''Jazz Calendar'' is a

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 ...

created in 1968 by Frederick Ashton to the music of

Richard Rodney Bennett Sir Richard Rodney Bennett (29 March 193624 December 2012) was an English composer of film, TV and concert music, and also a jazz pianist and occasional vocalist. He was based in New York City from 1979 until his death there in 2012.Zachary Woo ...

. The ballet was first performed on 9 January 1968 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 designs by

Derek Jarman Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman (31 January 1942 – 19 February 1994) was an English artist, film maker, costume designer, stage designer, writer, gardener and gay rights activist. Biography Jarman was born at the Royal Victoria Nursing Home ...

. The work was performed over 50 times up to 1979 by the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden but is not part of the current repertoire.Bland, A. ''The Royal Ballet – the first 50 years.'' Threshold Books, London, 1981, It was also produced in October 1990 at the

Birmingham Hippodrome The Birmingham Hippodrome is a theatre situated on Hurst Street in the Chinese Quarter of Birmingham, England. Although best known as the home stage of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, it also hosts a wide variety of other performances including vi ...

by Birmingham Royal Ballet.

History

The production was arranged at short notice to replace a new production of ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December ...

'', and at the suggestion of Nigel Gosling, Ashton asked

to create the designs.Kavanagh, J. ''Secret Muses: The Life of Frederick Ashton.'' Faber & Faber Ltd, London, 1996, Richard Rodney Bennett's score had been commissioned by the BBC and composed between 1962 and 1964. It encompasses a variety of traditional jazz forms and devices, from twelve-bar blues (in Friday's Child) to a fast jazz waltz (in Thursday's Child). Written "for 12 instruments", the scoring is flute, alto-, tenor-, and baritone saxophone, horn, two trumpets, bassoon, trombone, drums, piano, bass.Fox C. Programme note for Philips recording, 6500 301, 1972. The music is dedicated to the singer Jean Hart. The rehearsals for the ballet's premiere were filmed at the Royal Opera House involving many of the original principals. The full score was recorded in 1971 by the London Jazz Ensemble conducted 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 ...

(Philips 6500 301).

Original cast

* Monday :

Vergie Derman Vergie Derman (Johannesburg, 18 September 1942) is a South African-born British former ballet dancer. With the Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Co ...

* Tuesday :

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 ...

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 tra ...

, Robert Mead * Wednesday : Vyvyan Lorrayne, Paul Brown, David Drew, Ian Hamilton,

Derek Rencher Derek Rencher (6 June 1932 – 20 December 2014) was a British ballet dancer. A commanding figure among Royal Ballet character dancers for more than four decades, he was probably the most prolific performer in the company's history. Early life a ...

* Thursday : Alexander Grant, six girls * Friday :

Antoinette Sibley Dame Antoinette Sibley (born 27 February 1939) is a British prima ballerina. She joined the Royal Ballet from the Royal Ballet School in 1956 and became a soloist in 1960. She was celebrated for her partnership with Anthony Dowell. After her ...

Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev ( ; Tatar/ Bashkir: Рудольф Хәмит улы Нуриев; rus, Рудо́льф Хаме́тович Нуре́ев, p=rʊˈdolʲf xɐˈmʲetəvʲɪtɕ nʊˈrʲejɪf; 17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet ...

* Saturday : Michael Coleman,

Desmond Doyle Desmond Doyle (1924–1986) was an Irish painter and professional pianist, whose children (Evelyn, Maurice, Noel, John, Kevin, and Dermot) were taken into the custody of the Ireland Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC). Back ...

, Lambert Cox, Frank Freeman, Jonathan Kelly, Keith Martin, Peter O'Brien,

Wayne Sleep Wayne Philip Colin Sleep (born 17 July 1948) is a British dancer, director, choreographer, and actor who appeared on the BBC series '' The Real Marigold on Tour'' and ITV's '' The Real Full Monty''. Early life Sleep was born in Plymouth, D ...

* Sunday : Marilyn Trouson and cast.Williams P, Percival J, Goodwin N. Jazz Calendar (premiere reviews). ''Dance and Dancers'', February 1968; Volume 19:2, pp. 12-17, 22

Story

The scenario, based on the children's poem

Monday's Child "Monday's Child" is one of many fortune-telling songs, popular as nursery rhymes for children. It is supposed to tell a child's character or future from their day of birth and to help young children remember the seven days of the week. As with ma ...

Vaughan, D. ''Frederick Ashton and his Ballets.'' A & C Black Ltd, London, 1977, . follows the sequence of the poem. After Monday (a "hymn to narcissism"), Tuesday is a ''

pas de trois In ballet, ''pas de trois'' is a French term usually referring to a dance between three people. Typically, a ''pas de trois'' in ballet consists of five parts: #Entrée (the opening number for the three dancers, usually preceded by a short i ...

'' in a style of Ashton's ''

Monotones The Monotones were a six-member American doo-wop vocal group in the 1950s. They are considered a one-hit wonder, as their only hit single was " The Book of Love", which peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Top 100 in 1958. Biography The Monotones ...

''. Wednesday's woe is in the form of a "distortion of the Rose Adagio" from '' The Sleeping Beauty'', Thursday depicts various forms of transport, Friday is a blues '' pas de deux''. Saturday is a send-up of a male ballet class, while the finale mimicked the 'stage revolve' close of ''

Sunday Night at the London Palladium ''Tonight at the London Palladium'' is a British television variety show that is hosted from the London Palladium theatre in the West End. Originally produced by ATV for the ITV network from 1955 to 1969, it went by its original name ''Sunday ...

''.

References

{{Authority control Ballets by Frederick Ashton Ballets to the music of Richard Rodney Bennett 1968 ballet premieres Ballets created for The Royal Ballet