The ballet ''Sweeney Todd'', Op. 68 by Malcolm Arnold was completed in

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

. It is a one-act ballet based on the legend of Sweeney Todd, a villain in '' The String of Pearls'' serial. The scenario and original choreography were by John Cranko and the scenery and costumes by Alix Stone in the style of Victorian toy theatres. It was first performed by the Royal Ballet touring company on 10 December 1959, at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre,

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-we ...

, with the Royal Opera House Orchestra 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 ...

. The dancers who created the roles in the first production were Donald Britton ( Sweeney Todd), Johaar Mosaval ( Tobias), Elizabeth Anderton (

Johanna Johanna is a feminine name, a variant form of Joanna that originated in Latin in the Middle Ages, including an -h- by analogy with the Latin masculine name Johannes. The original Greek form ''Iōanna'' lacks a medial /h/ because in Greek /h/ cou ...

), Desmond Doyle (Mark Ingestre), Ian Hamilton (Colonel Jeffrey).Bland A. ''The Royal Ballet – the first 50 years.'' Threshold Books, London, 1981.

Concert suites

In 1984, the composer David Ellis compiled a 20-minute concert suite, Op. 68a from the ballet in collaboration with the composer.Burton-Page P. Liner notes for Conifer Classics recording CDCF224 (Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Vernon Handley), 1993. The suite was first performed on 19 June 1990 at

Bristol University , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

with the University Chamber Orchestra. A shortened version of the suite was arranged for brass band by Phillip Littlemore. It had its first performance on 22 October 2006 at the Malcolm Arnold Festival,

Derngate Royal & Derngate is a theatre complex in the Cultural Quarter of Northampton, England, consisting of the Royal Theatre and Derngate Theatre. The Royal was built by theatre architect Charles J. Phipps and opened in 1884. Ninety-nine years la ...

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

by the Rushden Windmill Band led by Richard Graves.

References

External links

Ballet from Malcolm Arnold's official websiteFaber Music page on the balletBallet suite from Malcolm Arnold's Official SiteFaber Music page on the suiteBrass band version of the suite
Ballets by John Cranko 1959 ballet premieres Ballets by Malcolm Arnold 1959 compositions Orchestral suites Sweeney Todd {{classical-composition-stub