''A Month in the Country'' is a

narrative ballet A narrative ballet or story ballet is a form of ballet that has a plot and characters. It is typically a production with full sets and costumes. It was an invention of the eighteenth century. Most romantic and classical ballets of the 19th centu ...

created in 1976 with choreography by

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 oppositi ...

, to the music of

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...

(three works for piano and orchestra) arranged by

John Lanchbery John Arthur Lanchbery OBE (15 May 1923 – 27 February 2003) was an English-Australian composer and conductor, famous for his ballet arrangements. He served as the Principal Conductor of the Royal Ballet from 1959 to 1972, Principal Conductor ...

. It is based on the play by

Ivan Turgenev Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (; rus, links=no, Ива́н Серге́евич Турге́невIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; 9 November 1818 – 3 September 1883 (Old Style dat ...

of the same name, and lasts for about 40 minutes.Vaughan D. ''Frederick Ashton and his Ballets.'' A & C Black Ltd, London, 1977.

History

Ashton had had the idea of a ballet based on ''A Month in the Country'' since seeing the play in the 1930s at the

Westminster Theatre The Westminster Theatre was a theatre in London, on Palace Street in Westminster. History The structure on the site was originally built as the Charlotte Chapel in 1766, by William Dodd with money from his wife Mary Perkins. Through Peter Ri ...

, but a meeting with

Isaiah Berlin Sir Isaiah Berlin (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997) was a Russian-British social and political theorist, philosopher, and historian of ideas. Although he became increasingly averse to writing for publication, his improvised lectures and talks ...

in the late 1960s helped him decide on the subject, and he took up Berlin's suggestion of using the music of Chopin. During the preparation of the ballet, Ashton encouraged the dancers to see the play in London with

Dorothy Tutin Dame Dorothy Tutin, (8 April 19306 August 2001) was an English actress of stage, film and television. For her work in the theatre, she won two Olivier Awards and two ''Evening Standard'' Awards for Best Actress. She was made a CBE in 1967 and ...

as Natalia.Kavanagh J. ''Secret Muses: The Life of Frederick Ashton.'' Faber & Faber Ltd, London, 1996. Ashton also credited

Michael Somes Michael George Somes CBE (28 September 191718 November 1994), was an English ballet dancer. He was a principal dancer of The Royal Ballet, London, and the frequent partner of Margot Fonteyn. Early years Somes was born in Horsley, Gloucestersh ...

"who brought the music used in the ballet to my notice" and Martyn Thomas who helped construct the action of the ballet to correspond with this music. The ballet was first performed on Thursday, 12 February 1976, by

The Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...

at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

, Covent Garden, with

Lynn Seymour Lynn Seymour CBE (born 8 March 1939) is a Canadian-born retired ballerina, choreographer, and director. Early career She was born in Wainwright, Alberta, as Berta Lynn Springbett in a Canadian family of Scottish descent, and studied ballet in ...

and

Anthony Dowell Sir Anthony James Dowell (born 16 February 1943) is a retired British ballet dancer and a former artistic director of the Royal Ballet. He is widely recognized as one of the great ''danseurs nobles'' of the twentieth century. Early life and trai ...

in the leading roles; later interpreters have included

Merle Park Dame Merle Park (born 8 October 1937) is a British ballet dancer and teacher, now retired. As a prima ballerina with the Royal Ballet during the 1960s and 1970s, she was known for "brilliance of execution and virtuoso technique" as well as for h ...

and

Sylvie Guillem Sylvie Guillem (; born 23 February 1965) is a French ballet dancer. Guillem was the top-ranking female dancer with the Paris Opera Ballet from 1984 to 1989, before becoming a principal guest artist with the Royal Ballet in London. She has ...

as Natalia and Michael Coleman,

Mikhail Baryshnikov Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Барышников, p=mʲɪxɐˈil bɐ'rɨʂnʲɪkəf; lv, Mihails Barišņikovs; born January 28, 1948) is a Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Latvian-born R ...

Bruce Sansom Bruce Edward Sansom (born September 1963) is a British former ballet dancer, and assistant artistic director and ballet master at San Francisco Ballet. Bruce Sansom was born in September 1963 in Newbury, trained at the Royal Ballet School, and jo ...

and

Ivan Putrov Ivan Oleksandrovych Putrov ( uk, Іван Олександрович Путров; born 8 March 1980) is a Ukrainian-born ballet dancer and producer. He trained at The Kyiv State Choreographic Institute and at The Royal Ballet School. Upon graduat ...

as Belaiev. The work was performed by the Royal Ballet every season from 1976 to 1979 and has been regularly revived at Covent Garden.Bland A. ''The Royal Ballet – the first 50 years.'' Threshold Books, London, 1981. It has also been seen on tour in New York and Havana. In 1995, Dowell mounted the ballet for the

National Ballet of Canada The National Ballet of Canada is a Canadian ballet company that was founded in 1951 in Toronto, Ontario, with Celia Franca as the first artistic director. A company of 70 dancers with its own orchestra, the National Ballet has been led since 2022 ...

with

Karen Kain Karen Alexandria Kain (born March 28, 1951) is a Canadian former ballet dancer, and was the artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada from 2005 - 2021. Early training and childhood Kain's mother enrolled her daughter in ballet training ...

as Natalia and Robert Conn as Beliaev, the first time it had been performed by any other company.

Peggy Ashcroft Dame Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft (22 December 1907 – 14 June 1991), known professionally as Peggy Ashcroft, was an English actress whose career spanned more than 60 years. Born to a comfortable middle-class family, Ashcroft was deter ...

– after seeing a performance – told Ashton that she thought his adaptation was better than the original.

Story

The action takes place at Yslaev's country house in 1850. The story concerns the emotional disturbance caused by the presence of a tutor in the home of a country Russian family. Natalia Petrovna, a bored wife, falls for the young tutor of Kolia, Belaiev. The ballet contains a series of ''

pas de deux In ballet, a pas de deux (French language, French, literally "step of two") is a dance duet in which two dancers, typically a male and a female, perform ballet steps together. The pas de deux is characteristic of classical ballet and can be fo ...

'' (dance of two people) which carry the action forward: Natalia and her admirer Rakitin, followed by Belaiev and Vera, then Natalia's ward, Belaiev and the maid Katia, and finally Belaiev and Natalia. In the finale, Vera summons the household to witness the embraces of Natalia and Belaiev; Rakitin tells Belaiev that both should leave the house. Alone on stage, Natalia despairs at the young man's departure, but he returns unseen and unheard and leaves her the rose she had given him.

Music

The music is by Chopin: * Variations on "Là ci darem la mano" in B-flat major * Fantaisie brillante on Polish Airs in A major *

Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante in E-flat major, Op. 22, was composed by Frédéric Chopin between 1830 and 1834. The ''Grande polonaise brillante'' in E-flat, set for piano and orchestra, was written first, in 1830-31. In 1834, Cho ...

Lanchbery J. Programme note for Royal Ballet, 9 August 1984. Ashton dedicated the work to

Sophie Fedorovitch Sophie Fedorovitch ( be, Сафія Федаровіч; 3 December 1893 – 25 January 1953) was a Russian-born theatrical designer who worked with ballet choreographer Sir Frederick Ashton from his first choreographed ballet in 1926 until her a ...

and

Bronislava Nijinska Bronislava Nijinska (; pl, Bronisława Niżyńska ; russian: Бронисла́ва Фоми́нична Нижи́нская, Bronisláva Fomínična Nižínskaja; be, Браніслава Ніжынская, Branislava Nižynskaja; – Febr ...

"Chopin's compatriots and my mentors".Note by Ashton in the programme. Royal Opera House Covent Garden programme booklet, ballet triple bill, 28 January 1978. An audio recording of the ballet score prepared by Lanchbery and conducted by him, with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and Philip Gammon (piano) was issued on the HMV Greensleeve label in 1977. It was filmed for television in May 1978 (after '' The Dream''), with Seymour and Dowell, and issued on videotape.

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

website: http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7080c7f4, accessed 16 October 2009.

Original cast

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Month in the Country Adaptations of works by Ivan Turgenev Ballets by Frederick Ashton Ballets to the music of Frédéric Chopin Ballets created for The Royal Ballet 1976 ballet premieres