The Talisman (ballet)
# The Talisman (ballet)

Le Talisman is a ballet in 4 Acts and 7 Scenes, with choreography by Marius Petipa, and music by Riccardo Drigo. Libretto by Konstantin Augustovich Tarnovsky and Marius Petipa. It was premièred on February 6 [O.S. January 25] 1889 at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia This ballet gave rise to the so-called Talisman Pas de Deux, which is today danced by many ballet companies.

## Roles and original cast

| Role | St Petersburg 1889 | St Petersburg 1895 | St Petersburg 1909 |
| - | - | - | - |
| Niriti, daughter of the Queen of the Heavens | Elena Cornalba | Pierina Legnani | Olga Preobrajenska |
| Noureddin, the Maharajah | Pavel Gerdt | Pavel Gerdt | Nikolai Legat |
| Vayou, the Wind God | Enrico Cecchetti | Alexander Gorsky | Vaslav Nijinsky |
| Amravati, the Queen of the Heavens | Anna Johansson | | |
| Nal, the weaver's son | Alfred Bekefi | | |
| Nirilya, Nal's fiancée | Marie Petipa | | |
| King Akdar | | | Pavel Gerdt |

## Revivals/restagings

* Revival by Marius Petipa for the Imperial Ballet, with Drigo revising his score. First presented on November 4 [O.S. October 22] 1895 at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre.
* Revival by Nikolai Legat (based on Petipa's original choreography) for the Imperial Ballet, with Drigo revising and reorchestrating his original score. First presented on December 12 [O.S. November 29] 1909 at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre.
* Revival by Luigi Tornelli for the ballet of La Scala under the title Le Porte-bonheur. First presented at La Scala, Milan, Italy on 18 July 1908.
* Revival by Paul Chalmer and Ileana Citaristi for the Balletto del Teatro Filarmonico (a.k.a. the Arena Ballet). First presented on March 14, 1997, at the Teatro Verdi di Padova in Padua, Italy. Principal Dancers - Carla Fracci (as Niriti), Alessandro Molin (as Vayou, the Wind God), and Stephane Fournial (as Nouriddin).
