Catarina or La Fille du Bandit

Catarina or La Fille du Bandit is a ballet in 3 Acts-4 Scenes. Choreography by Jules Perrot. Music by Cesare Pugni. First presented by the Ballet of Her Majesty's Theatre, on March 3, 1846 in London, England.

Principal Dancers - Lucile Grahn (as Catarina, leader of the Banditti), Jules Perrot (as the Lieutenant Diavolino)

Restaging by Jules Perrot for the Ballet of the Teatro alla Scala, Giacomo Panizza revising Cesare Pugni's original score. First presented on January 9, 1847 in Milan, Italy.

Principal Dancers - Fanny Elssler (as Catarina, leader of the Banditti), and Jules Perrot (as the Lieutenant Diavolino)

Restaging by Jules Perrot for the Imperial Ballet, with Cesare Pugni revising his original score. First presented at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre on February 4/16 (Julian/Gregorian calendar dates), 1849 in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Principal Dancers - Fanny Elssler (as Catarina, leader of the Banditti), and Jules Perrot (as the Lieutenant Diavolino)

Revival by Antonio-Manuel Abrami for the Ballet of the Teatro alla Scala, with Girolamo Trigambi revising Cesare Pugni's score. First presented on January 25, 1853 in Milan, Italy.

Principal Dancers- Sofia Fuoco (as Catarina, leader of the Banditti), and Giancarlo Molinari (as the Lieutenant Diavolino)

Revival by Marius Petipa for the Imperial Ballet, with Yuli Gerber revising and making additions to Cesare Pugni's score. November 1/13 (Julian/Gregorian calendar dates), 1870. First presented at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Principal Dancers - Adèle Grantzow (as Catarina, leader of the Banditti), and Pavel Gerdt (as the Lieutenant Diavolino)

Revival by Enrico Cecchetti for the Imperial Ballet, with Riccardo Drigo revising and adding new music to Cesare Pugni's score (in the version revised by Yuli Gerber). First presented at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre on October 25/November 6 (Julian/Gregorian calendar dates), 1888 in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Principal Dancers - Elena Cornalba (as Catarina, leader of the Banditti), and Pavel Gerdt (as the Lieutenant Diavolino)

Catarina is based on an incident in the life of the Italian painter Salvator Rosa.

Catarina was one of the great triumphs of the choreographer Jules Perrot, the Ballerina Lucile Grahn, and the composer Cesare Pugni, all of whom recieved laurels for their work.

Marius Petipa's 1870 revival of Catarina was produced especially for a benefit performance in honor of the composer Cesare Pugni, who had died in January that same year. All of the opening night's box office receipts were given to the composer's family.

When in 1899 Riccardo Drigo wrote the famous La Esmeralda Pas de Deux for the Ballerina Mathilde Kschessinskaya, he borrowed the principal melody from Pugni's Romanesca from Catarina for the famous so-called Tambourine Variation, which is still danced today.