Charles Mackerras authority on Mozart's operas and those of Sir Arthur Sullivan. His ballet with John Cranko, "Pineapple Poll", is an arrangement of Sullivan music with a story based on one of W. S. Gilbert's "Bab Ballads". The piece premiered in 1951, soon after the expiration of copyright on Sullivan's music, and continues to be a popular light music favourite in English speaking countries. Mackerras later arranged music by Giuseppe Verdi for the ballet "The Lady and the Fool". He also arranged a suite from John Ireland's score for the 1946 film "The Overlanders", after Ireland's death in 1962. He became principal
The Talisman (ballet) The Talisman (ballet) The Talisman (also known as "Le Talisman" or "Il Talismano") is a fantastic ballet in 4 Acts and 7 Scenes, with choreography by Marius Petipa, and music by Riccardo Drigo. Libretto by Konstantin Augustovich Tarnovsky and Marius Petipa. It was premièred on at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia This ballet gave rise to the so-called "Talisman Pas de Deux", which is today danced by many ballet companies. In 1955 the Balletmaster Pyotr Gusev of the Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet (the former Imperial Ballet) compiled various pieces of music from Petipa's "The Talisman" and created what is