La Perle (ballet)
| La Perle | |
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The first page of the illustrated libretto of La Perle. Taken from the souvenir program of the gala performed at the Imperial Bolshoi Theatre of Moscow celebrating the coronation of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna. 1896.
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| Choreographer | Marius Petipa |
| Music | Riccardo Drigo |
| Libretto | Marius Petipa |
| Based on | La Pérégrina: Ballet de la Reine from Verdi's opera Don Carlos |
| Premiere |
29 May [O.S. 17 May] 1896 Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg |
| Design |
décor—Orest Allegri and Konstantin Ivanov costumes—Ivan Vsevolozhsky |
| Genre | Ballet-divertissement |
29 May [O.S. 17 May] 1896
Imperial Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow
La Perle (en. The Pearl) (ru. «Жемчужина» or «Прелестная жемчужина»; Zhemchuzhina or Prelestnaya Zhemchuzhina) (en. Pearl or Pretty Pearl) is a ballet-divertissement in one act, with libretto and choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Riccardo Drigo.
La Perle was created by Marius Petipa—the renowned Premier maître de ballet of the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres—and the composer Riccardo Drigo—principal conductor of ballet and Italian opera performances for the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres and director of music to the Imperial Ballet—as a lavish piece d'occasion for the gala given at the Imperial Bolshoi Theatre of Moscow in celebration of the coronation of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Fydorovna. The ballet was first presented after a performance of scenes from Mikhail Glinka's opera A Life for the Tsar on 29 May [O.S. 17 May] 1896. The cast for the premiere of La Perle at the coronation gala of 1896 featured the highest ranking dancers of both the Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg and of the Ballet of the Imperial Bolshoi Theatre of Moscow.
While the ballet was in the early stages of production, a list of potential dancers for inclusion in the cast was drawn up for review by a committee responsible for the coronation and its subsequent celebrations. Among those chosen for consideration in the principal roles was Nicholas II's former mistress, the ballerina Mathilde Kschessinskaya. In light of the history between Kschessinskaya and the new Emperor, his mother the Dowager Empress Marie Fyodorovna demanded that the ballerina be removed from the cast, as it would be considered scandalous for Kschessinskaya to perform in front of the Emperor's new wife, the Empress Alexandra. When Kschessinskaya learned of this, she appealed to the Emperor's uncle, the Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, whose influence reinstated the ballerina in the cast in spite of the fact that at this point the Ballet Master Petipa and the composer Drigo had completed all of the choreography and music. Petipa became extremely frustrated when he learned that he and Drigo were nonetheless required to compose a number for Kschessinskaya, which took the form of a classical pas de deux for a new character dubbed "La Perle jaune" (the Yellow Pearl) and her suitor, performed by the danseur Nikolai Legat. Interestingly, Petipa's choice of name for Kschessinskaya's character may have been a slight to the ballerina, since unlike the other pearls in the ballet (white, pink and black), yellow pearls do not exist unless a white pearl's color has become tarnished with age.
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