1982 – Premiere of David Bintley’s The Swan of Tuonela by Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet

The Swan of Tuonela was the first three-act ballet by David Bintley, then aged only 24. He rapidly established himself as the obvious successor to Frederick Ashton and Kenneth MacMillan in the British classical dance tradition. With music by Jean Sibelius and designs by Terry Bartlett, the ballet was first performed by Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet in 1981, and the original cast included Marion Tait and David Ashmole. The ballet has not survived in the repertory.