Birthday Offering
| Birthday Offering | |
|---|---|
| Choreographer | Frederick Ashton |
| Music | Alexander Glazunov, arranged by Robert Irving |
| Premiere | 5 May 1956 Royal Opera House, London |
| Original ballet company | Sadler's Wells Ballet |
Birthday Offering is a pièce d'occasion in one scene choreographed by Frederick Ashton to music by Alexander Glazunov, arranged by Robert Irving.[1] The ballet was created in 1956, to celebrate the Royal Ballet’s 25th anniversary. The first performance took place on 5 May 1956 at the Royal Opera House, London.
Original cast
Source:[2]
Order of numbers
In a sumptuous setting, seven couples make a grand entrance, then the women perform a series of seven solo variations. The men dance a bravura mazurka, the principal couple performs an elegant pas de deux, and the ballet ends with a final waltz for the entire ensemble.[3]
- Overture: "L'Eté" from The Seasons, Op. 67
- Valse de concert No. 1, Op. 47
- Pas d'action from Scènes de ballet, Op. 52, and Coda from Ruses d'amour, Op. 61
- 1st variation: "Marionettes" from Scènes de ballet
- 2nd variation: "La Givre" from The Seasons
- 3rd variation: "La Glace" from The Seasons
- 4th variation: "La Grêle" from The Seasons
- 5th variation: "La Neige" from The Seasons
- 6th variation: "L'Eté" from The Seasons
- 7th variation: from Ruses d'amour
- Mazurka, Op. 25 No. 3, (orchestrated by Robert Irving)
- Pas de deux; "Grand pas des fiancées" from Ruses d'amour
- Finale: Valse de concert No. 1, reprise
References
Notes
- ^ "Birthday Offering — Productions — Royal Opera House". roh.org.uk. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
- ^ "Frederick Ashton and His Ballets - 1956". ashtonarchive.com. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2018. dead link
- ^ Matthew Naughtin, Ballet Music, 2014, p. 165.
Sources
- Naughtin, Matthew (2014). Ballet Music. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-8108-8659-9