Barbe-Bleue

Barbe-bleue (en. Bluebeard) (ru. «Синяя борода», Sinjaja boroda) is a ballet-féerie in three acts and seven scenes, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa to the music of Pyotr Schenk. The libretto was created by the author and dramatist Countess Lydia Pashkova from the fairy tale Bluebeard by Charles Perrault. The ballet was first presented by the Imperial Ballet on at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, the first performance being a benefit in honor of Marius Petipa's fiftieth anniversary in service to the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres. Roles and original cast History Marius Petipa created the ballet Bluebeard for his own benefit performance given in honor of his 50th anniversary of service to the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres. The ballet was given a lavish production of the most sumptuous costumes and décor, with the Mariinsky Theatre's machinists creating complex and rapid stage metamorphoses. Many critics who attended the ballet's premier complained that Bluebeard sacrificed plot and artistic sensibilities in favor of spectacle, with the libretto merely serving as an excuse for elaborate stage transformations and even more elaborate dances. Nevertheless, Petipa's dances for Bluebeard were universally hailed as masterworks of classical choreography. The critic from the St. Petersburg Gazette commented on the danced numbers in Bluebeard: Although Bluebeard was very successful during its opening run, the ballet did not find a permanent place in the repertory of the Imperial Ballet. The last presentation of the full-length production of Bluebeard was given in 1899 for the benefit performance of Pierina Legnani. In 1901, the first and third acts of the ballet were given as part of a program staged for the farewell benefit of Legnani before retiring to her native Italy.