Le Papillon: Staging and the Media-Technical Making of a Ballet Success

Le Papillon, a two-act ballet premiered on 26 November 1860 at the Académie Impériale de Musique, brought together some of the most influential figures of the Parisian stage in the mid-nineteenth century. Henri de Saint-Georges authored the libretto, Jacques Offenbach—then at the height of his popularity at the Bouffes- Parisiens—composed the music, and the choreography was entrusted to Marie Taglioni, whose association with La Sylphide still shaped the public imagination of romantic ballet. The production also featured the participation of the set designer Édouard Desplechin, well known for his work with Verdi, Gounod and Wagner, highlighting the artistic and financial ambition invested by the director of the Académie, Alphonse Royer. Conceived both as the public return of the celebrated Taglioni and as a significant moment in Offenbach’s career, Le Papillon benefited from substantial press coverage emphasizing the quality of its sets, costumes, music and the performance of Emma Livry. Taken together, these elements invite reflection on why this ballet emerged as a new triumph for the Académie de Musique at a time when audiences were eagerly awaiting a work capable of rekindling their enthusiasm. 

Emmanuelle Delattre-Destemberg is an Associate Professor of Modern History at the Université Polytechnique Hauts-de-France. She is the author of Les enfants de Terpsichore: histoire de l’École et des élèves de la danse de l’Académie de musique de Paris, 1783–1913, published by Épistémé in 2026. Together with Marie Glon and Guillaume Sintès, she coordinated the research project funded by the French National Research Agency (ANR) entitled “EnDansant: A History of Dance Teachers, 17th–21st Centuries,” which resulted in a three-volume collection tracing the historical construction of the profession of dance teacher in France. Their new project, also submitted to the ANR, focuses on dance communities at the international level and is entitled A Choreographic International? Circulations, Networks, and Dance Communities (17th–21st Centuries). She is also the head of the Performing Arts division within the ICCARE research program, funded by the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), which aims to support and accelerate research in the field of cultural and creative industries in France.