Le Diable amoureux (ballet)

"Le Diable Amoureux" (aka "Satanella", or "Love and Hell") is a "Pantomime ballet" in 3 acts, 7 scenes. Originally staged by Joseph Mazilier to the music of Napoléon Henri Reber and François Benoist. Libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges, based on the 1772 occult romance by Jacques Cazotte.

First presented by the Ballet du Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique in Paris, France on September 21, 1840. Pauline Leroux (as the Satanella), Mazilier (as Alvaro).

Revivals/Restagings

*Revival by Marius Petipa and Jean Petipa for the Imperial Ballet under the title "Satanella", with music orchestrated and revised by Konstantin Liadov. First presented on OldStyleDate|22 February|1848|10 February at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire. Principal Dancers - Mariia Surovshchikova-Petipa as Satanella, and Marius Petipa as Count Fabio.

*Revival by Marius Petipa for the Imperial Ballet with additional music by Cesare Pugni. First presented on OldStyleDate|30 October|1866|18 October at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire. Principal Dancers - Praskovia Lebedeva as Satanella, and Lev Ivanov.

*Revival by Marius Petipa for the Imperial Ballet with additional music by Cesare Pugni. First presented on OldStyleDate|7 May|1868|25 April at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire. Principal Dancers - Alexandra Vergina as Satanella, and Lev Ivanov as Count Fabio.

*Revival by Marius Petipa for the Imperial Ballet. First presented on OldStyleDate|18 February|1897|6 February at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire. Principal Dancers - Lyubov Roslavleva.

"Le Carnaval de Venise": The "Satanella pas de deux"

In 1859, Marius Petipa created a new concert "pas de deux" for the benefit performance of Amalia Ferraris, for which he partnered the ballerina. Petipa choreographed the "pas de deux" to new music arranged by Cesare Pugni from an air taken from Nicolò Paganini's piece for violin known as "Carnevale di Venezia (Op.10)". The "pas de deux" was titled as "Le Carnaval de Venise".

When Petipa revived "Satanella" for Alexandra Vergina in 1868, "Le Carnaval de Venise" into the the third act of the ballet, where it was retained for many years.

The "Le Carnaval de Venise" lived on long after the full-length "Satanella" left the Imperial Ballet's repertory. Today the "pas de deux" is a staple of the classical ballet repertory and the ballet competition circuit. The celebrated documentary hosted by Princess Grace of Monaco "The Children of Theatre Street" (which profiled students attending the Vaganova Choreographic Institute) featured the "pas de deux" prominently.

In Russia this "pas de deux" is known as either the "The Fascination Pas de Deux from Satanella", or "The Carnival in Venice Pas de Deux", or "Venetian Carnival Pas de Deux". In the west it is known simply as "The Satanella Pas de Deux". The multiple titles of the piece derives from its origins in the ballet "Satanella", as "Le Diable Amoureux" was known in Russia, and from the fact that the music for the "pas de deux" had its basis in Paganini's composition for violin "Carnevale di Venezia (Op.10)".

Video

* [http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=9P7p4CwqTOA "Le Carnaval de Venise" performed by Eugenia Obraztsova and Anton Korsakov of the Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet, pt. 1]
* [http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=S-Lxr4wReRU&feature=related "Le Carnaval de Venise" performed by Eugenia Obraztsova and Anton Korsakov of the Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet, pt. 2]

ources

*Cohen, Selma Jeanne. "In Search of Satanella: An Adventure Prompted by "The Children of Theatre Street". Published in "Dance Research Journal", Vol. 11, No. 1/2 (1978 - 1979), pp. 25-30.

* Garafola, Lynn / Petipa, Marius. "The Diaries of Marius Petipa". Trans, Ed., and introduction by Lynn Garafola. Published in "Studies in Dance History." 3.1 (Spring 1992).