The Flower Festival in Genzano
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The Flower Festival in Genzano (Danish: Blomsterfesten i Genzano) is a one-act ballet by Danish choreographer and balletmaster August Bournonville (1805-1879). Bournonville created the work for Denmark's Royal Ballet in 1858 on the basis of the general enthusiasm among Danes for Italy. The libretto is taken from a tale found in Impressions de Voyage by Alexandre Dumas and tells the story of two real-life lovers, Rosa and Paolo. The music is by Edvard Helsted and Holger Simon Paulli.
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[edit] History
The ballet premiered 19 December 1858 in Copenhagen and was danced in its entirety by Denmarks' Royal Ballet until 1929 when it was dropped from the repertoire. The pas de deux was extracted from one of the ensemble dances, however, and lived on in Denmark's Royal Ballet School until Harald Lander, director of the Royal Ballet, once again brought it to the stage in 1949. It is considered one of Bournonville's most perfect compositions, a charming love duet between two young people where the steps express both their joy and their teasing playfulness. It is often performed at ballet galas to showcase the Bournonville style.
[edit] Music
For the famous pas de deux, composer Holger Paulli employed nearly all of Austrian composer, M. Strebinger's music for a pas de deux that was incorporated into the third act of Bournonville's 1856 staging of Napoli in Vienna.
The entrée of the pas de deux opens with an episode for solo violin, followed by a polka-like section. After the adage follows the male variation—this is set to a waltz taken from Adolphe Adam's score for Joseph Mazilier's 1845 ballet Le Diable à Quatre. The series of relatively short, tuneful passages continues and the pas de deux concludes with a characteristic coda. The music is completely representative of ballet music from the period.
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