Alymer

I saw quite a number of Denard's performances Estelle, and he really was something. As well as having all the attributes you would want for an etoile, technique, partnering skills, etc. he had tremendous glamour. Bejart made the role of the Firebird for Denard in his version of the ballet, and with him the piece was really quite memorable. Denard was also good in the classics - I remember seeing his Albrecht and being really impressed by the original detail he put into his portrayal - none of it out of tune with the ballet.

But I think it tends to be overlooked just how impressive the top ranks of the Opera were in the 1970's. There were some really fantastic dancers leading the company at that time. It's not a recent phenomenon.

Sorry - this all way off the original topic.

Estelle wrote

"That must have been Darsonval's reconstruction"

It was indeed. However, there were two problems with it; one minor, one major and I guess this is why it has never been done again.

The minor problem was the designs which were very elegant but far too 20th Century.

The more important problem was that, according to Verdy who was director of the ballet at the time, when it came down to it, Darsonval could remember quite a bit of the ballet, but there were sections of which she had no recollection at all. And these sections were filled in by (I think) Verdy herself. So while some of it was clearly original, or close to it, other parts were totally modern and of no great choreographic distinction.

It was however, wonderfully danced by the entire cast. It was also the first time I saw Denard in a comic role and realised just how versatile a dancer he was.

Sad to say the Balanchine Trust was right to stop Nureyev dancing Apollo. His late performances did little honour either to the ballet or the dancer. But when he first danced the role it was amazing. Certainly a very demi-caractere approach and quite different to the way NYCB dances it today. But Wow! All at once you realised the story those steps and gestures had originally conveyed. What was also rather touching was that he was clearly trying to cool down the temperament. The result was rather like a boiler with the pressure valve screwed down....

Sad to say, there is no Ashton trust to look after his ballets. Those who inherited individual ballets (or their heirs, since some of them have now died) either stage the ballets themselves or commission a balletmaster who they feel they can trust. As to the remainder, left to Ashton's nephew, he too would rely on someone staging them.

As far as Ashton's Sylvia is concerned, at least part of it is notated. Anyone who has Keith Money's book, The Art of the Royal Ballet, can find a picture on p 56 of notator Faith Worth with the manuscript in her hand, teaching one of Sylvia's variations to Melissa Hayden. There are still people around who danced the compete ballet and Christopher Carr, one of the RB balletmasters, stated when he retired a short time ago, that he was convinced the ballet could be restaged.

I have also seen a revival of Sylvia at the Paris Opera which was supposed to be based on the Albert Aveline production, and certainly, quite a bit of it looked convincing.

I find Letestu and Le Riche an even more bizarre pairing. I'd have said that their approach is as different as chalk and cheese. And isn't she rather tall for him?

I've often wondered how Symphonic would have looked on the Bejart dancers. Ashton was certainly impressed by the general standard of the men. I remember him asking Bejart how he managed to get all those good male dancers the which the answer came; "you grow them, like a gardener".

At that time his leading women were probably Farrell and Gielgud and the leading men Bortoluzzi and Donn. But the general standard was pretty high - it was as much personnality which made those dancers outstanding - and class was very classical and very demanding.

I found it inteteresting that the men's teacher was Menia Martinez, a Cuban dancer who had been a contemporary of Nureyev, Soloviev, etc at the Vaganova Institute, while the women were taught by Pierre Dobrievitch.

Ashton's reply to the request was that he "wouldn't want it to go anywhere that Michael (Soames) couldn't look after it".

But assuming that a ballet has been correctly set by someone who really understands it, it can be fascinating to see a work strongly associated with one company danced by another. Obviously, it's not like seeing it for the first time - you know the piece. But a new company will bring out different aspects of the work and perhaps things you took for granted will take on a n ew originality.

I loved seeing the dancers of Dutch National dance Symphonic. Their attitude, the way they approached the piece put it into a new context. And someone from the Vienna Staatsoper told me that Balanchine was fascinated by the Viennese dancers when he came to mount Liebeslieder on them, presumably because of the generations of waltzing in their blood.

Both Bausch and Cunningham sell out in London also, Estelle, as fast as the tickets can physically be distributed. But I was amused by your comment about Ashton which has a great deal of truth. When some years ago the Royal Ballet showed his Symphonic Variations, - generally considered to be one of his greatest works - in Paris the French critics dismissed it as "watered-down Lifar". Interestingly, many, many years ago, Bejart asked Ashton if he could have it for the Ballet du XXeme Siecle. I wonder how 'classical' it would have looked on those dancers.

Both Bausch and Cunningham sell out in London also, Estelle, as fast as the tickets can physically be distributed. But I was amused by your comment about Ashton which has a great deal of truth. When some years ago the Royal Ballet showed his Symphonic Variations, - generally considered to be one of his greatest works - in Paris the French critics dismissed it as "watered-down Lifar". Interestingly, many, many years ago, Bejart asked Ashton if he could have it for the Ballet du XXeme Siecle. I wonder how 'classical' it would have looked on those dancers.

In a cookery book of Danish recepies I have, (for Bournonville fans especially) Margarethe Schanne's Hamburger. I've tried it and it's excellent.

Paul, I found the attribution for the Breadcrumb fairy, plus explanations for the names of the other fairies in John Warrack's biography of Tchaikovsky. How solid his scholarship is on Russian folklore and the language of flowers, I don't know, though his musical credentials appear to be impeccable.

I'd like to echo Kevin in saying just how terrific the Mariinsky galas were. And by seeing the whole ensemble; orchestra, dancers and singers, we had an impression of the strength and depth of the organisation. They brought 250 performers, plus technical staff, all for two performances. I hope they raised a lot of money.

The singing was mostly terrific. Three wonderful young sopranos and a plethora of terrific Russian basses.

The first evening began with the final chorus from A Life for the Tsar. I mention this only because for years it has been referred to by its Soviet title; Ivan Susanin, it always used to open the season at the Mariinsky and Kchessinska led the dances in the Polish Act, partnering her father.

But as far as the ballet was concerned; I found the two Ratmansky duets interesting and very contrasted. I loved the bit in Cinderella where she keeps asking the other guests at the ball if they know the time. Alas; none of them has a watch.

I'm afraid I didn't admire her in the Don Quixote pas. She's not a real virtuoso in the Tarasova style and I find her performances very calculated. There's no spontenity, no sense of fun. She also wore one of the most hideous tutus I've ever seen. Andrei Merkuriev partnered her nicely, but he didn't seem to me the right kind of dancer for that number in a gala context.

I thought Serenade looked and sounded terrific. The man sitting next to me clearly hated it. In particular I admired Veronica Part and Irina Golub. The corps too was terrific, but Oh, those noisy shoes.

It was interesting to see the Hungarian number from Raymond, though we'd originally been promised the Pas Classique Hongrois.

A nice Bluebird, but it looked oddly out of place and was surprisingly the only classical Petipa in the entire two evenings - I don't think you can really count Don Q any longer as it's mainly an opportunityfor the two dancers to display their favourite tricks.

The Polovtsian Dances looked so much better in context and the two basses (Nikolai Putilin anbd Gennady Bezzubenkov) were terrific. We left the theatre on a real high and just 5 minutes after the estimated curtain time which was a real testament to the stage management as we had 12 items, with decors and an interval.

Highlight of the second night for me was Leningrad Symphony which finished the first part after a long extract from The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh. Choreographically it is I suppose a period piece, but a good one. It was wonderfully played and danced with complete conviction. Daria Pavlenko was outstanding as the Girl - more moving even I think than Alla Sizova who created the role - and Andrei Yakovlev was fine as the Youth. But I can't see that ballet without remembering Yuri Soloviev who combined humanity, heroism and pure classical virtuosity in equal measure. Anyway, I don't mind admitting that my eyes were streaming by the time the piece ended although whether it was the ballet, the music or the memory of that truly great dancer I couldn't say.

Snowflakes from the new Nutcracker I though simply eccentric, and I didn't find Maestro Gergiev's super-fast tempo particularly convincing musically. Ruzimatov failed to appear for Prodigal, but I thought Merkuriev was pretty good, especially in the early scenes, less so in the final two tableaux and I loved Pavlenko. A real little Siren and to think she danced her first Nikia only 48 hours later.

One person I forgot to mention is Yulia Makhalina who danced a pas de deux from the Jaconson Spartacus partnered by Alexander Kurkov. It's a curious number out of context and very much of its period, but I thought she gave a real Mariinsky ballerina performance, despite being given so little to do, a more credit to her.

All in all two wonderful evenings, well worth the exorbitant prices - and apologies for having rambled on for so long.

Your comment about Monica Mason as the girl in green in Dances at a Gathering Paul; in fact she always wore the apricot coloured dress and it was Seymour who was the girl in green.

Having worked in repertory theatre many, many years ago, I can assure Katharine that it died long before Margaret Thatcher came on the scene, largely due to a phenomenon called Television. And in most provincial reps, we did more Agatha Christie thrillers than Shakespeare I'm sorry to say, as they were what brought the audiences in.

I've been in the Foyer de la Danse several times Glebb and it really is spectacular, but I'm ashamed to say I didn't really notice the details. There are a number of impressive rooms backstage at the Opera Garnier. I remember a good many years ago a reception in the Salle Messager, which was very prettily decorated in Belle Epoque style. And I belive that some of the etoiles have wonderful dressing rooms. One of the privileges which goes with the promotion is your own, permanent dressing room suite - yours to decorate as you will. I belive that Ghislane Thesmar's was really wonderful - I remember hearing Nureyev being teased by one of the dancers who accused him of coveting it! He didn't deny it.

I recognised the ballet the moment I saw the photograph, not from the description. But that was really because I couldn't imagine that an Ashton ballet would appear in a French catalogue - not because your description was poor Estelle. Alexandra, Chappell did several designs for early productions but this is the one which was used by the Royal Ballet for around 30 years until the latest redesign commissioned by Dowell for the Covent Garden company. I don't know which version ABT uses - there is one where the leading woman wears a beautiful grey tarlatan dress decorated with red roses, which is what Markova wore - but this version has always had the big park gates. The women all wear effectively the same costume, the difference being in the colour of the ribbonsof the trimming and head dress, and I think the pas de quatre girls wear wrist length gloves.

When there was an earlier thread about redesigning ballets I had meant to post something about the Rendezvous designs, so I'll take the opportunity now.

Whether or not you like a decor is pretty subjective - it depends to an extent on personal taste. I didn't much care for the designs that Dowell commissioned, but what I thought was completely unforgivable was that the new decor meant that all the exits had to be changed as there were no longer gates at the centre back of the stage. It made a considerable difference to the patern of the ballet and I fear it's a sign of the disrespect with which most of Ashton's works are regarded by the Royal Opera House.

Estelle.

It's Ashton's Les Rendezvous in the Billy Chappell decor. If I looked harder I might be able to guess which Royal Ballet company it was - I suspect it's the company now called Birmingham Royal Ballet. It's a moment in the ballet immediately following a dance for the six men of the corps, after which the women join them three by three.

Becky, you might be interested to know that according to one version I read, the reason behind the Fairy name Breadcrumb, or Miettes qui Tombent is is a Russian custom whereby the Godmother sprinkles crumbs on her godchild's cradle to ensure that the child shall never go hungry.

Ashton featured Apollo and three muses in his Creatures of Prometheus and he chose Thalia, Melepomene and Terpsichore (who was strangely reminiscent of a former Royal Ballet director/ choreographer:). His Apollo was a largely mimed role however. I suspect he thought Balanchine had said everything about that particular God................

While we're mentioning honourific titles, does anyone remember the time when all the women in the POB were referred to in the programme as 'Mademoiselle' plus surname, except for the etoiles who instantly became 'Madame' on promotion. And at that time they were all listed in order of seniority.

It did strike me as funny though, to hear a member of staff referring (in English) to Mrs Motte and Mrs Chauvire.

While we're mentioning honourific titles, does anyone remember the time when all the women in the POB were referred to in the programme as 'Mademoiselle' plus surname, except for the etoiles who instantly became 'Madame' on promotion. And at that time they were all listed in order of seniority.

It did strike me as funny though, to hear a member of staff referring (in English) to Mrs Motte and Mrs Chauvire.

It's also sometimes a dead giveaway since the first name used by the 'fan' isn't the one used by friends.

It's also sometimes a dead giveaway since the first name used by the 'fan' isn't the one used by friends.

Sounds as if you have a pretty interesting collection Glebb. What exactly is a 'cup of sorrow'?

I would say that my photograph of Grahn was taken when she was in her fifties - though it's hard to be precise. Her hair is clearly still light in colour - dark blonde perhaps. She has very pretty rounded arms - not fat though. Her torso looks fairly solid although I would judge she still had a small waist, or an excellent corset. I guess she must still have looked pretty good as her dress is cut low over the bust and shoulders and she would probably have covered up a little more otherwise. There's a little fullness under the chin, but that rather strong nose which you can see in the lithograph of her in 'Eoline ou la Dryad', is clearly shown as she is photographed in profile.

Her signature is quite loose and flowing with a pretty curly top to the initial L of Lucille, and the writing quite small.

And in connection with another famous Romantic ballerina, I once saw Elssler's Cachucha costume in an exhibition of Biedermeyer in Vienna, and I couldn't get over how tiny she was.

Sounds as if you have a pretty interesting collection Glebb. What exactly is a 'cup of sorrow'?

I would say that my photograph of Grahn was taken when she was in her fifties - though it's hard to be precise. Her hair is clearly still light in colour - dark blonde perhaps. She has very pretty rounded arms - not fat though. Her torso looks fairly solid although I would judge she still had a small waist, or an excellent corset. I guess she must still have looked pretty good as her dress is cut low over the bust and shoulders and she would probably have covered up a little more otherwise. There's a little fullness under the chin, but that rather strong nose which you can see in the lithograph of her in 'Eoline ou la Dryad', is clearly shown as she is photographed in profile.

Her signature is quite loose and flowing with a pretty curly top to the initial L of Lucille, and the writing quite small.

And in connection with another famous Romantic ballerina, I once saw Elssler's Cachucha costume in an exhibition of Biedermeyer in Vienna, and I couldn't get over how tiny she was.

It's possibly interesting to note that the ballet is actually based on a popular novel by Lydia Pashkova. I know for a fact that when Nureyev was mounting the ballet he tried to get hold of a copy of the book, but without success. It would be interesting to be able to compare the original novel with Petipa's scenario and see if the book made more sense - possibly not!