This is the genius Marius Petipa's rebirth in the twilight of his life. The Master created it at the age of 80 as a quintessence of his rich life. The plot about a knight who leaves for a crusade, and his bride is just roughly outlined. Dances by Raymonda and her friends appear as an accolade to woman's beauty and the multicoloured gamut of her feelings, while the entrance of sheikh Abdu-Rakhman and his suite brings an Oriental inebriation and passion to the ballet, stirring for a moment the admirable harmony of Raymonda's world. The Raymonda performances in Riga were conducted by the composer of music, Alexander Glazunov. This ballet became the first blueprint for the plotless white ballets so popular in the 20th century.