Item 67 - Letter from Donald Tovey to R. C. Trevelyan

Hotel des Iles Britanniques, Aix-les-Bains. - Thanks Trevelyan for his rewording [of the Cretan chorus in Act II of "The Bride of Dionysus": see 7/65]; there is no need for him to improve the new Satyr lines [in Act III]. Has just 'got at a pianoforte & thumped through' the second part of Act III, and is delighted with the changes: the length is reduced, and Dionysus is 'altogether more natural & supernatural'. Wonders if the line 'O Semele my mother' should be cut. The new 'ballet' in Ariadne's finale does all he wanted; 'the choreography can be as "stylised" as [they] please' and he is not suggesting 'a realistic football bully', but thinks that the interactions between the maenads and Satyrs will work well.