Camargo is a "Grand ballet

Ballet

Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...

" in 3 acts/9 scenes, with choreography by Marius Petipa

Marius Petipa

Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa was a French ballet dancer, teacher and choreographer. Petipa is considered to be the most influential ballet master and choreographer of ballet that has ever lived....

, and music by Ludwig Minkus

Ludwig Minkus

Ludwig Minkus a.k.a. Léon Fyodorovich Minkus was an Austrian composer of ballet music, a violin virtuoso and teacher.Minkus is most noted for the music he composed while serving as Ballet Composer of the St...

. The libretto

Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...

, by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Marius Petipa, is based on an incident in the life of the 18th century dancer Marie Camargo, in which she and her sister Madeleine were abducted by the Comte de Melun in May of 1728 and taken to his mansion.

The ballet was first presented by the Imperial Ballet

Mariinsky Ballet

The Mariinsky Ballet is a classical ballet company based at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russian Ballet, the Mariinsky Ballet is one of the world's leading ballet companies...

 on December 7/19 (Julian

Julian calendar

The Julian calendar began in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year .The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months...

/Gregorian calendar

Gregorian calendar

The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...

 dates), 1872 at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre St. Petersburg, Russia. Principal Dancers - Adèle Grantzow (as Marie Camargo), Alexandra Virginia (as Madeleine Camargo), Lev Ivanov

Lev Ivanov

Lev Ivanovich Ivanov was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer and later, Second Balletmaster of the Imperial Ballet....

 (as Vestris the Maître de Ballet), and Timofei Stukolkin (as the Comte de Melun).

Revivals/Restagings

• Revival by Lev Ivanov
  Lev Ivanov
  Lev Ivanovich Ivanov was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer and later, Second Balletmaster of the Imperial Ballet....
  
   for the Imperial Ballet. First presented at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre on January 17–30, 1901 in St. Petersburg, Russia. Principal Dancers - Pierina Legnani
  Pierina Legnani
  Pierina Legnani was an Italian ballerina, a terre-à-terre virtuosa extraordinaire, considered one of the greatest ballerinas of all time.-Career:...
  
   (as Marie Camargo), Olga Preobrajenskaya (as Madeleine Camargo), Pavel Gerdt
  Pavel Gerdt
  Pavel Andreyevich Gerdt, also known as Paul Gerdt , was the Premier Danseur Noble of the Imperial Ballet, the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre, and the Mariinsky Theatre for 56 years, making his debut in 1860, and retiring in 1916...
  
   (as Vestris the Maître de Ballet), and Georgii Kiaksht (as the Comte de Melun).