Performance Database

Alternative title: Fairy Tales from ''The Sleeping Beauty''
Choreographer: Marius Petipa
Composer: Piotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
Costume designer: Andrée Howard
Rambert premiere: 20 Dec 1930, Marie Rambert Dancers, Lyric Hammersmith, London
World premiere: 15 Jan 1890, Imperial Russian Ballet, Mariinsky Theatre, St Petersburg, Russia
Work note: The Rambert company performed selections from 'The Sleeping Beauty', never the full ballet. In 1928, individual variations were danced as divertissements. In 1930, a selection of variations was performed under the title 'Fairy Tales from The Sleeping Beauty' (it included the Sugar Plum Fairy solo from 'The Nutcracker'). From 1931, 'Aurora's Wedding' was used as the title for a varying selection of dances, including those from earlier acts in 'The Sleeping Beauty' (not only Act III) as well as from 'The Nutcracker', typically the Chinese Dance (Danse Chinoise) and the Grand pas de deux (Sugar Plum Fairy pas de deux). The Blue Bird pas de deux from Act III of 'The Sleeping Beauty' was often performed as a separate work. In the early 1930s, its title was given as 'Bluebird and the Prince' or 'Blue Bird and the Prince', but by the mid-1930s, the title became simply 'Bluebird' or 'Blue Bird'.
Production note: In 1928, Susan Salaman designed the costumes worn by Diana Gould, Andrée Howard, and Elizabeth Millar in the divertissements.
Revival credits: 1947 revival of 'Bluebird': Costume designer: Harry Cordwell
Music title: The Sleeping Beauty, Opus 66 (1889)
Music details: Live music: initially piano, later a chamber orchestra
Source: Programmes and reference file in the Rambert Archive
Archive catalogue: WORK/0019; WORK/0013

Performances

Date ↿⇂ Programme ↿⇂ Venue ↿⇂
21 Dec 1928
Evening 		Danse Chinoise | Columbine | Variation | Variation | Cygnets | Colibri | Fée Dragée | Blue Bird | Variation | Red Riding Hood | La Pomme d'Or (The Temptation) | Nymphs and Shepherds (Suite de Danses) | Mannequin and her Beau | Rigaudon* | Polka* | The Russian Peasant* | Warrior Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928
Evening 		Danse Chinoise | Columbine | Variation | Variation | Cygnets | Colibri | Fée Dragée | Blue Bird | Variation | Red Riding Hood | La Pomme d'Or (The Temptation) | Nymphs and Shepherds (Suite de Danses) | Mannequin and her Beau | Rigaudon* | Polka* | The Russian Peasant* | Warrior Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928
Evening 		Danse Chinoise | Columbine | Variation | Variation | Cygnets | Colibri | Fée Dragée | Blue Bird | Variation | Red Riding Hood | La Pomme d'Or (The Temptation) | Nymphs and Shepherds (Suite de Danses) | Mannequin and her Beau | Rigaudon* | Polka* | The Russian Peasant* | Warrior Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928
Evening 		Danse Chinoise | Columbine | Variation | Variation | Cygnets | Colibri | Fée Dragée | Blue Bird | Variation | Red Riding Hood | La Pomme d'Or (The Temptation) | Nymphs and Shepherds (Suite de Danses) | Mannequin and her Beau | Rigaudon* | Polka* | The Russian Peasant* | Warrior Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928
Evening 		Danse Chinoise | Columbine | Variation | Variation | Cygnets | Colibri | Fée Dragée | Blue Bird | Variation | Red Riding Hood | La Pomme d'Or (The Temptation) | Nymphs and Shepherds (Suite de Danses) | Mannequin and her Beau | Rigaudon* | Polka* | The Russian Peasant* | Warrior Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928
Evening 		Danse Chinoise | Columbine | Variation | Variation | Cygnets | Colibri | Fée Dragée | Blue Bird | Variation | Red Riding Hood | La Pomme d'Or (The Temptation) | Nymphs and Shepherds (Suite de Danses) | Mannequin and her Beau | Rigaudon* | Polka* | The Russian Peasant* | Warrior Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928
Evening 		Danse Chinoise | Columbine | Variation | Variation | Cygnets | Colibri | Fée Dragée | Blue Bird | Variation | Red Riding Hood | La Pomme d'Or (The Temptation) | Nymphs and Shepherds (Suite de Danses) | Mannequin and her Beau | Rigaudon* | Polka* | The Russian Peasant* | Warrior Century Theatre, London
21 Dec 1928
Evening 		Danse Chinoise | Columbine | Variation | Variation | Cygnets | Colibri | Fée Dragée | Blue Bird | Variation | Red Riding Hood | La Pomme d'Or (The Temptation) | Nymphs and Shepherds (Suite de Danses) | Mannequin and her Beau | Rigaudon* | Polka* | The Russian Peasant* | Warrior Century Theatre, London
20 Dec 1930
Evening 		Carnaval* | Cricket* | Rugby | A Florentine Picture* | Le Spectre de la Rose | Les Sylphides | Capriol Suite | Shepherd's Hornpipe | Fairy Tales from ''The Sleeping Beauty'' | Mannequin | Farrucca | Final Galop Lyric Hammersmith, London
22 Dec 1930
Evening 		Carnaval | Cricket | Rugby | A Florentine Picture | Le Spectre de la Rose | Les Sylphides | Capriol Suite | Shepherd's Hornpipe | Fairy Tales from ''The Sleeping Beauty'' | Mannequin | Farrucca | Final Galop Lyric Hammersmith, London
3 Jan 1931
Evening 		Carnaval | Cricket | Rugby | A Florentine Picture | Le Spectre de la Rose | Les Sylphides | Capriol Suite | Shepherd's Hornpipe | Fairy Tales from ''The Sleeping Beauty'' | Mannequin | Farrucca | Final Galop Lyric Hammersmith, London
5 Jan 1931
Evening 		Carnaval | Cricket | Rugby | A Florentine Picture | Le Spectre de la Rose | Les Sylphides | Capriol Suite | Primavera* | Fairy Tales from ''The Sleeping Beauty'' | Mannequin | Final Galop Lyric Hammersmith, London
16 Feb 1931
Evening 		Dances from Carnaval | Le Cricket | La Péri* | Russian Peasant Dance | The Mannequin and her Beau | Saudade do Brésil | A Florentine Picture | Le Boxing* | Aurora's Wedding Mercury Theatre, London
22 Jun 1931
Evening 		Carnaval | Le Boxing | Waterloo and the Crimea | Mercury* | Pavane | Russian Peasant | La Belle Ecuyère | Variation from ''Swan Lake'' | Blue Bird | Mannequin | Mademoiselle de Maupin | Mazurka Finale Lyric Hammersmith, London
10 Oct 1931
Evening 		Les Sylphides | Songs (The Moussorgsky Vocal Quartet) | Le Rugby | Dances from ''The Three Cornered Hat'' | Capriol Suite | La Péri | Chinese Magician | Songs (The Moussorgsky Vocal Quartet) | Mars and Venus | Russian Boyard Dance | American Sailor | Mannequin | Peasants' Frolic New Theatre, London
10 Oct 1931
Evening 		Les Sylphides | Songs (The Moussorgsky Vocal Quartet) | Le Rugby | Dances from ''The Three Cornered Hat'' | Capriol Suite | La Péri | Chinese Magician | Songs (The Moussorgsky Vocal Quartet) | Mars and Venus | Russian Boyard Dance | American Sailor | Mannequin | Peasants' Frolic New Theatre, London
20 Mar 1932
Evening 		Aurora's Wedding | Lysistrata or The Strike of Wives* | Mars and Venus | Façade Mercury Theatre, London
27 Nov 1932
Evening 		''Valse'' from Les Sylphides | ''Fée Dragée'' from Aurora's Wedding | The Shepherd's Wooing (from 'The Gods go a-begging') | ''Pas de Deux'' from Mr Roll's Military Quadrilles | ''Desperate Blues''* | A Florentine Picture | Le Spectre de la Rose | ''Russian Peasant' Mercury Theatre, London
1 Jan 1933
Evening 		Aurora's Wedding | Prelude in D Major (Rachmaninoff) | Prelude in G Sharp Minor (Rachmaninoff) | Pavane pour une Infante Défunte* | Mercury | Menuet from ''Suite Bergamasque'' (Debussy) | Le Rugby | A Florentine Picture | Foyer de Danse Mercury Theatre, London
10 Nov 1935
Evening 		Dances from Aurora's Wedding | The Rape of the Lock* | The Planets Mercury Theatre, London
9 Jun 1936
Evening 		The Planets | Valses Nobles et Sentimentales | Mermaid | Bluebird | L'Après-midi d'un faune | Bar aux Folies-Bergère Birmingham Repertory Theatre
10 Jun 1936
Evening 		The Planets | Valses Nobles et Sentimentales | Mermaid | Bluebird | L'Après-midi d'un faune | Bar aux Folies-Bergère Birmingham Repertory Theatre
10 Jun 1937
Matinee 		The Strike of Wives | Valse Romantique No. 2 (Chabrier) | Bluebird | Death and the Maiden | The Planets | La Muse s'Amuse | Valse Caprice (Rubenstein) | Capriol Suite Birmingham Repertory Theatre
10 Jun 1937
Evening 		The Strike of Wives | Bluebird | Death and the Maiden | The Planets | La Muse s'Amuse | Valse Caprice (Rubenstein) | Capriol Suite Birmingham Repertory Theatre
14 Jun 1937
Evening 		Our Lady's Juggler | Valse Romantique No. 1 (Chabrier) | L'Après-midi d'un faune | Passionate Pavane | Bluebird | The Lady of Shalott | Suite of Airs | Death and the Maiden | Valse Romantique No. 3 (Chabrier) | Le Cricket | Le Rugby Birmingham Repertory Theatre
21 Nov 1949
Evening 		Les Sylphides | Don Quixote (Pas de deux Classique) | L'Après-midi d'un Faune | La Mort du Cygne | Capriccio Espagnol* | Blue Bird (Pas de deux Classique) | Giselle Act II Empress Hall, London