It has not been possible to relate this jacket to any specific production of Don Qixote, the ballet to which it obviously relates. Given the excellence of its condition, it may be a rejected design or reserved solely for gala performances.





LA FILLE MAL GARDÉE
(Vain Precantions, or The unchaperoned Daughter)

A light-hearted ballet that relates the bucolic 'haystack' romance between Lisa and Colas. Lise's mother, the widow Simone, wishes to marry her to a wealthy simpleton, Alain. Lise and Colas contrive to be locked together in a bedroom. On this discovery Simone is compelled to agree to their marriage.


ORIGINAL PRODUCTION

(Titled Le Ballet de la Paille, ou Il n'est qu'un pas du mal au bien)
Composer: Various popular French songs and airs
Choreographer: Jean Dauberval
Company: Académie royale de Musique, Bordeaux
Première: July 1, 1789, Grand Théâtre, Bordeaux

Revived by Dauberval, with present title, in 1791 at the Pantheon Theatre, London; later revived in 1828 at the Opéra de Paris by Jean AUmer, Dauberval's pupil with Ferdinand Hérold's musical arrangement comprising some of the 1789 production melodies, some of his own compositions and some extracts from Rossini


NEW PRODUCTION

Composer: Ferdinand Hérold, arranged by John Lanchberry
Choreographer: Frederick Ashton
Designer: Osbert Lancaster (sets and costumes)
Company: The Royal Ballet
Première: January 28, 1960, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden,
London
Nureyev's debut: May 1974, Royal Ballet tour, Metropolitan Opera House, New York