Research Catalog
Interview with Monica Mason.
- Title
- Interview with Monica Mason. July 17, 1972 [sound recording], 1972.
- Author
- Mason, Monica
- Publication
- 1972
Items in the Library & Off-site
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2 Items
| Status | Vol/Date | Format | Access | Call Number | Item Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Performing Arts Research Collections to submit a request in person. | disc 2 | Audio | Use in library | *MGZTL 4-179 disc 2 | Performing Arts Research Collections - Dance |
Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Performing Arts Research Collections to submit a request in person. | disc 1 | Audio | Use in library | *MGZTL 4-179 disc 1 | Performing Arts Research Collections - Dance |
Details
- Additional Authors
- Gruen, John
- Description
- 2 sound discs (approximately one hour and 16 minutes): digital; 4 3/4 in.
- Summary
- Disc 1, approximately 48 minutes. John Gruen speaks with Monica Mason at her home in London, England; Mason speaks about her recent injury [brief gap]; Gruen describes Mason's physical appearance; Mason speaks about her childhood in South Africa including her love of dance from a very early age; moving to London with her mother and becoming a member of the Royal Ballet; being chosen by Kenneth MacMillan to dance in his Rite of spring; working with MacMillan; her roles following her success in Rite of spring; learning [the Odette/Odile role in] Swan lake including Michael Somes as a teacher; defining "ambitious" with respect to her dancing; her qualities as a dancer including her sense that she is more inclined to dramatic, modern roles; reasons she believes that Swan lake is a work with eternal appeal; her husband Austin Bennett and his support of her career; Balanchine's views on marriage and children for ballerinas as well as his own marriages [as recounted by Gruen]; the various aspects of her performance on which she must concentrate while actually performing; the challenges of dancing in modern ballets like Rudi van Dantzig's Ropes of time and Glen Tetley's Field figures; ballet dancers and music [ends abruptly].
- Disc 2, approximately 38 minutes. John Gruen continues to speak with Monica Mason about her career at the Royal Ballet beginning with her partners including Desmond Doyle, Keith Rosson, and Donald McLeary; reasons McLeary is such a good partner including a performance anecdote about [Frederick Ashton's ballet] Sylvia; Rudolf Nureyev including how his artistic integrity and intensity draws the best out of his partners; roles she has danced with Nureyev; her thoughts on the ballerina's life including its sacrifices and rewards; her admiration for various ballerinas in the company including Margot Fonteyn, Svetlana Beriosova, and Lynn Seymour [Gruen speaks about his daughter, Julia]; the importance for ballet students of watching and listening and how much she learned by watching and listening to artists like Serge Grigoriev and his wife Lubov Tchernicheva, and Bronislava Nijinska; her thoughts on dancing Balanchine's ballets, for example Ballet Imperial and Apollo; reasons being a guest artist has its difficulties even for such accomplished artists as Violette Verdy and Natalia Makarova; more on Nureyev and his magnetism; some of her roles including possible reasons she has never been cast as Giselle.
- Donor/Sponsor
- Gift of John Gruen, April 1974
- Subjects
- Note
- Interview with Monica Mason conducted by John Gruen on July 17, 1972, at Mason's home in London, England. This interview was used as a basis for a chapter in John Gruen's book, The private world of ballet (New York, Viking Press).
- For transcript, see: *MGZMT 3-179.
- Sound quality is good. There are occasional extraneous noises and a few short gaps.
- Funding (note)
- The conservation and cataloging of this recording was made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. The support of the National Endowment for the Arts is also gratefully acknowledged.
- Call Number
- *MGZTL 4-179
- OCLC
- 80288093
- Author
- Mason, Monica, interviewee.
- Title
- Interview with Monica Mason. July 17, 1972 [sound recording], 1972.
- Production
- 1972
- Type of Content
- spoken word
- Type of Medium
- audio
- Type of Carrier
- audio disc
- Event
- Recorded by John Gruen 1972, July 17 London, England.
- Funding
- The conservation and cataloging of this recording was made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. The support of the National Endowment for the Arts is also gratefully acknowledged.
- Original Version
- Original format: one sound cassette (approximately one hour and 16 minutes); 1 7/8 ips. originally recorded on July 17, 1972; transferred to wav file and compact disc formats in 2013.
- Local Note
- Former classmark: *MGZTC 3-179
- Added Author
- Gruen, John, interviewer.Gruen, John., donor
- Research Call Number
- *MGZTL 4-179