page_title: Marius Petipa
section_title: Final years with the Imperial Ballet
hierarchical_section_title: Marius Petipa / St. Petersburg, Russia / Final years with the Imperial Ballet
caption_attribution_description: Photo taken by myself of the grave of Marius Petipa. Mrlopez2681 09:38, 11 August 2006 (UTC) De afbeelding is afkomstig van de eng. Wikipedia de auteur Mrlopez2681 heeft de foto onder het publieke domein gezet op 11 augustus 2006. nl:en:Image:Petipamarius.jpg
context_page_description: Marius Ivanovich Petipa, born Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa, was a French ballet dancer, pedagogue and choreographer. Petipa is one of the most influential ballet masters and choreographers in ballet history.
  Marius Petipa is noted for his long career as Premier maître de ballet of the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres, making him Ballet Master and principal choreographer of the Imperial Ballet, a position he held from 1871 until 1903. Petipa created over fifty ballets, some of which have survived in versions either faithful to, inspired by, or reconstructed from the original. Among these works, he is most noted for The Pharaoh's Daughter; Don Quixote; La Bayadère; Le Talisman; The Sleeping Beauty; The Nutcracker; Le Réveil de Flore; La Halte de cavalerie; Raymonda; Les Saisons, and Les Millions d’Arlequin.
  Petipa revived a substantial number of works created by other choreographers. Many of these revivals would go on to become the definitive editions on which all subsequent productions would be based. The most famous of these revivals were Le Corsaire, Giselle, La Esmeralda, Coppélia, La Fille Mal Gardée, The Little Humpbacked Horse and Swan Lake.
context_section_description: In spite of his vast accomplishments, Petipa's final years with the Imperial Ballet were difficult. By 1901 Pierina Legnani had retired from the stage to her native Italy, having given up in her rivalry with Mathilde Kschessinskaya. Petipa thoroughly despised Kschessinskaya, referring to her as " ... that nasty little swine" in his diaries and commenting that local critics should beat her, rather than give her any compliments.
  By the turn of the 20th century new innovations in the art of classical dance began to become apparent. With all of this, Petipa's rocky relationship with the new director of the Imperial Theatres, Vladimir Telyakovsky, appointed to the position in 1901, served as a catalyst to the Ballet Master's end. Telyakovsky made no effort in disguising his dislike of Petipa's work, as he felt that the art of classical ballet had become stagnant under him, and felt that other choreographers should have a chance at the helm of the Imperial Ballet. But even at the age of eighty-three, and suffering from the constant pain brought on by a severe case of the skin disease pemphigus, the old Maestro showed no signs of slowing down, much to Telyakovsky's chagrin.
  One example of Telyakovsky's efforts in his attempt to "de-throne" Petipa came in 1902 when he invited Alexander Gorsky, former premier danseur to the Imperial Ballet, to stage his own version of Petipa's 1869 ballet Don Quixote. Gorsky had been engaged as Ballet Master to the Ballet of the Moscow Imperial Bolshoi Theatre, and in 1900 he mounted a complete revision of Don Quixote in a version radically different from Petipa's original. Petipa became furious when he learned this new version would be staged for the St. Peterburg troupe, as he had not even been consulted on the production of a ballet that was originally his creation. While watching a rehearsal of Gorsky's production at the Mariinsky Theatre, Petipa was heard yelling out "Will someone tell that young man that I am not yet dead?!". Petipa was further frustrated by the fact that the Imperial Theatre's newly appointed régisseur Nicholas Sergeyev was being paid large sums to travel throughout the Russian Empire and stage many of the ageing Ballet Master's works.
  In late 1902 Petipa began work on a ballet adaptation of the tale Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs titled The Magic Mirror. Petipa mounted the work for his own benefit performance, which was to mark a "semi-retirement" for the Ballet Master. The ballet, set to the music of the avant-garde composer Arsenii Koreshchenko, was given on 22 February [O.S. 9 February] 1903 at the Mariinsky Theatre to an audience composed of the whole Imperial Family and many members of the St. Petersburg nobility. The production boasted bizarre décor and costumes that were considered to be unsuited for a classical ballet. In spite of this Petipa received a roaring ovation from the audience at the end of the performance. Le Miroir magique was given scathing reviews in the press, and was considered to be an all-around failure, though Petipa's choreography was not mentioned among the criticisms. Not long afterwards rumour began to circulate that Petipa was to be replaced, and Telyakovsky even made an announcement to the Stock Trade Bulletin, a St. Petersburg newspaper, that "...the ballet company will have to get used to a new Balletmaster – Alexander Gorsky. He will stage his own versions of 'The Little Humpbacked Horse' and 'Swan Lake'. He has staged both ballets (for the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre) entirely differently and in a much more original manner." In the end Gorsky never succeeded Petipa as premier maître de ballet. The coveted post would later go to Mikhail Fokine.
  Telyakovsky knew that he could not legally end Petipa's employment, as he was still contracted as premier maître de ballet, so he began a campaign to drive the aging Ballet Master from the theatre. In 1902 Telyakovsky established a committee of influential members of the Imperial Theatres in an effort to take away Petipa's powers with regard to casting, repertory, and the appointment of dancers, thou
caption: Petipa's grave in the Alexander Nevsky Monastery, St. Petersburg, Russia
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