ; ) is a catalogue of compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. It was first published in 1950, edited by Wolfgang Schmieder. The catalogue's second edition appeared in 1990. An abbreviated version of that second edition, known as BWV2a ...

582, with a one-act libretto by

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the su ...

. It tells the story of a young man driven to suicide by his faithless lover. Sets were by

Georges Wakhévitch Georges Wakhévitch (russian: Георгий Леонидович Вахевич; Georgy Leonidovich Vakhevich; August 18, 1907 in Odessa, Russian Empire – February 11, 1984 in Paris) was a Russian-born French art director. The son of a naval ...

and costumes variously reported as being by

Karinska Varvara Jmoudsky, better known as Barbara Karinska or simply Karinska (October 3, 1886 – October 18, 1983), was the Oscar-winning costumier of cinema, ballet, musical and dramatic theatre, lyric opera and ice spectacles. Over her 50 year caree ...

or Cocteau. Petit is purported to have created ''Le Jeune Homme et la Mort'' for his wife-to-be

Zizi Jeanmaire Renée Marcelle "Zizi" Jeanmaire (29 April 192417 July 2020) was a French ballet dancer, actress and singer. She became famous in the 1950s after playing the title role in the ballet ''Carmen'', produced in London in 1949, and went on to appear ...

, but it was danced by

Jean Babilée Jean Babilée (real name Jean Gutman(n); 3 February 1923 – 30 January 2014) was a prominent France, French dancer and choreographer of the latter half of the 20th century. He is considered to have been one of modern ballet's greatest performers, a ...

and Nathalie Philippart at its 25 June 1946 premiere at the

Théâtre des Champs-Élysées The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées () is an entertainment venue standing at 15 avenue Montaigne in Paris. It is situated near Avenue des Champs-Élysées, from which it takes its name. Its eponymous main hall may seat up to 1,905 people, while th ...

with costumes by

Tom Keogh Tom C. Keogh (1922 – 15 February 1980) was an international fashion illustrator, graphic artist, and set and costume designer who married dancer and novelist Theodora Keogh, née Roosevelt, the granddaughter of President Theodore Roosevelt ...

. In 1951, Petit staged the ballet at

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...

. In 1966, he filmed the ballet in France with

Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev ( ; Tatar/ Bashkir: Рудольф Хәмит улы Нуриев; rus, Рудо́льф Хаме́тович Нуре́ев, p=rʊˈdolʲf xɐˈmʲetəvʲɪtɕ nʊˈrʲejɪf; 17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet ...

and Zizi Jeanmaire. ''Le Jeune Homme et la Mort'' was revived by

Mikhail Baryshnikov Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Барышников, p=mʲɪxɐˈil bɐ'rɨʂnʲɪkəf; lv, Mihails Barišņikovs; born January 28, 1948) is a Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Latvian-born R ...

at the American Ballet Theatre in 1975 and in the 1985 movie ''

White Nights White night, White Night, or White Nights may refer to: * White night (astronomy), a night in which it never gets completely dark, at high latitudes outside the Arctic and Antarctic Circles * White Night festivals, all-night arts festivals held in ...

'', in arrangements by Petit for Baryshnikov. It has been in the repertoire of 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 ...

since 1990 and was danced at its premiere there by

Kader Belarbi Kader Belarbi (born 1962) is a French ballet Ballet dancer, dancer, Choreography, choreographer and Artistic director, director. He spent his whole career in the Paris Opera Ballet, Paris National Opera Ballet, between 1980 and 2008, and belongs to ...

. It has also been danced by the

Ballet National de Marseilles The Ballet National de Marseille is a dance company based in Marseille, France. The company combines modern dance and classical ballet. Overview The Ballet National de Marseille was founded by the dancer and choreographer Roland Petit in 1972. T ...

(1984), the Berlin Opera Ballet (1985), the

Boston Ballet The Boston Ballet is an American professional classical ballet company based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1963 by E. Virginia Williams and Sydney Leonard, and was the first professional repertory ballet company in New England. I ...

(1998), the

Bolshoi Ballet The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the world's oldest ballet companies. In the early 20th century, it came to internatio ...

(2009), and the

Mariinsky 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 ...

(late 1990s, revival 2012).

Original cast

* Nathalie Philippart *

Revivals

La Scala Ballet, Teatro degli Arcimboldi, Milan, March 2006

Darcey Bussell Dame Darcey Andrea Bussell, (born Marnie Mercedes Darcey Pemberton Crittle; 27 April 1969) is an English retired ballerina and a former judge on the BBC television dance contest ''Strictly Come Dancing''. Trained at the Arts Educational Sc ...

Roberto Bolle Roberto Bolle (born March 26, 1975 in Casale Monferrato) is an Italian danseur. He is currently a ''principal dancer'' with the American Ballet Theatre and a principal dancer ''étoile'' at La Scala Theatre Ballet. Bolle also dances regularly a ...

Sadler's Wells, November 2006

*Darcey Bussell *

Igor Zelensky Igor Anatolyevich Zelensky (''also trans.'' Zelenski; rus, Игорь Анатольевич Зеленский; born 13 July 1969) is a Russian ballet dancer. Early life Zelensky was born on 13 July 1969, in Labinsk, Russian SFSR. He was a ...

References

External links

March 2006 review by Susy in ''Ballet.co Magazine''November 30, 2006, review by Ruth Leon for Bloomberg NewsNovember 29, 2006, review by John Percival in ''The Stage''''Le Jeune Homme et la Mort''
– 1966 film with

and

''Le Jeune Homme et la Mort''
– performance by Baryshnikov in the movie ''

'' (1985) Ballets by Roland Petit Ballets to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach Ballets by Jean Cocteau Ballets designed by Barbara Karinska Ballets designed by Georges Wakhévitch 1946 ballet premieres {{ballet-stub