The Little Mermaid by Sally Beamish is a 1 hour 45 minute full-length ballet in 2 acts, based on the story by Hans Christian Andersen. For Sally Beamish the story contained many elements that are gifts to a composer: the sea, a love story, song, magic. And for her it resonated closely with Scottish folklore – particularly the ‘selkie’ tales of Orkney: Northern islands with strong links to Scandinavia in their culture and language with the myths of sea creatures becoming human, and mermaids and sea monsters appearing to fishermen.
The starting point of many of the scenes came from music which references Scottish dance, bagpipes, and fiddles. The characters all have their own distinctive music.
The ballet score was commissioned by Northern Ballet and premiered on 21 September 2017 at the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton by Northern Ballet and Northern Ballet Sinfonia, David Nixon (choreography) and John Pryce-Jones (music director).
Commissioned by Northern Ballet and premiered on 21 September 2017 at the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton by Northern Ballet and Northern Ballet Sinfonia, David Nixon (choreography) and John Pryce-Jones (music director).
Premiere details
21 September 2017 Northern Ballet and Northern Ballet Sinfonia, David Nixon (choreography) and John Pryce-Jones (music director) / Mayflower Theatre, Southampton