At The Ballet

Hutt News, Volume XXI, Issue 50, 9 June 1948, Page 9

At The Ballet

THRILLING FIRST NIGHT To lovers of the theatre what a thrill it was to be at the opening of the Wellington season of the Ballet Rambert on Saturday night. It was a first night reminiscent of the heydey of the stage—a crowded theatre, many of the audience in evening dress, the buzz of conversation as excited balletomanes * exchanged memories, the tuning up of an orchestra of twenty-five players. Then the curtain rose—on fairyland! Following tradition the opening ballet was “Les Sylphid.es,” those lovely dances in ethereal moonlight to the music of Chopin. Then came "Simple Symphony,” gay and exhilarating, with music by Benjamin Britten, whom New Zealanders are just discovering; “The Fugitive,” a very dramatic story in mime to the music of Leonard Salzedo; and finally “Peter and the Wolf,” a quaint fairy tale told delightfully in dance, with an impressionist setting, to the music of Prokofiev.

' The audience loved it all, and at the close there were scenes of great enthusiasm, with many curtain calls. Madame Rambert returned thanks for the warmth of the welcome.