Russian Ballet Master: The Memoirs of Marius Petipa

by Marius Petipa, Helen Whitaker (Translator), Lillian Moore (Editor)

These highly entertaining memoirs of Marius Petipa, the great Franco-Russian choreogapher had never before been translated into English before their first publication in 1958. As virtual dictator of the Russian ballet in the second half of the 19th century, Petipa moulded its course for many years and may have been said to have created the style of classical dancing still known as Russian. His renown is undisputed, and his work lives not only in the pages of dance history but in the ballet repertoire of most Companies today. Petipa's memoirs reveal many inter-esting details of his career and of the people he worked with, including Tchaikovsky and the young Pavlova, and give an insight into his character and genius that it is not possible to gain from any other source. Written towards the end of his long life, in a mood of disillusion, when his work was neglected and in decline, he would have been delighted to know that his great ballets such as Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and La Bayadere are more popular today than ever before.

Genres: Nonfiction

146 pages, Paperback

First published June 22, 2009

Reviews

[Nora Blue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Edited by Lillian Moore, who provides the corrections and context for Petipa's explanations of injuries that occurred in the last years of his life. Petipa is one of giants of ballet history. His opponents are barely remembered.

[por.un libro Mónica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un libro que contiene información histórica importante respecto al coreógrafo y el contexto de aquella época.
Sin embargo, no profundiza en cuestiones importantes respecto a sus ballets más grandes.