Ballet patriotique in three acts premiered on 13th August 1902 at the His Majesty’s Theatre, London

Choreography: Franco Tavano

Music: Sir Walter Parratt, Auguste Péchard, Philip Jenson

Plot

Summary

Act 1 – The Elizabethan Era – A Castle Chamber

The courtiers amuse themselves with pageantry and dances. The men practice their swordsmanship.

A herald announces the arrival of Queen Elizabeth. All hail the Queen as she commands her court to perform some dances.

Sir Francis Drake enters with his suite, with bearers of gold, silver, jewels and spices.

Sir Walter Raleigh enters with his suite, with bearers of tobacco and maps.

There is an allegorical masque of British and Spanish Armada, with the British emerging triumphant.

The court gathers to proclaim England’s triumph as Elizabeth is symbolically crowned anew.

Act 2 – The Georgian Era – An Elegant Garden

The servants finish the decorations for a garden party.

The aristocrats enter, led by their host and hostess, the Viscount and Viscountess. They dance with their guests.

The Viscountess bids enter some country folk, who amuse the aristocrats with country dances.

Upon the common folk departing, a young lady finds herself caught between two suitors: a lively and fashionable dandy and a dutiful but boring heir. She eventually chooses the heir, to the general amusement of all. The party guests play a Game of the Handkerchief.

King George and Queen Charlotte arrive, greeting the Viscount and Viscountess as they enter. They drink to the monarch’s health and perform a Grand Cotillion as a finale.

Act 3 – The Modern Era – A Grand Reception Room

A grand procession including the nobility and the performers of the later dances.

The guests perform a grand waltz.

Next is the Allegory of Industry: with presentations of The Army and the Navy, Factories, Railroads and Steamships.

Next is a parade of representatives of Britain’s colonies: India, Africa, Hong Kong, Canada and Australia.

Next is a Classical grand dance for the corps de ballet, the ballerina and her partner.

All the eras come together in an Epilogue where the past, present, and future of Britain come together with Britannia enthroned.

History

Original Production

Albion Triumphant, a ballet in three acts and an epilogue was created to be a spectacle. A lavish pièce d’occasion more in the spirit of a féerie than a ballet pantomime, it was created as part of the Coronation season and premièred at His Majesty’s Theatre.

Each act of the ballet was to represent three eras of British history: Elizabethan, Georgian and Modern. The music for each act was to be supplied by a different composer, but the choice of composers and division of the acts sparked some comments amongst some of the critics.

The first act, titled The Elizabethan Era, was given to Sir Walter Parratt, Master of the King’s Musick. Parratt had never written for ballet before and achieved his commission through his rank. His lack of ballet experience allegedly made the act more musically stiff and academic than the other two, with one particularly scathing critic writing that:

“One cannot but pity the unfortunate musicians when one hears what is demanded of them; for it would appear to have escaped Sir Walter’s notice that the orchestra is not an organ, and ought therefore not to be treated as such. One is led to imagine that such figurations and airs might be more suitably entrusted to that noble instrument, where an entire quorum’s patience would not be so sorely tried by labours it was never intended to perform.”

However, others were not so harsh in their criticism, noting that the heaviness lent the music a certain sense of noble gravity, considered somewhat appropriate for the action that occurred during the act.

The second act, titled The Georgian Era, was given to Auguste Péchard, the Official Composer of the Ballet Music to the Royal Opera House. Arguably the finest and certainly the most practiced composer of the three, his assignment to the second instead of the third act raised some eyebrows among more dedicated ballet goers. He had already established a reputation as ballet composer under William Thompson, with his notable revisions for the revivals of Esmeralda (1894) and The Devil to Pay (1894) and his original scores for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1890), Pygmalion (1893) and The Swords of Toledo (1896). However, he was given the second act, due to the privilege of first choice extended to Jenson. Though anachronistic, Péchard repurposed dances such as the minuet, gavotte and bourrée for the noble dances. His act was praised for its refinement and elegance, with lightly orchestrated and melodious musique dansante.

The third act, titled The Modern Era, was given to Philip Jenson, the head conductor and unofficial ballet composer of His Majesty’s Theatre. This assignment was due to the fact that Jenson, being resident at the theatre where the ballet was to be produced, was allowed to choose which act he wished to write while the other two composers were assigned to their acts. Jenson had revised his first ballet Catarina in 1897 and was generally tasked with revising and supplementing scores for the balletmaster in lieu of an official composer. By that date Jenson had revised the scores of several ballet and even supplied one original score: Greta in 1900. Greta had been received well if a little lukewarmly, as his music, while perfectly tuneful and adequate, allegedly left much to be desired in comparison to Péchard’s scores for Pygmalion (revived in 1899) and The Swords of Toledo (also revived in 1902). Of the three, his music was described as the most grand, theatrical, sweeping, patriotic, triumphal and even bombastic. However, it was seen as a fitting musical choice due to the nature of his act, even if some critics were less than enthusiastic about the invention of his music.

A point of note was the exclusion of Leopold Wenzel. Wenzel was the resident composer at The Empire Theatre of Varieties and he had composed the music for many ballets during his time as composer there. Both ballet critics and audiences were familiar with his works and it was expected that he would be invited to take part in the composition of the ballet. Though everyone expected Jenson and Péchard to be included, many were surprised to hear that the Parratt, with no experience in composing ballet music, had received a commission solely due to his court position. It was widely suspected, though never confirmed, the management at His Majesty’s Theatre had deliberately excluded Wenzel due to his position at a so-called “inferior theatre”.

Originally, the ballet was intended to have its première at a gala held on the 30th of June, four days after the planned coronation date on the 26th of June. However, when the coronation was postponed to the 9th of August, the gala had to be re-organised. The managers of the various London theatres met in haste to devise a plan to ensure that multiple galas would not be rescheduled to fall on the same date, allowing the royal family and upper classes to attend each in turn. Thus, it was decided that His Majesty’s should hold its gala on the 13th of August, retaining the four days separation from the new coronation date. 

Résumé des Scènes et Danses

Act 1 – The Elizabethan Era

1) Introduction

2) Scene of the Chamber

3) Fencing Practice

4) Entrance of the Queen

5) Pavane and Galliard

6) Presentation of Sir Francis Drake and his Suite

a) Entrance

b) Bearers of Gold

c) Bearers of Silver

d) Bearers of Spices

e) Retreat

7) Presentation of Sir Walter Raleigh and his Suite

a) Entrance

b) Bearers of Tobacco

c) Bearers of Maps

d) Retreat 

8) Masque of the British and Spanish Armada

9) Coronation of the Queen

Act 2 – The Georgian Era

10) Entr’acte and Scene of the Garden

11) Entrance of the Aristocrats

12) Noble Dances

a) General Minuet

b) Gavotte – Dance of the Viscount and Viscountess

c) Bourrée

13) Country Dances

a) Line Dance

b) Round Dance

14) The Lady and her Suitors

a) Flirtations

b) Variation for the First Suitor – The Fashionable Dandy

c) Variation for the Second Suitor – The Dutiful Heir

d) Variation for the Lady

e) Finale

15) Game of the Handkerchief

16) Entrance of the King and Queen

17) Grand Cotillion

Act 3 – The Modern Era

18) Entr’acte and Grand Procession

19) Entrance of the King and Queen

20) Waltz of the Guests

21) Allegory of Industry

a) The Army and The Navy

b) Factories

c) Railroads

d) Steamships

22) Entrance of the Colonies

23) Presentation of the Colonies

a) India

b) Africa

c) Hong Kong

d) Canada

e) Australia

24) Grand Pas

a) Adagio

b) Dance of the Young Girls

c) Variation for the Premier Danseur

d) Variation for the Première Danseuse

e) Finale

25) Epilogue