Il Corsaro, History of a mythical ballet

Il Corsaro, History of a mythical ballet

Le Corsaire is a three-act ballet based on the poem The Corsair by Lord Byron (1814) and set to music by Adolphe Adam. The debut took place on January 23, 1856 at the Opéra in Paris, France. It was originally choreographed by Joseph Mazilier. The ballet has undergone many revisions in Russia, including those by Jules Perrot (1858), Marius Petipa (1858, 1863, 1868, 1885, and 1899), Alexander Gorsky (1912), Agrippina Vaganova (1931), Pyotr Gusev (1955 ), Konstantin Sergeyev (1972, 1992) and Jurij Grigorovič (1994).

During the 19th century Adam's score had already seen a considerable increase in additional music and by the beginning of the 20th century, six different composers had already joined: Cesare Pugni, Grand Duke Peter II of Oldenburg, Léo Delibes, Léon Minkus, the prince Nikita Trubetskoi and Riccardo Drigo. Nowadays Le Corsaire is basically represented in two versions. In Russia and in Europe the version of Pyotr Gusev of 1955, in America and in some parts of Western Europe the version of Konstantin Sergeyev of 1973. Often, however, due to a smoky and inconsistent plot that makes it difficult to set up , his most famous pieces are presented: Le Jardin Animé, the Pas d'Esclave, the Grand Pas de Trois des Odalisques and the famous Pas de Deux.