He danced leading roles in La Sylphide, Carmen, Notre Dame Cathedral, staged ballets for Maya Plisetskaya, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Margo Fontaine, worked in Hollywood with Fred Astaire, knew Marilyn Monroe and Marlene Dietrich, was friends with Rudolf Nuriev, about whom he wrote a book of memoirs.
Petya developed a special relationship with Russia: in the 60s, his ballet based on the works of Mayakovsky was banned in the USSR, but later his productions of The Queen of Spades and Notre Dame Cathedral were a resounding success in Moscow, and the first one even won the State RF awards.
Roland Petit was born on January 13, 1924, in the family of the owner of a small diner and an Italian woman, Rose Repetto, who later produced ballet shoes and clothes under her last name. When the parents separated, the father took up the education of the future choreographer and great dancer and the youngest son Claude. It was at the suggestion of Edmond Petit that nine-year-old Roland, passionate about art, entered the ballet school of the famous Paris Opera, where among his classmates were Roger Fenonjoie and Jean Babilet, who later became famous. Subsequently, the father repeatedly sponsored the productions of the eldest son.
After studying, the young Roland was accepted into the troupe of the corps de ballet of the Paris Opera, and the beginning of his career was marked by a joint performance with Marcel Burga, a very famous dancer in those years. During the Second World War, together with Jeanine Sharra, he gave several concerts consisting of ballet miniatures, and also presented the first independent production of his career, Ski Jumping. Serge Lifar, the director of the Paris Opera, entrusted him with the solo part in Les Enchantelle's Love, and later continued to work with him outside the Opera, which Petit left in 1944.
Together with young artists, including his future wife Rene (Zizi) Jeanmer, Petit participated in the weekly ballet evenings of the Sarah Bernard Theater, and in 1945 organized the Champs-Elysées Ballet troupe, whose repertoire included both Petit's productions and performances by other authors. "Sleeping Beauty", "Swan Lake", "Young Man and Death" written by Jean Cocteau were a great success.
Creative differences caused Petit to leave the Champs-Elysées Ballet in 1947, and already in 1948 he created the Paris Ballet, a new troupe, which also included Rene Jeanmer, who took the place of the prima ballerina. For her, the choreographer staged the famous "Carmen", thanks to which Zhanmer was invited to Hollywood, and Roland went with her.
In 1960, together with director Terence Young, Petit took part in the creation of the film-ballet One, Two, Three, Four, or Black Tights, in which you can see four productions of the choreographer (Carmen, Cyrano de Bergerac, Adventuress ” and “Funeral Day.”), and he himself appears in three roles. After the production of Notre Dame Cathedral at the Paris Opera in 1965, the choreographer received an invitation to head this theater, but did not stay in the role of director for long.
Since 1972, for 26 years, the choreographer directed the Marseille Ballet he created, and one of his first works with the new troupe was the ballet about Mayakovsky “Light the Stars!”. And then followed the "Death of the Rose" with Plisetskaya, "Proust, or Interruptions of the Heart", "The Queen of Spades", "The Phantom of the Opera" and many other deliveries. In general, the choreographer created more than fifty ballets and dance numbers, distinguished by the recognizable handwriting of the author, a variety of styles and techniques.
Speaking of unrecognized geniuses, Roland Petit recalled Van Gogh, who had nothing to pay for electricity before his death. He considered himself a darling of fate: doing all his life exactly what interested him most, he was appreciated by his contemporaries and managed to fully realize his creative ideas.
It has become a modern classic. His ballets are danced on various stages of the world. They quote him, learn from his performances ...
On July 10, 2011, the French dancer and choreographer, the creator who changed the history of the ballet of the 20th century, Roland Petit, passed away.
At the age of 9, in 1933, Roland Petit entered the dance school of the Paris Opera. After 7 years, at 16, he enters the stage of the Opera as a corps de ballet dancer. In 1943, Petit was already on the middle rung of the ballet hierarchy - he received the rank of soloist, "plot", above him - "stars" and "premiers", a rank below - "luminaries" and the first composition of the corps de ballet. Serge Lifar later wrote that it was he who discovered Petit, giving him a solo part in the ballet "Love the Enchantress".
Nikolai Tsiskaridze worked with Roland Petit, talks about him:
“Roland Petit is one of the outstanding current classics. In my opinion, this is one of the most interesting and most relevant choreographers. He was very lucky, because he himself and his consciousness were formed, as he himself says, in besieged Paris, where people were forced, due to the fact that there was no entry or exit to Paris, to engage exclusively in art, somehow they had to amuse and entertain themselves.
And during this period, he falls into the company of the greatest people, he meets Jean Cocteau, with the legendary secretary of Serge Diaghilev Boris Kokhno, who opens the way for him to bohemian Paris, where Petit meets the greatest artists of that period, actors, set designers.
Under the influence of Jean Cocteau and Boris Kokhno, Petit left the troupe of the Paris Opera and founded his own troupe, which was called the "Champs Elysées Ballet". Before that, he is already beginning to try to stage his individual opuses on the stage of the Sarah Bernard Theater - weekly ballet evenings were organized there, where he presents his first choreographic opuses.
He then organizes his troupe, which includes some of his classmates and friends from the Paris Opera. This group did not last very long, because due to a disagreement with the management of the theater, Petit was forced to leave this troupe. A little later, he again organizes his performance and his troupe, which is called the "Ballets of Paris".
Roland Petit. Photo – Agence Bernand From my point of view, as a great choreographer, Roland Petit was born in 1947, when he puts on one of the greatest ballets that have ever been staged in the world - this is “The Youth and Death”, the libretto for this performance is made by Jean Cocteau and in general, this is his idea, making this show. From that day on, a very bright, very famous choreographer Roland Petit appears in the world.
In 1949, his ballet “Carmen” appears in London, which for three months goes to London seven, eight times a week, then this performance moves to Paris, where it runs for two months, then they leave for New York , where they also perform this performance for two months. From the day after the production of Carmen, Roland Petit has already become an international star. He is invited to different theaters, he puts on this performance and subsequent ones in different troupes of the world and receives an invitation from Hollywood.
In the late 50s, he ended up in Hollywood, where he worked with Fred Astaire, put on dances for various films. In particular, one of these films about Hans Christian Andersen, where there are a lot of ballet scenes, is shot in the film by his future wife Rene Zhanmer, who went down in history under the name Zizi Zhanmer. And he choreographs a lot for various great Hollywood dancers and works, he says, with his childhood idol Fred Astaire. He said, “What can I teach you, I have been learning from you all my life.” And Fred Astaire said, “no, but I will study with you now.” It was a very interesting collaboration, Roland Petit learned a lot of new things for himself and never left his love for the revue.
Already when he returned to Europe for his wife, Zizi Zhanmer, he created a lot of programs, revues for variety and in particular, for “Cabaret de Paris”, where his programs are completely staged every day, and Zizi Zhanmer is the main star. All the scenery and costumes for them are made by such great artists as Roman Tyrtov, who went down in history as Erte.
In 1965, Petit returns to the illustrious troupe of the Paris Opera, where he studied, where he once started, and he directs the first performance for the Paris Opera, along with Yves Saint Laurent, who makes the costumes. He puts on the performance “Notre Dame Cathedral”, which has the effect of an exploding bomb: this was unusual at the Paris Opera, few people saw such plasticity. Much of what Roland Petit came up with, other choreographers borrowed from him. This is very easy to prove: if you look at the biography of Roland, in what year what did he stage, and what innovations did he introduce in general and what works later appeared around the world, then this is clear. Fortunately, almost all of Roland is recorded.
At the time when he is staging Notre Dame Cathedral, he is invited to be both artistic director and director of the Paris Opera Ballet Company, which did not last very long. Because he could not put up with it and find a common language with the stars. He said that he was not interested in this work, and he voluntarily left the walls of the Paris Opera for the second time. And to this day he returns there, and puts his performances for this illustrious team.
In 1972 he comes to Marseille, where he receives a complete carte blanche. There, Petya is the king and god for everyone, only his will is carried out. In general, he dreamed of such a troupe, and he created it: the ballet in Marseille becomes the second most important troupe in France and has existed for many years. For 26 years he was the director of this team. In the same place, in Marseille, he opens a ballet school at the theater. Under his leadership, a special building for the ballet theater is being built. And at the end of the 20th century, he left Marseille forever, ceased his directorship and continued his life, staging various performances. As well as restoring the old, and putting new ones.
I was insanely lucky, I was very lucky, because he staged his big, last performance for me and for me at the Bolshoi Theater in 2001, the ballet The Queen of Spades. From this began our and creative friendship and just friendship in life. For me, this person is very dear and very interesting to me, because you can talk with him on absolutely any topic. And it's always interesting.
In the history of the second half of the 20th century there is not a single great person, be it an artist, a composer, an actor, even some scientific luminaries, with whom Roland Petit would not collaborate, creating various performances. There are a lot of stories, both funny and sad, but thanks to all of them, those great works were created that go around the world.
Roland is characterized by a very great simplicity in relationships, and humor. Without these two components, it is unthinkable for me. And all this is very strongly reflected in his work. His choreography is extremely simple. And very often, when I watched some numbers that I had never seen before, I always had a feeling: why didn’t I come up with this or someone nearby? Why did such a simple thing come to his mind?
He really does not like it when artists remake the text or engage in embellishment. Because he always puts not only a very simple and very clear drawing, very accurately falling on musical accents. Petit very accurately gives the director's instructions to the artists: in what emotional state it should be performed, with what facial expressions and where it is possible to extract emotion from oneself, and where it is impossible.
Only Russian artists he allowed to improvise in his choreography. He allowed Maya Plisetskaya to do this, even in the ballet “Proust, or Perebot of the Heart” for her, where she also had dance pieces, he assigned her a special musical moment where she could improvise exactly the way she does. Thank God it's recorded. It was the same with Mikhail Baryshnikov, and with Rudolf Nureyev, and with Ekaterina Maksimova and Vladimir Vasiliev, when he invited them to perform his performances of The Blue Angel, and now we were lucky with Ilze (Ilze Liepa, - ed.), but this trust had to be earned.
He refuses to work with many artists and is generally reputed to be a very intractable person. Very often, when he puts on his performances, he ordered music, in particular, as was the case with "Notre Dame Cathedral" or the play "Clavigo". It was to composers who were very popular and relevant at that time ... But very often Roland Petit created performances to already existing symphonic music. And his approach is always different and individual.
Sometimes he puts a scene without music, and then he tries to put this scene on music. In particular, the performance “The Youth and Death” is staged in this way, where the music of Johann Sebastian Bach is used, and where in no case does he allow the artists to focus on musical accents, all the time hinting that the music sounds outside of what is happening on the stage, this a background that exists outside the room where the main characters exist. Or, for example, the play "Proust". He selected the music of various French composers. French composers, who created exactly at the time when Marcel Proust lived.
When we staged “The Queen of Spades” (this performance was set to the pathetic symphony of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky), he allowed himself to swap parts, which, of course, caused very great dissatisfaction with all music critics and musicians. But he was very careful with all the musical accents. And he followed us very precisely so that we would fulfill it.
Initially, when he took the music of Tchaikovsky, he took it performed by Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein performed this symphony differently, in contrast to the tradition that was inherent in Russian performance. When asked why you chose Bernstein in particular, he said that the accents are much clearer here. You can say that he allows himself any liberties with music.
When he staged the ballet “Carmen” in 1949 to music for the opera (this was the first time they took the music for the opera “Carmen”, completely redrawn it, completely remade it, and staged a ballet), there were also a lot of angry articles by musicologists and musicians who did not want to put up with it, but this performance lives on.
Soon he will be 60 years old, and the performance is still running in various theaters around the world and is a resounding success. So, probably, the winners are not judged, probably, the artist is right.
culture News
Roland Petit (fr. Roland Petit, January 13, 1924, Willemomble, Seine - Saint-Denis - July 10, 2011, Geneva) - French dancer and choreographer, one of the recognized classics of the 20th century ballet.
Roland Petit has been familiar with ballet since childhood. His mother Roz Repetto created the dancewear and footwear company Repetto. Father is a diner owner. Roland studied at the ballet school of the Paris Opera with Gustave Ricot and Serge Lifar. After graduating in 1940, he was accepted into the corps de ballet of the Grand Opera.
In 1945, with the same young dancers of the Paris Opera as he participated in the Dance evenings of the Theater Sarah Bernhardt. This year was the year of the opening of his own troupe "Ballet des Champs-Elysées" together with Jeanine Sharra and with the support of Jean Cocteau, Boris Kokhno and Christian Berard, where he was given the post of choreographer. In 1946 he staged the ballet Youth and Death for the married couple Jean Babilé and Nathalie Flippart (scenario by Jean Cocteau, music by J. S. Bach). This performance is a classic property of ballet art.
In 1948, Roland left the troupe and decided to create a new team at the Marigny Theater - the Ballet of Paris. In 1949, for his prima ballerina Rene (Zizi), Jeanmer staged the magnificent ballet Carmen. The premiere in London brought a stunning triumph, after which the ballerina was invited to Hollywood, followed by Petit. Here he works both as a choreographer and as a dancer.
Together with Jeanmer and in 1952, he took part in the filming of the film-musical "Hans Christian Andersen" (Prince in the episode "The Little Mermaid"). And in 1955, two films with his choreography were released: The Crystal Slipper with Leslie Caron and Daddy Long Legs with Fred Astaire.
In 1954, Petit married Zizi Zhanmer. Their daughter Valentina also became a dancer and film actress.
In 1960, director Terence Young directed the ballet film One, Two, Three, Four, or Black Stockings, which included four of Petit's ballets: Carmen, The Adventuress, Cyrano de Bergerac and The Day of Mourning. . Its members were René Jeanmer, Cyd Charisse, Moira Shearer and Hans van Manen. Petya had three main roles in his own choreography: Don Jose, Groom and Cyrano.
In 1965, at the Paris Opera, he staged a ballet to music by Maurice Jarre Notre Dame de Paris. The main roles at the first show were played by Claire Motte (Esmeralda), Cyril Atanasov (Claude Frollo), Jean-Pierre Bonfu (Phoebus). The choreographer himself played the role of Quasimodo.
In 1973 Roland Petit staged a miniature "The Death of the Rose" to the music of Mahler.
In 1972 he created the Marseille Ballet. Petit was its leader for 26 years. The first performance in it was the ballet "Pink Floyd", it was presented at the Marseille stadium and at the Paris Sports Palace. Dominique Calfuni and Denis Gagnot shone in it.
Roland Petit managed to stage more than fifty ballets and numbers for dancers of the world ballet. His masterpieces were stylistically and technically filled, and the variety of ballet finds was amazing. He was interested in avant-garde on the one hand and realism on the other. He has worked with Martial Rice, Jean Tinguely and Niki de Saint Phalle. Collaborated with fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent (costumes for the ballet "Notre Dame Cathedral" and numbers "Death of the Rose"), singer and composer Serge Gainsbourg, sculptor Baldacchini, artists Jean Carzu and Max Ernst. The libretto for Petit was written by Georges Simenon, Jacques Prevert and Jean Anouille. Music for his ballets was written by Henri Dutilleux and Maurice Jarre.
Roland Petit lived a bright and creative life, died at the age of 87.
Recognition and awards
Officer of the National Order of Merit in Literature and Arts (1965)
Knight of the Order of the Legion of Honor (1974)
Laureate of the main National Prize of France in the field of literature and art (1975)
Laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation for staging the ballet The Queen of Spades at the Bolshoi Theater (2001)
Performances, students and parts, etc.
- Rendezvous / Le rendez-vous (1945)
- Guernica / Guernica 1945
- Youth and Death / Le Jeune Homme et la Mort (1946)
- Wandering comedians / Les forains (1948)
- Carmen / Carmen (1949)
- Balabile / Ballabile (1950)
- Wolf / Le loup (1953)
- Notre Dame Cathedral / Notre-Dame de Paris (1965)
- Paradise Lost / Paradise Lost (1967)
- Kraanerg / Kraanerg (1969)
- The death of a rose / La rose malade (1973)
- Proust, or Interruptions of the Heart / Proust, ou Les intermittences du coeur (1974)
- Coppélia / Coppélia (1975)
- Fantastic symphony / Symphonie phantastique (1975)
- The Queen of Spades / La Dame de pique (1978)
- The Phantom of the Opera
- Les amours de Frantz (1981)
- The Blue Angel / The Blue Angel (1985)
- Clavigo / Clavigo (1999)
- Ways of Creation / Les chemins de la creation (2004)
Productions in Russia
- Notre Dame Cathedral - Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theatre. Kirov (1978)
- Carmen - Mariinsky Theater (1998)
- Youth and Death - Mariinsky Theater (1998)
- The Queen of Spades - Bolshoi Theater (2001)
- Notre Dame Cathedral - Bolshoi Theater (2003)
- Youth and Death - Bolshoi Theater (2010)
- Coppelia - Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theater (2012)
Memoirs
J'ai dansé sur les flots (1993, Russian translation 2008)
,fantasy
Spouse: Zizi Zhanmer (one child)
Biography
Roland Petit (fr. Roland Petit; 1924 -2011) - French dancer and choreographer, one of the recognized classics of the ballet of the 20th century.
early years
Roland Petit is the son of Rose Repetto, the founder of the well-known brand of ballet clothes and shoes "Repetto", and the owner of a bistro. When he was 12, his mother, the Italian Rose Repetto, separated from her husband and left Paris, so Roland and his younger brother Claude were raised by their father, Edmond Petit. In the future, Edmond Petit repeatedly subsidized theatrical performances of his son.
Roland Petit from childhood showed interest in art, was fond of recitation, drawing, cinema. His father, on the advice of one of the visitors to the bistro, gave Roland to the ballet school of the Paris Opera when he was 9 years old. At the school, Petit studied with the famous teacher Gustave Rico, his classmates were later known as Jean Babilet and Roger Fenonjoie. Petit also attended private lessons of Russian teachers Lyubov Egorova, Olga Preobrazhenskaya, Madame Ruzann.
After graduation in 1940, he was enrolled in the corps de ballet of the Paris Opera.
In November 1944, when Paris was liberated from German occupation, Roland Petit left the Paris Opera.
The beginning of ballet activity
In 1945, together with other young artists of the Paris Opera, he participated in the Dance Evenings of the Theater Sarah Bernhardt. In the same year, together with Jeanine Sharra and with the support of Jean Cocteau, Boris Kokhno and Christian Berard, he created his own troupe - the Champs Elysees Ballet, where he officially took the post of choreographer.
In 1946 he created for Jean Babilé and his wife Natalie Flippard the ballet The Young Man and Death (scenario by Jean Cocteau, music by J.-S. Bach), which became a classic of world ballet art. This one-act ballet to the music of Bach became the quintessence of Petit's work - the hero, a young artist, suffers from unrequited love and, unable to withstand existential torments, commits suicide. The ballet was a resounding success - unprecedented eroticism and frankness at that time, the image of a femme fatale, extremely bold for ballet, captivated the audience. Over time, this ballet became one of the most popular productions of the 20th century - it was staged in theaters around the world, and outstanding performers danced the main parts, including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Rudolf Nureyev and Nicolas Le Rich.
In 1948, he left the company (after which it lasted another 3 years) and created a new troupe at the Marigny Theater - the Ballet of Paris, whose prima ballerina was Rene (Zizi) Jeanmer. On September 25, 1950, the premiere of Petit's ballet "The Diamond Eater" to the music of J.-M. Damaza, where Roland Petit and Zizi Zhanmer not only danced, but also sang.
The following year, especially for her, he staged another of his famous ballets - Carmen.
Career in Hollywood
The London premiere was such a success that Zhanmer received an invitation from Hollywood, where Petit went after her. In Hollywood, he worked both as a choreographer and as a dancer. In 1952, together with Jeanmer and Eric Brun, he took part in the filming of the film-musical "Hans Christian Andersen" (Prince in the episode "The Little Mermaid").
In 1955, two films with his choreography were released: The Crystal Slipper and Daddy Long Legs.
In 1960, director Terence Young made a ballet film One, Two, Three, Four or Black Stockings, which included four ballets by Roland Petit: Carmen, The Adventuress, Cyrano de Bergerac and The Day of Mourning. René (Zizi) Jeanmer, Cyd Charisse, Moira Shearer and Hans van Manen participated in the filming. Petit himself performed three main roles in his own choreography: Don José, Groom and Cyrano.
France. Paris. Marseilles
In 1965 he returned to the Paris Opera to stage Maurice Jarre's Notre Dame. The main roles at the premiere were played by Claire Motte (Esmeralda), Cyril Atanasov (Claude Frollo), Jean-Pierre Bonfu (Phoebus). The role of Quasimodo was played by the choreographer himself.
In 1973, he staged for Maya Plisetskaya "The death of the rose" (French "La Rose Malade") to the music of Mahler.
In the early 1970s, Petit switched from ballet to “light genres” like cabaret for several years, but already in 1972 the choreographer headed the Marseille ballet, with whom he worked until 1998, that is, 26 years. The first production of the company was the ballet "Pink Floyd", shown at the Marseille stadium. The stars of his new troupe were Dominique Calfouni and Denis Gagne. During this period, Petit showed himself in an unexpected way, starting to stage ballets based on literary works. He was the only outstanding choreographer who dared to stage a ballet based on Proust's series of novels In Search of Lost Time. This bold attempt led many critics to reconsider the accusations of superficiality and craving for tabloid choreography, which sounded against Petya.
ballet creativity
Roland Petit is the author of more than 50 ballets and numbers for dancers all over the world. He staged performances on the best stages in Italy, Germany, England, Canada, Cuba and Russia. His opuses were distinguished by the stylistic and technical diversity of the ballet language.
He collaborated with both avant-garde artists and representatives of new realism, including Martial Rice, Jean Tinguely and Niki de Saint Phalle. He worked with fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent (costumes for the ballet "Notre Dame Cathedral" and numbers "Death of the Rose"), singer and composer Serge Gainsbourg, sculptor Baldacchini, artists Jean Carzu and Max Ernst.
The libretto for Petit was written by Simenon, Jacques Prevert and Jean Anouille. Music for his ballets was composed by Henri Dutilleux and Maurice Jarre.
Personal life
In 1954 he married the ballerina Zizi Zhanmer. Their daughter Valentina also became a dancer and film actress.
He died at the age of 87 from fulminant leukemia. He was buried in the 13th section of the Montparnasse cemetery in Paris.
Do you know that
In 2001, Roland Petit staged a program at the Bolshoi Theater consisting of two performances - "Passacaglia" to the music of A. von Webern, staged by him for the Paris Opera in 1994, and the new ballet "The Queen of Spades" to the music of Tchaikovsky. In the first performance, the main parts were performed by Svetlana Lunkina and Jan Godovsky, in the second - Nikolai Tsiskaridze, Ilze Liepa and Svetlana Lunkina.
Petit is the author of more than 150 ballet performances, including the great ballet "The Youth and Death". Perhaps Petit was not a choreographer on the scale of Balanchine or Béjart, but he turned academic dance into a live theatrical performance, and this is what makes him interesting.
Works in the theater
The most significant ballet performances:
2004 "Ways of Creation / Les chemins de la création"
1999 "1945" Rendezvous / Le rendez-vous "
1945 "Les Forains"
1945 "Guernica / Guernica"
Petit's ballets in Russia:
Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow
2010 "Youth and Death"
2003 Notre Dame Cathedral
2001 "Queen of Spades"
Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg
1998 "Carmen"
1998 "Youth and Death"
Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theatre. Kirov
1978 Notre Dame Cathedral
Screenwriter
Filmography
Awards and prizes
2001 State Prize of the Russian Federation (for staging the ballet The Queen of Spades at the Bolshoi Theater)
1975 France's Main National Prize for Literature and Art
1974 Order of the Legion of Honor
1965 National Order of Merit in Literature and Art
Roland Petit(fr. Roland Petit, January 13, 1924, Willemomble, Seine - Saint-Denis - July 10, 2011, Geneva) - French dancer and choreographer, one of the recognized classics of the ballet of the 20th century.
Biography
Roland Petit is the son of Rose Repetto, the founder of the Repetto ballet clothing and footwear company, and the owner of a diner (in memory of his work in his father's restaurant, Petit would later put up a number with a tray). He studied at the ballet school of the Paris Opera, where his teachers were Gustave Rico and Serge Lifar. After graduating in 1940, he was enrolled in the corps de ballet of the Grand Opera.
In 1945, together with other young artists of the Paris Opera, he participated in the Dance Evenings of the Theater Sarah Bernhardt. In the same year, together with Jeanine Sharra and with the support of Jean Cocteau, Boris Kokhno and Christian Berard, he created his own troupe - the Champs Elysees Ballet, where he officially took the post of choreographer. In 1946, for Jean Babilé and his wife Natalie Flippart, he created the ballet Youth and Death (scenario by Jean Cocteau, music by J.S. Bach), which became a classic of world ballet art.
In 1948, he left the company (after that it lasted for another 3 years) and created a new troupe at the Marigny theater - the Ballet of Paris. His prima ballerina was René (Zizi) Jeanmer. The following year, especially for her, he staged another of his famous ballets - Carmen. The premiere of the ballet in London was such a success that Zhanmer received an invitation from Hollywood, where Petit went after her. In Hollywood, he worked both as a choreographer and as a dancer. In 1952, together with Jeanmer and Eric Brun, he took part in the filming of the musical film Hans Christian Andersen (Prince in the episode "The Little Mermaid"). In 1955, two films with his choreography were released: The Crystal Slipper with Leslie Caron and Daddy Long Legs with Fred Astaire.
In 1960, director Terence Young directed the film-ballet One, Two, Three, Four, or Black Stockings, which included four ballets by Roland Petit: Carmen, The Adventuress, Cyrano de Bergerac and Day of Mourning. René Jeanmer, Syd Charisse, Moira Shearer and Hans van Manen participated in the filming. Petit himself performed three main roles in his own choreography: Don José, Groom and Cyrano.
In 1965 he returned to the Paris Opera to stage Maurice Jarre's Notre Dame. The main roles at the premiere were played by Claire Motte (Esmeralda), Cyril Atanasov (Claude Frollo), Jean-Pierre Bonfu (Phoebus). The role of Quasimodo was played by the choreographer himself.
In 1973 he staged for Maya Plisetskaya a miniature "The Death of the Rose" to the music of Mahler.
In 1972 he founded the Marseille Ballet, which he directed for 26 years. The first production of the company was the ballet "Pink Floyd", shown at the Marseille stadium and at the Paris Sports Palace. The stars of his new troupe were Dominique Calfouni and Denis Gagnot.
Roland Petit is the author of more than fifty ballets and numbers for dancers all over the world. He staged performances on the best stages in Italy, Germany, England, Canada, Cuba and Russia. His opuses were distinguished by the stylistic and technical diversity of the ballet language. He collaborated with both avant-garde artists and representatives of new realism, including Martial Rice, Jean Tinguely and Niki de Saint Phalle. He worked with fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent (costumes for the ballet "Notre Dame Cathedral" and numbers "Death of the Rose"), singer and composer Serge Gainsbourg, sculptor Baldacchini, artists Jean Carzu and Max Ernst. The libretto for Petit was written by Georges Simenon, Jacques Prevert and Jean Anouille. Music for his ballets was composed by Henri Dutilleux and Maurice Jarre.
In 1954 he married Zizi Zhanmer. Their daughter Valentina also became a dancer and film actress.
Died at the age of 87
Most significant productions
- Rendezvous / Le rendez-vous (1945)
- Guernica / Guernica 1945
- Youth and Death / Le Jeune Homme et la Mort (1946)
- Wandering comedians / Les forains (1948)
- Carmen / Carmen (1949)
- Balabile / Ballabile (1950)
- Wolf / Le loup (1953)
- Notre Dame Cathedral / Notre-Dame de Paris (1965)
- Paradise Lost / Paradise Lost (1967)
- Kraanerg / Kraanerg (1969)
- The death of a rose / La rose malade (1973)
- Proust, or Interruptions of the Heart / Proust, ou Les intermittences du coeur (1974)
- Copplia / Copplia (1975)
- Fantastic symphony / Symphonie phantastique (1975)
- The Queen of Spades / La Dame de pique (1978)
- The Phantom of the Opera / Le phantme de l'Opra
- Les amours de Frantz (1981)
- The Blue Angel / The Blue Angel (1985)
- Clavigo / Clavigo (1999)
- Ways of Creation / Les chemins de la cration (2004)
Ballets by Roland Petit in Russia
- Notre Dame Cathedral - Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theatre. Kirov (1978)
- Carmen - Mariinsky Theater (1998)
- Youth and Death - Mariinsky Theater (1998)
- The Queen of Spades - Bolshoi Theater (2001)
- Notre Dame Cathedral - Bolshoi Theater (2003)
- Youth and Death - Bolshoi Theater (2010)
- Coppelia - Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theater (2012)
Memoirs
- J'ai dans sur les flots (1993, Russian translation 2008)
Recognition and awards
Officer of the National Order of Merit in Literature and Art (1965), Chevalier of the Order of the Legion of Honor. (1974), laureate of the main National Prize of France in the field of literature and art (1975), laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation for staging the ballet The Queen of Spades at the Bolshoi Theater (2001) and other awards.
Literature
- Mannoni G. Roland Petit. Paris: L'Avant-Scne ballet/danse, 1984.
- Fiette A. Zizi Jeanmaire, Roland Petit: un patrimoine pour la danse. Paris: Somogy; Genve: Muse d'art et d'histoire; Ville de Genve: Dpartement des affaires culturelles, 2007.
- Chistyakova V. Roland Petit. Leningrad: Art, 1977.
- Arkina N. R. Petit Theater // Theatre: magazine. - M., 1974. - No. 11.
