alymer

I believe a plaque for Markova is in the system. But it seems to be quite a lengthy process. Funding is one problem - English Heritage lost much of its Government funding for the plaques a few years ago and permission for the installation of a plaque is not always forthcoming from the owners of the building.

She had a flat there in the late forties early fifties.

It was unveiled this morning as was one to Sir Frederick Ashton on his former house in Marlborough Street, SW3.

Best thing about the older Frankenstein was the orchestra. At one point it rose from the depths to a point above the stage, playing all the while. I heard at the time that the musicians loved it. Don't know if that was true for all of them, but still it was a wonderful effect.

The production you're thinking of Jane was actually a re-staging by Norman Morrice of the old version with designs by James Bailey and was given at the beginning of his stint as director. And yes, the different grave was to show that Giselle was no longer a Wili, but had been saved by her love and courage. I heard that from Madam herself. The wings are there to indicate that the Wilis are supernatural beings - Giselle herself used to wear them and there was a little trick which made them spring into view when she bowed to Myrtha after emerging from her grave. And according to Dolin it was considered to be very bad form if Albrecht failed to catch the lilies which Giselle threw to him as she jumped.

I would guess that Plisetskaya was a pretty impressive Myrtha if we're talking about best ever.

I think a plaque for Ashton is planned. It may be that it's on the complete list of those scheduled for this year and the news item gave only a few names.

But surely Vanartus, it depends whether you agree with Julie Kavanagh's take on Ashton's motivation, and the degree to which his private life affected his working life. A number of people who knew him well and had worked with him over the years said that they didn't recognise her portrait of him.

That's because they have other jobs in order to pay the rent. I can assure you that in this country at least you can't make a living as a dance critic!

It's not necessarily even a question of paying travel expenses. Most national papers have cut down on the space allowed for criticism of the "high arts". So a critic might travel at his or her own expense to see a really terrific performance by Miss A or Mr B in say, Southampton, but still be unable to get anything published. Furthermore, some companies are not that keen on letting a production be seen in what can be less than ideal conditions. And as Janet says, travelling to see performances can be an expensive business and I think people might be surprised to learn how little some papers are prepared to pay their critics. As an hourly rate it's pretty low.

The Lilac Fairy did actually have a variation in the Prologue. There are two versions in the notation. One, which is less technically demanding is marked "M. Petipa" ie. Marie M Petipa, the choreographer's daughter. What tends to be misleading is the photograph of Marie Petipa which shows her in the costume she wore throughout the remainder of the ballet which includes heeled shoes and a heavy, helmet-like headdress.

FLOSS, in one of your earlier posts I think you were unjust to Michael Kaiser. The proposal to disband the ROH orchestra and chorus and put the Royal Ballet dancers onto 36 week contracts came from Lord Southgate (then chairman of the ROH) and Pelham Allen who was acting as chief executive. As I recall, It was made on purely financial grounds. Michael Kaiser didn't appear on the scene until some time after that idea had been kicked into the long grass, arriving shortly before the opening of the refurbished Opera House. However, it was Kaiser who said to Dowell when Kumakawa et. al. handed in their notices; "go out and hire the five best male dancers in the world".

Cavycapers; James cannot touch the Sylph because she is not human - that's why there is no conventional partnering. And it's arguable that it is his embrace rather than the supposedly "magical" scarf which causes her death.

As far as I can tell it was danced only by the Theatre Ballet. Covent Garden seems to have been a Nutcracker-free zone until the Nureyev production premiered. Personally I enjoyed that version and thought it had some lovely things, especially the snowflakes scene - although that had to be changed early on because the dancers found it too difficult. There is a dvd with Merle Park and Nureyev himself. I believe the Paris Opera still has the Nureyev Nutcracker in its repertory (I've also seen it danced at La Scala) but with different designs. I'm not sure if the three-choreographer version announced by Millepied will replace it or whether there will be two versions, as with Giselle.

Just to expand a little on Floss's answer; Beauty and the Beast wasn't an excerpt but a very nice piece made by John Cranko using Ravel's Mother Goose Suite. The Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet had it in the repertoire at one time. The Theatre Ballet had already danced Casse Noisette in the designs used in 1937 and Markova and Dolin were brought in to coach the dancers. Ashton's 1951 version appears to have been a pure dance divertissement combining the Kingdom of Snow and the Kingdom of Sweets scenes. From someone who saw it I gather it was really lovely, but perhaps suffered from over-elaborate designs by Cecil Beaton. Also in the repertory for the US tour was a version of Act II of Swan Lake - again arranged by Ashton.