It premiered on 4 August 1980, at the Royal Opera House, with the two principal roles danced by Baryshnikov and Lesley Collier.
[2] The contrast becomes less obvious when the principal male role is danced by Royal Ballet-trained dancers.
[2] Ashton first choreographed to Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini for Vincente Minnelli and Gottfried Reinhardt's 1953 film The Story of Three Loves.
"[4]: 258 [3]: 372 The scene features the character portrayed by Moira Shearer, dancing what she "supposedly improvised," before the corps de ballet joins her.
[3]: 536 Coincidentally, Mikhail Baryshnikov was invited to make guest appearances at the Royal Ballet in July and August 1980.
[1] Ashton said, "with a gun held at my head and the Queen Mother's birthday, I pulled out the plugs," and decided to choreograph to Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.
[1] Six men and six women, all younger members of the company, were chosen as the corps de ballet.
[4]: 411 The actual steps were determined once Ashton started working with the dancers, as he wanted "the feeling of spontaneity to the movement".
However, Ashton had him dance in the Russian style, for which Baryshnikov was "a bit disappointed," as he "was trying to escape all those steps.
"[3]: 537 Ashton told him that if he disliked the steps, they could be tweaked, though Baryshnikov did not request any changes to the choreography.
[3]: 537 Source:[4]: 515 Rhapsody premiered on 4 August 1980, during the Queen Mother's birthday gala, at the Royal Opera House.
[7][8] Writing for the Dancing Times, David Vaughan wrote that Rhapsody "is no mere gala party piece."
[4]: 411–412 Arlene Croce of The New Yorker criticised the work: "Although the expansive material suits the melodramatic Rachmaninoff score, it effectively separates Baryshnikov from the rest of the cast and from the Royal Ballet style."