Drame

1845 · DEMO016703I — London: Theatre Royal Drury Lane Nov. 8 1845. First edition. 20x10in 47cm. Very Good. Central horizontal fold minor marginal chipping. <br/><br/>Announces two ballets starring Adele Dumilatre and Lucien Petipa. Adele Dumilatre became a premier danseuse after she was the "woman who first danced Myrtha Queen of the Wilis the icy counterpart to the forgiving warm and full-blooded Giselle". Dumilatre was "known for her chaste elegance onstage". As a successful French-born ballerina of the second tier she was a rarity. She performed at Drury Lane in 1844-45 and at La Scala in 1946. After her professional retirement in 1848 she became the Countess Drake del Castillo. Provenance: From the Vernon Schwartz collection. His note on the verso says it was a gift from Kay Ballard. Ballard played Lola in "Sheba" the first musical adaptation of William Inge's play "Come Back Little Sheba" which was in 1974 at Chicago's Drury Lane Theater where Schwartz was the Resident Director. Finally J. P. Harley was the Stage Manager in 1845 at Drury Lane. Probably he is the same Harley who was "the popular comic actor who had the best roles in Dickens's first three plays" and for whom he wrote the lead role of Tom Grig in his play "The Lamplighter". Theatre Royal Drury Lane unknown