La Fille mal gardée – The Royal Ballet (12A)

Stage on Screen
  • Wednesday 5th November 19:15
  • Sunday 9th November 14:00
More times

Escape to the countryside with Frederick Ashton’s ballet about a capricious girl who hopes to marry her love. Brimming with humour and choreographic invention, La Fille mal gardée is the perfect ballet for all the family.

Lise, the only daughter of Widow Simone, is in love with the young farmer Colas, but her mother has far more ambitious plans for her. Simone hopes to marry her off to Alain, the son of the wealthy proprietor Thomas. Desperate to marry Colas rather than Alain, Lise contrives to outwit her mother’s plans.

65 years after its premiere, The Royal Ballet presents Frederick Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée. This affectionate portrayal of village life combines exuberant good humour and brilliantly inventive choreography in what is undoubtedly Ashton’s love letter to the English countryside. La Fille mal gardée whisks us away into pastoral bliss with Ferdinand Hérold’s cheerful score and Osbert Lancaster’s colourful designs.

When La Fille mal gardée premiered in Covent Garden on 28 January 1960, it instantly won all hearts. Inspired by Jean Dauberval’s French ballet, Ashton’s version combines exuberant good humour and an affectionate portrayal of village life. The Royal Ballet’s Founder Choreographer, Ashton hoped to capture the ‘leafy pastoral of perpetual sunshine… the suspended stillness of a Constable landscape of my beloved Suffolk, luminous and calm’. Osbert Lancaster’s colourful designs altogether bring the charm of the countryside to life.

Creatives:

Choreography FREDERICK ASHTON

Music FERDINAND HÉROLD

Conductor JONATHAN LO

Arrangement and Orchestration JOHN LANCHBERY

Scenario JEAN DAUBERVAL

Designer OSBERT LANCASTER

Lighting Designer JOHN B. READ

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TICKET PRICES

GENERAL

  • Standard£18.50
  • Retired Over 65s£17.50
  • Benefits Entitlement£17.50
  • Under 26yrs£16.50
  • Companion for Access or CEA Card Holder£18.50

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