Editing Robert Helpmann (section)

==Life and career==
===Early years===
[[File:Helpmann Family, Mt. Gambier, 1911.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|Helpmann and his parents in 1911|alt=blakc and white photograph of a young man and woman in an early 20th century open-top motor-car, with young child between them.]]

Helpmann was born in [[Mount Gambier, South Australia]], the eldest of the three children of James Murray Helpman (1881–1927), a [[stock and station agent]] and auctioneer, and his wife, Mary, ''née'' Gardiner (1883–1970).<ref name=dnb>Sorley Walker, Kathrine (2011). [https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093 "Helpmann, Sir Robert Murray (1909–1986), ballet dancer and actor"], ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press. Retrieved 19 May 2019 {{ODNBsub}}</ref> Mary Helpman had a passion for the theatre, and her enthusiasm was passed on to all three of her children. Helpmann's younger brother Max (1914–1987) and their sister Sheila (1916–1994) both made their own careers on stage, television and screen.<ref name=adb>Sexton, Christopher (2007). [http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/helpmann-sir-robert-murray-12620/text22735 "Helpmann, Sir Robert Murray (1909–1986)"], ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 19 May 2019.</ref>

After being what his biographer [[Kathrine Sorley Walker]] calls "an uninterested and recalcitrant scholar" at  [[Prince Alfred College|Prince Alfred College, Adelaide]], Helpmann was taken on as a student apprentice by [[Anna Pavlova]] when she was on tour in Australia in 1926.<ref name=dnb/> He was trained by Alexis Dolinoff, her leading male dancer.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article40746770 An Adelaide Dancer"], ''The Advertiser'', 4 December 1926, p. 14</ref> He then joined the theatrical producers [[J. C. Williamson|J. C. Williamson Ltd]], as principal dancer for musicals, revues, and pantomimes, beginning with [[Franz Lehár]]'s ''Frasquita'' in 1927.<ref name=adb/> He later appeared in ''[[Katinka (operetta)|Katinka]]'', ''[[The Merry Widow]]'', ''[[The New Moon]]'', ''Queen High'', ''[[This Year of Grace]]'' and ''[[Tip-Toes]]'', appearing with stars such as [[Gladys Moncrieff]], [[Marie Burke]] and [[Maisie Gay]]. Sorley Walker writes, "His vitality and bravura presentation of dances stopped various shows".<ref>Sorley Walker (1998a), p. 7</ref>

Robert Helpmann cited Melbourne eccentric, beautician, radio broadcaster, actor and dancer [[Stephanie Deste]] as one of the influences over his dancing and acting career.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18727797/stephanie_deste/|title=Stephanie Deste|newspaper=The Age|date=28 May 1996|page=14}}</ref>

===Vic-Wells Ballet===
The English actress [[Margaret Rawlings]], who was touring Australia, was impressed by Helpmann. She encouraged him to pursue a career in Britain, and provided him with an introduction to Ninette de Valois, director of the [[Vic-Wells Ballet]] (later named the Sadler's Wells Ballet). Helpmann left Australia in 1932, and did not return until 1955.<ref>Sorley Walker (1998a), p. 9</ref> De Valois accepted him into her company. He impressed her – she later wrote "Everything about him proclaims the artist born"<ref>De Valois, p. 11</ref> – although she noted not only his strengths but also his weaknesses: "talented, enthusiastic, extremely intelligent, great facility, witty, cute as a monkey, quick as a squirrel, a sense of theatre and his own possible achievements therein" but "academically technically weak, lacking in concentration, too fond of a good time and too busy having it".<ref>Salter, pp. 52–53</ref> In the mid-1930s, probably at Rawlings's suggestion, he added a second "n" to his surname, to give it a more foreign and exotic air.{{refn|Alternative explanations for the change of spelling are that Pavlova suggested it, and that a [[numerologist]] told him that fourteen letters would be luckier for him than thirteen. Helpmann's brother and sister followed him in adding the extra letter.<ref>Salter, p. 54; and Sorley Walker (1998a), p. 5</ref> For a time both spellings of his surname were current. The longer form is recorded in the press as early as March 1933;<ref>"Gate Theatre Studio", ''The Stage'', 2 March 1933, p. 10</ref> ''[[The Times]]'', ''[[The Tatler]]'' and ''[[The Era (newspaper)|The Era]]'' were among the publications intermittently using the shorter version as late as 1936.<ref>"Opera and Ballet", ''The Times'', 21 September 1936, p. 10; "Notes from Here and There", ''The Tatler'', 19 February 1936, p. 64; and "A New Rudolf", ''The Era'', 4 November 1936, pp. 8 and 9</ref>|group=n}}

[[File:Robert Helpmann and Margot Fonteyn, Facade - Anthony (17590713096).jpg|thumb|Helpmann and [[Margot Fonteyn]] in [[Frederick Ashton]]'s ''[[Façade (ballet)|Façade]]'']]
In April 1934 de Valois created a new ballet, ''[[The Haunted Ballroom]]'', with Helpmann and [[Alicia Markova]] in the leading roles. ''[[The Times]]'' commented that of the soloists Helpmann "had the greatest opportunities, and made fine use of them".<ref>"Sadler's Wells Ballet", 4 April 1934, p. 10</ref> He co-starred with Markova in ''[[Swan Lake]]'', danced in operas, and appeared at the [[Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park]].<ref name=dnb/> In 1935 he was leading dancer in the [[revue]] ''Stop Press'', with music by [[Irving Berlin]].<ref>"Adelphi Theatre", ''The Times'', 22 February 1935, p. 12</ref> At [[Sadler's Wells]] he danced the principal role in another new de Valois ballet, ''The Rake's Progress'', and in 1936 [[Frederick Ashton]] choreographed a highly romantic ballet, ''Apparitions'', to music by [[Liszt]], featuring Helpmann and the teenaged [[Margot Fonteyn]]. Sorley Walker writes that he and Fonteyn were a "perfectly matched partnership", exemplified by "their superb rendering of the Aurora pas de deux in ''[[The Sleeping Beauty (ballet)|The Sleeping Beauty]]''".<ref name=dnb/> As well as romantic leading roles, Helpmann became known for his gift for comedy. Sorley Walker singles out his roles in ''[[Coppélia]]'', Ashton's ''A Wedding Bouquet'' and de Valois's ''The Prospect Before Us''.<ref name=dnb/> Character roles included the doddery Red King in de Valois' ''[[Checkmate (ballet)|Checkmate]]'', which he first danced at the age of 28 and last danced in 1986 when he was 77.<ref name=dnb/>

Helpmann's non-ballet work in the later 1930s included his Oberon in [[Tyrone Guthrie]]'s production of ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' at the Old Vic, which also starred [[Vivien Leigh]] as Titania and [[Ralph Richardson]] as Bottom.<ref name=mnd>"Old Vic", ''The Times'', 28 December 1937, p. 10</ref> The drama critic of ''The Times'' wrote:
:It will be useless in future for Mr. Robert Helpmann to pretend that he is exclusively a dancer of the first rank. Certainly his dancing gives strength to his Oberon; he glides into imagined invisibility; but that is not all: his verse sings with his thought, his Oberon flashes with power, and presides, as Oberons do rarely, over the whole magic of the wood.<ref name=mnd/>

The doyen of London critics, [[James Agate]], pronounced Helpmann's Oberon to be, in its way, "the best I have ever seen or ever shall see".<ref>Quoted in Sorley Walker (1998a), p. 37</ref> While at the Old Vic Helpmann met the director [[Michael Benthall]]; they formed a lifelong personal partnership and frequently worked together in the theatre.<ref name=dnb/>

===1940s===
During the [[Second World War]] Sadler's Wells Ballet became a prominent contributor to public morale, giving London seasons interspersed with a demanding programme of provincial tours.<ref>Sorley Walker (1987), p. 233</ref> Helpmann's workload often required him to dance leads in three performances in one day, and when Ashton was called up for active service in 1941,<ref>Anderson, p. 78</ref> Helpmann took on the additional role of choreographer to the company.<ref>Sorley Walker (1987), p. 231</ref>{{refn|As an Australian, Helpmann was not liable for call-up.<ref>Sorley Walker (1987), p. 225</ref>|group=n}} Ashton, in his enforced absence from the company, observed Helpmann's rise to pre-eminence with feelings of envy, and their relationship became edgy on Ashton's part.<ref>Sorley Walker (1998a), pp. 63–64</ref> The ballets that Helpmann created for the wartime company were ''Comus'' (1942, based on [[Comus (Milton)|Milton]]), ''The Birds'' (1942, to [[Ottorino Respighi|Respighi's]] ''[[The Birds (Respighi)|Gli uccelli]]''), ''[[Miracle in the Gorbals]]'' (1944, a story of redemption with a plot by Benthall and music by [[Arthur Bliss]]),<ref>Anderson pp. 310–311</ref> and a version of ''[[Hamlet]]'' set to [[Hamlet (Tchaikovsky)|Tchaikovsky's music]]. While on leave from the [[RAF]] in 1943, Ashton created a new ballet for Helpmann, ''The Quest'', a patriotic tale of [[Saint George]], with music by [[William Walton]], who commented that Helpmann in the lead "looked more like the Dragon than St George."<ref name=cp>[[Palmer, Christopher]] (1990). Notes to Chandos CD 8871 {{oclc|45571357}}</ref> The music has survived but the ballet has not.<ref name=cp/>

{{Quote box |quoted=true  |salign=center | quote = I realised I must keep going so that when the moment came that I should leave the ballet altogether, it wouldn't be such a shock to people, that they shouldn't say, "Oh, just a dancer who's got too old".| source = Helpmann on acting in Shakespeare.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41514376 | jstor=41514376 | title=Robert Helpmann: Interviewed by Ronald Hayman | last1=Helpmann | first1=Robert | last2=Hayman | first2=Ronald | journal=The Transatlantic Review |year=1975 | issue=52 | pages=79–85 }}</ref>| align=left| width=33%}}
Helpmann returned to Hamlet in 1944 in the title role of the original play, with the Old Vic company. After the laudatory reviews for his Oberon, those for his Hamlet were more mixed.  [[Ivor Brown]] thought it "eager, intelligent and exciting",<ref>Brown, Ivor. "Theatre and Life", ''The Observer'', 13 February 1944, p. 2</ref> Agate called Helpmann's prince "most heart-breaking"<ref>''Quoted'' in Howard, p. 122</ref> and the young [[Peter Brook]] found Helpmann's fast-paced performance highly exciting,<ref>Mazer, p. 98</ref> but other critics thought it a lightweight interpretation, and opinions varied about the quality of Helpmann's verse-speaking.<ref>"Hamlet: Mr Tyrone Guthrie's Production", ''The Manchester Guardian'', 14 February 1944, p. 3; and "New Theatre", ''The Times'', 12 February 1944; p. 6</ref> During the war Helpmann played his first film roles: the supercilious traitor De Jong in ''[[One of Our Aircraft is Missing]]'' (1942) and the comically fussy Bishop of Ely in [[Laurence Olivier]]'s ''[[Henry V (1944 film)|Henry V]]'' (1944).<ref>Sorley Walker (1998a), pp. 53 and 69</ref>

At the end of the war [[David Webster (opera manager)|David Webster]] was appointed chief executive of the [[Royal Opera House]], tasked with reopening it for opera and ballet after its wartime closure.<ref>Haltrecht, pp. 51–52</ref> He invited de Valois and her company to base themselves there to complement the new opera company he was setting up.<ref name=h68>Haltrecht, pp. 60 and 68</ref> In due course the companies became [[The Royal Ballet]] and [[The Royal Opera]].<ref>Haltrecht, pp. 210–213 and 303</ref> Helpmann and Fonteyn led the ballet company in the opening gala performance of ''The Sleeping Beauty''.<ref name=h68/> The first new work staged at the reopened house was ''[[Adam Zero]]'' (1946), with a libretto by Benthall and music by Bliss, choreographed by and starring Helpmann as an [[Everyman]] figure.<ref>Haltrecht, p. 73</ref> The work was well received and was revived the following year, but has not held a place in the repertoire.<ref>Sorley Walker (1998b), pp. 251–252</ref><ref>[http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/Production.aspx?production=12948 "Adam Zero"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315203229/http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/production.aspx?production=12948 |date=15 March 2016 }}. Royal Opera House performance archive. Retrieved 27 May 2019</ref>

In 1947, together with Benthall, Helpmann took over the artistic direction of the [[Duchess Theatre]] in the [[West End theatre|West End]] of London.<ref name=who>Gaye, pp. 723–724</ref> They presented a revival of [[John Webster]]'s tragedy ''[[The White Devil]]'' with Helpmann as the villainous Flamineo and Rawlings as his equally villainous sister.<ref>Duchess Theatre, ''The Times'', 7 March 1947, p. 6</ref> This was well received but their next production, a revival of [[Leonid Andreyev]]'s ''He Who Gets Slapped'', quickly folded.<ref name=sw254>Sorley Walker (1998b), p. 254</ref> In the same year Helpmann worked on the film ''[[The Red Shoes (1948 film)|The Red Shoes]]'', which he and [[Leonid Massine]] choreographed and appeared in.<ref name=sw254/> Helpmann joined the [[Royal Shakespeare Company|Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company]] at [[Stratford-upon-Avon]] for the 1948 season, playing the title role in ''[[King John (play)|King John]]'', Shylock in ''[[The Merchant of Venice]]'' and alternating with [[Paul Scofield]] in a new production of ''Hamlet''.<ref name=who/>

===1950s===
[[File:Fonteyn Helpmann Sleeping Beauty Sadler's Wells US tour (2).jpg|thumb|Helpmann and Fonteyn in ''The Sleeping Beauty'', 1953]]

In 1950 Helpmann directed an opera for the first time – the Covent Garden production of ''[[Madama Butterfly]]'', with [[Elisabeth Schwarzkopf]] in the title role. The production outlasted its director: after many revivals its final performances at the Royal Opera House were in 1993.<ref>[http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/Production.aspx?production=1674 "Madam Butterfly"], Royal Opera House performance archive. Retrieved 27 May 2019</ref> The following year he joined Olivier and Vivien Leigh at the [[St James's Theatre]], where they presented Shakespeare's ''[[Antony and Cleopatra]]'' and [[George Bernard Shaw|Shaw]]'s ''[[Caesar and Cleopatra (play)|Caesar and Cleopatra]]''. Helpmann played Octavius Caesar in the first and Apollodorus in the second.<ref name=who/> When the productions were taken to [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] at the end of the year he played the same roles.<ref name=who/> He appeared in another Shaw play the following year, as the male lead, the Doctor, opposite [[Katharine Hepburn]] as Epifania, in ''[[The Millionairess (play)|The Millionairess]]''.<ref>"New Theatre", ''The Times'', 28 June 1952, p. 8</ref> Between these plays Helpmann acted in the [[Powell and Pressburger]] film ''[[The Tales of Hoffmann (film)|The Tales of Hoffmann]]'', conducted by [[Sir Thomas Beecham]] and choreographed by Ashton. Helpmann played all four of the villains in the various stories within the opera, his singing voice dubbed by the Welsh bass Bruce Dargavel.<ref>[https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b799f78 "The Tales of Hoffmann" (1951)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190107105127/https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b799f78 |date=7 January 2019 }}, British Film Institute. Retrieved 27 May 2019</ref>

In 1953 Helpmann returned to the Old Vic, directing a new production of ''[[Murder in the Cathedral]]'' with [[Robert Donat]] as Becket.<ref>"The Old Vic", ''The Times'', 1 April 1953, p. 6</ref> On [[Coronation of Elizabeth II|Coronation night]] in June 1953 Helpmann returned to Covent Garden as a guest artist to dance Prince Siegfried in ''[[Swan Lake]]''.<ref name=who/> The following year he again directed and choreographed an opera there, ''[[The Golden Cockerel]]'', with a cast including [[Mattiwilda Dobbs]], [[Hugues Cuénod]] and [[Geraint Evans]].<ref>[http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/production.aspx?production=4224&row=1&searchtype=workprodperf&person=Robert%20Helpmann "Le Coq d'or (1954)"], Royal Opera House performance archive. Retrieved 27 May 2019</ref> The following year brought two contrasting directing engagements: the first was ''[[The Tempest]]'' at the Old Vic, with [[Michael Hordern]] as Prospero, [[Richard Burton]] as Caliban and [[Claire Bloom]] as Miranda.<ref>"Old Vic", ''The Times'', 14 April 1954, p. 4</ref> Then followed [[Noël Coward]]'s musical ''[[After the Ball (musical)|After the Ball]]'', based on [[Oscar Wilde]]'s ''[[Lady Windermere's Fan]]''. Helpmann discovered that the combination of Coward and Wilde was not a success: "Everything that Noël sent up, Wilde was sentimental about, and everything that Wilde sent up Noël was sentimental about. It was two different points of view and it didn't work."<ref>Castle, p. 213</ref>

In May 1955 Helpmann returned to Australia, leading a tour of the country by the Old Vic company, with Hepburn as a guest artist. He played Petruchio in ''[[The Taming of the Shrew]]'', Angelo in ''[[Measure for Measure]]'' and Shylock.<ref name=adb/> At the Old Vic in 1956 he directed [[John Neville (actor)|John Neville]] and Claire Bloom in ''Romeo and Juliet'',<ref>"The Old Vic", ''The Times'', 13 June 1956, p. 3</ref> a production later given on Broadway.<ref name=who/> He joined the company as an actor later in the year, playing Shylock, Launce in ''[[The Two Gentlemen of Verona]]'', Saturnius in ''[[Titus Andronicus]]'' and the title role in ''[[Richard III (play)|Richard III]]''.<ref name=who/>

During 1957 Helpmann played the title role in [[Jean-Paul Sartre]]'s ''[[Nekrassov]]'',<ref>Sorley Walker (1998b), p. 275</ref> and then took over the lead part of Sebastien in Coward's comedy ''[[Nude with Violin]]'' in London. The role had been created by [[John Gielgud]], who had been succeeded, not altogether satisfactorily, by [[Michael Wilding]].<ref>Gielgud, p. 205</ref> Helpmann's vitality revived the spirits of the company, and the play continued its run into the following year.<ref>Mander and Mitchenson, p. 460; and "Theatres", ''The Times'', 1 February 1958, p. 2</ref> Helpmann toured Australia in the piece in 1958–59, after he had returned to ballet for a season at Covent Garden in ''The Rake's Progress'', ''Hamlet'', ''Coppélia'', ''Miracle in the Gorbals'' and ''[[Petrushka]]''.<ref name=who/> His performance in the last of these was not well received: in the role of a lovelorn puppet, he was seen as too overtly human and intelligent.<ref>Sorley Walker (1998b), p. 276$277</ref>

===1960s===
At the start of the 1960s Helpmann worked mostly in non-ballet theatre, forgoing the opportunity to create the role of the Widow Simone in Ashton's ''[[La fille mal gardée]]'' in favour of directing Vivien Leigh and [[Mary Ure]] in [[Jean Giraudoux]]'s play ''[[Duel of Angels]]'' on Broadway.<ref>Sorley Walker (1998b), pp. 278-279</ref> In 1962 he performed again for Australian audiences in another Old Vic company, this time headed by Vivien Leigh, which appeared in the Far East, South America and Australia.<ref name=adb/><ref name=who/> In 1963 he choreographed his sixth work for The Royal Ballet, the short-lived and critically damned ''Elektra'', with music by [[Malcolm Arnold]] and featuring [[Nadia Nerina]], [[David Blair (dancer)|David Blair]], [[Monica Mason]] and [[Derek Rencher]].<ref>"Spectacular Helpmann dance-drama", ''The Times'', 27 March 1963, p. 15; Kennedy, James, "Helpmann's Elektra", ''The Guardian'', 27 March 1963, p. 7; and Bland, Alexander, "Helpmann aims too low", ''The Observer'', 31 March 1963, p. 28</ref> He also supervised a new production of ''Swan Lake'' for the company, with important new choreographic contributions from Ashton.<ref>Sorley Walker (1998b), p. 281</ref> In the same year he played Prince Tuan in the film ''[[55 Days at Peking]]''.<ref name=who/>

In 1962 [[Peggy van Praagh]], formerly of Sadler's Wells, launched a new company, the [[Australian Ballet]], which, Sorely Walker writes, steadily gained ground as "a company full of lively young Australian talent, helped along by top-level international stars like [[Erik Bruhn]], [[Rudolf Nureyev]], and [[Sonia Arova]]."<ref>Sorley Walker (1998c), pp. 411–412</ref> Van Praagh approached Helpmann to create a new work for the company and he suggested a story based around the native Australian [[lyrebird]]. He was keen to promote Australian talent, and recruited [[Sidney Nolan]] to design the costumes and scenery and [[Malcolm Williamson]] to compose the score. The work, titled ''[[The Display]]'', was premiered at the [[Adelaide Festival]] in March 1964, with [[Kathleen Gorham]] in the leading role, to an enthusiastic reception.<ref>Sorley Walker (1998c), p. 412</ref> he appeared in a TV special ''[[Half an Hour with Robert Helpmann]]''.<ref name="help">{{cite magazine|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|magazine=Filmink|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-australian-television-plays-half-an-hour-with-robert-helpmann/|title=Forgotten Australian Television Plays – Half an Hour with Robert Helpmann|year=2023|access-date=2 August 2024}}</ref>

Back in London, Helpmann directed and choreographed the first British production of [[Lerner and Loewe]]'s musical ''[[Camelot (musical)|Camelot]]'' in 1964. He had been approached by its authors to play Merlin in the original Broadway production, but nothing came of the suggestion. For the London production he sought to recapture, more than the American production had done, the sprit of ''[[The Once and Future King]]'', the book on which the show was based.<ref>"A Camelot Made in England", ''The Times'', 10 August 1964, p. 5</ref> The musical received tepid reviews, but Helpmann's production, with designs by [[John Truscott]], was praised as a "dazzling" and "gorgeous spectacle"; the show ran for well over a year.<ref>"Theatres", ''The Times'', 1 November 1965, p. 2</ref>

[[File:The Child Catcher.jpg|thumb|Helpmann as the [[Child Catcher]] in the 1968 feature film ''[[Chitty Chitty Bang Bang]]''.|285x285px]]

The success of ''The Display'' led to Helpmann's appointment as co-director of the Australian Ballet in 1965. His biographer Christopher Sexton comments that Helpmann and van Praag "complemented each other with their different personalities and skills: she the pedagogue, teacher and administrator; he the restless 'jet-setting' star who spent six months of the year overseas and attracted international names to perform with the company".<ref name=adb/> His ballets for the company during the rest of the 1960s were ''Yugen'' (1965); an expanded version of ''Elektra'' (1966) and ''Sun Music'' (1968).<ref name=adb/>

Helpmann made two more films during the 1960s. In 1966, he played Weng in ''[[The Quiller Memorandum]]'' and in 1968 he played the [[Child Catcher]] in ''[[Chitty Chitty Bang Bang]]''; on the set of the latter film, he was the opposite of his character, as he loved children and was very kind and caring toward the child actors, often protecting them from the director's temper and profanity. In one notable on-set incident, a carriage that Helpmann was riding as the Child Catcher accidentally overturned, but he was able to swing free and "skip" across the rolling vehicle, saving himself from serious injury; his co-star [[Dick Van Dyke]] later recalled that feat as the most graceful thing that he had ever seen. The role remains Helpmann's most well-known and acclaimed performance. One critic observed, "He will eternally frighten children as the demented child catcher";<ref>Billman, p. 352</ref> others called Helpmann's performance "the most sinister presence I have ever seen on film",<ref>Chapman, Gary. "Starchoice", ''The Times'', 26 March 2005, p. 10</ref> and "a devastating turn" that would give children nightmares.<ref>Simpson, p. 18</ref>

In 1968 Helpmann was appointed artistic director designate of the Adelaide Festival of 1970, and spent much time seeking out the performers for it. As well as showcasing Australian talent he aimed to attract internationally prestigious performers.<ref>Sorley Walker (1998c), pp. 423 and 426</ref>

===1970s===
Under Helpmann's direction the line-up for the 1970 Adelaide Festival was, by common consent, exceptionally impressive.<ref name=sw426/><ref name=ct>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article107912348 "Giants dominate the SA festival"], ''The Canberra Times'', 7 March 1970, p. 10</ref> Among those appearing were the [[Royal Shakespeare Company]], led by [[Judi Dench]] and [[Donald Sinden]], in ''[[The Winter's Tale]]'' and ''[[Twelfth Night]]''; [[Benjamin Britten]] and [[Peter Pears]] brought the [[English Opera Group]]; there were art exhibitions from [[Pompeii]] and Mexico. Dance was represented not only by the Australian Ballet, but also by the Royal Thai Ballet, the Balinese Dance Company and the [[Georgian State Dance Company]]. Nureyev was guest artist with the Australian Ballet in a revival of Helpmann's ''Hamlet'', new to the company's repertoire and greatly admired.<ref name=sw426>Sorley Walker (1998c), p. 426</ref><ref name=ct/> Nureyev also presented his version of [[Marius Petipa]]'s classic ballet ''[[Don Quixote (ballet)|Don Quixote]]'', dancing the romantic lead, Basilio, with Helpmann in the title role of the deluded knight. This was the first time the two dancers had worked together; they took to each other with enthusiasm and continued their fruitful professional relationship. Nureyev continued to play Helpmann's old role of Hamlet in revivals of the 1942 ballet, and the two starred in a film of ''Don Quixote'' with the Australian company in 1973, shown internationally and subsequently published on DVD.<ref name=sw426/>

By the 1970s the combination of Helpmann and Ashton in comic [[Drag (clothing)|drag]] as the Ugly Sisters in Ashton's ''[[Cinderella (Ashton)|Cinderella]]'' had become a much-loved institution at Covent Garden in various revivals since its 1948 premiere.<ref>Anderson, p. 99; Salter, pp. 217 and 222; and Sorley Walker (1998c), p. 422</ref><ref>[http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/work.aspx?work=764&row=36&letter=C& "Cinderella"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407205255/http://rohcollections.org.uk/work.aspx?work=764&row=36&letter=C& |date=7 April 2016 }}, Royal Opera House performance archive. Retrieved 29 May 2019</ref> In 1972 Helpmann succeeded in getting Ashton to join him for a production by the Australian Ballet, but despite Helpmann's urging, Ashton never created a new work for the company, although he restaged his ''La fille mal gardée'' for them.<ref>Sorley Walker (1998c), pp. 429–430</ref>

Helpmann's biographer [[Elizabeth Salter]] comments that 1974 was "a year of disaster" for both directors of the Australian Ballet.<ref>Salter, p. 238</ref> Van Praag was forced by arthritis to retire, and Helpmann's partner, Michael Benthall, died. The two men had lived together in London since the 1940s, and although both had extracurricular affairs they remained devoted to each other, and Helpmann felt the loss deeply.<ref>Sorley Walker (1998c), p. 434; and Salter, p. 238</ref>

1974 was also the year of the last ballet created by Helpmann, the plotless ''Perisynthyon''. He commissioned scores from two Australian composers in succession, but finding neither satisfactory he turned at the last minute to [[Symphony No. 1 (Sibelius)|Sibelius's First Symphony]]. The late changes caused inadequate preparation time for the dancers, and the piece was not well received.<ref>Sorley Walker (1998c), pp. 432–433</ref> The following year disagreements between Helpmann and the board of the Australian Ballet came to a head. He was outspoken about the inadequacy of the company's budget, and refused to cut costs, on the grounds that doing do would be artistically and technically damaging. He made it publicly clear that he felt the board had become "dominated by money-men who had no experience or understanding of artistic matters".<ref name=sw437/> The board decided that he must go, and tried to ease him out quietly. He did not cooperate, and made it known that he had been dismissed: "I want the public and the dancers to know that I didn't decide to leave them. I would have stayed with them until I dropped dead."<ref name=sw437>Sorley Walker (1998c), p. 437</ref>

In 1977 [[Peter Wright (dancer)|Peter Wright]], director of the [[Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet]], invited Helpmann to appear with the company in two of his old starring roles: the Red King in ''Checkmate'' and Dr Coppélius in ''Coppélia''. British ballet audiences had seen little of him in leading roles for some years, and his return was greeted with enthusiasm. The ballet critic of ''The Times'' described his Coppélius as "a legend come to life",<ref>Percival, John. "Comic legend returns", ''The Times'', 3 May 1977, p. 9</ref> and his ''[[Financial Times]]'' colleague wrote of Helpmann's "riotous and wonderful control", concluding, "British ballet owes Helpmann a vast debt – his present performances in ''Coppélia'' and ''Checkmate'' increase it still further".<ref>Crisp, Clement. "Ballet", ''Financial Times'', 3 May 1977, p. 17</ref>

===1980s===
In 1981 Helpmann staged another revival of his ballet ''Hamlet'', this time featuring [[Anthony Dowell]]. The production was given first at Covent Garden and was later taken to New York.<ref name=sw442/> In Sydney, Helpmann directed and choreographed [[Handel]]'s opera ''[[Alcina]]'', and in the US he directed [[Lilli Palmer]] in a one-woman show about [[Sarah Bernhardt]], ''Sarah in America''.<ref name=sw442/>

In New Zealand, Helpmann supervised the 1981 world premiere of the musical ''Aloha'' he had co-authored with Hawaiian composer Eaton Magoon Jr, staged by the Hamilton Operatic Society at the [[Founders Theatre]] directed by Robert Young, with [[Derek Williams (musician)|Derek Williams]] as orchestrator and musical director.<ref>(27 October 1981). "Author [Robert Helpmann] full of praise". ''[[Waikato Times]]'', New Zealand.</ref><ref>Day, Paul. (19 October 1981). Review: ''Hamilton Says Aloha To Musical''. [[Founders Theatre]]. ''[[The New Zealand Herald]]''.</ref><ref>[[Cryer, Max]]. (25 October 1981). "Hamilton produces ambitious musical" and "Kitsch Aloha goes down a real treat". p.9. ''[[Sunday Star-Times|New Zealand Times]]''</ref><ref>[https://heritage.hamiltonlibraries.co.nz/objects/14710/aloha Aloha]. Hamilton Heritage Collections.</ref> A [[cast recording]] produced by [[Carl Doy]] was made of the show at [[Mandrill Studios]].<ref> Magoon, Eaton, Jr, 1922-2018, [[Derek Metzger|Metzger, Derek]], 1962-, [[Derek Williams (musician)|Williams, Derek]], 1952-, Robert Helpmann, 1909-1986. (1981). [https://natlib.govt.nz/records/45278135 ''Aloha : a spectacular new musical / music and lyrics by Eaton Magoon Jnr'']. Musicals > Excerpts > Anthony Norton Collection, ATL-Group-00433: [[National Library of New Zealand]].</ref><ref>[http://castalbums.org/recordings/Aloha-1981-New-Zealand-Cast/1293 'Aloha > New Zealand Cast']. Vinyl. 1981. Producer: [[Carl Doy]].</ref> In 1983 there was a Hawaiian production of the show, followed in 1985 by a [[Michael Edgley]] revival production at His Majesty's Theatre, Auckland,<ref>[https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/42379/his-majestys-theatre-1988 His Majesty's Theatre]</ref> directed by [[Joe Layton]] with Derek Williams rehired as Musical Director.<ref>'The Arts'.  (12 June 1985).  'Teacher Continues Aloha Association'.  Page 24.  ''[[The Daily Post (New Zealand)|The Daily Post]]'' (Rotorua, New Zealand)</ref> New Zealand-born singer [[Derek Metzger]] starred in all ''Aloha'' productions.

The following year Helpmann appeared with [[Diana Rigg]] in [[Harvey Schmidt]]'s musical, ''Colette'', which opened in [[Seattle]] but folded before reaching Broadway.<ref name=sw442/> He then made his last British appearance in an acting role, playing Cardinal Pirelli in a revival of [[Sandy Wilson]]'s ''[[Valmouth (musical)|Valmouth]]'' at the [[Chichester Festival]]. [[Irving Wardle]] wrote in ''The Times'', "It is not a large part, but Helpmann's hooded smiles and baleful oeuillades, his capacity to express elegant corruption to his beringed finger-tips, lodge one imperishable image."<ref>Wardle, Irving. "Theatre", ''The Times'', 20 May 1982, p. 13</ref>

In 1983 Helpmann directed [[Gounod]]'s opera ''[[Roméo et Juliette]]'' in Sydney, and later in the year appeared there as the elderly [[Lord Alfred Douglas|Bosie]] in [[Justin Fleming (author)|Justin Fleming]]'s play about [[Oscar Wilde]], ''The Cobra'', with [[Mark Lee (Australian actor)|Mark Lee]] as Bosie's young self.<ref name=sw442/> In 1984, together with [[Googie Withers]] and [[John McCallum (actor)|John McCallum]], he toured in [[Ted Willis]]'s play ''Stardust'', and joined his sister Sheila to record two episodes of the Australian soap opera ''[[A Country Practice]]'', which were shown in 1985.<ref name=sw442/> Early in that year he was in the US directing a revival of the operetta ''The Mery Widow'' for the [[San Diego Opera]]. In June, at the [[Sydney Opera House]], he directed [[Joan Sutherland]] in [[Vincenzo Bellini|Bellini]]'s ''[[I Puritani]]''. His last stage appearances were as the Red King in ''Checkmate'', with the Australian Ballet, in Melbourne and Sydney in May 1986.<ref name=sw442/>

===Death===
Helpmann died of [[emphysema]] in [[Sydney]] on 28 September 1986, at the age of 77.<ref name=sw442>Sorley Walker (1998c), pp. 442–443</ref> He was given the rare tribute of a state funeral, held on 2 October at [[St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney]].<ref name=sw443/> Tributes were paid in both Houses of the [[Parliament of Australia]].<ref name=sw443>Sorley Walker (1998c), pp. 443–444</ref> In the [[Australian Senate|Senate]] all senators present stood in silence. This was noted as a rarity, and it was put on record that "it is only in exceptional circumstances that motions of condolence are moved for distinguished Australians who have not sat in the Parliament".<ref name=sw443/> Senator [[Stan Collard]] said:

:He always regarded himself as an Australian, although much of his life was spent away from these shores ... His love of the theatre and his ability to use it as a medium of communication and expression knew no bounds. He put this country on the map in the cultural arena.... He was always looking for new challenges and was never content to rely on past successes.... He was one of our great ambassadors.<ref name=sw443/>
In the [[House of Representatives (Australia)|House of Representatives]] the Prime Minister, [[Bob Hawke]], said, "No one should underestimate Sir Robert Helpmann's role in the development of the growing maturity of Australia's art and culture. ... He demonstrated to the world the diversity of this nation's talents and capabilities."<ref name=sw443/>
In London a memorial service was held at [[St Paul's, Covent Garden]] (known as "the actors' church"); Ashton represented [[Princess Margaret]], Fonteyn gave the address, a tribute was read from de Valois, and the British ballet and theatre were represented by some of their best-known members.<ref>{{cite news|title=Memorial service: Sir Robert Helpmann|newspaper=[[The Times]]|date=29 November 1986|page=18}}</ref>