Les millions d'Arlequin
| Les Millions d'Arlequin, or Harlequinade | |
|---|---|
Frontispiece of the original piano reduction of Drigo's score as issued by the publisher Zimmerman, 1901 | |
| Choreographer | Marius Petipa |
| Music | Riccardo Drigo |
| Libretto | Marius Petipa |
| Based on | episodes from La commedia dell'arte |
| Premiere | 23 February [O.S. 10 February] 1900 (Hermitage) 26 February [O.S. 13 February] 1900 (Imperial Mariinsky Theatre) |
| Design | décor: Orest Allegri costumes: Ivan Kaffi |
| Genre | Ballet comique |
Les Millions d'Arlequin (English: Harlequin's Millions) (Russian: "Миллионы Арлекина", Milliony Arlekina) also known under the title Harlequinade (Russian: "Арлекинада", Arlekinada) is a ballet comique in two acts and two tableaux with libretto and choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Riccardo Drigo. It was first presented at the Theatre of the Imperial Hermitage Museum by the Imperial Ballet in Saint Petersburg on 23 February [O.S. 10 February] 1900. The ballet was given a second premiere with the same cast at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre on 26 February [O.S. 13 February] 1900.
Les Millions d'Arlequin was first performed on a double bill after two acts of Alexander Serov's opera Judith at the Imperial Theatre of the Hermitage Museum on 23 February [O.S. 10 February] 1900. In the principal roles were Mathilde Kschessinskaya as Columbine, Georgy Kyaksht as Harlequin, Olga Preobrajenskaya as Pierrette, Sergei Lukianov as Pierrot, Enrico Cecchetti as Cassandre, Nikolai Aistov as Leandre, and Anna Urakova as the Good Fairy.
The Sérénade from the first act of the ballet became a popular repertory piece that has been arranged for various instruments and recorded on numerous occasions.