Royal Ballet: Carmen, Viscera mixed bill, October 2015

[capybara]

To my absolute amazement, I find myself agreeing with you. Heap, Muntagirov and Ball were all terrific. Pity about the ballet as a whole, though.

 

I should also have mentioned the wholehearted commitment of the corps - more or less the same dancers at each performance, it seems. It would have been nice, given that there were ('scene shifters' and 'attendants' aside) only 8 or so women and 8 or so men, for them all to have been named.

 

This is my attempt at recognition:

Mayara Magri; Anna-Rose O'Sullivan; Camille Bracher; Isabella Gasparini; Romany Padjak; Leticia Stock; Mariko Sasaki, Gemma Pitchley-Gale plus at least one other I am not yet familiar with

Kevin Emerton; Marcelino Sambe; Luca Acri; Paul Kay; Benjamin Ela; Fernando Montano; Nicol Edmonds; Solomon Golding

 

Thanks to all of them.

 

No doubt others on the Forum can fill in any gaps.

[Jan McNulty]

I saw the performance last night.

 

I enjoyed Viscera, especially the duet beautifully danced by Leticia Stock and Nehemiah Kish.  I thought that Fumi Kaneko was sublime too.

 

Olivia Cowley and Matthew Ball were outstanding in Afternoon of a Faun, exhibiting hedonism and sensuality in equal measure.

 

Lauren Cuthbertson and Matthew Golding dazzled in Tchaikowsly PDD.

 

And so to Carmen ... I feel there is a superb 30 minute ballet in there somewhere but as it currently stands there are some moments I really enjoyed and the rest is a mess!  Tierney Heap was truly outstanding as Carmen, sexy, alluring and hard.  Vadim Muntagirov played Don Jose as a naive man who is lured into Carmen's net and broken by her as a black widow spider destroys her mate.  He was utterly compelling.  I just couldn't take my eyes off Matthew Ball as Escamillo.  He has enormous stage presence for such a young man and, already in the two roles I saw him in tonight, a great versatility.  The dancers of the corps danced their hearts out.  As I said, there are moments to enjoy and in equal measure moments to wish you weren't seeing!

 

It was lovely to see so many Forum members too ... although I was lured to the Terrace on the promise of heaters.  I thought I was well on the way to hypothermia but a small price to pay for such lovely company!

 

All in all, I had a very enjoyable evening in London.

[bangorballetboy]

I should also have mentioned the wholehearted commitment of the corps - more or less the same dancers at each performance, it seems. It would have been nice, given that there were ('scene shifters' and 'attendants' aside) only 8 or so women and 8 or so men, for them all to have been named.

 

This is my attempt at recognition:

Mayara Magri; Anna-Rose O'Sullivan; Camille Bracher; Isabella Gasparini; Romany Padjak; Leticia Stock; Mariko Sasaki, Gemma Pitchley-Gale plus at least one other I am not yet familiar with

Kevin Emerton; Marcelino Sambe; Luca Acri; Paul Kay; Benjamin Ela; Fernando Montano; Nicol Edmonds; Solomon Golding

 

Thanks to all of them.

 

No doubt others on the Forum can fill in any gaps.

8 corps ladies (6 plus 2 more for the rolling chairs) - no Bracher, the one you're missing is Ashley Dean (née Young).

[capybara]

8 corps ladies (6 plus 2 more for the rolling chairs) - no Bracher, the one you're missing is Ashley Dean (née Young).

 

Thank you.

 

I believe that Ashley arrived last year in the Aud Jebsen scheme as Ashley Scott.

[bangorballetboy]

Thank you.

 

I believe that Ashley arrived last year in the Aud Jebsen scheme as Ashley Scott.

Yes, don't know why I had Young in my head as her maiden name!

[aileen]

The music for the pdd forms part of Shchedrin's Carmen Suite (which Matthew Bourne used for The Car Man). The tune carried by the flute in La Jolie Fille de Perth is played - much more slowly - by the strings and that, plus the repeated motifs in the music, create an insistent and dreamlike effect. Perhaps someone else could post a link. It's number 10 in Carmen Suite.

[alison]

Ah, that's why I've been bemused as to why there was nothing in the score which I didn't recognise

[Petunia]

Today is the last performance, no?

I’ll go and see the cinema broadcast. I haven’t seen Viscera yet, I want to see Muntagirov in Faune and “our” Salenko in the Tchaikovsky.

I’ll stay until the bitter end because I can’t decide

 

Whether 'tis Nobler in the mind to suffer
The Slings and Arrows of outrageous Fortune,
Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles,

 

but at least I can see Acosta and Bonelli and I’ll be happy to watch anything with Marianela Nunez in it.

[capybara]

And there is bound to be a 'grand finale' for Acosta for everyone to enjoy 

[Quintus]

I'll be watching at the cinema tonight. Last time there were about 12 of us altogether in the Stratford Westfield Vue and that was for Osipova in Giselle, so it will interesting to see what the relative attendance is tonight!

[zxDaveM]

last time I went for for R&J in my local Vue - the auditorium held about 800, so the 100-150 of us there had plenty of room and choice of seats. Which is nice in one way, but also not good in so many others.

[alison]

800, Dave?  Obviously not one of the screens I've been in, then.

 

Quintus, since when has Stratford Vue been showing the relays?  I know Stratford Picturehouse struggles to get a decent audience for the Bolshoi showings.

[Fonty]

Is there going to be a repeat performance at the cinema?  I can't go to the live broadcast? 

[alison]

Odeons tend to do one the following Sunday afternoon.  I don't know about anyone else.  Whether they will for a mixed bill, though, is another matter.

[zxDaveM]

800, Dave?  Obviously not one of the screens I've been in, then.

 

Quintus, since when has Stratford Vue been showing the relays?  I know Stratford Picturehouse struggles to get a decent audience for the Bolshoi showings.

 

yes, in the Purley Way one - screen 1 or 5 usually (the 2 'big' screens)

[alison]

You should be able to use the cinema finder feature on the ROH website to find out.  I've tried a few Odeons, and keep getting the message that the schedule hasn't been programmed that far ahead yet.  Ridiculous.

 

Edit: Wimbledon certainly is, and that shouldn't be difficult to get to from central London, if you need to.

[Quintus]

800, Dave?  Obviously not one of the screens I've been in, then.

 

Quintus, since when has Stratford Vue been showing the relays?  I know Stratford Picturehouse struggles to get a decent audience for the Bolshoi showings.

Alison - not sure, I only picked up on the whole live streaming thing when the RB Giselle was advertised.  Have to say half the local population probably sees ballet as haram, so it's perhaps not the most promising demographic.  Hope they don't just give up on it due to low sales; I quite enjoy having a near private showing!

[Ellie]

Rushed from work to my local cinema  (which always shows the ROH live streams) tonight. No joy,no broadcast....I should have checked beforehand, but I was gutted. I was really looking forward to it.....I hope that everyone who got to see it enjoyed themselves. x

[patsomerset]

I am just home after a fabulous evening at our local Odeon in Taunton. Very well attended and everyone stayed to say farewell to Carlos. I am not normally a fan of mixed bills but this was a really well put together programme with some wonderful dancing. The whole cinema was buzzing. An evening

to remember

[Quintus]

Great evening in the Stratford Vue -had the front half of the cinema to myself! Liked the energy of Viscera, loved Lamb and Muntagirov in Faun (and those two have similar high cheekbones and wide set eyes, hadn't seen them together before). Admired the technical virtuosity of Iana and McRae but they were a bit too 'lips and teeth dahling, lips and teeth' in manner. Carmen was a mixed bag with more than a hint of Spinal Tap that made me chuckle a few times, but the love showered on Carlos at the end was heart warming.

[bridiem]

Full house at the Ritzy, Brixton. Thrilling to see the dancers close up and reinforced how amazing they all are, both physically and artistically. Especially loved Lamb and Muntagirov in Faun - spellbinding and beautiful. I think they complement each other well - Lamb has a quiet dignity that allows Muntagirov to blossom, and they have the same honesty and clarity in their dancing. Agree with Quintus about Salenko and McRae! And about Carmen, except that I think aspects of it worked very well because it has quite cinematic qualities and looked spectacular visually. Very moving to see the tributes to Acosta (plus family!) from his ballet family (including the audience). Thanks to him, and to the Royal Ballet. 

[Balletfanp]

The back of the cinema in Plymouth was full, but the front almost empty apart from us! So no heads in the way and no annoying noises.

 

I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy Viscera or not, but I did. Wonderful dancing and energy from all the cast but I'm a huge admirer of Laura Morera so it was fantastic to see her on such great form.

 

Afternoon of a Faun - I had seen Muntagirov in this earlier in the year with Melissa Hamilton, and thought they were good together, but with Lamb it was even better. They are so well matched build-wise, and were just beautiful to watch. There wasn't a sound in the cinema; you could almost hear everyone let out a collective breath when it ended. Lamb must have the most expressive eyes ever. And every time I watch Muntagirov I am struck afresh with his amazing fluid quality of movement and sheer grace - I can't think of another male dancer who comes close. Plus he has a way of letting the most subtle of emotions flit across his face. Breathtaking and way too short, but keeping up that whole mirror pretence must be pretty difficult to sustain for long!

 

Tchaikovsky pas de deux - I love this and of course Salenko and McRae were technically brilliant, but to my mind it lacked a bit of sparkle. And yes, lips and teeth! My sister and mother-in-law hadn't seen it before, or the dancers, and both commented on the rather fixed grins. That said, it was an excellent performance.

 

Now - Carmen! Having seen the reviews I really didn't know what to expect, and as I write I still don't really know what to make of it, which I guess must say something in itself. I didn't think it was as terrible as many reviewers seemed to think, but having said that, it seemed a bit of a mishmash. Acosta seemed to be determined to shoehorn as many different genres into an hour as possible, presumably in the name of innovation, with the result that it didn't seem to know what it wanted to be - a ballet, a Chippendale's show, and opera or a flamenco display etc etc. There were parts I really liked - the flamenco, most of the pas de deux, and I thought the ending was effective. But not the Chippendales at the beginning! Or the slidy chairs. And the horned figure of death I found quite disturbingly effective at the end, and as long as he stood still, but as soon as the pas de deux with Nunez started with all the goring I found myself starting to giggle involuntarily.

 

I think that, taking an overview and ignoring the silly bits (if you can!) It was a bit of fun with some great moments. The cast danced their socks off and appeared to be having a whale of a time, and for me Bonelli stole the show.

 

And finally, of course it was wonderful for so many of us to be able to witness Acosta's last curtain call on the main stage - a fantastic send off for a great dancer who has contributed so much. A lovely speech too. I confess I felt a tear....

Edited November 13, 2015 by Balletfanp

[John Mallinson]

Some photos of the curtain calls and flower throw from Getty Images.

[Petunia]

I’m probably the last one to comment about yesterday .

 

I felt quite the same as you do about Carmen, Balletfanp! I liked the energy and the commitment of the group as a whole very much, including the choir, but I felt the choreography for Marianela was too much of the same - characterizing a woman like Carmen is not easy, she’s not a one-dimensional seductress at all. Anyway, everybody danced with great passion and they were exciting to watch.

Acosta’s speech and the flower throw were very moving (even Mr P next to me dropped a tear or two) and it was lovely to see how the people onstage and in the auditorium shared that moment.

 

Can’t say much about Viscera, it was the first time I saw it. I liked the energy and how the different rhythms rippled throw the dancer’s bodies, the choreography was very well suited for Laura Morera who was splendid, and I like Scarlett’s use of space.

 

Faun was stunning! I felt the dancers were actually seeing themselves and each other in their “mirror” – sometimes they just stare. The sheer beauty of Lamb and Muntagirov moved me so much, for me this was the best part of the programme.

 

I’m afraid I found Tchai pdd a tiny bit dull. There’s more in it – not in terms of displaying technical skills, but in musicality (particularly at the beginning) and in communication and contact with each other. It’s not about showing off to the audience, but to each other.

 

(I have an old DVD with Violette Verdy coaching Margaret Illmann and Vladimir Malakhov. She knows everything about everything and can make it crystal clear to the dancers – it’s marvellous.)

Edited November 13, 2015 by Petunia

[bangorballetboy]

 

I’m afraid I found Tchai pdd a tiny bit dull. There’s more in it – not in terms of displaying technical skills, but in musicality (particularly at the beginning) and in communication and contact with each other. It’s not about showing off to the audience, but to each other.

 

(I have an old DVD with Violette Verdy coaching Margaret Illmann and Vladimir Malakhov. She knows everything about everything and can make it crystal clear to the dancers – it’s marvellous.)

 

The McRae/Salenko partnership was certainly (IMO) the poorest of the partnerships in this run.

[Mary]

The McRae/Salenko partnership was certainly (IMO) the poorest of the partnerships in this run.

I thought they were all good but some better than others..I wouldn't say any were actually poor, -to me this and Faun were the best parts and best performances in a -shall we say-slightly odd bill.

[Colman]

Saw this in Dublin last night in an almost empty cinema as a family of four relatively new-to-dance dancers, ranging from 4 years old to 44. 

 

Viscera was fun to watch technically, but between the annoying camera work and some local distractions I didn't really connect with it. To have Liam Scarlett talking about the dancers moving as a pack in the interview before and then to have the camera completely obscure that part of the choreography a lot of the time was maddening. I liked Morera in it, would have liked to have seen it either in person or with a fixed camera view. 

 

Faun was beautiful. For a quiet piece like that to hold the attention of four and seven year old boys is quite something. 

 

The Tchaikovsky pas de deux was just fun: the seven year old literally had his mouth hanging open watching McRae, so I'm not going to fault it! I like his dancing (wish I could be that good when I grow up :-) ), but McRae's grin always grates slightly. 

 

Carmen was the most Carlos Acosta thing ever. Big and brash and over energetic, bundling all his influences together. It reminded us in a weird way of Soviet stuff like Ivan the Terrible only decadent, crossed with some sort of Spanish/Cuban festival. Some of the party scenes were a bit flabby, but I often think that about the filler scenes in the traditional classics. Seemed a deeply personal piece of work (if you've read "No way home" it fits perfectly into his own story/myth), if a bit over indulgent. We all enjoyed it greatly. 

 

It was good to see his lovely send-off too - he's a great favourite of the seven year old, who is precisely the child who needs to be told that it's ok to make mistakes … 

[Jillykins]

Yes, an emotional evening! I saw the programme at ROH last week with the same cast and really enjoyed being able to see so clearly. I am afraid as I want to go so often I usually view from the amphitheatre. Faun was particularly good to see closer up. Their eyes really looked as if they were focused on the mirror. Enjoyed every minute of it. I won't go into detail there have been so many eloquent comments but I did enjoy Viscera, loved Morera and enjoyed the pas de deux. How Riochi has matured and what a fine partner he has become. Carmen? I agree with so many comments, Carlos strength is not in choreography and my poor long suffering husband found the whole piece confusing and would prefer not to see it again. I actually enjoyed it more second time round but stilL find the passing office worker a strange way of getting the point across. Great farewell scene I am sure Carlos will treasure the memory. What next? (After Elizabeth and the Coliseum)

[Colman]

Good grief, the last thing I would have called that is confusing. If anything, I would have said it was overdrawn.

[FLOSS]

Can someone who knows Tchaikovsky pas de deux better than I do tell me, should it be danced full out to the audience or should there be some interplay between the dancers over and above the sections where partnering is called for? I ask because I found the McRae Salenko pairing technically very efficient but lacking anything other than technical display with the separate sections far more compartmentalised than I felt they should have been by the amount of time taken up in acknowledging applause.It would have had far more impact if it had been danced as a whole rather than in separate almost unconnected sections as if it was a series of separate ballets.

 

The Muntagirov Nunez pairing were far more satisfying because there was an element of wit in their performance not merely the repetition of a lot of tricky choreography. They looked as if they were having fun. However difficult it is to dance it was created as a light hearted display piece and should look light and witty. Cuthbertson looked as if she was enjoying the choreography but Golding seemed to be dancing because hae had been told to do so.

 

Jerome Robbin's Afternoon of a Faun is a deceptively simple piece which works as a self contained ballet.It is not necessary to know the Nijinsky original in order to enjoy it.Made at a time when companies still performed works from the Diaghilev era Robbins would have expected early audiences to have a knowledge of the original version and to noticed the allusions to it contained in his choreography.Of the three casts only Lamb and Muntagirov fully brought out the details in the choreography capturing both the activity in the sunlit ballet studio where the audience is the mirror on the fourth wall and allusions to Nijinsky's original ballet.The other casts were Cowley and Ball and Cuthbertson and Underwood.Neither cast managed to reveal the level of detail and meaning that Lamb and Muntagirov did but they were new to their roles,

 

Viscera was well danced and deserves to be seen again,Acosta's Carmen does not improve on further viewing.It would have helped if Acosta had made up his mind what sort of work he was creating. As it is it is a bit like a meal in which each course might have been acceptable on its own but the combination draws attention to the creator's lack of skill and knowledge.As you watch it you can identify the source of much of the obviously balletic material, Bejart, MacMillan and Matz Ek seem to have provided choreographic ideas. That is not a problem if the choreographer can find a way to transform other people's choreographic ideas;give them meaning and make them his own.The problem is that Acosta does not seem to have made up his mind what sort of dance piece he wanted to create. It is not a classically derived work with popular influences as there is so much which looks as if it is from a commercial show. It is not a dance drama,as the drama is forever being brought to a juddering halt by the corps who occupy a different dance world from the main characters.He includes many of the elements that he introduced in his Don Q on stage guitarists and the corps shouting in Spanish to which he has added on stage drummers, a chorus and opera singers who sing a Spanish text which doesn't fit the music which accompanies it.It must have cost a bomb.The characters are merely cardboard cutouts who dance and gesticulate in a manner that carries no meaning at all.

 

Choreographing probably seems easy when you dance good and great ballets all the time.As for story telling that's easy too.Both MacGregor and Acosta seem to have fallen into the trap of believing that creating a narrative ballet is a simple and straightforward task.You might have thought that Acosta would have noticed how few there are that really work. Let us hope that the management does not feel obliged to revive it in order to recover the costs. I am convinced that the revival of Raven Girl was promptrd by the need to recover the investment already made.

Edited November 13, 2015 by FLOSS

[penelopesimpson]

Can someone who knows Tchaikovsky pas de deux better than I do tell me, should it be danced full out to the audience or should there be some interplay between the dancers over and above the sections where partnering is called for? I ask because I found the McRae Salenko pairing technically very efficient but lacking anything other than technical display with the separate sections far more compartmentalised than I felt they should have been by the amount of time taken up in acknowledging applause.It would have had far more impact if it had been danced as a whole rather than in separate almost unconnected sections as if it was a series of separate ballets.

 

The Muntagirov Nunez pairing were far more satisfying because there was an element of wit in their performance not merely the repetition of a lot of tricky choreography. They looked as if they were having fun. However difficult it is to dance it was created as a light hearted display piece and should look light and witty. Cuthbertson looked as if she was enjoying the choreography but Golding seemed to be dancing because hae had been told to do so.

 

Jerome Robbin's Afternoon of a Faun is a deceptively simple piece which works as a self contained ballet.It is not necessary to know the Nijinsky original in order to enjoy it.Made at a time when companies still performed works from the Diaghilev era Robbins would have expected early audiences to have a knowledge of the original version and to noticed the allusions to it contained in his choreography.Of the three casts only Lamb and Muntagirov fully brought out the details in the choreography capturing both the activity in the sunlit ballet studio where the audience is the mirror on the fourth wall and allusions to Nijinsky's original ballet.The other casts were Cowley and Ball and Cuthbertson and Underwood.Neither cast managed to reveal the level of detail and meaning that Lamb and Muntagirov did but they were new to their roles,

 

Viscera was well danced and deserves to be seen again,Acosta's Carmen does not improve on further viewing.It would have helped if Acosta had made up his mind what sort of work he was creating. As it is it is a bit like a meal in which each course might have been acceptable on its own but the combination draws attention to the creator's lack of skill and knowledge.As you watch it you can identify the source of much of the obviously balletic material, Bejart, MacMillan and Matz Ek seem to have provided choreographic ideas. That is not a problem if the choreographer can find a way to transform other people's choreographic ideas;give them meaning and make them his own.The problem is that Acosta does not seem to have made up his mind what sort of dance piece he wanted to create. It is not a classically derived work with popular influences as there is so much which looks as if it is from a commercial show. It is not a dance drama,as the drama is forever being brought to a juddering halt by the corps who occupy a different dance world from the main characters.He includes many of the elements that he introduced in his Don Q on stage guitarists and the corps shouting in Spanish to which he has added on stage drummers, a chorus and opera singers who sing a Spanish text which doesn't fit the music which accompanies it.It must have cost a bomb.The characters are merely cardboard cutouts who dance and gesticulate in a manner that carries no meaning at all.

 

Choreographing probably seems easy when you dance good and great ballets all the time.As for story telling that's easy too.Both MacGregor and Acosta seem to have fallen into the trap of believing that creating a narrative ballet is a simple and straightforward task.You might have thought that Acosta would have noticed how few there are that really work. Let us hope that the management does not feel obliged to revive it in order to recover the costs. I am convinced that the revival of Raven Girl was promptrd by the need to recover the investment already made.

 

Can someone who knows Tchaikovsky pas de deux better than I do tell me, should it be danced full out to the audience or should there be some interplay between the dancers over and above the sections where partnering is called for? I ask because I found the McRae Salenko pairing technically very efficient but lacking anything other than technical display with the separate sections far more compartmentalised than I felt they should have been by the amount of time taken up in acknowledging applause.It would have had far more impact if it had been danced as a whole rather than in separate almost unconnected sections as if it was a series of separate ballets.

 

The Muntagirov Nunez pairing were far more satisfying because there was an element of wit in their performance not merely the repetition of a lot of tricky choreography. They looked as if they were having fun. However difficult it is to dance it was created as a light hearted display piece and should look light and witty. Cuthbertson looked as if she was enjoying the choreography but Golding seemed to be dancing because hae had been told to do so.

 

Jerome Robbin's Afternoon of a Faun is a deceptively simple piece which works as a self contained ballet.It is not necessary to know the Nijinsky original in order to enjoy it.Made at a time when companies still performed works from the Diaghilev era Robbins would have expected early audiences to have a knowledge of the original version and to noticed the allusions to it contained in his choreography.Of the three casts only Lamb and Muntagirov fully brought out the details in the choreography capturing both the activity in the sunlit ballet studio where the audience is the mirror on the fourth wall and allusions to Nijinsky's original ballet.The other casts were Cowley and Ball and Cuthbertson and Underwood.Neither cast managed to reveal the level of detail and meaning that Lamb and Muntagirov did but they were new to their roles,

 

Viscera was well danced and deserves to be seen again,Acosta's Carmen does not improve on further viewing.It would have helped if Acosta had made up his mind what sort of work he was creating. As it is it is a bit like a meal in which each course might have been acceptable on its own but the combination draws attention to the creator's lack of skill and knowledge.As you watch it you can identify the source of much of the obviously balletic material, Bejart, MacMillan and Matz Ek seem to have provided choreographic ideas. That is not a problem if the choreographer can find a way to transform other people's choreographic ideas;give them meaning and make them his own.The problem is that Acosta does not seem to have made up his mind what sort of dance piece he wanted to create. It is not a classically derived work with popular influences as there is so much which looks as if it is from a commercial show. It is not a dance drama,as the drama is forever being brought to a juddering halt by the corps who occupy a different dance world from the main characters.He includes many of the elements that he introduced in his Don Q on stage guitarists and the corps shouting in Spanish to which he has added on stage drummers, a chorus and opera singers who sing a Spanish text which doesn't fit the music which accompanies it.It must have cost a bomb.The characters are merely cardboard cutouts who dance and gesticulate in a manner that carries no meaning at all.

 

Choreographing probably seems easy when you dance good and great ballets all the time.As for story telling that's easy too.Both MacGregor and Acosta seem to have fallen into the trap of believing that creating a narrative ballet is a simple and straightforward task.You might have thought that Acosta would have noticed how few there are that really work. Let us hope that the management does not feel obliged to revive it in order to recover the costs. I am convinced that the revival of Raven Girl was promptrd by the need to recover the investment already made.

Just like to say thanks for your highly informative post.  I didn't see Acosta's Carmen because having been utterly bored by his Don Q, I thought it probably wasn't one for me and seems I was right.  His idea of choreography seems to be of the 'and now we'll have some folk dancing' variety. Raven Girl was an empty vessel and I hope we have seen the last of it.

[Jan McNulty]

[Jan McNulty]