La Bayadère

1st ACT
1st SCENE
Night. Sacred grove. The Military Commander Solor is hunting near the Palace where his beloved Bayadere Nikiya lives. Solor entrusts his devoted fakir Magavedee to let Nikiya know that he will be waiting for her at night time near the Palace. The Great Brahmin, his priests and the Bayaderes, the Temple Dancers open the Fire worship festival. The culmination of the festivities is the dance of the beautiful Bayadere – Nikiya.

The Passionate love to Nikiya makes the Great Brahmin forget about his rank and celibacy. He promises all the riches of India for her love to the Bayadere. But Nikiya rejects his ardent declaration of love.

The rite is over. The Holy procession returns back to the Temple. Nikiya is waiting for her beloved impatiently. The fakir Magavedee is protecting the secret meeting of Nikiya and Solor. Solor suggests to Nikiya to run away. Far away from this place, somewhere they are unknown, where they will be happy. The Bayadere agrees. At the Sacred Fire the Military Commander gives an oath in everlasting love and fidelity. The Great Brahmin witnesses the meeting of the lovers and desperately swears to revenge.

2nd SCENE
The Palace of the Rajah. The Rajah Dugmanta announces to his daughter Gamzatti that she will marry the noble warrior Solor. Gamzatti is happy. In spite of the fact that Solor is touched by the beauty of Gamzatti, he can not forget the Bayadere, he has vowed in faithfulness. But he has no right to refuse the high honor to become Gamzatti`s husband.

Nikiya is being invited to the Palace for the rite of Gamzatti`s initiation into brides. The Great Brahmin also appears at the Palace. Having in his mind to ruin the rival, he tells the Rajah about the love between Nikiya and Solor. Dugmanta is enraged but he doesn`t change his mind. Solor must be his daughter`s husband and the Bayadere has to dye. The Great Brahmin didn`t expect such a denouement, he threatens the Rajah with the divine scourge, but Dugmanta is adamant.

Having overheard the conversation, Gamzatti sends the slave girl for Nikiya and as if occasionally shows her the portrait of her fiancee. Nikiya is in despair: Solor loves only her and will belong only to her. Gamzatti demands, threatens Nikiya to give up Solor, but the Bayadere will better dye than part with her beloved. In a fit of anger Nikiya raises the knife upon her rival, but the slave girl comes in time just to hold her. The Rajah`s Daughter vows vengeance: Nikiya will dye!

SECOND ACT
The square in front of the Rajah`s palace. The celebration in honor of Gamzatti`s and Solor`s engagement is on. Nikiya has to dance at this occasion, but she can not hide her grief. During Nikiya`s ritual dance she is bestowed a basket of flowers on Gamzatti`s order. Nikiya takes the basket and continues the dance. All of a sudden a snake crawls out of the flowers and mortally bites the Bayadere. This is Gamzatti`s revenge.

The Great Brahmin offers an antidote to Nikiya that will save her. Faithful to her love Nikiya pushes away the flask and throws herself into the arms of Solor. Dying she reminds to her beloved about his oath.

THIRD ACT
An Opium divan. Disconsolate Solor can find peace nowhere. Repentance torments him. Magavedee calls the snake charmer, trying to the youth off his gloomy thoughts. With the music of the flute he falls into the world of sweet dreams. The kingdom of shades appears from the dark. Long chain of dancing shades comes down from the mountain ledges. The light vision of the deceased Bayadere slides among them. She calls for Solor

Historical reference

«La Bayad`re» the ballet by L.Minkus was first staged in the St. Petersburg`s Mariinsky Theatre by the prominent choreographer Marius Petipa. It is considered one of the best productions of the world classical ballet heritage. This performance has summed up the findings and gains of the world ballet theatre and has become a landmark for a whole period in the ballet history. It is here that the dramaturgy got its perfect forms of poetic transformation in dance. Many a time the ballet was staged on the theatrical boards of the world, but nevertheless it typically belongs to St. Petersburg, as it demands crystal purity of dance, refined generosity of form and highest performance culture, both dancing and acting.

The literary sources of «La Bayad`re» are the drama «Shakuntala» by the ancient Indian poet Kalidasa and Goethe`s «The God and the Temple Dancer». The action takes place in Ancient India. The heroes are Brahmins, Fakirs, Dancers (bayad`res) who lived in the Temple since early childhood and who took part in the religious ceremonies. At the heart of the plot lies the all-consuming love of the Bayad`re Nikiya, faithfulness and betrayal, sincerity and treachery…

Making use of the exotic plot, Marius Petipa has expanded a series of classical dances exquisitely ornamented with elements of oriental plastics (the «Indian dance», the «Dance with the snake»). The fantastic scene «The Kingdom of Shades» from the third act even till now remains a masterpiece, unsurpassed in beauty and harmony and it is often performed as a separate concert piece.

During its long stage history the choreography of the ballet underwent inevitable, at times considerable alterations. The XX century choreographers were anxious either to restore the original, or to create new versions as Petipa?s masterpiece gradually slipped away.

Almost 130 years have passed since the first staging of the ballet «La Bayad`re», but it is still among the favourite performances both with the choreographers and with the dancers. It still attracts and excites the spectators with the emotional expressiveness of the music, the dramatic plot and the beauty of the choreography. «La Bayad`re» stands in the repertoire of the Biggest theatres of the world, including the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, the Royal Opera House «Covent Garden» in London, New-York Ballet Theatre, Grand Opera in Paris, etc. masterpiece gradually slipped away.

«La Bayad`re» was staged in Belarus only once, in 1959. Those days the main role of the bayad`re Nikiya was played by the dazzling dancers, People`s Artists of Belarus Lidiya Ryazhenova and Nina Davidenko.