Raymonda

Raymonda (Russian: Раймонда) is a grand ballet in three acts, four scenes with an apotheosis, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa to the music of Alexander Glazunov (his opus 57) and libretto by Lydia Pashkova. Raymonda was created especially for the benefit performance of the prima ballerina Pierina Legnani, and first presented by the Imperial Ballet at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre on 19 January [O.S. 7 January] 1898 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Among the ballet's most celebrated passages is the Pas classique hongrois (a.k.a. Raymonda Pas de dix) from the third act, which is often performed independently. Today Raymonda is performed by many ballet companies throughout the world with choreography that is derived primarily from the Kirov Ballet's 1948 revival as staged by Konstantin Sergeyev. Sergeyev greatly altered, and in some cases changed entirely, Marius Petipa's choreography, particularly in the dances for the corps de ballet. The choreography as revised by Sergeyev remains the traditional text for most of the world's productions of Raymonda, among them Rudolf Nureyev's version for the Paris Opéra Ballet and Anna-Marie Holmes's version for American Ballet Theatre, respectively. The choreography and mise-en-scène of the Imperial Ballet's original production of Raymonda was recorded in 1905 in the method of Stapanov choreographic notation during rehearsals for performances starring the renowned Russian ballerina Olga Preobrajenskaya in the title role. Today, this notation is part of Harvard University's Sergeyev Collection. In 2011 Sergei Vikharev utilized the notation to stage a new version of Raymonda for the Ballet of the Teatro alla Scala. The production also restored the original décor and costumes from designs prepared for the first production of 1898.