La Esmeralda is a three act ballet based upon Victor Hugo’s Notre Dame de Paris. Originally choreographed by Jules Perrot, the ballet premiered in London in 1844, with Carlotta Grisi in the title role. The Russian premiere, with new choreography by Marius Petipa, was in St. Petersburg in 1886. The story is of the hopeless love of the deaf and hunchback Quasimodo for the gypsy girl Esmeralda. The great Russian ballerina, Alexandra Danilova, wrote in her memoirs : “…Esmeralda was in love with a very handsome officer who was romancing her while he was betrothed to another woman – the usual story- and, of course, he wouldn’t marry her. She was burned at the stake. Very tragic.” In this scene during the second act of the ballet, the heartbroken Esmeralda laments the two-timing officer while being consoled by her friend, Pierre Grengoire, and her fellow gypsies.
- Music by:
Cesare Pugni - Choreography after:
Marius Petipa - Costumes by:
David Tetrault - Lighting by:
Kip Marsh - Decor by:
Kip Marsh - Staged by:
Elena Kunikova