Le Pavilion d’Armide - Armida’s Pavilion

Performed in Moscow on 3 April 2012 at Andris Liepa’s Les Saisons Russes of the XXIc. Main characters: Andrey Merkuriev (Vicomte René de Beaugency), Alexandra Timofeeva (Armide), Mikhail Martynyuk (Favourite Slave). Music by Tcherepnin, Choreography by Fokine. The ballet is set during the reign of Louis XIV. During a storm, the young Vicomte René de Beaugency seeks refuge in a castle owned by a magician, the Marquis de Fierbois. René spends the night in Armide’s Pavilion, part of the castle, where he becomes mesmerised by a tapestry hanging on the wall. While asleep he dreams that the tapestry figures of the sorceress Armide and her entourage come to life and perform a series of dances. Encouraged by King Hidraot, a member of Armide’s animated court (and bearing a striking resemblance to the Marquis de Fierbois), René falls in love with Armide, who gives him her scarf as a token in return. Awakening, René discovers that he possesses Armide’s scarf and that her woven tape