Ludwig Minkus

La Bayadere: Pas de Deux

The ballet La Bayadère ("The Temple Dancer" or "The Temple Maiden") was created in 1877 for famed French choreographer Marius Petipa to music by Ludwig Minkus (1826-1917). In four acts and seven tableaux, the ballet tells the story of the bayadère Nikiya and the warrior Solor, lovers who are beset by jealous rivals, arranged marriages beyond their control, murder, an opium-fueled hallucination of the afterlife, and a vengeful god that destroys the temple and everybody in it as revenge for Nikiya's murder. It was first performed on February 4, 1877, by the Imperial Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia. It was hailed as a success and masterpiece immediately after the premiere, particularly The Kingdom of the Shades scene in Act II, an excerpt which remains a major standalone work for the ballet repertoire. Modern performances of La Bayadère are almost always derived from a 1941 version sated for the Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet by Vladimir Ponomarev and Vakhtang Chabukiani, which incorporates additional music by Minkus, Drigo, and Pugni.

Act II takes place after Nikiya is killed by a concealed venomous snake. A depressed Solor smokes opium, resulting in a vision of Nikiya's spirit dwelling in the Kingdom of the Shades, a nirvana in the Himalayas. The two lovers reconcile among the shades of other bayadères in this Pas de deux, then Solor is awakened just in time for his arranged marriage to another woman.

This orchestration of the Pas de Deux from Act II has been completed by William McDermott. Instrumentation: 2.2.2.2: 4.2.3.0: Timp.Perc(2): Harp: Str (4-4-3-3-3 in set).