John Cranko resident choreographer for Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet's 1950–51 season. For the company's Festival of Britain season in 1951 Cranko choreographed the comic ballet "Pineapple Poll", to the music of Arthur Sullivan (newly out of copyright) arranged by the conductor Charles Mackerras. Another collaboration with Mackerras followed in 1954 with "The Lady and the Fool", to music by Verdi. In January 1954 Sadler's Wells Ballet announced that Cranko was collaborating with Benjamin Britten to create a ballet. Cranko devised a draft scenario for a work he originally called "The Green Serpent", fusing elements drawn from "King Lear", "Beauty and the Beast"
The Enchanted Forest (ballet) also the composer and conductor Riccardo Drigo's first complete score for a full-length ballet after having been appointed to the dual position of director of music and "Kapellmeister" to the Imperial Ballet, as well as principal conductor of ballet and Italian opera performances at the Mariinsky Theatre. The first student performances of "La Forêt enchantée" featured the graduate Alexandra Vinogradova in the principal role of Valeria. "La Forêt enchantée" was soon transferred to the repertory of the Imperial Ballet. Revisions were made to the ballet, among them was the changing of the name of the ballerina's character from Valeria to