Sun Music (1968 - )

Stringer, Walter: Artists of the Australian Ballet in Robert Helpmann's 'Sun Music' [2], 1968

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Robert Helpmann's Sun Music premiered in Sydney on 2 August 1968 at her Majesty's Theatre. With a score by Peter Sculthorpe and designs by Kenneth Rowell, the work was danced by artists of the Australian Ballet led by Karl Welander, Kelvin Coe and Josephine Jason. Helpmann dedicated Sun Music to Dame Zara Holt, widow of the former prime minister, Harold Holt, who had been instrumental in gaining government support for the Australian Ballet when it began operations in 1962.

Sun Music was in five sections: 'Soil', 'Mirage', 'Growth', 'Energy' and 'Destruction'. In program notes Helpmann explained the theme behind the work: 'The effect of the sun on different elements is the overall theme of this work. The five movements have no connection dramatically'. Other notes included the following verse:

Great Sun
Whose energy can stir the soil
and man to grow and love
Whose power can create and can destroy.

Elsewhere Helpmann wrote: 'The ballet is ... at a universal level. Its various sections show the effect of the sun on the earth; on man, in whom its fierceness produces thirst and madness; on the growth of plants and (here symbolism is employed) on the man-woman relationship. It shows the effects of the sun in supplying energy, and in the destruction brought about by drought and fire'.

See also: Australian Ballet, The ; Coe, Kelvin ; Helpmann, Robert

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Research Materials

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Other resources

Find more about Sun Music in:

• Internet - Google
• Articles - New York Public Library Dance Collection
• Pictures - Picture Australia