The Corsair
Ballet in two acts on a theme by Kader Belarbi
inspired by Lord Byron’s poem The Corsair (1814)
Creation by the Ballet du Capitole on 16 May 2013
Music Adolphe Adam, Anton Arenski, David Coleman, Edouard Lalo, Massenet, Jean Sibelius
Choreography and staging Kader Belarbi
Sets Sylvie Olivé
Sets assistant Camille Ansquer
Costumes Olivier Bériot
Lighting Marion Hewlett
The huge success of Lord Byron’s The Corsair, right from its publication in 1814, fed a taste for the exotic in artists and audiences throughout the 19th century.
Byron’s poem has been an endless source of inspiration for numerous choreographers, but no other French choreographic version has seen the light of day since that of Jules Mazilier in 1856. This choreographic adaptation of Byron’s poem, set to music by Adolphe Adam, was produced for the Ballet de l’Opéra de Paris. At the end of the 19th century, Marius Petipa created his own version for the Imperial Ballet in Saint-Petersburg.
Today, Kader Belarbi has rearranged the narrative of the initial poem, creating a great epic ballet that is both academic and with an oriental twist. The choreography plays on the virtuosity of the ensembles and the solo variations, the spirit of romantic ballet and its intertwining, the adventures of the action and exotic feel of the entertainment.
Liens de Table
Table's ties
Premiere by the Ballet du Capitole on 12 February 2010
Music Dimitri Chostakovitch
Choreography Kader Belarbi
Costumes Michaela Buerger
Lighting Sylvain Chevallot
A father, mother, daughter and son sit down to eat. Animated by their impulses, this family theatre becomes a sometimes tragic play. The son’s emancipation and rebellion triggers tensions. Kader Belarbi seeks to X-ray the complex family ties that are often revealed paroxysmally during traditional family meals.
A nos Amours
To our Loves
Creation by the Ballet du Capitole on February 12, 2010
Music Gabriel Fauré, Reynaldo Hahn, Zoltán Kodály and Arvo Pärt
Choreography Kader Belarbi
Stage design Kader Belarbi and Michaëla Buerger
Costumes Michaëla Buerger
Lighting Sylvain Chevallot
A love story through the three stages of life - youth, adulthood and old age - symbolised by three couples who meet, intertwine, pull apart and return to one another. A sentimental journey through a pas de deux to the music of Arvo Pärt, Gabriel Fauré, Zoltán Kodály and Reynaldo Hahn.