The Whims of the Butterfly
The Whims of the Butterfly (also known as The Caprices of a Butterfly, or Les Caprices du Papillon) is a ballet in 1 act, with choreography by Marius Petipa, and music by Nikolai Krotkov. Libretto by Marius Petipa, based on the poem The Grasshopper Musician by Yakov Polonsky.
First presented by the
Imperial Mariinsky Theatre on October 25/November 6, 1889 with the same cast. Principal Dancers - Varvara Nikitina (as the Butterfly), Pavel Gerdt (as the Phoenix Moth), Sergei Litavki (as the Grasshopper), Maria Anderson (as the Fly), Alexander Shiraev (as the Spider), and Sergei Legat
(as the Nightingale).
Revivals/Restagings
- Revival by Marius Petipa for the Imperial Ballet. First presented on October 22/November 3, 1895 at the Olga Preobrajenskaya (as the Fly), Alexander Shiraev (as the Spider), and Sergei Legat(as the Nightingale).
Notes
- The Whims of the Butterfly was originally produced for the celebrations held at Princess Alexandra of Greece.
- Petipa's choreography for The Whims of the Butterfly was notated in the method of Stepanov Choreographic Notation by the Imperial Ballet's régisseur and his team of notators, and is today included in the Sergeyev Collection.