''La Péri'' is a

fantastic Fantastic or Fantastik may refer to: Music * ''Fantastic'' (Toy-Box album) * ''Fantastic'' (Wham! album) * '' Fan-Tas-Tic (Vol. 1)'', an album by Slum Village * '' Fantastic, Vol. 2'', an album by Slum Village * ''Fantastic'' (EP), an EP by ...

ballet choreographed by Jean Coralli (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 rema ...

and Coralli, scenery designed by

Charles Séchan Charles Polycarpe Séchan (29 June 1803 – 14 September 1874) was a French painter and theatre designer. Life Born in Paris, son of the tailor merchant Jean-Fris Séchan, he lost his parents, who had no fortune, very early on. He learned the ...

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

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 a ...

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 kn ...

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 Vižinada, Visinada, Istria (present-day Vižinada, Croatia). Although her parents were not involved in the theatre, she ...

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

Lucien Petipa Lucien Petipa (22 December 1815 – 7 July 1898) was a French ballet dancer during the Romantic period, and the elder brother to Marius Petipa, the famous ballet master of the Russian Imperial Ballet. He was born in Marseille and died in Versai ...

, in one of his

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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 ( 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 best-k ...

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

Serge Lifar Serge Lifar (, ''Serhіy Mуkhailovуch Lуfar'') ( 15 December 1986) was a Ukrainian dancer, choreographer, and one of the greatest male ballet dancers of the 20th century. Lifar was also a choreographer, director, writer, theoretician abou ...

, and George Skibine. 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) 1840s ballets 1843 works Ballets premiered at the Paris Opera Ballet 1843 compositions Ballets by Théophile Gautier

Scenario

Choreography

Historical note

See also

References