| The first of several short pieces Ashton choreographed during the 1970s, Meditation from Thaïs (later known as Thaïs pas de deux) was created for Antoinette Sibley and Anthony Dowell, who performed the duet as part of a gala at the Adelphi Theatre. Though Massenet’s music, taken from his eponymous opera, is thought to have featured in Anna Pavlova’s repertory, Ashton said he never saw her perform to it—but Thaïs is, as observed by biographer David Vaughan, ‘one of his dances that unmistakably evoke her spirit’. Choreographed in just a couple of rehearsals, the pas de deux is a sensuous, romantic reverie: at once seemingly weightless and otherworldly, and incredibly challenging – replete with intricate lifts and difficult balances. The piece was revived several times by Sibley and Dowell, and has since become a favourite at galas around the world. |
MUSIC
Jules Massenet (1894)
COSTUMES
Anthony Dowell
DANCERS
Antoinette Sibley, Anthony Dowell
FIRST PERFORMANCE
Gala Performance, Adelphi Theatre, London 21 March 1971
New Stagings / Productions
Pacific Ballet, 1971
STAGING
Pacific Ballet
DANCERS
Antoinette Sibley, Anthony Dowell
FIRST PERFORMANCE
Nourse Auditorium, San Francisco CA, 3 June 1971
Royal Ballet, 1971
STAGING
Royal Ballet
DANCERS
Antoinette Sibley, Anthony Dowell
FIRST PERFORMANCE
Royal Opera House, London, 14 December 1971
Festival of Two Worlds, 1973
NEW PRODUCTION
Festival of Two Worlds: as part of Celebration: The Art of the Pas de Deux arranged by Jerome Robbins
SCENERY
Rouben Ter-Arutunian
DANCERS
Antoinette Sibley, Anthony Dowell
FIRST PERFORMANCE
Teatro Nuovo, Spoleto, 29 July 1973
Ballet de Nice, 1995
STAGING
Ballet de Nice: under the title Thaïs pas de deux
REPRODUCED BY
Garry Harris
DANCERS
Monique Loudières, Wilfred Romoli
FIRST PERFORMANCE
Opéra de Nice, 8 December 1995
Dance Theatre of Harlem, 2003
STAGING
Dance Theatre of Harlem: under the title Thaïs
REPRODUCED BY
Anthony Dowell
DANCERS
Melissa Morrissey, Duncan Cooper
FIRST PERFORMANCE
New York State Theater, New York NY, 9 July 2003
San Francisco Ballet, 2004
STAGING
San Francisco Ballet: under the title Thaïs pas de deux
REPRODUCED BY
Anthony Dowell
DANCERS
Yuan Yuan Tan, Pierre-François Vilanoba
FIRST PERFORMANCE
War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco CA, 13 April 2004
Royal Ballet/Paris Opera Ballet, 2004
STAGING
Royal Ballet/Paris Opera Ballet
REPRODUCED BY
Anthony Dowell
DANCERS
Leanne Benjamin, Manuel Legris
FIRST PERFORMANCE
Entente Cordiale Gala, Opéra National de Paris, Palais Garnier, 29 September 2004
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