Details

Major revivals of three classic one-act ballets from throughout his career celebrate the work of Sir Frederick Ashton. Dating from 1933, the exquisite, youthful Les Rendezvous light-heartedly depicts a series of chance encounters in a Paris park. Widely regarded as one of Ashton's greatest masterpieces, Symphonic Variations is a plotless ballet for six dancers which superbly reflects the flow of Cesar Franck's great score for piano and orchestra. Created in 1963 as a vehicle for Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev, Marguerite and Arnaud is a haunting version of Dumas' tragic love story, La Dame aux camelias. Thais pas de deux - Set to the Meditation from Thais by Jules Massenet with designs by Anthony Dowell this bewitching oriental dream sequence was created by Frederick Ashton for a gala at the Adelphi Theatre London in March 1971. Originally created on Antoinette Sibley and Anthony Dowell Thais pas de deux has been part of the repertory of The Royal Ballet for over twenty years. These performances are the first with a new cast in the work's history. Les Rendezvous (new production of 1959 classic. Auber, L'Enfant Prodigue), Symphonic Variations (Cesar Franck), Marguerite and Armand (Franz Liszt). Thais pas de deux Jules Massenet

Cast/Performers

Leanne Benjamin (Thais pas de deux 18 / 22), Jonathan Cope (Thais pas de deux 18 / 22), Jonathan Cope (Armand - Marguerite and Armand)

Creatives/Company

Company: Royal Ballet
Conductor: Paul Murphy
Choreographer: Frederick Ashton
Design(s): Anthony Ward, Sophie Fedorovitch, Cecil Beaton, Anthony Dowell (Thais pas de deux)

Ashton Revisited

Ashton Revisited (Dance or ballet) production archive for QTIX code T01434992004. Details of all Ashton Revisited archived productions can be found under the QTIX code: S01386800057

Archive Listings

15 Mar 00 to 22 Mar 00	Royal Opera House West End, Greater London Performance Details => Venue archive
29 Feb 00 to 22 Mar 00	Royal Opera House West End, Greater London Performance Details => Venue archive

Reviews

The Daily Telegraph: 11Jan01:
Marguerite and Armand is a hot-house piece which needs as much star luminescence as committed acting and dance mastery. [Sylvie Guillem] and [Nicolas Le Riche] have all three in spades. Guillem and Le Riche made the earth move again, as Fonteyn and Nureyev made it move nearly 40 years ago. In that breathtaking paean to serenity, Symphonic Variations, [Bruce Sansom] and [Johan Kobborg] were sublime and an 18-year-old Romanian, [Alina Cojocaru], caught the eye in the Fonteyn rôle, with a beautiful delicacy of manner.

User Reviews

The Daily Telegraph (11Jan01): Marguerite and Armand is a hot-house piece which needs as much star luminescence as committed acting and dance mastery. [Sylvie Guillem] and [Nicolas Le Riche] have all three in spades. Guillem and Le Riche made the earth move again, as Fonteyn and Nureyev made it move nearly 40 years ago. In that breathtaking paean to serenity, Symphonic Variations, [Bruce Sansom] and [Johan Kobborg] were sublime and an 18-year-old Romanian, [Alina Cojocaru], caught the eye in the Fonteyn rôle, with a beautiful delicacy of manner.

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