Cesare Pugni
Encyclopedia
Cesare Pugni (31 May 1802–) was an Italian composer of ballet
music, a pianist and a violin
ist. In his early career he composed opera
s, symphonies
, and various other forms of orchestral music. Pugni is most noted for the ballets he composed while serving as Composer of the Ballet Music to Her Majesty's Theatre
in London (1843–1850), and as Ballet Composer of the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres and to the Court of His Imperial Majesty in St. Petersburg
, Russian Empire
(1850–1870). Pugni was among the first composers of ballet music to employ the technique of leitmotif
, which he utilized for his score for the ballet Elerz e Zulmida in 1826.
Cesare Pugni is the most prolific composer of the genre of ballet music that has ever lived — by the end of his life he had composed close to 100 known original scores for the ballet and adapted or supplemented many other works by other composers. He composed a myriad of incidental dances such as divertissement
s and variations
, many of which were added to countless other works. A great deal of Cesare Pugni's complete scores and incidental dances, etc. were published in piano reduction, and sold very well, while other dances were sold as "traditional" by publishers such as T. Boosey
or Jullien after the copyright expired with no credit given to the composer.
Of Pugni's original scores for the ballet, he is perhaps best known today for Ondine, ou La Naïade, (also known as La Naïade et le pêcheur) (1843); La Esmeralda
(1844); Éoline, ou La Dryade (1845), Catarina, ou La Fille du Bandit (1846); The Pharaoh's Daughter
(1862); The Little Humpbacked Horse
(1864); and Le Roi Candaule (1868). Of his incidental dances, etc., he is most noted for the Pas de Six from La Vivandière (also known as Markitenka) (1844); the Pas de Quatre
(1845); La Carnival de Venise pas de deux (also known as Satanella pas de deux) (1859); the Diane and Actéon Pas de Deux (1868); and his additional music for the ballet Le Corsaire
(1863 and 1868).
Pugni's works were written for the most influential ballet master
s of the 19th century, among them Arthur Saint-Léon
, Paul Taglioni, Marius Petipa
and Jules Perrot
(who staged almost every one of his works to Pugni's music). Most of the ballerinas of the Romantic era
(including Marie Taglioni
, Fanny Cerrito
, Lucile Grahn
, Fanny Elssler
and Carlotta Grisi
) danced in ballets set to his music.
.
His early family life is rather obscure, but it appears that his father Filippo Pugni, was a clock and watchmaker with, for a time, a successful shop in the Via Rebecchino in the neighborhood of the Palazzo del Duomo, near Milan cathedral. According to family tradition the surname of Pugni — being the Italian word for fists — was acquired when a noble ancestor had lost his family's fortune and social rank and restored his family through hard work "by his own fists".
Pugni began his musical studies at a very young age. At some point the Pugni family became acquainted with the noted composer Peter Winter
, whose reaction to the seven-year-old Pugni's first symphony prompted him to take the boy under his tutelage.
It was Winter who arranged for the young Pugni to be admitted into Milan's Royal Imperial Conservatory of Music (known today as the Milan Conservatory
). At that time Milan was the capital of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, then part of the Austrian Empire
. Since the Milan Conservatory was in the territory of the Kingdom known as Lombardy
, only residents of Lombardy were allowed to be admitted as pupils. Thanks to Winter's recommendation the thirteen year-old Pugni was accepted into the institute in 1814 as a non-Lombard at the expense of the state.
During his instruction at the conservatory the young Pugni studied under many noted pedagogues of music. Among Pugni's instructors was Bonifazio Asioli (1769–1832), under whom he studied composition
and counterpoint
; Alessandro Rolla
, the instructor of Niccolò Paganini
, who taught him the violin
; and Carlo Soliva, under whom he studied musical theory. While still a young student, Pugni was given the opportunity to compose several pieces for ballets and operas given at La Scala
and its auxiliary theatre La Canobbiana, as well as performing his own compositions for violin to acclaim.
At the request of his family, Pugni was allowed to leave the conservatory in 1822, the "official" reason being continuing illness. In reality the management of La Scala greatly desired for Pugni to be in their employ, and since the Milan Conservatory would not allow a non-paying student to leave the institute without finishing his education, Pugni was "officially" said to be ill in order to allow him to be free to work for the theatre. Pugni then took up residence with Asioli at his home in Correggio, where he completed his musical studies under his tutelage.
The first documented full-length ballet for which Pugni created the music was the Balletmaster Gaetano Gioja's Il castello di Kenilworth, based on Walter Scott
's novel Kenilworth
and first presented at La Scala in 1823. Ballet music at that time was often a musical pastiche
, and the printed libretto for this work credits the score as being assembled from themes derived from "various well-known composers".
Pugni was among the first composers of the early-romantic period
to create original scores for the ballet, i.e. scores not assembled from the airs of many composers and/or works. One such score was written by Pugni for Louis Henry
's 1826 ballet Elerz e Zulmida, a score also noted for being among the first compositions for the ballet to utilize the technique of leitmotif
. The success of Elerz e Zulmida brought about three more commissions from Henry, and soon Pugni was sought out by some of the most distinguished choreographers then working in Italy, among them Salvatore Taglioni (uncle of Marie Taglioni
), and Giovanni Galzerani
.
Pugni's growing popularity as a capable composer of light, melodious music for dancing was attested by the publication of a number of piano
reductions of excerpts from his works, among them, the popular Scottish Dance from his 1837 ballet L'assedio di Calais
(The Siege of Calais), which, like every one of his works published during his life, sold very well.
Though he demonstrated considerable talent for composing ballet music, Pugni's real ambition at this time was to become a composer of opera. There had been occasions where he had been commissioned to compose an aria
"to order" for various performances at La Scala, and such assignments encouraged him to pursue this ambition further. In 1831, his opera Il disertore svizzero, ovvero La nostalgia premiered at La Canobbiana in Milan, with his teacher Alessandro Rolla conducting. The work was praised for its variety and originality, and was revered by the composer's fellow musicians.
It was during this time that Pugni began to compose a substantial number of mass
es, symphonies
, and various other orchestral pieces. One Sinfonia (the Sinfonia per una o due orchestre) was scored for two orchestras, both of which would play the same piece but with one orchestra a few bars
behind the other. Pugni was at first reluctant to compose such a piece, but his student at the time, the visiting Mikhail Glinka
, encouraged him. The first performance of the Sinfonia per una o due orchestre was a great success. This piece so impressed Giacomo Meyerbeer
that he was known to hold up a manuscript of the work in order to show his friends a supreme example of virtuosity in composition.
Such successes appropriately lead to Pugni's appointment as Maestro al Cembalo at La Scala. In addition to fulfilling these duties, Pugni also taught the violin and counterpoint when time allowed. With regard to style and structure, Pugni's symphonies and concert music have been likened to the works typical of composers of the classical period
such as Muzio Clementi
or Joseph Haydn
.
Pugni scored two more operas for the Teatro Canobbiana in 1833 and 1834, both of which were listened to with considerable respect. Pugni also continued composing various orchestral pieces, together earning him great prestige and notoriety.
With his wife and children, Pugni made his way to Paris, where they lived in poverty while the composer searched desperately for employment. By the end of 1834 Pugni found work as chief copyist for the famous Théâtre Italien. Through his association with the theatre he was reunited with an old friend, the Italian composer Vincenzo Bellini
, who at that time was engaged at the theatre to mount his opera I Puritani
while simultaneously preparing a special version of the work for the Teatro di San Carlo
in Naples
. For the Naples production the principal soprano
role was to be revised for the vocal talents of the Prima Donna Maria Malibran
, and since the production of I Puritani
in Paris was putting Bellini under considerable pressure, he called upon Pugni to copy the parts of the score that would be presented in Naples without change. Pugni did this, but also made a second copy of the complete score and subsequently sold the manuscript to the Teatro di San Carlo at a high price. Soon Bellini was told that the theatre had purchased an official copy of score, and would no longer require his services. Bellini was crushed, for he had not only paid Pugni the five francs for the copying but had also given him money when needed in order to feed his family, and was often known to not only give Pugni his own unwanted clothes but begged his lady friends to send their unwanted dresses over to Signora Pugni. Bellini wrote in his journal, "It will be a lesson to me. Were it not for his six innocent children, I should like to ruin him." Bellini would later recall in an unfinished letter written in 1835 how Pugni's " ... infamous conduct shattered my faith in human nature."
In 1836, Pugni received a commission from Louis Henry
, choreographer of several of his first ballet scores, to compose music for the ballet Liacone. This work was to be produced in Naples
for the Ballet of the Teatro di San Carlo. At that time Henry was engaged at the Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique
, staging the ballet sections of Gioacchino Rossini
's opera William Tell, for which Henry utilized music from Pugni's ballet L'Assedio di Calais
. Pugni then traveled to Naples to assist with the music for the opera's dance-sections. Soon after this, Henry died of cholera
.
In 1837 Pugni returned to Paris where he began working for the Casino Paganini until its closure in 1840. He then began serving as a "musical ghost writer" of sorts for the legendary Paris Opéra. Pugni was charged with the editing, correcting, and orchestrating of nearly all of the music for the ballets presented on the stage of the theatre. Often composers of the era left orchestrations to the copyist or principal conductor of an Opera House, and with his extraordinary facility at sight reading and scoring, Pugni was often given the task of arranging the compositions of others. A tradition passed down among his descendants claims that during this time Pugni either composed or orchestrated all or part of Adolphe Adam
's score for Giselle
, though no evidence is known to exist in support of this, and it is likely derived from the fact that Pugni composed supplemental pas and provided orchestration for the St. Petersburg production some years later. Pugni served in this function at the Paris Opéra from 1836 until 1843, and even supplied anonymous supplemental pas and variations for visiting ballerinas when needed.
It was during this time that Pugni became acquainted with Benjamin Lumley
—director of Her Majesty's Theatre
in London. Through Lumley Pugni became acquainted with Jules Perrot
—the renowned choreographer and Ballet Master of Her Majesty's Theatre—who during his engagements as a guest artist to the Paris Opéra encountered Pugni's extraordinary facility with composition and orchestration. In 1843 Lumley offered Pugni the post of Composer of the Ballet Music to Her Majesty's Theatre.
In the fall of 1843, Pugni left for London, and soon enjoyed a period of great renewed success. These were very prolific years for the composer: between the theatre's 1843 and 1850 seasons, Pugni produced an impressive series of scores for three of the greatest choreographers at that time: Jules Perrot
, Arthur Saint-Léon
and Paul Taglioni. Not long after arriving in London Pugni married his second wife, Marion (or Mary-Ann) Linton.
at Her Majesty's Theatre during the 1840s, Cesare Pugni wrote the music for nearly every one of Jules Perrot's ballets. In 1843, Perrot produced Ondine, ou La Naïade
—a tale of a jealous Naiad
in love with an Italian fisherman
—for the great ballerina Fanny Cerrito
. In 1844, Perrot produced his most celebrated and enduring work, La Esmeralda
for the ballerina Carlotta Grisi
.
In 1845 alone, Pugni produced six new scores, including the celebrated divertissement Pas de Quatre
, and the fantastical Éoline, ou La Dryade, created for the Danish ballerina Lucille Grahn. Pugni's score for Éoline contained a considerable number of celebrated pieces composed for solo harp
written to embellish the dancing of Grahn.
In 1846, Perrot produced the oriental extravaganza Lalla Rookh—based on Thomas Moore
's poem of the same name—for which Pugni composed a score full of pseudo-Arabian themes. That same year Perrot and Pugni collaborated on Catarina, ou La Fille du Bandit for the ballerina Grahn. Like La Esmeralda, Catarina would become one of the most celebrated works of the 19th century.
During his time in London Pugni composed a substantial number of supplemental pas, variations, divertissements, and incidental dances which were often performed as "diversions" during an evening's entertainment at the theatre. Often the great ballerinas of the Romantic ballet would perform various Tarantella
s, polkas, mazurka
s, etc. during the intermissions of operas, and Pugni's accompaniment for such dances were often published in piano reduction.
During the late 1840s, Pugni and Perrot travelled to various theatres throughout Europe in order to stage their collaborations. In 1845, they staged La Esmeralda
at La Scala
and the Court Opera Ballet
in Berlin, where the title role was danced by the great Fanny Elssler
. In 1847, Pugni and Perrot mounted Catarina and Lalla Rookh at La Scala. In 1848, Perrot was invited at the behest of Fanny Elssler
to stage La Esmeralda for the Imperial Ballet
in St. Petersburg, Russia.
style.
. While in the Imperial capital Perrot was offered the position of Premier Maître de Ballet to begin in the 1850-1851 season, which he accepted. In this position, Perrot recommended to the Court Minister that Pugni accompany him to Russia so that he might serve as the official composer of ballet music to the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres. Until that time in St. Petersburg, the composition of new ballet music typically fell into the hands of the orchestra's head conductor, who was in this case Konstantin Liadov. A new position was thus created, Ballet Composer of the St. Petersurg Imperial Theatres, for Pugni.
In the winter of 1850, Pugni severed all ties to London and Paris. He arrived in St. Petersburg with English wife Marion Linton and their seven children. By 1860, Pugni was maintaining two households — the first with his English wife, and the second with the Serf
woman Daria Petrovna, with whom he fathered eight more children before the end of his life.
In the winter of 1861, Anton Rubinstein
hired Pugni to teach composition and counterpoint
at the newly established Saint Petersburg Conservatory of Music
, a position he held with great acclaim and respect until his death.
During his time as Premier Maître de Ballet to the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres, Jules Perrot staged many of the works he had originally mounted for Her Majesty's Theatre in London. Unlike the ballet companies of London or Paris, the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres presented evening-length ballet presentations separate from those of opera. As Pugni was the author of nearly all of the music for Perrot's works, the composer expanded many of his scores for the Ballet Master's productions. Among such expanded revivals were La Naïade et le pêcheur (The Naiad and the Fisherman), a revival of Ondine, ou La Naïade in 1851; and Éoline, ou la Dryade in 1858. Many of Pugni's scores featured instrumental cadenza
s for the renowned soloists in the Imperial Theatre's orchestra, many of whom were members of the nobility and even of the Imperial family. Aside from their revivals of already-existing works, Pugni and Perrot created several Grand Ballets to acclaim, among them, La Guerre des femmes (The War of the Women) in 1852; Gazelda in 1853; and the grandiose Armida in 1855.
In 1855 Pugni wrote L'Étoile de Grenade (The Star of Grenada), his first ballet for the choreographer Marius Petipa
, who had been serving as Jules Perrot's assistant and Premier danseur to the Imperial Theatres since his arrival in Russia in 1847. Petipa was fast becoming a celebrated choreographer in his own right, as he turned to composition more and more.
In 1858 Perrot left Russia, and Pugni found himself in need by both Petipa and Arthur Saint-Léon, who succeeded Perrot as Premier Maître de Ballet to the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres. The two choreographers, both highly gifted in their art and differing dramatically in their respective approaches to the creation of the Grand ballet, were engaged in a healthy and productive rivalry on the Imperial stage. In spite of the differences between Saint-Léon and Petipa's styles Cesare Pugni composed the music for nearly every one of their works during the 1860s.
. The letter also included freshly composed sections for Petipa's upcoming ballet Le Dahlia bleu
(The Blue Dahlia). The premiere was approaching, and Petipa had been receiving music from the composer in a piecemeal fashion. It became clear to Petipa that Pugni had put off scoring the more difficult sections and left them to be done last. By the mid 1860s, such situations became commonplace.
In 1862, Pugni composed the music for Petipa's The Pharaoh's Daughter
, produced in only 6 weeks for the Italian Prima ballerina Carolina Rosati. The production was so successful that it won for Petipa the position of Deuxieme Maître de Ballet. In 1864, Pugni composed the music for Saint-Léon's The Little Humpbacked Horse
, which itself was as successful as The Pharaoh's Daughter
. Although he did receive laurels for his score for Petipa's The Pharaoh's Daughter, Pugni's score for The Little Humpbacked Horse caused a sensation with the St. Petersburg balletomanes, as it was considered to be an homage to the traditional music of Russia. The march
titled The Peoples of Russia from the last act of this ballet became a favorite of Tsar Alexander II
(many of Pugni's marches and entr'acte
s were thus performed at Imperial balls and diplomatic functions).
In spite of such occasions of inspiration, Pugni nevertheless became increasingly unreliable. Enrico Cecchetti
recounted in his memoirs of how Petipa was fond of recounting anecdotes of Pugni in his old age; one such anecdote told of Pugni's many excuses for not delivering music on time: he once told Petipa that his cat had scratched his hand, making him unable to hold his pen. On another occasion, Pugni came to rehearsal without the day's required music, informing Petipa that he had no candles by which to write. When Petipa arranged to have a large box of candles delivered to Pugni's home, the composer told him at the following day's rehearsal that he did not write the required music because he was forced to sell the candles in order to eat. Petipa was even forced to hire someone to watch over the composer to ensure that any required music would be prepared on time. In spite of these incidents, Pugni managed to compose eight new scores between 1865 and 1868 for the Imperial Ballet, though these were mostly short one-act ballets and divertissements.
Saint-Léon was also having difficulty with the unreliable Pugni, and he began to turn to the composer Ludwig Minkus
for ballet music. In 1865 Saint-Léon wrote to his friend Charles Nuitter:
In 1868, Pugni composed the music for Petipa's colossal grand ballet Le Roi Candaule
(King Candaules), which recounted Herodotus
's tale of King Candaules of Lydia
. This was to be Pugni's last full-length score, though no less celebrated, as it caused a sensation among the balletomanes of the day and proved to be among Petipa's most enduring works.
Unbeknownst to many, Petipa originally made plans to have Pugni compose music for his ballet Don Quixote
, to be mounted at the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre
in 1869. But Pugni's irresponsibility quickly forced Petipa to reconsider, and instead he turned to Ludwig Minkus (Don Quixote
would prove to be one of both Petipa and Minkus' most celebrated and enduring works). In the end, the score for Don Quixote only included one variation composed by Pugni: a waltz composed for the character Kitri in the ballet's final Grand pas de deux.
(The Two Stars). This score was widely considered to be among his greatest works for the ballet, but it was also to be his last—he died on .
Cesare Pugni was buried in the Vyborgskaya Roman Catholic Cemetery of St. Petersburg (the cemetery was completely destroyed in 1939). Pugni died in utter poverty, and at his death his large family was completely destitute.
In honor of the composer, and for a benefit performance for his family, a gala was prepared with excerpts from many of Pugni's works by Petipa in May 1870. Later that year, Petipa mounted a revival of Catarina, premiering on , again as a benefit performance for the composer's family. Petipa then presented Pugni's final work, Les Deux étoiles
, on for the benefit performance of the Imperial Ballet's Premier danseur Pavel Gerdt
. The ballet premiered to great success and was performed by the St. Petersburg ballet on occasion until just before the Russian Revolution of 1917
. Petipa also staged the work under the title Les Deux petites étoiles (The Two Little Stars) for the Ballet of the Moscow Imperial Bolshoi Theatre
in 1878. The ballet was re-staged for the company in a new version by the Balletmaster Ivan Clustine in 1897, a production which was retained in the Bolshoi's repertory until 1925.
Many of Cesare Pugni's children went on to become noted artists in their own right. Pugni's sons Albert and Victor played in the orchestra of the St. Petersurg Imperial Theatres throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the former being a noted cellist, and the latter a flautist
. Pugni's son Nikolai danced in the corps de ballet of the Imperial Theatres from 1882 until his death in 1896.
There were many noted artists among Pugni's grandchildren and great-grandchildren as well. Three of his granddaughters—Fanny, Constance, and Léontina—performed as danseuses with the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres. Léontina also toured Scandinavia with Anna Pavlova's company from 1908-1909 under the name Pouni. Pugni's grandson Ivan Puni
(aka Jean Pougny) became a noted avant-garde
artist. Pugni's great-grandson, the violinist Michel Astroff, was secretary to Sergei Prokofiev
while the composer resided in Paris, and later he worked for various music publishers in France.
Pugni's most distinguished descendant was Alexander Shiryaev (1867–1941)—the son of Pugni's son Victor and a danseuse of the Imperial Ballet's corps de ballet, Natalia Shiryaeva. Alexander Shiryaev went on to become a celebrated danseur, character dancer and Ballet Master of the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres and the early Soviet ballet, and his written accounts of the Russian ballet during the late 19th and early 20th centuries are among the most valuable and celebrated of their kind. After the death of Lev Ivanov
in 1901, Shiryaev served as assistant to Marius Petipa
, and even staged the first Soviet production of The Nutcracker
with Fyodor Lopukhov at the Mariinsky Theatre. Shiryaev was among the first persons to ever film ballet dancers—many of these early films were compiled for the documentary Belated premiere (as yet unreleased to DVD or video), and have been used to reconstruct lost dances (among the most celebrated of these reconstructions was Marius Petipa's choreography for the solo Petit Corsaire from the ballet Le Corsaire, set to music by Shiryaev's grandfather Pugni).
Many ballets and incidental numbers Pugni wrote for Her Majesty's Theatre in London was published in Piano reduction
by the London based music publishers Ch. Ollivier, Chappell & Co.
, and particularly T. Boosey
and Jullien. As Pugni's ballets were staged by various companies throughout Europe—in such cities as Milan, Berlin, and Vienna for example—many other music publishers began distributing his scores, often with supplemental numbers by other composers.
As the copyright of Pugni's music expired, the music publisher Jullien & Co. began publishing a number of his dances from various ballets without giving the composer credit. Often the music would credit the composer as "Composed by Jullien" or as "traditional", typically under such titles as The original mazurka or The Original Galop, for example. Several waltz
es, polka
s, and various national dances from Pugni's ballets were often published with detailed instructions on how to perform the said dances, and occasionally lithographs from whichever ballet the number was extracted was included as artwork for the frontispiece
. As time went on many of these pieces were sold to music publishers all over Europe and the United States.
As Pugni's career took him to Russia, his ballets continued being published in piano reduction. Many St. Petersburg based publishers such as Basil Denotkine, Ch. Stellowsky and Bessell brought out not only Pugni's original full-length ballets but his additional dances for various works and his adaptations of the scores of other composers.
, which is today incorporated in the Department of Music of the Bibliothèque nationale de France
. The Milan Conservatory
holds a substantial collection of Pugni's early compositions. Some manuscripts of the ballets of Perrot are held in the British Library
, as well as the Paris Conservatoire.
Many of these ballets, along with most others Pugni composed in London and St. Petersburg were published first in piano reduction. The Bibliothèque nationale de France holds many complete scores of the ballets Pugni composed for Arthur Saint-Léon, including the original orchestral parts for The Little Humpbacked Horse
.
The greatest archive of Pugni's original scores is held in archives of the St. Petersburg Central Music Library, which contains nearly every ballet Pugni wrote while in Russia (including revisions to other works created for other theatres abroad). Another archive of Pugni's work is to be found in the Harvard University Library Theatre Collection
, which holds the famous Sergeyev Collection
.
Saint-Léon's 1863 masterwork The Little Humpbacked Horse
—for which Pugni wrote the score—left the active repertory of the Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet (the former Imperial Ballet) long ago, and today the work is only presented in a severely emasculated edition by the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet (school of the Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet). The school has not performed the work since 1989. Today only a few Russian companies include the work in their active repertory—such as the Mussorgsky Ballet, the Novosibirsk Ballet and the Ballet of the Maly Theatre. These production are derived primarily from Alexander Gorsky's 1912 revival of the ballet for the Bolshoi Theatre of Moscow.
Outside of Russia, only the Universal Ballet Academy of Washington D.C., and the all-male troupe Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo
perform excerpts from The Little Humpbacked Horse—the pas de trois called The Ocean and the Pearls and the Danse des fresques animés (Danse of the animated Frescoes).
Although credited to Pugni the music for the Ocean and the Pearls pas de trois is actually by Riccardo Drigo
, and is taken from his score for Marius Petipa's 1896 La Perle. The piece was added by Alexander Gorsky to his early 20th century revivals of The Little Humpbacked Horse.
are only included in the repertories of Russian companies. The Mussorgsky Ballet of St. Petersburg regularly perform this work in a production which was staged in 1981 by Nicolai Boyarchikov—director of the Mussorgsky Ballet; and Tatiana Vecheslova—former Prima Ballerina of the Kirov Ballet. For this production Pugni's score—in an edition prepared by Riccardo Drigo dating from 1886 and 1899—was restored with the aid of a répétiteur used by the Imperial Ballet until before the Russian Revolution. In 1994 the company filmed their production of La Esmeralda. In 2005 the film was released onto DVD, with the 3-hour production edited to a little over 55 minutes.
Many companies throughout the world include various excerpts from La Esmeralda: the so-called La Esmeralda Pas de six (the music for this piece actually being by Riccardo Drigo); and the La Esmeralda Pas de Deux.
The La Esmeralda Pas de deux is a popular piece performed by companies all over the world. It includes the famous Tambourine Variation, which is often performed by many Ballerinas in dance competitions. The La Esmeralda Pas de Deux is performed primarily in a version by the choreographer Ben Stevenson
, staged in 1982 for the dancers Janie Parker and William Pizzuto's performance at the International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi. Musically the piece is often credited to Pugni and/or Riccardo Drigo.
The piece has its origins in Marius Petipa's 1899 revival of La Esmeralda, staged for the Ballerina Mathilde Kschessinskaya. For her performance Riccardo Drigo arranged a new Pas d'action. Typical of such pieces from 19th century ballet, the music is a pastiche. The entrée and adage are Drigo's own compositions. The variation danced by Kschessinskaya—today often referred to as the tambourine variation—is taken from the composer Romualdo Marenco
's score for Luigi Manzotti
's 1876 ballet Sieba. The coda—being the only part of the piece to be by Pugni—is taken from the Marche du Pharaon from his score for Petipa's 1862 ballet The Pharaoh's Daughter. When the danseur of the Kirov Ballet Vakhtang Chabukiani
performed in the La Esmeralda Pas de deux in the 1930s, he added music from Pugni's original score as a variation for himself. Today the variation is retained in the piece and remains popular with danseurs.
In 2000, the choreographer Pierre Lacotte mounted a revival of the 1862 Pugni/Petipa ballet The Pharaoh's Daughter
for the Bolshoi Ballet
. Since the Mariinsky Theatre
refused Lacotte access to Pugni's original score, he was perforce required to piece together the music from various sources.
In 2006 Lacotte mounted a new version of the Pugni/Perrot ballet Ondine
(also known as La Naïade et le pêcheur) for the Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet. For this new version, Lacotte utilized an orchestration of a violin répétiteur from the turn of the 20th century that was used for the Imperial Ballet's production. Although uncredited, the score contained a few numbers added by other composers throughout the late 19th century. Lacotte also made use of numbers taken from Pugni's original edition of the score dating from 1843.
Both works were choreographed by Lacotte "in the style of the epoch", with The Pharaoh's Daughter
containing four dances from Petipa
's own staging, a few of which were reconstructed from the Stepanov Choreographic Notation from the Sergeyev Collection
.
(revived by Anton Dolin
in 1941), originally staged by Perrot in 1845 at Her Majesty's Theatre
. It is the most performed work of all of Pugni's output, though the music is usually presented in a reorchestration by Leighton Lucas
. The original orchestral parts of Pas de Quatre
are today housed in the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
and Pugni, in light of this significant additional material. The Bolshoi Ballet
's 2007 production restores much of Pugni's additional music.
of Rome, Italy presented a revival of Jules Perrot and Cesare Pugni's 1846 ballet Catarina, ou La Fille du Bandit
. The production was staged in two acts by the choreographer Fredy Franzutti with the ballerina Gaia Straccamore in the title role.
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
music, a pianist and a violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist. In his early career he composed opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s, symphonies
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
, and various other forms of orchestral music. Pugni is most noted for the ballets he composed while serving as Composer of the Ballet Music to Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
in London (1843–1850), and as Ballet Composer of the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres and to the Court of His Imperial Majesty in St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
(1850–1870). Pugni was among the first composers of ballet music to employ the technique of leitmotif
Leitmotif
A leitmotif , sometimes written leit-motif, is a musical term , referring to a recurring theme, associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical idea of idée fixe...
, which he utilized for his score for the ballet Elerz e Zulmida in 1826.
Cesare Pugni is the most prolific composer of the genre of ballet music that has ever lived — by the end of his life he had composed close to 100 known original scores for the ballet and adapted or supplemented many other works by other composers. He composed a myriad of incidental dances such as divertissement
Divertissement
Divertissement is used, in a similar sense to the Italian 'divertimento', for a light piece of music for a small group of players, however the French term has additional meanings....
s and variations
Variation (ballet)
Variation or Classical Variation in ballet is a solo dance. As with an Aria in opera, which allows the singer to demonstrate his or her interpretive skills, the variation in ballet has the same function...
, many of which were added to countless other works. A great deal of Cesare Pugni's complete scores and incidental dances, etc. were published in piano reduction, and sold very well, while other dances were sold as "traditional" by publishers such as T. Boosey
Boosey & Hawkes
Boosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass, string and wind musical instruments....
or Jullien after the copyright expired with no credit given to the composer.
Of Pugni's original scores for the ballet, he is perhaps best known today for Ondine, ou La Naïade, (also known as La Naïade et le pêcheur) (1843); La Esmeralda
La Esmeralda (ballet)
La Esmeralda is a ballet in 3 acts, 5 scenes, inspired by Notre Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo, originally choreographed by Jules Perrot; with music by Cesare Pugni and design by William Grieve , D. Sloman , Mme...
(1844); Éoline, ou La Dryade (1845), Catarina, ou La Fille du Bandit (1846); The Pharaoh's Daughter
The Pharaoh's Daughter
The Pharaoh's Daughter , is a ballet choreographed by Marius Petipa, to the music of Cesare Pugni, with libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges from Théophile Gautier's Le Roman de la Momie...
(1862); The Little Humpbacked Horse
The Little Humpbacked Horse (ballet)
The Little Humpbacked Horse, or The Tsar Maiden is a ballet in four Acts and eight scenes with apotheosis. The original choreography was by Arthur Saint-Léon, and was set to music by Cesare Pugni...
(1864); and Le Roi Candaule (1868). Of his incidental dances, etc., he is most noted for the Pas de Six from La Vivandière (also known as Markitenka) (1844); the Pas de Quatre
Pas de Quatre
Pas de Quatre is a ballet divertissement choreographed by Jules Perrot in 1845, on the suggestion of Benjamin Lumley, Director at His Majestys Theatre to music composed by Cesare Pugni....
(1845); La Carnival de Venise pas de deux (also known as Satanella pas de deux) (1859); the Diane and Actéon Pas de Deux (1868); and his additional music for the ballet Le Corsaire
Le Corsaire
Le Corsaire is a ballet typically presented in three acts, with a libretto originally created by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges loosely based on the poem The Corsair by Lord Byron. Originally choreographed by Joseph Mazilier to the music of Adolphe Adam, it was first presented by the ballet of...
(1863 and 1868).
Pugni's works were written for the most influential ballet master
Ballet Master
Ballet Master is the term used for an employee of a ballet company who is responsible for the level of competence of the dancers in their company...
s of the 19th century, among them Arthur Saint-Léon
Arthur Saint-Leon
Arthur Saint-Léon was the Maître de Ballet of St. Petersburg Imperial Ballet from 1859 until 1869 and is famous for creating the choreography of the ballet Coppélia.-Biography:...
, Paul Taglioni, Marius Petipa
Marius Petipa
Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa was a French ballet dancer, teacher and choreographer. Petipa is considered to be the most influential ballet master and choreographer of ballet that has ever lived....
and Jules Perrot
Jules Perrot
Jules-Joseph Perrot was a dancer and choreographer who later became Balletmaster of the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia...
(who staged almost every one of his works to Pugni's music). Most of the ballerinas of the Romantic era
Romantic ballet
The Romantic ballet is defined primarily by an era in ballet in which the ideas of Romanticism in art and literature influenced the creation of ballets. The era occurred during the early to mid 19th century primarily at the Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique of the Paris Opera Ballet and Her...
(including Marie Taglioni
Marie Taglioni
Marie Taglioni was a famous Italian/Swedish ballerina of the Romantic ballet era, a central figure in the history of European dance.-Biography:...
, Fanny Cerrito
Fanny Cerrito
Fanny Cerrito, originally Francesca Cerrito , was an Italian ballet dancer and choreographer.Born in Naples, she studied under Carlo Blasis and the French choreographers Jules Perrot and Arthur Saint-Léon, to the latter of whom she was married from 1845–1851. Notable roles included Ondine and a...
, Lucile Grahn
Lucile Grahn
Lucile Alexia Grahn was the first internationally renowned Danish ballerina and one of the popular dancers of the Romantic ballet era....
, Fanny Elssler
Fanny Elssler
Fanny Elssler - 27 November 1884), born Franziska Elßler, was an Austrian ballerina of the 'Romantic Period'.- Life :Daughter of Johann Florian Elssler, a second generation employee of Prince Esterhazy in Eisenstadt. Both Johann and his brother Josef were employed as copyists to the Prince's...
and Carlotta Grisi
Carlotta Grisi
Carlotta Grisi, real name Caronne Adele Josephine Marie Grisi was an Italian ballet dancer born in Visinada, Istria . She was trained at the ballet school of Teatro alla Scala in Milan and later with dancer/balletmaster Jules Perrot...
) danced in ballets set to his music.
Early life and education
Cesare Pugni was born in GenoaGenoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
.
His early family life is rather obscure, but it appears that his father Filippo Pugni, was a clock and watchmaker with, for a time, a successful shop in the Via Rebecchino in the neighborhood of the Palazzo del Duomo, near Milan cathedral. According to family tradition the surname of Pugni — being the Italian word for fists — was acquired when a noble ancestor had lost his family's fortune and social rank and restored his family through hard work "by his own fists".
Pugni began his musical studies at a very young age. At some point the Pugni family became acquainted with the noted composer Peter Winter
Peter Winter
Peter Winter was a German opera composer who followed Mozart and preceded Weber, acting as a bridge between the two in the development of German opera....
, whose reaction to the seven-year-old Pugni's first symphony prompted him to take the boy under his tutelage.
Milan Conservatory
The Milan Conservatory is a college of music which was established by a royal decree of 1807 in Milan, capital of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. It opened the following year with premises in the cloisters of the Baroque church of Santa Maria della Passione. There were initially 18 boarders,...
). At that time Milan was the capital of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia, then part of the Austrian Empire
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
. Since the Milan Conservatory was in the territory of the Kingdom known as Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
, only residents of Lombardy were allowed to be admitted as pupils. Thanks to Winter's recommendation the thirteen year-old Pugni was accepted into the institute in 1814 as a non-Lombard at the expense of the state.
During his instruction at the conservatory the young Pugni studied under many noted pedagogues of music. Among Pugni's instructors was Bonifazio Asioli (1769–1832), under whom he studied composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
and counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
; Alessandro Rolla
Alessandro Rolla
Alessandro Rolla was widely acknowledged in his time as a violin and, especially, viola virtuoso, composer and teacher. His contribution to technique, repertoire and history of music is greatly underestimated...
, the instructor of Niccolò Paganini
Niccolò Paganini
Niccolò Paganini was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer. He was one of the most celebrated violin virtuosi of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique...
, who taught him the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
; and Carlo Soliva, under whom he studied musical theory. While still a young student, Pugni was given the opportunity to compose several pieces for ballets and operas given at La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
and its auxiliary theatre La Canobbiana, as well as performing his own compositions for violin to acclaim.
At the request of his family, Pugni was allowed to leave the conservatory in 1822, the "official" reason being continuing illness. In reality the management of La Scala greatly desired for Pugni to be in their employ, and since the Milan Conservatory would not allow a non-paying student to leave the institute without finishing his education, Pugni was "officially" said to be ill in order to allow him to be free to work for the theatre. Pugni then took up residence with Asioli at his home in Correggio, where he completed his musical studies under his tutelage.
La Scala
Not long after leaving Milan's Royal Imperial Conservatory of Music, Pugni began playing the violin in the orchestra of La Scala and La Canobbiana.The first documented full-length ballet for which Pugni created the music was the Balletmaster Gaetano Gioja's Il castello di Kenilworth, based on Walter Scott
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....
's novel Kenilworth
Kenilworth (novel)
Kenilworth. A Romance is a historical novel by Sir Walter Scott, first published on 8 January 1821.-Plot introduction:Kenilworth is apparently set in 1575, and centers on the secret marriage of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, and Amy Robsart, daughter of Sir Hugh Robsart...
and first presented at La Scala in 1823. Ballet music at that time was often a musical pastiche
Pastiche
A pastiche is a literary or other artistic genre or technique that is a "hodge-podge" or imitation. The word is also a linguistic term used to describe an early stage in the development of a pidgin language.-Hodge-podge:...
, and the printed libretto for this work credits the score as being assembled from themes derived from "various well-known composers".
Pugni was among the first composers of the early-romantic period
Romantic ballet
The Romantic ballet is defined primarily by an era in ballet in which the ideas of Romanticism in art and literature influenced the creation of ballets. The era occurred during the early to mid 19th century primarily at the Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique of the Paris Opera Ballet and Her...
to create original scores for the ballet, i.e. scores not assembled from the airs of many composers and/or works. One such score was written by Pugni for Louis Henry
Louis Henry
Louis Henry was a French historian. Founder of the historical demography and one-place study fields. His 1956 book co-written with Michel Fleury, Des registres paroissiaux à l'histoire de la population...
's 1826 ballet Elerz e Zulmida, a score also noted for being among the first compositions for the ballet to utilize the technique of leitmotif
Leitmotif
A leitmotif , sometimes written leit-motif, is a musical term , referring to a recurring theme, associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical idea of idée fixe...
. The success of Elerz e Zulmida brought about three more commissions from Henry, and soon Pugni was sought out by some of the most distinguished choreographers then working in Italy, among them Salvatore Taglioni (uncle of Marie Taglioni
Marie Taglioni
Marie Taglioni was a famous Italian/Swedish ballerina of the Romantic ballet era, a central figure in the history of European dance.-Biography:...
), and Giovanni Galzerani
Giovanni Galzerani
Giovanni Galzerani was an Italian choreographer, ballet dancer, and composer who was active in major theatres throughout Italy from 1808-1853.-References:...
.
Pugni's growing popularity as a capable composer of light, melodious music for dancing was attested by the publication of a number of piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
reductions of excerpts from his works, among them, the popular Scottish Dance from his 1837 ballet L'assedio di Calais
L'assedio di Calais
L'assedio di Calais is a melodramma lirico, or opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvatore Cammarano wrote the Italian libretto after Luigi Marchionni's play and, secondarily, Luigi Henry's ballet , both based on Pierre Du Belloy's play Le siège de Calais...
(The Siege of Calais), which, like every one of his works published during his life, sold very well.
Though he demonstrated considerable talent for composing ballet music, Pugni's real ambition at this time was to become a composer of opera. There had been occasions where he had been commissioned to compose an aria
Aria
An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment...
"to order" for various performances at La Scala, and such assignments encouraged him to pursue this ambition further. In 1831, his opera Il disertore svizzero, ovvero La nostalgia premiered at La Canobbiana in Milan, with his teacher Alessandro Rolla conducting. The work was praised for its variety and originality, and was revered by the composer's fellow musicians.
It was during this time that Pugni began to compose a substantial number of mass
Mass
Mass can be defined as a quantitive measure of the resistance an object has to change in its velocity.In physics, mass commonly refers to any of the following three properties of matter, which have been shown experimentally to be equivalent:...
es, symphonies
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
, and various other orchestral pieces. One Sinfonia (the Sinfonia per una o due orchestre) was scored for two orchestras, both of which would play the same piece but with one orchestra a few bars
Bar (music)
In musical notation, a bar is a segment of time defined by a given number of beats of a given duration. Typically, a piece consists of several bars of the same length, and in modern musical notation the number of beats in each bar is specified at the beginning of the score by the top number of a...
behind the other. Pugni was at first reluctant to compose such a piece, but his student at the time, the visiting Mikhail Glinka
Mikhail Glinka
Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka , was the first Russian composer to gain wide recognition within his own country, and is often regarded as the father of Russian classical music...
, encouraged him. The first performance of the Sinfonia per una o due orchestre was a great success. This piece so impressed Giacomo Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer was a noted German opera composer, and the first great exponent of "grand opera." At his peak in the 1830s and 1840s, he was the most famous and successful composer of opera in Europe, yet he is rarely performed today.-Early years:He was born to a Jewish family in Tasdorf , near...
that he was known to hold up a manuscript of the work in order to show his friends a supreme example of virtuosity in composition.
Such successes appropriately lead to Pugni's appointment as Maestro al Cembalo at La Scala. In addition to fulfilling these duties, Pugni also taught the violin and counterpoint when time allowed. With regard to style and structure, Pugni's symphonies and concert music have been likened to the works typical of composers of the classical period
Classical period (music)
The dates of the Classical Period in Western music are generally accepted as being between about 1750 and 1830. However, the term classical music is used colloquially to describe a variety of Western musical styles from the ninth century to the present, and especially from the sixteenth or...
such as Muzio Clementi
Muzio Clementi
Muzio Clementi was a celebrated composer, pianist, pedagogue, conductor, music publisher, editor, and piano manufacturer. Born in Italy, he spent most of his life in England. He is best known for his piano sonatas, and his collection of piano studies, Gradus ad Parnassum...
or Joseph Haydn
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn , known as Joseph Haydn , was an Austrian composer, one of the most prolific and prominent composers of the Classical period. He is often called the "Father of the Symphony" and "Father of the String Quartet" because of his important contributions to these forms...
.
Pugni scored two more operas for the Teatro Canobbiana in 1833 and 1834, both of which were listened to with considerable respect. Pugni also continued composing various orchestral pieces, together earning him great prestige and notoriety.
Paris
Despite Pugni's initial success in the field of music, only two years after his appointment as Maestro al Cembalo, all of his prospects collapsed, and he was dismissed from La Scala for what appears to have been the misappropriation of funds, a likely by-product instigated by his notorious passion for gambling and liquor which had caused him to amount considerable debt. In early 1834, Pugni left Milan in an effort to flee from his creditors.With his wife and children, Pugni made his way to Paris, where they lived in poverty while the composer searched desperately for employment. By the end of 1834 Pugni found work as chief copyist for the famous Théâtre Italien. Through his association with the theatre he was reunited with an old friend, the Italian composer Vincenzo Bellini
Vincenzo Bellini
Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini was an Italian opera composer. His greatest works are I Capuleti ed i Montecchi , La sonnambula , Norma , Beatrice di Tenda , and I puritani...
, who at that time was engaged at the theatre to mount his opera I Puritani
I puritani
I puritani is an opera in three acts by Vincenzo Bellini. It was his last opera. Its libretto is by Count Carlo Pepoli, based on Têtes rondes et Cavaliers by Jacques-François Ancelot and Joseph Xavier Saintine, which is in turn based on Walter Scott's novel Old Mortality. It was first produced at...
while simultaneously preparing a special version of the work for the Teatro di San Carlo
Teatro di San Carlo
The Real Teatro di San Carlo is an opera house in Naples, Italy. It is the oldest continuously active such venue in Europe.Founded by the Bourbon Charles VII of Naples of the Spanish branch of the dynasty, the theatre was inaugurated on 4 November 1737 — the king's name day — with a performance...
in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
. For the Naples production the principal soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
role was to be revised for the vocal talents of the Prima Donna Maria Malibran
Maria Malibran
The mezzo-soprano Maria Malibran , was one of the most famous opera singers of the 19th century. Malibran was known for her stormy personality and dramatic intensity, becoming a legendary figure after her death at age 28...
, and since the production of I Puritani
I puritani
I puritani is an opera in three acts by Vincenzo Bellini. It was his last opera. Its libretto is by Count Carlo Pepoli, based on Têtes rondes et Cavaliers by Jacques-François Ancelot and Joseph Xavier Saintine, which is in turn based on Walter Scott's novel Old Mortality. It was first produced at...
in Paris was putting Bellini under considerable pressure, he called upon Pugni to copy the parts of the score that would be presented in Naples without change. Pugni did this, but also made a second copy of the complete score and subsequently sold the manuscript to the Teatro di San Carlo at a high price. Soon Bellini was told that the theatre had purchased an official copy of score, and would no longer require his services. Bellini was crushed, for he had not only paid Pugni the five francs for the copying but had also given him money when needed in order to feed his family, and was often known to not only give Pugni his own unwanted clothes but begged his lady friends to send their unwanted dresses over to Signora Pugni. Bellini wrote in his journal, "It will be a lesson to me. Were it not for his six innocent children, I should like to ruin him." Bellini would later recall in an unfinished letter written in 1835 how Pugni's " ... infamous conduct shattered my faith in human nature."
In 1836, Pugni received a commission from Louis Henry
Louis Henry
Louis Henry was a French historian. Founder of the historical demography and one-place study fields. His 1956 book co-written with Michel Fleury, Des registres paroissiaux à l'histoire de la population...
, choreographer of several of his first ballet scores, to compose music for the ballet Liacone. This work was to be produced in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
for the Ballet of the Teatro di San Carlo. At that time Henry was engaged at the Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique
Paris Opera
The Paris Opera is the primary opera company of Paris, France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the Académie d'Opéra and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and renamed the Académie Royale de Musique...
, staging the ballet sections of Gioacchino Rossini
Gioacchino Rossini
Gioachino Antonio Rossini was an Italian composer who wrote 39 operas as well as sacred music, chamber music, songs, and some instrumental and piano pieces...
's opera William Tell, for which Henry utilized music from Pugni's ballet L'Assedio di Calais
L'assedio di Calais
L'assedio di Calais is a melodramma lirico, or opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvatore Cammarano wrote the Italian libretto after Luigi Marchionni's play and, secondarily, Luigi Henry's ballet , both based on Pierre Du Belloy's play Le siège de Calais...
. Pugni then traveled to Naples to assist with the music for the opera's dance-sections. Soon after this, Henry died of cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
.
In 1837 Pugni returned to Paris where he began working for the Casino Paganini until its closure in 1840. He then began serving as a "musical ghost writer" of sorts for the legendary Paris Opéra. Pugni was charged with the editing, correcting, and orchestrating of nearly all of the music for the ballets presented on the stage of the theatre. Often composers of the era left orchestrations to the copyist or principal conductor of an Opera House, and with his extraordinary facility at sight reading and scoring, Pugni was often given the task of arranging the compositions of others. A tradition passed down among his descendants claims that during this time Pugni either composed or orchestrated all or part of Adolphe Adam
Adolphe Adam
Adolphe Charles Adam was a French composer and music critic. A prolific composer of operas and ballets, he is best known today for his ballets Giselle and Le corsaire , his operas Le postillon de Lonjumeau , Le toréador and Si j'étais roi , and his Christmas...
's score for Giselle
Giselle
Giselle is a ballet in two acts with a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Théophile Gautier, music by Adolphe Adam, and choreography by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot. The librettist took his inspiration from a poem by Heinrich Heine...
, though no evidence is known to exist in support of this, and it is likely derived from the fact that Pugni composed supplemental pas and provided orchestration for the St. Petersburg production some years later. Pugni served in this function at the Paris Opéra from 1836 until 1843, and even supplied anonymous supplemental pas and variations for visiting ballerinas when needed.
It was during this time that Pugni became acquainted with Benjamin Lumley
Benjamin Lumley
Benjamin Lumley, opera manager and solicitor, was born Benjamin Levy, in 1811, the son of a Jewish merchant Louis Levy, and died 17 March 1875 in London.-Beginnings at His Majesty's Theatre:...
—director of Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
in London. Through Lumley Pugni became acquainted with Jules Perrot
Jules Perrot
Jules-Joseph Perrot was a dancer and choreographer who later became Balletmaster of the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia...
—the renowned choreographer and Ballet Master of Her Majesty's Theatre—who during his engagements as a guest artist to the Paris Opéra encountered Pugni's extraordinary facility with composition and orchestration. In 1843 Lumley offered Pugni the post of Composer of the Ballet Music to Her Majesty's Theatre.
Her Majesty's Theatre
Jules Perrot
Jules-Joseph Perrot was a dancer and choreographer who later became Balletmaster of the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia...
, Arthur Saint-Léon
Arthur Saint-Leon
Arthur Saint-Léon was the Maître de Ballet of St. Petersburg Imperial Ballet from 1859 until 1869 and is famous for creating the choreography of the ballet Coppélia.-Biography:...
and Paul Taglioni. Not long after arriving in London Pugni married his second wife, Marion (or Mary-Ann) Linton.
Jules Perrot
Throughout the heyday of the Romantic balletRomantic ballet
The Romantic ballet is defined primarily by an era in ballet in which the ideas of Romanticism in art and literature influenced the creation of ballets. The era occurred during the early to mid 19th century primarily at the Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique of the Paris Opera Ballet and Her...
at Her Majesty's Theatre during the 1840s, Cesare Pugni wrote the music for nearly every one of Jules Perrot's ballets. In 1843, Perrot produced Ondine, ou La Naïade
Ondine (ballet)
Ondine, ou La naïade is a ballet with choreography by Jules Perrot and music by Cesare Pugni, with a libretto inspired by the novel Undine by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué. Pugni dedicated his score to the Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Augusta, a long-time balletomane and patron of the arts in...
—a tale of a jealous Naiad
Naiad
In Greek mythology, the Naiads or Naiades were a type of nymph who presided over fountains, wells, springs, streams, and brooks....
in love with an Italian fisherman
Fisherman
A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishermen and fish farmers. The term can also be applied to recreational fishermen and may be used to describe both men...
—for the great ballerina Fanny Cerrito
Fanny Cerrito
Fanny Cerrito, originally Francesca Cerrito , was an Italian ballet dancer and choreographer.Born in Naples, she studied under Carlo Blasis and the French choreographers Jules Perrot and Arthur Saint-Léon, to the latter of whom she was married from 1845–1851. Notable roles included Ondine and a...
. In 1844, Perrot produced his most celebrated and enduring work, La Esmeralda
La Esmeralda (ballet)
La Esmeralda is a ballet in 3 acts, 5 scenes, inspired by Notre Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo, originally choreographed by Jules Perrot; with music by Cesare Pugni and design by William Grieve , D. Sloman , Mme...
for the ballerina Carlotta Grisi
Carlotta Grisi
Carlotta Grisi, real name Caronne Adele Josephine Marie Grisi was an Italian ballet dancer born in Visinada, Istria . She was trained at the ballet school of Teatro alla Scala in Milan and later with dancer/balletmaster Jules Perrot...
.
In 1845 alone, Pugni produced six new scores, including the celebrated divertissement Pas de Quatre
Pas de Quatre
Pas de Quatre is a ballet divertissement choreographed by Jules Perrot in 1845, on the suggestion of Benjamin Lumley, Director at His Majestys Theatre to music composed by Cesare Pugni....
, and the fantastical Éoline, ou La Dryade, created for the Danish ballerina Lucille Grahn. Pugni's score for Éoline contained a considerable number of celebrated pieces composed for solo harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
written to embellish the dancing of Grahn.
In 1846, Perrot produced the oriental extravaganza Lalla Rookh—based on Thomas Moore
Thomas Moore
Thomas Moore was an Irish poet, singer, songwriter, and entertainer, now best remembered for the lyrics of The Minstrel Boy and The Last Rose of Summer. He was responsible, with John Murray, for burning Lord Byron's memoirs after his death...
's poem of the same name—for which Pugni composed a score full of pseudo-Arabian themes. That same year Perrot and Pugni collaborated on Catarina, ou La Fille du Bandit for the ballerina Grahn. Like La Esmeralda, Catarina would become one of the most celebrated works of the 19th century.
During his time in London Pugni composed a substantial number of supplemental pas, variations, divertissements, and incidental dances which were often performed as "diversions" during an evening's entertainment at the theatre. Often the great ballerinas of the Romantic ballet would perform various Tarantella
Tarantella
The term tarantella groups a number of different southern Italian couple folk dances characterized by a fast upbeat tempo, usually in 6/8 time , accompanied by tambourines. It is among the most recognized of traditional Italian music. The specific dance name varies with every region, for instance...
s, polkas, mazurka
Mazurka
The mazurka is a Polish folk dance in triple meter, usually at a lively tempo, and with accent on the third or second beat.-History:The folk origins of the mazurek are two other Polish musical forms—the slow machine...
s, etc. during the intermissions of operas, and Pugni's accompaniment for such dances were often published in piano reduction.
During the late 1840s, Pugni and Perrot travelled to various theatres throughout Europe in order to stage their collaborations. In 1845, they staged La Esmeralda
La Esmeralda (ballet)
La Esmeralda is a ballet in 3 acts, 5 scenes, inspired by Notre Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo, originally choreographed by Jules Perrot; with music by Cesare Pugni and design by William Grieve , D. Sloman , Mme...
at La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
and the Court Opera Ballet
Berlin State Opera
The Staatsoper Unter den Linden is a German opera company. Its permanent home is the opera house on the Unter den Linden boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, which also hosts the Staatskapelle Berlin orchestra.-Early years:...
in Berlin, where the title role was danced by the great Fanny Elssler
Fanny Elssler
Fanny Elssler - 27 November 1884), born Franziska Elßler, was an Austrian ballerina of the 'Romantic Period'.- Life :Daughter of Johann Florian Elssler, a second generation employee of Prince Esterhazy in Eisenstadt. Both Johann and his brother Josef were employed as copyists to the Prince's...
. In 1847, Pugni and Perrot mounted Catarina and Lalla Rookh at La Scala. In 1848, Perrot was invited at the behest of Fanny Elssler
Fanny Elssler
Fanny Elssler - 27 November 1884), born Franziska Elßler, was an Austrian ballerina of the 'Romantic Period'.- Life :Daughter of Johann Florian Elssler, a second generation employee of Prince Esterhazy in Eisenstadt. Both Johann and his brother Josef were employed as copyists to the Prince's...
to stage La Esmeralda for the Imperial Ballet
Mariinsky Ballet
The Mariinsky Ballet is a classical ballet company based at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russian Ballet, the Mariinsky Ballet is one of the world's leading ballet companies...
in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Paul Taglioni
In the short span of their collaboration, Pugni wrote many celebrated scores for Paul Taglioni during his engagements as guest choreographer at Her Majesty's Theatre. In 1847 alone, Pugni wrote four ballets for Taglioni, including Coralia, ou Le Chavalier Inconstant and Théa, ou La Fée de fleur. More works followed, including Les Plaisirs de l'Hiver in 1849, and the popular Les Métamorphoses (also known as Satanella) in 1850.Arthur Saint-Léon
Pugni also left a profound impression on Arthur Saint-Léon, one of the most celebrated choreographers of the era. During the 1840s, Saint-Léon was engaged as Ballet Master at the Paris Opéra, and Pugni traveled there often to compose music for the choreographer's works. Pugni and Saint-Léon created many successful works while in Paris, among them, La Fille de Marbre (a revival of Perrot's Alma) in 1847, a revival of La Vivandière in 1848, a revival of La Violon du Diable in 1849, and Stella in 1850, for which Pugni composed many popular airs in the NeapolitanMusic of Naples
Naples has played an important and vibrant role over the centuries not just in the music of Italy, but in the general history of western European musical traditions. This influence extends from the early music conservatories in the 16th century through the music of Alessandro Scarlatti during the...
style.
Russia
In 1849 Jules Perrot and Cesare Pugni travelled to St. Petersburg to stage La Esmeralda for the ballerina Fanny Elssler, who was engaged as guest ballerina by the Imperial BalletMariinsky Ballet
The Mariinsky Ballet is a classical ballet company based at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russian Ballet, the Mariinsky Ballet is one of the world's leading ballet companies...
. While in the Imperial capital Perrot was offered the position of Premier Maître de Ballet to begin in the 1850-1851 season, which he accepted. In this position, Perrot recommended to the Court Minister that Pugni accompany him to Russia so that he might serve as the official composer of ballet music to the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres. Until that time in St. Petersburg, the composition of new ballet music typically fell into the hands of the orchestra's head conductor, who was in this case Konstantin Liadov. A new position was thus created, Ballet Composer of the St. Petersurg Imperial Theatres, for Pugni.
SERF
A spin exchange relaxation-free magnetometer is a type of magnetometer developed at Princeton University in the early 2000s. SERF magnetometers measure magnetic fields by using lasers to detect the interaction between alkali metal atoms in a vapor and the magnetic field.The name for the technique...
woman Daria Petrovna, with whom he fathered eight more children before the end of his life.
In the winter of 1861, Anton Rubinstein
Anton Rubinstein
Anton Grigorevich Rubinstein was a Russian-Jewish pianist, composer and conductor. As a pianist he was regarded as a rival of Franz Liszt, and he ranks amongst the great keyboard virtuosos...
hired Pugni to teach composition and counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
at the newly established Saint Petersburg Conservatory of Music
Saint Petersburg Conservatory
The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory is a music school in Saint Petersburg. In 2004, the conservatory had around 275 faculty members and 1,400 students.-History:...
, a position he held with great acclaim and respect until his death.
During his time as Premier Maître de Ballet to the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres, Jules Perrot staged many of the works he had originally mounted for Her Majesty's Theatre in London. Unlike the ballet companies of London or Paris, the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres presented evening-length ballet presentations separate from those of opera. As Pugni was the author of nearly all of the music for Perrot's works, the composer expanded many of his scores for the Ballet Master's productions. Among such expanded revivals were La Naïade et le pêcheur (The Naiad and the Fisherman), a revival of Ondine, ou La Naïade in 1851; and Éoline, ou la Dryade in 1858. Many of Pugni's scores featured instrumental cadenza
Cadenza
In music, a cadenza is, generically, an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists, usually in a "free" rhythmic style, and often allowing for virtuosic display....
s for the renowned soloists in the Imperial Theatre's orchestra, many of whom were members of the nobility and even of the Imperial family. Aside from their revivals of already-existing works, Pugni and Perrot created several Grand Ballets to acclaim, among them, La Guerre des femmes (The War of the Women) in 1852; Gazelda in 1853; and the grandiose Armida in 1855.
In 1855 Pugni wrote L'Étoile de Grenade (The Star of Grenada), his first ballet for the choreographer Marius Petipa
Marius Petipa
Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa was a French ballet dancer, teacher and choreographer. Petipa is considered to be the most influential ballet master and choreographer of ballet that has ever lived....
, who had been serving as Jules Perrot's assistant and Premier danseur to the Imperial Theatres since his arrival in Russia in 1847. Petipa was fast becoming a celebrated choreographer in his own right, as he turned to composition more and more.
In 1858 Perrot left Russia, and Pugni found himself in need by both Petipa and Arthur Saint-Léon, who succeeded Perrot as Premier Maître de Ballet to the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres. The two choreographers, both highly gifted in their art and differing dramatically in their respective approaches to the creation of the Grand ballet, were engaged in a healthy and productive rivalry on the Imperial stage. In spite of the differences between Saint-Léon and Petipa's styles Cesare Pugni composed the music for nearly every one of their works during the 1860s.
Later life
Pugni began to become increasingly unreliable as he aged, becoming severely depressed, drinking, gambling and leaving his family to fend for themselves for days at a time. As a result, Petipa found it increasingly difficult to extract music from him, and the quality of his work underwent a marked decline. In his memoirs, Petipa quoted a letter written him by Pugni in 1860: I tearfully ask you to send some money; I am without a souSou
Sou may refer to:* Sou , a type of food pastry* Sou , a film by Theodore Ushev for Shorts in Motion: The Art of Seduction* Solidus #France, French slang for coins...
. The letter also included freshly composed sections for Petipa's upcoming ballet Le Dahlia bleu
The Blue Dahlia (ballet)
The Blue Dahlia - is a Fantastic ballet in 2 Acts, with choreography by Marius Petipa, and music by Cesare Pugni. Libretto by Marius Petipa....
(The Blue Dahlia). The premiere was approaching, and Petipa had been receiving music from the composer in a piecemeal fashion. It became clear to Petipa that Pugni had put off scoring the more difficult sections and left them to be done last. By the mid 1860s, such situations became commonplace.
In 1862, Pugni composed the music for Petipa's The Pharaoh's Daughter
The Pharaoh's Daughter
The Pharaoh's Daughter , is a ballet choreographed by Marius Petipa, to the music of Cesare Pugni, with libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges from Théophile Gautier's Le Roman de la Momie...
, produced in only 6 weeks for the Italian Prima ballerina Carolina Rosati. The production was so successful that it won for Petipa the position of Deuxieme Maître de Ballet. In 1864, Pugni composed the music for Saint-Léon's The Little Humpbacked Horse
The Little Humpbacked Horse (ballet)
The Little Humpbacked Horse, or The Tsar Maiden is a ballet in four Acts and eight scenes with apotheosis. The original choreography was by Arthur Saint-Léon, and was set to music by Cesare Pugni...
, which itself was as successful as The Pharaoh's Daughter
The Pharaoh's Daughter
The Pharaoh's Daughter , is a ballet choreographed by Marius Petipa, to the music of Cesare Pugni, with libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges from Théophile Gautier's Le Roman de la Momie...
. Although he did receive laurels for his score for Petipa's The Pharaoh's Daughter, Pugni's score for The Little Humpbacked Horse caused a sensation with the St. Petersburg balletomanes, as it was considered to be an homage to the traditional music of Russia. The march
March (music)
A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's Götterdämmerung to the brisk military marches of John...
titled The Peoples of Russia from the last act of this ballet became a favorite of Tsar Alexander II
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
(many of Pugni's marches and entr'acte
Entr'acte
' is French for "between the acts" . It can mean a pause between two parts of a stage production, synonymous to an intermission, but it more often indicates a piece of music performed between acts of a theatrical production...
s were thus performed at Imperial balls and diplomatic functions).
Enrico Cecchetti
Enrico Cecchetti was an Italian ballet dancer, mime, and founder of the Cecchetti method. The son of two dancers from Civitanova Marche, he was born in the costuming room of the Teatro Tordinona in Rome. After an illustrious career as a dancer in Europe, he went to dance for the Imperial Ballet in...
recounted in his memoirs of how Petipa was fond of recounting anecdotes of Pugni in his old age; one such anecdote told of Pugni's many excuses for not delivering music on time: he once told Petipa that his cat had scratched his hand, making him unable to hold his pen. On another occasion, Pugni came to rehearsal without the day's required music, informing Petipa that he had no candles by which to write. When Petipa arranged to have a large box of candles delivered to Pugni's home, the composer told him at the following day's rehearsal that he did not write the required music because he was forced to sell the candles in order to eat. Petipa was even forced to hire someone to watch over the composer to ensure that any required music would be prepared on time. In spite of these incidents, Pugni managed to compose eight new scores between 1865 and 1868 for the Imperial Ballet, though these were mostly short one-act ballets and divertissements.
Saint-Léon was also having difficulty with the unreliable Pugni, and he began to turn to the composer Ludwig Minkus
Ludwig Minkus
Ludwig Minkus a.k.a. Léon Fyodorovich Minkus was an Austrian composer of ballet music, a violin virtuoso and teacher.Minkus is most noted for the music he composed while serving as Ballet Composer of the St...
for ballet music. In 1865 Saint-Léon wrote to his friend Charles Nuitter:
In 1868, Pugni composed the music for Petipa's colossal grand ballet Le Roi Candaule
Tsar Kandavl or Le Roi Candaule
Tsar Kandavl; AKA Le Roi Candaule is a Grand ballet in 4 Acts-6 Scenes, with choreography by Marius Petipa, and music by Cesare Pugni. Libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges, based on the history of King Candaules the Ruler of Lydia, as described by Herodotus in his Histories...
(King Candaules), which recounted Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
's tale of King Candaules of Lydia
Candaules
Candaules , also known as Myrsilos was a king of the ancient Kingdom of Lydia from 735 BC to 718 BC. He succeeded Meles and was followed by Gyges...
. This was to be Pugni's last full-length score, though no less celebrated, as it caused a sensation among the balletomanes of the day and proved to be among Petipa's most enduring works.
Unbeknownst to many, Petipa originally made plans to have Pugni compose music for his ballet Don Quixote
Don Quixote (ballet)
Don Quixote is a ballet originally staged in four acts and eight scenes, based on an episode taken from the famous novel Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes. It was originally choreographed by Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus and was first presented by the Ballet of the...
, to be mounted at the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre
Bolshoi Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world...
in 1869. But Pugni's irresponsibility quickly forced Petipa to reconsider, and instead he turned to Ludwig Minkus (Don Quixote
Don Quixote (ballet)
Don Quixote is a ballet originally staged in four acts and eight scenes, based on an episode taken from the famous novel Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes. It was originally choreographed by Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus and was first presented by the Ballet of the...
would prove to be one of both Petipa and Minkus' most celebrated and enduring works). In the end, the score for Don Quixote only included one variation composed by Pugni: a waltz composed for the character Kitri in the ballet's final Grand pas de deux.
Death
In late 1869 Pugni pulled himself together to score the music for Petipa's one act ballet Les Deux étoilesThe Two Stars (ballet)
The Two Stars or The Stars or The Two Little Stars is a Anacreontic ballet in 1 Act, with choreography by Marius Petipa, and music by Cesare Pugni...
(The Two Stars). This score was widely considered to be among his greatest works for the ballet, but it was also to be his last—he died on .
Cesare Pugni was buried in the Vyborgskaya Roman Catholic Cemetery of St. Petersburg (the cemetery was completely destroyed in 1939). Pugni died in utter poverty, and at his death his large family was completely destitute.
In honor of the composer, and for a benefit performance for his family, a gala was prepared with excerpts from many of Pugni's works by Petipa in May 1870. Later that year, Petipa mounted a revival of Catarina, premiering on , again as a benefit performance for the composer's family. Petipa then presented Pugni's final work, Les Deux étoiles
The Two Stars (ballet)
The Two Stars or The Stars or The Two Little Stars is a Anacreontic ballet in 1 Act, with choreography by Marius Petipa, and music by Cesare Pugni...
, on for the benefit performance of the Imperial Ballet's Premier danseur Pavel Gerdt
Pavel Gerdt
Pavel Andreyevich Gerdt, also known as Paul Gerdt , was the Premier Danseur Noble of the Imperial Ballet, the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre, and the Mariinsky Theatre for 56 years, making his debut in 1860, and retiring in 1916...
. The ballet premiered to great success and was performed by the St. Petersburg ballet on occasion until just before the Russian Revolution of 1917
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
. Petipa also staged the work under the title Les Deux petites étoiles (The Two Little Stars) for the Ballet of the Moscow Imperial Bolshoi Theatre
Bolshoi Ballet
The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the world's oldest ballet companies, however it only achieved worldwide acclaim by the early 20th century, when Moscow became the...
in 1878. The ballet was re-staged for the company in a new version by the Balletmaster Ivan Clustine in 1897, a production which was retained in the Bolshoi's repertory until 1925.
Descendants
Flautist
A flautist or flutist is a musician who plays an instrument in the flute family. See List of flautists.The choice of "flautist" versus "flutist" is the source of dispute among players of the instrument...
. Pugni's son Nikolai danced in the corps de ballet of the Imperial Theatres from 1882 until his death in 1896.
There were many noted artists among Pugni's grandchildren and great-grandchildren as well. Three of his granddaughters—Fanny, Constance, and Léontina—performed as danseuses with the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres. Léontina also toured Scandinavia with Anna Pavlova's company from 1908-1909 under the name Pouni. Pugni's grandson Ivan Puni
Ivan Puni
Ivan Puni or Puny was a Russian avant-garde artist .-Biography:Ivan Puni was born in Kuokkala to a family of Italian origins...
(aka Jean Pougny) became a noted avant-garde
Russian avant-garde
The Russian avant-garde is an umbrella term used to define the large, influential wave of modern art that flourished in Russia approximately 1890 to 1930 - although some place its beginning as early as 1850 and its end as late as 1960...
artist. Pugni's great-grandson, the violinist Michel Astroff, was secretary to Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
while the composer resided in Paris, and later he worked for various music publishers in France.
Pugni's most distinguished descendant was Alexander Shiryaev (1867–1941)—the son of Pugni's son Victor and a danseuse of the Imperial Ballet's corps de ballet, Natalia Shiryaeva. Alexander Shiryaev went on to become a celebrated danseur, character dancer and Ballet Master of the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres and the early Soviet ballet, and his written accounts of the Russian ballet during the late 19th and early 20th centuries are among the most valuable and celebrated of their kind. After the death of Lev Ivanov
Lev Ivanov
Lev Ivanovich Ivanov was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer and later, Second Balletmaster of the Imperial Ballet....
in 1901, Shiryaev served as assistant to Marius Petipa
Marius Petipa
Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa was a French ballet dancer, teacher and choreographer. Petipa is considered to be the most influential ballet master and choreographer of ballet that has ever lived....
, and even staged the first Soviet production of The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
with Fyodor Lopukhov at the Mariinsky Theatre. Shiryaev was among the first persons to ever film ballet dancers—many of these early films were compiled for the documentary Belated premiere (as yet unreleased to DVD or video), and have been used to reconstruct lost dances (among the most celebrated of these reconstructions was Marius Petipa's choreography for the solo Petit Corsaire from the ballet Le Corsaire, set to music by Shiryaev's grandfather Pugni).
Published sheet music
Pugni's music began being published as early as 1822 with his Sinfonia in D minor. Many of Pugni's symphonies and concert pieces were published by the Milan based publisher F. Lucca, often for full orchestra. Likely due to the sheer tunefulness of his music, Pugni's early ballet scores were almost all published in piano reduction by both F. Lucca and Gio Ricordi, another music publisher based in Milan.Many ballets and incidental numbers Pugni wrote for Her Majesty's Theatre in London was published in Piano reduction
Piano reduction
A piano reduction is sheet music for the piano that was once music for other instruments that was reduced to its most basic components within a two line staff for piano. It is also considered a style of orchestration or music arrangement less well known as contraction scoring, a subset of elastic...
by the London based music publishers Ch. Ollivier, Chappell & Co.
Chappell & Co.
Chappell & Co. was an English company that published music and manufactured pianos.-History:It was founded in 1810 by Samuel Chappell in partnership with music professors Francis Tatton Latour and Johann Baptist Cramer. Cramer was also a well-known London composer, teacher and pianist...
, and particularly T. Boosey
Boosey & Hawkes
Boosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass, string and wind musical instruments....
and Jullien. As Pugni's ballets were staged by various companies throughout Europe—in such cities as Milan, Berlin, and Vienna for example—many other music publishers began distributing his scores, often with supplemental numbers by other composers.
As the copyright of Pugni's music expired, the music publisher Jullien & Co. began publishing a number of his dances from various ballets without giving the composer credit. Often the music would credit the composer as "Composed by Jullien" or as "traditional", typically under such titles as The original mazurka or The Original Galop, for example. Several waltz
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
es, polka
Polka
The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...
s, and various national dances from Pugni's ballets were often published with detailed instructions on how to perform the said dances, and occasionally lithographs from whichever ballet the number was extracted was included as artwork for the frontispiece
Book frontispiece
A frontispiece is a decorative illustration facing a book's title page. The frontispiece is the verso opposite the recto title page. Elaborate engraved frontispieces were in frequent use, especially in Bibles and in scholarly books, and many are masterpieces of engraving...
. As time went on many of these pieces were sold to music publishers all over Europe and the United States.
As Pugni's career took him to Russia, his ballets continued being published in piano reduction. Many St. Petersburg based publishers such as Basil Denotkine, Ch. Stellowsky and Bessell brought out not only Pugni's original full-length ballets but his additional dances for various works and his adaptations of the scores of other composers.
Archives
An extensive archive of Cesare Pugni's music is to be found in the archives of the Paris ConservatoireConservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795, now situated in the avenue Jean Jaurès in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France...
, which is today incorporated in the Department of Music of the Bibliothèque nationale de France
Bibliothèque nationale de France
The is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...
. The Milan Conservatory
Milan Conservatory
The Milan Conservatory is a college of music which was established by a royal decree of 1807 in Milan, capital of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. It opened the following year with premises in the cloisters of the Baroque church of Santa Maria della Passione. There were initially 18 boarders,...
holds a substantial collection of Pugni's early compositions. Some manuscripts of the ballets of Perrot are held in the British Library
British Library
The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
, as well as the Paris Conservatoire.
Many of these ballets, along with most others Pugni composed in London and St. Petersburg were published first in piano reduction. The Bibliothèque nationale de France holds many complete scores of the ballets Pugni composed for Arthur Saint-Léon, including the original orchestral parts for The Little Humpbacked Horse
The Little Humpbacked Horse (ballet)
The Little Humpbacked Horse, or The Tsar Maiden is a ballet in four Acts and eight scenes with apotheosis. The original choreography was by Arthur Saint-Léon, and was set to music by Cesare Pugni...
.
The greatest archive of Pugni's original scores is held in archives of the St. Petersburg Central Music Library, which contains nearly every ballet Pugni wrote while in Russia (including revisions to other works created for other theatres abroad). Another archive of Pugni's work is to be found in the Harvard University Library Theatre Collection
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, which holds the famous Sergeyev Collection
Sergeyev Collection
The Sergeyev Collection is a collection of choreographic notation, music, photos, décor and costume designs, theatre programs and various other materials relating to the repertory of the Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg, Russia at the turn of the 20th century...
.
The Little Humpbacked Horse
The Little Humpbacked Horse (ballet)
The Little Humpbacked Horse, or The Tsar Maiden is a ballet in four Acts and eight scenes with apotheosis. The original choreography was by Arthur Saint-Léon, and was set to music by Cesare Pugni...
—for which Pugni wrote the score—left the active repertory of the Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet (the former Imperial Ballet) long ago, and today the work is only presented in a severely emasculated edition by the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet (school of the Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet). The school has not performed the work since 1989. Today only a few Russian companies include the work in their active repertory—such as the Mussorgsky Ballet, the Novosibirsk Ballet and the Ballet of the Maly Theatre. These production are derived primarily from Alexander Gorsky's 1912 revival of the ballet for the Bolshoi Theatre of Moscow.
Outside of Russia, only the Universal Ballet Academy of Washington D.C., and the all-male troupe Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo is an American all-male drag ballet corps which parodies the conventions and clichés of romantic and classical ballet. The company was co-founded by Peter Anastos, Natch Taylor and Antony Bassae in New York City in 1974, producing small, late-night shows, in...
perform excerpts from The Little Humpbacked Horse—the pas de trois called The Ocean and the Pearls and the Danse des fresques animés (Danse of the animated Frescoes).
Although credited to Pugni the music for the Ocean and the Pearls pas de trois is actually by Riccardo Drigo
Riccardo Drigo
Riccardo Eugenio Drigo , a.k.a. Richard Drigo was an Italian composer of ballet music and Italian Opera, a theatrical conductor, and a pianist....
, and is taken from his score for Marius Petipa's 1896 La Perle. The piece was added by Alexander Gorsky to his early 20th century revivals of The Little Humpbacked Horse.
La Esmeralda
Full-length productions of the Perrot/Pugni La EsmeraldaLa Esmeralda (ballet)
La Esmeralda is a ballet in 3 acts, 5 scenes, inspired by Notre Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo, originally choreographed by Jules Perrot; with music by Cesare Pugni and design by William Grieve , D. Sloman , Mme...
are only included in the repertories of Russian companies. The Mussorgsky Ballet of St. Petersburg regularly perform this work in a production which was staged in 1981 by Nicolai Boyarchikov—director of the Mussorgsky Ballet; and Tatiana Vecheslova—former Prima Ballerina of the Kirov Ballet. For this production Pugni's score—in an edition prepared by Riccardo Drigo dating from 1886 and 1899—was restored with the aid of a répétiteur used by the Imperial Ballet until before the Russian Revolution. In 1994 the company filmed their production of La Esmeralda. In 2005 the film was released onto DVD, with the 3-hour production edited to a little over 55 minutes.
Many companies throughout the world include various excerpts from La Esmeralda: the so-called La Esmeralda Pas de six (the music for this piece actually being by Riccardo Drigo); and the La Esmeralda Pas de Deux.
The La Esmeralda Pas de deux
Ben Stevenson
Ben Stevenson, OBE , is a former ballet dancer with Britain's Royal Ballet and English National Ballet, co-director of National Ballet in Washington, D.C...
, staged in 1982 for the dancers Janie Parker and William Pizzuto's performance at the International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi. Musically the piece is often credited to Pugni and/or Riccardo Drigo.
The piece has its origins in Marius Petipa's 1899 revival of La Esmeralda, staged for the Ballerina Mathilde Kschessinskaya. For her performance Riccardo Drigo arranged a new Pas d'action. Typical of such pieces from 19th century ballet, the music is a pastiche. The entrée and adage are Drigo's own compositions. The variation danced by Kschessinskaya—today often referred to as the tambourine variation—is taken from the composer Romualdo Marenco
Romualdo Marenco
Romualdo Marenco was an Italian composer primarily noted for ballet music. Marenco started his musical career as a violinist in the Doria Theater in Genoa. His first composition was the ballet Garibaldi's Landing in Marsala...
's score for Luigi Manzotti
Luigi Manzotti
Luigi Manzotti was an Italian mime dancer and choreographer.Born in Milan, Manzotti created his first ballet in 1858 and his subsequent productions were performed around the world. Today he is best remembered for his choreography of the ballet Excelsior , music by Romualdo Marenco.-External links:...
's 1876 ballet Sieba. The coda—being the only part of the piece to be by Pugni—is taken from the Marche du Pharaon from his score for Petipa's 1862 ballet The Pharaoh's Daughter. When the danseur of the Kirov Ballet Vakhtang Chabukiani
Vakhtang Chabukiani
Vakhtang Chabukiani was a Georgian ballet dancer, choreographer and teacher highly regarded in his native country as well as abroad. He is considered to be one of the most influential male ballet dancers in history, and is noted for creating the majority of the choreography of the male variations...
performed in the La Esmeralda Pas de deux in the 1930s, he added music from Pugni's original score as a variation for himself. Today the variation is retained in the piece and remains popular with danseurs.
The Pharaoh's Daughter and Ondine
The Pharaoh's Daughter
The Pharaoh's Daughter , is a ballet choreographed by Marius Petipa, to the music of Cesare Pugni, with libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges from Théophile Gautier's Le Roman de la Momie...
for the Bolshoi Ballet
Bolshoi Ballet
The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the world's oldest ballet companies, however it only achieved worldwide acclaim by the early 20th century, when Moscow became the...
. Since the Mariinsky Theatre
Mariinsky Theatre
The Mariinsky Theatre is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov received their premieres. The...
refused Lacotte access to Pugni's original score, he was perforce required to piece together the music from various sources.
In 2006 Lacotte mounted a new version of the Pugni/Perrot ballet Ondine
Ondine (ballet)
Ondine, ou La naïade is a ballet with choreography by Jules Perrot and music by Cesare Pugni, with a libretto inspired by the novel Undine by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué. Pugni dedicated his score to the Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Augusta, a long-time balletomane and patron of the arts in...
(also known as La Naïade et le pêcheur) for the Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet. For this new version, Lacotte utilized an orchestration of a violin répétiteur from the turn of the 20th century that was used for the Imperial Ballet's production. Although uncredited, the score contained a few numbers added by other composers throughout the late 19th century. Lacotte also made use of numbers taken from Pugni's original edition of the score dating from 1843.
Both works were choreographed by Lacotte "in the style of the epoch", with The Pharaoh's Daughter
The Pharaoh's Daughter
The Pharaoh's Daughter , is a ballet choreographed by Marius Petipa, to the music of Cesare Pugni, with libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges from Théophile Gautier's Le Roman de la Momie...
containing four dances from Petipa
Marius Petipa
Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa was a French ballet dancer, teacher and choreographer. Petipa is considered to be the most influential ballet master and choreographer of ballet that has ever lived....
's own staging, a few of which were reconstructed from the Stepanov Choreographic Notation from the Sergeyev Collection
Sergeyev Collection
The Sergeyev Collection is a collection of choreographic notation, music, photos, décor and costume designs, theatre programs and various other materials relating to the repertory of the Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg, Russia at the turn of the 20th century...
.
Pas de Quatre
In the west (primarily in North America ) the average balletomane will likely only ever encounter Pugni's Pas de QuatrePas de Quatre
Pas de Quatre is a ballet divertissement choreographed by Jules Perrot in 1845, on the suggestion of Benjamin Lumley, Director at His Majestys Theatre to music composed by Cesare Pugni....
(revived by Anton Dolin
Anton Dolin
Sir Anton Dolin was an English ballet dancer and choreographer.Dolin was born in Slinfold in Sussex as Sydney Francis Patrick Chippendall Healey-Kay but was generally known as Patrick Kay. He joined Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in 1921, was a principal there from 1924, and was a principal...
in 1941), originally staged by Perrot in 1845 at Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre
Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
. It is the most performed work of all of Pugni's output, though the music is usually presented in a reorchestration by Leighton Lucas
Leighton Lucas
Leighton Lucas was an English composer and conductor. Born into a musical family , he began his career as a dancer for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes...
. The original orchestral parts of Pas de Quatre
Pas de Quatre
Pas de Quatre is a ballet divertissement choreographed by Jules Perrot in 1845, on the suggestion of Benjamin Lumley, Director at His Majestys Theatre to music composed by Cesare Pugni....
are today housed in the Bibliothèque nationale de France.
Le Corsaire
Modern productions of the ballet Le Corsaire contain a substantial amount of additional music, which was added by Pugni to the score for Marius Petipa's many revivals of the work. Petipa's productions of Le Corsaire as performed in St. Petersburg credited the score to both Adolphe AdamAdolphe Adam
Adolphe Charles Adam was a French composer and music critic. A prolific composer of operas and ballets, he is best known today for his ballets Giselle and Le corsaire , his operas Le postillon de Lonjumeau , Le toréador and Si j'étais roi , and his Christmas...
and Pugni, in light of this significant additional material. The Bolshoi Ballet
Bolshoi Ballet
The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the world's oldest ballet companies, however it only achieved worldwide acclaim by the early 20th century, when Moscow became the...
's 2007 production restores much of Pugni's additional music.
Catarina
On 11 May 2007 the Balletto di Teatro dell'Opera di RomaTeatro dell'Opera di Roma
The Teatro dell'Opera di Roma is an opera house in Rome, Italy. Originally opened in November 1880 as the 2,212 seat Costanzi Theatre, it has undergone several changes of name as well modifications and improvements...
of Rome, Italy presented a revival of Jules Perrot and Cesare Pugni's 1846 ballet Catarina, ou La Fille du Bandit
Catarina or La Fille du Bandit
Catarina or La Fille du Bandit is a ballet in 3 Acts-4 Scenes, with choreography by Jules Perrot, and music by Cesare Pugni. Libretto by Jules Perrot, based on an incident in the life of the Italian painter Salvatore Rosa....
. The production was staged in two acts by the choreographer Fredy Franzutti with the ballerina Gaia Straccamore in the title role.
Symphonies
- Sinfonia (1809. Cesare Pugni's first composition at the age of seven)
- Sinfonia in D minor: In morte di Giacomo Zucchi (Milan, 1822)
- Sinfonia in E minor (composed for the private concert of Borromeo)
- Sinfonia in F major (composed on the commission of Borromeo)
- Sinfonia in D major (1826. composed for the private concert of Carlo Rota)
- Sinfonia in D major also known as Sinfonia per una o due Orchestre, or Sinfonia a cànone (La Scala, c. 1830. "Dedicated to the celebrated Maestro Alessandro Rola")
- Sinfonia in E major (Milan, c. 1830. "Dedicated to Bonofazio Asioli")
- Sinfonia in A minor: L'ultima ora di un condannato per opinione (La Scala, c. 1826–1833)
- Sinfonia in three movements (Villa Borghese, St. Petersburg, . Musical poem, or program symphony)
Chamber Music
- Divertimento per solitario violino (Milan, 1820)
- Divertimento for solitario flauto traverso (Milan, 1821)
- Quartetto per clarinetto, violino, viola, e violoncello in B flat major (Milan, c. 1824. "dedicated to the genius delettante Vincenzo Comolli")
- Quartetto per clarinetto, violino, viola, e violoncello in A minor (Milan, c. 1825. "dedicated to the genius delettante Vincenzo Comolli")
- Quartetto per flauto traverso, pianoforte, viola, e violoncello in A minor (Milan, c. 1825. "dedicated to dilettante Signor Conte Don Luigi Bertoglio")
- Quartetto per flauto traverso, corno inglese, violino, e pianoforte in B flat major ("expressly composed for Ill Signor Dilettante G. Castello")
- Quartetto per clarinetto, violino, viola, e violoncello in E flat major (Milan. "dedicated to the musical genius of the dilettante and certified public accountant Vincenzo Commolli")
- Petit Trio per pianoforte, violino, and violincello in C major (St. Petersburg, circa 1870)
- Serenata per viola obbligata in C minor; accompanied by second viola, violin and cello
- Serenata per viola obbligata in D major; accompanied by second viola, violin and cello (Milan. "dedicated to Il Conte Giulio Barbò")
- Serenata per flauto traverso, corno inglese, clarinetto, due corno, e due fagotto in E flat major (Milan. "dedicated to the celebrated Signor Maestro B. Asioli")
- Ottavino per flauto traverso, oboe, fagotto, due violino, viola, violincello, e contrabbasso in F major
- Terzettino per due violino e viola in G major (Milan. "dedicated to Signor Giuseppe Rossi")
- Redowa-Polka per violino: Il Carnevale di Milano in A major (Milan, c. 1845)
Religious Music
- Mass for two tenors and one bass, with violin, English horn, three violas, two cellos, and one double bass (Milan, 1827)
- Mass for large vocal and orchestral arrangement (Correggio, 1831. This piece was entered into a contest for a performance in honor of the jubilee of the great violinist Bonofazio Asioli, in which Pugni won against the works of Donizetti and MercadanteSaverio MercadanteGiuseppe Saverio Raffaele Mercadante was an Italian composer, particularly of operas. While Mercadante may not have retained the international celebrity of Gaetano Donizetti or Gioachino Rossini beyond his own lifetime, he composed as impressive a number of works as either; and his development of...
) - Mass for solo tenore, several basses, and the chorus of La Scala (BolognaBolognaBologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
, Basilica di Santa Maria dei ServiBasilica di Santa Maria dei ServiSanta Maria dei Servi is a Catholic basilica in Bologna, Italy.It was founded in 1346, as the church of the Servite Community of the Blessed Virgin Mary and was designed by Padre Andrea da Faenza whose work can also be seen at the Basilica of San Petronio, also in Bologna...
, c. October 1832–November 1833) - Kyrie e Gloria
- Messa e Kyrie e Gloria for three soloists, chorus, and orchestra
- Magnificat in E major for two tenors, two basses, and orchestra
Operas
- Il Disertore svizzero, ossia La Nostalgia (melodramma semiserio in 2 acts. Libretto by Felice Romani). La Canobbiana, Milan. 28 May 1831. Dedicated "A Sua Eccelenza Il Signor Duca Carlo Visconti di Modrone".
- La Vendetta (melodramma tragico in 2 acts. Libretto by Callisto Bassi). La ScalaLa ScalaLa Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
, Milan. 11 February 1832.
- Ricciarda di Edimburgo (melodramma serio in 2 acts. Libretto by Callisto Bassi). Teatro Grande, Trieste. 29 September 1832.
- L'Imboscata — adaptation for the revival of the original work by Thaddäus Weigl. (melodrama buffo in 3 acts. Libretto by Luigi Romanelli). La Cannobiana, Milan. 3 April 1833.
- Il Carrozzino da vendere (melodramma buffo in 1 act. Libretto by Callisto Bassi. La Cannobiana, Milan. 29 June 1833. Pugni's cantata Inno alla beneficenza was first performed on the same bill as the premiere of this work.
- Il Contrabbandiere (melodramma buffo in 2 acts. Libretto by Felice Romani). La Canobbiana, Milan. 13 June 1833.
- Un Episodio di San Michele (melodramma giocoso in 2 acts. Libretto by Felice Romani). La Canobbiana, Milan. 14 June 1834.
Cantanas
- Ai passi erranti (Lyricist unknown)
- Untitled; composed for Ennio Pouchard and Msr. Serda (Lyricist unknown). Casino Paganini, Paris. 25 November 1837.
- La Toussaint (Lyrics by Joseph Méry). Originally composed for the inauguration ceremonies of the Casino Paganini.
- Inno alla beneficenza (Lyrics by Felice Romani). La Scala, Milan. 29 June 1833. First performed on the same bill as the premiere of Pugni's opera Il Carrozzino de vendere.
- Lyrical Ode (Lyrics by John Oxenford). Her Majesty's TheatreHer Majesty's TheatreHer Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre, in Haymarket, City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art at the theatre...
, London. 25 February 1847. Performed by Sanchioli Gardoni Bouché on the occasion of the performance "for the benefit of the fund for the relief of the distressed Irish and Scots"
La Scala, Milan
- Il Castello di Kenilworth. Choreography by Gaetano Gioja. 26 April 1825.
- Elerz e Zulmida. Choreography by Louis Henri. 6 May 1826.
- L'Assedio di Calais. Choreography by L. Henri. 15 February 1827.
- Pelia e Mileto. Choreography by Salvatore Taglioni. 28 May 1827.
- Don Eutichio della Castagna, ossia La Casa disabitata. Choreography by S. Taglioni. 16 August 1827.
- Agamennone. Choreography by Giovanni GalzeraniGiovanni GalzeraniGiovanni Galzerani was an Italian choreographer, ballet dancer, and composer who was active in major theatres throughout Italy from 1808-1853.-References:...
. 1 September 1828.
- Adelaide di Francia. Choreography by L. Henri. 26 December 1829.
- Macbeth. Choreography by L. Henri. 20 February 1830.
- William Tell. Choreography by L. Henri. 20 February 1833.
- Monsieur de Chalumeaux. Choreography by G. Galzerani. 14 January 1834.
Her Majesty's Theatre, London
- L'Aurore. Choreography by Jules PerrotJules PerrotJules-Joseph Perrot was a dancer and choreographer who later became Balletmaster of the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia...
. 11 March 1843.
- Les Houris. Choreography by J. Perrot. 27 April 1843.
- Ondine, ou la NaïadeOndine (ballet)Ondine, ou La naïade is a ballet with choreography by Jules Perrot and music by Cesare Pugni, with a libretto inspired by the novel Undine by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué. Pugni dedicated his score to the Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Augusta, a long-time balletomane and patron of the arts in...
. Choreography by J. Perrot and Fanny CerritoFanny CerritoFanny Cerrito, originally Francesca Cerrito , was an Italian ballet dancer and choreographer.Born in Naples, she studied under Carlo Blasis and the French choreographers Jules Perrot and Arthur Saint-Léon, to the latter of whom she was married from 1845–1851. Notable roles included Ondine and a...
(for the Pas de six). 22 June 1843.
- Hamlet. Choreography by J. Perrot. 1843 – never premiered.
- Le Délire d'un peintre. Choreography by J. Perrot. 3 August 1843.
- La EsmeraldaLa Esmeralda (ballet)La Esmeralda is a ballet in 3 acts, 5 scenes, inspired by Notre Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo, originally choreographed by Jules Perrot; with music by Cesare Pugni and design by William Grieve , D. Sloman , Mme...
. Choreography by J. Perrot. 9 March 1844.
- Myrtelde, ou La Nymphe et le papillon. Choreography by J. Perrot. 1844 – never premiered.
- La Polka (incidental dance). Choreography by J. Perrot. 11 April 1844.
- La Vivandière. Choreography by Arthur Saint-LéonArthur Saint-LeonArthur Saint-Léon was the Maître de Ballet of St. Petersburg Imperial Ballet from 1859 until 1869 and is famous for creating the choreography of the ballet Coppélia.-Biography:...
. 23 May 1844.
- Zélia, or La Nymphe de Diane. Choreography by J. Perrot. 25 June 1844.
- La Paysanne Grande Dame. Choreography by J. Perrot. 25 July 1844.
- Jeanne d'Arc. Choreography by J. Perrot. 1844 – never premiered.
- Éoline, ou La Dryade. Choreography by J. Perrot. 8 March 1845.
- Kaya, ou L'amour voyageur. Choreography by J. Perrot. 17 April 1845.
- La Bacchante. Choreography by J. Perrot. 1 May 1845.
- Rosida, ou Les Mines de Syracuse. Choreography by A. Saint-Léon and F. Cerrito. 29 May 1845.
- Pas de QuatrePas de QuatrePas de Quatre is a ballet divertissement choreographed by Jules Perrot in 1845, on the suggestion of Benjamin Lumley, Director at His Majestys Theatre to music composed by Cesare Pugni....
(divertissement). Choreography by J. Perrot. 12 July 1845.
- Diane. Choreography by J. Perrot. 24 July 1845.
- Catarina, or La Fille du Bandit. Choreography by J. Perrot. 3 March 1846.
- Lalla Rookh. Choreography by J. Perrot. 11 June 1846. The music for the second and third tableaux contained passages based on Félicien David's 1844 symphonic ode Le désertLe désertLe désert is an 'ode-symphonie' in three parts by the French composer Félicien David with words by Auguste Colin, written after the composer’s stay in Egypt and the Holy Land....
.
- Le Jugement de Paris. Choreography by Perrot. 23 July 1846.
- Coralia, ou Le Chevalier inconstant. Choreography by Paul Taglioni. 16 February 1847.
- Méphistophéla. Choreography by P. Taglioni. 1847 – never premiered.
- Théa, ou Le Fée aux fleurs. Choreography by P. Taglioni. 18 March 1847.
- Orinthia, ou Le Camp des Amazones. Choreography by P. Taglioni. 15 April 1847.
- Les Eléments. Choreography by J. Perrot. 26 June 1847. Music composed jointly with Giovanni Bajetti.
- Fiorita et la Reine des elfrides. Choreography by P. Taglioni. 19 February 1848.
- Les Quatre saisons. Choreography by J. Perrot. 13 June 1848.
- Electra, ou La Pléiade perdue. Choreography by P. Taglioni. 17 April 1849.
- La Prima Ballerina, ou L'embuscade. Choreography by P. Taglioni. 14 June 1849.
- Les Plaisirs de l'hiver, ou Les Patineurs. Choreography by P. Taglioni. 5 July 1848.
- Les Métamorphoses (also known as Satanella). Choreography by P. Taglioni. 12 March 1850.
- Les Graces. Choreography by P. Taglioni. 2 May 1850.
- Les Délices du sérail. Choreography by Louis François Gosselin. 15 July 1850.
The Paris Opéra
- La Fille de Marbre (revival of Perrot's Alma). Choreography by A. Saint-Léon. Music by Michael CostaMichael Costa (conductor)Sir Michael Andrew Angus Costa was an Italian-born conductor and composer who achieved success in England.-Biography:He was born in Naples as Michaele Andrea Agniello Costa, to a family, according to some, of Sephardic stock...
, adapted by Pugni. 20 October 1847.
- La Vivandière (revival). Choreography by A. Saint-Léon, with Pugni adapting his original score. 20 October 1848.
- Le Violon du Diable (new version of Saint-Léon's Tartini il Violinista, originally staged for the Teatro La Fenice in Venice on 29 February 1848 with music by Saint-Léon (for the violin cadenzas) and Giovanni Felis). Choreography by A. Saint-Léon, with Pugni adapting Felis and Saint-Léon's score. 19 January 1849.
- Stella, ou Les Contrebandiers. Choreography by A. Saint-Léon. 22 February 1850.
- Le Marché des InnocentsThe Parisian Market or Le Marché des InnocentsThe Parisian Market is a comic ballet in one act, with choreography by Marius Petipa, and music by Cesare Pugni. Libretto by Marius Petipa....
(revival of Le Marché des parisien). Choreography by Marius Petipa and Lucien Petipa. 29 May 1861.
- Diavolina (revival of Graziela, ou Les Dépits amoureux). Choreography by A. Saint-Léon. 6 July 1863. Pugni utilized a suite of traditional Neopolitan airs called Passatempi Musicali for this score, as well as the Chasse aux Hirondelles by composer Maximilien Graziani.
Works for other theatres
- Le Fucine di Norvegia (5 acts). Choreography by Giacomo Piglia. Teatro Ducale, ParmaParmaParma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
. 26 December 1826.
- La Dernière heure d'un condamné. Choreography by L. Henry. Théâtre NautiqueComédie-FrançaiseThe Comédie-Française or Théâtre-Français is one of the few state theaters in France. It is the only state theater to have its own troupe of actors. It is located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris....
, Paris. Circa 1834–1835.
- La Ricompensa dell'amore spontaneo. Choreography by G. Galzerani. Theatre unknown, Paris. C. 1830–1835.
- Liacone. Choreography by L. Henry. Teatro di San CarloTeatro di San CarloThe Real Teatro di San Carlo is an opera house in Naples, Italy. It is the oldest continuously active such venue in Europe.Founded by the Bourbon Charles VII of Naples of the Spanish branch of the dynasty, the theatre was inaugurated on 4 November 1737 — the king's name day — with a performance...
, NaplesNaplesNaples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
. 4 September 1836.
- Don Zeffiro. Choreography by A. Saint-Léon. Théâtre Italien, Paris. 26 April 1865.
- Gli Elementi. Choreography by A. Saint-Léon. Théâtre Italien, Paris. 19 February 1866.
Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre, St. Petersburg
- La Guerre des femmes, ou Les Amazons du neuvième siecle. Choreography by J. Perrot. .
- Gazelda, ou Les Tziganes. Choreography by J. Perrot. .
- Marcobomba (also known as El Marcobomba). Choreography by J. Perrot, M. Petipa and J. Petipa. .
- Armida. Choreography by J. Perrot. .
- La Débutante. Choreography by J. Perrot. . Pugni arranged this score from airs taken from his 1850 adaptation of Adolphe Adam's score for Perrot's La Filleule des fées (staged as L'Elève des fées in 1850), and his 1852 adaptation of Edouard Deldevez and Jean-Baptiste Tolbecque's score for Mazilier's Vert-Vert.
- La Petite marchande de bouquets. Choreography by J. Perrot and M. Petipa. .
- L'Ile des muets. Choreography by J. Perrot. Music by Pugni and Théodore LabarreThéodore LabarreThéodore François Joseph Labarre , aged 65, was a French harpist and composer. He lived in Paris and in London and was awarded the Prix de Rome in 1823 as well as the Légion d'honneur in 1862. He was a professor of harp at the Conservatoire de Paris since 1867.-External links:...
. .
- Un Mariage sous la RégenceA Marriage During the RegencyA Marriage During the Regency is a ballet in 2 Acts, with choreography by Marius Petipa, and music by Cesare Pugni. Libretto by Marius Petipa....
. Choreography by M. Petipa. .
- Le Marché des parisien (also known as Le Marché des innocents). Choreography by M. Petipa. .
- Le Dahlia bleuThe Blue Dahlia (ballet)The Blue Dahlia - is a Fantastic ballet in 2 Acts, with choreography by Marius Petipa, and music by Cesare Pugni. Libretto by Marius Petipa....
. Choreography by M. Petipa. .
- Graziela, ou Les Dépits amoureux (also known as Graziella, ou la Querelle amoureuse). Choreography by A. Saint-Léon. .
- Les Nymphes et le satyre. Choreography by A. Saint-Léon. .
- The Pharaoh's DaughterThe Pharaoh's DaughterThe Pharaoh's Daughter , is a ballet choreographed by Marius Petipa, to the music of Cesare Pugni, with libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges from Théophile Gautier's Le Roman de la Momie...
. Choreography by M. Petipa. .
- La Belle du Liban, ou L'Esprit des montagnesThe Beauty of Lebanon or The Mountain SpiritThe Beauty of Lebanon, or The Mountain Spirit is a Fantastic ballet in 3 Acts-7 Scenes, with choreography by Marius Petipa, and music by Cesare Pugni. Libretto by E...
. Choreography by M. Petipa. .
- The Little Humpbacked HorseThe Little Humpbacked Horse (ballet)The Little Humpbacked Horse, or The Tsar Maiden is a ballet in four Acts and eight scenes with apotheosis. The original choreography was by Arthur Saint-Léon, and was set to music by Cesare Pugni...
(also known as La Tsar-Demoiselle). Choreography by A. Saint-Léon. .
- Florida. Choreography by M. Petipa. .
- Le Roi Candaule (also known as Tsar Kandavl). Choreography by M. Petipa. .
- Les Deux étoilesThe Two Stars (ballet)The Two Stars or The Stars or The Two Little Stars is a Anacreontic ballet in 1 Act, with choreography by Marius Petipa, and music by Cesare Pugni...
(also known as Les étoiles or Les Deux petites étoiles). Choreography by M. Petipa. .
Other venues in Russia
- L'Étoile de Grenade. Choreography by M. Petipa. Palace of the Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna. .
- TerpsichoreTerpsichore (Petipa/Pugni)Terpsichore - is a ballet in 1 Act. Choreography by Marius Petipa. Music by Cesare Pugni. First presented by the Imperial Ballet on November 15/27 , 1861, for the Imperial court at the theatre of Tsarskoe Selo in St. Petersburg, Russia.-Notes:*This ballet was based on the Greek Myth of Terpsichore....
. Choreography by M. Petipa. Imperial Theatre of Tsarskoye SeloTsarskoye SeloTsarskoye Selo is the town containing a former Russian residence of the imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the center of St. Petersburg. It is now part of the town of Pushkin and of the World Heritage Site Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments.-History:In...
. .
- TitaniaTitania (ballet)Titania is a ballet in 1 Act, with choreography by Marius Petipa, and music by Cesare Pugni.First presented by the Imperial Ballet on November 18/30 , 1866 for the Imperial court at the theatre of the Mikhailovsky Palace, St. Petersburg, Russia....
. Choreography by M. Petipa. Palace of the Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna. .
- L'Amour bienfaiteurThe Benevolent CupidThe Benevolent Cupid is a ballet in 1 Act, with choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Cesare Pugni. Libretto by Marius Petipa....
. Choreography by M. Petipa. Theatre of the Imperial Ballet School. .
- L'EsclaveThe Slave (Petipa/Pugni)The Slave Girl is a ballet Divertissement in 1 Act, choreographed by the Balletmaster Marius Petipa to the music of Cesare Pugni, first presented by the Imperial Ballet for the Imperial Court at the Hermitage Theatre, on April 27/May 9 , 1868 in St. Petersburg, Russia....
. Choreography by M. Petipa. Imperial Theatre of the HermitageHermitage TheatreThe Hermitage Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia is one of five Hermitage buildings lining the Palace Embankment of the Neva River.The palatial theatre was built between 1783 and 1787 at the behest of Catherine the Great to a Palladian design by Giacomo Quarenghi...
. .
Expanded editions of his own work for the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre, St. Petersburg
- Le rêve du peintre (revival of Le Délire d'un peintre). Choreography by J. Perrot. .
- La Esmeralda. Choreography by J. Perrot, Marius PetipaMarius PetipaVictor Marius Alphonse Petipa was a French ballet dancer, teacher and choreographer. Petipa is considered to be the most influential ballet master and choreographer of ballet that has ever lived....
and F. Elssler. .
- La Naïade et le pêcheur (revival of Ondine, ou La Naïade). Choreography by J. Perrot. .
- Le Jugement de Paris. Choreography by J. Perrot. .
- Markitenka (revival of La Vivandière). Choreography by J. Perrot after A. Saint-Léon. .
- La Fille de marbre (revival of Alma). Choreography by J. Perrot. Music by M. Costa. .
- Éoline, ou la Dryade. Choreography by J. Perrot. .
- La Danseuse en voyage (revival of La Prima Ballerina, ou L'embuscade). Choreography by Marius Petipa. .
Adaptations of scores by other composers for the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre, St. Petersburg
- Léda, ou la Laitière SuisseLeda, the Swiss MilkmaidLydia, the Swiss Milkmaid is a Demi-Caractère ballet in 2 acts, with choreography by Filippo Taglioni, and music by Adalbert Gyrowetz....
. Choreography by J. Perrot, M. Petipa and Jean Petipa after Filippo TaglioniFilippo TaglioniFilippo Taglioni was an Italian dancer and choreographer and personal teacher to his own daughter, the famous Romantic ballerina Marie Taglioni. He is the son of Carlo and father of both Marie and Paul...
. Music by Adalbert GyrowetzAdalbert GyrowetzVojtěch Matyáš Jírovec was a Bohemian composer.- Biography :...
and Michele CarafaMichele CarafaMichele Enrico Carafa di Colobrano was an Italian opera composer. He was born in Naples and studied in Paris with Luigi Cherubini. He was Professor of counterpoint at the Paris Conservatoire from 1840 to 1858...
. .
- L'Elève des fées (revival of La Filleule des fées). Choreography by J. Perrot. Music by Adolphe AdamAdolphe AdamAdolphe Charles Adam was a French composer and music critic. A prolific composer of operas and ballets, he is best known today for his ballets Giselle and Le corsaire , his operas Le postillon de Lonjumeau , Le toréador and Si j'étais roi , and his Christmas...
and Clémence, Comte de Saint-Julien. .
- La Femme capricieuseLe Diable à Quatre (ballet)Le diable à quatre is a ballet in 2 acts / 3 scenes, with choreography by Joseph Mazilier and music by Adolphe Adam, first presented by the Ballet of the Académie Royale de Musique on August 11, 1845...
(revival of Le Diable à Quatre). Choreography by J. Perrot after J. Mazilier. Music by Adolphe Adam. .
- La Belle flamande (revival of La Jolie Fille du Gand). Choreography by J. Mazilier after Albert Decombe. Music by Adolphe Adam. .
- Vert-Vert. Choreography by Joseph MazilierJoseph MazilierJoseph Mazilier was a 19th-century French dancer, balletmaster and choreographer. He was most noted for his ballets Paquita and Le Corsaire...
. Music by Edouard DeldevezEdouard DeldevezÉdouard Deldevez was a French violinist, conductor, composer, and music teacher. He is also known as Ernest or Ernst Deldevez. The names Edmé or Émile are occasionally substituted for Edouard.-Biography:Édouard Deldevez was born and died in Paris, France. He won many prizes as a violinist...
and Jean-Baptiste Tolbecque. .
- Faust. Choreography by J. Perrot. Music by Giacomo PanizzaGiacomo PanizzaGiacomo Panizza was conductor at La Scala, Milan for 13 years , during which time, he composed two operas and thirteen ballets.-External links:* http://www.clarinet.demon.co.uk/panizza.htm* http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/c/Panizza%252C%2BG...
. .
- Le CorsaireLe CorsaireLe Corsaire is a ballet typically presented in three acts, with a libretto originally created by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges loosely based on the poem The Corsair by Lord Byron. Originally choreographed by Joseph Mazilier to the music of Adolphe Adam, it was first presented by the ballet of...
. Choreography by J. Perrot and M. Petipa after J. Mazilier. Music by Adolphe Adam. .
- Robert et Bertrand, ou Les Deux voleurs. Choreography by Felix Kschessinsky after François Hoguet. Music by Herman Schmidt. .
- Jovita, ou Les Boucaniers mexicains. Choreography by A. Saint-Léon after J. Mazilier. Music by Théodore LabarreThéodore LabarreThéodore François Joseph Labarre , aged 65, was a French harpist and composer. He lived in Paris and in London and was awarded the Prix de Rome in 1823 as well as the Légion d'honneur in 1862. He was a professor of harp at the Conservatoire de Paris since 1867.-External links:...
. .
- Saltarello, ou La Dansomanie. Choreography by A. Saint-Léon. Music by Arthur Saint-Léon. .
- La Somnambule, ou L'Arrivée d'un nouveau seigneur. Choreography by M. Petipa after Jean-Pierre AumerJean-Pierre AumerJean-Louis Aumer was a French danseur and choreographer, who was born in Strasbourg on 21 April 1774, and who died in Saint-Martin-de-Boscherville in July 1833. Educated at the school of the Paris Opera Ballet, he joined the company in 1801 after an initial engagement with Jean Dauberval in Bordeaux...
. Music by Ferdinand Hérold. .
- PâquerettePâquerettePâquerette is a ballet in 4 Acts-7 Scenes, with choreography by Arthur Saint-Léon, and music by François Benoist.The ballet was first presented by the Ballet of the Académie Royale de Musique on January 15, 1881 in Paris, France...
. Choreography by A. Saint-Léon. Music by François BenoistFrançois BenoistFrançois Benoist was a French organist, composer, and pedagogue.Benoist was born in Nantes. He studied music at the Conservatoire de Paris and won the Prix de Rome in 1815 for his cantata Œnone. In 1819, he became organist and professor of organ at the Conservatoire; he held the latter post for...
. .
- La Perle de Séville. Choreography by A. Saint-Léon. Music by Santos Pinto. .
- Météora, ou Les Étoiles de Grandville. Choreography by A. Saint-Léon. Music by Santos Pinto. .
- Théolinda l'orpheline (revival of Le Lutin de la vallée) Choreography by A. Saint-Léon. Music by Eugène Gautier. .
- SatanellaLe Diable amoureux (ballet)Le Diable Amoureux is a Pantomime ballet in 3 acts, 7 scenes. Originally staged by Joseph Mazilier to the music of Napoléon Henri Reber and François Benoist...
(revival of Le Diable amoureux). Choreography by M. Petipa after Joseph Mazilier. Music by Napoléon Henri ReberNapoléon Henri ReberNapoléon Henri Reber was a French composer.He studied with Anton Reicha and Jean François Lesueur, wrote chamber music, and set to music the new poems of the best French poets...
and François BenoistFrançois BenoistFrançois Benoist was a French organist, composer, and pedagogue.Benoist was born in Nantes. He studied music at the Conservatoire de Paris and won the Prix de Rome in 1815 for his cantata Œnone. In 1819, he became organist and professor of organ at the Conservatoire; he held the latter post for...
. .
- La Basilic. Choreography by A. Saint-Léon. Music by Massimiliano Graziani. .
Original works produced to Pugni's music without his direct involvement
- Satanella (revival of Les Métamorphoses). Choreography by P. Taglioni. Music revised by Peter-Ludwig Hertel, adapted by Pugni. Court Opera BalletBerlin State OperaThe Staatsoper Unter den Linden is a German opera company. Its permanent home is the opera house on the Unter den Linden boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, which also hosts the Staatskapelle Berlin orchestra.-Early years:...
, Berlin. 28 April 1852.
- Zoloë. Choreography by Pasquale Borri. Pastiche created by an unknown hand from the airs of Pugni. Teatro di San Carlo, Naples. Circa 1852.
- Lucilla. Choreography by P. Borri. Pastiche by Paolo Giorza from the airs of Pugni. Teatro La Fenice, Venice. Circa 1855-1856.
- Les Espiègles de l'Amour (also known as Cupid's Prank). Choreography by Lev Ivanov. Score by Alexander Friedman with additional material taken from the works of Pugni. .
- Les Dryades prétendues (also known as The False Dryads). Choreography by Pavel GerdtPavel GerdtPavel Andreyevich Gerdt, also known as Paul Gerdt , was the Premier Danseur Noble of the Imperial Ballet, the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre, and the Mariinsky Theatre for 56 years, making his debut in 1860, and retiring in 1916...
. Music adapted by Riccardo DrigoRiccardo DrigoRiccardo Eugenio Drigo , a.k.a. Richard Drigo was an Italian composer of ballet music and Italian Opera, a theatrical conductor, and a pianist....
from Pugni's score for Perrot's Éoline, ou La Dryade, as well as additional numbers from the works of Ludwig MinkusLudwig MinkusLudwig Minkus a.k.a. Léon Fyodorovich Minkus was an Austrian composer of ballet music, a violin virtuoso and teacher.Minkus is most noted for the music he composed while serving as Ballet Composer of the St...
. Imperial Theatre of the Russian Museum of His Majesty Emperor Alexander IIIRussian MuseumThe State Russian Museum is the largest depository of Russian fine art in St Petersburg....
. .
Sources
- Beaumont, Cyril W. Complete Book of Ballets.
- Bolshoi Ballet. Program from The Pharaoh's Daughter. Bolshoi Theatre, 2001.
- Edgecombe, Rodney Stenning. Cesare Pugni, Marius Petipa, and 19th Century Ballet Music. Musical Times, Summer 2006.
- Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet. Program from Ondine. Mariinsky Theatre, 2006.
- Petipa, Marius. The Diaries of Marius Petipa. Trans. and Ed. Lynn Garafola. Published in Studies in Dance History - 3.1 (Spring 1992).
- Guest, Ivor Forbes. Cesare Pugni: A Plea For Justice. Published in Dance Research - Vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 30–38
- Guest, Ivor Forbes, ed. Letters from a Balletmaster - The Correspondence of Arthur Saint-Léon.
- Wiley, Roland John. Dances from Russia: An Introduction to the Sergeyev Collection Published in The Harvard Library Bulletin - 24.1 January 1976.
- Wiley, Roland John, ed. and translator. A Century of Russian Ballet: Documents and Eyewitness Accounts 1810-1910.