Julius Reisinger
Encyclopedia
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...
. This prolific choreographer, author of more than twenty works on various European stages, directed the Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
company of the Bolshoi Theatre
Bolshoi Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world...
. He is linked with two memorable events: the first stage production of Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake
Swan Lake
Swan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...
and the production of the first ballet performance for the opening of the Prague National Theatre in 1884. His work on Swan Lake was considered unsuccessful by the critics of the day but not necessarily unsuccessful by the theatre-going public—after all, Reisinger's original production of Swan Lake was kept in the active repertoire of the Bolshoi Theatre
Bolshoi Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world...
for seven years and was performed over thirty times during a period when other ballets could not sustain even twenty performances. In fact, the production was not pulled until the scenery and costumes were worn and threadbare. Much of its popularity was assumably due to its beautiful musical score which was critically acclaimed even though the choreography was not.
Reisinger was born in February 1828 in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
of a native Czech
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
family. He began his professional life as a dancer in the corps de ballet
Corps de ballet
In ballet, the corps de ballet is the group of dancers who are not soloists. They are a permanent part of the ballet company and often work as a backdrop for the principal dancers. A corps de ballet works as one, with synchronized movements and corresponding positioning on the stage...
, rising to the position of leading soloist. In 1850, he was the Czech partner of the famous dancer Lucille Grahn in La Esmeralda
La Esmeralda (ballet)
La Esmeralda is a ballet in 3 acts, 5 scenes, inspired by Notre Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo, originally choreographed by Jules Perrot; with music by Cesare Pugni and design by William Grieve , D. Sloman , Mme...
(as Phoebus) and Giselle
Giselle
Giselle is a ballet in two acts with a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Théophile Gautier, music by Adolphe Adam, and choreography by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot. The librettist took his inspiration from a poem by Heinrich Heine...
(as Hilarion). He also had success in the part of Diavolino in Jules Perrot
Jules Perrot
Jules-Joseph Perrot was a dancer and choreographer who later became Balletmaster of the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia...
's ballet Catarina, ou La Fille du Bandit. In short, the young dancer mastered the romantic repertoire and was familiar with the new ballet productions, one more fact in favour of Reisinger's erudition.
In 1852, he succeeded in securing an eight-year engagement on the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n stages. In 1860 he returned to his native Prague to the Nove Mesto Theatre, already in the position of choreographer. This was the first time a Czech theatre was actually headed by Czech choreographer.
Misconceptions
It is commonly thought that none of Reisinger's ballets was successful but facts contradict this. Why then was such a choreographer invited to brilliant LeipzigLeipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
where he directed the ballet company from 1864 to 1872? Large-scale works were presented there, such as Saltarello and Interrupted Solitude to the music of the Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
kapellmeister
Kapellmeister
Kapellmeister is a German word designating a person in charge of music-making. The word is a compound, consisting of the roots Kapelle and Meister . The words Kapelle and Meister derive from the Latin: capella and magister...
, Muhldorfer. And from Leipzig, Reisinger was invited to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
Indications of Reisinger's Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
endeavors are readily found in the writings of several Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n historians, the first one being a staging of the five-act ballet The Crystal Slipper (1871, a ballet of the Cinderella
Cinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
story) to Muhldorfer's music, which Yuri Bakhrushin referring to original sources, notes as quite successful. In 1873, finding himself in the post of Director of the Moscow Ballet, he created successive multiple-act productions such as Kastchei, where, as confirmed again by Yuri Bakhrushin, the choreographer successfully developed the Russian theme. He also produced Stella and Ariadne (in tandem with Imperial Balletmaster 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....
). All ballets (except Kastchei, which he staged with the two composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
s Muhldorfer and Gerber) used the music of Gerber. At the same time, in the last two (Stella and Ariadne), Reisinger reworked elements of ancient art according to the dictates of Biedermeier
Biedermeier
In Central Europe, the Biedermeier era refers to the middle-class sensibilities of the historical period between 1815, the year of the Congress of Vienna at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, and 1848, the year of the European revolutions...
. Added to that, in the production of Ariadne, the Theatre Directorate allotted what was (for that time), the very large sum of 40,000 roubles
Russian ruble
The ruble or rouble is the currency of the Russian Federation and the two partially recognized republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Formerly, the ruble was also the currency of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union prior to their breakups. Belarus and Transnistria also use currencies with...
. This not only suggests the confidence they had invested in Reisinger, but also confirms that in his first two years in Russia he had clearly won the authority of the Imperial Theatre Directorate. It was with this artistic background that the choreographer approached the first production of Swan Lake
Swan Lake
Swan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...
.
Questions Remain
Though today Reisinger is considered the father of Czech professional ballet, criticisms regarding his choreography (such as "mediocre," "ordinary," and "untalented") have followed him, even after his death. His critics did not endow him with the usual praise in his own country or in Russia, but this did not prevent him from having a very long balletic career. With this in mind, one must ask oneself: was this choreographer truly untalented? Is it possible that in PraguePrague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
his ascent to the top was merely the result of a long-patient public and theatre administration? Though good timing undoubtedly played some part in his career, it is possibly unrealistic to form the conclusion that this was the only factor in his solid rise to the forefront of the most respected theatres of the time.