Works

Les Sylphides (Fokine, 1907/1930): Sally Gilmour and Robert Harrold (centre), Leicester, 1943. Photo © Peggy Delius. RDC/PD/01/30/01

Les Sylphides (Fokine, 1907/1930): Tamara Karsavina, Harold Turner (back row), Lyric Hamersmith, 1930. Photo © Armand Console. RDC/PD/01/30/2

Alternative title: Chopiniana

Choreographer: Michel Fokine

Composer: Frédéric Chopin

Rambert premiere: 23 Jun 1930, Marie Rambert Dancers, Lyric Hammersmith, London

World premiere: 23 Feb 1907, Imperial Russian Ballet, Mariinsky Theatre, St Petersburg, Russia

Revival credits: 1941 revival: Decor: Andrée Howard
1943 revival: Decor: Guy Sheppard
Sep 1944 revival: Decor: Ronald Wilson
Jul 1953 revival: Decor: Hugh Stevenson
Mar 1963 revival: Decor and costumes: Alix Stone

Music title: Polonaise in A major Opus 40, No. 1 (1838), Nocturne in A flat major Opus 32, No. 2 (1837), Waltz in G flat major Opus 70, No.1 (1832), Mazurka in D major Opus 33, No. 2 (1838), Mazurka in C major Opus 67, No.3 (1838), Waltz in C sharp minor Opus 64, No.2 (1847), Grande Valse brilliante in E-flat minor Opus 18 (1933)

Music details: Live music: initially piano, later a chamber orchestra

Music note: Programmes in the early 1960s credit Reginald Smith Brindle with the orchestration.

Source: Programme and reference file in the Rambert Archive; Bradley, L. 'Sixteen Years of Ballet Rambert' (Hinrichsen Edition Ltd, 1946).

Archive catalogue: WORK/0030

Performances

Date ↿⇂	Programme ↿⇂	Venue ↿⇂
8 Oct 1928 Evening	Prelude: Movements from French Suite No. 5 (Bach) \| Queen Swan \| The Warrior \| Chinese Porcelain \| Lusinghe piu care (Handel) \| I attempt from Love's sickness to fly (Purcell) \| Fairest Isle (Purcell) \| Nymph and Shepherd \| Serenade (Brahms) \| Russian Court Dance^* \| Rus	Maddermarket Theatre, Norwich
23 Jun 1930 Evening	Leda and the Swan \| La Belle Viennoise \| Saudade do Brésil^* \| Mannequin \| Mademoiselle de Maupin^* \| Our Lady's Juggler \| Les Sylphides^* \| Capriol Suite \| Russian Peasant \| ''I Can't Abear a Butcher''^* \| Le Rugby^* \| Mazurka des Hussars^* \| Galop^*	Lyric Hammersmith, 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
20 Apr 1931 Evening	Les Sylphides \| Le Cricket \| Adagio from Lac des Cygnes \| L'Après-midi d'un faune^* \| Gavotte Sentimentale \| The Circus Girl^* \| Scherzo^* \| La Belle Ecuyère^* \| Mazurka des Hussars \| Mars and Venus	Mercury Theatre, London
15 Jun 1931 Evening	Les Sylphides \| Mars and Venus \| Waterloo and the Crimea^* \| L'Après-midi d'un faune \| Gavotte Sentimentale \| Russian Pedlar \| La Belle Ecuyère \| Variation from ''Swan Lake'' \| Circus Dance \| Mannequin \| Farrucca \| Mademoiselle 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
4 Feb 1932 Evening	La Péri \| Mr Roll's Military Quadrilles^* \| A Florentine Picture \| Constanza's Lament^* \| Saudade do Brésil \| Pompette^* \| Le Rugby \| The Tartans (Dances on a Scottish Theme) \| Les Sylphides	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
7 May 1933 Evening	Les Sylphides \| Pavane pour une Infante Défunte^* \| Atalanta of the East^* \| Les Masques (ou, Changement de Dames)	Mercury Theatre, London
29 Oct 1933 Evening	Valse (from Les Sylphides) \| The Marriage of Hebe \| Pavane pour une Infante Défunte \| Our Lady's Juggler^* \| Foyer de Danse	Mercury Theatre, London
4 Mar 1934 Evening	Mermaid^* \| Lysistrata \| Les Sylphides	Mercury Theatre, London
13 Feb 1938 Evening	Les Sylphides \| Croquis de ''Mercure'' (Sketches for ''Mercury'')^* \| The Tartans \| Ricordanza (Liszt) \| Bar aux Folies-Bergère	Mercury Theatre, London
6 Jul 1940 Matinee	Les Sylphides \| Le Cricket \| Le Rugby \| Le Boxing \| Lady into Fox \| Gala Performance^*	Theatre Royal, Brighton
7 May 1941 Tea	Overture \| Passionate Pavane \| Panaderos^* \| Shepherd's Wooing \| Prelude \| Valse \| Mazurka \| Pas de Deux \| Interlude \| Death and the Maiden \| Interlude \| Les Masques (ou, Changement de Dames)	The Arts Theatre Club, London
7 May 1941 Tea	Overture \| Passionate Pavane \| Panaderos^* \| Shepherd's Wooing \| Prelude \| Valse \| Mazurka \| Pas de Deux \| Interlude \| Death and the Maiden \| Interlude \| Les Masques (ou, Changement de Dames)	The Arts Theatre Club, London
7 May 1941 Tea	Overture \| Passionate Pavane \| Panaderos^* \| Shepherd's Wooing \| Prelude \| Valse \| Mazurka \| Pas de Deux \| Interlude \| Death and the Maiden \| Interlude \| Les Masques (ou, Changement de Dames)	The Arts Theatre Club, London
7 May 1941 Tea	Overture \| Passionate Pavane \| Panaderos^* \| Shepherd's Wooing \| Prelude \| Valse \| Mazurka \| Pas de Deux \| Interlude \| Death and the Maiden \| Interlude \| Les Masques (ou, Changement de Dames)	The Arts Theatre Club, London
21 Aug 1941 Lunch	Chopiniana \| Confessional^*	The Arts Theatre Club, London
26 Mar 1943 Time unknown	Les Sylphides \| Death and the Maiden \| Spanish Dance \| Russian Dance (from 'Midnight Sun') \| Foyer de Danse \| Confessional \| Carnival of Animals^*	Mercury Theatre, London
27 Dec 1943 Matinee	Soirée Musicale (in the play 'The Toy Princess') \| Valse Noble (in the play 'The Toy Princess') \| Coquette (in the play 'The Toy Princess') \| Carnival of Animals (in the play 'The Toy Princess') \| Dances from Les Sylphides (in the play 'The Toy Princess')	Arts Theatre Cambridge
29 Nov 1944 Evening	Les Sylphides \| Soirée Musicale \| Lady into Fox \| Simple Symphony^*	Theatre Royal, Bristol
2 Jun 1947 Evening	Les Sylphides \| The Sailor's Return^*	Sadler's Wells Theatre, London
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
31 Aug 1950 Evening	Les Sylphides \| Kaleidoscope \| The Eve of St. Agnes^* \| Façade	Theatre Royal, Bath
23 Oct 1950 Evening	Les Sylphides \| Prismatic Variations^* \| Antonia \| The Eve of Saint Agnes	King's Theatre, London
8 Nov 1950 Evening	Les Sylphides \| Kaleidescope \| Jota Aragonesa^* \| Winter Night \| Bar aux Folies-Bergère	Arts Theatre Cambridge
15 Jan 1953 Evening	Les Sylphides \| Past Recalled^* \| Plaisance \| The Gala Performance	Connaught Theatre, Worthing
17 May 1954 Evening	Les Sylphides \| Love Knots^* \| Winter Night \| Façade (The Original Version)	Oxford Playhouse
21 Jun 1954 Evening	Les Sylphides \| Variations on a Theme^* \| Gala Performance \| Winter Night	Sadler's Wells Theatre, London
28 Jun 1955 Evening	Les Sylphides \| Persephone^* \| Past Recalled \| The Gala Performance	Sadler's Wells Theatre, London
10 Jul 1956 Evening	Winter Night \| The Dying Swan \| Façade \| L'Après-midi d'un faune \| Les Sylphides	Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod
3 Nov 1957 Evening	Les Sylphides	[Unknown venue], Hangzhou, China
14 Aug 1958 Evening	Les Sylphides \| Fireflies \| Two Brothers^* \| The Gala Performance	Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury
16 Jun 1960 Evening	Les Sylphides \| The Wise Monkeys^* \| The Lilac Garden \| The Gala Performance	Essoldo Theatre, Brighton
17 Jun 1964 Matinee	Les Sylphides \| Sweet Dancer^* \| Gala Performance	New Theatre, Oxford

Performance database

Performances

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