Australia Dancing - Coq d'or, Le

Coq d'or, Le

Photographer unknown: Tatiana Riabouchinska as the Golden Cockerel in 'Le Coq d'or', Ballets Russes, 1930s

The ballet Le Coq d'or (The Golden Cockerel) was originally staged in 1914 by Michel Fokine for Serge Diaghilev's Ballet Russe. This work was an opera-ballet, a danced interpretation of the Rimsky-Korsakov epic opera of the same name, with the dancers accompanied by a chorus and solo singers. In 1937, Fokine revised the work for the Ballet Russe company of Colonel W de Basil, creating a single-act ballet in three scenes which premiered at Covent Garden on 23 September 1937. For this straight-dance version, the Rimsky-Korsakov score was adapted and arranged by Nicolas Tcherepnin, and Fokine condensed the original opera libretto, which Vladimir Bielsky had adapted from a Pushkin poem. Natalia Gontcharova based her neo-primitive set and costume designs on those she had made for the 1914 version, recreating the original curtain and modifying other elements to produce a brilliantly colourful tableau. Her costume for the Cockerel, using real gold thread, was introduced in the 1937 production, the 1914 version having used a prop to represent this character.

The story of Le Coq d'or concerns the fate of the lazy King Dodon when he renegs on his promise to reward an astrologer with anything he desires in exchange for the gift of a magical golden cockerel. Dodon is seduced by the beautiful Queen of Shemakhan, against whom he has been waging war, and brings her home as his bride. When the astrologer claims the Queen as his reward, the King kills him in a fit of rage and is, in turn, killed by the cockerel. Despite the surface naivety and humour, the story has strong undercurrents of both sensuality and satire. There is an emphasis in the 1937 version on the contrast between fantasy and reality, with the Astrologer reminding the audience at the end that, apart from himself and the Queen, all was illusion. The Golden Cockerel and the Queen are the only roles danced on pointe. Both are technically demanding, and provide strong balletic highlights amid the mime and burlesque elements.

Early in 1938, the right of de Basil to stage particular works including, notably, Le Coq d'or, was the subject of a legal challenge by the Ballets de Monte Carlo, the company that had been founded by Rene Blum following his split with de Basil in 1935. The title 'Covent Garden Russian Ballet, presented by Educational Ballets Ltd', used by the de Basil company which brought the work to Australia later that year, reflected the need for de Basil to legally distance himself from the management of a company performing these works. The inaugural Australian performance took place on 17 October 1938. Australian audiences saw a significant number of the original 1937 cast including Tatiana Riabouchinska as the Golden Cockerel, Irina Baronova as the Queen, Algeranoff as the Astrologer, Serge Ismailoff as Prince Aphron and Edouard Borovansky as Polkan. Riabouchinska and Baronova were both particularly renowned in these roles, Riabouchinska for her virtuosity, and Baronova for the characterisation that overlay her technical mastery. Le Coq d'or also featured in the 1939/40 tour by de Basil's Original Ballet Russe, again offering audiences the opportunity to view a number of dancers in their original roles. Serge Grigoriev, who had created the role of Guidone in the original 1914 version, accompanied both tours as regisseur-general.

In 1955, Le Coq d'or was staged by Valrene Tweedie for the National Theatre Ballet. For this production, Gayrie MacSween and Janet Keyte alternated in the title role, with William Carse as the Astrologer and Tweedie herself as the Queen.

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