''Enigma Variations (My Friends Pictured Within)'' is a one-act ballet by

Frederick Ashton Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton (17 September 190418 August 1988) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer. He also worked as a director and choreographer in opera, film and revue. Determined to be a dancer despite the opposit ...

, to the music of the ''

Variations on an Original Theme Edward Elgar composed his ''Variations on an Original Theme'', Opus number, Op. 36, popularly known as the ''Enigma Variations'', between October 1898 and February 1899. It is an orchestral work comprising fourteen variation (music), variation ...

'' (''Enigma Variations''), Op. 36, by

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

. The work was first given 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 the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal ...

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

, London, on 25 October 1968. It has been revived in every subsequent decade.

Background

Elgar's variations portray, in his words, "My friends pictured within", celebrating, and in some cases caricaturing, members of his circle. He commented to one of them, Troyte Griffith, years after the premiere that if the variations had been written by a Russian rather than an Englishman they would long ago have been turned into a ballet. It was not until six years after the composer's death that an attempt was made to do so, by the choreographer Frank Staff for

Ballet Rambert Rambert (known as Rambert Dance Company before 2014) is a leading British dance company. Formed at the start of the 20th century as a classical ballet company, it exerted a great deal of influence on the development of dance in the United Kingd ...

in 1940.Percival, John. "Ashton and the quality of friendship", ''The Times'', 26 October 1968, p. 9 Staff's ballet focused on the mood of the variations rather than on the personalities who inspired it. The idea for Ashton's ballet originated in the early 1950s, when the designer Julia Trevelyan Oman, then still a student, submitted designs for a ballet to be based on Elgar's music. At the time the idea was not taken up, but in the 1960s Ashton had come round to it, and invited Trevelyan Oman, by then a rising star of theatre design, to collaborate.Cargill, Mary
"Lincoln Center Festival; Ashton Celebration July 6–17, 2004 – "Enigma Variations"
''Dance View Times'', 4 July 2004 Ashton used the whole of Elgar's published score, with the exception of the finale, for which he went back to the composer's original ending. When completing the score in 1898, Elgar had been persuaded by his publisher (portrayed as "Nimrod" of the variations) to add a further 96 bars to the ending. With the permission of the Elgar estate, Ashton used the shorter version, previously unheard by even the most dedicated Elgarians. The playing time of the ballet is about half an hour.

Synopsis

The piece shows an imaginary gathering of Elgar and his friends at the Elgars' house in Worcestershire. The composer, at this point in his career struggling and little known, is awaiting a message from London. While they are waiting, the Elgars and their friends are portrayed in dances representing their personalities. After the last of these, Ashton contributes his own "enigma"; a telegram arrives: the characters know, but the audience does not, that it is from the celebrated conductor Hans Richter agreeing to conduct Elgar's new work. There is an exuberant finale. Ashton, drawing on a commentary written by the composer in 1929, included in the programme alongside the cast list the notes in the third column, below. The words in quotation marks are by Elgar.

Original cast

*Edward Elgar (E.D.U.) –

Derek Rencher Derek Rencher (6 June 1932 – 20 December 2014) was a British ballet dancer. A commanding figure among Royal Ballet character dancers for more than four decades, he was probably the most prolific performer in the company's history. Early life a ...

*The Lady (C.A.E.) –

Svetlana Beriosova Svetlana Nikolayevna Beriosova (russian: Светла́на Никола́евна Берёзова; 24 September 1932 – 10 November 1998), also spelled Beriozova or Beryozova, was a Lithuanian-British prima ballerina who danced with The Royal B ...

*Hew David Steuart-Powell (H.D.S-P.) –

Stanley Holden Stanley Holden (27 January 1928 – 11 May 2007), born Stanley Herbert Waller, was a British American ballet dancer and choreographer. Born in London, he joined the Royal Ballet in 1944 and won notice for performing numerous character roles, esp ...

*Richard Baxter Townshend (R.B.T.) – Brian Shaw *William Meath Baker (W.M.B.) –

Alexander Grant Alexander Grant may refer to: The arts * Alex da Kid (Alexander Grant, born 1982), English hip-hop producer * Alex Grant (musician) (born 1974), bass guitarist for Idlewild and DeSalvo * Alex Grant (poet), Scottish-American poet, teacher * Alexa ...

*Richard P. Arnold (R.P.A.) – Robert Mead *Isabel Fitton (Ysobel) –

Vyvyan Lorrayne Vyvyan Lorrayne (20 April 1939 – August 2022) was a South African ballet dancer. Noted as a "softly classical stylist," she won acclaim as a principal dancer for England's Royal Ballet during the 1960s and 1970s. Early life and training Lorrayn ...

*Arthur Troyte Griffith (Troyte) –

Anthony Dowell Sir Anthony James Dowell (born 16 February 1943) is a retired British ballet dancer and a former artistic director of the Royal Ballet. He is widely recognized as one of the great ''danseurs nobles'' of the twentieth century. Early life and trai ...

*Winifred Norbury (W.N.) –

Georgina Parkinson Georgina Parkinson (20 August 1938 – 18 December 2009) was an English ballet dancer and ballet mistress. She joined The Royal Ballet in 1957 and was promoted to principal dancer in 1962. Best known for dancing 20th-century works, she was ...

*A.J. Jaeger (Nimrod) –

Desmond Doyle Desmond Doyle (1924–1986) was an Irish painter and professional pianist, whose children (Evelyn, Maurice, Noel, John, Kevin, and Dermot) were taken into the custody of the Ireland Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC). Back ...

*Dora Penny (Dorabella) –

Antoinette Sibley Dame Antoinette Sibley (born 27 February 1939) is a British prima ballerina. She joined the Royal Ballet from the Royal Ballet School in 1956 and became a soloist in 1960. She was celebrated for her partnership with Anthony Dowell. After her re ...

*George Robertson Sinclair (G.R.S.) –

Wayne Sleep Wayne Philip Colin Sleep (born 17 July 1948) is a British dancer, director, choreographer, and actor who appeared on the BBC series '' The Real Marigold on Tour'' and ITV's ''The Real Full Monty''. Early life Sleep was born in Plymouth, De ...

*Basil G. Nevinson (B.G.N.) –

Leslie Edwards Leslie George Edwards (6 August 1916 – 8 February 2001) was a British ballet dancer and ballet master. He was one of the final links with Ninette de Valois's original pre-war Vic-Wells Ballet. Apart from two years of military service during t ...

**** (Lady Mary Lygon) –

Deanne Bergsma Deanne Bergsma (born 16 April 1941) is a South African ballerina, who made her career in the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden. She was born in 1941 and showed early promise as a dancer, She first came to London in 1957 to take up a place in the Roy ...

*Schoolgirl – Patricia Linton *Country girl –

Lesley Collier Lesley Faye Collier (born 13 March 1947) is an English ballerina and teacher of dance. In 1972 she became a principal dancer of the Royal Ballet. In 1995 she left the company and began to teach at the Royal Ballet School. She is a rèpetiteur ...

*Country boy – Donald Kirkpatrick *Sailor girl – Christine Aitken *Sailor boy – Frank Freeman *Housekeeper – Julie Wood *Gardener – Ronald Plaisted *The carrier – Gary Sinclaire *Country woman – Lois Strike *Telegraph boy – John Haynes ::Source:Royal Opera House performance database.

Critical reception

In ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

'', John Percival wrote, "There have been plenty of ballets about love, but friendship as a subject is rare, and Ashton finds rare and moving expression for it. … What a pleasure it is, after so many ballets about fairytale characters and melodramatic situations, to see credible, adult characters like these on the stage of the Opera House." In ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper Sunday editions, published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group, Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. ...

'', Alexander Bland found the character of Elgar himself remained ill-defined, but thought the work ideal for "Ashton's delicate water-colour talent and his inimitable gift for inventing short flowing variations, and it is a fine vehicle for the smooth, soft Royal Ballet style." One dissenting voice was that of

Bernard Levin Henry Bernard Levin (19 August 1928 – 7 August 2004) was an English journalist, author and broadcaster, described by ''The Times'' as "the most famous journalist of his day". The son of a poor Jewish family in London, he won a scholarship t ...

in ''The Times'', who wrote that the choreography did not enhance one's appreciation of the characters depicted in the music, but impeded it: "it was like those television sports commentators who carefully tell us what we have just seen." In 2002,

Joan Acocella Joan Acocella (née Ross, born 1945) is an American journalist who is a staff writer for ''The New Yorker''. She has written books on dance, literature, and psychology. Education and career Acocella received her B.A. in English in 1966 from the ...

wrote in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issue ...

'' of "a number of central-casting English eccentrics running around in tweeds and brandishing ear trumpets. But the center of the piece is Elgar, and Ashton has fleshed out his portrait. … No other ballet choreographer has examined normal emotions with such sophistication."

Revivals

The ballet has been revived by the Royal Ballet in each decade since the premiere. As of 2020 the most recent Royal Ballet production was in December 2019 as part of a heritage program featuring

Kenneth MacMillan Sir Kenneth MacMillan (11 December 192929 October 1992) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer who was artistic director of the Royal Ballet in London between 1970 and 1977, and its principal choreographer from 1977 until his death. Ea ...

's '' Concerto'' and Act III of

Rudolf Nureyev Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev ( ; Tatar/ Bashkir: Рудольф Хәмит улы Нуриев; rus, Рудо́льф Хаме́тович Нуре́ев, p=rʊˈdolʲf xɐˈmʲetəvʲɪtɕ nʊˈrʲejɪf; 17 March 19386 January 1993) was a Soviet ...

's ''

Raymonda ''Raymonda'' (russian: Раймонда) is a ballet in three acts, four scenes with an apotheosis, choreographed by Marius Petipa to music by Alexander Glazunov, his Opus 57. It was first presented by the Imperial Ballet at the Imperial Mar ...

''. One of the performances was relayed in cinemas and later released on a DVD. This cast featured Laura Morera as the Lady Elgar, Christopher Saunders as Edward Elgar,

Francesca Hayward Francesca Hayward (born 4 July 1992) is a Kenyan-born English ballet dancer and actress. She is a principal dancer in the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden in London. In 2019, she starred as Victoria the White Cat in the musical film ''Cats'', an a ...

as Dorabella and Matthew Ball as Troyte. Outside of The Royal Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet, the only other Ballet Company that has been given permission to perform

's Enigma Variations is The

Sarasota Ballet The Sarasota Ballet is an American ballet company based in Sarasota, Florida. It was founded in 1987 by former ballet dancer Jean Weidner Goldstein and is now acclaimed for its performances of Sir Frederick Ashton's ballets under its director Iain ...

, which most recently performed the ballet in honor of the piece's 50th Anniversary in December 2018 alongside

's '' Les Patineurs'' and

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...

's ''

Diamonds Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, ...

''.Dearing, Ann
"The Sarasota Ballet substitutes 'The Nutcracker' for dazzling 'Victorian Winters'"
16 December 2018

Notes and references