Barenboim is unexpectedly ‘charmed’ by Jacqueline du Pré ballet

The Cellist, a ballet on the life of Jacqueline Du Pré, opens tonight at the Royal Opera House.

In the past, Du Pré’s husband Daniel Barenboim was outraged by prurient intrusions into their life together.

But, according to the choreographer Cathy Marston ‘he was both charming and charmed by the idea’.

She tells the FT: ‘When I first had the idea I met Daniel Barenboim to ask his advice, and to find out whether it was something that he wanted…. He was both charming and charmed by the idea.’

Marston focuses on Jackie’s relatinship with the cello, rather than with other people. ‘I didn’t want to make judgments about the decisions that Daniel made, because I can understand everyone’s perspective on that. And what a difficult position he was in at the time. No, that’s a different ballet, a different story…’

Read on here.