Frederick Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée to be performed for first time, replacing classics by Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky after fundraising in London
One of the “most English of ballets” will be performed for the first time at the National Opera of Ukraine in Kyiv after a boycott of the classic Russian repertoire, including Swan Lake and the Nutcracker.
Sir Frederick Ashton’s La Fille mal gardée, a celebrated romantic comedy, will be performed to a sell-out audience on Thursday after Ukraine turned away from the works of Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky and Prokofiev.
The production, which will run for at least five years in Kyiv, was made possible by fundraising in London by the former Ukrainian star of the Royal Ballet, Ivan Putrov, and the sculptor Antony Gormley. The ballet’s owner, Jean-Pierre Gasquet, has waived his fee.
Originally a French ballet by Jean Dauberval, Ashton’s choreography, first staged in 1960, turned La Fille mal gardée into one of the best-loved English ballets, featuring slapstick humour, a maypole and traditional folk dance.
