[Dance] [Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo] Balanchine, George. (1904–1983) & Danilova, Alexandra. (1903–1997) & Tallchief, Maria (1925–2013) & Franklin, Frederic. (1914–2013) & Krassovska, Nathalie (1918–2005) & Danielian, Leon (1920–1997). 1944 Autograph Letter to the "Song of Norway" Cast. Original letter addressed "Dear 'Song of Norway' friends" and dated February 1945, reading in full "Before we embark on our annual tour, we are sending you this little note to say good-bye and tell you again how much we enjoyed working with you. Long live 'Song of Norway'!!!! Good luck and ....February, 1945." Signed by George Balanchine and the principal dancers of the Ballet Russe De Monte Carlo, including Alexandra Danilova ("Choura"), Maria Tallchief, Leon Danielian, Frederic Franklin, Nathalie Krassovska, Michel Katcharoff, Vida Brown and many others. Approx. 8.5 x 11 inches [21.5 x 28 cm], together with an original 10 x 8 inch photograph from the performance. The signed page quite toned and with mounting remnants on the verso, else fine.


Song of Norway is an operetta written in 1944 by Robert Wright and George Forrest, with choreography by George Balanchine, a "pastiche of rearranged Grieg music and bogus biography brought from the Pacific Coast by Edwin Lester. Because the plot, fortunately, was too spare to fill the whole evening, Balanchine tacked on at the end a long, elaborate, and cleanly composed ballet, also entitled 'Song of Norway,' in which, for three weeks at the start, Alexandra Danilova and Frederic Franklin of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo participated." (Cecil Michener Smith & Glenn Litton, "Musical Comedy in America," p. 189)


After successful runs in Los Angeles and San Francisco, the show opened at the Imperial Theatre in New York on August 21, 1944, and ran for 860 performances. Maria Tallchief, one of the featured dancers, married Balanchine during the run of the show.