The Pharaoh's Daughter
Anna Pavlova as the Princess Aspicia in the Petipa/Pugni The Pharaoh's Daughter, Saint Petersburg, circa 1910.
QUICK F A C T S
- ✦ The Pharaoh's Daughter premiered in 1862 with choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Cesare Pugni.
✦ Inspired by Egyptomania and nineteenth-century fascination with ancient civilizations, the ballet unfolds through a dream-like adventure in ancient Egypt.
✦ The story follows the English traveler Lord Wilson, who dreams he has become the Egyptian hero Ta-Hor and falls in love with Aspicia, the Pharaoh's daughter.
✦ Upon its premiere, The Pharaoh's Daughter became one of the most spectacular successes of the Imperial Russian Ballet, featuring lavish sets, exotic settings, and grand processions.
✦ The ballet disappeared from the stage for much of the twentieth century before being reconstructed and revived by the Bolshoi Ballet in 2000.
✦ Today, The Pharaoh's Daughter is celebrated as one of Petipa's most ambitious early masterpieces and a rare surviving example of ballet's nineteenth-century fascination with ancient Egypt.
Photograph of the Prima ballerina Mathilde Kschessinskaya (1872-1971) costumed as the Princess Aspicia , from act I by the choreographer Marius Petipa .
S U M M A R Y
The Pharaoh's Daughter is a grand adventure ballet set in a fantastical vision of ancient Egypt. The story follows an English traveler who takes shelter during a desert sandstorm and falls asleep after inhaling the smoke of an opium pipe. In his dream, he is transported into the world of the Pharaoh's Daughter, Aspicia. Together they journey through temples, deserts, and even an enchanted underwater kingdom, facing dangers and magical encounters before ultimately finding love.
Imperial Russian prima ballerina Mathilde Kschessinska as Nikiya in the ballet La Bayadère, photographed by Elena Mrozovskaya between 1900 and 1903.
Vera Karalli and Platon Karsavin in Marius Petipa’s The Pharaoh's Daughter, 'The Nile River' underwater scene, circa 1905.
The ballet premiered in 1862 at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre in St. Petersburg with choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Cesare Pugni. Created during a period of fascination with ancient civilizations and exotic settings, it became one of Petipa's earliest major successes in Russia. The production was renowned for its lavish scenery, spectacular stage effects, and large-scale ensemble dances, offering audiences a dazzling escape into an imagined Egypt of romance and adventure.
Although the ballet disappeared from the stage for much of the twentieth century, it was revived in 2000 through a celebrated reconstruction by Pierre Lacotte for the Bolshoi Ballet. Today, The Pharaoh's Daughter is admired for its colorful storytelling, virtuosic dancing, and glimpse into the grand spectacle of nineteenth-century ballet. Combining fantasy, travel, mythology, and romance, it remains one of the most distinctive works associated with the legacy of Marius Petipa.
Pharoah's Daughter, Mikhail Mordkin as Taor -1908
E N C O R E
✦ On Today's Stage — Once considered lost, The Pharaoh's Daughter returned to the repertory through Pierre Lacotte's celebrated 2000 reconstruction for the Bolshoi Ballet. The ballet remains an occasional but spectacular showcase for companies willing to mount its lavish sets, large cast, and demanding choreography.
✦ Iconic Interpreters — The title role of Aspicia has attracted some of ballet's most accomplished ballerinas, particularly in productions by the Bolshoi Ballet. The ballet's grand style, technical challenges, and exotic setting make it a memorable showcase for leading dancers.
✦ Legacy — The Pharaoh's Daughter helped establish Marius Petipa's reputation in Russia and demonstrated the scale and imagination that would later define the great classical ballets. Its successful reconstruction revealed a rare glimpse into the grandeur of nineteenth-century ballet and preserved an important chapter of dance history.