La Bayadère is an 1877 ballet, originally staged in four acts and seven tableaux by the French choreographer Marius Petipa to music by Ludwig Minkus and libretto by Sergei Khudekov. The ballet was staged for the benefit performance of the Russian Prima ballerina Ekaterina Vazem, who created the principal role of Nikiya. La Bayadère was first presented by the Imperial Ballet at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, on 4 February [O.S. 23 January] 1877. From the first performance the ballet was hailed by contemporary critics and audiences as one of the choreographer Petipa's masterpieces, particularly the scene of act II The Kingdom of the Shades, which is one of the most celebrated pieces in all of classical ballet.
Marius Petipa's final revival of La Bayadère, with the stage of the Mariinsky Theatre shown in the scene The Kingdom of the Shades. In the center is Mathilde Kschessinskaya as Nikiya and Pavel Gerdt as Solor. The three soloist shades are seen kneeling to the left: Varvara Rhykhliakova, Anna Pavlova, and Julia Sedova. St. Petersburg, 1900.
Ekaterina Vazem costumed as Nikya for Act I of La Bayadère. St. Petersburg, 1877.
Lev Ivanov costumed as Solor for Act I of La Bayadère. St. Petersburg, 1877.
Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn in the scene The Kingdom of the Shades as staged for the Royal Ballet, London, 1963.
Marius Ivanovich Petipa, born Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa, was a French and Russian ballet dancer, pedagogue and choreographer. Petipa is one of the most influential ballet masters and choreographers in ballet history.
Maestro Marius Ivanovich Petipa, premier maître de ballet of the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres. St. Petersburg, 1887.
Portrait of Marius Petipa around the time of his arrival in Russia. St. Petersburg, c. 1855.
The stage of the Mariinsky Theatre with cast in act I of Petipa's final revival of The Pharaoh's Daughter, St. Petersburg, 1898. In the center is Mathilde Kschessinskaya as the Princess Aspicia (right), and Anna Johannson as the slave Ramzé (left).
The stage of the Mariinsky Theatre with the cast of act I/scene 1 of the original production of Petipa's Raymonda. In the center is Pierina Legnani, creator of the title role. On the right of the stage is (right to left) Claudia Kulichevskaya as Clémence, Olga Preobrajenska Henriette, Pavel Gerdt as Abderakhman, and Nikolai Legat as Béranger. St. Petersburg, 1898.
