The Two Stars Explained

The Two Stars or The Stars or The Two Little Stars (aka Les Deux étoiles) is an Anacreontic ballet in 1 act, with choreography by Marius Petipa, and music by Cesare Pugni. Libretto by Marius Petipa, based on an ancient Greek myth.^[1]

First presented by the Imperial Ballet on January 31/February 6 (Julian/Gregorian calendar dates), 1871 at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russia. Principal Dancers- Ekaterina Vazem (as the First Star), Alexandra Virginia (as The Second Star), and Pavel Gerdt (as Apollo)

Revivals/Restagings

• Restaging by Marius Petipa for the Ballet of the Moscow Imperial Bolshoi Theatre as The Two Little Stars. First presented on February 25/March 3, 1878 in Moscow, Russia.
• Revival by Ivan Clustine for the Ballet of the Moscow Imperial Bolshoi Theatre as The Stars. First presented on January 14/26, 1897 in Moscow, Russia. Principal Dancers - Ekaterina Geltzer (as the First Star), Adelaide Giuri (as the Second Star), and Vasily Tikhomirov (as Mars).
• Revival by Enrico Cecchetti for the Imperial Ballet, with Riccardo Drigo making additions and revising Cesare Pugni's original score. First presented at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre on November 1/14 1900 in St. Petersburg, Russia. Principal Dancers - Olga Preobrajenskaya (as the First Star), Nadezhda Bakerkina (as the Second Star), Nikolai Legat as Apollo, and Sergei Lukianov (as Mars)

References

• The Two Stars was the final work of the composer Cesare Pugni before he died on January 26, 1870.
• The 1870 premiere of The Two Stars was given as a benefit performance for the Imperial Ballet's Premier danseur Pavel Gerdt.

Notes and References

1. Studies in Dance History - Volume 3, Issue 1 - Page 83 1992 ... Moscow, with the title Two Little Stars.