Petipa originally intended the starring role of the White Pearl for the ballerina Varvara Nikitina, but for reasons unknown the ballet was shelved.

When a one-act pièce d'occasion of appropriate subject was required for the lavish celebratory gala held at the Imperial Bolshoi Theatre of Moscow in honor of the 1896 coronation of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra Fydorovna, Petipa turned to La Perle merveilleuse, now titled simply as La Perle.

[1][2] The original cast of La Perle featured the highest ranking dancers from the St. Petersburg and Moscow Imperial theatres.

While the ballet was in the early stages of production, a list of potential dancers for inclusion in the cast was created for review by a committee responsible for the coronation and its subsequent celebrations.

When Kschessinskaya learned of this, she appealed to the Emperor's uncle, the Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, whose influence reinstated the ballerina in the cast in spite of the fact that at this point the Ballet Master Petipa and the composer Drigo had completed all of the choreography and music.

Petipa became extremely frustrated when he learned that he and Drigo were nonetheless required to compose a number for Kschessinskaya, which took the form of a classical pas de deux for a new character dubbed "La Perle jaune" (the Yellow Pearl) and her suitor, performed by the danseur Nikolai Legat.