Having lost Natalia Osipova and Nacho Duato, the Mikhailovsky Theater switched to the so-called "folk ballets", aimed at those who see ballet once every five years. However, this was the policy of this theater from the very beginning, from the very arrival of Kekhman: everything is for the common man, and let the highbrows go to the Mariinsky (Duato and Osipova’s invitation made me think differently about Mikhailovsky, but this was a temporary clouding of the director’s mind - no one knew that the real ballet is so expensive). "The Flames of Paris", and now "Vain Precaution" turned out to be a banal return back.

"Vain" is a highly specialized ballet. Interested by fans and connoisseurs. But Frederick Ashton - who for some connoisseurs is the brightest mediocrity of the 20th century, symbolizing the total inability of the British to engage in choreography, for other connoisseurs - the author of "Marguerite and Armand" with Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev, and then with Sylvie Guille and Nicolas Le Rich, for which you can forgive all other failures, but for others - a popularizer of high ballet, the author of simplified versions of many outstanding choreographies (, for example) - made a drama ballet from an exquisite masterpiece of sentimentalism (this performance was first staged on the St. Petersburg stage by S. Didlo). The drambalet turned out to be of high quality, a wide audience should like it. Moreover, in the first and second acts, a charming pony is brought onto the stage, the second act ends with a spectacular storm scene (“Swan” is resting), there are a lot of parody and ironic dance numbers in the performance, and most importantly, every movement is understandable without convolutions. Here they dance about love, and here about harvesting. Only Ashton has no dance in the truest sense. In the first act, a couple of simple variations by the soloist and soloist (the rest of the time they tie and untie bows, ribbons and other rubbish), in the second a slightly more complicated pas de deux, in the third a light dance of the heroine. Everything.
(For comparison, I vaguely remember Oleg Vinogradov's "Vain" in the Kirov in the 1980s - with Margarita Kullik and Vladimir Kim. No mass scenes, no ironic dances - but the soloist and soloist danced the entire ballet on a small technique. The performance was, to put it mildly, not masterpiece - but it was a ballet).
But how convenient for the theater management (English ballet still works on this principle, with minimization of costs). A soloist is not needed - anyone can dance. A soloist is no longer needed. The dramatic role of the widow mother is the brightest, but even here it is enough to get an experienced artistic dancer - and the job is done. It remains only to invite a pony. Horse and applaud the loudest. The freed money can be spent on an imported conductor - especially since Herold's music is not just "for the feet", it is very reminiscent of the dashing refrains of cartoons about Munghausen or the famous "His Excellency loved poultry."
However, the discovery of the Mikhailovsky Theater is Anastasia Soboleva, who performed the role of Lisa at the premiere. Finally, Mikhailovsky's recruiters were lucky and instead of heavy-lifting, wooden-type soloists, they found a talented, artistic (at least in the role of a gentle village girl), plastic ballerina. She has a lot of problems with technology, but with such data, this can be solved by attracting good tutors. It was very pleasant to look at Soboleva - she organically entered the fabric of the ballet. All the rest - as it should be. Victor Lebedev (Kolen) - Pinocchio, as always. Michael O "Hare (widow, mother of Lisa) dances at the Central European level, no more. Moderately artistic, moderately technical. There are not enough stars from the sky. I believe that Nikolai Tsiskaridze was much more interesting.
The general level of corps de ballet numbers is well demonstrated by two points. The dance of the rooster and hens, inserted into the text of the ballet several times: the whole is built on the imitation of ONE movement of birds. The dance of Alain, the son of the owner of the vineyard: as he begins to jump on an umbrella in his first appearance, he continues the whole ballet. One move to solve the main comic role! If this is not mediocrity, then what is mediocrity?
Ashton is strong with mass scenes, nuances of psychological play (for example, a widow, leaving the house coquettishly looks into the mirror), English irony in the relationships of characters, pantomime. Anything but dance. Therefore, Ashton's success with the audience of the Mikhailovsky Theater must be deafening. If only they go to the ballet with the mysterious name "Vain Precaution". The wide Russian audience does not know such a name.

"Vain Precaution" - literally translated "Poorly looked after daughter" - a ballet in two acts, created by the French choreographer Jean Dauberval. The music was not specially composed for the ballet; J. Dauberval used French folk melodies. Vain Precaution is the only ballet of the classical repertoire that has survived to our time, in which the characters were contemporaries of the spectator of the days of the premiere. The premiere took place on July 1, 1789 in Bordeaux.

Jean Dauberval, a student of Noverre and a successor to his choreographic ideas in creating an effective ballet, is the founder of the comedic ballet. The characters of his productions were not gods and ancient heroes, but representatives of the people, the so-called third estate, the simplest people with their shortcomings and vices, everyday disorder and without global interests and claims. This aesthetic at the end of the 18th century became an innovation, for the first time representatives of the very bottom of society took their places on the ballet stage.
After the removal of J. Noverre from the post of director of the ballet troupe of the Royal Academy of Music in Paris, this post in 1781-1783. occupied by Jean Dauberval, but did not last long there, dismissed by the directorate in 1783, and performed most of his productions in the ballet troupe of the musical theater of Bordeaux, where he soon moved and where the provincial audience favorably met his ballets about the same simple people who constantly fell into comic situations and those who got out of them not with the help of higher powers or great heroes, but with their own resourcefulness and gaiety, ingenuity and cunning.
One of these ballets of his was a two-act one (“The Ballet of the Straw, or From Evil to Good, Just One Step”) - this is how the author himself called his work, which later conquered all the world's ballet scenes and is better known as La Fille mal gardée, and in Russia - "Vain Precaution".

Characters:

Marcellina, a wealthy peasant woman.

Lisa, her daughter.
Colin, poor peasant.
Michaud, the farmer.
Nicaise, his son.
Notary.
Lisa's friends. Peasants and peasant women.

Plot.

Marcellina dreams of getting her beautiful daughter Lisa to marry Nicaise, the son of the local rich man Michaud. But the daughter has already chosen her own beloved - this is the neighbor's poor peasant boy Colin. This turn of events does not suit the mother, who is looking for material well-being, and she does not take her eyes off her daughter, preventing her from dating Colin. But the nimble poor man is not going to betray his beloved. He sneaks into the closet of the house where Marcelina and Lisa live and hides in a haystack. And Marcellina, not knowing anything about Colin's deceit, conceived her own deceit: so that her daughter would not run away to her impoverished lover at the wrong moment, she locks her in the closet - the very one where Colin hid. She herself is actively preparing for the upcoming wedding of her recalcitrant daughter, and only when everyone gathers in the house: the notary, the rich man Michaud, his son, the groom Nicaise, the peasant guests, she solemnly releases the prisoner-daughter from the closet. But before the eyes of those present there appear two - lovers Lisa and Colin, and even in what form! Lisa and Colin.

Price:
1500-3500rub

Ticket price:

1 tier 1500-2500
Mezzanine 2000-3000
Amphitheater 2500-3000
Parterre 2500-3300

Used fragments of music by Riccardo Drigo, Louis Herold, Caesar Pugni, Georges Bizet.
The set restoration artist is Mikhail Sapozhnikov.
The parts are performed by students of the Moscow State Academy of Choreography.

Duration - 2 hours 10 minutes.

Libretto by Jean Dauberval

"Vain Precaution" is a comedic ballet born over two hundred years ago! The founder of the genre of comedy ballet was the creator of this production, the French choreographer Jean Dauberval. Ordinary people appeared in his ballet performances - simple, unpretentious, with the usual vices and everyday problems. Such an approach for that era was truly innovative, because previously only “heroes of antiquity” or “celestials” shone on the ballet stage. The path to ballet performances was closed to characters from the social classes!

An interesting fact is that Jean Dauberval did not attract a single composer to write music for the ballet; instead, he used folk French motifs. The premiere of the ballet "Vain Precaution" took place in Bordeaux, July 1, 1789. There are various legends about how the plot plot of this production was born. Initially, it was believed that the plot was invented by Dauberval himself. The second version - did not come up with, but was inspired by a real funny story of a peasant family. There is even a third version - Jean Dauberval somehow caught the eye of an etching by Chauffard based on a painting by the artist Baudouin. The etching depicted a cheerful everyday scene - a young girl, with downcast eyes, listens to her mother's scolding, and in the background the girl's lover runs down the stairs, holding his pantaloons in his hands. The most daring legend claims that in the ballet "Vain Precaution" Jean Dauberval shares with the audience the moments of his own love affairs!

In any case, the ballet turned out to be really cheerful - light, funny, colorful. Literally, the original title of the production is translated as "Badly Saved Daughter" - due to dissonance for the Russian ear, the name in domestic theaters was changed. The plot is unassuming and simple. The young girl Liza is distinguished by her charming beauty, and her mother dreams of marrying her to a rich groom. However, Liza already has a lover - a beggar guy, a peasant Colin. Mother in every possible way prevents her daughter from meeting with Colin, and in the end completely locks her in a closet. But neither she nor Lisa know that Colin has already made his way into the closet, who does not want to leave his beloved! Meanwhile, the mother is actively preparing for the wedding and gathering guests. And when the house is already full and everyone is ready for the solemn denouement, the closet is unlocked ... and Lisa and Kolen appear before the eyes of the audience, and in what form! As a result, the mother has no choice but to bless the marriage of young people who love each other.

Vain Precaution is a wonderful ballet, rare in its genre. Tickets for this performance at the Bolshoi Theater are a wonderful opportunity to spend a memorable evening, enjoying the classical art of dance and at the same time a playful, funny and comic plot.

We bring to your attention the libretto of the ballet "Vain Precaution". Ballet "Vain Precaution" in two acts. Composer Louis Herold. Libretto and production by J. Dauberval.

First performance (with team music): Bordeaux, July 1, 1789; with music by Herold - Paris, Grand Opera, November 27, 1828

Characters: Marcellina, a wealthy peasant woman. Lisa, her daughter. Colin, poor peasant. Michaud, the farmer. Nicaise, his son. Notary. Lisa's friends. Peasants and peasant women.

The greedy farmer Marcelina wants to marry her daughter to the stupid guy Nicaise, the son of the farmer Michaud. But Lisa loves the poor peasant Colin. Marcellina does not allow her daughter to meet Colin.

Peasant women come - Lisa's friends and friends of Colin. They wholeheartedly sympathize with the grief of Lisa and Colin, but they cannot help. Marcelina does not take her eyes off her daughter for a minute, makes her work around the house: feed the chickens, churn butter, sweep the yard.

Field. The peasants are working. Among THEM are Lisa, Nicaise, Colin and Marcelina. A storm is coming. Gusts of wind pick up Nicaise, who takes off on a huge umbrella. General laughter.

A room in Marcelina's house. Peasants bring sheaves damp from the rain and put them in a corner. Unnoticed, Colin also sneaked into Marcellina's house to see Lisa.

Soon Marcelina leaves the house, closing the door with a key. The daughter is indignant at the precaution of the mother.

Lisa dreams of her future life when she marries Colin and has children. She will teach them to read and will be an affectionate mother, but if necessary, she will be strict.

Suddenly, the sheaves part, and Colin appears in front of Liza. Lisa is confused and scared. But the thought that they can finally be together fills them with joy and happiness. They exchange neckerchiefs. The idyll of Lisa and Colin is short: the footsteps of the returning Marceline are heard. What to do? Liza hides Colin in a closet and begins to spin, but she does it so unnaturally that Marcellina suspects something unkind. And the handkerchief of Knee on Lisa's neck betrays her.

Enraged, Marcellina locks Lisa in a closet, in which Colin is already in, as punishment.

Marcelina is waiting for the notary. The profitable marriage of Liza and Nicaise pleases her and she respectfully welcomes Michaud, Nicaise and the peasants who came after the notary. Now Marcellina will let her rebellious daughter out of the closet.

The closet door opens, and a confused Liza and Colin appear on the threshold. They rush to the feet of Marcellina, who has no choice but to agree to their marriage.

L. Entelis

Article "Ballet Vain Precaution. Libretto" from the section

Details

DEPARTMENT OF CULTURE OF THE OMSK REGIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OMSK STATE MUSICAL THEATER

L. Herold

A VAST PRECAUTION

Ballet in 2 acts, 4 scenes

Libretto by J. Dauberval

Choreographers: D. Avdysh, V. Mogilda

Conductor - A. Leytush.

Artist - People's Artist of the RSFSR and the Bashkir ASSR, laureate of the Prize. S. Yulaeva V. Plekunov.

ACTORS AND PERFORMERS:

MARCELINA - V. Kuznetsov, V. Tzaptashvili
LISA - V. Filyanova, E. Shikhova, F. Yakupova
KOLEN - A. Ivanov O. Karpovich V Kuznetsov
MICHO - Y. Nadeikin F. Pavlov V. Yakovlev
ALEN - Y. Efimov A. Ivanov A. Mineev
NOTARY - S. Kornilov

Girlfriends, saboteurs, peasants, peasant women - soloists and ballet dancers.

Concertmaster - M. Shostak
Tutor - L. Ivanova
Head literary part of G. Malbakhov
Head staging - P. Dyumin

Performance technique:

Ch. stage engineer - Yu. P. Malinin
Art. stage engineer - G. V. Bondarenko
Art. make-up artist - P. V. Remizov
Art. lighting designer - V. N. Zadorozhny
Art. decorator - A. I. Bezgin
Art. prop artist - G. M. Atramentova
Senior props - E. A. Maslakova
Art. costume designers - L. A. Malinina, G. F. Fezhorenko
Women's suits - E. I. Redina
Suits for men - A. G. Girina
Radio - M. M. Ionov
Shoes - B. I. Kravets

Chief Director Hon. activity claim. Azerbaijan SSR A. T. USUBOV
Chief choreographer activity claim. RSFSR V. Ya. TULUPOV

Price 10 kop.

Ohm. region a type. 1982 Law. 792, tyr. 5000

"Vain Precaution"

I action

The greedy farmer Marcelina wants to marry her daughter to the stupid guy Alain, the son of the farmer Michaud. But Lisa loves the poor peasant Colin and does not want to obey her mother.

Liza's friends and Colin's friends sympathize with them, but they cannot help the lovers unite. Marcelina does not take her eyes off her daughter, interferes with her meeting with her beloved, forcing her to work around the house, not giving a single minute of rest.

Field. The peasants are resting. Marceline, Michaud and Alain appear. They are looking for Lisa. Alain dreams of a wedding, dreams of his happiness with Lisa.

II act

A room in Marcelina's house. Lisa thinks about her lover. Marcellina is trying to distract her from these thoughts, giving lessons in good manners, teaching secular manners. Finally tired Marcellina falls asleep. Lisa tries to open the door and run away from the house, but her mother wakes up in time...

Lisa's friends come to visit. Together with them secretly sneaks into the house and Colin. He hides in a closet. Suspecting something was wrong, Marcelina sees the guests out of the house and leaves on her own.

Lisa is alone. She dreams of Kolya, of future children. Colin appears. The hearts of lovers are overflowing with happiness - at last they can be together. Marceline's footsteps are heard. Frightened, Lisa hides Colin in her bedroom.

Marcelina brings her daughter's wedding dress. The notary is coming. Michaud and Alain. An advantageous marriage will now be concluded. In order not to show her daughter ahead of time in her wedding dress, Marcelina forces Lisa to hide in her room. Alain goes after Lisa... The bedroom door opens, confused Lisa and Colin appear on the threshold. Micho is indignant. Marcelina's plans collapsed. She has no choice but to agree to the marriage of her daughter with Colin
The peasants run to look at the bride and groom. Lisa and Colin come out of the church. Everyone joyfully congratulates them, asking Marcelina to forgive the lovers.

Marcellina generously forgives the young people, in whose honor the village holiday begins.

History reference

In 1789, in France, in Bordeaux, the ballet performance "Vain Precaution" was performed with great success. The music for the ballet was a team composed of excerpts from works popular at that time: Louis Herold, a famous French composer whose operas were world famous, decided to partially process and write the music for this popular ballet. November 27, 1828 in Paris, on the stage of the Grand Opera, the premiere of the two-act ballet "Vain Precaution" with music by L. Herold took place.