Diana Gould (dancer)
Encyclopedia
Diana Gould, later Diana Menuhin, Baroness Menuhin (12 November 1912 – 25 January 2003) was a British ballerina
and occasional actress and singer, who is best remembered as the second wife of the violinist Yehudi Menuhin
. As a dancer, however, she was described by Anna Pavlova as the only English dancer she'd seen who "had a soul", and by Arnold Haskell
as "the most musical dancer the English have yet produced".
, London
in 1912. Her father was Gerald Gould, a civil servant with the Foreign Office
, and her mother was the pianist Evelyn Suart
. She had an older brother, also Gerard, and a younger sister, Griselda. Her father was of Irish descent but had been brought up in Paris; and her mother had studied in Brussels and Paris. Consequently, Diana was imbued with French culture and language from an early age. Her father died of typhoid fever
in 1916, when Diana was aged only three.
In 1920, when she was seven, her mother married again, to Cecil Harcourt, a naval officer who eventually became Second Sea Lord
and was knighted as Admiral Sir Cecil Harcourt in 1945.
's school at the age of nine, and studied with her for ten years. She was tall for a ballerina of that time (5 feet 8 inches; 173 cm), and a tendency to clumsiness led to the nickname "Clumsina".
When she was 14, she partnered Frederick Ashton
and danced the premiere of his first ballet, Leda and the Swan. Sergei Diaghilev
noticed her and invited her to join his company, but he died before that plan could come about. These events were said to have been fictionalized in the movie The Red Shoes. The same bad luck happened with Anna Pavlova, who said that Diana was the only English dancer she'd seen who "had a soul". She was engaged to dance with Pavlova's troupe, but Pavlova died before it got off the ground. She continued to dance at Rambert's Ballet Club, and created roles in some Frederick Ashton ballets, including Capriol Suite. She appeared with Antony Tudor
in Atalanta of the East and The Planets, and with Ninette de Valois
in Bar aux Folies-Bergère. She also danced with Colonel de Basil's Ballets Russes
.
She was a leading dancer in Marie Rambert's early seasons in the early 1930s, in such roles as Chiarina in Michel Fokine
's Le Carnaval and the Chief Nymph in Vaslav Nijinsky
's L'Après-midi d'un faune. She danced briefly in leading roles with George Balanchine
's company Les Ballets 1933 in London and Paris, but declined his offer to join his new school in the United States
(which became the New York City Ballet
). She also turned down Léonide Massine's invitation. In 1933 she danced in the premiere of Frederick Ashton's Pavane pour une infante défunte. Her other roles included the title role in Antony Tudor's Lysistrata.
Having closed the door on international opportunities, she worked for a time with the Alicia Markova
-Anton Dolin
company in 1935. She also worked in theatre and made some films as a straight actress. She became the leading dancer of the Arts Theatre Ballet in 1940 and became prima ballerina of Jay Pomeroy's Russian Opera and Ballet Company at the Cambridge Theatre
until 1944.
From 1944 to 1946 she acted, danced and sang the role of Frou Frou in The Merry Widow
in London and on tour.
in 1944 and he was immediately struck by her beauty. He declared on the spot that they would one day marry, but she told him that that was 'nonsense' and reminded him his daughter had just turned five. He was still married to his Australia
n wife, Nola (née Nicholas), but that marriage had collapsed. He had two children (a son Krov and a daughter Zamira) and he was four years younger than Diana. He courted her for three years before she finally accepted his proposal. It also appears that the attraction was mutual, as she often seemed to appear wherever he was. They married at the Chelsea Registry Office on 19 October 1947, seventeen days after his divorce from Nola had become final. They had no time for a honeymoon as he had a concert to perform that night.
Yehudi's career became Diana's main purpose from then on, although she often experienced "agonising nostalgia" for her life as a dancer. As she wrote in Fiddler's Moll, "If one performing artist marries another, it is obvious that one of the two must dissolve his or her persona in the other". He regarded her loyalty as unquestionable. They jointly signed their names "Yehudiana". She was very protective of him (she was known for her sharp tongue), and devoted her life to creating a perfect environment for the expression of his talent. She accompanied him on all his many international tours. They had two children who survived, Gerard and Jeremy, and another died shortly after birth. Although it was difficult to leave their children in the care of others, she felt her duty to be with Yehudi and organise his affairs was more important. His appearances were planned two years in advance, and Diana would spend up to 17 hours a day organising his paperwork and travel arrangements.
She pulled no punches, referring to herself as "the awfully frank and frankly awful Diana". He referred to her as "my heavenly host on this earthly way" and "the ever-trustworthy and inspired companion of a lifetime".
Yehudi Menuhin was made an honorary knight in 1965, but not being a British subject, he was not entitled to be known as Sir Yehudi, and neither did Diana Menuhin become Lady Menuhin. That changed in 1985, when he adopted British citizenship, and his knighthood became substantive. In 1993 Yehudi was made a life peer, as Baron Menuhin of Stoke d’Abernon, and Lady Menuhin became Baroness Menuhin (although still generally referred to as Lady Menuhin). Lord Menuhin died in Berlin in 1999, and Lady Menuhin in London in 2003, aged 90.
She wrote two autobiographies: Fiddler's Moll (1984) and A Glimpse of Olympus (1996). These display a gift with words and a blunt, self-deprecating wit.
Lady Menuhin's sister Griselda became the second wife of the pianist Louis Kentner
.
Ballerina
A ballerina is a title used to describe a principal female professional ballet dancer in a large company; the male equivalent to this title is danseur or ballerino...
and occasional actress and singer, who is best remembered as the second wife of the violinist Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE was a Russian Jewish American violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in the United Kingdom. He was born to Russian Jewish parents in the United States, but became a citizen of Switzerland in 1970, and of the United Kingdom in 1985...
. As a dancer, however, she was described by Anna Pavlova as the only English dancer she'd seen who "had a soul", and by Arnold Haskell
Arnold Haskell
Arnold Lionel Haskell was a British dance critic who founded the Camargo Society in 1930. With Ninette de Valois, he was influential in the development of the Royal Ballet School, later becoming the school's headmaster.He became fascinated by ballet when his mother prevailed on him to come with...
as "the most musical dancer the English have yet produced".
Early life
Diana Rosamond Constance Grace Irene Gould was born in BelgraviaBelgravia
Belgravia is a district of central London in the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Noted for its immensely expensive residential properties, it is one of the wealthiest districts in the world...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1912. Her father was Gerald Gould, a civil servant with the Foreign Office
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
, and her mother was the pianist Evelyn Suart
Evelyn Suart
Evelyn Suart, Lady Harcourt was a notable English pianist.She was born in 1881 in Sindapore, India, the daughter of Brigadier-General W. H. Suart, and she spent some of her early childhood there. She also lived for periods in Gibraltar and England. Her piano studies were with Storck in...
. She had an older brother, also Gerard, and a younger sister, Griselda. Her father was of Irish descent but had been brought up in Paris; and her mother had studied in Brussels and Paris. Consequently, Diana was imbued with French culture and language from an early age. Her father died of typhoid fever
Typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as Typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi...
in 1916, when Diana was aged only three.
In 1920, when she was seven, her mother married again, to Cecil Harcourt, a naval officer who eventually became Second Sea Lord
Second Sea Lord
The Second Sea Lord and Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command , commonly just known as the Second Sea Lord , is one of the most senior admirals of the British Royal Navy , and is responsible for personnel and naval shore establishments.-History:In 1805, for the first time, specific functions were...
and was knighted as Admiral Sir Cecil Harcourt in 1945.
Ballet career
Diana Gould's first taste of the excitement of the dance came when she danced an Irish jig for a school concert, when she was eight. Her mother took her to study with Lubov Egorova in Paris but she returned to London to join Marie RambertMarie Rambert
Dame Marie Rambert DBE was a Polish-Jewish dancer and dance pedagogue who exerted a great influence on British ballet, both as a dancer and teacher.- Early years and background :...
's school at the age of nine, and studied with her for ten years. She was tall for a ballerina of that time (5 feet 8 inches; 173 cm), and a tendency to clumsiness led to the nickname "Clumsina".
When she was 14, she partnered Frederick Ashton
Frederick Ashton
Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton OM, CH, CBE was a leading international dancer and choreographer. He is most noted as the founder choreographer of The Royal Ballet in London, but also worked as a director and choreographer of opera, film and theatre revues.-Early life:Ashton was born at...
and danced the premiere of his first ballet, Leda and the Swan. Sergei Diaghilev
Sergei Diaghilev
Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev , usually referred to outside of Russia as Serge, was a Russian art critic, patron, ballet impresario and founder of the Ballets Russes, from which many famous dancers and choreographers would arise.-Early life and career:...
noticed her and invited her to join his company, but he died before that plan could come about. These events were said to have been fictionalized in the movie The Red Shoes. The same bad luck happened with Anna Pavlova, who said that Diana was the only English dancer she'd seen who "had a soul". She was engaged to dance with Pavlova's troupe, but Pavlova died before it got off the ground. She continued to dance at Rambert's Ballet Club, and created roles in some Frederick Ashton ballets, including Capriol Suite. She appeared with Antony Tudor
Antony Tudor
Antony Tudor was an English ballet choreographer, teacher and dancer.-Biography:Tudor, born William Cook, discovered dance accidentally. He began dancing professionally with Marie Rambert in 1928, becoming general assistant for her Ballet Club the next year...
in Atalanta of the East and The Planets, and with Ninette de Valois
Ninette de Valois
Dame Ninette de Valois, OM, CH, DBE, FRAD, FISTD was an Irish-born British dancer, teacher, choreographer and director of classical ballet...
in Bar aux Folies-Bergère. She also danced with Colonel de Basil's Ballets Russes
Ballets Russes
The Ballets Russes was an itinerant ballet company from Russia which performed between 1909 and 1929 in many countries. Directed by Sergei Diaghilev, it is regarded as the greatest ballet company of the 20th century. Many of its dancers originated from the Imperial Ballet of Saint Petersburg...
.
She was a leading dancer in Marie Rambert's early seasons in the early 1930s, in such roles as Chiarina in Michel Fokine
Michel Fokine
Michel Fokine was a groundbreaking Russian choreographer and dancer.-Biography:...
's Le Carnaval and the Chief Nymph in Vaslav Nijinsky
Vaslav Nijinsky
Vaslav Nijinsky was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer of Polish descent, cited as the greatest male dancer of the 20th century. He grew to be celebrated for his virtuosity and for the depth and intensity of his characterizations...
's L'Après-midi d'un faune. She danced briefly in leading roles with George Balanchine
George Balanchine
George Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...
's company Les Ballets 1933 in London and Paris, but declined his offer to join his new school in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(which became the New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Leon Barzin was the company's first music director. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company...
). She also turned down Léonide Massine's invitation. In 1933 she danced in the premiere of Frederick Ashton's Pavane pour une infante défunte. Her other roles included the title role in Antony Tudor's Lysistrata.
Having closed the door on international opportunities, she worked for a time with the Alicia Markova
Alicia Markova
Dame Alicia Markova, DBE, DMus, was an English ballerina and a choreographer, director and teacher of classical ballet. Most noted for her career with Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and touring internationally, she was widely considered to be one of the greatest classical ballet dancers of the...
-Anton Dolin
Anton Dolin
Sir Anton Dolin was an English ballet dancer and choreographer.Dolin was born in Slinfold in Sussex as Sydney Francis Patrick Chippendall Healey-Kay but was generally known as Patrick Kay. He joined Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in 1921, was a principal there from 1924, and was a principal...
company in 1935. She also worked in theatre and made some films as a straight actress. She became the leading dancer of the Arts Theatre Ballet in 1940 and became prima ballerina of Jay Pomeroy's Russian Opera and Ballet Company at the Cambridge Theatre
Cambridge Theatre
The Cambridge Theatre is a West End theatre, on a corner site in Earlham Street facing Seven Dials, in the London Borough of Camden, built in 1929-30. It was designed by Wimperis, Simpson and Guthrie; interior partly by Serge Chermayeff, with interior bronze friezes by sculptor Anthony Gibbons...
until 1944.
From 1944 to 1946 she acted, danced and sang the role of Frou Frou in The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow
The Merry Widow is an operetta by the Austro–Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt to keep her money in the principality by finding her the right husband – on an 1861 comedy play,...
in London and on tour.
Marries Yehudi Menuhin
Diana Gould met Yehudi MenuhinYehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE was a Russian Jewish American violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in the United Kingdom. He was born to Russian Jewish parents in the United States, but became a citizen of Switzerland in 1970, and of the United Kingdom in 1985...
in 1944 and he was immediately struck by her beauty. He declared on the spot that they would one day marry, but she told him that that was 'nonsense' and reminded him his daughter had just turned five. He was still married to his Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n wife, Nola (née Nicholas), but that marriage had collapsed. He had two children (a son Krov and a daughter Zamira) and he was four years younger than Diana. He courted her for three years before she finally accepted his proposal. It also appears that the attraction was mutual, as she often seemed to appear wherever he was. They married at the Chelsea Registry Office on 19 October 1947, seventeen days after his divorce from Nola had become final. They had no time for a honeymoon as he had a concert to perform that night.
Yehudi's career became Diana's main purpose from then on, although she often experienced "agonising nostalgia" for her life as a dancer. As she wrote in Fiddler's Moll, "If one performing artist marries another, it is obvious that one of the two must dissolve his or her persona in the other". He regarded her loyalty as unquestionable. They jointly signed their names "Yehudiana". She was very protective of him (she was known for her sharp tongue), and devoted her life to creating a perfect environment for the expression of his talent. She accompanied him on all his many international tours. They had two children who survived, Gerard and Jeremy, and another died shortly after birth. Although it was difficult to leave their children in the care of others, she felt her duty to be with Yehudi and organise his affairs was more important. His appearances were planned two years in advance, and Diana would spend up to 17 hours a day organising his paperwork and travel arrangements.
She pulled no punches, referring to herself as "the awfully frank and frankly awful Diana". He referred to her as "my heavenly host on this earthly way" and "the ever-trustworthy and inspired companion of a lifetime".
Yehudi Menuhin was made an honorary knight in 1965, but not being a British subject, he was not entitled to be known as Sir Yehudi, and neither did Diana Menuhin become Lady Menuhin. That changed in 1985, when he adopted British citizenship, and his knighthood became substantive. In 1993 Yehudi was made a life peer, as Baron Menuhin of Stoke d’Abernon, and Lady Menuhin became Baroness Menuhin (although still generally referred to as Lady Menuhin). Lord Menuhin died in Berlin in 1999, and Lady Menuhin in London in 2003, aged 90.
She wrote two autobiographies: Fiddler's Moll (1984) and A Glimpse of Olympus (1996). These display a gift with words and a blunt, self-deprecating wit.
Lady Menuhin's sister Griselda became the second wife of the pianist Louis Kentner
Louis Kentner
Louis Kentner was a Hungarian, later British, pianist who excelled in the works of Chopin and Liszt, as well as the Hungarian repertoire....
.