A strange variation in Giselle

[dmollov]

In the Kirov Ballet's production of Giselle from 1982 with Galina Mezentseva and Konstantin Zaklinsky there is one strange variation whose composer is unknown to me. It is the female variation from the Peasant pas de deux from Act I. The typical variation is composed by Burgmueller (as well as the entire Peasant pas de deux). But in the Kirov's video there is another variation in polka tempo. The music seems to be composed by Drigo, or maybe Pugni, or maybe Minkus, or maybe by Burgmueller himself. Could anyone help me to identify the composer?

[rg]

in 'a ragbag of ballet music oddments' (BROLGA, number 23, december 2005) by rodney stenning edgecombe, the authorship of the kirov's 'peasant' variation is addressed.

on p. 17 edgecombe explains how he came to identify this music as most likely that of aleksandr aleksandrovich friedman, composed originallyas a variation for the character Oreada (danced originally by v. nikitina and later by a. vaganova, into whose prod. of GISELLE this number was likely first interpolated) in lev ivanov's 1890 ballet entitled CUPID'S PRANK - not to be confused with petipa's RUSES D'AMOUR (to glazunov, 1900).

i hope this helps.

[fandango]

I think Colorado Ballet recently had this variation--who choreographed it?

[rg]

apologies for the time lag between the above query and my attempted answer. i didn't notice this post until today, a month later...

this being a post-imperial ballet interpolation by vaganova i'd suggest the chroreography came into vaganova's production from the ivanov ballet that friedman composed in 1890. perhaps today's version, if the friedman identification is correct, is vaganova-after-ivanov, or after-vaganova-after-ivanov. or for all we know at this distance is that this choreography is pure ivanov.