Australia Dancing

Raymonda

Stringer, Walter: Margot Fonteyn and Garth Welch with artists of the Australian Ballet in 'Raymonda', 1971

Raymonda, the last of Marius Petipa's three-act works remaining in today's classical repertoire, premiered in St Petersburg in 1898. Alexander Glazunov's fine score and Petipa's choreography are often credited with ensuring the success of the work despite a weak and convoluted libretto devised by society columnist Lydia Pashkova in collaboration with Petipa. The story, a medieval tale set in Hungary during the crusades, tells of the battle between a Christian knight and a Saracen warrior to win the heart of the noble maiden Raymonda. In effect this scenario serves as a pretext for some renowned bravura dance sequences, originally displaying the technical brilliance of ballerina Pierina Legnani. The role of Jean de Brienne, the victorious Christian, was created on Sergei Legat, with Pavel Gerdt in the originally mimed role of Abderakhman.

Raymonda has remained in the Kirov repertoire, with numerous revisions over the years. Divertissements from the work were included in Diaghilev's first Paris season in 1909, and a two-act version was presented by the Pavlova company in 1914. Other notable productions include a shortened version staged by George Balanchine and Alexandra Danilova for the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in 1946.

The Australian public got its first taste of Raymonda in 1934, when divertissements were performed by Olga Spessivtzeva and Anatole Vilzak during the tour by the Dandre-Levitoff Russian Ballet. Pavil Petroff's four-scened version of the work for this company followed, receiving its Australian premiere on November 17, 1934.

In 1964, Rudolph Nureyev was commissioned by the touring company of the Royal Ballet to reconstruct Raymonda. His production, which simplified the libretto, was restaged for the Australian Ballet during its tour to the United Kingdom in 1965. Nureyev continued to restage the work over the years, for the Zurich Ballet in 1972, American Ballet Theatre in 1975, and the Paris Opera Ballet in 1983.

Nureyev's landmark production for the Australian Ballet opened in Birmingham in November 1965, with Margot Fonteyn as Raymonda, Nureyev as Jean de Brienne and Bryan Lawrence as Abderakhman. Design was by Ralph Koltai with costumes by Nadine Baylis. The production was included in the company's following European tour and was first seen in Australia in excerpts presented at a 'welcome home' performance at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl on March 7, 1966. The Australian premiere took place on March 25, with Marilyn Jones in the title role, Garth Welch as Jean and Bryan Lawrence performing his original role as Abderakhman. Nureyev's Raymonda has remained an important feature of the repertoire, with Act III included in the company's tour to the United States in 1970/71, and a revival of the full length work in 1971 with Fonteyn partnered by Garth Welch. Anne Woolliams staged a revival of Act III in 1977, and in 1980 Marilyn Jones reproduced Nureyev's full length version for the company.

Raymonda has also featured in the repertoire of other Australian companies. Ballet Victoria performed an abridged version in 1974, a version was included in the Tasmanian Ballet's repertoire in 1974, and the West Australian Ballet has presented the grand pas de deux from Act III.

In 2006, resident choreographer Stephen Baynes created a new version of Raymonda for the Australian Ballet. Baynes' Raymonda is set in the 1950s, with the original libretto loosely referenced through the central theme of a love triangle. Bringing to mind several twentieth-century celebrity scenarios, a glamorous Hollywood film star gives up her career to marry a European prince. The original Glazunov score is used with some cuts, with sequences from The Seasons, another Glazunov ballet score, inserted. Costumes are by Anna French, with set design by Richard Roberts. This production premiered on September 19, 2006, in Melbourne. On opening night, Kirsty Martin danced as Raymonda, Damien Welch as Adam Drake, and Steven Heathcote as the European Prince.

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Find more about Raymonda in:

Internet - Google
Articles - New York Public Library Dance Collection
Pictures - Picture Australia