Les Aventures de Pélée
Encyclopedia
Les Aventures de Pélée (a.k.a. Les Noces de Thétis et Pélée) is a ballet
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...

 in three acts and five scenes, with choreography by 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 music by 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...

, with additional music adapted from the airs of works by Léo Delibes
Léo Delibes
Clément Philibert Léo Delibes was a French composer of ballets, operas, and other works for the stage...

. Libretto by Marius Petipa, derived from the Greek Myth concerning the Goddess Thetis
Thetis
Silver-footed Thetis , disposer or "placer" , is encountered in Greek mythology mostly as a sea nymph or known as the goddess of water, one of the fifty Nereids, daughters of the ancient one of the seas with shape-shifting abilities who survives in the historical vestiges of most later Greek myths...

 and the circumstances surrounding her marriage, arranged by Jupiter
Jupiter (mythology)
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Jupiter or Jove is the king of the gods, and the god of the sky and thunder. He is the equivalent of Zeus in the Greek pantheon....

 (or Zeus), to the mortal Peleus
Peleus
In Greek mythology, Pēleus was a hero whose myth was already known to the hearers of Homer in the late 8th century BCE. Peleus was the son of Aeacus, king of the island of Aegina, and Endeïs, the oread of Mount Pelion in Thessaly; he was the father of Achilles...

.

First presented by 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...

 on at the Imperial Bolshoi Kammeny Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia. Principal Dancers - Eugeniia Sokolova (as the Goddess Thetis), 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...

 (as Peleus), Lyubov Savitskaya (as Cupid), Mariia Gorshenkova (as Venus), Christian Johansson
Christian Johansson
Christian Johansson was a teacher, choreographer and coaching balletmaster for the Russian Imperial Ballet. Born Pehr Christian Johansson in Stockholm, Sweden, he moved to Russia as a dancer and stayed on as one of the most important teachers in Russian history...

 (as Jupiter), and Lev Ivanov
Lev Ivanov
Lev Ivanovich Ivanov was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer and later, Second Balletmaster of the Imperial Ballet....

 (as Adonis).

Revivals/Restagings

  • The ballet was revived by Marius Petipa as Les Noces de Thétis et Pélée in 1 act/3 scenes by Petipa for the Imperial Ballet, with 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....

     making additions and revising the Minkus/Delibes score. It was first presented for the Imperial court at the Theatre of Peterhof
    Peterhof Palace
    The Peterhof Palace in Russian, so German is transliterated as "Петергoф" Petergof into Russian) for "Peter's Court") is actually a series of palaces and gardens located in Saint Petersburg, Russia, laid out on the orders of Peter the Great. These Palaces and gardens are sometimes referred as the...

    , . Principal Dancers - Mathilde Kschessinskaya (as the Goddess Thetis), 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...

     (as Peleus), Olga Preobrajenskaya (as Cupid), Olga Leonova (as Venus), Lyubov Roslavleva (as Flora), Alexei Bulgakov (as Jupiter), and Sergei Legat (as Adonis)
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