''The Fool on the Hill'' is a ballet created by the British

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

, Gillian Lynne.

Television production

In 1975 Gillian Lynne arrived in

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to create

The Australian Ballet The Australian Ballet is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English-born dancer, teacher, repetiteur and direct ...

's first work expressly commissioned for

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

which was jointly commissioned by The Australian Ballet and the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

. ''The Fool on the Hill'' ballet was inspired by the

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

' song of the same name, and the

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was arranged and orchestrated by

John Lanchbery John Arthur Lanchbery OBE (15 May 1923 – 27 February 2003) was an English-Australian composer and conductor, famous for his ballet arrangements. He served as the Principal Conductor of the Royal Ballet from 1959 to 1972, Principal Conductor ...

, using interpretations of Beatles' songs and featuring characters like Eleanor Rigby, and Sergeant Pepper."The Australian Ballet" - timeline
/ref>Photo and caption in the ''

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'' 27 April 1976. The director of the television production was

Bryan Ashbridge Bryan may refer to: Places United States * Bryan, Arkansas * Bryan, Kentucky * Bryan, Ohio * Bryan, Texas * Bryan, Wyoming, a ghost town in Sweetwater County in the U.S. state of Wyoming * Bryan Township (disambiguation) Facilities and structur ...

. Robert Helpmann appeared as Sergeant Pepper in the original television ballet.Sir Robert Helpmann OBE 1909-1986
/ref> The ballet won a number of international television awards.

Stage production

The ballet was later revised for stage performances. It premiered as a live stage production at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

on 28 April 1976.

Notes and references

Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming 1976 in Australian television 1976 ballet premieres The Australian Ballet Ballet in Australia {{Australia-tv-prog-stub