401. Union Jack 1976
- Music
Hershy Kay (adapted from traditional British sources as given below, 1976, commissioned by the New York City Ballet)
- Choreography
George Balanchine
- Production
Scenery and costumes by Rouben Ter-Arutunian, including a drop curtain for Part II from the New York City Opera production of La Cenerentola (1953). Scottish costumes by Sheldon M. Kasman of Toronto. Lighting by Ronald Bates
- Premiere
May 13, 1976, New York City Ballet, New York State Theater. Conductor: Robert Irving (Preview: Annual New York City Ballet Gala Benefit, May 12.)
- Cast
I. SCOTTISH AND CANADIAN GUARDS REGIMENTS: (‘Keel Row’) LENNOX: Helgi Tomasson, 9 men;
DRESS MACLEOD: Jacques d’Amboise, 9 men. (‘Caledonian Hunt’s Delight’)
GREEN MONTGOMERIE: Sara Leland, 9 women. (‘Dance wi’ My Daddy’)
MENZIES: Peter Martins, 9 men;
DRESS MACDONALD: Kay Mazzo, 9 women. (‘Regimental Drum Variations’)
MACDONALD OF SLEAT: Karin von Aroldingen, 9 women. (Scottish theme from the Water Music by George Frederick Handel)
R.C.A.F. (ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE): Suzanne Farrell, 9 women. (‘Amazing Grace,’ ‘A Hundred Pipers’)
FINALE: Entire cast.
II. COSTERMONGER PAS DE DEUX (music-hall songs, ca. 1890-1914: ‘The Sunshine of Your Smile,’ ‘The Night the Floor Fell In,’ ‘Our Lodger’s Such a Naice Young Man,’ ‘Following in Father’s Footsteps,’ ‘A Tavern in the Town’): Pearly King, Jean-Pierre Bonnefous; Pearly Queen, Patricia McBride; 2 young girls, donkey.
III. ROYAL NAVY (traditional hornpipe melodies, ‘Rule Britannia’): von Aroldingen, Victor Castelli, Bart Cook; d’Amboise, 8 women, 8 men; Leland, Mazzo, Tomasson; Martins, 8 women, 8 men;
WRENS (WOMEN’S ROYAL NAVAL SERVICE): Farrell, 8 women;
FINALE: Entire cast
DRESS MACLEOD: Jacques d’Amboise, 9 men. (‘Caledonian Hunt’s Delight’)
GREEN MONTGOMERIE: Sara Leland, 9 women. (‘Dance wi’ My Daddy’)
MENZIES: Peter Martins, 9 men;
DRESS MACDONALD: Kay Mazzo, 9 women. (‘Regimental Drum Variations’)
MACDONALD OF SLEAT: Karin von Aroldingen, 9 women. (Scottish theme from the Water Music by George Frederick Handel)
R.C.A.F. (ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE): Suzanne Farrell, 9 women. (‘Amazing Grace,’ ‘A Hundred Pipers’)
FINALE: Entire cast.
II. COSTERMONGER PAS DE DEUX (music-hall songs, ca. 1890-1914: ‘The Sunshine of Your Smile,’ ‘The Night the Floor Fell In,’ ‘Our Lodger’s Such a Naice Young Man,’ ‘Following in Father’s Footsteps,’ ‘A Tavern in the Town’): Pearly King, Jean-Pierre Bonnefous; Pearly Queen, Patricia McBride; 2 young girls, donkey.
III. ROYAL NAVY (traditional hornpipe melodies, ‘Rule Britannia’): von Aroldingen, Victor Castelli, Bart Cook; d’Amboise, 8 women, 8 men; Leland, Mazzo, Tomasson; Martins, 8 women, 8 men;
WRENS (WOMEN’S ROYAL NAVAL SERVICE): Farrell, 8 women;
FINALE: Entire cast
Performance Type
Ballet
Note
Created to honor the British heritage of the United States on the occasion of its Bicentennial. Part I is based on Scottish military tattoos and folk-dance forms performed in an open castle square. Part II is a music-hall pas de deux for the costermonger Pearly King and Queen of London, with two little girls and a donkey, danced before a drop suggesting Pollock’s toy theaters. Part III is a series of variations employing hornpipes, sea songs, work chants, jigs, and drill orders of the Royal Navy, in a quay-side setting. For the finale, hand flags signal ‘God Save the Queen’ in a marine semaphore code as the British Union Jack appears. In 1960, Balanchine used the Scottish theme from the Water Music for the SCOTLAND variation in The Figure in the Carpet [332].
Additional Productions
Revisions
Recorded Performances
Videos/DVD
1996, Nonesuch, The Balanchine Library: The Balanchine Celebration, Part One (III. ROYAL NAVY, WRENS, FINALE [1993]);
2004, Kultur, Balanchine (rehearsal with Balanchine)
2004, Kultur, Balanchine (rehearsal with Balanchine)
1980 excerpt, rehearsal (CBS)
1983 Costermonger pas de deux (PBS, Gala of Stars)
1993 excerpt (PBS, Dance in America, “The Balanchine Celebration”)
