A charming production, and the least pretentious opera I've seen. Beautiful, yet highly stylised, ethereal set and costumes make Janáček's opera a visual feast. A large rotating wheel, gigantic mosquitos, a chain-saw-come-clock and more. Wow.
What it lacks in big sweeping songs, it more than makes up for in gorgeous, warm, dense orchestration and light floating melodies. The cast was strong, and were clearly (like the audience watching) having a whale of a time. Emma Matthews (Vixen Sharp-Ears) has a lovely light tone; a joy to listen to, even if she did struggle occasionally to cut through the orchestra. Elisabeth Meister replaced Emma Bell as The Fox, and acted the part well, although her voice has a shrill quality that jars on the some of the higher notes.
The plot is neither here nor there (or perhaps I just didn't get it) but this opera is witty, whimsical and wholesome fun. It's not all fun and games of course - gun shots in the second act bring us crashing back to earth - but overall an uplifting and unpretentious production. No melodrama here.
Saturday, 10 April 2010
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
As One/Rushes - Fragments of A Lost Story/Infra - The Royal Ballet 01/03/2010
This was an unexpectedly good night. Three very modern works, including a debut for young choreographer Jonathan Watkins, with a strong cast of principals. I am writing this too long after the performance to write a fully detailed review, but I'll get down the general gist of things.
Watkins's As One opened the programme, and I was surprised at how coherent and compelling I found this new work. The choreography manages extremely effectively to portray both individuality and uniformity, loneliness and unity as it moves through a series of dances based on everyday life; channel surfing, a house party, school...In 'channel surfing' Laura Morera and Edward Watson dance almost entirely separately, seldom making body contact, and yet there is communication, a give-and-take in the choreography that makes it quite obvious that while these are two characters with individual struggles they are also united. In the 'house party' we see each of the dancers breaking out in individual sequences of steps. Interestingly, to begin with, my take on 'As One' was that we could strive to be individual but really we were just part of the mass, that even when we feel lonely and isolated and on the edge we are really on the uniform conveyor belt through life, as is danced through two solos including a flashingly brilliant, yet repetitive solo for Stephen McCrae. However, the final scenes create a sense of joy in the togetherness of our individuality, the final frieze showing the dynamic individuality of all the dancers meshing together to form one living breathing mass of united dancers! It was a delight, choreographically intriguing and creative. I didn't need to read the program to understand and get involved with this work, something deliciously unusual for the contemporary works that the Royal tend to perform. Go see. I hope they revive it in a couple of years!
Rushes, based on Doestoevsky's 'The Idiot' and danced to music by Prokofiev, however failed to grab me. Choreographically it felt like a poor Macmillan imitation, the set is intrusive, serving only to shut the audience out (although I think this may actually be the desired effect), and while Laura Morera gave a strong performance, and danced well with Carlos Acostas, there is little to get your teeth into here. My sandwich filling hypothesis holdds true again it seems. So moving on...
Wayne McGregor's Infra was fortunately a return to the standard of the beginning of the evening. While I do find McGregor almost too abstract, his choreography generates a compelling tension between the dancers, whether there be two or twelve of them on stage. He has a very distinctive choreographic style, that's for sure, but I am dubious how many more similar ballets he can churn out before we tire of them. Strong performances from Ed Watson, and Eric Underwood (pictured).
A strong night for the Royal Ballet, which, for me at least, was all about As One.
Watkins's As One opened the programme, and I was surprised at how coherent and compelling I found this new work. The choreography manages extremely effectively to portray both individuality and uniformity, loneliness and unity as it moves through a series of dances based on everyday life; channel surfing, a house party, school...In 'channel surfing' Laura Morera and Edward Watson dance almost entirely separately, seldom making body contact, and yet there is communication, a give-and-take in the choreography that makes it quite obvious that while these are two characters with individual struggles they are also united. In the 'house party' we see each of the dancers breaking out in individual sequences of steps. Interestingly, to begin with, my take on 'As One' was that we could strive to be individual but really we were just part of the mass, that even when we feel lonely and isolated and on the edge we are really on the uniform conveyor belt through life, as is danced through two solos including a flashingly brilliant, yet repetitive solo for Stephen McCrae. However, the final scenes create a sense of joy in the togetherness of our individuality, the final frieze showing the dynamic individuality of all the dancers meshing together to form one living breathing mass of united dancers! It was a delight, choreographically intriguing and creative. I didn't need to read the program to understand and get involved with this work, something deliciously unusual for the contemporary works that the Royal tend to perform. Go see. I hope they revive it in a couple of years!
Rushes, based on Doestoevsky's 'The Idiot' and danced to music by Prokofiev, however failed to grab me. Choreographically it felt like a poor Macmillan imitation, the set is intrusive, serving only to shut the audience out (although I think this may actually be the desired effect), and while Laura Morera gave a strong performance, and danced well with Carlos Acostas, there is little to get your teeth into here. My sandwich filling hypothesis holdds true again it seems. So moving on...
A strong night for the Royal Ballet, which, for me at least, was all about As One.
Thursday, 18 February 2010
Romeo and Juliet, The Royal Ballet 13/02/2010
Kenneth Macmillan's first full length work, Romeo and Juliet has been a staple in the Royal Ballet's repertory since it premiered in 1965. Combining the traditional with the contemporary, this ballet houses heavy costumes, character dancing and mime, with weighty emotions and a decent dose more grit than your average Swan Lake. The performance I saw was the day before Valentine's day, and boy could you tell - couples everywhere, all dressed up to the nines.
The first scene of Act 1 attempts to establish the enmity between the Montagues and Capulets. The fight scene completely lacks any real bloodlust. Perhaps this is deliberate and an attempt to unveil it all as a bit of a farce, but either way, it's tedious to watch, and while the dramatic tableau created at the end of the scene is impressive, it feels a little as though the entire scene was building up to the final pose. However, things pick up when we travel to Juliet's bedroom and meet the young Juliet (Marianela Nuñez) for the delightfully amusing dance with her nurse, immediately prior to meeting her suitor Paris, in which Juliet becomes aware for seemingly the first time that she is no longer a child.
Into the ball, and I always feel a little disappointed by the Dance of Knights, which is set to Prokofiev's most famous piece of music from this ballet. While it certainly feels austere, the choreography is repetitive and lacks any real drama, as with the first scene. However, Juliet, Paris and Romeo (Thiago Soares) weave intriguingly through the dancers which fits perfectly with Prokofiev's mesmerising score. From this point forth the romance takes off in a frenzy, and spirals onwards brilliantly towards the tragic finish. In the second act Gary Avis is, as always, spectacular as Juliet's cousin Tybalt, and Ricardo Cervera and Kenta Kura flashingly brilliant as Mercutio and Benvolio, outdancing Thiago Soares in some of the pas de trois.
Romeo and Juliet is a slow starter, but once it gets going it's fabulous. It's a shame I won't see any other partnerships dance it this run. Nuñez and Soares pulled off the frenzied romance and tragedy very well, and I will definitely see them dance other dramatic roles in the future.
The first scene of Act 1 attempts to establish the enmity between the Montagues and Capulets. The fight scene completely lacks any real bloodlust. Perhaps this is deliberate and an attempt to unveil it all as a bit of a farce, but either way, it's tedious to watch, and while the dramatic tableau created at the end of the scene is impressive, it feels a little as though the entire scene was building up to the final pose. However, things pick up when we travel to Juliet's bedroom and meet the young Juliet (Marianela Nuñez) for the delightfully amusing dance with her nurse, immediately prior to meeting her suitor Paris, in which Juliet becomes aware for seemingly the first time that she is no longer a child.
Into the ball, and I always feel a little disappointed by the Dance of Knights, which is set to Prokofiev's most famous piece of music from this ballet. While it certainly feels austere, the choreography is repetitive and lacks any real drama, as with the first scene. However, Juliet, Paris and Romeo (Thiago Soares) weave intriguingly through the dancers which fits perfectly with Prokofiev's mesmerising score. From this point forth the romance takes off in a frenzy, and spirals onwards brilliantly towards the tragic finish. In the second act Gary Avis is, as always, spectacular as Juliet's cousin Tybalt, and Ricardo Cervera and Kenta Kura flashingly brilliant as Mercutio and Benvolio, outdancing Thiago Soares in some of the pas de trois.
This was the first time I've seen Nuñez dance a more dramatic role, and she threw everything and the kitchen sink into her rendition of Juliet. She was better partnered than normal by her Romeo (Thiago Soares), who despite a wobbly first solo (which is just after they've met and is supposed to woo her!) was suitably lyrical and romantic for the rest of the night. His acting at Juliet's tomb was heart-rending, and he outperformed Nuñez at this point. While they are not the best Romeo and Juliet I have seen by quite some margin, throughout the night I was very struck by how accurately Soares and Nuñez timed their acting with the music, despite the fact the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House were not having a stellar night. They used the space between them, and their positioning on the stage perfectly to almost paint emotion and tension onto the stage.
Sunday, 14 February 2010
La Fille du Régiment, The Metropolitan Opera, New York City 09/02/2010
As I've said before, I am no opera buff, but I didn't need to be to appreciate this wonderful performance. The almost uniformly brilliant vocal performances combined with with tastefully over-the-top acting made for a thoroughly entertaining night.
Donizetti's La Fille du Régiment has, like many operas, a fairly ridiculous storyline, and this was handled perfectly by the star-studded line up of the Met Opera. While emotion was certainly not lacking, you never got the impression that any of the characters were taking themselves too seriously, which made for a very humourous performance. Diana Damrau made Marie the perfect boisterious tom-boy heroine, while Juan Diego Flórez was sublime as the smitten Tonio, his top notes simply gorgeous. In the smaller roles, Meredith Arwardy's voice was not my favourite of the night but she certainly made her presence felt as the Marquise of Berkenfield, and Maurizio Mauro was a very solid Sulpice - the dynamic between him and the Marquise very comic.
The set too was creative, beginning with a barricade built out of furniture that put me in mind of 'Les Miserables', and the floor of the stage covered in huge unfolded maps. While costumes were still period, this more modern setting laid the backdrop for the more contemporary feel of the acting, and further abolished any illusions that the story being enacted was in anyway realistic!
I really don't have a bad word to say about this production, other than that maybe Kiri Te Kanawa hammed up her cameo as the Duchess of Krakenthorp a little too much. It was the first time I have heard dialogue in opera, but it didn't intrude or jar. Donizetti's music is catchy and provides ample oppportunity for the lead roles to show off their vocal prowess - which they did with considerable gusto! It was only a shame that heavy blizzards had kept away much of what should have been a full house at Lincoln Center - what a treat they missed! Flórez is in London doing the same role at the ROH this season, and I am very tempted to go to see him again.
Friday, 29 January 2010
Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake 24/01/2010, Sadler's Wells
The first act is Swan Lake meets Paris Hilton, and I almost despaired. Dance theatre at it's cheapest, this act was overlong. The spoof 'ballet-within-a-ballet' punches accurately and gets some laughs from the ballet fans in the audience...(although I found myself getting a little indignant at the insinuation that traditional ballets are so ridiculous and trite - what a purist I am!). However, this spoof is basically the only attempt at dancing in the first forty-five minutes. Tedious.
Things pick up dramatically when the Swans appear following the Prince's attempt to commit suicide at the lake. They are a visual feast, and the energy that comes from the all-male cast is palpable. That said, as the choreography is not perhaps the most imaginative in the world, a tighter performance from the Swan ensemble would have vastly improved the performance. The best moments in this second act were undoubtedly the duets between the Swan (Richard Winsor) and the Prince. However, at the interval I felt that what I had seen thus far was basically a pastiche with a couple of hints of genius and nothing more. While Richard Winsor has some stunning arm movements and is clearly a very accomplished actor, at this stage I was still distracted by his surprising lack of instep, spoiling nearly all the lines in Matthew Bourne's choroegraphy.
Fortunately, the second half was far superior to the second (mostly because it didn't include the dire first act). The explosive sexual tension exuded when the Dark Stranger (Richard Winsor) arrives at the party is utterly compelling, as he swaggers around the stage, women swooning, while the Prince looks on in confusion and distress. The scene ends dramatically when the Dark stranger seduces the Queen, the Prince entirely loses the plot and there are gun shots a-plenty.
And then finally we reach the best bit of the night. As the Prince descends into a frenzy of madness and despair, the set suddenly becomes recognisable as the inside of a psychiatric institution of some kind; the enormous bed that we saw at the very beginning now making a tom-thumb-like child of the whimpering
man buried among the many pillows. The swans suddenly take on their true-to-life (rather than ethereal fairy tale) nature, and aggressively writhe and contort around the Prince's room, tormenting him. The image you are left with is haunting, as the Prince is reunited with The Swan and weeps in his arms. This was great, chilling, psychotic, manic and could only have been done with male swans.
So what did I take home from the night? To me this was not really Swan Lake. The story doesn't much resemble the original, unlike a not dissimilar reworking that I saw done by the Bolshoi a few years ago. This is not necessarily a negative, but it just feels a little bit like Matthew Bourne wanted the male swans, so needed to somehow fit them into the framework of Swan Lake (cynical - perhaps to draw in the crowds?). There are too many different elements in one show - cheap 'Hairspray'-like dance theatre, coupled with chilling contemporary dance, and a dose of pastiche and satire. It clearly does it for some people, but as a whole production, doesn't work for me. I think I'll take the original Swan Lake, and remember this as some kind of interesting yet imperfect aberration.
Tuesday, 12 January 2010
La Bohème, The Royal Opera 07/01/2010
First visit to the ROH of 2010 and my first opera. Clearly, I am therefore by no means a connoisseur, so bear with me as I give my tuppence worth!
All acts are packed with famous arias and duets, and these were generally very well sung by what was in the most part a cast of young artists. As the two leads Rodolfo and Mimi, Ji-Min Park and Rebecca Evans, although perhaps lacking in romantic chemistry, gave solid vocal performances - some lovely floating top notes from Rebecca Evans in particular. They were well supported by the seasoned performer Chistopher Maltman as Marcello - his acting in particular distinguishing him from the majority of this young cast. The exception being Eri Nakamura as Musetta - who acted this fickle flirt-with-a-heart down to a tee. Perhaps the only weak performance came from Simone del Savio (Schaunard - a musician) who may have been having an off night, but somehow failed to project beyond the orchestra across the entirety of his vocal range.
So that's the cast, now the production and the opera itself. The set is truly spectacular - the Act III set drawing gasps of delight and spontaneous applause and gusty 'bravos' when the curtains reveal the snowy stage, with the gate made famous by the poster campaign at the back of the stage. Makes you realise how much the need for dance space limits the set in ballet productions. As for the plot, well it's hasty that's for sure, but if you can pad it out within your head you can get into the heart of the weighty emotions of act III. Rodolfo and Mimi fall in love extremely quickly, even by theatrical standards (I haven't seen any operas for comparison!), and then we don't see the intervening months of love before things begin to go wrong. Opera having words gives both the potential for wit, but also removes the scope for more abstract plot development, as is possible with dance. Therefore whilst I'm happily carried along by Manon and Des Grieux falling in love in one dance, there is something less believable about this happening in one song in opera. That said, it may be that this was due to a short-falling of the chemistry of this particular Rodolfo and Mimi, so I'll reserve judgement for now...
That sounds negative, which wasn't my intention. I thoroughly enjoyed the evening, the music was great, the production is beautiful and Puccini is witty if a little cheesy. I will be back for more.
All acts are packed with famous arias and duets, and these were generally very well sung by what was in the most part a cast of young artists. As the two leads Rodolfo and Mimi, Ji-Min Park and Rebecca Evans, although perhaps lacking in romantic chemistry, gave solid vocal performances - some lovely floating top notes from Rebecca Evans in particular. They were well supported by the seasoned performer Chistopher Maltman as Marcello - his acting in particular distinguishing him from the majority of this young cast. The exception being Eri Nakamura as Musetta - who acted this fickle flirt-with-a-heart down to a tee. Perhaps the only weak performance came from Simone del Savio (Schaunard - a musician) who may have been having an off night, but somehow failed to project beyond the orchestra across the entirety of his vocal range.
So that's the cast, now the production and the opera itself. The set is truly spectacular - the Act III set drawing gasps of delight and spontaneous applause and gusty 'bravos' when the curtains reveal the snowy stage, with the gate made famous by the poster campaign at the back of the stage. Makes you realise how much the need for dance space limits the set in ballet productions. As for the plot, well it's hasty that's for sure, but if you can pad it out within your head you can get into the heart of the weighty emotions of act III. Rodolfo and Mimi fall in love extremely quickly, even by theatrical standards (I haven't seen any operas for comparison!), and then we don't see the intervening months of love before things begin to go wrong. Opera having words gives both the potential for wit, but also removes the scope for more abstract plot development, as is possible with dance. Therefore whilst I'm happily carried along by Manon and Des Grieux falling in love in one dance, there is something less believable about this happening in one song in opera. That said, it may be that this was due to a short-falling of the chemistry of this particular Rodolfo and Mimi, so I'll reserve judgement for now...
That sounds negative, which wasn't my intention. I thoroughly enjoyed the evening, the music was great, the production is beautiful and Puccini is witty if a little cheesy. I will be back for more.
Monday, 4 January 2010
The Nutcracker, The Royal Ballet 16/12/2009
I think it is probably impossible not to enjoy the Royal Ballet's Nutcracker, which is probably why it is wheeled out every Christmas to a consistently packed auditorium. The performance I saw was a perfect concoction of festive, glittering gaiety, with some impeccable dancing and fantastic staging.The first act takes place during the Stahlbaum family Christmas party, with the mysterious cloak-whirling magician Drosselmeyer (Gary Avis) arriving to give the young Clara (Iohna Loots) her christmas present - a nutcracker doll. Some wonderful character acting here from the inimitable Gary Avis, and from young Thomas Bedford as Fritz, Clara's brother. The whole Royal Ballet, from lower school through upper school to company is involved in this bustling party spectacle.
Of course, there is more to this nutcracker than meets the eye, and in fact, this is Drosselmeyer's nephew, turned into a doll by the wicked Queen of the mice, and the gift to Clara is Drosselmeyer's attempt to break the enchantment. After bedtime, the magic starts, a battle with the mice ensues, and the Nutcracker (Ricardo Cervera) takes Clara on a magical adventure through the Land of snow and the Kingdom of sweets. The national dances, including the entirely non-PC chinese dance, were thoroughly enjoyable although the Mirlitons lacked the oomph that had been evident so far, and just didn't quite get it right. Into the garden and Laura Morera danced with her usual commanding stage presence as the Rose Fairy, although unfortunately her escorts (Valeri Hristov, Ernst Meisner, Sergei Polunin and Yohei Sasaki) seemed to be having trouble staying in time both with each other and with the orchestra! In days gone by, in older productions, Clara and the Nutcracker hardly danced in Act II, but in the revised production (which has been in use since 1999) the vibrant dancing of Iohna Loots and Ricardo Cervera is a delight, and keeps everything together in this act, weaving in and out of the dances as they join in some dances and watch in awe during others...
And never in more awe than when the Sugar Plum Fairy (Alina Cojocaru - pictured) and her Prince (Johan Kobborg) take to the stage. Dancing with such authority and flair both alone and together, these two really are one of the strongest partnerships around at the moment - I'm so happy Cojocaru is back from her injuries! I still can't quite get used to her with a blonde wig, but the Grand pas de deux had such energy and radiance that you couldn't tear your eyes from the stage.
The Nutcracker really is a festive treat, and an outing that is going to become a fixture in my Christmas calendar for years to come, particularly if I can see a lead cast as strong as this one every time.
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