Editing Robert Helpmann (section)

===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>