Mlle Marie Petipa

Choreographed by Marius Petipa, younger brother of Lucien, the ballet was first given at the Opéra on 29 May 1861. It had originally been produced two years earlier in St. Petersburg as Le Marché de Paris but was retitled Le Marché des Innocents for the Paris production, and the period of the action transposed from the reign of Louis XV to the time of the Directory.

The slight plot was woven around the characters of Gloriette (Marie Petipa) and her lover, Simon (Louis Mérante). The score, by Pugni, matched the flimsy nature of the scenario. The main interest of the production was the Paris début of Marie Petipa. Her husband’s choreography brought into relief all the originality of her style.

Photographed by A. A. E. Disdéri.