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- 1968 (Creation)
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Three typed and two handwritten letters, one with envelope
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Name of creator
Biographical history
Kenneth MacMillan was born in Dunfermline, Scotland, and began ballet classes in Retford, England, in 1940. He joined the Sadler's Wells Ballet School in 1944 and later the Sadler's Wells Ballet but gave up dancing for choreography partly due to crippling stage fright. His first choreographic work was Somnambulism, created for the Sadler's Wells Ballet Choreographic Group in 1953 and he created works for both Royal Ballet companies throughout his career. He created significant works for The Stuttgart Ballet and his works are danced by ballet companies world-wide. He has also created work for television and cinema.
Kenneth MacMillan was Director of the Deutsche Oper Ballet in Berlin from 1966 to 1969, Artistic Director of The Royal Ballet from 1970 to 1977 and its Principal Chroreographer from 1977 until his death. He was also Associate Director of American Ballet Theatre from 1984 to 1989, and Artistic Associate of the Houston Ballet from 1989 to 1992.
Kenneth MacMillan was knighted in 1983, and he received honorary degrees from the University of Edinburgh (1976) and the Royal College of Art (1992). His awards include the Evening Standard Ballet Award (1979); Society of West End Theatre Ballet Award, 1980 and 1983; and, posthumously, the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production in 1993 for The Judas Tree; the Society of London Theatre Special Award in 1993; and the Tony Award for Best Choreography in 1994 for Carousel
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Kenneth MacMillan created the one-act ballet Cain and Abel/Kain und Abel for the Deutshe Oper Ballet which premiered on 1 Nov 1968 at the Opera House, Berlin. The material comprises:
- Typed letter from Miss R Ampenoff, Director of Boosey and Hawkes, Music Publishers, to Kenneth MacMillan at the Deutsche Oper, Berlin, confirming that the full score and orchestral material of Sinfonia Sacra will be ready to send to Germany. The composer, Andrzej Panufnik, has asked for further details of the ballet. 17 Sep 1968
- Typed letter from David S Adams, Managing Director of Boosey and Hawkes, congratulating Kenneth MacMillan on 'the excellent choreographed treatment of Panufnik's works'. 4 Nov 1968
- Typed letter from R.Ampenoff at Boosey and Hawked, congratulating Kenneth MacMillan on the great success of his new ballet.
- Handwritten letter from Andrzej Panufnik to Kenneth MacMillan confirming how much he enjoyed the ballet, even though MacMillan's conception of his score is so different to his. He is delighted that MacMillan would like to work with him on something new, 5 Nov 1968
- Handwritten letter from Camilla Panufnik to Kenneth MacMillan, looking forward to hearing news of Kain & Abel. Describing how busy her husband, Andrzej, is and how he looks forward to working with MacMillan again, 19 Dec 1968, with envelope
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Note
The letters from Andrzej and Camilla Panufnik would be interesting for digitisation
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Name access points
- MacMillan, Kenneth (Subject)
- Panufnik, Andrzej (Subject)
- Deutsche Oper Berlin (Subject)
- Boosey and Hawkes (Subject)