Birthday Offering

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.

Birthday Offering
ChoreographerFrederick Ashton
MusicAlexander Glazunov, arranged by Robert Irving
Premiere5 May 1956
Royal Opera House, London
Original ballet companySadler's Wells Ballet

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]

  1. Overture: "L'Eté" from The Seasons, Op. 67
  2. Valse de concert No. 1, Op. 47
  3. Pas d'action from Scènes de ballet, Op. 52, and Coda from Ruses d'amour, Op. 61
  4. 1st variation: "Marionettes" from Scènes de ballet
  5. 2nd variation: "La Givre" from The Seasons
  6. 3rd variation: "La Glace" from The Seasons
  7. 4th variation: "La Grêle" from The Seasons
  8. 5th variation: "La Neige" from The Seasons
  9. 6th variation: "L'Eté" from The Seasons
  10. 7th variation: from Ruses d'amour
  11. Mazurka, Op. 25 No. 3, (orchestrated by Robert Irving)
  12. Pas de deux; "Grand pas des fiancées" from Ruses d'amour
  13. Finale: Valse de concert No. 1, reprise

References

Notes

  1. "Birthday Offering — Productions — Royal Opera House". roh.org.uk. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  2. "Frederick Ashton and His Ballets - 1956". ashtonarchive.com. Archived from the original on 4 February 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2018. dead link
  3. Matthew Naughtin, Ballet Music, 2014, p. 165.

Sources

  • Naughtin, Matthew (2014). Ballet Music. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-8108-8659-9
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