Today the ballet world celebrates 204 years since the birth of Marius Petipa
28 Feb 2022Sofia Opera and Ballet

Today the ballet world celebrates 204 years since the birth of Marius Petipa

Today, in 1818, one of the greatest ballet choreographers of all time, Marius Petipa, was born in Marseilles. He is the author of over 50 ballets, some of which are preserved and performed with their authentic choreography till now. His ballet classics are "Swan Lake", "The Sleeping Beauty", "The Nutcracker", "La Bayadère", "Giselle", "The Pharaoh's Daughter", "Le Corsaire", "Raymonda" and many others.

It was Petipa who brought romantic ballet back into the bosom of Classicism. The standards of Romanticism "La Sylphide" and "Giselle" would probably have been lost forever, if the great ballet master had not realized these productions. In 1884, after "Giselle" had ceased to exist in Western Europe, the ballet reappeared with Marius Petipa’s choreography. Eight years later, "La Sylphide" was staged in St. Petersburg, again to the music of Løvenskiold, and so this ballet is preserved to this day.

On 11 and 13 March, the Sofia Opera and Ballet presents the ballet "Don Quixote" and invites you to immerse yourself in a bright and colorful atmosphere from the time of Renaissance Spain.

We are expecting you!