The Pharaoh's Daughter


The Pharaoh's Daughter (Russian: Дочь фараона, French: La Fille du pharaon), is a ballet choreographed by Marius Petipa to music by Cesare Pugni. The libretto was a collaboration between Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Petipa from Théophile Gautier's Le Roman de la momie. It was first presented by the Imperial Ballet at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre, in St. Petersburg, Russia, on 18 January (30 January) 1862, with the design by A. Roller, G. Wagner (scenery), Kelwer and Stolyakov (costumes).

The principal dancers at the opening night were Carolina Rosati (Mummy/Aspicia), Nicholas Goltz (Pharaoh), Marius Petipa (Ta-Hor), Timofey Stoukolkin as John Bull, Lubov Radina (Ramzaya), Felix Kschessinskiy (King of Nubia), and Lev Ivanov (Fisherman). For Petipa it was the last role: he has finished his career as a dancer; he became ballet master.

The Sergeyev Collection, which is part of the Harvard University Theatre Collection, contains choreographic notations of the Imperial Ballet's production of The Pharaoh's Daughter, created circa 1905. The notations document the choreography and mise-en-scène as staged by Marius Petipa for his last revival of 1898, which was mounted especially for the benefit performance of Mathilde Kschessinskaya.