''La Forêt enchantée'' ( en. ''The Enchanted Forest'') ( ru. «Очарованный лес», ''Ocharovanyi les'') is a ''ballet fantastique'' in one act, originally choreographed by

Lev Ivanov Lev Ivanovich Ivanov (; 2 March 1834, Moscow – 24 December 1901, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer and later, Second Balletmaster of the Mariinsky Ballet, Imperial Ballet. As a performer with the Mariinsky Ballet, ...

to the music of

Riccardo Drigo Riccardo Eugenio Drigo (; 30 June 1846 – 1 October 1930) was an Italian composer of ballet music and Italian opera, a theatrical Conducting, conductor, and a pianist. Drigo is most noted for his long career as kapellmeister and Director of Mu ...

, first presented by students of the Imperial Ballet School in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, at the school's theatre on .

History

''La Forêt enchantée'' was originally produced for the Imperial Ballet School's annual graduation performances. The ballet was Lev Ivanov's first original work after having recently been appointed second ''maître de ballet'' to the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres. The ballet was also the composer and conductor Riccardo Drigo's first complete score for a full-length ballet. ''La Forêt enchantée'' was soon transferred to the repertory of the Imperial Ballet. The first performance was given on at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre on a bill with Jules Perrot's ballet '' La naïade et le pêcheur''. Riccardo Drigo's score was received positively. The critic for the newspaper ''The New Time'' reviewed that ''" ... the music of this ballet is outstanding in a symphonic sense, reveals an experienced composer, a man with taste, and an excellent orchestrator. There are beautiful melodies in it, the rhythms are not overdone, and everything is listened to with pleasure from beginning to end."'' The score was eventually published in 1909 in

piano reduction In music, a reduction is an arrangement or transcription of an existing score or composition in which complexity is lessened to make analysis, performance, or practice easier or clearer; the number of parts may be reduced or rhythm may be ...

and orchestral partition by the music publisher Zimmerman. ''La Forêt enchantée'' was chosen by the director of the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres Ivan Vsevolozhsky to be revived by

Marius Petipa Marius Ivanovich Petipa (; born Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa; 11 March 1818) was a French and Russian ballet dancer, pedagogue and choreographer. He is considered one of the most influential ballet masters and choreographers in ballet history ...

for performances attended by the Imperial Russian court at Peterhof on . After the performance of the Peterhof revival, the ballet was performed with regularity on the stage of the Mariinsky Theatre, becoming a favorite of many ballerinas at the turn-of-the 20th century. ''La Forêt enchantée'' was performed for the last time during the Imperial Ballet's summer season at Krasnoe Selo on .

Synopsis

In an old forest in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, Ilka walks with her friends. Suddenly they are taken unawares by a storm. In the confusion Ilka is separated from her friends and cannot find her way out of the forest. As the storm rages on, she becomes frightened and falls faint. She is then discovered by dryads and other forest creatures who take delight in her beauty, but they frighten her upon awakening. The Genie of the Forest enters and soon falls in love with Ilka. With the aid of the forest creatures, the Genie begs Ilka to become his queen. Upon learning that she has a human fiancé, the Genie threatens her and she falls faint again. Mortals are now approaching and the forest creatures withdraw. Peasants find Ilka. Among them is Josy, her intended, to whom she recounts her experiences with the Genie of the Forest. The ballet ends with rejoicing and dances.

Résumé of scenes and dances

Taken from the published piano score of 1909 and Riccardo Drigo's memoirs. Enchanted Forest -Ilka -Maria Anderson -1892

Ballet fantastique in one act *№ 01 ''Danse des Dryads'' *№ 02 ''Danse scènique'' *№ 03 ''Danse des petits Génies'' *№ 04 ''Pas d'action'' *№ 05 ''Variation de la Première danseuse'' *№ 06 ''Coda-valse'' *№ 07 ''Csárdás''

Footnotes

External links

''Grand pas des Éventails'' from the Bolshoi Ballet's production of ''Le Corsaire'', set to music from Drigo's score for ''La Forêt enchantée''
{{DEFAULTSORT:The Enchanted Forest (ballet) Ballets by Lev Ivanov Ballets by Riccardo Drigo 1880s ballets 1887 works