Roland Petit Swan Lake. Biography
"Queen of Spades". Ballet to the music of P. I. Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony. Big theater.
Choreographer Roland Petit, conductor Vladimir Andronov, designer Jean-Michel Wilmotte
And what opera fan would pass by the name “The Queen of Spades”... even if it’s a ballet. Even if it is not opera music that is used, but symphonic music, it is the music of the symphony that Tchaikovsky created in close proximity to opera and in the same circle of tragic problems.
I didn’t even pass by the Bolshoi Theater poster...
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“The most French of French choreographers,” as Roland Petit is called, turned to the Russian “Queen of Spades” more than once, fascinated by the deceptively casual simplicity of Pushkin’s infernal “anecdote” and the colossal emotional intensity of Tchaikovsky’s music. Experiments with the opera's score did not lead to success, and the choreographer decided to merge the script he created with the Sixth, Pathetic Symphony. Petit chose the path of not dancing instrumental music, but the creation of a story ballet, which he always preferred. The choreographer himself believes that his libretto fit perfectly to the music of Tchaikovsky’s last creation, with the only concession that episodes and entire parts of the symphony swapped places. As a result, the musical dramaturgy of the ballet, of course, differs from the symphony, but the editing of the score was done by the director himself very smoothly.
The design of Roland Petit's ballet is a series of monologues and dialogues by Hermann with himself, with the Countess, Lisa, Chekalinsky, and the players. Reflective, like Hamlet, Hermann, throughout the entire performance, is truly in constant intense communication with his own ego, finding, as it seems to him, answers in disputes with images from his fevered imagination.
The choreographic vocabulary of the ballet is based on the classics, but significantly transformed by the twentieth century. It cannot be said that here Roland Petit made some global discoveries in the field of dance language. His style is well recognizable, the master, it seems, does not care about the importance of this performance in how the director compares episodes, how he distributes tension, how he correlates plastic tempo with music, how he affects light and color - in other words, in the dramaturgy of the spectacle. This, I think, is the main advantage of the production.
Roland Petit himself carefully selected the performers for the implementation. creative project and didn’t want to work with anyone else. There is fundamentally only one cast involved here.
In Nikolai Tsiskaridze, Petit found a dancer-actor with magnificent body lines, temperament, a nervous artistic nature and high-quality technique. With the passion of a maniac, Petit loaded the hero with so many dance difficulties that at times the artist did not even care about the problems of the image.
Tsiskaridze is very good in himself: stand, step, jump, effortless completeness of poses, and finally, the charm of male beauty - everything is with him. However, at times a certain narcissism locks him into the usual romantic image. Implementing the original vocabulary of Roland Petit, he sometimes suddenly becomes Albert from Giselle... But the masterfully constructed dramaturgy of the performance powerfully draws the hero into a death spiral, the dancer forgets about romanticism and the ever-increasing technical difficulties. His whirlwind jumps with spins (literally from a standing start!) have breathtaking energetic power. The impression is that Germann Tsiskaridze is simply flying towards the finale, although in fact his movements become even wider and slower. The tension is gaining momentum, the pulse quickens, the inevitability of the tragic march of the final part of the symphony draws Hermann to the denouement with incredible force. A short, almost grotesque convulsion - and it’s all over... Bringing the build-up of tension to the brink is something only a true artist can do.
The hero of Petit and Tsiskaridze is not from the category of “little people,” although at times he is flawed (half-bent knees, shifted feet and shoulders), almost crushed (crawling on his knees, the dancer performs leit movements in a transformed form, which were repeated more than once in his plastic score of the main monologues). Sometimes he looks like a capriciously demanding, sometimes naive child: what is worth the amazed look at the pistol after the unexpected death of the Countess!
Like Meyerhold in the famous “Queen of Spades” of 1935, Roland Petit does not emphasize the love line of Hermann and Lisa. This is just an episode in which the girl gently takes the initiative. Hermann's yearning for love is intertwined with his painful search for the secret of the cards - the musical basis of one of the main monologues of the hero and the duet with Lisa turns out to be the famous side theme of the first movement of the symphony. The duet with Lisa is simple, but very good, largely thanks to Svetlana Lunkina, genuinely noble, with pure classical lines of dance and charming appearance. The ending of this duet is interesting: Lisa gently turns Hermann’s head towards her, kisses him and runs away. But he returns - with the key in his hand.
The magic of love instantly dissipates. Next - a meeting with another lover. With a gray-haired, almost disembodied creature, whom Hermann manipulates like a rag doll. Here Hermann is demanding and pleading, raping and caressing. And she, Countess, Ilze Liepa, is lustful, trembling, breaking, but not giving up. Her death is also instantaneous and convulsive: something like the splash of the wings of a mortally wounded bird...
Ilze Liepa's Countess in Roland Petit's performance is the finest hour of a ballerina who, perhaps, has been waiting all her life real role. In my opinion, this is a case of ideal merging with the image as the director came up with it, and at the same time maintaining a distance between the character and the performer. Gloomy, rotten sensuality is combined with intelligence, wrestling passion - with eerie irony. Liepa's plasticity, musicality, acting talent, her amazingly flexible hands are a luxurious material from which the choreographer and dancer created a masterpiece.
The color and silhouette transformations of the Countess's costume are magnificent: a dark cloak with a metallic sheen is thrown over a salop with gore-colored hoops - you can guess the outline of the sign of spades; underneath is a flowing dress, black or light gray.
The dominant white-gray-black graphics in the performance with barely noticeable splashes of soft pink and yellow, the gradual onset of dark red in all its shades is a separate theme. Graphic design is quite a fashionable trend. However, the tact and taste with which Jean-Michel Wilmotte (set design) and especially Louise Spinatelli (costumes) designed the performance gave it the charm of a phenomenon of high style. Here the lightness and transparency are from the classical clarity of Pushkin’s prose, the color of gore is from the pain of Tchaikovsky’s harmonies, and in general the laconic image of the performance constituted a noble counterpoint to the piercing intensity of the music of the Sixth Symphony and its original stage incarnation.
In the composition of the performance, not the last and not the most important role is assigned to the crowd scenes. The role of the corps de ballet, which can hardly be called such here, increases with each subsequent appearance. The famous five-quarter waltz in the ball episode is very beautiful, although in many ways traditionally danced. In the final scene, the mass of dancers surrounding the gambling table creates an alarming moving background, perfectly accompanying the almost pantomime duel between Hermann and Chekalinsky.
At times it’s strange to see how the director seems to not trust himself - all the players, including Hermann and Chekalinsky, play with the outstretched palm like a thrown card. In the case of the Countess, this seems to be not enough for the director - he introduces fake cardboard boxes that look like obvious rudiments of a good old drama ballet. There are not many annoying irritants in the play, but they do exist. What can you do…
Whether Roland Petit managed to unravel the mystery of the three cards on the stage of the Bolshoi will be shown by the stage life of the ballet “The Queen of Spades”. But the fact that the French choreographer managed to stir up the creative passion of Russian dancers is a fact, and a very gratifying one. Unlike the opera, something significant finally happened at the Bolshoi Ballet.
November 2001
The article uses photographs by I. Zakharkin.
Roland Petit died at the age of 88. The French choreographer became famous dance stories, told with pure Gallic chic and grace.
The recipient of the Legion of Honor did not like anniversaries. He couldn’t stand it when, on the next date, they complimented him on his excellent appearance. It looked really great though. He was youthful, fit and amazingly active. In addition, I am always surrounded by young dancers and choreographers, including Russians. For Mikhail Baryshnikov and Nikolai Tsiskaridze, he staged The Queen of Spades. He gave Maya Plisetskaya “The Death of the Rose.” Ulyana Lopatkina directed the creative evening.
He transferred to the Bolshoi and Mariinsky theaters your favorite ballets. Discovered Svetlana Lunkina and Alexander Volchkov to the general public. I dreamed of staging a play about Mayakovsky in Russia, and I was going to dance myself main role.
It is natural that this Russophile became the first foreigner to receive the State Prize of Russia. And even though the noted performance - the aforementioned “Queen of Spades” - was not one of his successes, the decision of the Russian leadership does not raise any objections. For Petit is not only French, but also our pride. He carried his love for Russian teachers - Boris Knyazev and Olga Preobrazhenskaya - throughout his life. And he took Diaghilev’s wish expressed to Jean Cocteau: “Surprise me!” as a guide to action.
The master has been distinguished by his indomitable energy since childhood. I studied dance during the day, performed in theater extras in the evening, returned home after midnight, and went to general education lessons early in the morning. After completing the dance course, he organized his own troupe. Petit's first major success was the ballet "Comedians" to the music of Henri Sauguet, staged in 1945 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.
The ability to tell a story in a few gestures amazing story and his unmistakable choice of non-common music made not only balletomanes fall in love with the choreographer. He was appreciated by all who admired life and enjoyed its pleasures. What is commonly called perversion in the everyday world was completely natural for Petya. The world is multifaceted, the maestro inspired, and if you are young, you need to taste its temptations. Moreover, youth, according to Petit, is a timeless concept. As long as a person lives with rapture, old age is not scary for him.
The last greetings from the maestro were conveyed to us in February by the dancers of the Paris Opera. The French performed "La Arlesienne". The hero, deceived by his beloved, committed suicide. Of all the performances brought by the guests, this one had a tragic ending. And yet he was the most cheerful, the lightest, the most charming and absolutely relaxed. Just like its author, the true Frenchman Roland Petit.
Roland Petit's ballet "Le Fant" ô me de l "Opé ra". 1980
ABOUT
audio recording cover
musical score
ballet 1982.
Ballet production group:
Choreographer............Roland Petit
Composer...................Marcel Landowski
Scenery...................Giulio Coltellacci
Costumes.. ...................Franca Squarciapino
Conductor........................Patrick Flynn
Poster by.........Rene Gruau
Producer...................Rolf Liebermann
Performers:
Ghost........................Peter Schaufuss
Girl........................Dominique Khalfouni
Young man......Patrick Dupont
Madame Carlotta......Sylvie Claver
Audio recording of the ballet:
Conductor........................Marc Soustrot
Vocals.............................David Wilson Johnson
Comments...............Michael Bouget
Musical compositions:
L "Opera aux premieres heures du matin / The Opera in the Small Hours - Opera after midnight
Madame Carlotta danse a decroucher le lustre cer soir! / Madame Carlotta Could Bring Down the Chandelier This Evening! - Madame Carlotta can make the chandelier fall down tonight!
La Jeune Fille traverse le miroir / The Young Girl Steps Through the Mirror - Young Girl Walks Through a Mirror
Le Fantome conduite le bal /The Phantom Conducts the Ball
- The ghost rules the roost
Un premier baiser. Horreur... c"est in monstre! / A First Kiss? ...Horrors, He"s a Monster! - First kiss?... Oh horror, he's a Monster!
Les rats / The Rats - Rats
La messe de mariage ou la danse des morts / The Wedding Mass, or the Mass of the Dead - Wedding or funeral mass
The ballet premiered in April 1980.
The audio recording was released in 1982.
Phantom of the Paris Opera.
The French did not make films based on The Phantom of the Opera, nor did they stage musicals. They seemed to be the only ones who did not like the popular novel by their compatriot, Gaston Leroux. But there was a Frenchman who had his say on this topic - he staged a ballet. His name was Roland Petit.
Poster for the ballet Petina was drawn by Rene Gruau, the famous graphic artist,
famous illustrator of fashion magazines (Harper's Bazaar, Vogue).
He also owns posters for many famous films,
for example, to the film "La Dolce Vita" by Fellini. In addition, Gruo created
sketches of clothing models, theater and ballet costumes.
Composer Marcel Landowski talked about the creation of the ballet like this: “When the producer Rolf Liebermann, in his own words”has long wanted to stage a play based on the famous novel by Gaston Leroux ", invited me to write music for the ballet "Phantom of the Opera", and immediately, my first reaction to this proposal was to think about the choreographer who once captured my imagination - Roland Petit. In my opinion, this is one of the greatest choreographers who ever lived. If I were asked to choose from many great choreographers , I would have no doubt who to choose"...
..."For the ballet "The Phantom of the Opera" we left only the most basic scenes, clear and understandable for the public, worked them out carefully, and it was for them that I wrote the music. As for music, then I am in my field, but when the conversation comes about choreography, then I want to be somewhere else."
..."Roland Petit has his own, individual language with which he translates music into dance. It can be called not formalistic, not intellectual, but rather more sensual. Petit disciplines and "finishes"his dancers, shapes them, reminiscent of a sculptor sculpting from clay. Choreographically, Petit continues the line outlined in the ballet by Serge Lifar. Petit does a lot to penetrate the art of ballet into ever wider masses of spectators."
|
Despite the unusual tastes and preferences, Roland Petit ( Roland Petit) always remained in my heart"Opera's son", so it must have been especially pleasant for him to stage his three-act ballet in it Le Fantôme de L'Opéra, which in itself is imbued with theatricality. Petit took from the novel by Gaston Leroux, an adventure-suspense story, with elements of ironic mystification, but with an extraordinary love line, only the main points, namely: the young artist (in this case a ballerina ) reaches the heights of fame thanks to the hypnotic influence of the mysterious and monstrous figure of a certain Phantom, who longs to be loved, and who, as others have done before, "monsters" Petit ( Let's remember Quasimodo performed by the maestro himself, from his famous ballet "Notre Dame Cathedral" ), sacrifices himself, giving the girl he loves to the young man with whom she is in love. |
However, in ballet, the most monstrous act that can be blamed on the Phantom is his constant care for his beloved, almost dog-like devotion (remember "...he hovered around me like a faithful slave, and surrounded me with the most tender care,...like a beaten dog looks at its owner..." ), although at the same time he is completely oblivious to the horror that he and his "helpfulness" is called from the girl. In order to bring her to the first roles, he arranges a great misfortune for the prima ballerina Madame Carlotta, throwing down the chandelier right in the middle of her performance. Yes, yes, you heard right, a prima ballerina, not a prima donna, and of course a young the girl, the object of the Phantom's passionate love, just as in the book, is not a promising young singer from the choir, but a young and talented ballerina from the corps de ballet (which allowed Petya to stage a realistic and sweet scene in a ballet class ). In the ballet, even more than in the book, the girl is a passive figure to whom something happens, but who does nothing herself.
However, despite such narrow limits, Dominic Kalfuni was able to put more into this part than anyone else could have done: she looked amazing and danced flawlessly.
Dominique Calfuni (Girl). The scenery is just a slight hint of real trees.
Reminds me a bit of Giselle.
Patrick Dupont there was no difficulty in looking unusually touchingly young, since at the time of the ballet he was only twenty years old; he also danced his part masterfully, bringing an easy, graceful panache to the performance. According to critics at the time, with skillful leadership he "may become outstanding premier dancer -
leading soloist
"And Dupont did not disappoint expectations. It should be noted that Dupont's party - the party of the young lover - sometimes attracted even more attention than the Phantom's party. According to the English columnist for the magazine, " Dancing Time"
Freda Pitt (
Freda Pitt):
"
Petit put more energy into the young man’s part than into the Phantom’s part, “although I expected a lot from her.”
The main role of the Phantom was originally intended for such a star as Rudolf Nureyev , but Petya had problems with the capricious star, who did not consider it obligatory, for example, to appear at the rehearsal.
Peter Schaufus , a wonderful Danish dancer, is the one Petit chose to replace Nureyev. This is not to say that Schaufus's talents were not amazing. On the contrary, Pitt admits that he began his performance with an unusually powerful and complex solo, making excellent use of his amazing technique, but notes that the creative impulse is not as expressed as he would like. Highlighting memorable pas de deux, in which the Phantom subjugates a frightened girl, Pitt states that Petit in this ballet still did not pose a worthy challenge to Schaufuss’ talents.
Since the Phantom's makeup can hardly be called terrifying, the ballet dancer had to rely only on his presence on stage and on the aura of deceit he created, combined with mental anguish and suffering. However, many French critics were effusive in their praise of Schaufus, noting his impeccable style, his virtuosity as a partner, the magnificent strong supports and the depth with which he embodied the dramatic image.
" When he dances, it’s as if a forgotten Shadow is returning to the stage from the depths of the theater. ", they wrote about him.
The make-up of the ballet Phantom was extremely light, almost conventional: slightly emphasized cheekbones, outlined in dark eye sockets. The mask (when it was there) covered only the middle part of the face from the upper lip to the forehead.
The critics, in their own words, missed Petit as he showed himself in such productions as “Coppelia”, “The Nutcracker”, “ Bat", "Notre Dame Cathedral" and even in "The Queen of Spades".
The blame was laid on the fact that the action and choreography "slowed down"a very prosaic and commissioned score by Marcel Landowski, the music of which turned out to be quite smalldancesanna. Petit's concept and approach were thoroughly romantic, but Landowski's music, although harmonious, was too modern, unacceptable for the light and butterfly ballet of Madame Carlotta or for the foyer scene where the dancers met their admirers. It was also not suitable for the ball scene, where the formidable figure of the Phantom proudly and frighteningly walks among the guests in a mask and a red cloak (thank God the Red Death has come ); this scene, by the way, gives reason to admire the ornate Grand Staircase, an exact copy of the real one, created according to the art concept Coltellacci.
European team consisting of Giulio Coltellacci and Frankie Squarciapino, who had previously worked with Petit on the ballet “The Bat” (La Chauve- Souris ), again did a great job at the Opera, although except for the falling chandelier (falling at a decent distance from the audience onto the stage ) and a girl passing and disappearing in a mirror polished to a metallic shine, there are not so many stage tricks in the ballet as one would expect from such a plot and its texture, especially in last scenes, in the Phantom's lair, although the scene where the young man is tied up and tormented by long-tailed Rats is beautifully staged.
As I wrote with delight in "Les saisons de la Danse" French ballet critic Andre-Philippe Ersi ( Andre-Philippe Hersin) , " the endless whip-like tails of many rats attacking the Youth, looking for his beloved in a gloomy dungeon, add a fascinating imprint of sadomasochistic motifs" .
Patrick Flynn ( famous conductor) , invited at the last moment, conducted as always professionally and amazingly, and it should be noted that from the moment of his appearance in the orchestra pit, the dancers found powerful support in the fight against Landowski’s music, which was difficult to dance.
The shortcomings of the ballet, in addition to the bland music, also include the lack of a broader and richer outline of the plot. There are too many flat, nameless sketch characters that don’t carry any special meaning; introducing commentary into the course of action; the main characters are reduced to three, and even then all without a name: Phantom, Girl and Young Man. The only character who still has a name is the unlucky Madame Carlotta. Because of all of the above, the ballet itself and the whole story unfolding on stage left many with the impression of anonymity and facelessness.
The same Ersi notes that it was interesting to follow the reviews in magazines of the changes that the picky Petit made to the ballet from the day of the premiere. So, for example, at first the ballet opened as a three-act ballet, but Petit soon removed one of the intermissions, eliminating the break as destroying the dramatic tension, and subsequently the ballet was performed as a two-act ballet. There were also changes in the composition of the performers.
In the second cast of the ballet he danced the part of the Phantom Jean Ghiserli (Jean Guizerlix ), Girls party - Claude de Vulpian (Claude de Vulpian) , Boys - Jean-Yves Lormeaux (Jean-Yves Lormeau) And Jean-Christophe Paré (Jean-Christophe Pare) .
The second lineup was not inferior to the first, the technical and artistic Gizerli created a complex image of a lonely, suffering Ghost; Claude de Vulpian masterfully stylized the graceful old-fashioned style of dance of the early 1900s, convincingly expressing the horror of her character and his vague impulses; Lormeaux played less youthful than Dupont did, Young man, less spontaneous in his behavior, but equally believable, portraying the image of a young dandy of the 1900s, a regularLe Foyer de Danse , Paré followed in his footsteps by emphasizing his character's sentimentality more.
Claude de Vulpian and Jean Guiserly.
The ghost is completely without a mask and creepy makeup.
In 1988, the production, which had already closed by then (the ballet did not last long on stage ) in Paris, was renewed by Roland Petit for the National Ballet of Marseille, and went on the stage of the Marseille Opera (Petit directed the Marseille Ballet from 1972 to 1998 .).
Transferred to the stage of Marseille, the world of the Paris Opera has undergone some changes. As a theater critic noted Gerard Mannoni (Gerard Mannoni) , he became more real, more truthful. The decor of the Grand Staircase, the dome of the Opera and the backstage of the Opera of that time, updated in the Marseille production, without any doubt made an additional contribution to the poetics of the ballet.
In Marseille the roles were performed by:
As the Phantom - Jean Broeck (
Jan Broeckx)
and D. Graño (D.Granyo)
; as a Girl - Carlotta Zamparo
(Carlotta Zamparo)
; Boys - Jean-Charles Verchere (
Jean-Charles Verchere)
; Madame Carlotta - Pascal Doyer (Pascale Doye)
;
Maitre de Ballet - Khasene Bahiri
(
Hacene Bahiri)
.
“as if Christina” - Carlotta Zamparo dances on the stage of the Marseille Opera.
***
Gaston's daughter Leroux Madeleine shared her impressions of the ballet, based on her father's novel. This is what she said: “The ghost of Eric was on stage today. And the ghost of my father appeared in Lodge number five. He was there, I’m absolutely sure. The dancers barely touched the stage, it was a real phantasmagoria, the presence of another world. The performance seemed to be done on purpose so as to evoke the ghost of my father. I know for sure that he was at the Opera that evening."
***
Roland Petit. Touches to the portrait of a choreographer.
*Roland Petit was born on January 13, 1924 in Paris.
*They say about Roland Petit that he is the most French of all French choreographers, who managed to convey the spirit and mentality of the nation in his 160 productions. He is a twentieth-century classicist and the founder of modern ballet in France. In his memoirs “I Danced on the Crest of the Waves” (1993), Petit wrote that an intelligent person must be honest, smart, endowed with curiosity and a sense of humor, perseverance, passion and a fair amount of common sense. Perhaps this is almost a self-portrait of Roland Petit himself. He also proudly emphasizes all his life: “I was very lucky - I was born in Paris, studied at the Opera School.”
*Petit calls Dominique Calfuni “my Pavlova” and dedicated many ballets to her. His admiration for Kalfuni’s talents was akin to the worship of the Phantom of Christina, and therefore no one better than Kalfuni could have performed the part of the Girl. Crossing of destinies...
Information sources:
Gerard Mannoni Roland Petit - "L" avant scene ballet Danse", 1984., Paris
;
M agazine
Dancing Times, April 1980, London;
Magazine Les saisons de la Danse", April 10, 1980
, Paris ;
Magazine Les saisons de la Danse", 30 January 1988, Paris
;
Program Evening of choreography by Roland Petit in Bolshoi Theater, 2001;
G.A.Andzhaparidze. "The Undisputed Classic", "Ripol Classic", 2004;
Audio recording of the score of the ballet by Marcel Landowski.
Note: The photographs of the ballet are very rare and hard-earned (they were taken Not from the Internet). They have never been posted anywhere on other sites. Please do not copy or reproduce without permission from the authors. Respect other people's work, please!
Note: photos from the ballet are very RARE and were extremely hard to find (they were not found on the Internet). Please do not copy them and place them on the web without the permission of the authors. Please, respect other people's efforts and hard working!
French and Russian ballet have enriched each other more than once. So the French choreographer Roland Petit considered himself the “heir” to the traditions of S. Diaghilev’s Russian Ballet.
Roland Petit was born in 1924. His father was the owner of a diner - his son even had a chance to work there, and subsequently, in memory of this, he staged a choreographic number with a tray, but his mother had ballet art direct relation: she founded the company Repetto, which produces clothes and shoes for ballet. At the age of 9, the boy declares that he will leave home if he is not allowed to study ballet. Having successfully passed the exam at the Paris Opera School, he studied there with S. Lifar and G. Rico, a year later he began performing in mimance in opera performances.
Having completed his studies in 1940, Roland Petit became a corps de ballet dancer at the Paris Opera, a year later he was chosen as a partner by M. Bourg, and later he gave ballet evenings together with J. Charra. At these evenings, small numbers are performed in the choreography of J. Charra, but here R. Petit presents his first work - “Springboard Jump”. In 1943, he performed the solo part in the ballet “Love the Sorceress,” but he was more attracted to the work of a choreographer.
After leaving the theater in 1940, 20-year-old R. Petit, thanks to the financial support of his father, staged the ballet “Comedians” at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. The success exceeded all expectations - which made it possible to create his own troupe, called the “Ballet of the Champs-Elysees”. It lasted only seven years (played fatal role disagreements with the theater administration), but a lot of performances were staged: “Young Man and Death” to the music and other works of R. Petit himself, productions by other choreographers of that time, excerpts from classical ballets - “La Sylphide”, “Sleeping Beauty”, “”.
When the Ballet des Champs-Élysées ceased to exist, R. Petit created the Ballet of Paris. The new troupe included Margot Fonteyn - it was she who performed one of the central roles in the ballet to the music of J. France “Girl in the Night” (the other main role was danced by R. Petit himself), and in 1948 he danced in the ballet “Carmen” on music by J. Bizet in London.
Roland Petit's talent was appreciated not only among ballet fans, but also in Hollywood. In 1952, in the musical film “Hans Christian Andersen”, he played the role of the Prince from the fairy tale “The Little Mermaid”, and in 1955, as a choreographer, he participated in the creation of the films “The Crystal Slipper” based on the fairy tale “Cinderella” and - together with the dancer F. Astaire - "Daddy Long Legs"
But Roland Petit is already experienced enough to create a multi-act ballet. And he created such a production in 1959, taking E. Rostand’s drama “Cyrano de Bergerac” as a basis. A year later, this ballet was filmed along with three other productions of the choreographer - “Carmen”, “The Diamond Eater” and “Mourning for 24 Hours” - all of these ballets were included in Terence Young’s film “One, Two, Three, Four, or Black Tights” . In three of them, the choreographer himself performed the main roles - Cyrano de Bergerac, Jose and the Groom.
In 1965, Roland Petit staged the ballet “Cathedral” at the Paris Opera Notre Dame of Paris"to music by M. Jarre. Of all characters the choreographer left four main ones, each of which embodies a certain collective image: Esmeralda – purity, Claude Frollo – meanness, Phoebus – spiritual emptiness in a beautiful “shell”, Quasimodo – the soul of an angel in an ugly body (this role was played by R. Petit himself). Along with these heroes, there is a faceless crowd in the ballet, which can save and kill with equal ease... The next work was the ballet staged in London “ Lost heaven", revealing the theme of the struggle of poetic thoughts in human soul with a raw sensual nature. Some critics saw it as a "sculptural abstraction of sex." The final scene, in which a woman mourns her lost purity, seemed very unexpected - it resembled an inverted pieta... Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev danced in this performance.
Having headed the Ballet of Marseille in 1972, Roland Petit took as the basis for the ballet performance... the poems of V. V. Mayakovsky. In this ballet called “Light Up the Stars,” he himself plays the main role, for which he shaved his head. Next year he collaborates with Maya Plisetskaya - she dances in his ballet “Sick Rose”. In 1978, he staged the ballet “The Queen of Spades” for Mikhail Baryshnikov, and at the same time - a ballet about Charlie Chaplin. The choreographer was personally acquainted with this great actor, and after his death he received the consent of the actor’s son to create such a production.
After 26 years of leading the Ballet of Marseille, R. Petit left the troupe due to a conflict with the administration and even banned the staging of his ballets. IN beginning of XXI century, he collaborates with the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow: “Passacaglia” to the music of A. Webern, “The Queen of Spades” to the music of P. I. Tchaikovsky, his “Notre Dame Cathedral” was staged in Russia. The program “Roland Petit Tells,” presented at the Bolshoi Theater on the New Stage in 2004, aroused great interest among the public: Nikolai Tsiskaridze, Lucia Lakkara and Ilze Liepa performed fragments from his ballets, and the choreographer himself talked about his life.
The choreographer passed away in 2011. Roland Petit staged about 150 ballets - he even claimed that he was “more prolific than Pablo Picasso.” For his work, the choreographer has repeatedly received state awards. At home in 1974, he was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor, and for the ballet “The Queen of Spades” he was awarded the State Prize of the Russian Federation.
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