La forma sonata coreografica ne “Il Regno delle Ombre” de “La Bayadère” di Marius Petipa rivelata negli scritti di Fëdor Lopuchov

Abstract

Wondering about the definition of the ballet La Bayadère as an expression of the «purest nineteenth-century classicism» (Marinella Guatterini), the author of the essay sets out to investigate the precise formula of this production. After mentioning the results of recent texts and conferences, the focus revolves on the writings of the Soviet theoretician and choreographer Fyodor Lopukhov. If in the comments on Petipa's preparatory materials he distinguishes between the lyrical and dramatic vertexes of the ballet, in the book Choreographic Revelations (1972) Lopukhov compares the choreography of The Kingdom of Shadows to a sonata form of movements addressed to the sight and suitable for revealing the inner content of the ballet.