A slightly earlier contemporary to Marius Petipa was Arthur Saint-Léon. Preceding Petipa in the role of Maître de ballet of the Imperial Ballet, Saint-Léon arrived in Saint Petersburg in 1859, holding his post for 10 years. During that time he’d create and stage ballets for the company, and one of them, was 1864’s Fiammetta, often given the longer title of Fiammetta, the Triumph of Love.

Unlike my last posts in this series, Fiammetta had continuing success, being performed by multiple companies, and being revived multiple times. But it does not exist today, unlike some of Saint-Léon’s other ballets, which live on in various forms.

Saint-Léon & Company

Arthur Saint-Léon (1821-1870), born Charles Victor Arthur Michel, was born in a theatrical family. His Father had been a dancer, and was now a ballet master. Encouraged to study music and dance by his Father, Saint-Léon studied violin and dance. His 1849 ballet Le Violon du diable (produced first for the Paris Opera Ballet), would showcase his musical skills; as the lead Urbain, he played the violin during the ballet.

As a dancer, Saint-Léon was employed in theatres across Western Europe. As a choreographer, his first successes came in the mid-1840s. La Vivandière (London, 1844), one of his most early successes, has the distinction of still existing today. Well, part of it. The Pas de six was notated by Saint-Léon, using his own method of notation, and was reconstructed in its original form in 1975.

Going back to 1844, Saint-Léon danced Hans in La Vivandière, opposite Fanny Cerrito (1817-1909). The pair would be married from 1845-1851, and were employed at the Paris Opera in 1847. While there, he would both revive and create ballets. He’d leave the Opera in 1851 after splitting from Cerrito.

As stated in the introduction, Saint-Léon would be employed at the Imperial Ballet in 1859. But, in a remarkable coup, he took advantage of the short seasons in Russian theatre, and was reemployed at the Paris Opera from 1863 until his death. Thus, he, as Ivor Guest writes in his Paris Opera Ballet, ‘achieved the unique distinction of dominating both French and Russian ballet simultaneously’.

The composer for Fiammetta was Ludwig Minkus (1826-1917). Minkus was not only a good friend of Saint-Léon, but a prolific composer of ballet music. His well-known ballet scores today are for Don Quixote (1869) and La Bayadère (1877). Fiammetta would be his first full-length Grande Ballet score, and he would continue to collaborate with Saint-Léon, most notably on 1867’s Le Poisson doré, or Zolotaia Ribka.

Fiammetta or the Triumph of Love, was not the ballet’s original title. It had actually premiered in November 1863, until the title of Flame of Love, or The Salamander, and would be the first of many name changes for the ballet. The Salamander was a work for the Bolshoi Ballet of Moscow, and Anna Sobeshchanskaya (1842-1918) originated the title role. Sobeshchanskaya is most known today for originating the role of Kitri in Don Quixote (1869), and for putting a Marius Petipa-choreographed pas de deux into the original 1877 Moscow production of Swan Lake (the music for this pas de deux is today used for Balanchine’s Tchaikovsky Pas de deux).

Sources point to revisions being made between the two premieres (it premiered in Saint Petersburg in February 1864), and more of the cast for the Imperial Ballet premiere is known. So, I shall use this cast to showcase the characters.

The Dancers

Marfa Nikolaevna Muravyova (also romanised Martha Muravieva, 1838-1879) originated the title role, Fiammetta. Muravyova had been deemed as a great talent since her days in the Imperial Ballet School, being singled out by prima ballerina Fanny Elssler. She had graduated into the company in 1857, being applauded for her technique. She danced in Moscow from 1860, and was successful in the role of Giselle in Paris, during 1862. Fiammetta premiered during her benefit performance. The following year, at the age of 27, she’d retire from the theatre, marrying a Saint Petersburg Marshal. Her retirement has been attributed by historians to the wishes of her future husband or her future mother-in-law.

In the main danseur role of Count Sternhold was Lev Ivanovich Ivanov (1834-1901). Ivanov is most known today for choreographing The Nutcracker and the 1895 version of Swan Lake, alongside Marius Petipa. Before this, however, he had a long dancing career in Russia.

Ragonda, who is unhappily engaged to Sternhold, was danced by Alexandra Nikolaevna Kemmerer (1842-1931). Kemmerer graduated from the Imperial Ballet School in 1858, and would dance in both Saint Petersburg and Moscow.

Christian Johansson (1917-1903) would dance Otto, the real love of Ragonda. Like Ivanov, Johansson (born in Denmark) was a dancer with a long career at the Imperial Ballet. He turned to teaching, with students like Anna Pavlova, Mikhail Fokine, Tamara Karsavina, Mathilde Kschessinskaya, Olga Preobrajenskaya, and Nikolai and Sergei Legat dancing their way through his classes.

Cupid, or Amour, who aims to unite Otto and Ragonda, was danced by Vera Alexandrovna Lyadova (1839-1870), in a en travesti role. The daughter of ballet conductor Alexander Nikolaevich Lyadov, she graduated from the Imperial Ballet School in 1858, and gained her first role of note the same year, being featured in Eoline, ou la Dryade (a revised staging by Jules Perrot of his earlier ballet of the same name).

Maria Sokolova danced Terpsichore, a soloist role in Act I. Sokolova graduated into the company in 1851, and had danced featured soloist roles in ballets in the past. Eolinda, one of Ragonda’s friends (the other is Margharita), was danced by Mlle Simskaya. While there are a few Simskayas floating about the company in the 19th century, the most likely Mlle Simskaya is Anna Simskaya, who graduated in 1866.

The Coquetry, likely another featured soloist role, was Mlle Radina I. There were just as many Radinas as there were Simskayas: Elizabeta Radina (graduated 1844), Sofya Petrovna Radina (graduated 1852), Lyubov Petrovna Radina (graduated 1855), Vera Radina (graduated 1860) and Olga Radina (graduated 1864). The most likely culprit here is Lyubov Petrovna Radina, who danced in the company from 1855-1885, becoming the leading character dancer. Her sister Sofya had already left the company, and Elizabeta most likely had too, making Lyubov Radina I. To add to this, she had featured roles in other ballets by Saint-Léon.

Mlle Nikulina danced Princess Millefleurs, Ragonda’s Mother. This is probably Alexandra Nikulina, who graduated into the company in 1847, making her a senior dancer who was most likely dancing a role similar to Giselle’s Mother in Giselle.

The rest of the characters included Margharita, Ragonda’s other friend; Mercury, a God who appeared with Terpsichore and Cupid in Act I; Molari, Count Sternhold’s tutor and guardian; Martini, the Count’s servant; Count Sternhold’s three friends (unnamed roles, but all male); A Gypsy (another male role); Four Gypsy Women, and the corps roles of Graces, Nymphs, Cupids, Muses, Gypsies and Peasants.

The Plot

Fiammetta is a fantastic ballet in 4 Acts. As the name suggest these ballets are rooted in fantasy, and a lot of 19th-century ballets feature the supernatural and mystical. The ballet takes place in Tyrol, a region in modern day Italy and Austria.

Act I

The ballet begins in the realms of Olympus, where Terpsichore and nymphs are entertaining Cupid. Mercury interrupts the gatherings, to tell Cupid of a young man from Earth. This man (Count Sternhold) doesn’t believe in the existence of Cupid. He has lost his riches through gambling and mismanagement, and aims to marry rich in order to become rich again. The girl he aims to marry (Ragonda), is the daughter of the well-off Princess Millefleurs, but is already in love with another man, Otto, who reciprocates the love.

On one side of the stage Ragonda and Otto appear, while on the opposite side Count Sternhold and his friends are seen gambling and drinking. The house Sternhold is in has a notice on the door, saying ‘LOVE FORBIDDEN HERE‘. Cupid observes this and decides to do something to help Ragonda marry her true love. He summons his followers and gets them to hunt down the Flame of Love. He uses the flame to conjure up Fiammetta, a beautiful spirit girl. Cupid sends Fiammetta to go win over Sternhold, no matter what it takes.

Act II

Sternhold and his friends are with the gypsies, drinking and making fun of love. They hear a gunshot and go to investigate, meeting a Huntsman, who is actually Cupid in disguise. After a bit of back-and-forth, Cupid agrees to join them, and goes to fetch his companion, a gypsy girl. His companion is actually Fiammetta in disguise. Sternhold is fascinated by Fiammetta, much to his friends’ amusement.

Various couples, including a peasant couple with a baby, are shown mingling outside the house. Sternhold becomes more interested in the couples, but Cupid reminds him of the sign on the door of his abode. Martini, Sternhold’s servant, finds his change in attitude hilarious, so Cupid has a bit of fun, making Martini fall in love with a woman he sees as young, but in reality is old.

The party is broken up when Sternhold’s tutor Molari arrives. He reminds Sternhold of his squalor, and advises him to hasten his marriage to Ragonda. Sternhold agrees, as long as he can have one final night of partying, and Molari acquiesces.

Sternhold then approaches Fiammetta and asks her to become his mistress. She is not amused, and he ends up kneeling to ask for forgiveness. Cupid brings in Sternhold’s friends, intending to tell them of his offer to Fiammetta in an attempt to bring about mockery. Fiammetta intervenes, resolving the argument.

At the end of the act Molari returns and sends everyone at the party away. Sternhold realises his love for Fiammetta, and Cupid changes the sign on the door. Instead of reading ‘LOVE FORBIDDEN HERE‘, it now reads ‘THE ABODE OF PURE LOVE‘.

Act III

Princess Millefleurs, being attended to by Otto and over servants, is informed Sternhold will be arriving. She summons Ragonda, who is not happy. The Princess ask Ragonda’s friends to entertain her, which they do, asking her to shut her eyes and choose between roses (the flower of joy), and scabious (the flower of sadness). She chooses the scabious, but her friends give her the roses.

Otto appears, upset, and Ragonda reassures him, telling him she’ll never marry another. Their conversation is interrupted when Ragonda’s friends warn her: Princess Millefleurs is returning with the visitors. Otto scarpers. Ragonda offers no warm greeting to Sternhold, and he, enamoured by Fiammetta, forgets about social etiquette. Millefleurs interprets this as tiredness, and proposes Sternhold sleep at the castle that evening, and the marriage contract will be signed the next morning.

Sternhold goes to sleep, and his servant Martini goes to do the same, but his is startled by an apparition. Martini, in fear, awakes Sternhold, who goes to see the ‘apparition’. What Sternhold sees, is a series of ghostly pictures: Cupid and Fiammetta, Otto and Ragonda, and again Fiammetta, who tells Sternhold she can never be his. Sternhold panics himself into exhaustion, and calls for help.

Help arrives, with the Princess, Ragonda and friends, and servants rushing in. They try to comfort him, unaware of what caused his fear.

Act IV

Peasants are dancing with flowers, to celebrate the union of Sternhold and Ragonda. A Notary enters, alongside Fiammetta, who hands Ragonda a bouquet. The Princess is intrigued by Fiammetta’s beauty, asking friends who she is, but nobody knows. The Notary tells Princess Millefleurs Ragonda is his daughter, revealing to the audience that he is really Cupid.

Ragonda works up to courage to tell her Mother of her love for Otto, while Fiammetta pushes Sternhold to break off the engagement. Cupid ends up ripping the marriage contract apart, saying he’ll unite Otto and Ragonda, who are true lovers. He informs everyone of Sternhold’s intention to marry Ragonda for money, and of his love for Fiammetta.

At the same moment that Cupid reveals Fiammetta is not from Earth, she dissolves into a flame and disappears. In anger Count Sternhold goes to fight Cupid, who takes off his disguise and reveals himself as the God of Love. Everyone bows to the God, and Princess Millefleurs consents to the union of Ragonda and Otto.

Reception

Reception to Fiammetta was positive. Reviewers noted that the scenario (written by Saint-Léon) was able to combine the Gods, the peasants, the nobility, and the gypsies, all groups who are commonly used as characters in ballet.

Minkus’ score was acclaimed as wel. Mavriky Yakolevich Rappaport (1927-1885), a theatre and music critic, highlights the freshness and beautiful melodies of the score. Of course the success of the music can also be shown by the continuing artistic collaboration between Minkus and Saint-Léon, and Minkus’ later involvement with Marius Petipa’s ballets.

A reviewer for the Saint Petersburg theatre magazine Russkaya Stsena (Russian Scene) noted Saint-Léon’s ability to ‘decorate his Fiammetta with the most elegant groups and beautiful pas‘. Multiple critics said it showed why Saint-Léon was such a great choreographer; the variety of his dances and the combination of mime and dance were both lauded, with the most notable applause coming for the Gypsy Variation that Fiammetta uses to entice Sternhold in Act II.

Revivals

Imperial Ballet Performers

Dancers to perform the title role after Muravyeva would include:

• Praskovya Prokhorovna Lebedeva (1839-1917). Lebedeva was a Bolshoi dancer, and no sources give information as to whether she danced in The Salamander version, or Fiammetta. It’s possible she was brought over to Saint Petersburg, or she preceded Muravyeva, even though sources don’t seem to suggest that.
• Matilda Nikolaevna Madaeva (1842-1889). Graduating into the company from the Imperial Ballet School in 1861, she danced until her retirement in 1878. She would’ve first danced the role sometime between Fiammetta’s premiere and the end of the 1864/1865 ballet season, as the next name listed shows.
• Saint-Léon revived the ballet in November 1865 for the debut of his protégée Adele Grantzow (1845-1877). She was recalled in front of the curtain 22 times after her premiere. She’d have a successful career as a dancer in Saint Petersburg and Paris, and was due to be the first Coppélia, rehearsing the role in the Summer of 1868. Unfortunately she became seriously ill, and Saint-Léon had to replace her, something that too considerable time. Her career ended in 1870 when she injured her leg while in Saint Petersburg, and she’d die in 1877 after an unsuccessful operation.
• Evgeniya Pavlovna Sokolova (1850-1925) and Maria Ogoleyt (?-?) are both said to have performed the title role. However, Maria graduated from the Imperial School in 1877, so she either performed as a student, never performed the role at all, or it lasted longer than we suspect. In Sokolova’s case, it is more likely, but not much is known about when she debuted in the role, if she did at all.

The ballet would remain in the repertoire for around a decade.

Paris, 11th July 1864

Fiammetta debuted in Paris in the Summer of 1864, though, once again, its name would be changed. In Paris it was known as Néméa ou L’Amour Vengé, and was condensed into two acts with a reworked score. Design for this production was done by Edouard Despléchin and Jean-Baptiste Lavastre, with costumes by Paul Lormier and Alfred Albert. The names of the characters were different, and the setting was changed to Hungary. The adaptation of the ballet was done by Ludovic Halévy and Henri Meilhac, most known for writing the libretto for Bizet’s Carmen, and the works of Jacques Offenbach.

A large majority of the cast for this production is known.

• Muravyeva reprised her role as Néméa (Fiammetta). Having previously danced in Paris it probably seemed like a no-brainer to management to invite her again.
• Count Molder (Sternhold) was danced by Louis Mérante (1828-1887) Mérante was active in the world of dance from 1848 until his death. A student of Lucien Petipa (brother of Marius), Mérante would become the Maître de ballet at the Paris Opera from 1869-1887. He also choreographed works, including Sylvia (1876) and Les Deux Pigeons (1886).
• Marie Sanlaville (1847-1930) danced the role of Hermiola (Ragonda). Sanlaville was a well-known dancer, who was a friend and muse of artists Edgar Degas and Ludovic-Napoléon Lepic (her relationship with the latter was more than friendly). She’d origInate roles in both of Mérante’s aforementioned ballets: Eros in Sylvia, and Pepio (the leading male role, danced en travesti) in Les Deux Pigeons.
• Kiralfi (Otto) was danced by Monsieur Rémond. Rémond would also have featured roles in Lucien Petipa’s Graziosa (1861, as a soldier), as a Sylvan in Sylvia, and as the Mikado in Mérante’s 1879 ballet Yedda.
• Eugénie Fiocre (1845-1908) triumphed in the role of Cupid, garnering applause for her role. Fiorce was Sanlaville’s predecessor in en travesti roles, and Cupid was the first to really get her noticed. She’d go on to originate Franz in Saint-Léon’s final ballet, Coppélia.

Other roles were taken by Monsieurs Dauty (Moko, the Count’s friend), Chapuy (Istwann, a Gypsy man), Lenfant (Minden, Hermiola’s Father), and Mademoiselles Caroline (Katerina, Hermiola’s Mother), Aline (Ilka, a Gypsy woman), Marie Pilatte (Yolanda, Hermiola’s friend) and Verne (Little Faun).

The condensed synopsis omits Sternhold’s marriage to Ragonda, and Cupid’s plan to stop it, instead having Count Molder disrespect both Cupid and Hermiola during the wedding celebrations of Hermiola and Kiralfi. In particular, he knocks a bust of Cupid off the plinth it was on. Néméa, here a normal peasant, goes to the now-empty statue of Cupid, confiding that she is in love with Molder. The true Cupid appears, and tells her Molder is guilty of disrespecting love. As night falls, nymphs and fauns appear to dance, disappearing when Molder returns. He looks at the fallen bust. When he leaves, Cupid appears on the empty plinth, and points ominously as the backdrop showing Molder’s castle.

Act II begins at dawn, where Molder and his friends have been partying in his castle all night. They hear music and go to investigate, finding a group of travelling players. The players agree to entertain them, and their leader, who is Cupid in disguise, brings Néméa in. The Count falls for her, but Cupid tells him Néméa will never be his. Molder becomes enraged and draws his sword, and he is promptly turned to stone by Cupid. Néméa pleads with Cupid, and the walls of the castle dissolve, revealing the Temple of Love, with the bust of Cupid restored. Everyone bows to the God, and Cupid pardons the Count after Néméa pleads for his forgiveness.

The ballet was a success, and the premiere was star studded. Most notably, Empress Eugénie was in attendance. It remained in repertory until 1871, garnering 53 performances.

Trieste, Italy

Fiammetta’s name would be changed again for it Italian performances, this time to Fiamma d’Amore. What would remain unchanged was its lead, as Saint-Léon would mount the ballet for Adele Grantzow once again. This time it would be at the Teatro Communale (today the Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi) in Trieste, Italy, where it premiered on the 15th March 1868. Apart from this information, nothing is known about the cast, or how long the ballet was performed for, though it likely wasn’t long.

Marius Petipa’s revival

On the 18th December 1887, a revival mounted by Marius Petipa premiered. The Italian ballerina Elena Cornalba (fl.1878-1895) danced the role of Fiammetta. Cornalba is not as known fellow Italian contemporary Pierina Legnani, who wouldn’t arrive in St Petersburg until 1893. Getting her start in Milan and Paris, Cornalba would originate the lead roles of Amata in Petipa’s The Vestal (1888), and Ella in The Talisman (1889). She can later be found at the Empire Theatre in London, where she was employed in 1888, 1892 and 1895, but drops off the grid after that.

In the role of Count Friedrich Sternhold was Pavel Andreyevich Gerdt. Gerdt (1844-1917) was the supreme danseur noble of the era, originating roles in Sleeping Beauty (Prince Désiré, 1890), The Nutcracker (Sugar Plum Fairy’s Cavalier, 1892), Raymonda (Abderakhman, 1898), alongside the 1895 revival of Swan Lake, where he danced Siegfried. Outside of dance, he was a remarkable teacher, sharing a lot of students with Christian Johansson, so much so that most students who passed through the school were taught by either one or both of them.

Marie Mariusovna Petipa (1857-1930), the daughter of Marius, danced Cupid. Her most well known originate role is the Lilac Fairy in Sleeping Beauty, and she would also dance the Czardas (Hungarian Dance) in the 1895 revival of Swan Lake.

A young dancer named Alexandra Vinogradova (?-1889) danced in the revival in some capacity, and she graduated the year the revival debuted. She’d pass away two years later after falling ill sometime in 1888. Sources don’t list her role- if she was Ragonda (or another non-Fiammetta role), she could’ve debuted in 1887, if she was Fiammetta it shows the ballet had a second, or replacement, cast.

We also know that Mathilde Kschessinskaya (1872-1971) danced in the revival. In her memoirs, Kschessinskaya mentions dancing in Act II of the ballet on the 8th February 1898 during a benefit performance for her Father Felix, writing that she loved this ballet, as did Tsar Nicholas II. The same programme (including Fiammetta, and the Third Act of Petipa’s Bluebeard) was performed on the 15th February. Act II of Fiammetta was performed again on the 19th April, with Kschessinskaya in the lead role.

Kschessinskaya mentions dancing the Second Act again in 1911, during a special performance to mark her 20 years on the stage. The programme included Act I of Don Quixote, Act III of Paquita and Act II of Fiammetta, with the cast for the latter including:

• Kschessinskaya as Fiammetta
• Nikolai Legat (1869-1937) as Sternhold.
• Tamara Karsavina (1885-1978) as Cupid.
• Timofey Stoukolkin as Martini.
• Pavel Gerdt as Molari.

A magazine looking at Petrograd (St Petersburg) Academic Theatres from 1917-1922 mentions Fiammetta as being among the revived ballets, but again, only the Second Act. Fiammetta is mentioned among the repertoire of Olga Spessivtseva, who was promoted to the rank of ballerina in 1918, so it could be possible she was dancing the role at this time. It seems that this was the last time Fiammetta was in repertoire, anywhere in the world.

So why is it forgotten?

In ballets I’ve examined before there has been a good reason for the ballets’ fade into obscurity: they weren’t very good, or they didn’t appeal to a large audience. But this one’s different. Audiences loved it, as did critics, and Alexander Alekseevich Plescheev (1858-1944), a theatre critic and ballet historian, listed it among Saint-Léon’s best works. We have to look deeper.

Saint-Léon left Russia in 1869, just one year before his death. His swan song was Coppélia (1870), and he passed away not long after its premiere. While Coppélia and The Little Humpbacked Horse are still retained in some form, his other works haven’t been as lucky. One could argue that this is due to the Russian Revolution of 1917. A lot of ballets were dropped from the repertoire in the years following the revolution, and slowly, the people who knew them passed away or left the country.

Furthermore, as Fiammetta‘s success was largely inside Russia, not many outside of the country would have known much about it. Classics like Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty were not seen in full in the West until the early 20th century. By that time a ballet from the 1860s with only a Second Act that was regularly performed would not be anyone’s top priority.

But what about Paris?, you might be asking. Well, on the 29th October 1873, a fire destroyed the Salle Le Peletier, the ballet’s resident theatre. Nearly all costumes and sets for ballets in the current repertoire were burnt to a crisp, so, even if those sets and costumes for Néméa were retained or reused, it wasn’t like they could do much with them now. Combine this with the devastation that the Franco-Prussian war had brought to the ballet, and you can see why there wasn’t much of an effort to try and recreate everything they lost.

To add to this, I imagine some of it is just changing tastes. Saint-Léon’s ballets utilised a lot of mime. The classic ballets that have come down to us are very different from their original stagings, even if those stagings were acclaimed. The Soviet-era of Russian ballet brought about new choreographers, and new ideas, motifs and themes. Perhaps there was just not a place for Fiammetta in the repertory.

While it may be forgotten today, Fiammetta does have a legacy. It’s been pointed to to be the first Russian ballet to use stage devices like electric lighting and mirror shadow effects. Ekaterina Vazem said Marius Petipa was influenced by Fiammetta‘s first act when it came to choosing settings for his 1889 ballet The Talisman (which has a similarly Godly beginning).

Sources

Beaumont, Cyril W. (1956). The Complete Book of Ballets. Putnam, London, England.

Beaumont, Cyril W. (2020 reprint). A History of Ballet in Russia. Noverre Press, Hampshire, England.

Guest, Ivor (1992). Ballet in Leicester Square. Dance Books, London, England.

Guest, Ivor (2006). The Paris Opera Ballet. Dance Books, Alton, England.

Kschessinskaya, Mathilde (1977). Dancing in Petersburg. Da Capo Press, New York, US.

Petipa, Marius, ed. Lillian More, transl. Helen Whittaker (1958). Russian Ballet Master: The Memoirs of Marius Petipa. A. & C. Black Ltd., London, England.

Свешникова, А. Л. (2008). Петербургские сезоны Артура Сен-Леона.

Ludwig Minkus: Fiammetta/Néméa and Le Poisson doré (Essay by Robert Ignatius Letellier): https://www.cambridgescholars.com/resources/pdfs/978-1-4438-1951-0-sample.pdf

Fiammetta on the Marius Petipa Society Site: https://petipasociety.com/fiametta/

Vaganova Academy Graduates (Russian): https://vaganovaacademy.ru/academy/history/vipuskniki.html

Magazine for Petrograd Theatres, 1917-1922 (Russian, mention of Fiammetta on P47 of PDF, P38 of Magazine): http://full.sptl.spb.ru/OKH/EGENEDELNIK%20PETROGRADSKICH%20GOS.%20AKAD.%20TEATROV/epgat_1922_n_08(05.11).pdf