Moira Shearer and Michael Somes

[rg]

scan of undated press photo, perhaps from around the time of the ballet's premiere when Shearer, who was always meant to share the role the Fonteyn, took part in much of the ballet's creation period and who danced the early performances due to Fonteyn's being injured.

the "Roman" "military" look for the prince's tunic is unfamiliar to me.

NYPL dance cat. entry for the ballet:

Cinderella: Chor: Frederick Ashton; mus: Sergei Prokofiev; scen & cos: Jean-Denis Malclès. First perf: London, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Dec 23, 1948, Sadler's Wells Ballet.

Edited August 24, 2011 by rg

[Jane Simpson]

I didn't recognise that tunic either - but having searched quite hard, I guess it's because there are so few photos of the last scene of the original production. I did find a couple, though, and it's interesting that in one of them, and in an accompanying sketch of the costume, the Prince wears a very large white collar over the tunic - he looks much better without it, if you ask me!

(If you have Covent Garden Book #3 you'll find the pictures in there.)

[rg]

many thanks, J.

here's a scan of the faint and incompletely stamped indentification on the back of the photo, which i have since noted dates its distribution connected to the Sadlers Wells Ballet's "FIRST AMERICAN TOUR" - thus, 1949, tho' o'course the picture was likely taken in '48.