Talk:William Chappell (dancer)
 | This article is rated C-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects: | |||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
 | It is requested that an image or photograph of William Chappell (dancer) be included in this article to improve its quality. Please replace this template with a more specific media request template where possible. The Free Image Search Tool or Openverse Creative Commons Search may be able to locate suitable images on Flickr and other websites. |
Shortage of pictures of William 'Billy' Chappell
editI am in the process of finding and obtaining the necessary permissions for a range of pictures of Chappell in various stages of his career Coejonathan (talk) 20:53, 15 January 2026 (UTC)
Chappell and opera
editHe was producer and designer for the 1947 revival of Vaughan Williams's The Shepherds of the Delectable Mountains by Sadler's Wells Opera.[1]
He produced Handel's Samson for the Handel Opera Society at Sadler's Wells in October 1970 (also set design).[2]
He produced the first professional stage revival in the 20th century of Robinson Crusoé in March 1973.[3]
He produced Torquato Tasso for Opera Rara at the Collegiate Theatre in February 1975.[4]
In Ronald Crichton's obituary of Chappell in Opera magazine he states (this is verbatim so needs editing): "...in addition to Opera Rara's staging of Robinson Crusoé at the 1973 Camden Festival he directed two remarkable productions [...] Purcell's The Fairy Queen (1974) and Lully's Alceste in the following year. [...] Both were given at the LOC's temporary home in a disused cinema in the Commercial Road. ...Chappell worked with a freedom, flow and imaginative sweep utterly different from the effective, economical prettiness of, say, the early ballets he designed for Ashton... They were milestones in the rediscovery of Baroque opera and deserve to be remembered".[5] Cg2p0B0u8m (talk) 13:32, 29 May 2026 (UTC)
- This is excellent new material which - if you User:Cg2p0B0u8m agree - I will edit and add as a new section under the heading 'Opera'. Do you have any other interest in Billy Chappell? I find him enigmatic. I do not know why he was never given a civic honour (like many of contemporaries) or subject to any biography that I know of (also, unlike many of his contemporaries). I am currently expanding his military history - somewhat time consuming as I am also learning the Wikipedian arts at the same time. I then intend to add a chronological chart of all his works PS: I love that Crichton expression: 'freedom, flow and imaginative sweep'. Coejonathan (talk) 19:17, 29 May 2026 (UTC)
- Please use as you wish. I don't know enough about Chappell, but his name crops up all over the place. He's a sort of Geoffrey Dunn of ballet. There may well be more operas he directed or designed. Cg2p0B0u8m (talk) 22:27, 29 May 2026 (UTC)
- ↑ Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) List of operas with details of first performances and important revivals. Opera, November 1972, Vol. 23 No. 11, p. 967.
- ↑ Sadie, Stanley. Samson. Sadler's Wells, October 14. Opera, December 1970, Vol. 21 No. 12, p. 1160-61.
- ↑ Blyth, Alan. Robinson Crusoe. Opera Rara at the Collegiate Theatre, March 7. Opera, May 1973, Vol. 24 No. 5, p. 464-465.
- ↑ Kasow, Joel. Torquato Tasso. Opera Rara at the Collegiate Theatre, February 26. Opera, May 1975, Vol. 26 No.5, p. 488.
- ↑ Crichton, Ronald. Obituary - William Chappell, British dancer, director and librettist. Opera, April 1994, Vol. 45 No.4, p. 426.