Nocturne
Costume Design
1936 (drawn)
1936 (drawn)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
One of a series of preliminary sketches by designer Sophie Fedorovitch from a collection acquired by dance critic, Richard Buckle. The designer may have been trying out different colourways for costumes, probably for the women's ball dresses in Frederick Ashton's 1936 ballet Nocturne. This sketch may date from the 1946 revival.
Nocturne was a ballet in one scene to a libretto by Edward Sackville West, choreographed by Frederick Ashton to Frederick Delius’ Paris. It was first presented by the Vic-Wells Ballet at Sadler’s Wells Theatre on 10 November 1936. It had a simple narrative - a rich man, accompanying a woman to a ball, flirts with a flower seller and breaks her heart in the process - but was primarily a ballet of atmosphere. The set consisted of a low balustrade, pillars and a night sky against which the colours of the costumes appeared to great effect. The trains of the ball-goers' dresses extended the movement.
Nocturne was revived for the stage of the Royal Opera House by Sadler’s Wells Ballet in 1946 but was last seen in its entirety in 1947 as Fedorovitch and others felt it was less effective on a larger stage. Although, as author Lionel Bradley pointed out, ‘the ballet will always be worth seeing, if only for the music & very beautiful costumes’.
Nocturne was a ballet in one scene to a libretto by Edward Sackville West, choreographed by Frederick Ashton to Frederick Delius’ Paris. It was first presented by the Vic-Wells Ballet at Sadler’s Wells Theatre on 10 November 1936. It had a simple narrative - a rich man, accompanying a woman to a ball, flirts with a flower seller and breaks her heart in the process - but was primarily a ballet of atmosphere. The set consisted of a low balustrade, pillars and a night sky against which the colours of the costumes appeared to great effect. The trains of the ball-goers' dresses extended the movement.
Nocturne was revived for the stage of the Royal Opera House by Sadler’s Wells Ballet in 1946 but was last seen in its entirety in 1947 as Fedorovitch and others felt it was less effective on a larger stage. Although, as author Lionel Bradley pointed out, ‘the ballet will always be worth seeing, if only for the music & very beautiful costumes’.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Nocturne (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Watercolour and pencil on paper |
| Brief description | Preliminary sketch by Sophie Fedorovitch for a woman's grey, white and black ballgown for the ballet Nocturne, Vic-Wells Ballet |
| Physical description | Sketch of a woman in a grey and black sleeveless ballgown with a fitted low-cut bodice in white, grey and black. She wears long grey gloves and on her left upper arm has plumes attached to a black band. Drawn on poor quality paper. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by the Friends of the Museum of the Performing Arts |
| Object history | One of a large lot of Fedorovitch designs, then unidentified, acquired by Richard Buckle for £160 at the auction of Simon Fleet's estate in Salisbury. These designs were purchased for Buckle's Friends of the Museum of the Performing Arts. They were later given by Buckle to the V&A on behalf of the Friends of the Museum of the Performing Arts. |
| Summary | One of a series of preliminary sketches by designer Sophie Fedorovitch from a collection acquired by dance critic, Richard Buckle. The designer may have been trying out different colourways for costumes, probably for the women's ball dresses in Frederick Ashton's 1936 ballet Nocturne. This sketch may date from the 1946 revival. Nocturne was a ballet in one scene to a libretto by Edward Sackville West, choreographed by Frederick Ashton to Frederick Delius’ Paris. It was first presented by the Vic-Wells Ballet at Sadler’s Wells Theatre on 10 November 1936. It had a simple narrative - a rich man, accompanying a woman to a ball, flirts with a flower seller and breaks her heart in the process - but was primarily a ballet of atmosphere. The set consisted of a low balustrade, pillars and a night sky against which the colours of the costumes appeared to great effect. The trains of the ball-goers' dresses extended the movement. Nocturne was revived for the stage of the Royal Opera House by Sadler’s Wells Ballet in 1946 but was last seen in its entirety in 1947 as Fedorovitch and others felt it was less effective on a larger stage. Although, as author Lionel Bradley pointed out, ‘the ballet will always be worth seeing, if only for the music & very beautiful costumes’. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.660-2019 |
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| Record created | October 3, 2019 |
| Record URL |
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