In an interview in the June edition of Dancing Times, Yuri Burlaka the recently appointed Artistic Director of the Bolshoi, tells Nadine Meisner that his next project for later this year is “Esmeralda” based on Petipa’s 1899 production.

Leonid, I had already reported this last March, when I saw an interview on Russian TV during my visit to Moscow for Coppelia. See:

http://ballettalk.invisionzone.com/index.php?showtopic=29177


Nonetheless, it's good to commence a special thread for this. This is particularly welcome now that the Mikhailovsky in St.Petersburg has dropped its great production.

Incidentally, the Petipa 1899 Esmeralda is being staged in Tokyo this month by the NBA troupe, which had revived it in 2004:

http://www.nbaballet.org/performance/index.html

Of course you did, when I checked your post I remembered the content. I did want to draw attention to this interesting interview and I add a quote, " I am not going to repeat it exactly. I am going to do it with the eye of the 21st century as we did with Le Corsaire."

Thank you, Leonid. This is very reassuring: "...as we did with Corsaire." This tells me that there will most likely be beautiful realistic sets and costumes, rather than simple projections a-la Flames of Paris 2008.

It is a shame that the Kirov has shown no interest in doing this as they have more of the original materials in their archives. I know that the Bolshoi would have had a version of "Esmeralda" in its repertory at least until the 1920's so they would have a musical score, etc. So I suppose it is the Drigo score? I guess the Adam/Perrot version has not survived in any form. I wonder if Doug Fullington will be on hand to translate the Stepanov notation from the Harvard/Sergeyev collection? That would be best. It is wonderful news.

A little , but now that you mention his name, I miss Mr. Fullington's posts on this forums...
But back to "La Esmeralda"...

Esmeralda was first staged at the Bolshoi by Jean Perrot in 1850 using the revised Pugni score and was revived by Mendez in 1890 after Petipa. It was last re-staged at the Bolshoi in 1926 by Tikhomirov with Yekaterina Geltser as Esmeralda and the score revised by Rheinhold Gliere which was to used by the Kirov in their 1935 production staged by Vaganova which was revived in that theatre in 1948.
Esmeralda was an extremely popular ballet in the soviet period being staged across that union in something like twenty plus different productions.

The Mikhailovsky Ballet production is the latest Russian production I have found and dates from 1981 being called a revival of Petipa's restaging of 1899. There is to be found a filmed recording of excerpts of this Esmeralda production which was staged in part by Tatiana Vecheslova who had appreared in the Vaganova production and although the dancing is variable, one can see the remnants of a Romantic ballet.

As you say, the Sergeyev notation of the Petipa production exists which was staged with the Drigo revised score and as Vikharev has been mentioned in respect of this production perhaps it is being referred to.

Actually, Vecheslova starred in the Petipa version both before and after the short-lived Vaganova version.

I know that Vecheslova appeared in both the Vaganova productions of Esmeralda in 1935 (revived by Vaganova especially for her)and 1948, but I had thought it was out of the Kirov repertoire for some years earlier. By the time Vecheslova graduated as I understand that there were no Petipa productions left in the Kirov repertoire. Everything was "after Petipa", as the theatre's ideological dramaturg insisted on changes to all of the Petipa repertory which affected choreography as well as the story line. What date do you have that Vecheslova danced Esmeralda other than those dates I have mentioned, as I would like to amend my records?

Vecheslova starred as Esmeralda in 1933/34 season - one year before Vaganova's odd and short-lived version. The Petipa Esmeralda was never really out of the repertoire until the Vaganova edition came about. Many great Petrograd-Leningrad ballerinas danced the Petipa Esmeralda in the 1910s, 20s and 30s, including Spessivtseva, Smirnova, Lukom, etc.

The date for the premiere of the Vikharev production of Esmeralda at the Bolshoi is to be the 25th December.