''Lydia, the Swiss Milkmaid'' (a.k.a. ''Lydia, ou la Laitière Suisse'', or as ''Natalie, oder Das schweizer Milchmädche'') is a ''Demi-Caractère ballet'' in 2 acts, with choreography by

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, ...

and music by

Adalbert Gyrowetz Vojtěch Matyáš Jírovec (Adalbert Gyrowetz) (20 February 1763 – 19 March 1850) was a Bohemian composer. He mainly wrote instrumental works, with a great production of string quartets and symphonies; his operas and singspiele numbered mo ...

. First presented as ''Das schweizer Milchmädche'' at the

Theater am Kärntnertor or (Carinthian Gate Theatre) was a prestigious theatre in Vienna during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Its official title was (Imperial and Royal Court Theatre of Vienna). History The theatre was built in 1709 to designs by Ant ...

, Vienna,

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

on Monday, October 8, 1821.

Revivals

* Revival by Filippo Taglioni for the

Ballet du Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique 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 a ...

under the title ''Nathalie, ou la Laitière suisse'', with

Michele Carafa Michele Enrico Francesco Vincenzo Aloisio Paolo Carafa di Colobrano (17 November 1787 – 26 July 1872) was an Italian opera composer. He was born in Naples and studied in Paris with Luigi Cherubini. He was Professor of counterpoint at the Par ...

revising Gyrowetz's score. First presented in Paris, France, on November 7, 1832. Principal dancers:

Marie Taglioni Marie Taglioni, Comtesse de Voisins (23 April 1804 – 22 April 1884) was a Swedish-born ballet dancer of the Romantic ballet era partially of Italian descent, a central figure in the history of European dance. She spent most of her life in th ...

. * Revival by Jules Perrot, Marius Petipa and Jean Petipa in 2 acts-2 scenes for the

Imperial 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 ...

under the title ''Lydia, ou la Laitière Suisse'' with

Cesare Pugni Cesare Pugni (; russian: Цезарь Пуни, Cezar' Puni; 31 May 1802 in Genoa – ) was an Italian composer of ballet music, a pianist and a violinist. In his early career he composed operas, symphonies, and various other forms of orche ...

revising Carafa's 1832 version of Gyrowetz's score. First presented at the

Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre The Saint Petersburg Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre (The Big Stone Theatre of Saint Petersburg, russian: Большой Каменный Театр) was a theatre in Saint Petersburg. It was built in 1783 to Antonio Rinaldi's Neoclassical ...

in St. Petersburg, Russia on . Principal Dancers:

Fanny Elssler Fanny Elssler (born Franziska Elßler; 23 June 181027 November 1884) was an Austrian ballerina of the Romantic Period. Life and career She was born in Gumpendorf, a neighborhood of Vienna. Her father Johann Florian Elssler was a second ge ...

Notes

* The Balletmaster

Antoine Titus Antoine is a French given name (from the Latin ''Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin. The name is used in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, West Greenland, Haiti, French Guiana ...

created a ballet with the same title for 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 t ...

, in Paris in 1823. In 1832 Titus restaged his 1823 production of for the Court Opera Ballet in Berlin,

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

with

in the lead role, and in 1833 staged the work for the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg where it was not well received. * Marius Petipa claimed sole authorship of the 1849 revival in St. Petersburg in his memoirs, in which he refers to the work as ''"a new ballet of my own."''. This was disputed throughout the 19th century—a published review by A. Wolf of the Imperial Ballet's 1849–1850 season credits the work as ''"Jules Perrot's new production"'', while in the ballet historian

Alexander Pleshcheyev Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

's study of the ballet of Tsarist St. Petersburg, titled ''Our Ballet'', the work is attributed to Petipa's father

Jean Petipa Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jea ...

, with only Perrot having contributed one of the ballet's dances. In the biography ''Jules Perrot: Master of the Romantic Ballet'' by the ballet historian Ivor Guest, the ballet's choreography is credited to Jean Petipa, except for the ''Scène dansante'' and a ''Pas de trois'' which are credited to Perrot.

References

{{Ballets of Marius Petipa Ballets by Filippo Taglioni Ballets by Adalbert Gyrowetz 1821 ballet premieres