The Little Humpbacked Horse (ballet)
Encyclopedia
The Little Humpbacked Horse, or The Tsar Maiden (aka Konyok Gorbunok ili Tsar-Devitsa, or Le Petit cheval bossu, ou La Tsar-Demoiselle) 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 libretto is by Arthur Saint-Léon, based on the fairy tale
The Little Humpbacked Horse by Pyotr Yershov
. The ballet was first presented by the Imperial Ballet
on December 3/15 (Julian
/Gregorian
calendar dates), 1864 at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia. The principal dancers were Marfa Muravieva (as the Tsar Maiden) and Timofei Stukolkin (as Ivanushka).
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 four Acts and eight scenes with apotheosis. The original choreography was by 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 was set to music by Cesare Pugni
Cesare Pugni
Cesare Pugni was an Italian composer of ballet music, a pianist and a violinist. In his early career he composed operas, 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...
. The libretto is by Arthur Saint-Léon, based on the fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
The Little Humpbacked Horse by Pyotr Yershov
Pyotr Pavlovich Yershov
Pyotr Pavlovich Yershov was a Russian poet and author of the famous fairy-tale poem The Humpbacked Horse .-Biography:...
. The ballet was 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 December 3/15 (Julian
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar began in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year .The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months...
/Gregorian
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
calendar dates), 1864 at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia. The principal dancers were Marfa Muravieva (as the Tsar Maiden) and Timofei Stukolkin (as Ivanushka).
Revivals, restagings and alternate versions
- Restaging by Arthur Saint-Léon for the Ballet of the Moscow Imperial Bolshoi Theatre, with Cesare Pugni revising his original score. First presented on November 26, 1866 at the Moscow Imperial Bolshoi Theatre in MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Principal Dancers - Marfa Muravieva (as the Tsar Maiden) and Timofei Stukolkin (as Ivanushka).
- Revival by José Mendez for the Ballet of the Moscow Imperial Bolshoi Theatre. First presented at the Moscow Imperial Bolshoi Theatre on December 26, 1893 in Moscow, Russia.
- Revival under the title The Tsar Maiden by 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....
for the Imperial Ballet, with musical additions and revisions to Pugni's score 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....
. First presented on December 6–18, 1895 at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia. Principal Dancers - Pierina LegnaniPierina LegnaniPierina Legnani was an Italian ballerina, a terre-à-terre virtuosa extraordinaire, considered one of the greatest ballerinas of all time.-Career:...
(as the Tsar Maiden), Alexander Shirayev (as Ivanushka) and Felix Kschessinsky (as the Khan).
- Revival by Alexander Gorsky for the Ballet of the Moscow Imperial Bolshoi Theatre, with additional music by Anton Simon, Boris AsafievBoris AsafievBoris Vladimirovich Asafyev was a Russian and Soviet composer, writer, musicologist, musical critic and one of founders of Soviet musicology.Asafyev had a strong influence on Soviet music. His compositions include ballets, operas, symphonies, concertos and chamber music...
, Pyotr TchaikovsyPyotr Ilyich TchaikovskyPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
, Antonín DvořákAntonín DvorákAntonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
, Alexander GlazunovAlexander GlazunovAlexander Konstantinovich Glazunov was a Russian composer of the late Russian Romantic period, music teacher and conductor...
, Brahms and Franz LisztFranz LisztFranz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
. First presented at the Moscow Imperial Bolshoi Theatre on November 25, 1901 in MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. Principal Dancers - Lyubov Roslavleva (as the Tsar Maiden) and Alexander Gorsky (as Ivanushka).
- Restaging by Alexander Gorsky of his 1901 revival for the Imperial Ballet, with musical additions and revisions to Pugni's score by Riccardo Drigo. First presented at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre on December 16, 1912. Principal Dancers - Tamara KarsavinaTamara KarsavinaTamara Platonovna Karsavina was a famous Russian ballerina, renowned for her beauty, who was most noted as a Principal Artist of the Imperial Russian Ballet and later the Ballets Russes of Serge Diaghilev...
(as the Tsar Maiden) and Nikolai Legat (as Ivanushka).
- Revival of Gorsky's 1912 production by Feodor Lopukhov for the Kirov Ballet. First presented at the Kirov State Academic Theatre of Opera and BalletMariinsky TheatreThe 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...
in 1945.