THE HELPMANN-BLISS BALLET MIRACLE IN THE GORBALS
Edinburgh: The Albyn Press, 1946. First Edition. Blue Cloth. THE HELPMANN-BLISS BALLET MIRACLE IN THE GORBALS
A Study by Arnold L HASKELL,
HASKELL, Arnold L
Published by The Albyn Press, Edinburgh, 1946
First Edition
Blue cloth, 9 1/4" x 7". Illustrated with 15 black and white photographs by Edward Mandinian, John T. Knight, E. W. Copnall and others. Dust jacket un-clipped. Very good. 63 pages. Printed by Scottish County Press.
The idea for the scenario for Miracle in the Gorbals came to Michael Benthall while he was working on a gun site in Glasgow. He worked on a detailed story and the characters, discussing the action with dancer and choreographer Robert Helpmann. The next collaborator to be identified was the designer, Edward Burra. The composer Arthur Bliss set to work on the score, with scenario and initial designs before him. The Royal Ballet performed the ballet every season from 1944 to 1950 and revived it in 1958, but it did not perform it in Glasgow itself when touring Scotland in 1945. They also performed the ballet in Paris.
Bliss wrote the music in 1943 after his return from the United States. He created a concert suite from the ballet music, choosing seven of the fifteen numbers in the ballet, as well as the overture (The Street, The Girl Suicide, The Young Lovers, The Stranger, Dance of Deliverance, Intermezzo, Finale: The Killing of the Stranger).
Thanks to the efforts of David Drew[citation needed], a dancer with the Royal Ballet for over 50 years, the ballet was revived in 2014 by the Birmingham Royal Ballet, under the direction of Gillian Lynne, a member of the original cast. ID# 0569
Price Usd $63.00. Very Good. Item #569
Price (USD): $63.00