Between 10 and 20 June 2026 at the University of Bologna, partly at the DamsLab Theatre, Jean-Guillaume Bart, together with Marco Argentina, carried out preliminary research into Marius Petipa’s original choreography for Raymonda in preparation for the production at the Rome Opera in October 2027. In particular, they focused on the Grand pas d’action and the character dances of the second act, as well as the Grand pas hongrois of the third act.
Previously, between January and May 2026, Argentina, under the supervision of Elena Randi, had prepared a translation from Stepanov notation of selected scenes from Raymonda, based on the choreographic score preserved in the Sergeev Collection at Harvard (MS Thr 245, 67). Although this manuscript is undated, it certainly dates from 1903, that is, a year which is not exactly the same as that of the premiere (1898), but is very close to it.
Argentina had also begun to correlate Aleksandr Glazunov’s music with the steps of Petipa’s choreography, although the choreographic score offers rather obscure links to the musical score, nor has a musical score been found that contains substantial references to the action (music transcribed by Antonio Frigé).
Crucial to establishing the connection with Glazunov’s composition and to deciphering certain particularly enigmatic passages was the work of ‘staging and musical interpretation’ carried out by Jean-Guillaume Bart, a former étoile at the Paris Opera and currently a professor with the Opera’s ballet company, as well as a choreographer at the world’s leading international theatres, who, drawing on his highly refined expertise, has succeeded in resolving even the most problematic passages in a scientifically credible manner.
Below, we present a couple of video clips illustrating the demanding process of establishing a close and complex connection between the work of the scholar and that of the artist, carried out in accordance with philological criteria.
