Le Corsaire

In Perm, Le Corsaire follows Adolphe Adam’s original score, which the theatre obtained from the archives of the Paris Opera. Marius Petipa’s 1863 production for the Mariinsky Theatre, with its adventurous plot, Oriental motifs, intricate romantic conflicts, exotic pirate themes, and impressive shipwreck scene in the finale, mean that this old ballet, based on Byron’s poem, looks less like a theatrical archaism than a big-budget blockbuster from the golden age of Hollywood. Ballet master Vasily Medvedev, who recreated Petipa’s choreography for the Perm Theatre, is convinced that Le Corsaire is “the precursor of ballet shows”.