''Les Rendezvous'' is a plotless one-act ballet created in 1933, with choreography by Frederick Ashton to the music of

Daniel Auber Daniel-François-Esprit Auber (; 29 January 178212 May 1871) was a French composer and director of the Paris Conservatoire. Born into an artistic family, Auber was at first an amateur composer before he took up writing operas professionally when ...

(the ballet music from his opera '' L'enfant prodigue'') arranged by

Constant Lambert Leonard Constant Lambert (23 August 190521 August 1951) was a British composer, conductor, and author. He was the founder and music director of the Royal Ballet, and (alongside Ninette de Valois and Frederick Ashton) he was a major figure in th ...

and with designs by William Chappell. It was the first major ballet created by Ashton for the Vic-Wells company.Bland A. The Royal Ballet – the first 50 years. Threshold Books, London, 1981. It was first performed on Tuesday, 5 December 1933 by Vic-Wells Ballet at Sadler's Wells Theatre, with

Alicia Markova Dame Alicia Markova DBE (1 December 1910 – 2 December 2004) was a British ballerina and a choreographer, director and teacher of classical ballet. Most noted for her career with Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and touring internation ...

and Stanislas Idzikowsky in the lead roles; these were later taken by

Margot Fonteyn Dame Margaret Evelyn de Arias DBE (''née'' Hookham; 18 May 191921 February 1991), known by the stage name Margot Fonteyn, was an English ballerina. She spent her entire career as a dancer with the Royal Ballet (formerly the Sadler's Wells ...

and

Robert Helpmann Sir Robert Murray Helpmann CBE ( Helpman, 9 April 1909 – 28 September 1986) was an Australian ballet dancer, actor, director, and choreographer. After early work in Australia he moved to Britain in 1932, where he joined the Vic-Wells Ballet ( ...

. The choreography was revised in 1934 and the work was performed every season up to 1945, then from 1959 to 1963, when it used the set by

Sophie Fedorovitch Sophie Fedorovitch ( be, Сафія Федаровіч; 3 December 1893 – 25 January 1953) was a Russian-born theatrical designer who worked with ballet choreographer Sir Frederick Ashton from his first choreographed ballet in 1926 until her a ...

for Act 1 of '' La Traviata''. It was revived in 1984 by Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet to celebrate Ashton's 80th birthday, and by the

Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...

at Covent Garden in 2000 with updated sets. The ballet has also been produced by companies in Norway, the US and Japan. It was filmed for television in 1962 with Doreen Wells,

Brian Shaw Brian Keith Shaw (born March 22, 1966) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He could play both guard positions, but wa ...

, and

Merle Park Dame Merle Park (born 8 October 1937) is a British ballet dancer and teacher, now retired. As a prima ballerina with the Royal Ballet during the 1960s and 1970s, she was known for "brilliance of execution and virtuoso technique" as well as for h ...

, Petrus Brosnan and Graham Usher in the ''

pas de trois In ballet, ''pas de trois'' is a French term usually referring to a dance between three people. Typically, a ''pas de trois'' in ballet consists of five parts: #Entrée (the opening number for the three dancers, usually preceded by a short i ...

''. ''Les Rendezvous'' was Ashton's "first substantial classical composition and an exultant statement of his idiosyncratic approach to academic ballet." It consists of a succession of light-hearted dances in a park, where friends meet and socialise.Kavanagh J. ''Secret Muses: The Life of Frederick Ashton.'' Faber & Faber Ltd, London, 1996. The ballet was designed to show off the brilliance and style of Markova and the elevation and technical skill of Idzikowsky.Programme note for Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet Christmas season at Sadler’s Wells Theatre, 25 September to 6 October 1984. Order of numbers: # Entrée des Promeneurs (company) # Pas de quatre: (four girls) # Male Variation # Adage des Amoureux (two leads) # Pas de trois (girl and two boys) # Female Variation # Pas de six: (six boys) # Sortie des Promeneurs (company) The Sadler's Well Orchestra, conducted by

Charles Mackerras Mackerras in 2005 Sir Alan Charles MacLaurin Mackerras (; 1925 2010) was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. He was long associated with the Engli ...

made a recording of the music in July 1950 at Abbey Road studios, but due to the standard of playing it was not published. An LP 'A Silver Jubilee Tribute to Sadler's Wells Ballet' included short extracts with the Royal Opera House Orchestra conducted by Robert Irving.HMV CLP 1070, 1957.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rendezvous, Les Ballets by Frederick Ashton Ballets created for The Royal Ballet 1933 ballet premieres Ballets to the music of Daniel Auber Ballets designed by William Chappell