MS 9915
National Library of Australia
View Catalogue Record
Created: 2005
Collection Summary
- Creator
-
Richardson, Maroussia
- Title
-
Maroussia Richardson Collection
- Date Range
-
1933-1949
- Collection Number
-
MS 9915
- Extent
-
0.15 metres (1 ms box)
- Language of Materials
-
English
- Repository
-
National Library of Australia
- Abstract
-
Letters, photographs, newspaper cuttings, programs and other papers of Betty Frank primarily concerning the 1936-1937 tour of Australia and New Zealand by Colonel W. de Basil's Monte Carlo Russian Ballet.
Introduction
Scope and Contents
The Maroussia Richardson Collection comprises papers relating to Richardson's mother, Betty Frank, and consists largely of letters by Frank to her mother, Amy Scorer, during Frank's tour of Australia and New Zealand as a member of Colonel W. de Basil's Monte Carlo Russian Ballet, 1936-1937. Frank danced with the company under the name Elisabeth Souvorova. There are also typed transcripts of the letters, together with photographs, newspaper cuttings, programs and related papers.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is available for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Copying and publication of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.
Preferred Citation
Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Maroussia Richardson Collection, National Library of Australia, MS 9915, [series and file/item number]'.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was assembled by Maroussia Richardson, Frank's daughter, and donated to the Library in September 2005.
Series 1-3 and selected items from Series 5 have been digitised, and are available online through this finding aid.
Arrangement
The collection has been arranged into series by the Library. Within each series, material has largely been arranged into chronological order.
Biographical Note
Betty Frank (née Scorer) was born in London in August, 1911. From the age of four she started training as a dancer, making her professional debut at the age of twelve as Robin in The Merry Wives of Windsor at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre. In 1935 Frank danced with the Ballets Russes de Léon Woizikowsky. She then joined Colonel W. de Basil's Monte Carlo Russian Ballet for its tour of Australia and New Zealand, 1936-1937, under the name Elisabeth Souvorova. During the tour, she and another member of the company, Alexis Frank, were married in Melbourne, c.July 1937. Betty Frank later worked as a journalist, writing as a ballet critic for the London News Chronicle. She died in England in November 1982.
Item Descriptions
Series 1. Letters, 1933-1949
Letters from Betty Frank (née Scorer) to her mother, Amy Scorer, in London. The letters primarily date from the 1936-1937 tour of Australia and New Zealand by Colonel W. de Basil's Monte Carlo Russian Ballet. Frank danced with the company under the name Elisabeth Souvorova.
There are two early letters written by Frank from Scotland and Liverpool, and then several letters from her tour of Europe with the Ballets Russes de Léon Woizikowsky, beginning in Berlin, 1935, and travelling through Spain and France. From September 1936 to August 1937 the letters record Frank's role as a member of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet, as the company embarked on its tour of Australia and New Zealand.
Frank's letters provide vivid descriptions of the company's voyage to Australia aboard the SS
Moldavia; places visited on the voyage and throughout the tour in Australia and New Zealand; members of the company, including Léon Woizikowsky, Alexander Philippov, Jacques Lidji, Valentina Blinova, Mira Dimina and Nina Raievska; rehearsals and performances of such works as
L'après-midi d'un faune,
Contes russes and
Les sylphides; cultural life in Australia; and events such as the death of Mira Dimina from leukaemia in Adelaide, November 1936, coronation celebrations in May 1937 and the Franks' marriage in Melbourne, c.July 1937.
The series includes several letters from Frank's husband, Alexis Frank, signed 'Alyosha'. There is also a letter (in French) from Colonel Wassily de Basil.
Please note: these letters have been digitised, and are available online through this finding aid.
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, [16] September 1933 (Item 1)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 20 September 1933 (Item 2)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, [8] November 1935 (Item 3)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, [9] November 1935 (Item 4)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, [November] 1935 (Item 5)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, [3] December 1935 (Item 6)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 18 December 1935 (Item 7)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 25 December 1935 (Item 8)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, [December] 1935 (Item 9)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, [January] 1936 (Item 10)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, [9] January 1936 (Item 11)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, [January] 1936 (Item 12)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, [14] January 1936 (Item 13)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 16 January 1936 (Item 14)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, [January] 1936 (Item 15)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, [January] 1936 (Item 16)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 26 January 1936 (Item 17)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, July 1936 (Item 18)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 1936 (Item 19)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, with a note by Alexis Frank, 9 September 1936 (Item 20)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, [10] September 1936 (Item 21)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, [15] September 1936 (Item 22)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, [15] September 1936 (Item 23)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, [17] September 1936 (Item 24)
Alexis Frank to Amy Scorer, [17] September 1936 (Item 25)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, [24] September 1936 (Item 26)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, [25] September 1936 (Item 27)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 26 September 1936 (Item 28)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, [October] 1936 (Item 29)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 9 October 1936 (Item 30)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 15 October 1936 (Item 31)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 22 October 1936 (Item 32)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 25 October 1936 (Item 33)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, [November] 1936 (Item 34)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 10 November 1936 (Item 35)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 17 November 1936 (Item 36)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 24 November 1936 (Item 37)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, [December] 1936 (Item 38)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 9 December 1936 (Item 39)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 15 December 1936 (Item 40)
Alexis Frank to Amy Scorer, [December] 1936 (Item 41)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 24 December 1936 (Item 42)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, with a note by Alexis Frank, 5 January 1937 (Item 43)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 12 January 1937 (Item 44)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 26 January 1937 (Item 45)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 27 January 1937 (Item 46)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 5 February 1947 (Item 47)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 9 February 1937 (Item 48)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 19 February 1937 (Item 49)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 2 March 1937 (Item 50)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 8 March 1937 (Item 51)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 16 March 1937 (Item 52)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 19 March 1937 (Item 53)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, with a note by Alexis Frank, 6 April 1937 (Item 54)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 13 April 1937 (Item 55)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, [April] 1937 (Item 56)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 23 April 1937 (Item 57)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 25 April 1937 (Item 58)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 11 May 1937 (Item 59)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 16 May 1937 (Item 60)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, [4] June 1937 (Item 61)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 15 June 1937 (Item 62)
Betty Scorer to Amy Scorer, 2 July 1937 (Item 63)
Betty Frank to Amy Scorer, with a note by Alexis Frank, 8 July 1937 (Item 64)
Betty Frank to Amy Scorer, 28 July 1937 (Item 65)
Betty Frank to Amy Scorer, [9] August 1937 (Item 66)
Colonel Wassily de Basil to Betty Frank, 1949 (Item 67)
Typescript by Maroussia Richardson of Items 3-10, 12-57 and 59-66 (Item 68)
Please note: two letters featured in the transcript (a telegram from Frank to her mother, 31 December 1935 and a letter from Frank to Tatiana Sergeyevna, c.July 1937) are not held by the National Library.
Series 2. Photographs, c.1935-c.1937
Portraits of Frank, photographs of performances featuring Frank and others from the Ballets Russes de Léon Woizikowsky and the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet, photographs of places visited by the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet during the 1936-1937 tour of Australia and New Zealand, and other photographs. Works represented in the photographs include Petrouchka, Port Said, La boutique fantasque, Scuola di ballo, Cotillon, L'après-midi d'un faune, Le beau Danube, Le lac des cygnes (Swan Lake), Contes russes and L'oiseau de feu. In the photograph captions, Frank is identified using her stage name Elisabeth Souvorova.
Please note: these photographs have been digitised, and are available online through this finding aid and via the Library's catalogue (http://nla.gov.au/catalogue).
Elisabeth Souvorova and an unidentified male performer in an unidentified production, c.1935 (Item 1)
Dancers of the Ballets de Léon Woizikowsky in Europe (?), c.1935 (Item 2)
Dancers of the Ballets de Léon Woizikowsky on a European beach (?), c.1935 (Item 3)
Dancers of the Ballets de Léon Woizikowsky (?) in Petrouchka, c.1935 (Item 4)
Elisabeth Souvorova (right) and an unidentified dancer as nursemaids in Petrouchka, Monte Carlo Russian Ballet, 1936 or 1937 (Item 5)
Elisabeth Souvorova as L'Americaine in Port Said, Monte Carlo Russian Ballet, 1936 or 1937 (Item 6)
Elisabeth Souvorova as L'Americaine with Jean Hoyer(?) and other dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in Port Said, 1936 or 1937 (Item 7)
Elisabeth Souvorova and Jean Hoyer(?) as L'Americaine and Le Matelot Ivre in Port Said, Monte Carlo Russian Ballet [1], 1936 or 1937 (Item 8)
Elisabeth Souvorova and Jean Hoyer(?) as L'Americaine and Le Matelot Ivre in Port Said, Monte Carlo Russian Ballet [2], 1936 or 1937 (Item 9)
Elisabeth Souvorova in La boutique fantasque, Monte Carlo Russian Ballet, 1936 or 1937 (Item 10)
Members of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet visiting eminent Maori women during their tour of New Zealand, 1937 (Item 11)
Members of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet at a Maori site during their tour of New Zealand, 1937 (Item 12)
Members of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet on tour in New Zealand, 1937 (Item 13)
Elisabeth Souvorova in a scene from La boutique fantasque, Monte Carlo Russian Ballet, 1936 or 1937 (Item 14)
Elisabeth Souvorova (left) and dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in La boutique fantasque [1], 1936 or 1937 (Item 15)
Elisabeth Souvorova (left) and dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in La boutique fantasque [2], 1936 or 1937 (Item 16)
Elisabeth Souvorova (left) with members of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet backstage during a performance of Scuola di ballo, 1936 or 1937 (Item 17)
Annotated: "Scoulo di ballo"
Sonia Woizikowska in Scuola di ballo, Monte Carlo Russian Ballet, 1936 or 1937 (Item 18)
Annotated: "Scoulo di ballo"
Elisabeth Souvorova in costume for Scuola di ballo, Monte Carlo Russian Ballet, 1936 or 1937 (Item 19)
Annotated: "Scoulo di ballo"
Unidentified male dancer of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in a pose from Scuola di ballo [1], 1936 or 1937 (Item 20)
Annotated: "Scoulo di ballo"
Unidentified male dancer of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in a pose from Scuola di ballo [2], 1936 or 1937 (Item 21)
Annotated: "Scoulo di ballo"
Two male dancers in Scuola di ballo, Monte Carlo Russian Ballet, 1936 or 1937 (Item 23)
Annotated: "Scoulo di ballo"
Unidentified male dancer of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in Scuola di ballo [1], 1936 or 1937 (Item 22)
Annotated: "Scoulo di ballo"
Elisabeth Souvorova in Scuola di ballo, Monte Carlo Russian Ballet, 1936 or 1937 (Item 24)
Annotated: "Scoulo di ballo"
Elisabeth Souvorova and a male dancer in Scuola di ballo, Monte Carlo Russian Ballet, 1936 or 1937 (Item 25)
Annotated: "Scoulo di ballo"
Dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in Scuola di ballo [1], 1936 or 1937 (Item 26)
Annotated: "Scoulo di ballo"
Dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in Scuola di ballo [2], 1936 or 1937 (Item 27)
Annotated: "Scoulo di ballo"
Sonia Woizikowska (left) with an unidentified dancer in costume for Scuola di ballo, Monte Carlo Russian Ballet, 1936 or 1937 (Item 28)
Annotated: "Scoulo di ballo"
Unidentified male dancer of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in Scuola di ballo [2], 1936 or 1937 (Item 29)
Annotated: "Scoulo di ballo"
Dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in Scuola di ballo [3], 1936 or 1937 (Item 30)
Annotated: "Scoulo di ballo"
Dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in Scuola di ballo [4], 1936 or 1937 (Item 31)
Annotated: "Scoulo di ballo"
Two dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in Scuola di ballo [1], 1936 or 1937 (Item 32)
Annotated: "Scoulo di ballo"
Dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in a pas de deux from Scuola di ballo, 1936 or 1937 (Item 33)
Annotated: "Scoulo di ballo"
Dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in Scuola di ballo [5], 1936 or 1937 (Item 34)
Annotated: "Scoulo di ballo"
Two dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in a scene from Scuola di ballo [2], 1936 or 1937 (Item 35)
Annotated: "Scoulo di ballo"
Dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in L'amour sorcier, 1936 or 1937 (Item 36)
Female dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in L'amour sorcier, 1936 or 1937 (Item 37)
Dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in Cotillon [1], 1936 or 1937 (Item 38)
Annotated: "Le Cotillion"
Dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in Cotillon [2], 1936 or 1937 (Item 39)
Annotated: "Le Cotillion"
Dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in Cotillon [3], 1936 or 1937 (Item 40)
Annotated: "Le Cotillion"
Elisabeth Souvorova (left) with another dancer of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in L'après-midi d'un faune, 1936 or 1937 (Item 41)
Elisabeth Souvorova(?) with dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in Le beau Danube [1], 1936 or 1937 (Item 42)
Dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in Le beau Danube [1], 1936 or 1937 (Item 43)
Male dancer of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in Le beau Danube, 1936 or 1937 (Item 44)
Elisabeth Souvorova(?) and male dancer in Le beau Danube, Monte Carlo Russian Ballet, 1936 or 1937 (Item 45)
Dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in Le beau Danube [2], 1936 or 1937 (Item 46)
Dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in Le beau Danube [3], 1936 or 1937 (Item 47)
Sonia Woizikowska and Jean Hoyer(?) in Le beau Danube, Monte Carlo Russian Ballet, 1936 or 1937 (Item 48)
Jean Hoyer(?) in Le beau Danube, Monte Carlo Russian Ballet, 1936 or 1937 (Item 49)
Dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in Le beau Danube [4], 1936 or 1937 (Item 50)
Dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in Le beau Danube [5], 1936 or 1937 (Item 51)
Dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in Le beau Danube [6], 1936 or 1937 (Item 52)
Dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in Le lac des cygnes (Swan Lake), 1936 or 1937 (Item 53)
Dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in Contes russes [1], 1936 or 1937 (Item 54)
Annotated: "Les contes russes"
Dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in Contes russes [2], 1936 or 1937 (Item 55)
Annotated: "Les contes russes"
Dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in Contes russes [3], 1936 or 1937 (Item 56)
Annotated: "Les contes russes"
Dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in Contes russes [4], 1936 or 1937 (Item 57)
Annotated: "Les contes russes"
Two unidentified dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in L'oiseau de feu [1], 1936 or 1937 (Item 58)
Two unidentified dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in L'oiseau de feu [2], 1936 or 1937 (Item 59)
Dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in L'oiseau de feu, 1936 or 1937 (Item 60)
Dancers of the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet in Petrouchka, 1936 or 1937 (Item 61)
Portrait of Errol Flynn (Item 62)
Series 3. Personal documents, and undated, 1935-c.1936
Miscellaneous personal documents relating to Frank.
Please note: these items have been digitised, and are available online through this finding aid.
Contract between Frank and the Ballets Russes de Léon Woizikowsky, November 1935 (Item 1)
Menu signed by members of the Ballets Russes de Léon Woizikowsky, 31 December 1935 (Item 2)
Note containing contact addresses for the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet during the Australian tour, c.1936 (Item 3)
Page of typescript biographical notes (undated) relating to Frank's life during the period 1911-1943 (Item 4)
Series 4. Newspaper cuttings, 1936-1937
Newspaper cuttings relating to the Monte Carlo Russian Ballet's Australian and New Zealand tour.
One folder.
Series 5. Programs, 1934-1938
Programs relating to performances by the Ballets Russes de Léon Woizikowsky, Colonel W. de Basil's Monte Carlo Russian Ballet and the Covent Garden Russian Ballet, in the United States, 1934-1935, Spain, 1935, and Australia, 1936-1939.
Please note: selected programs have been digitised, and are available online through this finding aid.
1934-1935 season, Auditorium Theatre, S. Hurok presents Col. DeBasil's Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, December 26 to January 2 (Item 1)
Teatro Calderon, Temporada de Gala, Bailes Rusos de León Woizikovski, 1935-1936 (Item 2)
Colonel W. de Basil's Monte Carlo Russian Ballet, Theatre Royal, Adelaide, J.C. Williamson Ltd. Magazine Programme, Adelaide Season, 13-28 October 1936 (Item 3)
Colonel W. de Basil's Monte Carlo Russian Ballet, Theatre Royal, Adelaide, J.C. Williamson Ltd. Magazine Programme, Adelaide Season, 13-28 October 1936 (Item 4)
J.C. Williamson Ltd. Magazine Programme, His Majesty's Theatre, December 1936 (Item 5)
J.C. Williamson Ltd. Magazine Programme, His Majesty's Theatre, December 1936 (Item 6)
Theatre Royal, J.C. Williamson Ltd. present Colonel W. De Basil's Monte Carlo Russian Ballet, 13 February 1937 (Item 7)
Theatre Royal, J.C. Williamson Ltd. present Colonel W. De Basil's Monte Carlo Russian Ballet, 13, 15-17 February 1937 (Item 8)
Theatre Royal, J.C. Williamson Ltd. present Colonel W. De Basil's Monte Carlo Russian Ballet, 7-8 July 1937 (Item 9)
J.C. Williamson's Magazine, Theatre Royal, Covent Garden Russian Ballet Programme, 9-15 December 1938 (Item 10)
J.C. Williamson's Magazine, Theatre Royal, Covent Garden Russian Ballet Programme, 30 December 1938-5 January 1939 (Item 11)
J.C. Williamson's Magazine, Theatre Royal, Covent Garden Russian Ballet Programme, 30 December 1938-5 January 1939 (Item 12)
Theatre Royal Magazine Programme, Covent Garden Russian Ballet, Australia, 1938-1939 (Item 13)
