Waddesdon Manor will stage a ballet not performed for over 280 years this summer.
The Teapot Prince is based on an Orientalist fairy tale about a sorcerer who lives on a ‘Blue Island’ and transforms anyone who dares to trespass into porcelain cups, vases and other wares.
Although it was rarely, if ever, performed after 1741, the ballet influenced later, more famous, works such as Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker.
It has been created by Meredith Martin, professor of art history at New York University, and Phil Chan, choreographer and co-founder of Final Bow for Yellowface.
The original Ballet des Porcelaines can be seen as an allegory for the aggressive European desire to know and steal the secrets of Chinese porcelain manufacture.
In the new version, the narrative is flipped. The main protagonists are now Chinese, and the sorcerer is a mad European porcelain collector, modelled on Augustus II the Strong, King of Poland and founder of Meissen, the first European manufacterer to succeed in making true porcelain.
Waddesdon, and Brighton Pavilion, were selected as the UK venues for the European tour of the ballet as they are near world-renowned porcelain collections and historic manufacturers.
Waddesdon is home to a world-famous collection of Sèvres porcelain, including three ship vases, of which only 10 exist in the world.
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