| Apparitions was jointly devised by some of the key creative minds working in British ballet in the 1930s. Composer Constant Lambert’s libretto (adapted from Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique) and arrangements of romantic themes by Liszt inspired the ballet, which was designed by Cecil Beaton – with some of the costumes made by the famed Barbara Karinska. For Ashton, it was a noteworthy moment in his career, demonstrating that he could create serious work with real gravitas. It is also widely regarded as having defined his future relationship with Margot Fonteyn, who was just 16 years old when she performed The Woman in Ball Dress in the ballet’s first cast. |
MUSIC
Franz Liszt, arranged by Constant Lambert, orchestrated by Gordon Jacob
Prologue: Consolation No 3 in D flat major
Valse oubliée No 1
Nocturne: Schlaflos, Frage und Antwort
Interlude: Ungarisch, from Weihnachtsbaum, No 11
Jadis, from Weihnachtsbaum, No 10
Tableau I: Polnisch, from Weihnachtsbaum, No 9
Galop in A minor
Elegy No 2
Tableau II: Evening Bells, from Weihnachtsbaum, No 9
Scherzoso, from Weihnachtsbaum, No 5
Carillon, from Weihnachtsbaum, No 6
Unstern (Sinistre, Disastro)
Tableau III: Mephisto Valse, No 3
Epilogue : R[ichard] W[agner]–Venezia
Consolation No 1, reprise
SCENERY & COSTUMES
Cecil Beaton
DANCERS
The Poet: Robert Helpmann; The Woman in Ball Dress: Margot Fonteyn; The Hussar: Harold Turner; The Monk: Maurice Brooke; Ladies of Fashion, Dandies, Belfry Spirits, etc: corps de ballet
FIRST PERFORMANCE
Vic-Wells Ballet, Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London, 11 February 1936
See 1956, The Beloved
New Stagings / Productions
Sadler’s Wells Ballet, 1949
NEW PRODUCTION
Sadler’s Wells Ballet; new Scenery & Costumes by Cecil Beaton (further revised 17 November 1952)
DANCERS
The Poet: Robert Helpmann; The Woman in Ball Dress: Margot Fonteyn
FIRST PERFORMANCE
Royal Opera House, London, 24 March 1949
Sadler’s Wells Theatre Ballet, 1957
STAGING
Sadler’s Wells Theatre Ballet
DANCERS
The Poet: John Field; The Woman in Ball Dress: Anne Heaton
FIRST PERFORMANCE
Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, 28 January 1957; Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London, 4 July 1957
Royal Ballet, 1970
STAGING
Royal Ballet, Tribute to Sir Frederick Ashton, Ballroom Scene (Tableau I) only
DANCERS
The Poet: Rudolf Nureyev; The Woman in Ball Dress: Margot Fonteyn
FIRST PERFORMANCE
Royal Opera House, London, 24 July 1970
Ballet for All, 1972
STAGING
Ballet for All; excerpt from Tableau 1 only
FIRST PERFORMANCE
Spa Pavilion, Felixstowe, 13 October 1972
London Festival Ballet, 1987
NEW PRODUCTION
London Festival Ballet
REPRODUCED BY
Jean Bedells
SCENERY & COSTUMES
William Chappell, after Cecil Beaton
DANCERS
The Poet: Peter Schaufuss; The Lady in the Ball Dress (sic): Natalia Makarova
FIRST PERFORMANCE
Coliseum, London, 13 July 1987
Copyright © 2004 by David Vaughan. ‘Work note’ © Frederick Ashton Foundation.
This listing is part of a chronology that was originally published in Vaughan’s Frederick Ashton and His Ballets (Alfred E Knopf 1976; 2nd ed., London: Dance Books, 1999) and includes new productions added since then, and up until 2007