The Dream / Symphonic Variations / Marguerite and Armand

Frederick Ashton was Founder Choreographer of The Royal Ballet. His works define the English style of ballet – characterized most notably by precise, fleet footwork, sensuous épaulement (the way the shoulders are held) and gorgeous line of delicate simplicity. His many works for the Company are arguably its greatest legacy.

The Royal Ballet celebrates this heritage through a mixed programme of three of Ashton’s most loved – and most characteristic – works. The Dream (1964) is an enchanting adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream to music by Mendelssohn. Symphonic Variations (1946) is Ashton’s first masterpiece, and a breathtaking, abstract work on the beauty of pure movement. Marguerite and Armand (1963), inspired by the celebrated dance partnership between Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev, is a tragic love story of great lyric beauty.

The Royal Ballet
Director Kevin O’hare
Founder Dame Ninette De Valois Om Ch Dbe
Founder Choreographer
Sir Frederick Ashton Om Ch Cbe
Founder Music Director Constant Lambert
Prima Ballerina Assoluta Dame Margot Fonteyn Dbe

Approximate Running Times:
The Dream 55 Minutes
Symphonic Variations 20 Minutes
Marguerite and Armand 35 Minutes

Choreography Frederick Ashton
Conductor Emmanuel Plasson
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Concert Master Vasko Vassilev
Directed for the Screen by Ross Macgibbon
Captured Live at the Royal Opera House Wednesday 7 June 2017, 7.15pm

The Dream
Oberon, King of the Fairies, Has Quarrelled With His Queen, Titania, Who Refuses to Hand Over the Changeling Boy. While Titania Sleeps, Oberon Drops a Magic Herb Into Her Eyes to Make Her Fall in Love With the First Creature She Sees...two Lovers, Hermia and Lysander, Come to the Forest. Hermia Is Pursued by Demetrius, to Whom She Has Been Promised by Her Father; Demetrius Is Pursued by Helena, His Former Love. Oberon Orders Puck to Drop the Same Magic Herb Into Demetrius’s Eyes So That He Will Love Helena. When Puck Mistakes the Two Men, Confusion Reigns.
Music Felix Mendelssohn
Musical Arrangement John Lanchbery
Designer David Walker
Lighting Designer John B. Read
Staging Anthony Dowell, Christopher Carr
Ballet Mistress Samantha Raine Ballet Master Jonathan Howells
Principal Coaching Anthony Dowell, Lesley Collier
Titania Akane Takada
Oberon Steven Mcrae
Changeling Indian Boy Ambrose Bartlett
Puck Valentino Zucchetti
Bottom Bennet Gartside
Rustics Benjamin Ella, Kevin Emerton,
Solomon Golding, Erico Montes,
Calvin Richardson
Helena Itziar Mendizabal
Demetrius Tomas Mock
Hermia Claire Clavert
Lysander Matthew Ball
Peaseblossom Gemma Pitchley-gale
Cobweb Emma Maguire
Moth Elizabeth Harrod
Mustardseed Romany Pajdak
Fairies Artists of the Royal Ballet
London Oratory Junior Choir
Director Charles Cole
Symphonic Variations
Music César Franck
Designer Sophie Fedorovitch
Lighting Designer John B. Read
Staging Wendy Ellis Somes, Malin Thoors
Ballet Master Ricardo Cervera
Marianela Nuñez Vadim Muntagirov
Yuhui Choe James Hay
Yasmine Naghdi Tristan Dyer
Solo Piano Paul Stobart

Marguerite and Armand
In the Last Stages of Her Fatal Illness, the Lady of the Camellias Relives Some Incidents of Her Tragic Life.

Music Franz Liszt
Orchestration Dudley Simpson
Designer Cecil Beaton
Lighting Designer John B. Read
Staging Grant Coyle
Principal Coaching Alexander Agadzhanov, Jonathan Cope
Benesh Notator Grant Coyle
Marguerite Zenaida Yanowsky
Armand Roberto Bolle
His Father Christopher Saunders
A Duke Gary Avis
Admirers of Marguerite Matthew Ball, Reece Clarke,
David Donnelly, Nicol Edmonds,
Kevin Emerton, Tomas Mock,
Fernando Montaño, Erico Montes
Maid Mica Bradbury
Solo Piano Robert Clark