A Trip to the Moon
Print
1883 (printed)
1883 (printed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The Snow Ballet, set in a snowy glen, was the spectacular finale of Act III in the comic operetta with music by Offenbach A Trip To The Moon,loosely based on Jules Verne's humorous science fiction novel From The Earth To The Moon, choreographed by Henri Justamant and premiered in Paris on 26th October 1875 at the Théâtre de la Gaîté. Its plot concerns the trip to the moon taken by Prince Caprice and his father the King who meet their counterparts on the moon, King Cosmos, Queen Popotte and Princess Fantasia.
It was first seen in England in an English version by Henry Leigh, at the Alhambra Theatre in 1876, where it ran for five and a half months, with choreography again by Justamant. It was revived at Her Majesty's Theatre in March 1883 with choreography by Aimé Bertrand, probably drawing heavily on the original. It starred Lionel Rignold as King Cosmos, Fannie Leslie as Prince Caprice, Lettie Lind as Phebe, Anna Barnadelli as Caprice, Annie Albu as Fantasy, with Mlles Gerrish, Hemmings, Patti and Sismondi as the Four Swallows. Mlles. Sampietro, Powell and Theodora de Gillert were also billed as 'premieres danseuses'. Consuelo de la Bruyère headed the snow ballet, in which a place was made for the aerialist Mlle. Aenea as 'the flying dove' amongst the swallows.
Aenea was the innovative aerial dancer Letitia Barry, whose husband the machinist Walter P. Dando, developed the means to flit above the stage in all directions, rather than just from side to side. It was said she: 'seemed to swim in ether, and she descended feather-like to the uncomplaining ground.'
It was first seen in England in an English version by Henry Leigh, at the Alhambra Theatre in 1876, where it ran for five and a half months, with choreography again by Justamant. It was revived at Her Majesty's Theatre in March 1883 with choreography by Aimé Bertrand, probably drawing heavily on the original. It starred Lionel Rignold as King Cosmos, Fannie Leslie as Prince Caprice, Lettie Lind as Phebe, Anna Barnadelli as Caprice, Annie Albu as Fantasy, with Mlles Gerrish, Hemmings, Patti and Sismondi as the Four Swallows. Mlles. Sampietro, Powell and Theodora de Gillert were also billed as 'premieres danseuses'. Consuelo de la Bruyère headed the snow ballet, in which a place was made for the aerialist Mlle. Aenea as 'the flying dove' amongst the swallows.
Aenea was the innovative aerial dancer Letitia Barry, whose husband the machinist Walter P. Dando, developed the means to flit above the stage in all directions, rather than just from side to side. It was said she: 'seemed to swim in ether, and she descended feather-like to the uncomplaining ground.'
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | A Trip to the Moon (popular title) |
| Materials and techniques | Colour lithograph on paper |
| Brief description | The Grand Snow Ballet from Act III of Jacques Offenbach's A Trip to the Moon, Her Majesty's Theatre, March 1883 |
| Physical description | The corps de ballet and principal dancers are depicted on stage in 'The Snow Ballet' against the wintery, mountainous background billed in the theatre programme as 'Scene 4. A Snowy Glen.' The corps de ballet are wearing white tutus and hold white 'snow hoops' above their heads, while four dancers in the foreground are dressed as swallows, in burlesque-style corset costumes with black wings and 'tails' and red muffs. Two other dancers wear white corset-type costumes with red panels at the front and white wings. One of those, billed as Aenea the Flying Dove, is depicted in the sky, her arms outstretched, being flown on wires. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Gabrielle Enthoven Collection |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Associations | |
| Summary | The Snow Ballet, set in a snowy glen, was the spectacular finale of Act III in the comic operetta with music by Offenbach A Trip To The Moon,loosely based on Jules Verne's humorous science fiction novel From The Earth To The Moon, choreographed by Henri Justamant and premiered in Paris on 26th October 1875 at the Théâtre de la Gaîté. Its plot concerns the trip to the moon taken by Prince Caprice and his father the King who meet their counterparts on the moon, King Cosmos, Queen Popotte and Princess Fantasia. It was first seen in England in an English version by Henry Leigh, at the Alhambra Theatre in 1876, where it ran for five and a half months, with choreography again by Justamant. It was revived at Her Majesty's Theatre in March 1883 with choreography by Aimé Bertrand, probably drawing heavily on the original. It starred Lionel Rignold as King Cosmos, Fannie Leslie as Prince Caprice, Lettie Lind as Phebe, Anna Barnadelli as Caprice, Annie Albu as Fantasy, with Mlles Gerrish, Hemmings, Patti and Sismondi as the Four Swallows. Mlles. Sampietro, Powell and Theodora de Gillert were also billed as 'premieres danseuses'. Consuelo de la Bruyère headed the snow ballet, in which a place was made for the aerialist Mlle. Aenea as 'the flying dove' amongst the swallows. Aenea was the innovative aerial dancer Letitia Barry, whose husband the machinist Walter P. Dando, developed the means to flit above the stage in all directions, rather than just from side to side. It was said she: 'seemed to swim in ether, and she descended feather-like to the uncomplaining ground.' |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.194-2008 |
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| Record created | April 30, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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