About the work
Harlequinade, originally titled Les Millions d'Arlequin in French, is a two-act comic ballet by Marius Petipa with music by Riccardo Drigo. Alexander Glazunov was initially asked to compose the score but recommended impresario Ivan Vsevolozhsky turn to Drigo instead, considering him better suited to the commedia dell'arte subject. The ballet premiered on 23 February 1900 at the Hermitage Theatre in St Petersburg before the tsar's court and soon entered the repertoire of the Mariinsky Theatre.
Plot
Harlequin loves Columbine, but her father Cassandre wants her to marry the wealthy Léandre instead. A good fairy gives Harlequin a magic wand that grants his wishes, and with Pierrette's help the couple manage to outwit Cassandre's plans. Love triumphs in the end, and Harlequin and Columbine are united.
Cultural significance
The initially reserved court audience broke into sustained applause after the premiere; Petipa's choreography was soon recorded in Stepanov notation, now held in the Sergeyev Collection at Harvard University, which later allowed reconstructions such as Alexei Ratmansky's for American Ballet Theatre.