''Le Pavillon d'Armide'' is a ballet in one act and three scenes choreographed by

Michel Fokine Michael Fokine ( – 22 August 1942) was a Russian choreographer and dancer. Career Early years Fokine was born in Saint Petersburg to a prosperous merchant and at the age of 9 was accepted into the Saint Petersburg Imperial Ballet Sch ...

with music by Nikolai Tcherepnin to a libretto by Alexandre Benois. It was inspired by the novella ''Omphale'' 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 ...

.Benois, Alexandre: ''The Origins of the Ballets Russes. An unpublished text of an article written at the request of Boris Kocho'', 1944. In: Kochno, Boris: ''Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes.'' Translated from the French by Adrienne Foulke. Allen Lane the Penguin Press, Great Britain 1970. pp. 2-21.

History

The work was first presented on 25 November 1907 at the

Mariinsky Theatre The Mariinsky Theatre (, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic opera house in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th-century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, with staging and costumes by Alexandre Benois. Principal dancers were

Anna Pavlova Anna Pavlovna Pavlova. (born Anna Matveyevna Pavlova; – 23 January 1931) was a Russian prima ballerina. She was a principal artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev, but is most recognized for creating ...

in the role of Armida, Vaslav Nijinsky as her slave, and

Pavel Gerdt Pavel Andreyevich Gerdt (), also known as Paul Gerdt (22 November 1844, near Saint Petersburg, Russia – 12 August 1917, in Vamaloki, Finland, Russian Republic), was the ''Premier Danseur Noble'' of the Mariinsky Ballet, Imperial Ballet, the Bol ...

as the Vicomte René de Beaugency and Rozai as the Clown. Other dancers included young Lydia Kyasht, Lubov Tchernicheva, and Tamara Karsavina. On 19 May 1909, the ballet was presented by

Sergei Diaghilev Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev ( ; rus, Серге́й Па́влович Дя́гилев, , sʲɪrˈɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪdʑ ˈdʲæɡʲɪlʲɪf; 19 August 1929), also known as Serge Diaghilev, was a Russian art critic, patron, ballet impresario an ...

Ballets Russes The Ballets Russes () was an itinerant ballet company begun in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Russian Revolution, Revolution ...

at the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris. The role of Armida was danced by

Vera Karalli Vera Alexeyevna Karalli (; 27 July 1889 – 16 November 1972) was a Russian people, Russian ballet dancer, choreographer and silent film actress during the early years of the 20th century. Early life and career Born in Moscow, Karalli gradua ...

, the Vicomte de Beaugency by Mikhail Mordkin, and the Slave by Nijinsky. As the first ballet presented in Paris by Diaghilev, its success was due in part to its French theme. The 1909 season also included works based on Russian folklore which also met with public approval.Morrison, Simon. "The 'World of Art' and Music," in '' ir iskusstva Russia's Age of Elegance.'' (Omaha, Minneapolis, and Princeton: Palace Editions, 2005), p. 39.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pavillon d'Armide, Le Ballets Russes productions Ballets by Michel Fokine Ballets by Nikolai Tcherepnin 1900s ballets 1907 works Ballets based on works by Théophile Gautier