WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.560 Okay, let's unpack this. We are diving deep today 00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:07.139 into one of the most, well, outlandish, bizarre, 00:00:07.259 --> 00:00:10.320 and yet utterly foundational pieces of classical 00:00:10.320 --> 00:00:12.619 ballet history. It really is. If you thought 00:00:12.619 --> 00:00:14.460 the narrative structures of Swan Lake or maybe 00:00:14.460 --> 00:00:16.600 Giselle were complex, You should just prepare 00:00:16.600 --> 00:00:19.660 yourself for a four hour opium fueled time traveling 00:00:19.660 --> 00:00:21.960 spectacle. All set in ancient Egypt, of course. 00:00:22.059 --> 00:00:24.800 Of course. We're talking about Marius Petipa's 00:00:24.800 --> 00:00:28.320 1862 Grand Ballet, The Pharaoh's Daughter. It's 00:00:28.320 --> 00:00:32.960 just the ultimate fusion of 19th century European 00:00:32.960 --> 00:00:35.939 exoticism, this kind of archaeological fever 00:00:35.939 --> 00:00:38.799 that was gripping everyone and critically a fantasy 00:00:38.799 --> 00:00:42.000 that is literally enabled by psychotropic drugs. 00:00:42.399 --> 00:00:44.560 Right. And the titles alone sort of hint at the 00:00:44.560 --> 00:00:46.390 scale we're talking about. They do. You have 00:00:46.390 --> 00:00:48.909 Doc Farona in Russian or La Fille de Ferrand 00:00:48.909 --> 00:00:50.750 in French. This thing was absolutely monumental. 00:00:51.009 --> 00:00:54.149 It was Petipa's very first full -scale multi 00:00:54.149 --> 00:00:56.969 -act grand ballet staged for the legendary St. 00:00:57.030 --> 00:00:59.189 Petersburg Imperial Theaters. And when you say 00:00:59.189 --> 00:01:01.329 monumental, you really, really mean it. Oh, absolutely. 00:01:01.490 --> 00:01:04.109 We mean it. I mean, just the sheer scale is almost 00:01:04.109 --> 00:01:07.510 unimaginable by today's standards. Our sources 00:01:07.510 --> 00:01:10.959 lay out this. truly bizarre setup right from 00:01:10.959 --> 00:01:13.200 the very beginning. The story is anchored in 00:01:13.200 --> 00:01:16.439 19th century reality. You've got an English nobleman, 00:01:16.459 --> 00:01:19.620 Lord Wilson, and his entourage, and they're sheltering 00:01:19.620 --> 00:01:21.640 in a pyramid. Right. But the central action, 00:01:21.680 --> 00:01:24.060 the whole four -act spectacle of ancient Egyptian 00:01:24.060 --> 00:01:28.599 love and drama, that's all a fantasy. It's triggered 00:01:28.599 --> 00:01:31.480 by the nobleman consuming opium. Yeah. It's not 00:01:31.480 --> 00:01:33.519 just some simple dream sequence. It's the fundamental 00:01:33.519 --> 00:01:36.319 engine of the whole narrative that just transports 00:01:36.319 --> 00:01:38.760 the audience across millennia. Exactly. And this 00:01:38.760 --> 00:01:41.060 production wasn't just big. It was, well, it 00:01:41.060 --> 00:01:42.879 was maximalist. We're looking at a four -hour 00:01:42.879 --> 00:01:45.459 runtime. Four hours. Four hours. It required 00:01:45.459 --> 00:01:48.359 an immense number of resources. The staging used 00:01:48.359 --> 00:01:51.439 every single style and technique available to 00:01:51.439 --> 00:01:53.599 the imperial ballet at the time. It required 00:01:53.599 --> 00:01:56.500 something like 400 people on stage at once. 400. 00:01:56.620 --> 00:01:58.920 This was choreography, a grand spectacle, which 00:01:58.920 --> 00:02:01.060 is a term they used to describe this specific 00:02:01.060 --> 00:02:04.000 genre of ballet that sort of mirrored the immense, 00:02:04.239 --> 00:02:06.319 really over -the -top productions you'd see in 00:02:06.319 --> 00:02:11.530 grand opera. about strong, dramatic contrasts, 00:02:11.530 --> 00:02:14.129 colossal sets. In these immense casts, yeah. 00:02:14.310 --> 00:02:17.349 That context is so vital. We have to remember, 00:02:17.430 --> 00:02:20.110 this ballet was created to just overwhelm your 00:02:20.110 --> 00:02:21.909 senses. And the creative team was absolutely 00:02:21.909 --> 00:02:25.289 top tier for the era. The score, which is so 00:02:25.289 --> 00:02:28.229 lush and dramatic, was by Chasseur Pugny. He 00:02:28.229 --> 00:02:30.169 was one of the most prolific ballet composers 00:02:30.169 --> 00:02:33.229 of his day. And the libretto. So the script and 00:02:33.229 --> 00:02:36.090 the storyline for the ballet, that was a collaboration 00:02:36.090 --> 00:02:38.550 between Jules -Henri Vernoy de Saint -Georges 00:02:38.550 --> 00:02:41.349 and Petitpas himself. But they didn't just invent 00:02:41.349 --> 00:02:43.210 the story out of thin air. They based it on the 00:02:43.210 --> 00:02:46.449 popular literary exoticism of the time, specifically 00:02:46.449 --> 00:02:49.289 a novel by Théophile Gautier called Le Roman 00:02:49.289 --> 00:02:51.169 de la Mute. The Romance of the Mummy. Exactly. 00:02:51.189 --> 00:02:53.009 And that book had already captured the European 00:02:53.009 --> 00:02:55.219 imagination. with its blend of, you know, historical 00:02:55.219 --> 00:02:57.900 detail and very high romance. The premier details 00:02:57.900 --> 00:03:00.520 really emphasize how important this work was 00:03:00.520 --> 00:03:03.199 to the St. Petersburg cultural calendar. It took 00:03:03.199 --> 00:03:06.979 place January 30th, 1862 at the Imperial Bolshoi 00:03:06.979 --> 00:03:09.759 Kemeny Theater. And the Imperial Theater spared 00:03:09.759 --> 00:03:12.780 no expense. I mean, the designers A. Roller and 00:03:12.780 --> 00:03:15.460 G. Wagner for scenery, Kelhor and Stolikov for 00:03:15.460 --> 00:03:18.560 costumes. Their job was to create this massive, 00:03:18.639 --> 00:03:21.599 detailed, ancient world that would just engulf 00:03:21.599 --> 00:03:24.259 the audience for four hours straight. And the 00:03:24.259 --> 00:03:26.340 original cast list is basically a historical 00:03:26.340 --> 00:03:29.699 marker in itself. Oh, for sure. It featured Marius 00:03:29.699 --> 00:03:32.280 Petipa himself. He was dancing the principal 00:03:32.280 --> 00:03:35.539 male role of Lord Wilson, who, once he's transported 00:03:35.539 --> 00:03:38.620 back in time, transforms into this ancient Egyptian 00:03:38.620 --> 00:03:41.639 man, Tahor. And opposite him. Opposite him was 00:03:41.639 --> 00:03:44.479 the legendary Italian ballerina Carolina Rosati. 00:03:44.639 --> 00:03:47.280 She performed the incredibly demanding role of 00:03:47.280 --> 00:03:49.560 the mummy who becomes a species. And the supporting 00:03:49.560 --> 00:03:52.000 cast is just a who's who of the imperial ballet 00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:54.240 system at the time. You have Nicholas Goltz as 00:03:54.240 --> 00:03:56.340 the pharaoh. Timothée de Colquhoun played this 00:03:56.340 --> 00:03:59.560 very specific, very British supporting role of 00:03:59.560 --> 00:04:01.810 the servant. John Bull. John Bull, the national 00:04:01.810 --> 00:04:04.669 caricature. Exactly. And Luba Verdina was Ramziah. 00:04:04.969 --> 00:04:07.129 Even Felix Straczynski, who was the father of 00:04:07.129 --> 00:04:09.490 the very famous ballerina Matilda Straczynski, 00:04:09.629 --> 00:04:12.210 he was in the original cast as the vengeful king 00:04:12.210 --> 00:04:14.740 of Nubia. What's so fascinating here is that 00:04:14.740 --> 00:04:17.660 even with this fantastical, I mean, almost ridiculous 00:04:17.660 --> 00:04:20.579 premise, you have the English Lord, the comic 00:04:20.579 --> 00:04:23.980 servant, the guide, the opium, the premiere was 00:04:23.980 --> 00:04:26.220 recorded as an enormous success. And not just 00:04:26.220 --> 00:04:29.100 successful. No, it immediately became the most 00:04:29.100 --> 00:04:31.300 popular work in the entire repertoire of the 00:04:31.300 --> 00:04:34.579 Imperial Ballet. It sustained dozens of revivals 00:04:34.579 --> 00:04:37.579 over the next 50 years. So this really brings 00:04:37.579 --> 00:04:40.579 us to our core mission for today. What does this 00:04:40.579 --> 00:04:43.129 all mean? How does such an unusual, sprawling, 00:04:43.129 --> 00:04:46.269 and frankly structurally chaotic premise become 00:04:46.269 --> 00:04:48.810 the defining spectacle of early Russian classical 00:04:48.810 --> 00:04:51.829 ballet? It's just a profound testament to Petipa's 00:04:51.829 --> 00:04:54.810 genius, his ability to take that literary exoticism 00:04:54.810 --> 00:04:57.089 of the moment and transform it into this massive, 00:04:57.149 --> 00:04:59.490 structurally innovative choreographic machine 00:04:59.490 --> 00:05:01.790 that would define the shape of classical ballet 00:05:01.790 --> 00:05:03.810 we still see today. And to really understand 00:05:03.810 --> 00:05:05.910 the foundation of that machine, we absolutely 00:05:05.910 --> 00:05:08.029 have to dive into the plot details themselves. 00:05:08.370 --> 00:05:10.550 Yes, because the specifics of the fantasy are... 00:05:10.569 --> 00:05:12.949 just vital. OK, let's jump right into the narrative 00:05:12.949 --> 00:05:15.149 then, because the details are, well, they're 00:05:15.149 --> 00:05:17.889 spectacular. They're full of high drama and they're 00:05:17.889 --> 00:05:21.430 absolutely essential for understanding why this 00:05:21.430 --> 00:05:24.370 work, despite its outlandish structure, just 00:05:24.370 --> 00:05:27.709 endured. The sources give us a wonderful walkthrough 00:05:27.709 --> 00:05:30.449 starting right in the 19th century. Right. The 00:05:30.449 --> 00:05:33.259 scene opens on an African safari. Lord Wilson, 00:05:33.459 --> 00:05:36.240 our English nobleman, his servant John Bole, 00:05:36.300 --> 00:05:39.500 and their guide are all looking for refuge from 00:05:39.500 --> 00:05:42.899 this massive, violent sandstorm, a simum. They're 00:05:42.899 --> 00:05:45.139 basically tourists sheltering from the elements 00:05:45.139 --> 00:05:47.740 inside a newly discovered Egyptian pyramid. And 00:05:47.740 --> 00:05:49.779 right here is where we get the first hint of 00:05:49.779 --> 00:05:51.920 the dramatic tension. They start making noise 00:05:51.920 --> 00:05:54.519 inside this ancient tomb, and the guide immediately 00:05:54.519 --> 00:05:56.959 tells them to be quiet. Out of respect. Out of 00:05:56.959 --> 00:05:59.259 respect for the pyramid's occupant. The gnomon 00:05:59.259 --> 00:06:01.740 is told that Asbija, who is the pharaoh's daughter, 00:06:01.920 --> 00:06:04.480 is lying somewhere in a coffin right inside that 00:06:04.480 --> 00:06:06.720 pyramid. The dead are always present in this 00:06:06.720 --> 00:06:09.399 kind of Egyptian romance. And to pass the long 00:06:09.399 --> 00:06:11.079 hours while they're waiting for the storm to 00:06:11.079 --> 00:06:13.959 die down, the guide makes this fateful offer. 00:06:14.060 --> 00:06:16.420 He gives Lord Wilson some opium. And this isn't 00:06:16.420 --> 00:06:18.500 just a casual detail, is it? It's the definitive 00:06:18.500 --> 00:06:20.959 catalyst for everything that happens next. Absolutely. 00:06:21.079 --> 00:06:24.040 Once the nobleman takes the opium, the supernatural 00:06:24.040 --> 00:06:27.220 transition begins with this instantaneous, almost 00:06:27.220 --> 00:06:30.639 hallucinogenic speed. The mummies that are littered 00:06:30.639 --> 00:06:32.819 around the pyramid's chambers start to stir. 00:06:32.939 --> 00:06:35.500 They come alive. And then Asbisha, the pharaoh's 00:06:35.500 --> 00:06:38.120 daughter, dramatically rises from her coffin, 00:06:38.180 --> 00:06:40.860 which is right there, center stage. This is the 00:06:40.860 --> 00:06:43.399 critical moment of transformation. Aspicia lays 00:06:43.399 --> 00:06:46.579 her hand over Lord Wilson's heart, which establishes 00:06:46.579 --> 00:06:49.920 this link across time. And Lord Wilson, the English 00:06:49.920 --> 00:06:52.180 traveler, instantly dissolves into the ancient 00:06:52.180 --> 00:06:55.199 Egyptian man, Tahor. So he hasn't just dreamed 00:06:55.199 --> 00:06:58.639 a past life. He is literally living a past life, 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:01.500 and it's all enabled by this substance. Exactly. 00:07:01.500 --> 00:07:04.100 And now we are firmly in ancient Egypt, and the 00:07:04.100 --> 00:07:07.519 adventure begins immediately. Right away. Tahor, 00:07:07.699 --> 00:07:10.939 the nobleman's ancient alter ego, is introduced 00:07:10.939 --> 00:07:14.519 as a hero. He saves Aspicia from a lion, which 00:07:14.519 --> 00:07:16.860 must have been a piece of pure, thrilling stage 00:07:16.860 --> 00:07:20.240 spectacle. Oh, I can only imagine. And, naturally, 00:07:20.399 --> 00:07:22.680 they fall passionately in love. This is where 00:07:22.680 --> 00:07:24.620 the central romantic conflict is established, 00:07:24.920 --> 00:07:26.839 and it has to be strong enough to sustain a four 00:07:26.839 --> 00:07:29.279 -hour production. So, of course, there's a problem. 00:07:29.420 --> 00:07:32.100 There's always a problem. Aspicia, the title 00:07:32.100 --> 00:07:34.319 character, is already promised in marriage to 00:07:34.319 --> 00:07:37.060 the formidable king of Nubia. This sets up the 00:07:37.060 --> 00:07:39.439 classic love triangle in the central chase that 00:07:39.439 --> 00:07:42.160 fills up so much of the middle acts. Tahor and 00:07:42.160 --> 00:07:45.139 Asbisha, they flee the palace. And they are pursued 00:07:45.139 --> 00:07:48.860 relentlessly by the enraged Nubian king and his 00:07:48.860 --> 00:07:51.860 guards. They try to seek refuge and hide out 00:07:51.860 --> 00:07:54.339 in the secluded fisherman's inn near the Nile, 00:07:54.360 --> 00:07:57.000 just to rest and try to evade their pursuers. 00:07:57.199 --> 00:07:59.759 And tragedy almost strikes right here. Tahor 00:07:59.759 --> 00:08:01.920 goes out with the local fisherman on a trip, 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:04.420 and he leaves Asbisha behind at the inn, thinking 00:08:04.420 --> 00:08:07.000 she's safe. A very bad move, as it turns out. 00:08:07.360 --> 00:08:09.459 The Nubian king and his men, they eventually 00:08:09.459 --> 00:08:11.939 stop at the very same inn for a rest. And, of 00:08:11.939 --> 00:08:13.519 course, they immediately discover the hiding 00:08:13.519 --> 00:08:16.600 princess. So, faced with capture and this forced 00:08:16.600 --> 00:08:20.480 marriage, Aspicia makes the most dramatic theatrical 00:08:20.480 --> 00:08:22.819 decision imaginable. She doesn't just surrender. 00:08:23.019 --> 00:08:26.810 No. Rather than be taken, she dashes out and 00:08:26.810 --> 00:08:29.709 throws herself into the swirling legendary waters 00:08:29.709 --> 00:08:32.570 of the Nile River. She jumps into the Nile. Right 00:08:32.570 --> 00:08:34.590 into the Nile, just to escape the king's guards. 00:08:34.789 --> 00:08:38.190 And this move, this act of desperation, allows 00:08:38.190 --> 00:08:41.600 for the next massive... choreographic set piece. 00:08:41.820 --> 00:08:44.440 And this is where Petipa just indulges in pure 00:08:44.440 --> 00:08:47.919 choreographic fantasy. This is the famous Kingdom 00:08:47.919 --> 00:08:50.259 of the River sequence. So a species sinks to 00:08:50.259 --> 00:08:52.100 the bottom of the Nile. Where she's met by the 00:08:52.100 --> 00:08:55.039 majestic spirit of the Nile. The visual opportunities 00:08:55.039 --> 00:08:57.740 here for elaborate stagecraft and lighting, which 00:08:57.740 --> 00:09:00.340 were a huge part of this grand spectacle style, 00:09:00.600 --> 00:09:03.100 they must have just been breathtaking. I'm picturing 00:09:03.100 --> 00:09:05.440 it. And the spirit of the Nile is a demanding 00:09:05.440 --> 00:09:08.120 host, I take it. A demanding but generous one. 00:09:08.490 --> 00:09:10.809 He hosts a massive welcome for the princess. 00:09:11.110 --> 00:09:13.929 He summons the great rivers of the world to dance 00:09:13.929 --> 00:09:16.769 for Aspicia. The great rivers of the world. All 00:09:16.769 --> 00:09:18.750 of them, all dressed up in elaborate national 00:09:18.750 --> 00:09:21.029 costumes showcasing different styles of movement. 00:09:21.129 --> 00:09:23.710 The sources specifically mention the rivers ranging 00:09:23.710 --> 00:09:26.590 from, like, the sun -drenched Guadalquivir in 00:09:26.590 --> 00:09:28.929 Spain all the way to the icy Neva in Russia. 00:09:29.169 --> 00:09:31.470 Wait, so there's a dance for a Spanish river 00:09:31.470 --> 00:09:33.769 and a Russian river at the bottom of the Nile 00:09:33.769 --> 00:09:36.779 in Egypt? Exactly. It's a massive... Dazzling 00:09:36.779 --> 00:09:39.519 and utterly illogical dance pageant. It happens 00:09:39.519 --> 00:09:41.860 purely for the purpose of a stunning divertissement. 00:09:42.659 --> 00:09:45.139 So the spirit of the Nile then complicates the 00:09:45.139 --> 00:09:47.740 plot by telling her she has to stay. She's now 00:09:47.740 --> 00:09:49.919 a resident of his magical river kingdom. Right. 00:09:50.019 --> 00:09:53.100 And Aspicia has to beg and ask for one special 00:09:53.100 --> 00:09:56.279 wish, to be brought back to land and return to 00:09:56.279 --> 00:09:58.360 the mortal world so she can rejoin her love, 00:09:58.519 --> 00:10:01.799 Tahor. The romantic imperative has to triumph 00:10:01.799 --> 00:10:04.440 over the supernatural command. And while all 00:10:04.440 --> 00:10:07.059 this underwater drama is happening, Back on land. 00:10:07.100 --> 00:10:09.399 Back on land, Tahor and the fishermen return 00:10:09.399 --> 00:10:12.679 to the inn only to find a species gone. And the 00:10:12.679 --> 00:10:15.200 Nubian king, who is utterly furious that his 00:10:15.200 --> 00:10:18.399 prize has escaped, captures Tahor and drags him 00:10:18.399 --> 00:10:20.559 back to the pharaoh's palace. To face punishment. 00:10:20.860 --> 00:10:23.419 For daring to kidnap the princess and defy the 00:10:23.419 --> 00:10:27.220 royal betrothal. The climax is just pure, unadulterated, 00:10:27.220 --> 00:10:30.169 high drama. It's exactly what the grand spectacle 00:10:30.169 --> 00:10:32.750 demanded, isn't it? Absolutely. Tahor is brought 00:10:32.750 --> 00:10:34.690 before the pharaoh and sentenced to the most 00:10:34.690 --> 00:10:38.090 Egyptian of deaths. A cobra bite. But Aspicia, 00:10:38.289 --> 00:10:40.129 having been released from the river kingdom, 00:10:40.330 --> 00:10:43.450 arrives just in time. She's often brought back 00:10:43.450 --> 00:10:45.529 to the palace by the same fishermen who helped 00:10:45.529 --> 00:10:47.970 them escape earlier. And she walks in just as 00:10:47.970 --> 00:10:50.129 the execution is about to happen. She does. She 00:10:50.129 --> 00:10:52.490 grabs the cobra and threatens to let it bite 00:10:52.490 --> 00:10:55.990 her as well. She declares in this huge dramatic 00:10:55.990 --> 00:11:00.200 high point that if Tahor dies, she dies. Which 00:11:00.200 --> 00:11:03.100 is a move the sources explicitly noted was recognized 00:11:03.100 --> 00:11:06.820 by the audience as a classic gesture since Cleopatra's 00:11:06.820 --> 00:11:09.899 time, referencing the famous suicide by Asp. 00:11:09.919 --> 00:11:11.820 Exactly. The audience would have gotten that 00:11:11.820 --> 00:11:14.179 reference immediately. And this action, this 00:11:14.179 --> 00:11:16.879 immediate and dramatic display of ultimate self 00:11:16.879 --> 00:11:19.919 -sacrifice, finally breaks the pharaoh's resolve. 00:11:20.480 --> 00:11:22.179 The pharaoh pulls his daughter back from the 00:11:22.179 --> 00:11:24.620 cobra, he grants permission for her and Tahor 00:11:24.620 --> 00:11:27.679 to marry, and the enraged Nubian king storms 00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:30.159 off, swearing revenge but ultimately defeated. 00:11:30.460 --> 00:11:32.820 It's the ultimate romantic victory played out 00:11:32.820 --> 00:11:35.279 on the grandest possible scale. And here's the 00:11:35.279 --> 00:11:38.000 genius of the opium catalyst. Everyone starts 00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:40.000 to celebrate the wedding and the happy resolution 00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:43.559 and a grand final divertissement. But just as 00:11:43.559 --> 00:11:46.379 the celebration reaches its peak, the opium dream 00:11:46.379 --> 00:11:50.340 ends. Snap. It's over. Tahor instantly, abruptly 00:11:50.340 --> 00:11:52.779 transforms back into Lord Wilson, the English 00:11:52.779 --> 00:11:55.620 nobleman, still inside the dark, dusty pyramid. 00:11:55.860 --> 00:11:58.559 It's such a neat narrative device. It allows 00:11:58.559 --> 00:12:01.440 the audience to experience this enormous, fantastical 00:12:01.440 --> 00:12:03.639 epic, and then just pulls the rug out from under 00:12:03.639 --> 00:12:05.700 them, reminding them it was all internal. And 00:12:05.700 --> 00:12:07.700 the nobleman is leaving the pyramid with his 00:12:07.700 --> 00:12:10.360 servant John Bull, but he looks back at a specious 00:12:10.360 --> 00:12:12.820 coffin, remembering the love that they shared 00:12:12.820 --> 00:12:15.370 and still share. It leaves you with this enduring 00:12:15.370 --> 00:12:18.490 feeling that the love was real, even if the adventure 00:12:18.490 --> 00:12:21.470 was, well, chemically induced. It connects the 00:12:21.470 --> 00:12:24.450 19th century present to the ancient past through 00:12:24.450 --> 00:12:26.669 the emotional permanence of the experience, which 00:12:26.669 --> 00:12:29.230 is justified by the fantastic nature of the dream 00:12:29.230 --> 00:12:32.289 state. And that emotional core is really what 00:12:32.289 --> 00:12:34.309 sustained the production, despite the chaotic 00:12:34.309 --> 00:12:37.370 structure. The plot? as sprawling and detailed 00:12:37.370 --> 00:12:40.370 as it is, really just served as the vehicle for 00:12:40.370 --> 00:12:42.970 Petipa's real breakthrough. This ballet wasn't 00:12:42.970 --> 00:12:45.250 just a popular hit, it was a career detonator. 00:12:45.330 --> 00:12:47.889 It was a structural milestone for classical ballet. 00:12:48.309 --> 00:12:50.809 Absolutely. We have to understand the institutional 00:12:50.809 --> 00:12:53.169 reality of the imperial theaters at the time. 00:12:53.519 --> 00:12:57.639 The premiere on January 30th, 1862, was recorded 00:12:57.639 --> 00:13:01.240 as an enormous success. Which ensured that the 00:13:01.240 --> 00:13:03.539 pharaoh's daughter immediately secured a permanent 00:13:03.539 --> 00:13:06.440 place right at the very top of the Imperial Ballet's 00:13:06.440 --> 00:13:09.500 repertoire. This immediate, undeniable popular 00:13:09.500 --> 00:13:12.360 success was a critical, life -altering moment 00:13:12.360 --> 00:13:15.179 for Petipa personally. And here is where the 00:13:15.179 --> 00:13:17.480 political and artistic history just merge into 00:13:17.480 --> 00:13:20.559 one career -defining moment. When Petipa staged 00:13:20.559 --> 00:13:23.279 this enormous, successful production, he was 00:13:23.279 --> 00:13:25.279 technically only serving as the assistant ballet 00:13:25.279 --> 00:13:27.379 master. He was the understudy choreographer, 00:13:27.500 --> 00:13:29.080 essentially. Right. He's an assistant to Arthur 00:13:29.080 --> 00:13:31.220 Saint -Léon, who is the premier maître de ballet, 00:13:31.440 --> 00:13:33.620 the chief choreographer of the entire imperial 00:13:33.620 --> 00:13:36.360 system. Petipa was not the top guy yet. No, not 00:13:36.360 --> 00:13:39.059 at all. But the immense popular appeal of The 00:13:39.059 --> 00:13:41.139 Pharaoh's Daughter gave the Imperial Theatre 00:13:41.139 --> 00:13:43.659 Directorate no choice. They had to recognized 00:13:43.659 --> 00:13:46.519 Petipa's genius and his popular command. And 00:13:46.519 --> 00:13:49.100 the success of this one ballet earned him a critical 00:13:49.100 --> 00:13:52.360 promotion. He was awarded the position of second 00:13:52.360 --> 00:13:55.240 maître de ballet. This was a crucial institutional 00:13:55.240 --> 00:13:58.120 step that just cemented his career trajectory. 00:13:58.679 --> 00:14:01.240 He would hold this role until Saint -Leon left 00:14:01.240 --> 00:14:04.850 Russia in 1869. At which point, Petipa assumed 00:14:04.850 --> 00:14:08.129 the top choreographic position. And defined the 00:14:08.129 --> 00:14:10.490 next four decades of ballet history. Exactly. 00:14:10.490 --> 00:14:13.750 So a sprawling four -hour spectacle about an 00:14:13.750 --> 00:14:16.710 opium dream directly translated into political 00:14:16.710 --> 00:14:20.110 leverage in a key institutional position. It's 00:14:20.110 --> 00:14:22.669 a huge professional leap based on pure spectacle 00:14:22.669 --> 00:14:25.519 and undeniable popular appeal. And the success 00:14:25.519 --> 00:14:27.860 wasn't accidental. It was absolutely designed 00:14:27.860 --> 00:14:30.639 for maximum impact. We have to look at the principal 00:14:30.639 --> 00:14:33.340 dancers, because this entire staging was created 00:14:33.340 --> 00:14:36.059 specifically as a benefit performance for the 00:14:36.059 --> 00:14:38.980 Italian ballerina Carolina Rosati. And Rosati 00:14:38.980 --> 00:14:40.980 was a massive international star, wasn't she? 00:14:41.039 --> 00:14:43.159 A huge star. And the benefit performance structure 00:14:43.159 --> 00:14:45.460 meant that the role had to be spectacular, challenging, 00:14:45.600 --> 00:14:47.740 and dramatic enough to draw a huge audience. 00:14:48.019 --> 00:14:50.200 That would maximize her share of the box office 00:14:50.200 --> 00:14:52.639 revenue. Petipa had to design a work that could 00:14:52.639 --> 00:14:54.799 compete with anything else on the European stage. 00:14:55.100 --> 00:14:58.419 And he succeeded by giving Rosati the immensely 00:14:58.419 --> 00:15:01.980 demanding central role of Princess Aspicia. And 00:15:01.980 --> 00:15:04.379 it's also fascinating to remember that Petipa 00:15:04.379 --> 00:15:07.080 himself danced the principal male role, Lord 00:15:07.080 --> 00:15:10.039 Wilson Tower, opposite Rosati in this monumental 00:15:10.039 --> 00:15:12.820 premiere. And the source notes that this specific 00:15:12.820 --> 00:15:15.440 performance, the one that launched his career 00:15:15.440 --> 00:15:18.399 as a maître de ballet, was actually his last 00:15:18.399 --> 00:15:21.080 professional role as a dancer. Think about the 00:15:21.080 --> 00:15:23.759 symbolism of that moment. He finishes his career 00:15:23.759 --> 00:15:26.299 as a performer right there on stage in the very 00:15:26.299 --> 00:15:29.480 work that established his superiority as a choreographer. 00:15:29.720 --> 00:15:32.019 So he literally steps off the stage as a performer 00:15:32.019 --> 00:15:35.559 and immediately assumes a higher defining leadership 00:15:35.559 --> 00:15:37.940 role based on the work he just created. It's 00:15:37.940 --> 00:15:39.820 a perfect handoff from one stage of his career 00:15:39.820 --> 00:15:41.779 to the next. And the importance of the work didn't 00:15:41.779 --> 00:15:44.360 diminish, did it? He later revived the work multiple 00:15:44.360 --> 00:15:48.039 times in 1885 and again in 1898. Which just demonstrates 00:15:48.039 --> 00:15:50.159 its enduring importance to the repertoire even 00:15:50.159 --> 00:15:52.820 decades after his initial triumph. It kept his 00:15:52.820 --> 00:15:55.019 name and his structural innovations front and 00:15:55.019 --> 00:15:57.919 center for a very long time. To really understand 00:15:57.919 --> 00:16:01.039 why this seemingly chaotic ballet was such a 00:16:01.039 --> 00:16:04.159 profound success and why it resonated so deeply. 00:16:04.759 --> 00:16:06.980 We need to place it firmly within its artistic 00:16:06.980 --> 00:16:09.419 and cultural context. Right. We mentioned the 00:16:09.419 --> 00:16:12.200 concept of ballet a grand spectacle. That was 00:16:12.200 --> 00:16:15.440 the defining theatrical trend of this era. And 00:16:15.440 --> 00:16:17.159 we should probably define that a bit more fully. 00:16:17.500 --> 00:16:20.100 Ballet a grand spectacle meant an almost overwhelming 00:16:20.100 --> 00:16:23.120 focus on magnitude. It was about rivaling the 00:16:23.120 --> 00:16:25.799 massive set pieces and the dramatic flair you'd 00:16:25.799 --> 00:16:28.379 see in grand opera. This choreographic trend 00:16:28.379 --> 00:16:30.899 demanded that the work be visually stunning, 00:16:31.059 --> 00:16:34.019 dramatically over the top, and utilize every 00:16:34.019 --> 00:16:36.620 single resource the imperial stage had at its 00:16:36.620 --> 00:16:39.340 disposal. So specifically, this meant intense 00:16:39.340 --> 00:16:42.460 dramatic contrasts. Exactly. The contrast between 00:16:42.460 --> 00:16:44.860 the dark, gloomy pyramids and the vibrant underwater 00:16:44.860 --> 00:16:47.899 kingdom. The contrast between the highly technical 00:16:47.899 --> 00:16:51.000 classical soloists like Rosati and the massive 00:16:51.000 --> 00:16:52.960 choir. de ballet that were used for visual effects 00:16:52.960 --> 00:16:55.659 like the 400 people on stage the scale itself 00:16:55.659 --> 00:16:58.299 was the selling point it was they used cutting 00:16:58.299 --> 00:17:02.179 edge stage machinery elaborate flying rigs pyrotechnics 00:17:02.179 --> 00:17:05.119 extensive lighting techniques all to make the 00:17:05.119 --> 00:17:07.259 fantastical elements like the kingdom of the 00:17:07.259 --> 00:17:10.440 rivers or the terrifying simoom feel totally 00:17:10.440 --> 00:17:13.180 real to the audience the four hour run time alone 00:17:13.180 --> 00:17:16.059 is a defining characteristic of this maximalist 00:17:16.059 --> 00:17:19.509 era Audiences expected a full evening of immersive, 00:17:19.930 --> 00:17:23.170 high -stakes drama and dazzling visuals. But 00:17:23.170 --> 00:17:25.349 the subject matter, this obsession with ancient 00:17:25.349 --> 00:17:28.109 Egypt, wasn't just a random choice. It was a 00:17:28.109 --> 00:17:30.230 direct reflection of a contemporary European 00:17:30.230 --> 00:17:32.990 fascination. That's right. The mid -19th century 00:17:32.990 --> 00:17:35.470 was gripped by Egyptomania. Which was fueled 00:17:35.470 --> 00:17:37.869 by major archaeological discoveries, often driven 00:17:37.869 --> 00:17:40.569 by French and English explorers. This intense 00:17:40.569 --> 00:17:43.130 interest provided Petipa with the perfect backdrop 00:17:43.130 --> 00:17:44.950 for the pharaoh's daughter. And the literary 00:17:44.950 --> 00:17:47.380 source, Theophilus. Gautier's Le Roman de la 00:17:47.380 --> 00:17:50.019 Momie provided the perfect foundation for this 00:17:50.019 --> 00:17:52.980 literary exoticism. Godia's work offered several 00:17:52.980 --> 00:17:55.440 key romantic elements. You had the passionate 00:17:55.440 --> 00:17:57.579 love story of the pharaoh's daughter and Tahor, 00:17:57.759 --> 00:18:00.400 but blended crucially with the gothic taste for 00:18:00.400 --> 00:18:03.200 dark tombs and gloomy corridors. Which added 00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:05.160 an element of delicious danger to the romance. 00:18:05.460 --> 00:18:07.839 It did, and the genius, or maybe the psychological 00:18:07.839 --> 00:18:10.960 device, of the work is that sense of the fantastic. 00:18:11.420 --> 00:18:13.720 It's the use of a border state between reality 00:18:13.720 --> 00:18:16.599 and dream. This is what allows those earthly 00:18:16.599 --> 00:18:19.299 passions, the pursuit, the love, the sacrifice, 00:18:19.559 --> 00:18:22.109 to be played out without the constraints of logic 00:18:22.109 --> 00:18:25.029 or geography. And this is where the opium device 00:18:25.029 --> 00:18:27.609 becomes so much more than just a cheap plot twist. 00:18:28.190 --> 00:18:31.269 The source notes that Gautier, and by extension 00:18:31.269 --> 00:18:34.930 Batipa, used an artifact from the past, or critically, 00:18:35.230 --> 00:18:38.589 a puff of opium, to add a brighter aura to his 00:18:38.589 --> 00:18:40.910 characters. It sets them squarely on the borderline 00:18:40.910 --> 00:18:43.339 between life and death. between the waking world 00:18:43.339 --> 00:18:46.240 and the spiritual past, which is where all Egyptian 00:18:46.240 --> 00:18:48.200 art in this romantic interpretation supposedly 00:18:48.200 --> 00:18:51.019 took its nourishment. So the role of opium here 00:18:51.019 --> 00:18:53.920 is not just a narrative convenience, it's a cultural 00:18:53.920 --> 00:18:57.049 indicator. It really is. Opium was a highly visible, 00:18:57.250 --> 00:18:59.789 recognized, familiar influence in the works and 00:18:59.789 --> 00:19:02.450 lives of contemporary artists. You have figures 00:19:02.450 --> 00:19:04.890 like Thomas De Quincey, author of Confessions 00:19:04.890 --> 00:19:07.509 of an English Opium Eater, and many other romantic 00:19:07.509 --> 00:19:10.750 era writers. It was an accepted cultural trope 00:19:10.750 --> 00:19:13.490 for enabling deep fantasy, for justifying these 00:19:13.490 --> 00:19:17.089 huge geographical leaps, temporal shifts, and 00:19:17.089 --> 00:19:19.390 the kind of overwhelming imagery required for 00:19:19.390 --> 00:19:22.170 a grand spectacle. And significantly, the creators 00:19:22.170 --> 00:19:24.759 used irony to keep the whole thing from stinking 00:19:24.759 --> 00:19:28.299 into overwrought four -hour melodrama. Yes, Godier 00:19:28.299 --> 00:19:31.200 and consequently the ballet frequently use irony. 00:19:31.400 --> 00:19:34.180 It often had an anticlimactic effect so as not 00:19:34.180 --> 00:19:36.759 to overwhelm his readers with terror or just 00:19:36.759 --> 00:19:38.920 drown the peace in seriousness. But the specific 00:19:38.920 --> 00:19:40.980 ironic moments that the source highlights are 00:19:40.980 --> 00:19:43.079 crucial for appreciating the tone, I think. They 00:19:43.079 --> 00:19:45.500 are. Take Lord Wilson, who is defined as the 00:19:45.500 --> 00:19:48.859 quintessence of Englishness. He's portrayed as 00:19:48.859 --> 00:19:51.440 impassively trying to sketch the desert scene, 00:19:51.599 --> 00:19:55.349 even as the violent simum. that massive sandstorm, 00:19:55.470 --> 00:19:58.190 is actively disturbing his view. That is peak 00:19:58.190 --> 00:20:01.109 19th century colonial detachment. But it's framed 00:20:01.109 --> 00:20:03.230 ironically. It's mocking the aloofness of the 00:20:03.230 --> 00:20:04.950 traveler. Or what about the moment of a species' 00:20:05.230 --> 00:20:07.990 supernatural awakening? After millennia of lying 00:20:07.990 --> 00:20:10.309 preserved in her sarcophagus, she finally awakens, 00:20:10.349 --> 00:20:12.650 looks into a mirror. A mirror that's just conveniently 00:20:12.650 --> 00:20:15.569 there for her. And is pleased to find herself 00:20:15.569 --> 00:20:17.849 as pretty as she was a few millennia before. 00:20:19.049 --> 00:20:22.470 It injects this very human, almost vain touch 00:20:22.470 --> 00:20:25.470 into a supernatural awakening. And it tempers 00:20:25.470 --> 00:20:27.950 the potential awe or terror with lightheartedness. 00:20:28.049 --> 00:20:31.210 This balance of grand scale, exotic setting, 00:20:31.430 --> 00:20:34.809 drug -induced fantasy and ironic distance is 00:20:34.809 --> 00:20:37.650 precisely what made it such a huge, accessible 00:20:37.650 --> 00:20:41.910 and entertaining hit in 1862. The immense scale 00:20:41.910 --> 00:20:44.369 of the production was successful, sure, but the 00:20:44.369 --> 00:20:46.670 lasting impact of The Pharaoh's Daughter is really 00:20:46.670 --> 00:20:49.269 found in Petipa's structural innovations. He 00:20:49.269 --> 00:20:51.690 didn't just stage a hit, he changed the structure 00:20:51.690 --> 00:20:53.990 of classical ballet forever. He did it through 00:20:53.990 --> 00:20:56.130 his use of the divertissement. This is a fundamental 00:20:56.130 --> 00:20:58.690 turning point in the history of dance. Petipa 00:20:58.690 --> 00:21:00.869 fundamentally changed the aesthetic and practical 00:21:00.869 --> 00:21:03.250 requirements of classical ballet by inserting 00:21:03.250 --> 00:21:05.410 the divertissement. These were self -contained 00:21:05.410 --> 00:21:07.930 displays of pure dance, often folklore or technical 00:21:07.930 --> 00:21:09.769 showpieces, and they were sometimes symbolic 00:21:09.769 --> 00:21:12.529 but often had only a loose, almost unnecessary 00:21:12.529 --> 00:21:15.319 connection to the main narrative structure. It 00:21:15.319 --> 00:21:16.880 sounds a little counterintuitive, doesn't it? 00:21:16.940 --> 00:21:19.220 Yeah. To stop the high -stakes plot of Tahor 00:21:19.220 --> 00:21:21.599 and Asbisha just to watch a random dance. It 00:21:21.599 --> 00:21:25.039 does, but it served a massive dual purpose, one 00:21:25.039 --> 00:21:28.299 autistic and one deeply practical, that solved 00:21:28.299 --> 00:21:30.900 some key problems facing the imperial stage at 00:21:30.900 --> 00:21:32.559 the time. Okay, let's start with the artistic 00:21:32.559 --> 00:21:35.559 purpose. The Divertissement was a way to showcase 00:21:35.559 --> 00:21:38.680 the talent of Russian -trained dancers. This 00:21:38.680 --> 00:21:41.400 was hugely important because, at the time, the 00:21:41.400 --> 00:21:44.180 imperial theaters constantly imported massive... 00:21:44.490 --> 00:21:47.170 foreign guest artists. Like the lead, Carolina 00:21:47.170 --> 00:21:50.789 Rosati. Exactly. And they inevitably dominated 00:21:50.789 --> 00:21:53.069 the spotlight. So the divertissement was essentially 00:21:53.069 --> 00:21:56.089 mandatory stage time for the home team. So the 00:21:56.089 --> 00:21:58.089 Russian dancers who formed the bulk of the corps 00:21:58.089 --> 00:22:00.650 de ballet and the rising soloists, they couldn't 00:22:00.650 --> 00:22:02.609 necessarily be cast as the pharaoh's daughter. 00:22:02.750 --> 00:22:05.910 No, or the major foreign leads. But they could 00:22:05.910 --> 00:22:08.250 be the river spirits or the national dancers 00:22:08.250 --> 00:22:10.930 or the abstract jewels in a pure dance sequence. 00:22:11.849 --> 00:22:13.869 It gave the Russian dancers a chance to shine 00:22:13.869 --> 00:22:16.369 and display their own talents without undermining 00:22:16.369 --> 00:22:18.490 the star vehicle status of the foreign principal 00:22:18.490 --> 00:22:21.309 artist. So it turned a potential weakness, this 00:22:21.309 --> 00:22:24.349 reliance on foreign stars, into a strength by 00:22:24.349 --> 00:22:26.730 creating designated show -stopping moments for 00:22:26.730 --> 00:22:29.509 local virtuosity. And the practical purpose was 00:22:29.509 --> 00:22:32.029 just as crucial, particularly in a production 00:22:32.029 --> 00:22:35.029 that ran for four hours and demanded such intensity 00:22:35.029 --> 00:22:37.670 from the leads. Right. These breaks gave the 00:22:37.670 --> 00:22:40.549 principal dancers, like Rosati, necessary time 00:22:40.549 --> 00:22:43.130 to recover. To change their immensely detailed 00:22:43.130 --> 00:22:46.390 and heavy costumes, refresh their delicate satin 00:22:46.390 --> 00:22:49.750 shoes, or simply create essential scene breaks 00:22:49.750 --> 00:22:52.970 for the massive mechanical set changes that were 00:22:52.970 --> 00:22:55.329 required for the grand spectacle. We need to 00:22:55.329 --> 00:22:57.730 put that in perspective for you listening. Imagine 00:22:57.730 --> 00:23:00.650 Rosati dancing for nearly three hours in heavy, 00:23:00.650 --> 00:23:04.170 ornate 19th century costumes. That five or ten 00:23:04.170 --> 00:23:06.250 minutes of ensemble dancing during the Kingdom 00:23:06.250 --> 00:23:08.890 of the Rivers is not just for a costume change. 00:23:09.089 --> 00:23:11.329 No, it's a necessary recovery period for her 00:23:11.329 --> 00:23:13.569 feet, her stamina, and for her hair and makeup 00:23:13.569 --> 00:23:16.130 team. Petipa was solving practical theatrical 00:23:16.130 --> 00:23:18.490 problems with choreography. And we connect this 00:23:18.490 --> 00:23:20.690 to the bigger picture. This is the element of 00:23:20.690 --> 00:23:22.910 the Pharaoh's Daughter that Petipa carried forward 00:23:22.910 --> 00:23:25.710 into every single one of his subsequent masterpieces. 00:23:25.950 --> 00:23:28.849 This technique became his signature. Absolutely. 00:23:29.109 --> 00:23:31.289 Petipa started putting these self -contained 00:23:31.289 --> 00:23:33.710 divertissement in all of his major ballets that 00:23:33.710 --> 00:23:36.470 followed. We're talking about the Act III wedding 00:23:36.470 --> 00:23:38.549 sequence in The Sleeping Beauty. The National 00:23:38.549 --> 00:23:41.529 Dances in Swan Lake. The Kingdom of the Shades 00:23:41.529 --> 00:23:43.970 in La Bayadere and so on. The divertissement 00:23:43.970 --> 00:23:47.269 became a standardized signature Petipa technique. 00:23:47.430 --> 00:23:50.029 It was adopted by countless choreographers afterward, 00:23:50.289 --> 00:23:52.490 and it established the structure of the multi 00:23:52.490 --> 00:23:55.170 -act grand ballet that we recognize and study 00:23:55.170 --> 00:23:57.869 today. And the most spectacular example. and 00:23:57.869 --> 00:23:59.950 the Pharaoh's daughter is, without question, 00:24:00.069 --> 00:24:02.309 that fantastical pageant at the bottom of the 00:24:02.309 --> 00:24:04.450 Nile we talked about. It is the ultimate expression 00:24:04.450 --> 00:24:07.190 of the folkloric divertissement. The visual spectacle 00:24:07.190 --> 00:24:09.809 of the Neva and the Guadalquivir dancing together. 00:24:10.150 --> 00:24:12.750 The spirit of the Nile summons great rivers from 00:24:12.750 --> 00:24:14.829 entirely disparate parts of the world. And they 00:24:14.829 --> 00:24:17.009 all arrive dressed up in their national costumes 00:24:17.009 --> 00:24:20.089 to dance for Aspicia. This is Petipa's deep penchant 00:24:20.089 --> 00:24:23.089 for folklore and national character dance, enhanced 00:24:23.089 --> 00:24:25.730 through elaborate costume and staging, showcasing 00:24:25.730 --> 00:24:28.569 a dazzling array of techniques and styles. And 00:24:28.569 --> 00:24:30.710 this really illustrates the structural freedom 00:24:30.710 --> 00:24:33.970 Petipa allowed himself. This dance sequence, 00:24:34.230 --> 00:24:36.809 while visually beautiful, has almost nothing 00:24:36.809 --> 00:24:39.769 to do with whether Tahor lives or dies. Or whether 00:24:39.769 --> 00:24:43.049 Aspicia gets to marry him. It exists purely as 00:24:43.049 --> 00:24:45.990 a vehicle for dance and spectacle. Yet the source 00:24:45.990 --> 00:24:48.390 notes that while Petipa indulged in folklore 00:24:48.390 --> 00:24:51.289 and spectacle, the overall production was criticized 00:24:51.289 --> 00:24:54.529 for its historical inaccuracy and the mixing 00:24:54.529 --> 00:24:56.609 of styles. Especially outside of St. Petersburg 00:24:56.609 --> 00:24:59.349 and places like Moscow. Right. Even in spite 00:24:59.349 --> 00:25:01.710 of the general taste for grand sets and costumes 00:25:01.710 --> 00:25:04.890 reinvented with a minimum of realism and a maximum 00:25:04.890 --> 00:25:07.009 of grandeur, the critiques were there from the 00:25:07.009 --> 00:25:09.970 very beginning. Petipa was taking massive artistic 00:25:09.970 --> 00:25:12.710 liberties. That tension between historical fantasy 00:25:12.710 --> 00:25:15.589 and choreographic opulence is absolutely central 00:25:15.589 --> 00:25:18.390 to the work and its reception. It's what allowed 00:25:18.390 --> 00:25:20.630 for the spectacle, but it's also what set the 00:25:20.630 --> 00:25:23.309 stage for later controversies regarding authenticity 00:25:23.309 --> 00:25:26.170 and representation. That initial critique of 00:25:26.170 --> 00:25:28.230 historical accuracy and the blending of styles 00:25:28.230 --> 00:25:31.690 brings us sharply to the legacy and the controversies 00:25:31.690 --> 00:25:33.960 that have defined the ballet's history. particularly 00:25:33.960 --> 00:25:35.940 concerning the costuming and representation. 00:25:36.460 --> 00:25:39.559 Right. The attempt to reflect Egyptian nationality 00:25:39.559 --> 00:25:42.640 through costuming was part of the exoticism that 00:25:42.640 --> 00:25:45.400 was so popular, but it ran into immediate artistic 00:25:45.400 --> 00:25:48.460 and social problems. The sources detail a new 00:25:48.460 --> 00:25:50.519 wave of costuming for the production, where the 00:25:50.519 --> 00:25:53.599 newly shortened romantic tutu was decorated with 00:25:53.599 --> 00:25:56.579 Egyptian jewelry and ornamentation. This was 00:25:56.579 --> 00:25:58.819 intended to give the audience an authentic Egyptian 00:25:58.819 --> 00:26:02.099 feel. To reflect Egyptian nationality while remaining 00:26:02.099 --> 00:26:04.680 suitable for classical technique. But the conflict 00:26:04.680 --> 00:26:07.400 was inherent and unavoidable. Authenticity was 00:26:07.400 --> 00:26:10.240 immediately compromised for opulence. The goal 00:26:10.240 --> 00:26:13.420 was always to look rich, expensive, and dazzling, 00:26:13.460 --> 00:26:15.819 which often meant ignoring historical accuracy 00:26:15.819 --> 00:26:18.819 in favor of theatrical grandeur. And this brings 00:26:18.819 --> 00:26:21.380 us to the deeply problematic element that exists 00:26:21.380 --> 00:26:23.599 in the historical record of this production. 00:26:24.559 --> 00:26:27.200 The costuming choices highlighted a clear visual 00:26:27.200 --> 00:26:30.119 and social dichotomy within the production. The 00:26:30.119 --> 00:26:32.799 principal leads, the massive European guest artists 00:26:32.799 --> 00:26:35.339 like Rosati and Petipa, they were dressed in 00:26:35.339 --> 00:26:38.079 beautiful, expensive costumes, reflecting European 00:26:38.079 --> 00:26:40.599 standards of grandeur and nobility. However, 00:26:40.799 --> 00:26:43.599 the ensemble dancers in the nationalistic dances, 00:26:43.859 --> 00:26:46.619 the specific parts designed to showcase the exotic 00:26:46.619 --> 00:26:49.279 folklore, were often visually distinguished from 00:26:49.279 --> 00:26:51.599 the leads through historically offensive methods. 00:26:51.900 --> 00:26:54.059 The sources confirm that these dancers could 00:26:54.059 --> 00:26:57.000 be covered in blackface to denote them as foreign 00:26:57.000 --> 00:26:59.880 or exotic in the context of 19th century performance. 00:27:00.140 --> 00:27:02.299 So the spectacle, which was meant to inspire 00:27:02.299 --> 00:27:05.220 a feeling of Egyptian exoticism, ended up being 00:27:05.220 --> 00:27:07.420 constructed on entirely offensive performance 00:27:07.420 --> 00:27:10.220 elements. It visually and racially distinguished 00:27:10.220 --> 00:27:13.119 the noble European style leads from the ensemble 00:27:13.119 --> 00:27:16.039 performing the exotic dances, often through racist 00:27:16.039 --> 00:27:19.000 performance methods and characterization. This 00:27:19.000 --> 00:27:22.180 is a painful but essential reminder of the 19th 00:27:22.180 --> 00:27:24.619 century cultural context from which this foundational 00:27:24.619 --> 00:27:27.720 art form emerged. It's necessary context for 00:27:27.720 --> 00:27:30.920 any analysis of historical art. The grandeur 00:27:30.920 --> 00:27:33.319 of the spectacle was built in part on cultural 00:27:33.319 --> 00:27:35.420 appropriation and racist performance practices 00:27:35.420 --> 00:27:38.019 that were common in the time period. And beyond 00:27:38.019 --> 00:27:40.640 the costuming issues, the artistic interpretation 00:27:40.640 --> 00:27:44.440 of the lead role, Aspicia, itself evolves significantly 00:27:44.440 --> 00:27:47.599 over time. It demonstrates Petipa's willingness 00:27:47.599 --> 00:27:50.240 to adapt his choreography to the strengths of 00:27:50.240 --> 00:27:52.480 different star ballerinas. We can trace this 00:27:52.480 --> 00:27:54.720 evolution clearly, can't we? The role was created 00:27:54.720 --> 00:27:57.339 for Carolina Rossati, and her interpretation 00:27:57.339 --> 00:28:00.079 focused heavily on drama and powerful emotion. 00:28:00.400 --> 00:28:03.480 She was an actress dancer. She excelled in the 00:28:03.480 --> 00:28:06.400 complex narrative scenes of love, fear, and high 00:28:06.400 --> 00:28:09.180 courage, especially that climax where she threatens 00:28:09.180 --> 00:28:12.200 the cobra, that classic high -stakes Cleopatra 00:28:12.200 --> 00:28:14.640 gesture. And then 20 years later, the role was 00:28:14.640 --> 00:28:16.809 taken up by Virginia Zucchi. another formidable 00:28:16.809 --> 00:28:19.670 star, but she shifted the interpretation. She 00:28:19.670 --> 00:28:22.329 portrayed a more humane, less arrogant princess, 00:28:22.430 --> 00:28:24.890 pulling the character away from the purely dramatic 00:28:24.890 --> 00:28:27.470 regal style of Rosati toward a more relatable 00:28:27.470 --> 00:28:29.950 emotional complexity. And then toward the end 00:28:29.950 --> 00:28:32.349 of the century, we arrive at Mathilde Kieschessenskaya. 00:28:32.599 --> 00:28:34.799 who is perhaps the epitome of the burgeoning 00:28:34.799 --> 00:28:37.220 virtuosity of imperial Russian ballet technique. 00:28:37.539 --> 00:28:40.940 She transformed a specia into a major virtuoso 00:28:40.940 --> 00:28:43.920 vehicle. It demanded incredible technical difficulty 00:28:43.920 --> 00:28:46.940 and speed. So under her influence, the role became 00:28:46.940 --> 00:28:49.700 less about acting and more about the dazzling 00:28:49.700 --> 00:28:52.819 display of pure ballet technique. Exactly. Petipa 00:28:52.819 --> 00:28:56.259 even staged his final revival in 1898, specifically 00:28:56.259 --> 00:28:59.140 as a benefit performance for her, tailoring the 00:28:59.140 --> 00:29:02.450 steps to her spectacular talents. This shift 00:29:02.450 --> 00:29:05.450 is so crucial for understanding the history of 00:29:05.450 --> 00:29:08.170 classical technique. It shows the evolution of 00:29:08.170 --> 00:29:10.849 the ballerina ideal from a dramatic actress to 00:29:10.849 --> 00:29:13.569 a technical marvel, something Chessenskaya absolutely 00:29:13.569 --> 00:29:16.210 embodied. And she set the stage for the 20th 00:29:16.210 --> 00:29:18.910 century. And thankfully, this 1898 production, 00:29:19.089 --> 00:29:22.200 the last one Petipa directly oversaw. was meticulously 00:29:22.200 --> 00:29:24.740 preserved. The source confirms that the choreography 00:29:24.740 --> 00:29:27.039 and the elaborate staging the mise -en -scene 00:29:27.039 --> 00:29:30.339 for that Petipa revival were documented in choreographic 00:29:30.339 --> 00:29:33.319 notations, the famous Stepanov notation, which 00:29:33.319 --> 00:29:35.519 are preserved in the Sergeyev collection at Harvard 00:29:35.519 --> 00:29:37.700 University. This set of records is essentially 00:29:37.700 --> 00:29:40.519 the Rosetta Stone for modern revivals. That notation 00:29:40.519 --> 00:29:43.259 became the basis for the ballet's survival beyond 00:29:43.259 --> 00:29:46.099 the Russian Revolution. Although Alexander Gorski 00:29:46.099 --> 00:29:48.799 staged a modified, unauthorized production in 00:29:48.799 --> 00:29:51.299 1905 for the Bolshoi Ballet that continued until 00:29:51.299 --> 00:29:54.740 1928, it was the preserved notation that allowed 00:29:54.740 --> 00:29:57.599 for true historical reconstruction decades later. 00:29:57.859 --> 00:30:01.079 It gives us a window back to Petipa's exact intentions. 00:30:01.460 --> 00:30:03.980 And the major modern revival we need to highlight 00:30:03.980 --> 00:30:07.400 is Pierre Lacoste's and restaging for the Bolshoi 00:30:07.400 --> 00:30:10.180 Ballet. Lakot based his work partly on that Stepanov 00:30:10.180 --> 00:30:12.599 notation recording of Petipa's final production, 00:30:12.720 --> 00:30:15.900 but also on personal recollections and oral histories 00:30:15.900 --> 00:30:18.819 of Russian dancers who remembered earlier productions. 00:30:19.119 --> 00:30:21.500 It successfully brought the work back into the 00:30:21.500 --> 00:30:24.420 regular repertoire after a long, long absence. 00:30:24.880 --> 00:30:27.319 And most recently, we have the 2023 Historical 00:30:27.319 --> 00:30:30.480 Reconstruction by choreographer Tony Candeloro 00:30:30.480 --> 00:30:33.279 for the Mariinsky Theatre. This production was 00:30:33.279 --> 00:30:35.200 directly based on the original... up and off 00:30:35.200 --> 00:30:37.640 notation. Candeloro's work was informed by his 00:30:37.640 --> 00:30:39.579 extensive research. He'd worked with dancers 00:30:39.579 --> 00:30:41.759 trained by major figures who carried the imperial 00:30:41.759 --> 00:30:44.400 traditions forward, like Luba Vigorova, Olga 00:30:44.400 --> 00:30:47.359 Priobrazhenskaya, and Kresenskaya herself. So 00:30:47.359 --> 00:30:49.619 Candeloro is clearly positioned as a specialist 00:30:49.619 --> 00:30:52.059 in preserving the deep structure of the late 00:30:52.059 --> 00:30:54.480 imperial theater and the ballet's Russ's traditions. 00:30:55.279 --> 00:30:58.640 His 2023 revival ensures that this grand, sprawling 00:30:58.640 --> 00:31:01.460 piece reflects the intended structure and movement 00:31:01.460 --> 00:31:04.579 of Fatipa's final staging, even acknowledging 00:31:04.579 --> 00:31:07.140 that the original structure mixed styles and 00:31:07.140 --> 00:31:10.000 lacked historical accuracy from the start. The 00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:11.859 Endurance of the Pharaoh's Daughter is truly 00:31:11.859 --> 00:31:14.480 remarkable. It stands from the mid -19th century 00:31:14.480 --> 00:31:16.420 through its preservation efforts in the early 00:31:16.420 --> 00:31:19.579 20th, all the way to the grand modern stages 00:31:19.579 --> 00:31:22.200 of the 21st century in Russia. It's a historical 00:31:22.200 --> 00:31:24.799 time capsule of classical ballet's development. 00:31:25.059 --> 00:31:28.559 So after this massive, chaotic, opium -fueled 00:31:28.559 --> 00:31:31.579 journey into ancient Egypt, what are the ultimate 00:31:31.579 --> 00:31:34.039 takeaways for the curious learner today? Well, 00:31:34.099 --> 00:31:36.839 what we have here is a massive, often confusing, 00:31:36.900 --> 00:31:39.900 and historically complex spectacle that nonetheless 00:31:39.900 --> 00:31:42.180 provided the fundamental scaffolding for all 00:31:42.180 --> 00:31:44.410 of classical ballet that followed. It laid the 00:31:44.410 --> 00:31:46.029 groundwork for the most celebrated narrative 00:31:46.029 --> 00:31:48.230 works, the great three - and four -act valets, 00:31:48.329 --> 00:31:50.470 through Petipa's institutionalization of the 00:31:50.470 --> 00:31:52.750 divertissement and its complete embrace of high 00:31:52.750 --> 00:31:55.460 drama and technical display. The enduring value 00:31:55.460 --> 00:31:57.460 of The Pharaoh's Daughter is that it shows us 00:31:57.460 --> 00:32:00.880 classical ballet right at the moment of its maximalist 00:32:00.880 --> 00:32:03.740 birth. It's where the spectacle became formalized, 00:32:03.799 --> 00:32:06.400 where the artistic demands on the ensemble became 00:32:06.400 --> 00:32:09.359 institutionalized. And where Petipa cemented 00:32:09.359 --> 00:32:11.900 his creative control and developed the structural 00:32:11.900 --> 00:32:14.019 tools he would use for the rest of his career. 00:32:14.410 --> 00:32:16.789 And for you, the curious learner, knowing that 00:32:16.789 --> 00:32:19.289 the structural elements of a technical masterpiece 00:32:19.289 --> 00:32:22.109 like the Sleeping Beauty or the intense drama 00:32:22.109 --> 00:32:25.750 of La Bédère share DNA with this opium -fueled 00:32:25.750 --> 00:32:29.349 fantasy provides incredible context. You're watching 00:32:29.349 --> 00:32:32.109 a highly polished, technically mastered modern 00:32:32.109 --> 00:32:35.509 revival. But its origins are rooted in a bizarre 00:32:35.509 --> 00:32:38.430 time travel adventure that begins with a sandstorm 00:32:38.430 --> 00:32:40.839 and a character named John Bull. It makes those 00:32:40.839 --> 00:32:42.539 technical flourishes and those moments where 00:32:42.539 --> 00:32:45.359 the plot seems to stop for pure dance feel less 00:32:45.359 --> 00:32:48.420 like random filler and more like essential, intentional 00:32:48.420 --> 00:32:50.940 building blocks of the imperial style. We can 00:32:50.940 --> 00:32:53.480 appreciate the virtuosity of a modern Aspicia 00:32:53.480 --> 00:32:56.079 while understanding that the role had to evolve 00:32:56.079 --> 00:32:59.339 radically from a dramatic vehicle for Rosati 00:32:59.339 --> 00:33:02.839 to a technical vehicle for Keshitskaya just to 00:33:02.839 --> 00:33:04.859 keep pace with the changing demands of the audience. 00:33:05.529 --> 00:33:08.230 The history of this ballet also forces us to 00:33:08.230 --> 00:33:10.410 confront the difficult intersection of cultural 00:33:10.410 --> 00:33:13.250 appropriation and artistic creation in the 19th 00:33:13.250 --> 00:33:16.529 century. The fact that its exoticism relied on 00:33:16.529 --> 00:33:18.809 elements that were culturally insensitive and 00:33:18.809 --> 00:33:21.069 potentially racist. Like the use of blackface 00:33:21.069 --> 00:33:23.690 in the nationalistic dances. Even while the leads 00:33:23.690 --> 00:33:26.369 were draped in opulence, that tension is part 00:33:26.369 --> 00:33:28.849 of the work's DNA. That structural conflict, 00:33:28.950 --> 00:33:31.269 this brilliant structure built on a flawed foundation, 00:33:31.630 --> 00:33:34.509 leaves us with a final, provocative thought for 00:33:34.509 --> 00:33:37.450 you to explore on your own. Given the detailed, 00:33:37.549 --> 00:33:39.809 precise information preserved in the Stepanoff 00:33:39.809 --> 00:33:43.210 notation, the movement, the structure, the exact 00:33:43.210 --> 00:33:45.829 blocking and staging modern choreographers performing 00:33:45.829 --> 00:33:48.650 historical reconstructions. Like Tony Candeloro's 00:33:48.650 --> 00:33:51.369 2023 Marinsky production. They have a complex 00:33:51.369 --> 00:33:53.599 decision to make. When they are charged with 00:33:53.599 --> 00:33:56.200 bringing a work back to life, how do they approach 00:33:56.200 --> 00:33:58.559 the dual reality? How do they balance respecting 00:33:58.559 --> 00:34:02.200 the past structure, the precise steps and mise 00:34:02.200 --> 00:34:04.579 -en -scene meticulously recorded in the Stepanov 00:34:04.579 --> 00:34:07.240 notation, which is historically sacred, with 00:34:07.240 --> 00:34:09.579 the practical obligation to address the cultural 00:34:09.579 --> 00:34:12.159 inaccuracies and the inherent racism present 00:34:12.159 --> 00:34:14.579 in the original 19th century staging? They must 00:34:14.579 --> 00:34:16.820 choose where to draw the line between historical 00:34:16.820 --> 00:34:19.849 fidelity and modern responsibility. It's the 00:34:19.849 --> 00:34:22.030 enduring challenge of staging historical work 00:34:22.030 --> 00:34:24.389 that is structurally brilliant but ethically 00:34:24.389 --> 00:34:27.610 complicated. A true deep dive into history always 00:34:27.610 --> 00:34:30.090 reveals layers of discomfort beneath the grandeur, 00:34:30.110 --> 00:34:32.489 and The Pharaoh's Daughter is a spectacular and 00:34:32.489 --> 00:34:34.070 influential example of just that.