Evolution of Romantic Ballet and European Opera

The Evolution of Romantic Ballet

Ballet continued evolving with technical virtuosity, new stage tricks, and more stylish postures and figures. The Italian choreographer Salvatore Viganò (1769–1821) was one of the first investigators of Romantic ballet. He invented "dance-dramas," which reinforced the expressiveness of dance and gave the dance troupe a dramatic use.

The premiere of La Sylphide (Paris, 1832) marked the event that began true Romantic ballet. During this era, pointe dancing (a significant advance in dance technique) became widespread, as did the white muslin tutu. Other notable Romantic ballets include:

• Giselle (1841) with music by Adolphe Adam
• Coppélia (1870) with music by Léo Delibes

The Russian Influence and Marius Petipa

In the late 19th century, Romantic ballet found its main core in Moscow due to the arrival of the French choreographer Marius Petipa (1822–1910) as the conductor of the Imperial Russian Ballet. Petipa created new movements like the pas de deux (steps for two, where the man holds and carries the woman) and gave male dance the same prominence as female dance. The collaboration between Petipa and Tchaikovsky delivered timeless masterpieces: Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker.

The Development of European Opera

French Grand Opera and Operetta

In France, Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791–1864) was the creator of the "grand opera" with works like Les Huguenots. Jacques Offenbach (1819–1880) served as the main representative of the "operetta" with Orpheus in the Underworld. Meanwhile, Georges Bizet (1838–1875) composed Carmen, a realistic opera set in Seville.

German Romanticism and Richard Wagner

In Germany, the initiator of Romantic opera was Carl Maria von Weber (1786–1826) with Der Freischütz (The Marksman). However, the great leading figure of German opera was Richard Wagner (1813–1883), who conceived opera as a "total work of art": poetry, music, set design, and action combined to create a continuous "musical drama." The texts of his operas were inspired by Greek mythology. Among his works, we can highlight his tetralogy The Ring of the Nibelung and Tristan and Isolde.

The Spanish Zarzuela Tradition

In Spain, the reaction against the influence of Italian opera revitalized the zarzuela as the typical national genre, which evolved in two different ways:

• The Zarzuela Grande: Structured in three acts with a larger musical development, represented by Francisco Asenjo Barbieri (1823–1894) with El barberillo de Lavapiés.
• The Género Chico: Presented in a single act with fewer characters and a predominance of spoken text over sung text, represented by Federico Chueca (1848–1908) with La Gran Vía and Tomás Bretón (1850–1923) with La verbena de la Paloma.