In
1820, the Romantic period in ballet arose in Milan when Carlo
Blasis introduced new ballet techniques in his book The Theory
and Practice of the Art of Dancing and the Code of Terpisichore
(1823). The methods he illustrated are precisely the methods
used today in modern ballet. Then, Marie Taglioni, at the age
of 18, began dancing sur les pointes (on the toes). As others
followed her example, the tutu and the blocked toe were developed
to allow freer movements. It was at this time that women began
to dominate ballet and men functioned to support the ballerina.
The stars of the ballet included Maria Taglioni, Fanny Elssler,
Carlotta Grisi, Lucille Grahn, and Fanny Cerrito. Cyril Beamont,
the proprietor of a world-famous bookstore on dance, described
the ballerina of the Romantic Period as "that elusive,
fascinating, mocking vision, half woman, half goddess, which
haunted the imaginations of so many poets, painters, writers,
and musicians of the last century, and becoming their muse,
inspired some to achieve masterpieces (Ballet Notes, Giselle
par. 4)."
Among the great masters
of the ballet were Filippo Taglioni who first choreographed
La Sylphide (1832), ballet choreographer Auguste Bournonville,
ballet master and creator Jules Perrot, ballet technician Carlo
Blasis, Charles Didelot, who revolutionized Russian ballet,
Marius Petipa, who was the first to divide ballet techniques
into 7 categories, and Jean-Georges Noverre, who wrote what
is considered the most important ballet book of all time. The
Marquis de Saint-Georges wrote 12 ballets and 80 operas, and
cooperated with Théophile Gautier in the production of
Giselle (1841).
Many great ballets were
produced at this time. The most early productions include La
Sylphide (1823), La Somnambule (1827), La Gypsy
(1839), Giselle (1841), and La Péri (1843).
By 1850, Romantic ballet lapsed into dormancy until 1870, with
the performance of Coppélia at the Paris Opera
House. In 1875, Marius Petipa choreographed Sleeping Beauty,
Swan Lake (1895), and Raymonda (1898) for the
Russian ballet's Imperial Theater. Tchaikovsky was comissioned
to create music for Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty
(1890), and The Nutcracker (1892), all of which featured
Romantic themes; E.T.A. Hoffman wrote the original fairy tale
of The Nutcracker, and Swan Lake and Sleeping
Beauty are created after German fairy tales themselves.
It was during this time that ballet had its renaissance, and
the greatest ballets of all time were choreographed, performed,
and applauded.
La
Sylphide
In 1832, La Sylphide,
starring Marie Taglioni and choreographed by her father Filippo
Taglioni, premiered at the Paris Opera. La Sylphide,
based loosely on Charles Nodier's Trilby; ou, Le Lutin d'Argail
(1822), illustrated the story of a supernatural female creature,
half-human and half-bird, doomed to an eternity of dancing.
The Sylphide falls in love with James, a Scottish peasant,
who intends to marry Effie, a peasant girl. However, before
the marriage takes place, Sylphide shows herself to James. Consequently,
he falls in love with her and runs away from his wedding. However,
he is hard-pressed to keep her at his side, for she constantly
flies away from him. One day, he crosses paths with Madge, a
witch. Madge instructs James to tie a magic scarf around Sylphide's
waist. He does this in the hopes that Sylphide's wings will
disappear and she will be his forever; unfortunately, the scarf
kills her and Sylphide falls into the arms of her friends, the
Sylphs, as a grieved James stands aside to watch her die. The
Slyphs retreat to the air with Sylphide and James tries to avenge
her death by killing Madge, yet he fails for she strikes him
first. The ballet ends with James' death and Madge's celebration
of victory.
It is not very difficult
to see the symbolism behind the simple tale; Sylphide represents
an unattainable dream and James is the innocent, naïve
hero. The plot is thoroughly consistent with the Romantic fairy
tale; the ending is obviously not a happy one and the focus
clearly remains on the disparity between reality and illusion.
However, the plot of La Sylphide was not the only novelty
that inspired succeeding ballets; Marie Taglioni was the first
to don a bell-shaped, calf-length, white tutu with a boned bodice
that would be prevalent in Romantic ballet. The ballet was also
the first to be set to appropriate music. The setting of La
Sylphide is Scotland, which, at the time, was considered
an exotic and unfamiliar land. Thus it is essentially the first
Romantic ballet, consistent with the Romantic traditions of
exoticism, fantasy, and emotion. In 1836, Auguste Bournonville
recreated La Sylphide through new music and choreography,
and gave Lucille Grahn the main role of Sylphide.
Giselle,
ou Les Wilis
One of the main reasons
why Romantic ballet disappeared after 1850 was the silliness
and superfluity that began to evolve in plot. A characteristic
ballet with a silly plot is Giselle, which was the first
ballet to emphasize the dramatic performance on the part of
the dancers. Théophile Gautier was inspired for the ballet
after reading Heinrich Heine's De l'Allemagne (1835),
in which Heine described "sprites in white gowns with hems
that are perpetually damp, fairies whose little satin feet mark
the ceiling of the nuptial chamber, the snow-white Wilis who
waltz pitilessly the whole night long, and wondrous apparitions
encountered in the Hartz mountains and on the banks of the isle
glimpsed in a mist bathed by German moonlight (BalletNotes,
Giselle par. 9)." In 1841, an Italian dancer, Carlotta
Grisi, danced the title role of Giselle, a collaboration between
composer Adolphe Adam and choreographers Jean Coralli and Jules
Perrot.
Giselle is a story
of Prince Albrecht, who disguises himself as Loys, a commoner,
for the purpose of winning the heart of Giselle, a peasant girl,
away from her rival suitor and the village gamekeeper, Hilarion.
Albrecht declares his love for Giselle, and the village erupts
in celebration and dancing. Giselle's mother warns her against
participating as many girls have died following dancing on their
wedding night. But despite her mother, Giselle dances with Albrecht
and later with Princess Bathilde, who gives her a necklace.
Albrecht leaves during the dance; however, when he returns,
Hilarion, desperate for revenge, unsheathes the prince's sword,
thereby revealing Albrecht's true identity. Subsequently, Hillarion
blows Albrecht's horn to call upon the nobles. When they arrive,
Albrecht takes the arm of Princess Bathilde, his betrothed,
and claims that he was only participating in country dances
for amusement and diversion. Giselle, shocked and grieved to
the point of suicide, skewers herself with Albrecht's sword.
In Act II, Giselle becomes a wili, white ghosts of deceased,
jilted girls who dance the woods at night. At midnight, Hilarion
visits Giselle's grave and mourns her death. Queen Myrtha, leader
of the wilis, discovers Hilarion wandering in the woods. Meanwhile
Albrecht appears, with lilies for Giselle's grave. He spots
her ghost hovering above and follows her into the forest. Queen
Myrtha orders the wilis to dance the two intruders to death,
but Albrecht is protected by Giselle, whom he still loves. Giselle
pleads for mercy to Queen Myrtha, who denies it, yet Giselle
is able to sustain Albrecht until dawn. The wilis retreat from
the woods at the first sign of light, and Albrecht is forgiven
by Giselle and survives to live another day.
Evidently, Giselle
is the epitome of Romantic ballet. Another landmark credited
to Giselle is in Petipa's production, where the ballet-blanc,
corps of dancers in white, were introduced.
Coppélia
On May 25, 1870, the last
Romantic ballet premiered at the Paris Opera House. Coppélia
(1870) was produced before the siege of France and the Paris
Opera's subsequent closure due to the Franco-Prussian war. Choreographed
by Arthur Saint-Leon and with music by Léo Delibes, the
ballet integrated nationalism, comedy and folk dance to tell
a light-hearted story of an old Polish inventor, Coppélius,
who tries to give life to a mechanical doll he calls Coppélia.
One day, Coppélius
puts his creation out on the balcony for the public to admire.
Everyone believes Coppélia is the inventor's daughter,
and that she is a real person, including Swanhilda and her lover
Franz, who falls in love with Coppélia. Suddenly the
whole village erupts in celebration and dancing, until the Burgomeister
enters with an announcement of a celebration christened the
"Masque of the Bell" in honor of the new bell for
the town clock. He also adds that any couples married then will
receive a bag of gold from the Duke. Swanhilda, wondering if
Franz really loves her, shakes a sheaf of wheat. No sound comes
from the wheat and Swanhilda concludes that Franz "loves
her not." Not soon after she breaks her engagement to Franz.
Meanwhile, Coppélius is harassed by the village boys
and unwittingly drops his key. Swanhilda finds it and breaks
into the inventor's house, intent on knowing who and what Coppélia
is. They soon find out that she is only a doll. Coppélius
enters to find the intruders. All of them exit quickly except
for Swanhilda, who hides behind a curtain and switches clothes
with Coppélia. Franz arrives and declares his love for
Coppélia. The inventor feigns friendship and slips him
a sleeping potion, intending to use Franz's spirit to make Coppélia
alive through a magic spell. When Coppélius begins the
magic spell, Swanhilda dances wildly and wreaks havoc in the
inventor's house. She flees with Franz, and it is not long until
Coppélius finds his inanimate Coppélia behind
the curtain. The next day, the Masque of the Bell takes place
and the newlywedded, including Franz and Swanhilda, are each
given a bag of gold. Coppélius interrupts the celebration,
furious with Swanhilda's recklessness and his broken dolls.
To quiet him, the Duke gives him a bag of gold as well. The
ballet ends in joy with "The Dance of the Hours,"
in which the various hours of the day are enacted, and the declaration
of love between Swanhilda and Franz.
Sources:
P., Tom W. The Dance Page.
10 Nov 1999. <http://www.panix.com/~twp/>
Footnotes- The Classics of Ballet.
Sound Venture Productions Ottawa Limited. 1999
<http://www.soundventure.com/web/footnotes/index.html>
Historical Ballet Notes.
BalletMet Colombus. 2001. <http://www.balletmet.org/balletnotes.html>
Coppelia. Alexandra
Ballet. 2001. <http://www.alexandraballet.org/coppelia.htm>
