Le Roi Candaule

Le Roi Candaule
Olga Preobrajenska as Queen Nisia in the Pas de Venus
Choreographer	Marius Petipa
Music	Cesare Pugni
Premiere	29 October [O.S. 17 October] 1868 (Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre) St. Petersburg, Russia
Genre	Grand ballet

Le Roi Candaule (en. King Candaules) is a Grand ballet in four acts and six scenes, with choreography by Marius Petipa, and music by Cesare Pugni. The libretto is by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and is based on the history of King Candaules the Ruler of Lydia, as described by Herodotus in his Histories.

Le Roi Candaule was first presented by the Imperial Ballet on 29 October [O.S. 17 October] 1868 at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russia. The ballet was a huge success, with Mlle. D'Or amazing the audience in her performance as Queen Nisia. Her incredible technical abilities were especially showcased in the celebrated Pas de Venus of the second act, in which she performed five pirouettes sur la pointe, which caused a great sensation among the audience.

Two months later, Petipa moved his ballet to Moscow, where it was premièred on December 22, 1868 at the Imperial Bolshoi Theatre and it continued to be performed in Moscow and St. Petersburg with great success over the years. Petipa first revived the ballet in 1891 with additional music by Riccardo Drigo. This revival was first presented on 6 December [O.S. 24 November] 1891 at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russia. His final revival was premiered at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre on 21 April [O.S. 9 April] 1903.