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 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 ...

, the famous ballet master of the

Russian 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 ...

. He was born in

Marseilles 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 Franc ...

and died in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

. The son of

Jean-Antoine Petipa Jean-Antoine-Nicolas Petipa (16 February 1787, Paris – 28 July 1855, Saint Petersburg) 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, put ...

, he was the original interpreter of many of the principal male roles during the Romantic era, working with choreographers such as

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 ...

among others. Probably the most known role he created was Albert, duke of Sliesa (later to be known as count Albrecht) in the two-act ballet of ''

Giselle ''Giselle'' (; ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (, ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet (" ballet-pantomime") in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, ...

'' in 1841, opposite the Italian-born 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 ...

for whom the ballet was created. Between 1860 and 1868 he was '' maître de ballet'' at the

Paris Opera 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 ...

and between 1872 and 1873 he ran the

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 ...

theater in

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 ...

.Ivor Guest. ''Petipa, (Joseph) Lucien'' o
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Notable roles

* Albert in ''

'' (1841) * Achmed in '' La Péri'' (1843)

Ballets

* In 1857 Lucien Petipa staged a ballet to the music of the second version of the opera ''

Le cheval de bronze ''Le Cheval de bronze'' (''The Bronze Horse'') is an '' opéra comique'' by the French composer Daniel Auber, first performed on 23 March 1835 by the Opéra-Comique at the Salle de la Bourse in Paris. The libretto (in three acts) is by Auber's ...

''. *''Sacountala'' (performed on July 14, 1858 at the Paris Opera) *''Graziosa'' (performed on March 25, 1861 at the Paris Opera) *''Le Roi d'Yvetot'' (performed on December 28, 1865 at the Paris Opera) *'' Le Marché des innocents'' (''The March of the Innocents''), along with his brother

(October 14, 1872, performed in Brussels) *'' Namouna'' (performed on February 10, 1882 at the Paris Opera)

References

French ballet masters Russian ballet 19th-century French ballet dancers French male ballet dancers French choreographers Dance directors of La Monnaie Entertainers from Marseille 1815 births 1898 deaths Petipa Paris Opera Ballet artistic directors Royal Conservatory of Brussels alumni {{Ballet-bio-stub