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Donald Macleod with Sir Matthew Bourne and Dame Monica Mason discuss the developments in Tchaikovsky’s second ballet

Tchaikovsky is responsible for some of the world’s best loved and best known ballets. His music for Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker has become so popular and ubiquitous that we’re as likely to hear it in the concert hall, or accompanying a TV ad, as in the theatre. But this week, Donald Macleod is on a mission to take Tchaikovsky back to his dancing roots, in the company of two of British ballet’s brightest stars. Dame Monica Mason joined the Royal Ballet as the age of sixteen, becoming the youngest dancer in the company at that time. She went on to dance many principal roles, eventually becoming Director of the Royal Ballet in 2002, before her retirement in 2012. Sir Matthew Bourne has been hailed as the most popular and successful British choreographer and dancer, with a string of awards for his many productions, not least his ground-breaking production of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. Both guests bring their expertise to the series, sharing with Donald Macleod their views on Tchaikovsky, and their experience of performing and choreographing his works.

In today’s programme, Monica Mason and Matthew Bourne compare the Tchaikovsky’s achievements in The Sleeping Beauty with his first ballet, Swan Lake. They also discuss with Donald how today’s productions compare with the original versions Tchaikovsky himself would have experienced, and how the process of notating choreography has evolved in recent years.

The critical response to Tchaikovsky’s second ballet, The Sleeping Beauty, wasn’t overly positive. The premiere took place in St. Petersburg, in January 1890, and the press found the work ponderous. There were also accusations that the music was too symphonic and ‘undanceable’. Others hailed the ballet as a great success, although the Tsar’s reaction to the work was lukewarm. The following year Tchaikovsky found himself touring to the United States and his reception there, as something of a celebrity, had a huge impact upon him.

Impromptu in A flat
Valentina Lisitsa piano

Serenade, Op 65 No 3 (Six Melodies)
Louise Alder, soprano
Joseph Middleton, piano

The Sleeping Beauty, Op 66 (Act 3 excerpt)
The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Mark Ermler, conductor

The Queen of Spades, Op 68 (Act 1: Liza’s Aria)
Julia Varady (Liza), soprano
Munich Radio Orchestra
Roman Kofman, conductor

Hamlet, Op 67a (Overture)
London Symphony Orchestra
Geoffrey Simon, conductor

Souvenir de Florence, Op 70 (Adagio cantabile e com moto)
The Endellion Quartet
Tim Boulton, viola
Robert Cohen, cello

Produced by Luke Whitlock