Classical Ballet Boris Asafiev "Flames of Paris" (Ballet in 3 acts) Mikhailovsky Classical Ballet and Opera Theatre (established 1833)
Running time: 2 hours 10 minutes
The performance has 2 intermissions
Schedule for Boris Asafiev "Flames of Paris" (Ballet in 3 acts) 2022
Composer: Boris Asafiev Revival Designer: Vyacheslav Okunev Choreography: Vasily Vaynonen Costume Designer: Vladimir Dmitriev Staging: Mikhail Messerer
Orchestra: Mikhailovsky Symphony Orchestra
Classical Ballet in 3 acts
Premiere of this production: 22 July 2013
Libretto: Nikolay Volkov and Vladimir Dmitriev after the novel Les Rouges
du Midi by Felix Gras revised by Mikhail Messerer
Choreography: Vasily Vaynonen revised by Mikhail Messerer Stage and
Costume Design: Vladimir Dmitriev Staging: Mikhail Messerer Music
Director: Valery Ovsyanikov Music Director’s Assistant: Valentin Bogdanov
Revival of the Stage and Costume Design: Vyacheslav Okunev
Assistants in the revival: Vyacheslav Lebedev, Anna Kotlova
Lighting Designer: Alexander Kibitkin Producer: Dmitry Astafyev, Dr.
habil Assistants of the ballet master: Anna Razenko, Evgeny Popov
The historical fresco depicting the events of the French Revolution
has returned to the stage, fanning the audience with the flames of the
struggle for freedom and personal dignity. Vasily Vainonen’s choreography,
hailed as the most outstanding achievement of Soviet ballet, has been
recreated by Mikhail Messerer.
Synopsis
Act I
Scene 1
Summer of 1792. A suburb of Marseilles. Edge of the woods
near the castle of Marquis de Beauregard. Out of the woods there
appears Gaspar and his children: 18-year-old Jeanne and 9-year-old Jacques, who
pull a cart of firewood. Jeanne plays with Jacques. The boy jumps over
the faggot bands. The sound of the horn heralds the return of the
Marquis from hunting. Gaspar and the children are in a hurry: they try
to gather the faggot bands and leave. The Marquis and the huntsmen appear
from the wood. De Beauregard is furious with the peasants gathering
the faggot in his wood. Gaspar is beaten up by the hunters
from the Marquis’s suite; the huntsmen turn the cart over. Jeanne is trying
to stand up for her father, the Marquis lets drive at her too,
but on hearing the sound of the revolutionary song he hurries
to his castle.
A squad of the Marseillais led by Philippe move through the
woods on their way to Paris to help the revolutionary people. The
Marseillais help Gaspar and Jeanne put the cart back on its wheels and put
the faggot bands on it. Jacques is enthusiastically waving the
revolutionary flag, given to him by one of the revolutionaries.
At the time the Marquis manages to flee from his castle through the
secret door.
The peasants greet the soldiers from Marseilles. Philippe calls them
to joins the squad. Gaspar and his children join the Marseillais. All
of them move off to Paris.
Scene 2
A ball at the Versailles palace. Ladies of the court and the
officers of the royal guard dance the sarabande. When the dance
is over, the master of ceremonies invites the guests to see the
performance of the court theatre. Actors Diana Mireille and Antoine Mistral
perform an intermezzo, performing the victims of Cupid.
King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette arrive accompanied by their
retinue. The officers raise their glasses to the prosperity of the
monarchy. Marquis de Beauregard, who has just arrived from Marseilles,
enters. He shows the tricolour banner with the slogan “War to the
palaces, peace to the huts!” and throws it at the King’s feet.
The Marquis kisses the royal standard by the throne and reads out the
message to the Prussians, written by him, in which Louis XVI
should call Prussia to send troops to France and put an end
to the revolution. The King is asked to sign the document. The
King hesitates, but Marie Antoinette persuades him to sign the document.
Marquis and the officers, in a burst of enthusiasm for monarchy,
vow to fulfill their duty to the King. They draw their weapons and
enthusiastically salute the royal couple. The Queen expresses her confidence
in the loyalty of the officers. Louis is moved, he brings
a handkerchief to his eyes.
The royal couple and ladies-in-waiting leave the ballroom. The footmen brings
the tables in, more glasses to the monarchy are raised. The admirers
of Diana Mireille invite the actors to take part in the
celebration. They ask Mireille to dance. She and Antoine perform
an improvised short dance, enthusiastically received by the audience.
The tipsy Marquis invites Mireille to dance, and she has to accept.
His rudeness disgusts her, she would love to leave — but she
shouldn’t. Diana tries to stay close to Mistral. He strives
to distract the Marquis, but De Beauregard rudely pushes the actor
away and several officers take Antoine back to the table. Ladies quietly
leave the room. Finally Mireille finds a pretext to leave too, but the
Marquis follows her.
Wine affects the guests, some of the officers fall asleep right
at the table. Mistral notices the “Appeal to&ndsp;Prussia» left
on the table. He starts reading it, first without thinking and
then with more and more interest. The Marquis returns and notices the paper
in the hands of Antoine. He runs amock, pulls out a gun and
shoots the actor. Antoine is fatally injured. The sound of the gunshot
wakes some officers up, they surround the Marquis and hurry him away.
Having heard the sound of the gunshot too, Mireille comes back. She sees
Mistral’s lifeless body and tries to find out, if he’s still alive.
But he is dead. She notices a piece of paper clutched
in his hand and reads it. The sounds of La Marseillaise are
heard. Now Mireille understands, why Mistral was killed, and she knows what she
is to do. She takes the paper and leaves the palace.
Act II
Scene 1
At night. A square in Paris, where crowds of the
citizens, the armed squads from provinces, including the Basques and men from
Auvergne gather together. The Parisians are glad to see the squad from
Marseille. A group of the Basques stands out by their readiness
to fight. One of them is Teresa, an active participant
of the street protests of the sans-culottes. Diana Mireille’s arrival
stops the dances. She shows the crowd the appeal of the King to the
Prussians, which confirms the betrayal of the aristocracy. People dance and
sing La Carmagnole. Arms are distributed. Philippe calls to storm the
Tuileries. Under the tricolour banners, singing the revolutionary Зa ira,
the crowd moves to the King’s palace.
Scene 2
Crowds of the armed people dash to storm the palace. Marquis
de Beauregard brings the Swiss Guard soldiers to the palace.
At his command, the Swiss take the assigned positions. The officers walk
the frightened ladies away. Suddenly the door flies open, the people burst into
the chambers of the palace. Philippe bumps into Marquis de Beauregard.
After a fierce fight with the Marquis Philippe knocks his sword aside,
de Beauregard tries to shoot Philippe, but the crowd attacks him.
The Swiss, the last defenders of the King, are swept away. Teresa runs
in holding the banner in her hands, and falls, shot dead
by a bullet of an officer. The battle is over. The
palace is captured. The Basques, Philippe, and Gaspar lift Teresa’s body
over the heads, the people decline the flags.
Act III
People are celebrating the capture of the Tuileries on the square
of the former King’s palace. The merry dances of the people alternate
with the performances of the Paris actors.
Diana Mireille, surrounded by girls wearing ancient costumes, performs
a dance with the tricolor flag that symbolizes the victory of the
Revolution. Allegoric dances of Equality and Fraternity are performed.
People shower Jeanne and Philippe with flowers: it’s also their wedding day.
La Carmagnola is sung. People carry Diana Mireille
as a symbol of freedom.
Schedule for Boris Asafiev "Flames of Paris" (Ballet in 3 acts) 2022
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