LE CORSAIRE

Il Corsair (Le Corsaire) by Adolphe-Charles Adam is one of the masterpieces of the Romantic ballet era, along with his other famous work –Giselle, Il Corsair is part of the golden fund of international ballet repertoire. The famous librettist of ballets of the 19th century Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and choreographer Joseph Mazilier created a colourful depiction of the lives of the Corsairs based on Byron’s poem of the same name in 1814. The premiere took place on January the 23rd 1856 on the Opéra de Paris stage. Musical numbers by other composers were added to the ballet over time; however the story has remained the same since 1856.

Il Corsair is one of the works that was born in France, but their continued existence on the international stage is associated with the glory of the ballet about Tsarist Russia. In St. Petersburg the ballet was staged by Jules Perrot two years after the Paris premiere featuring Marius Petipa as Corrado. Márius Petipa first presented his Il Corsair in St. Petersburg in 1963, the 1968 staging featuring the music of Cesare Pugni and Leo Delibes. (Le Jardin anime). The last version from 1899, accompanied by music by other composers, has become the model for other choreographers thanks to which the work has survived to this day. The SND staging is based on this version and is staged by Russian choreography Vasilij Medvedev, the man behind the most successful SND Ballet staging – Onegin.

Il Corsair bears the significant imprint of Romanticism aesthetics. The story about the adventurous lives of the Corsairs features unbridled passion, dramatic situations, danger and love.

Runnig time: 2 hrs 30 mins with two intervals