Aladdin was commissioned by Scottish Ballet, who gave the premiere at The Edinburgh Festival Theatre on 20th December 2000. Sometime in the mid-1990s came the...

Aladdin was commissioned by Scottish Ballet, who gave the premiere at The Edinburgh Festival Theatre on 20th December 2000. Sometime in the mid-1990s came the dream phone call- Robert Cohan, American choreographer and founder of the London Contemporary Dance Company asking if Carl Davis would be interested in composing a score for a full length ballet on the subject of Aladdin, for what is the traditional Nutcracker slot, Autumn and Winter. The commission was from Scottish Ballet, then traditionally managed by the distinguished Russian ballerina, Galina Samsova. Born in New York in 1936, Carl Davis moved to London in 1960 and found himself at the heart of England’s theatre, television and film world. Davis is also a composer of symphonic works, a writer for ballet and a notable Conductor. Following on from Thames Television’s Hollywood series, he created a score for Abel Gance’s epic 1927 film Napoleon, a performance so unique it stimulated a global revival of silent film performances with live orchestra. Davis has written scores for over fifty silent films ranging from Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, Buster Keaton to DW Griffiths and King Vidor. In 2009 Carl created his own record label, the Carl Davis Collection, which features 27 discs on international and digital release.