La source (Saint-Léon)

La source (The Spring) is a ballet in three acts/four scenes with a score composed by Léo Delibes and Ludwig Minkus (Minkus: Act I & Act III-Scene 2/Delibes: Act II & Act III-Scene 1) which was premiered in 1866 with choreography by Arthur Saint-Léon. In 1878 in Vienna it was called Naïla, die Quellenfee (Naïla, the Waternymph).

The choreography was by Arthur Saint-Léon, who collaborated with Charles Nuitter in the libretto. The original designs were by Édouard Desplechin, Jean-Baptiste Lavastre, Auguste Rubé, Chaperon (sets) and Paul Lormier (costumes). The first production opened at the Théâtre Impérial de l´Opéra in Paris on 12 November 1866, with Guglielmina Salvioni (Naïla), Eugenie Fiocre (Nouredda) and Louis Mérante (Djémil) in the principal roles. The production was not particularly successful, Salvioni being considered unsuited to the rôle of Naïla. It triumphed in the following year, however, with Adèle Grantzow as Naïla, and remained a mainstay of the repertory for the next few years. A successful revival in 1872 showcased Rita Sangalli in the principal rôle, and it was for this production that the new variations for Naïla were introduced, the music most likely by Delibes himself (Nos. 12b and 23a in the list of musical numbers in the piano score, see below).

Delibes was second chorus master at the Paris Opera and had until then written operettas, songs and sacred music. A comparison of the music of the two composers greatly favoured Delibes, whose contributions were considered "fresh and more rhythmic", with one critic suggesting that the whole ballet score should have been assigned to Delibes. La source was his first big success, marking him as an important composer for the ballet.

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