Royal Ballet Triple: Birthday Offering/ A Month in the Country/ Les Noces, Covent Garden, June/July 2012

This triple bill offers an evening of glorious choreography, opening with the exuberance of Ashton’s Birthday Offering.

Rojo and Bonelli, all images ROH/ Tristram Kenton

Birthday Offering, first shown in 1956 for the 25^th anniversary of the Company (then known as the Sadler’s Wells Ballet), starts with the melodious phrases of Glazunov’s Concert Waltz No. 1, and Tom Seligman in the orchestra pit made it swell with pride and energy. The choreography is full of charm and inventiveness, and the fourteen dancers, led by Tamara Rojo and Federico Bonelli, performed it beautifully. Among the six supporting men I particularly liked Brian Maloney, who showed wonderful head and arm movements, and the seven variations for the girls were a delight, starting superbly with Yuhui Choe. Helen Crawford showed excellent technique in the very difficult variation number seven, and Tamara Rojo came last in variation six, dancing brilliantly, both alone and with Bonelli. Costumes by Andre Levasseur are stunning, and this made a perfect start to the evening, but where was the floral bouquet for Rojo? A similar thing happened to her with the recent Prince of the Pagodas — very odd.

Yanowsky and Pennefather

From the unalloyed pleasure of Birthday Offering the evening moved to the drama of A Month in the Country, created by Ashton in 1976. To music by Chopin, arranged by John Lanchbery, this one-act ballet condenses the main aspects of Turgenev’s play using choreography that fully expresses the emotions of the characters. Zenaida Yanowsky gave a superb portrayal of the mother, exhibiting her customary flirtation with Rakitin at the start, followed by her attraction for the new tutor and finally her anguish at his departure. As he flees the house she struck a lovely pose of pensive regret by the doorway before stepping very slowly into the room, bringing the ballet to its close. In the meantime her sudden loss of interest in Rakitin was perfectly expressed, and Gary Avis gave a finely drawn portrait of this family friend. Her jealousy of Vera was beautifully judged, and Emma Maguire was superb as Vera, with her own fit of jealousy stunningly expressed. As the attractive young  tutor, who brings such immense confusion to the household, Rupert Pennefather was perfect, showing in his solos just the right joy and angst on occasion, and his partnering of both the mother and Vera was beautifully done. This performance of Month was worth the whole triple bill, with Birthday Offering as one bonus, and Les Noces as another.

Les Noces with Christina Arestis (top) as the bride

Les Noces is an extraordinary work, supported not only by an orchestra, but four pianists, and four vocal soloists plus chorus. Bronislava Nijinska’s stylised choreography to music and song-text by Stravinsky shows the preparations and ritual surrounding a peasant wedding, and Natalia Goncharova’s costumes in brown and white express the unifying power and conservatism of the local culture. There are analogies with the Rite of Spring, but here the chosen one is the bride whose previous life is being converted to one of procreation and duty to her husband, according to the implacable force of tradition and the collective will of the community. The dancers brought the choreography to life with huge force, and Ryoichi Hirano made the bridegroom a tall and powerful figure, with Christina Arestis suitably pliant as the wife. This ballet, always an invigorating experience to watch, brought the evening to a perfect close.

It’s a triple bill not to be missed, and I shall report on a different cast next week. Performances continue only until July 7, so book immediately — for details click here.

La Fille mal gardée, with Choe and Maloney, Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, May 2012

For a witty pastoral story of young love triumphing over a widow’s desire to marry her daughter into wealth this ballet is hard to beat. First created in 1789, the year of the French revolution, its characters are ordinary folk, unlike the stylized shepherds and shepherdesses seen on stage at that time.

The scenario is refreshingly simple — a model of how a light comic ballet should be constructed — and Ashton’s wonderful 1960 version for the Royal Ballet is a delight. It uses music created by John Lanchbery, based on Ferdinand Hérold’s 1828 score, and the result is a bundle of fun. Ashton’s choreography has been widely adopted, but though looking superficially simple is not easy to dance well.

Cockerel and hens, all images Tristram Kenton

It all starts with four hens and a cockerel, amusingly performed here by Liam Scarlett, and we then meet Lise, delightfully danced by Yuhui Choe. Perpetually trying to get away from her mother’s restrictions, she leaves a pink ribbon tied in a lovers’ knot for her beloved Colas, danced by Brian Maloney. He made a good partner for Choe, elegant and enthusiastic, but the choreography proved too much for him, and his solos were not a success — off the music, marking some turns, and landing badly. This is a pity because if the Company really concentrated on getting this ballet right it’s a winner.

Alain enters

However, Michael Stojko gave a very fine performance of Alain, simpleton son of a wealthy landowner, and the would-be fiancé of Lise. He had the pathos, he had the shy wit, and his clumsy dancing was beautifully done. When he climbed in at the end to retrieve his red umbrella he rounded off the ballet perfectly. Lise’s mother, Widow Simone was well portrayed by Philip Mosley, without the overdone antics that I’ve seen in some other performers. The ballet is not really about her, and I think he played it just right.

Osbert Lancaster’s sets for this ballet have a perennial charm, and if you have never seen it before, then it’s a must-see. The problem was the dancing, but if you don’t know the details you may not notice anything amiss. For example in Act I of this performance the long pink ribbon lay rather flaccid on the floor as Lise jumped over it, and at the end of Act II there was no bum lift. But the music was super, well conducted by Barry Wordsworth, and next week I shall report on a different cast headed by Steven McRae and Roberta Marquez.

Performances with various casts continue until May 16 — for details click here.

MacMillan Triple: Concerto, The Judas Tree, Elite Syncopations, a second view, Royal Ballet, March 2010

These three Kenneth MacMillan ballets represent strikingly different aspects of his choreography. As a starter we had the classical lines of Concerto, to Shostakovich’s second piano concerto; then the dramatic intensity of The Judas Tree, to specially commissioned music by Brian Elias; and finally the riotous fun of Elite Syncopations, to a jazz band playing rag-time music, mainly by Scott Joplin. This was my second visit, in order to see the alternative cast, so I’ll comment mainly on the dancers, other details being given on my previous posting.

Marianela Nuñez in Elite Syncopations, photo by Johan Persson

Elite Syncopations was just as good as last time, and Marianela Nuñez was outstanding in the second female solo, so musical, and with enormous precision and attack. Her partner in the waltz was Thiago Soares, showing excellent stage presence and looking entirely fresh despite starring in the previous ballet! Laura Morera danced the first female solo, having already performed well with Nathalie Harrison and Yuhui Choe in Scott Joplin’s Cascades. Choe was utterly charming in this, and in her later partnership with Liam Scarlett. Ludovic Ondiviela danced well in the final male solo, but the biggest applause was for Nathalie Harrison and Michael Stojko as the tall lady and short man in the Alaskan Rag. Their comic timing was excellent, and he with his glasses and bearing reminding me of that great comedian, Eric Morcambe, albeit in a shorter version.

Sarah Lamb & Ryoichi Hirano in Concerto, photo by Johan Persson

The hyper-colourful costumes for the performers and the jazz band in this ballet are delightfully absurd, and it made a fine end to an evening that started with MacMillan’s 1966 ballet Concerto, where Laura Morera and Brian Maloney did a fine job as the principal couple in the first movement, and Sarah Lamb with Ryoichi Hirano did a lovely pas-de-deux in the slow second movement. All four were joined by Laura McCulloch for the last movement, and the whole company danced with precision and excellent spacing on stage.

This 25 minute ballet makes a fine start to the evening, which then plunges into the intense darkness of The Judas Tree, where Thiago Soares gave a menacing portrayal of the Foreman (the Judas character). He was ably supported by Sergei Polunin as the Simon Peter character who stands by as Johannes Stepanek (the Jesus character) is murdered after being kissed on the cheek by the Foreman. Mara Galeazzi was the girl (the Magdalen character) who is gang raped by the workmen, and then killed by the Foreman after she accuses him of being responsible. It’s a horribly dark story, but the dramatically physical choreography keeps the momentum going at full tilt, and is a fine example of how well MacMillan could use the abstract choreography of dance to give a representation of sex and violence. Despite the subtext from an apocryphal gospel, the whole ballet can simply be viewed as a nasty story on a building site on the Isle of Dogs, with the main tower of Canary Wharf looming up in the background.

As part of a triple bill, The Judas Tree goes in the middle, and although some commentators have criticised the choice of Elite Syncopations to follow it, I find the playful absurdity a welcome relief. For me this triple bill is well judged, and whichever cast one gets, it’s an evening of ballet well worth seeing.

Romeo and Juliet, Royal Ballet, January 2010

What a relief this was from the Maryinsky’s old Soviet pantomime Romeo and Juliet last August. Kenneth Macmillan’s version is the choice of several ballet companies, and with its designs by Nicholas Giorgiadis forms a fine response to Prokofiev’s wonderful music.

Tamara Rojo as Juliet

The cast for this first night of the present run was a strong one headed by Tamara Rojo, whose portrayal of a convincingly distraught Juliet at the end could hardly be bettered. She was very well partnered by Rupert Pennefather, whose elegant and youthful Romeo was equally convincing. Gary Avis was terrific as Tybalt, never overstepping the line into pathological irascibility, as sometimes happens. He was always controlled, while smouldering with mockery at the Montagues, and rage at Romeo.

Romeo’s friends Mercutio and Benvolio were very well danced by José Martín and Sergei Polunin, and in fact Polunin was the best Benvolio I ever remember seeing. His first sword fight in Act I was superbly on the music. David Pickering portrayed an anxiously callow Paris, Genesia Rosato was an excellent nurse, and Elizabeth McGorian a suitably dramatic Lady Capulet. A couple of comments on the more minor roles: Brian Maloney was superbly musical as the soloist in the Mandolin Dance, and the three harlots were all well danced by Laura Morera, Samantha Raine and Francesca Filpi.

Boris Gruzin in the orchestra pit did a superb job, giving the dancers ample musical stimulation. Tamara Rojo will be dancing Juliet again on January the 16^th, presumably with Pennefather who replaced Acosta in this performance,  so any available tickets should be snapped up. If you miss that performance there are plenty more, with a whole range of Juliets, some of whom will be very good indeed — Cojocaru, Benjamin and Nuñez particularly spring to mind.

Triple Bill — Agon, Sphinx, and Limen, Royal Ballet, November 2009

Melissa Hamilton and Carlos Acosta in Agon, photo by Bill Cooper

Agon is a Greek word meaning ‘contest’, and this 1957 Balanchine ballet is for twelve dancers who perform in twos, threes, etc. without any story. The music by Stravinsky is interestingly varied, some parts strongly represented by wind instruments, and others very quiet. The main pas-de-deux towards the end was brilliantly performed by Carlos Acosta and Melissa Hamilton, who continues to impress as a rising star in the company. In the two pas-de-trois we had Johan Kobborg with Yuhui Choe and Hikaru Kobayashi, and Mara Galeazzi with Valeri Hristov and Brian Maloney. The dancers all performed beautifully, and Daniel Capps did an excellent job conducting the orchestra.

Sphinx is a ballet by Glen Tetley to music of Martinů, originally choreographed for American Ballet Theatre in 1977. It’s based on Jean Cocteau’s La machine infernale, a reworking of the Oedipus myth, exploring the conflict between free will and fate. There are three dancers, the Sphinx, Oedipus and Anubis, the jackal-headed god who shepherds the dead into the Egyptian underworld. The choreography for the two men is intensely physical and both Edward Watson as Anubis, and Rupert Pennefather as Oedipus, danced like gods, while Marianela Nuñez was an attractively seductive sphinx. This was the first performance of the work by the Royal Ballet, and it used the original designs by the late Rouben Ter-Arutunian, with costumes by Willa Kim and lighting by John B. Read. The costumes were very effective, making the men look as if they were dancing naked, but with painted bodies.

Limen is a new ballet by Wayne McGregor. The title refers to the threshold of some physiological or psychological response, and we were presented at the beginning with dancers behind a transparent bluish screen. On the screen were projected single digit numbers of various sizes — like those on an LED display — that moved and changed value. The costumes by Moritz Junge were colourful tops with shorts, well set off by Lucy Carter’s lighting, which at one point showed thick bright coloured stripes from one side of the stage to the other. The choreography combined strong physicality alternating with moments of calm, but towards the end I found the production distracted me from watching the dancers. A screen with a matrix of small blue lights at the back of the stage moved very slowly forward, and as it did so some lights went out, while others came on. I’ve seen mysterious on-off lighting on stage before, but the trouble is that I’m always trying to work out the pattern and this distracts me from the dancing or singing that is the main point of the work. Obviously the lights were meant to recall the screen at the start, because as they came closer I could see that each light was a small single digit number. Presumably one has now gone over the threshold to a new level of reality.

The choreography fitted very well with the lovely music by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, conducted by Barry Wordsworth, who was also the conductor of the previous ballet Sphinx. Since this ballet was brand new, it was danced by a very strong cast of fifteen, including Edward Watson, Steven McRae and Eric Underwood among the men, and Leanne Benjamin and Marianela Nuñez among the women. It works well, but Wayne McGregor seems to have too strong a predilection for screens that distract from his choreography.

Giselle, Royal Ballet, April 2009

 

I attended two performances: the opening night of a new series on 6^th April, and a second one on 28^thApril.

On 6^th April the cast was headed by Marianela Nuñez and Carlos Acosta as Giselle and Albrecht. Both were excellent, and her jumps in Act II were terrific. Their pas-de-deux work was beautifully controlled, if a little mechanical, and each one danced extremely well on their own. Gary Avis was a very fine Hilarion, utterly convincing, without over-acting in any way. As Queen of the Wilis we had Helen Crawford, dancing elegantly and commanding the stage in Act II, with her two attendants beautifully danced by Samantha Raine and Hikaru Kobayashi, the first with superb poise and control, and the second with extremely graceful arm movements. The pas de six in Act I was very well performed by Laura Morera, Ricardo Cervera, Samantha Raine, Kenta Kura, Hikaru Kobayashi and Brian Maloney, and this was an excellent cast, with Thomas Whiteside and Genesia Rosato doing a fine job as Albrecht’s squire and Giselle’s mother. My only complaint is that thecorps de ballet lacked rigour, but this may come with later performances — when the wilis exit in fours after Hilarion’s death, each four should be in a rhombus shape, which only one group out of six managed. But this was altogether a wonderful performance of Giselle, and Boris Gruzin conducted with vibrancy and sensitivity.

The second performance I saw, on 28^th April, had a cast headed by Tamara Rojo and Rupert Pennefather as Giselle and Albrecht, and they were brilliant, both in their pas-de-deux work and individually in Act II. Pennefather has a beautiful line that gives him authority on stage, and their musicality comes through very well when they dance together. They also acted their parts convincingly in Act I, as did Bennet Gartside who was an excellent Hilarion. The pas-de-six in Act I was led by Yuhui Choe and Yohei Sasaki, with Elizabeth Harrod, Fernando Montaño, Emma Maguire and Ernst Meisner. Choe and Sasaki were terrific, and she was also excellent in Act II as one of the two attendants for Myrtha, the Queen of the Wilis. Myrtha herself was danced by Laura McCulloch, who did some fine jumps, but seemed slightly off the music. Her other attendant, apart from Yuhui Choe, was Sian Murphy.

The corps de ballet had a better shape in Act II than on the opening night, and my only complaint about this second act, and it’s a small one, is that I thought it lacked the emotional energy of opening night. This of course is one of those things that depend so much on the night, and it’s difficult to pin down the reason. The conductor was Boris Gruzin who also did the opening performance on 6th April.