Harlequinade (Арлекинада) - Maly/Mikhailovsky Ballet, 1978 балет арлекинада смотреть балет арлекинада на видео Р. Дриго. Полька.

The Maly/Mikhailovsky Theatre Ballet's production of Pyotr Gusev's version of the Petipa/Drigo "Les Millions d'Arlequin", a.k.a. "Harlequinade". Filmed & aired in 1978 by the BBC as part of the T.V. special "An Evening With the Russian Ballet: 3 Ballets by Marius Petipa".--Choreography: Pyotr Gusev (likely derived from Lopukhov's 1933 version, perhaps with some surviving passages by Petipa--Music: Riccardo Drigo--D?cor & costumes: Tatiana Bruni (1933)--Staging: Pyotr GusevCast - --Harlequin: Sergei Kosadaev--Columbine: Alla Malysheva--Pierrot: Evgenii Myasishchev--Pierrette: Tatyana Podkopayeva**--Cassander: Gennadii Kolobkhov--Leander: Valerii Dolgallo--Good Fairy: Galina Laricheva**Tatyana Podkopayeva was featured in the documentary "The Children of Theatre Street"**Notes - Unfortunately this production of "Harlequinade" by the Maly/Mikhailovsky Theatre Ballet is a far cry from the splendid Petipa/Drigo opus concerning the stock characters of the Italian Commedia dell'arte. Nevertheless, I thought I'd share this rare film with my fellow balletomane YouTubers, which is 1 of only 2 commercially produced films I have ever known that features any version of this ballet. Unfortunately, Petipa's original libretto is almost non-existent, except for the shreds of it that are retained to serve as the connective tissue that hold the dancing passages together.This film also offers one a rare chance to hear some of Drigo's enchanting & highly melodic music, which is surely one of the most danceable scores ever written for a ballet. Drigo could create the best music for classical ballet that always featured melodic composition with delicate, graceful instrumentation. Drigo seems to have been one of those rare composers who was able to provide musical quality while still serving the needs of the ballet stage.**The "Serenade" -In the early 1920's, Drigo fashioned the ballet's "Serenade" into the song "Notturno d'amor" for Beniamino Gigli, & ever since it has been arranged for every imaginable instrument as a repertory piece. The vocal version of the "Serenade" is included here @ 8:44. I would have preferred to hear Drigo's original version of the "Serenade", which was originally played by a solo mandolin. Although the "Serenade" has been recorded numerous times in several arrangements, Drigo's original has sadly not been.**History -Marius Petipa & Riccardo Drigo's original 2 act "Les Millions d'Arlequin" was first presented for a court performance at the Imperial Theatre of the Hermitage on 23 February 1900. The ballet was a great success, as was Drigo's score. During the final curtain calls, the typically subdued royal audience burst into storms of applause. Several Grand Dukes tripped over one another in their enthusiasm to congratulate Drigo for his score, which the composer dedicated to the last Russian Empress, Alexandra Fyodorovna. Drigo later fashioned the ballet's "Serenade" into the song "Notturno d'amor" for Beniamino Gigli, & ever since it has been arranged for every imaginable instrument as a repertory piece.Fyodor Lopukhov created his own 1 act edition of Petipa's "Les Millions d'Arlequin" under the title "Harlequinade", first performed on 6 June, 1933 at the Maly Theatre in Leningrad (the theatre has since reverted to its original name, the Mikhailovsky). The production was the first performance ever given by the newly established Maly Theatre Ballet, which up to that point had only participated in the theatre's opera performances. It is this version of "Harlequinade" which is shown here. This film is all the more precious since the production has not been performed by the Maly/Mikhailovsky Theatre Ballet for many years. George Balanchine created his own celebrated version of Petipa's 2 act ballet for the New York City Ballet, premiering on 4 February 1965. Petipa's original 2 act staging of "Les Millions d'Arlequin" was notated in the Stepanov method of choreographic notation, which is today part of the Sergeyev Collecton held in Harvard's Theatre Library, which also has Drigo's orchestral parts. This material has yet to be utilized for the purposes of reconstruction. Recently the Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet presented a reconstruction of Fokine's 1910 "Carnaval", a ballet also based on the stock characters of the Italian commedia dell'arte. Personally I'd rather see a reconstruction of Petipa's complete "Les Millions d'Arlequin". Oh well.