Alexandre chez Apelles

Alexandre chez Apelles was offered as a heroic ballet in two acts with music by Catel and choreography by Pierre-Gabriel Gardel. It had its premiere at the Imperial Academy of Music on 20 December 1808, and it was not dropped from the repertory until after its 35th performance on 28 July 1812. Lajarte was especially impressed by this work because it endowed the score with an importance that it had not enjoyed in the ballet previously. Catel’s composition was the first work to provide a solo for…