Daphnis and Chloë/ The Two Pigeons, Birmingham Royal Ballet, BRB, London Coliseum, March 2012

Essential for first rate ballet are music and choreography, and this double bill provides them in spades, along with some very fine dancing.

Daphnis and Chloë, all images Bill Cooper

Both ballets involve young lovers splitting apart, yet reunited at the end, and both are choreographed by one of the great masters of the twentieth century, Frederick Ashton. His creations were entirely new, the original choreography for Daphnis and Chloë being lost, and Messager’s score for Two Pigeons being re-orchestrated by John Lanchbery, who rounded it off at the end with a return to the scene at the start, the lovers together again in the studio. Musically and choreographically these are a must-see. Ravel’s music for Daphnis and Chloë is one of the world’s great ballet scores, and though the music for Two Pigeons may be less well known it is simply glorious. Conducting by Koen Kessels was hugely powerful, yet entirely sensitive to the dancers.

The dancing itself was excellent, the corps work very fine, and Elisha Willis gave a lovely performance as both the virginal Chloë and the hot-blooded gypsy girl in Two Pigeons, who causes the young painter to leave his lover and run after her. She filled both roles with conviction, and Robert Parker and Nao Sakuma as the lovers in Pigeons were a delight. Strong dancing all round, with superb sets, costumes and lighting.

The designs for Daphnis and Chloë are John Craxton’s originals for Ashton’s ballet, the gathered skirts for the women and belted trousers and shirtsleeves for the men bringing the classical remoteness of this story into the Mediterranean world so well evoked by Ravel’s score. And the stylised sets, though highly evocative of the period in which they were created, give a timeless background to the story.

The Two Pigeons: Robert Parker and Nao Sakuma

In Two Pigeons, Jacques Dupont’s lovely set, with its window to the city and sky, was beautifully lit by Mark Jonathan, the colours of the sky evincing a magical appeal for the anchored freedom of rooftops, and life in the upper floor of a city building. And those pigeons, seeming to fly free outside the window yet with one flying in to join the other at the end, evoke the beauty of this charming story.

These two ballets form a superb double bill, but it will be over in the blink of an eye, so fly down to see it without delay. There is a matinée and evening performance at the London Coliseum on March 14 — for details click here.

Nutcracker, Birmingham Royal Ballet, BRB at the O2, December 2011

Ballet under the big top of the O2 — can it work, or is the audience too far away to see the dancers clearly? Sitting behind the raked tiers of seats, the view was clear if distant, but a closer view was shown on a big screen above the stage. This was very cleverly done, and for example in the Act II dance of the Mirlitons where Clara dances with the four of them, on the screen you see just her and two Mirlitions, providing close-ups and the full effect at the same time. Peter Wright helped revamp his own production for the huge space of the O2, and it works very well.

All photos by Bill Cooper

The dancing was super, and apart from the Rose Fairy in Act II being blithely off the music, most of it was first rate. This was the final performance on December 30^th, and Angela Paul was a memorable Clara — she has the looks and the charm, and those close-up screenings gave her a magical presence. The real magician of course is Drosselmeyer with his flowing cape, a role Robert Parker portrayed with great panache, assisted by the acrobatic Tzu-Chao Chou. And talking of acrobatics, Joseph Caley was a remarkable Jack-in-the-Box in his hugely baggy trousers.

King Rat

After the guests have left the party in Act I and midnight has struck, the Christmas tree grows to such a vast size that we see only the bottom branches with huge candles, creating the impression that Clara has become as small as the nutcracker doll and the mice. It’s an Alice in Wonderland-like illusion, and then as we enter the wonderland realm of Act II those set piece character dances were beautifully performed, with Clara occasionally joining in. In his original story, E.T.A. Hoffmann mixes the real and magical worlds very cleverly, and having the real Clara in her nightdress join in with some of these fantastic characters from Spain, Arabia, China, and Russia, along with Mirlitons from the Land of Sweets, and flowers too, is a nice touch. The Spanish dance was brilliantly performed, with Maureya Lebowitz as the girl, and the final pas-de-deux with Iain Mackay as the Nutcracker Prince and Jenna Roberts as the Sugar Plum Fairy was excellent. His coupé-jetés were brilliantly executed and their partnership was flawlessly musical.

Waltz of the Flowers

Tchaikovsky’s music was well conducted by Koen Kessels, and though I miss the acoustics of the theatre, this is a super opportunity for the Birmingham Royal Ballet to show their talents to a wide audience. It’s not my choice of venue, but the more people who go to see serious ballet the better!

Sleeping Beauty, Birmingham Royal Ballet, BRB, London Coliseum, April 2010

Sleeping Beauty is a glorious union of music and dance with Tchaikovski’s score matched by Petipa’s choreography, and Peter Wright’s production for the Birmingham Royal Ballet does it full justice. The designs by Philip Prowse are excellent — the gold of the sets, and the black in some of the male costumes give a rich feel without the overwhelming pastel shades found in some other productions. The Prologue comes off very well, with the Lilac Fairy’s variation being taken by the sixth of six fairies, named here as Beauty, Honour, Modesty, Song, Temperament, and Joy. Their short tutus are all of similar colours, while the Lilac Fairy herself, gracefully portrayed by Andrea Tredinnick, is in a long tutu befitting a more calming and nurturing role. All the soloists did well, and Marion Tait as Carabosse was superbly musical as usual. Worth noting also that David Morse as Catalabutte, the master of ceremonies, showed fine stage presence and suitable angst, mortified by his omission of Carabosse from the guest list to the Christening.

Marion Tait as Carabosse, photo Bill Cooper

This production has some wonderful moments, and I particularly liked the way Carabosse reappears in Act I as a shrouded old woman, apparently willing to be arrested after giving Aurora the spindle, yet suddenly throwing off her disguise and creating havoc. Her disappearance in mid-air is very effective thanks to excellent lighting by Mark Jonathan. In fact the lighting was part of the glory of this production, giving a contrast between good and evil, particularly when both are on stage at the same time in the form of the Lilac Fairy and Carabosse. Also in Act I there was some slightly unfriendly competition between two of the four princes, played by Tyrone Singleton and Robert Parker, and it’s little vignettes like this that help to make the production come alive.

Nao Sakuma as Aurora, photo Bill Cooper

Nao Sakuma danced well as Aurora, and was very hansomely partnered in the later acts by Iain Mackay. He did a fine job as her prince, stepping in for Chi Cao, who was unable to get back into the country due to the recent absence of air flights. It was the first time they had danced these roles together, and they did it perfectly. This is a company that obviously works well together, producing excellent soloists and a fine corps de ballet. In Act III, Mathias Dingman and Alexander Campbell were brilliantly matched in the pas-de-quatre, as were Carol-Anne Millar and Angela Paul, who showed magnificent sparkle. Joseph Caley and Momoko Hirata were excellent in the Bluebird pas-de-deux, and I loved Sonia Aguilar as the White Cat — she was utterly charming.

If you want to see Sleeping Beauty, this production is terrific, and musically it was better than the recent run by the Royal Ballet. Paul Murphy conducted and drew exciting sounds from the orchestra, making the journey to the enchanted wood in Act II sound . . . well, enchanting. The choreography too, at that point, is delightful, and now includes the Awakening pas-de-deux.

Performances continue until Saturday, 24^th April.

Review — Cyrano, Birmingham Royal Ballet, at Sadler’s Wells, November 2009.

 

 

This is the second of two ballet programmes by the BRB at Sadler’s Wells, the other one being a triple bill called Quantum Leaps.

Cyrano was originally created by David Bintley for the Royal Ballet in 1991, but this new version for the Birmingham Royal Ballet has a completely new score by Carl Davis. The music is atmospheric, well suiting Bintley’s ballet, which is based on the 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand. It’s about a noble seventeenth century fellow named Cyrano with a horribly long nose, who is in love with his cousin Roxane. She in turn is interested in the callow young cadet Christian, and the plot is complicated by the fact that her guardian, the Comte de Guiche intends to marry her himself. Roxane asks Cyrano to deliver a love letter to Christian, and since the young fellow can’t read or write he asks Cyrano to write to Roxane on his behalf. The scene is then set for Roxane to fall helplessly in love with the letter writer whom she believes to be Christian. De Guiche manipulates events so that Christian is killed in battle, and Roxane then enters a convent in despair. She sees her cousin, Cyrano regularly, not knowing he is seriously wounded, nor that he loves her and has written all those beautiful letters. When she finds out, it’s too late and he dies in her arms.

Robert Parker was superb as Cyrano, with strong stage presence, precision in dancing, ability to express emotions, and playing well with the humorous parts. Elisha Willis was an utterly charming Roxane and her pas-de-deux with Cyrano in Act I was beautifully performed. This is a lovely piece of choreography, where she teasingly holds on to the letter she’s written. The supporting dancers all did well, with Iain Mackay as Christian, Chi Cao as Cyrano’s aide Le Bret, Christopher Larsen as Ragueneau the baker, Dominic Antonucci as the horrid De Guiche, and Marion Tait as the Duenna, who looks after Roxane. It’s always a pleasure to see her on stage, with her fine musicality. This is a ballet with plenty of ensemble dance for the men, and they performed it extremely well.

The designs by Hayden Griffin are wonderful, and I loved Roxane’s costumes. The fights, directed by Malcolm Ranson, were entertaining, but suffered from the usual weakness of people dropping dead without any apparent blow being struck. It was all very effectively lit by Mark Jonathan, and very well conducted by Wolfgang Heinz. Altogether this is a ballet to appeal to those who like a good story, and after a slow beginning it picked up later and the use of mime was very cleverly done. In fact it’s rather remarkable to turn into dance a story about a man who is good with words, but I think Bintley has succeeded.

Quantum Leaps, Birmingham Royal Ballet, BRB at Sadler’s Wells, November 2009 — Powder, E=mc2, and The Centre and its Opposite

In this triple bill each work was a team effort, and the dancers performed superbly. The sequence of ballets was well-judged and made a great evening of dance.

The first item, Powder was a revival of a 1998 ballet by Stanton Welch, an Australian-born choreographer who is now artistic director of Houston Ballet. It’s a sensuous use of dance to accompany Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A major, completed shortly before his death. The seven couples were led by Natasha Oughtred and Robert Parker. She was beautifully musical, vulnerable and sexy, well supported by her partner, and by Victoria Marr and Ambra Vallo as the other principal girls. The costumes by Kandis Cook — tight shorts for the men, and long chiffon skirts with various satin bodices for the women — were admirably sensual, and the subtle lighting by Mark Jonathan was very effective. The long sweeping motions in the choreography made this work the gentlest of the three and the right one to start with.

The second ballet, named after Einstein’s equation E = mc², was the main focus of the evening for me. It’s a new work by artistic director David Bintley, in four movements each with strongly rhythmic music specially commissioned from Australian composer Matthew Hindson. The first movement represents energy — the E in the equation — and was vibrantly physical. The energy represented here is the chaotic energy of the Big Bang, and I particularly liked the sextet of men, which showed immense power amid the rhythmic chaos. The second movement represents mass — the m in the equation — and is a complete contrast to the energy movement, reflecting the fact that we perceive mass and energy to be quite different, despite Einstein’s equation showing they are manifestations of the same thing. The sudden transformation of mass to energy informed the third movement, representing the dropping of two atomic bombs in World War II. This was demonstrated by powerful sound effects and a single white-faced dancer, Samara Downs in a kimono and with a large fan. Then came the fourth movement with a square array of lights on a screen at the back of the stage gradually becoming visible. This was the c² of the equation — c being the speed of light. The choreography here was particularly inventive, extremely well performed, and fascinating to watch. There was no physical set, and changes of mood were signified by Peter Mumford’s clever lighting, with sudden shafts of light streaking across stage. Costumes by Kate Ford were different for each part, and I particularly liked those for the second movement with their sombre colours and black shorts for the men. Altogether this four-part ballet was a feast of ideas, and I look forward to seeing it again.

The final item on the programme — The Centre and its Opposite — was a new work by Garry Stewart, artistic director of Australian Dance Theatre. It was extremely physical with unusual movements not normally seen from a ballet company, and was performed to electronic music by another Australian, Huey Benjamin. There were unusual rhythmic elements in the music, as befits a composer who has performed widely as a drummer. The set comprised vertical light strips round the edges and horizontal ones above, designed by Michael Mannion, and the tight grey costumes with black hgihlights were cleverly designed by Georg Meyer-Wiel. The audience reaction to this last item of the evening was strongly positive, though I found the new ballet by David Bintley to be the most interesting item in the programme.

Review — Serenade, Enigma Variations, and Still Life at the Penguin Café, Birmingham Royal Ballet, April 2009

This triple bill, titled Pomp and Circumstances, was brilliantly danced by the company, with the music beautifully played by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia under the baton of Philip Ellis, who showed great sympathy to both music and dancers.

Balanchine’s Serenade was very well done, though the ‘accidental’ fall towards the end looked a bit too contrived, particularly since the girl loosened her hair so carefully first. But the presentation was clean and Tchaikovsky’s music came over well.

Enigma Variations by Frederick Ashton was fun as usual, with Jonathan Payne and Victoria Marr as Elgar and his wife. The cast did an excellent job: Carol-Anne Millar was a fine Dorabella, with superb chainé turns at the end, James Grundy was very funny in his solo as WMB, and Matthew Lawrence and Natasha Oughtred were a lovely young couple as RPA and Ysobel, to say nothing of the other principals. Again the music was delightfully played under the baton of Philip Ellis.

Finally, Bintley’s  Still Life at the Penguin Café was a rip roaring success. The music by Simon Jeffes is wonderful fun, and the dancing was terrific. Laura Purkiss as the Great Auk started the show with aplomb, and Angela Paul was a beautifully musical Ram, well partnered by Robert Parker, giving us a cabaret act not to be missed. Christopher Larsen was equally musical in his wonderful solo as the Texan Kangaroo Rat, and Carol-Anne Millar was a superb Flea. Chi Cao was the zebra, very well supported by his ladies, including Angela Paul who had changed costumes from being the ram, and changed back again for the finale.

Altogether this was a marvellous triple bill with a great many dancers doing a great many things. Congratulations to the Birmingham Royal Ballet.