"The Dream" or "Dream"

[Farrell Fan]

Lately the title of Frederick Ashton's ballet has appeared as "Dream" instead of "The Dream." The latest example was in this morning's NY Times Joffrey article. It seems to me that without "The" the title acquires an altogether different meaning in print. Is anybody else bothered by this?

[dirac]

I've seen it and it does bother me. The Fall and Decline of the Definite Article, I guess. Balanchine's The Four Temperaments is alsofrequently rendered as Four Temperaments and I always want to cuff the writer while yelling, "There are only four temperaments!" As far as I'm concerned, "Dream" is a lovely song by Johnny Mercer that I hope will make a nice pas de deux someday, but it is not a ballet by Frederick Ashton. Grr.

[Anthony_NYC]

At least it's not "William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream: The Ballet."

[BalletNut]

No, not Ashton's version, at least...

[drb]

I've seen it and it does bother me. The Fall and Decline of the Definite Article, I guess.  Balanchine's The Four Temperaments is also frequently rendered as Four Temperaments and I always want to cuff the writer while yelling, "There are only four temperaments!"  ... Grr.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Actually the original version was The Four Temperaments but it became Four Temperaments with the practice clothes version, beginning in 1951. In recent years it has become Four Temps, and soon will be 4 T's.

Only kidding... And in fairness to Mr. Martins' Company, it is listed there as The Four Temperaments. Moreover their website reminds us that:

"Hindemith's music was commissioned by Balanchine, an accomplished pianist who wanted a short work he could play at home with friends during his evening musicales. It was completed in 1940 and had its first public performance at a 1944 concert with Lukas Foss as the pianist."

The first performance of the ballet was two years later, on Maya Plisetskaya's 21st birthday... American Ballet came of age on the same day as the World's Assoluta!