The Royal Ballet presents a dazzling showcase of choreographic invention by Frederick Ashton. Three ballets, Scènes de ballet / A Month in the Country / Rhapsody, return to the Royal Opera House Main Stage on 23 April demonstrating his remarkable range.
The trio of works illuminate the breadth of Ashton’s creative imagination and the qualities that make his work so distinctive, combining elegance, technical prowess, musicality and a nuanced flair for characterization. This mixed programme marks the tenth anniversary of the Frederick Ashton Foundation which enriches the legacy of the Company’s founding choreographer through its répétituer shadowing scheme, masterclasses and lecture series.
First performed at the Royal Opera House in 1948, Ashton’s Scènes de ballet was inspired by Igor Stravinsky’s score, ‘the most fascinating and perfect music for dancing’. Based on geometric theories, the choreography unites lines and patterns to create a vivid spectacle movement that comes to life in exquisitely chic designs by André Beaurepaire. Last performed in 2014 at the Royal Opera House, this performance will see debuts from Principal dancers Alexander Campbell, Fumi Kaneko, Vadim Muntagirov, Yasmine Naghdi and First Soloist Reece Clarke.
In contrasting style, Ashton’s emotional and tender narrative ballet based on a play by Ivan Turgenev follows next. Created in 1976 and set to music by Fryderyk Chopin in an arrangement by John Lanchbery, A Month in the Country charts the heartbreak and turmoil of a tumultuous love triangle in the midst of domesticity. Making their debuts in A Month in the Country will be Principal dancer Laura Morera and First Soloist William Bracewell.
Sergey Rachmaninoff’s rapturous Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini provides the accompaniment for the final work of the programme. Created on Mikhail Baryshnikov and Lesley Collier in 1980 in honour of the 80th birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Ashton’s Rhapsody is a tribute to virtuosic dance that remains a jubilant visual treat today. Rhapsody will see debuts from Principal dancers Cesar Corrales, Marcelino Sambé, Anna Rose O’Sullivan and Akane Takada.