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Ashton Rediscovered 2017/18


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Have just received the following e-mail. There is no information this time about the dancers who will be featured.

 

THE FREDERICK ASHTON FOUNDATION
 
ASHTON REDISCOVERED 2017 - 18
 
A series of masterclasses given by the original casts of rarely performed works by Frederick Ashton.
 
Introduced by Jane Pritchard and featuring dancers of The Royal Ballet.
 
To be filmed for educational and research purposes.
 
The Royal Ballet Upper School, 46 Floral Street, London WC2E 9DA
 
Sunday 19 November 2017 with Anthony Dowell
 
2.30 – 5.30pm (doors open 2.00pm)
 
Le Rossignol (1981)
 
Sunday 11 February 2018 with Monica Mason
 
2.30 – 5.30pm (doors open 2.00pm)
 
Spanish Dance from Swan Lake Act III (1963)
 
Each masterclass will include an Introduction, Q&A and drinks reception
 
Booking now open:
 
Tickets: £60 per person (See ticket application form attached)
 
For further information, please email ashtonrediscovered@yahoo.com or leave message on 020 7212 9627 (voicemail)
 
All proceeds to benefit the Frederick Ashton Foundation (reg. charity no. 1143433)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Edited by capybara
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  • 2 months later...

I somehow doubt that we shall see any part of Stravinsky's Nightingale on the Opera House stage any time soon. The choreography you saw yesterday was created in 1983 for the staging of an opera double bill of Stravinsky's Le Rossignol which dates from 1914 and Ravel's L'Enfant et le Sortilege written in the 1920's  to a libretto by Colette.Both operas had designs by David Hockney and were directed by John Dexter.I believe that Rossignol was originally staged in a manner not unlike the staging of the original version of Le Coq d'Or with singers performing the musical text and playing no direct part in the stage action which was allocated to dancers of the Diaghilev company.

 

Stravinsky later reworked the music into a one act ballet Le Chant du Rossignol. In 1925 Alicia

Markova appeared in a new staging of the ballet performing Balanchine's choreography. There is archive material about this staging on the internet which includes Markova talking about it and teaching a section of the choreography.

 

In the Royal Opera's 1983 staging of the opera  the Fisherman was sung  by Philip Langridge and danced by Anthony Dowell while the Nightingale was sung by Phyllis Bryn-Julson  and danced by Natalia Markarova. All the other roles were taken by singers. Staging an opera like the Nightingale is not a cheap undertaking as it has quite a lot of named characters in it who have to be individually cast. I suspect that the choice of L'Enfant as the companion piece represented an attempt to keep costs down as the voice types required in both operas are similar. 

 

I have no doubt that the afternoon event was of considerable interest but I should like to know whether the choreography taken out of its theatrical context made that much sense as the likelihood of the opera company staging a production of the Nightingale is unlikely for two reasons. The first is the cost of staging it and the second is  the difficulty of making the opera relevant or accessible to today's opera audience. As far as the Ashton choreography is concerned I can't imagine it finding a home in any revival because it is far too balanced and obviously classically based to satisfy the aesthetic requirement that every element of an opera production should educate and challenge the audience out of its middle class complacency.

 

 

Edited by FLOSS
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17 minutes ago, FLOSS said:

I somehow doubt that we shall see any part of Stravinsky's Nightingale on the Opera House stage any time soon. The choreography you saw yesterday was created in 1983 for the staging of an opera double bill of Stravinsky's Le Rossignol which dates from 1914 and Ravel's L'Enfant et le Sortilege written in the 1920's  to a libretto by Colette.Both operas had designs by David Hockney and were directed by John Dexter.I believe that Rossignol was originally staged in a manner not unlike the staging of the original version of Le Coq d'Or with singers performing the musical text and playing no direct part in the stage action which was allocated to dancers of the Diaghilev company.

 

 

I also doubt that we'll see it on the main stage at the ROH but, you never know, it might make it to the Linbury.  A perfect vehicle for the RO's young artists.

 

The choreography was created in 1981 for a Stravinsky triple bill at the Met (where there was also another (French composers) triple bill which featured L'Enfant et le Sortilege).

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  • 1 year later...
On 24/03/2019 at 23:08, John Mallinson said:

The Ashton Foundation has posted links to videos of the masterclasses.

How wonderful to see. Monica Maon’s Explanation of the architecture of the choreography is just wonderful. I habe such lovely memories of Deirdre Eyden in this solo and wish it were still in the Florestan Pas de Trois...

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