A Tragedy of Fashion, or the Scarlet Scissors
A Tragedy of Fashion, or the Scarlet Scissors , is a ballet arranged by Ernest Irving to the music Kaleidoscope (Op. 18) by Eugène Aynsley Goossens .
history
The ballet premiered on June 15, 1926, choreographed by Frederick Ashton at the Lyric Theater in London . Ashton and Marie Rambert danced the lead roles. The BBC later described this debut as "a defining moment in ballet history" because it marked the start of the careers of Ashton and Rambert.
The inspiration for this ballet came from the tragic suicide of a 17th century French master chef , François Vatel . Vatel was responsible for a large banquet in honor of King Louis XIV in 1671 and was so upset about the delay in a fish delivery that he threw himself into a sword. The ballet tells the story of a couturier who is in despair because his work is not valued and then kills himself with scissors. The style of ballet was influenced by the sophisticated productions of Sergei Pavlovich Dyagilev in the 1920s such as Les Biches . It was the first performance choreographed by Ashton, and it was directed by Nigel Playfair and Rambert's husband, Ashley Dukes , for the Riverside Nights revue . The Observer commented:
“An engaging little ballet called 'A Tragedy of Fashion: or The Scarlet Scissors' which Mr. Eugene Goossens has set most suitably to music. Miss Marie Rambert, as an impudently vivacious mannequin, and Mr. Frederick Ashton as a distracted man modist, lead the dancing. It is as chic a trifle as Mr Playfair's modish establishment leads you to expect. ”
“A captivating little ballet called 'A Tragedy of Fashion: or The Scarlet Scissors', which Mr. Eugene Goossens composed very skillfully. Miss Marie Rambert, as an outrageously lively mannequin , and Mr. Frederick Ashton, as an absent-minded fashion designer, dance the lead roles. The two convince with the skilful lightness that can be expected from Mr Playfair's fashionable furnishings. "
The costumes and sets were designed by Sophie Fedorovitch , who subsequently worked with Ashton for more than twenty years and who, in his words, became "not just my best friend, but my greatest artistic collaborator and consultant".
In 2004 the Ballet Rambert re-performed the piece as part of Ashton's hundredth birthday party, reinterpreted it after six months of research and redesigned it by the choreographer Ian Spink . The Guardian review awarded four stars, commenting:
“It is a witty and clever achievement but Spink and his superb collaborators have gone one better. They have imbued Tragedy with the quality that made Ashton irresistible - his charm. "
"It's not just a funny and clever achievement, but Spink and his excellent staff went one better: they infused tragedy with the quality that makes Ashton irresistible - its charm."
Individual evidence
- ↑ Oxford Reference: Tragedy of Fashion, A, or The Scarlet Scissors
- ↑ a b Caroline Briggs: Ballet's Ashton celebrated in style . BBC News, June 1, 2004 ( bbc.co.uk ).
- ^ Madame de Sévigné: Letters of Madame de Sévigné . Ed .: James A. Harrison. 1899, p. 35 ( google.com ).
- ↑ Frederick Ashton interviewed by Dick Cavett : Dance Anecdotes . Ed .: Mindy Aloff. Oxford University Press, 2006, ISBN 978-0-19-505411-8 ( google.co.uk ).
- ^ David Vaughan: Frederick Ashton and His Ballets . Knopf, 1977, p. 16 .
- ^ Riverside Nights . The Observer, June 20, 1926, p. 13 .
- ↑ Beth Genné: Following Sir Fred's Steps . Dance Books, 1996, ISBN 1-85273-047-1 ( ballet.co.uk [accessed June 23, 2013]). Following Sir Fred's Steps ( Memento of the original from October 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
