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
Ondine (ballet) 27 October 1958, with the composer as guest conductor. The first major revival of this Ashton/Henze production took place in 1988. The three-act ballet of "Ondine" was commissioned and produced for The Royal Ballet in 1958 by the choreographer Sir Frederick Ashton. The resulting ballet was a collaboration between Ashton and the German composer Hans Werner Henze, who was commissioned to write the score. It is the only full length ballet that Ashton choreographed to original music, and the score is regarded as a rarity by musicians, as it is a "20th century full-length ballet score that has the depth