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Home > Mixed programmes > La Valse / Méditation from Thaïs / Voices of Spring / Monotones I and II / Marguerite and Armand

La Valse / Méditation from Thaïs / Voices of Spring / Monotones I and II / Marguerite and Armand

A richly varied programme showcasing Frederick Ashton's feeling for music and dramatic genius.

Photos

  • Lauren Cuthbertson and Nehemiah Kish in La Valse © Johan Persson/ROH 2011
  • Edward Watson, Marianela Nunez and Federico Bonelli in Monotones II © ROH/Tristram Kenton, 2013
  • Marguerite and Armand, Oct 2011 © ROH 2011
  • Marguerite and Armand, Oct 2011 © ROH/2011
  • Zenaida Yanowsky as Marguerite and Artists of The Royal Ballet in Marguerite and Armand © Tristram Kenton/ROH 2011
  • Tamara Rojo as Marguerite, Sergei Polunin as Armand in Marguerite and Armand © Tristram Kenton/ROH 2011
  • Zenaida Yanowsky as Marguerite and Federico Bonelli as Armand in Marguerite and Armand © Tristram Kenton/ROH 2011
  • Zenaida Yanowsky as Marguerite in Marguerite and Armand © Tristram Kenton/ROH 2011
  • Tamara Rojo and Sergei Polunin in Marguerite and Armand © Tristram Kenton/ROH 2011
  • Tamara Rojo and Sergei Polunin in Marguerite and Armand. ©ROH/Tristram Kenton 2012
  • Zenaida Yanowsky as Marguerite and Federico Bonelli as Armand in Marguerite and Armand © Tristram Kenton/ROH 2011
  • Tamara Rojo as Marguerite and Sergei Polunin as Armand in Marguerite and Armand © ROH/Tristram Kenton, 2013

Introduction

Seven pieces set to a feast of music by Ravel, Massenet, Strauss, Satie and Liszt reveal the breadth of Ashton's work, and mark the 25th anniversary of his death.

News and features

Background

The rich ballroom dancing of La Valse is a homage to the vanished world of 19th-century Imperial Viennese waltzes. Two gorgeous and contrasting pieces follow with Thaïs pas de deux and Voices of Spring pas de deux. The first is a delicate, emotional love duet to Massenet’s poignant ‘Méditation’ from his opera Thaïs. The second is a joyous, virtuoso occasion piece originally created for The Royal Opera’s 1977 production of Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus.

We then find Ashton at his most abstract and modernist in Monotones I and II – an otherworldly distillation, in two pas de trois, of Erik Satie’s exquisite Gymnopédies and Gnossiennes. The programme concludes with Marguerite and Armand. The well-known story from Dumas fils’s La Dame aux caméllias, the music (Liszt’s torrential Sonata in B Minor), beautiful designs by Cecil Beaton and unrivalled romantic frisson between the two Principal dancers make this one of Ashton’s most passionate creations.

Thanks to

Generous philanthropic support from

Lady Ashcroft, Marina Hobson MBE and Lindsay and Sarah Tomlinson

How to support the Royal Opera House

Please note

On 15 and 21 Feb there will be cameras filming in the auditorium

Running time

The first act will last for about 30 minutes including two short pauses, followed by an interval of 25 minutes. The second act will last for about 21 minutes, followed by an interval of 30 minutes. The final act will last for about 33 minutes.

Including curtain calls, the whole performance will last about about 2 hours 35 minutes | including two intervals.

Mixed programme

These works are performed together:


  • La Valse

    The stage is filled with swirling dancers in Frederick Ashton’s atmospheric ballet set to a haunting score by Ravel.

  • Méditation from Thaïs

    This ardent love duet, set to music by Massenet, showcases the sublime beauty of Frederick Ashton’s choreography.

  • Voices of Spring

    A Viennese whirl of a piece, Frederick Ashton’s pas de deux is accompanied by Johann Strauss II’s spirited waltz.

  • Monotones I and II

    Sublime music by Erik Satie accompanies mesmerizing choreography in some of Frederick Ashton's most modernist ballets.

  • Marguerite and Armand

    Frederick Ashton’s passionate ballet, set to Liszt’s piano sonata, was created for the celebrated partnership of Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev.

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