Le Corsaire

A group of pirates sails into port and greets their leader, Conrad. In the Greek marketplace, the Seid Pasha, a rich aristocrat, enters as an auction of slave girls begins. The Pasha and Conrad are captivated by Medora, who is purchased by the wealthy slave owner, along with another girl, Gulnara. Back in his hideout, Conrad dreams of a garden in which Medora is the loveliest flower. Awakening, he vows to find her. Conrad sneaks into the Pasha's palace and, with the help of Gulnara, escapes with Medora. Back in the grotto with Conrad's pirate band, the couple celebrates their love and newfound freedom.

Premiered in Paris in 1856, the three-act ballet has been recast and revised numerous times, including five stagings by the legendary Marius Petipa. The work was little-known in the West during the last century, except for several scenes excised as stand-alone pieces (notably the bravura pas de deux). Long a staple of the Bolshoi and Kirov ballets in Russia, Corsaire made a splash with a production staged by American Ballet Theatre in 1998.