Bolshoi Ballet – The Pharoah’s Daughter at Raffertys Theatre

First choreographed by Marius Petipa, The Pharaoh’s Daughter premiered in 1862 in a grandiose show -the likes of which had never seen before- at Petersburg’s Bolshoi Theatre. Immensely popular with the public, The Pharaoh’s Daughter was given several revivals. In 1864, the ballet was transferred from Petersburg to Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre. But in Soviet times it was considered to be ideologically immature and, dropped from the repertoire, it was virtually forgotten. In 2000, Pierre Lacotte was exclusively commissioned by the Bolshoi Theatre to resurrect Petipa’s mighty Egyptian fresco and he successfully succeeded in giving a new life to this forgotten masterpiece.

Young Englishman Lord Wilson is traveling through Egypt with his servant, John Bull. At the foot of a pyramid, they meet a caravan of Arab merchants who kindly invite them into their tent. Suddenly, a powerful storm breaks out. Travellers and merchants are forced to take shelter in the nearest pyramid. The caretaker requests his uninvited guests to watch the noise they make as Aspicia, the daughter of one of Egypt’s most powerful Pharaohs, lies in a tomb nearby. Settling down in a corner, the merchants light up their opium pipes. Lord Wilson also asks for a chibouk… He falls asleep and begins to have fantastic dreams. The Pharaoh’s daughter, Aspicia, becomes alive and lays her hand over his heart. Lord Wilson is instantly transported into the past where he becomes Ta-Hor, an ancient Egyptian. Ta-Hor and Aspicia fall in love, but she is betrothed to a Nubian king…