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Les Masques
''Les Masques, ou Changement de dames'' is a short ballet of 1933 choreographed by Frederick Ashton to music by Francis Poulenc.Vaughan D. ''Frederick Ashton and his Ballets.'' A & C Black Ltd, London, 1977, p84-7. Ashton's biographer describes it as a miniature masterpiece, an inspired fusion of scenery, steps and music.Kavanagh J. ''Secret Muses: The Life of Frederick Ashton.'' Faber & Faber Ltd, London, 1996, p153-155. The ballet reflected the social and sexual manners of Ashston's world, and the limited size of the Mercury Theatre obliged Ashton to understate the dancers' gestures and moves. A Personage is seen at a masked ball with his lady friend. They meet another couple, and they turn out to be his wife and her lover. After some changing of partners, at the end the wife and husband are a pair while the lover and mistress are also united. The black and white costumes (made by Matilda Etches) and scenery (evoking an Arts Club Ball) were by Sophie Fedorovitch, who worked with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ballet
Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of dance with its own vocabulary. Ballet has been influential globally and has defined the foundational techniques which are used in many other dance genres and cultures. Various schools around the world have incorporated their own cultures. As a result, ballet has evolved in distinct ways. A ''ballet'' as a unified work comprises the choreography and music for a ballet production. Ballets are choreographed and performed by trained ballet dancers. Traditional classical ballets are usually performed with classical music accompaniment and use elaborate costumes and staging, whereas modern ballets are often performed in simple costumes and without elaborate sets or scenery. Etymology Ballet is a French word which had its origin in Italian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elisabeth Schooling
Elisabeth Schooling (27 April 1915 – 22 June 1998) was a British ballet dancer. Early life Elisabeth Schooling was born in Hendon, London in 1915. Career From 1928, Schooling studied with Marie Rambert, and she danced in Ballet Club's (which later became Ballet Rambert) first seasons. Her first solo role was as the Bride in a 1934 ballet entitled ''Mermaid'', which was choreographed by Susan Salaman and Andrée Howard, using music by Ravel. Also in 1934, it was noticed that Schooling had a very similar appearance to the barmaid in Édouard Manet’s painting ''A Bar at the Folies-Bergère, Un bar aux Folies Bergère''. Marie Rambert’s husband Ashley Dukes suggested there might be a ballet around the picture, also introducing can-can dancers. ''Bar aux Folies-Bergère (ballet), Bar aux Folies-Bergère'' was first performed on 15 May 1934 at the Mercury Theatre, Notting Hill Gate, Mercury Theatre, Notting Hill, London. Although the role was created by Pearl Argyle, Schoolin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ballets By Frederick Ashton
The following is a list, by decade, of ballets created by the English choreographer Frederick Ashton. 1920s * ''A Tragedy of Fashion'' (music by Eugene Goossens, arranged by Ernest Irving) (1926) * ''Various dances'' for a Purcell Opera Society production of ''The Fairy-Queen'': (music by Henry Purcell) (1927) * ''Pas de deux'' (music by Fritz Kreisler) (1927) * ''Suite de danses'' (music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) (1927) * ''Argentine Dance'' (music by Artello) (1927) * ''Nymphs and Shepherds'' (music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) (1928) * ''Leda'' (music by Christoph Willibald Gluck) (1928) * ''Various dances'' for ''Jew Süss'' (incidental music arranged by Constant Lambert) (1929) 1930s * ''Capriol Suite'' (music by Peter Warlock) (1930) * ''Pomona'' (music by Constant Lambert) (1930) * ''Regatta'' (music by Gavin Gordon) (1931) * ' (music by Léo Delibes) (1931) * ' (music by William Walton) (1931) * ''The Lady of Shalott'' (music by Jean Sibelius) (1931) * ' (music by Lord ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Tragedy Of Fashion
''A Tragedy of Fashion, or the Scarlet Scissors'' is a ballet which was first choreographed and performed on 15 June 1926 by Frederick Ashton, who starred with Marie Rambert. The BBC described this debut as "a pivotal moment in the history of ballet," as it launched the careers of both Ashton and Ballet Rambert. The music was by Eugene Goossens, arranged by Ernest Irving. The ballet was inspired by the tragic suicide of the 17th-century French chef, François Vatel. In 1671, Vatel was responsible for a grand banquet in honour of King Louis XIV and became so upset that the fish delivery was late that he killed himself with a sword. In the ballet, the tale is of a couturier who despairs when his work is not liked and then kills himself with a pair of scissors. The style of the ballet was influenced by the sophisticated productions of Sergei Diaghilev in the 1920s such as ''Les biches''. It was Ashton's first choreographed work and it was for a 1926 revue staged by Nigel Playfair an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soirées De Nazelles
''Les Soirées de Nazelles'', FP 84, is a set of variations for piano written by the French composer Francis Poulenc. During the evenings, the composer used to sit at the piano and improvise "portraits" of his friends, all based on a given theme. The work was begun in 1930, and completed at Noizay on October 1, 1936.Partition Éditions Durand Paris, France At the beginning of the score, it reads: The composition is dedicated "to the memory of my aunt LIÉNARD, in memory of Nazelles".''à la mémoire de ma tante LIÉNARD, en souvenir de Nazelles'' The score was published by Éditions Durand Salabert-Eschig. Structure ''Les Soirées de Nazelles'' are composed of eight variations and a cadence, framed by a prelude (''Preamble'') and a finale. It takes about 20 minutes to perform. A complete recording by Tom Pascale lists the titles, tempo markings In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manuel De Falla
Manuel de Falla y Matheu (, 23 November 187614 November 1946) was an Andalusian Spanish composer and pianist. Along with Isaac Albéniz, Francisco Tárrega, and Enrique Granados, he was one of Spain's most important musicians of the first half of the 20th century. He has a claim to being Spain's greatest composer of the 20th century, although the number of pieces he composed was relatively modest. Biography Falla was born Manuel María de los Dolores Falla y Matheu in Cádiz. He was the son of José María Falla, a Valencian, and María Jesús Matheu, from Catalonia. In 1889 he continued his piano lessons with Alejandro Odero and learned the techniques of harmony and counterpoint from Enrique Broca. At age 15 he became interested in literature and journalism and founded the literary magazines ''El Burlón'' and ''El Cascabel''. Madrid By 1900 he was living with his family in the capital, where he attended the Real Conservatorio de Música y Declamación. He studied piano ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cannes
Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The city is known for its association with the rich and famous, its luxury hotels and restaurants, and for several conferences. History By the 2nd century BC, the Ligurian Oxybii established a settlement here known as ''Aegitna'' ( grc, Αἴγιτνα). Historians are unsure what the name means. The area was a fishing village used as a port of call between the Lérins Islands. In 154 Before Christ, BC, it became the scene of violent but quick conflict between the troops of Quintus Opimius and the Oxybii. In the 10th century, the town was known as Canua. The name may derive from "canna", a Reed (plant), reed. Canua was probably the site of a small Ligurian port, and later a Roman outpost on Le Suquet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trio For Oboe, Bassoon And Piano
The ''Trio pour hautbois, basson et piano'' (Trio for oboe, bassoon and piano), FP 43, by Francis Poulenc is a three-movement chamber work, composed between 1924 and 1926, and premiered in the latter year. The trio was well received at its premiere in Paris, with the composer at the piano. It has been performed and recorded frequently since. Critics have praised the work's depth of feeling, noting touches of Mozartian flavour and echoes of other composers' styles. It is regarded as the first major chamber work by Poulenc. Background and first performance By 1924 the 25-year-old Poulenc had become fairly well known in France, and to some extent elsewhere. First as a member of Les Six around the start of the decade, and then with his music for the ballet ''Les biches'' in 1924, he had established himself as a rising young composer. He had composed several chamber works, including the Sonata for clarinet and bassoon and the Sonata for horn, trumpet and trombone (both 1922), and he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cecil James
Cecil Edwin James (10 April 1913 – 13 January 1999) was a prominent English bassoonist born in London to a musical family. His father Wilfred (1878-1941) was a bassoonist in the Queen's Hall Orchestra and professor at the Royal College of Music. His uncle Edwin (1861-1921), also a fine bassoonist, was a founding member of the London Symphony Orchestra in 1904. His uncle Frank was second trumpet with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Cecil studied with his father, won a scholarship to the Royal College of Music. There, in 1933, he performed the Mozart Concerto with Orchestra and shortly after was appointed to the London Symphony Orchestra. It was there he met oboist Natalie Caine whom he married in 1938. During the war, he played with the Royal Air Force Central Band alongside Gareth Morris, Leonard Brain, Dennis Brain, Norman Del Mar, Harry Blech, Fred Grinke, Leonard Hirsch, Jim Merrett and James Whitehead. When demobbed, he joined the New Symphony, then in 1951 was appointe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walter Gore
Walter Gore (8 October 1910 – 16 April 1979) was a British ballet dancer, company director and choreographer. Early life Walter Gore was born in Waterside, East Ayrshire Scotland in 1910 into a theatrical family. From 1924, he studied acting at the Italia Conti Academy, and dance with Léonide Massine and with Marie Rambert. Career Gore was a dancer with Ballet Rambert from 1930 to 1935. He returned as a choreographer in 1938 with his first ballet ''Final Waltz''. In 1944, whilst on leave from Army duty in France, Gore created a ballet based on Benjamin Britten's Simple Symphony also entitled ''Simple Symphony'' for the Ballet Rambert. The work was largely created on Sally Gilmour and Margaret Scott. He remained at Ballet Rambert until 1950 and then worked occasionally with the Ballets des Champs-Elysées and the Sadler's Wells Ballet. He founded his own company, The Walter Gore Ballet, in 1953. He led the Frankfurt Ballet from 1957 to 1959, then became the founder a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frederick Ashton
Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton (17 September 190418 August 1988) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer. He also worked as a director and choreographer in opera, film and revue. Determined to be a dancer despite the opposition of his conventional middle-class family, Ashton was accepted as a pupil by Léonide Massine and then by Marie Rambert. In 1926 Rambert encouraged him to try his hand at choreography, and though he continued to dance professionally, with success, it was as a choreographer that he became famous. Ashton was chief choreographer to Ninette de Valois, from 1935 until her retirement in 1963, in the company known successively as the Vic-Wells Ballet, the Sadler's Wells Ballet and the Royal Ballet. He succeeded de Valois as director of the company, serving until his own retirement in 1970. Ashton is widely credited with the creation of a specifically English genre of ballet. Among his best-known works are ''Façade'' (1931), '' Symphonic Varia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pearl Argyle
Pearl Argyle (born Pearl Wellman; 7 November 1910 – 29 January 1947) was a South African ballet dancer and actress. Remembered today primarily for her extraordinary beauty, she appeared in leading roles with English ballet companies in the 1930s and later performed in stage musicals and in films. Early life and training Argyle was born in Johannesburg, the daughter of Ernest James Wellman and Mary Wellman. She first enters dance history in the mid-1920s, when she appeared in London and enrolled in ballet classes at the schools of Nikolai Legat, in Colet Gardens, and Dame Marie Rambert, in Notting Hill Gate. There she was known as Pearl Argyle by other students and members of Rambert's Ballet Club, the performing group from which Ballet Rambert was to evolve. Among other club members at the time was the emerging choreographer Frederick Ashton, who would play a significant role in her career on the ballet stage. Ballet At the time that Argyle studied at the Rambert Ballet Scho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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