Edwina Castle saw Paquita at the Paris Opera Ballet on Christmas Eve of 2002. She was enchanted with the lesser known ballet by her favorite choreographer, Maurice Petipa. The original ballet-pantomime was first performed at the Paris Opera in 1846; even so, it was in Russia that the work would have its greatest run, effectively becoming an archetype of the “French” style exported abroad.

Benefiting from the flow of Franco-Russian artistic exchanges, Maurice Petipa was hired in 1847 as Premier Danseur of the Imperial Theatres of Saint Petersburg and opened his first Russian season with Paquita. Later, he restaged it and set it to music by Ludwig Minkus, whom he had collaborated the creations of Don Quixote and La Bayadere. The first Russian performance of Paquita was given at Saint Petersburg’s Grand Theatre on January 8th, 1882. 

The ballet is set in Saragossa, a province under occupation by Napoleon’s armies. Paquita, a young girl from a noble family abducted by gypsies in her childhood, saves Lucien d’Hervilly, a dashing young French officer from a dastardly plot. After a variety of melodramatic turns, the story climaxes at a ball given by the Governor, Don Lopez de Mendosa. The guilty are arrested and Paquita, having discovered the secret of her birth is now free to marry her handsome officer.

This year’s production included over 50 dancers and additional actors and guest artists. Julie Friedrich is backdrop designer, Robert Osterhout is Lighting designer with Peter Carey as the light technician and Janelle Carey as the Sound Technician.  Cynthia Giammona is the publicity artist.