Winter Dreams began as the 'Farewell' pas de deux, danced by Darcey Bussell and Irek Mukhamedov, specially commissioned to celebrate Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother's 90th Birthday at the Palladium.
Kenneth MacMillan extended this to a one-act ballet, with Winter Dreams making its premiere in February 1991.
Inspired by and using the same characters, it is a study of the melancholy in Chekhov's Three Sisters.
The ballet, with subtle period designs from Peter Farmer, is danced to selected works from Tchaikovsky arranged by Philip Gammon and with additional music based on traditional Russian themes, arranged for guitars and mandolins by Thomas Hartman.
Winter Dreams Anthony Dowell, Durcey Bussell és Irek Mukhamedov
Fotó: Leslie E. Spatt |