"It wasn't Ashton's intention to make a narrative ballet (...) but strong enough to kill. He decided on a flashback structure with a prologue showing Marguerite on her deathbed and the rest of the action represented as her recollection of her love story (the Meeting, the Country, the Insult) until Armand rushes in for the actual death scene. (...)
Ashton and Cecil Beaton use a semicircular metal structure to suggest the gilded cage in which Marguerite is imprisoned. (...)
Ashton was concerned in depicting the lovers' growing passion in terms of freer movement. (...) Marguerite's tottering, trembling walk on pointe, expresses her despair. (...)
The final pas de deux contains the ballet's most unforgettable dance image, when Marguerite seems to climb up Armand's body as her spirit tries to escape from the prison of the flesh. In a final gesture, she puts her hand to his face and then falls back lifeless."

Da "Dance now" vol. 9 no. 1:

"Ashton's choreography for Armand flagrantly incorporated Nureyev's own style. When we see the high retirés, ultra-strict placing and windblown postures, we see movement mannerisms belonging to Nureyev."

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