Frederick Ashton’s rustic tale of young lovers foiling very foolish (if well-intentioned) parents has been a favourite with audiences worldwide since its première in 1960. So imagine the excitement that accompanied this release from the BBC archives: here it is, everyone’s chance to see this beloved ballet danced by its original cast!
Nadia Nerina’s joyous dancing and David Blair’s technical and interpretative genius are perfectly offset by Stanley Holden’s hilarious travesti turn as Widow Simone, while Alexander Grant brings pathos and humour to the character of Alain. This ICA Classics release is the second to feature Nadia Nerina. Like other ballet releases by ICA Classics, this film invites a new generation of ballet-goers to discover the Royal Ballet’s marvellous dancers of the 1950s and 1960s, whose careers were sometimes overshadowed by the celebrity of Margot Fonteyn.
Recorded: BBC Studio, London, 7–9 September 1962
Broadcast: BBC, 27 December 1962
Lise – Nadia Nerina
Colas – David Blair
Widow Simone – Stanley Holden
Alain – Alexander Grant
Thomas – Leslie Edwards
Village Notary – Franklin White
Cockerel – Lawrence Ruffell
Hens – Avril Bergen, Kay Connett, Carole Hill and Suzanna Smith
Lise’s Friends – Christine Beckley, Rosalind Ayre, Audrey Henderson, Ann Kenward, Vyvyan Lorrayne, Monica Mason, Pamela Moncur and Georgena Parkinson
Region Code: 0
Format & Aspect Ratio: NTSC, 4:3
Number of discs: 1
Run time: 90 minutes
Studio: ICA Classics
Release date: 2012
