Raimonda (ballet)
Raimonda ( Russian Раймонда ; often written Raymonda ) is a three-act ballet by the Russian composer Alexander Konstantinowitsch Glazunov . The choreography is by Marius Petipa , the libretto by Lidija Paschkowa . The first performance took place on January 7, 1898 in the St. Petersburg Mariinsky Theater .
action
Raimonda is set in Hungary at the time of the Crusades . The White Woman who appears again and again is a legendary ghost from the early modern era.
Act 1
Raimonda celebrates her birthday in the castle of her aunt, Countess Sybille of Hungary. Knight Jean de Brienne, Raymonda's fiancé, is also present. However, the lovers have to separate as de Brienne goes to war with the Hungarian army. The following night, Raimonda appears in a dream the white woman and shows her a secret garden, where Raimonda also recognizes Jean de Brienne. But this turns into an evil sheikh who declares his love for her.
Act 2
A new festival is being celebrated and guests from distant countries are invited. Among them, Raimonda discovers with horror the sheikh from her dream, Abderachman. He asks to marry Raimonda, which she refuses. Abderachman kidnaps Raimonda, but the kidnapping is foiled by Jean de Brienne, who has surprisingly returned.
Act 3
The reunited couple celebrate their wedding in the king's palace.
music
Raimonda (op. 57, 1896/97) was Glasunov's first ballet. After Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's death, Petipa turned to Glasunov. Although Glasunow wrote the composition, he refused to follow the strict guidelines of the choreographer regarding the music:
“Herr Glasunow doesn't want to change a single note, not even in the variation by Fraulein Legnani or at least the trace of a gallop. It's terrible to work with a composer who has given his music to a publishing house and published it beforehand. "
Glazunov did not appear once at the stage rehearsals and it was only at the premiere that he realized the importance of Petipa's decisions:
“The need to adhere to the choreographer's specifications is really a compulsion, but at the same time it gives me strength for the symphonic difficulties. (...) But aren't these chains perhaps the best school and education for feeling the form? "
Musical sequence
1st act
- 1st scene: La fête de Raymonda
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Jeux et danses
- a. Scène première
- b. La traditrice
- c. Arrivée de Sybille
- d. Reprise de la danse
- e. Scène mimique
- f. Récit de Sybille
- G. Les moqueries de Sybille
- 3. Entrance
- a. Annonce de l'arrivée de Raymonda
- b. Preparation de l'arrivée de Raymonda
- c. Entrée de Raymonda
- 4. La lettre de Jean de Brienne
- Interpolation: Entrée d'Abderahman
- 5. Entrée des vassaux et des esclaves
- 6. Pas d'ensemble
- a. Valse provençale
- b. Pizzicato - Variation de Raymonda
- c. Reprise de la valse
- 7. Départ des invitées
- 8. La Romanesca
- a. Prelude
- b. La Romanesca
- c. Une fantaisie - Variation de Raymonda
- 9. Scène de Clémence et le luth
- 10. Apparition de la Dame Blanche
- 11. Entracte symphonique
- 2nd scene: Visions
- 12. Le rêve fantastique
- 13. Entrance to the vision of Jean de Brienne
- 14. Grand pas d'action
- a. Grand adage
- b. Valse fantastique
- c. Variation I.
- d. Variation II
- e. Variation de Raymonda
- f. Grande coda
- 15. Scène dramatique
- 16. Ronde des follets et des farfadets
- 3rd scene: L'aurore
- 17. Scène et final
Act 2: Cour d'amour
- 18. Overture
- 19. Marche
- 20th Arrivée d'Abderahman
- 21. Pas d'action
- a. Grand adage
- b. Variation I.
- c. Variation II
- d. Variation de Raymonda
- e. Grande coda
- Grand Divertissement
- 22. Scène mimique
- 23. Entrée des jugleurs
- 24. Pas des garçons arabes
- 25. Danse sarrasine
- 26. Grand pas espagnol
- 27. Danse orientale
- 28. Bacchanale générale
- 29 L'arrivée de Jean de Brienne et André II
- 30. Le combat
- 31. Anthem
3rd act: Le festival des noces
- 32. Entracte
- 33. Grand cortège hongrois
- 34. Rapsodie ( Danse des enfants )
- 35. Palotás ( Danse hongroise )
- b. mazurka
- 36. Pas classique hongrois
- a. Entrée
- b. Grand adage
- c. Variation I.
- d. Variation II
- e. Danse pour quatre danseurs
- f. Variation de Raymonda
- G. Variation de Jean de Brienne
- H. Coda
- 37. Galop général
- 38. Apothéosis
style
Petipa incorporated many elements of the Hungarian character dance into his choreography. Typical here are the hands supported in the neck and waist, crossed arms or the upper body turned away from the audience.
"In this character piece you have to use your shoulders and upper body in a special way (...), this gives the whole thing something special, a bit of paprika."
Famous passages
Some parts of the work are particularly well-known and are shown in ballet galas and competitions regardless of the context of the piece.
- Raymonda's solo from the dream image ( Tableau de Rêve )
- Grand pas de dix Hongrois from the 3rd act
Raymonda's solo for the piano solo Variation de Raymonde is particularly well known . The choreography includes clapping of the hands, which is traditionally forbidden on Russian stages and is therefore only hinted at there. At the time, however, the dancers at the Paris Opera were asked by Rudolf Nureyev to clap their hands as loudly as possible. Nureyev's choreography was resumed at the Vienna State Opera in 1985 and shown a total of 40 times by 1999. Ballet master Manuel Legris brought Raimonda back to the stage in December 2016.
