The Royal Ballet "Unknown Soldier" Triple Bill November 2018

[JohnS]

I am still pursuing an answer to the La Bayadere scrim issues and have made the question more general, partly in light of Unknown Soldier.  I am confident of getting a response and will post the outcome when received.

[alison]

1 hour ago, Mary said:

Akane Takada has indeed shone and sparkled recently in Bayadere and now Infra- what a contrast. I have always liked her but she does seem to have suddenly burst into a ball of flame- it happens.

 

She's done it pretty consistently since being promoted to Principal, hasn't she?  (I haven't seen her that much, but have been impressed with pretty much everything)

[zxDaveM]

39 minutes ago, JohnS said:

I am still pursuing an answer to the La Bayadere scrim issues and have made the question more general, partly in light of Unknown Soldier.  I am confident of getting a response and will post the outcome when received.

 

I admire your optimism

[ninamargaret]

Let's face it, the Opera House was never designed for 21st century dance to be seen in! There are probably very few seats that offer an uninterrupted view of the stage, and an awful lot that don't. I hadn't seen Symphony in C before, and my side S/C seat, Row,A, offered a somewhat warped view, at times the whole thing looked a muddle, which I know it's not. I think choreographers and designers who are producing new work for the ROH  would do rather more to help, after all it's not just the cheaper seats that have some sort of restricted view.

[JohnS]

24 minutes ago, zxDaveM said:

 

I admire your optimism

 

Based on a recent interim reply which I found encouraging.  

[Beryl H]

I enjoyed last night's performance so much, surprising that an amphi seat only 5 rows down from last time enabled me to hear most of the recorded voices, better view too, so Unknown Soldier was much better second time round, I saw the same cast and was even more moved by the death scene, don't think the misty glow of the final scene works though.

Infra looked amazing, a modern masterpiece, and the dancers were superb, I especially liked Akane Takada and Tristan Dyer, he is developing a strong stage presence, and she can do no wrong for me, also Yasmine Naghdi and Calvin Richardson were beautiful. I kept hearing one piece of music as I was wandering through the supermarket today!

Saw the second cast of SIC this time, Sarah Lamb was so slow and  controlled in the pdd, it looks very difficult, but dancing with Reece Clarke probably made her feel very secure, I love the final exquisite pose of the pdd. Great cast with Yuhui Choe and Marcelino Sambe, many whoops and cheers from behind me throughout.

 

[Douglas Allen]

Even at the end of the run of performances I still can't work out whether The Unknown Soldier is primarily about the destructive horror of war and its inevitable consequences or about the nature of unexpected loss (which happens to be caused by war). The focus isn't clear and the ballet doesn't work. There are sidebars of distraction in its construction: the use of recorded voices renders a lot of the ballet meaningless to a non-English speaking viewer, the scrims obliterating much of the action/choreography to higher-positioned viewers and the inappropriateness of much of the telegram boy (he wouldn't be sent to anyone other than the official next of kin and at that time, the appearance of a telegram boy would be bad news - a light, jaunty approach would not be evident).

Regarding Symphony in C, while the Royal Ballet are going through an exceptionally strong phase at the moment, there is a risk that they approach Balanchine as if it were a Petipa ballet which has always been my complaint about the Maryinsky. This tendency isn't yet totally set in stone, but  seems to be creeping in to some of the performances - the flick of the wrist, the flinging back of the head or the extra-wide smile at the end of a sequence don't belong here and needs to be discouraged. There were comments earlier in this thread about whether the women should be smiling or serene, They quite definitely should have a neutral demeanour. Balanchine, I think, emphasised this ,to go by what people who were there when he was reworking it for NYCB clearly remembered.

Edited November 30, 2018 by Douglas Allen
grammar change for clarity

[LinMM]

However there are one or two just touches of humour in this piece which fit with the feel of the music at those points so don't personally regard this piece as ultra serious....very classical in style of course but it has a light mood to me.

Of course you don't have to dance with a broad smile all the time but the piece is joyous and happy in an overall sense so feel a smile or two is not inappropriate. 

Also I think some people ( dancers included) can look rather serious when in fact just in a neutral ..serene type of mood .....so may need to soften expression more with maybe a slight smile when performing. 

Im sure Balalnchine said a lot of things about his ballets over the years ....would love to have been a fly on the wall.

Edited November 30, 2018 by LinMM

[Guest]

I saw the Triple Bill for the second time last night (different casts for The Unknown Soldier and Infra, same cast for Symphony in C) - my feelings towards TUS remained unchanged - for me the staging is over elaborate and distracts from the choreography and I don't think the unmemorable score is much help. I did enjoy the composer's work on the film, Paddington 2. I didn't enjoy Infra any more on my second viewing, but was able to work out better why: my feeling is that the choreography could have been made to any music or to none at all (is that the point?) and that the piece really seems to go on and on and on - please finish when the extras walk by- (or is that the point?) , but yet another duet that seems the same as the last  and the one before. There's only one duet that really stuck in the memory -  I am sorry to ask , but what on earth is he doing with her foot (it's at the end of one of the earlier duets)? It's ugly.

 

I thought Symphony in C looked even better than the week before as those new to their roles (Osipova and O'Sullivan in particular) looked even more at home. I think it goes without saying that it was the strongest ever line up of dancers in the demi soloist roles fielded by the Royal Ballet in this piece.

Edited November 30, 2018 by Darlex

[Sim]

When I was there on Thursday night there was a lot of loud giggling at the foot bit.  Probably the teenage students who were there!  😄

[LinMM]

And on Monday eve too! 

Reminds me of years ago when Beryl Grey before a performance of Romeo and Juliet at a schools performance came out to give a brief introduction to the ballet and ballet steps! 

At one point she demonstrated a grand battement to a chorus of wolf whistles! 

 

[JohnS]

27 minutes ago, Darlex said:

There's only one duet that really stuck in the memory -  I am sorry to ask , but what on earth is he doing with her foot (it's at the end of one of the earlier duets)? It's ugly.

 

Jane Parry's review in Dance Tabs provides some detail (but you might prefer not to read it):

 

http://dancetabs.com/2018/11/royal-ballet-the-unknown-soldier-premiere-infra-symphony-in-c-london/

[Shade]

 

I was there on 29 Nov, sat in the Amphi, right in front of the (well behaved) GCSE students. I think Soldier is for the YouTube generation. From where I sat, you could not see the entrance of the women, their heads were obscured by the scrim. I found that the final scene diminished the work overall. I almost laughed as the girls behind me were wispering about the dancer being naked! Perhaps it would have worked better if the mother had appeared to welcome her son. However, the dancers were great to watch.

 

infra I enjoyed more this time (saw it when Mariinsky performed it). I would class it as dance rather than ballet though. Again terrific performances from the dancers. The students were very excited by it, such a shame that they had to leave before Symphony in C, the true ballet piece of the evening.

 

There was a collective 'ah' of delight for SiC up in the Amphi. It was the first time I have seen it live and I found it delightful. The second movement reminds me of swan lake and diamonds. I will definitely book to see it again. The whole cast looked good in this. I only wish they had put it on first rather than last.

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, JohnS said:

 

Jane Parry's review in Dance Tabs provides some detail (but you might prefer not to read it):

 

http://dancetabs.com/2018/11/royal-ballet-the-unknown-soldier-premiere-infra-symphony-in-c-london/

 

7 minutes ago, JohnS said:

 

 

Thanks, John. Yes, I got it. Jann Parry is far more matter of fact than me. I suppose masturbating on someone's pointe shoe is just so 21st century. Let's get with the times.

 

So sarcasm aside, why can't I take it in a McGregor piece? I mean, other choreographers have depicted masturbation , orgasm,  and sexual acts and I find it acceptable. I suppose I don't value McGregor's choreography in the first place so this moment feels sensationalist and cheap, and much of his choreography just seems gratuitous to me.

 

Anyway, I actually don't want to give his work any more consideration than I already have. I am now sure it's not for me and I will not bother to see another McGregor or bother anyone with my thoughts on the subject.

 

Just one last thought before I sign off on this ....Emperor's new clothes!

[alison]

I don't remember ever noticing it before this run, I must say, which makes me wonder whether the emphasis has changed somewhat.

[LinMM]

Darlex before you give up on Infra completely do go to YouTube and find the RB video of the original cast....they are completely stunning!

Not saying that this week's Monday cast for example were not wonderful  but maybe sitting at home ....perhaps with your favourite tipple...and looking at this you may find something in it! 

It is VERY contemporary but if you look at it as different kinds of beautiful ....or at least fascinating moves...and you do 

have the Max Richter music!!

If you can't face the whole thing there is a video of just the last pas de deux with Ed Watson and Nunez ....it really is worth watching...honestly!! 

Others in the original cast are Cuthbertson Choe Leanne Benjamin Marea Galeazzi and a very young Bonelli etc . I particularly loved Cuthbertson  in the Stix Brunell/ Takada role. And I have very unfortunately forgotten the name of the dancer in the Sissons role ...but he was terrific in the original cast.

Im not a great McGregor fan on the whole as often there is just too much going on on the stage at once ( though apparently he said he didn't expect the audience to pick up in one go...but on multiple viewings!!) but I could relate to Infra for whatever reason! 

[JohnS]

1 hour ago, Shade said:

Perhaps it would have worked better if the mother had appeared to welcome her son.

 

Isn't this Marriott's failing by inserting Harry Patch's testimony into the Ted/Florence story?  It completely undermines the simplicity of Ted/Florence's story as presented in the ballet and the ballet fails to do justice to Harry Patch's eloquent testimony.  I only saw Unknown Soldier once but I'm pretty sure 'Ted's mother' was not portrayed on stage at all as she is not part of the Ted/Florence story.  Harry Patch introduces 'mother' in his heart rending recollections.  But by including Harry Patch as a cast member, comforting the dying Ted, the two stories are forced together without any thought or resolution.

I didn't have any difficuty in the Telegraph Boy giving the telegram to Florence even though she was not Ted's next of kin.  The Ballet was very much Ted/Florence's story, including Florence's grief and loss.  I thought poetic licence worked well in this instance but certainly not as regards introducing Harry Patch as a character in the Ballet.

I'm afraid I found Marriott's handling of the rich evidence poor and to be honest I can't understand why it wasn't effectively challenged - he seemed rather like a child wanting to play with every toy in the box and utilise as many stage tricks as could be crammed into 30 minutes.  Rather sad when you look at the memorable ballets created in recent years commemorating the First World War.

[capybara]

I agree with  JohnS that the reference to Ted's mother was out of sync with Florence's earlier testimony. He would surely have cried out for his new love - well, that would have made the story feel more coherent.

 

I often wonder with new works whether anyone (the Director, perhaps) goes into the studio at a key point and asks a few challenging questions or offers an objective view. It must be very easy, when someone is making a new ballet, to be so close to it that it becomes impossible to see the wood for the trees. I sense that that has happened with The Unknown Soldier and that the multimedia approach has blurred matters further.

[LinMM]

So it was Eric Underwood in the Sissons role! Also sorry it was a young Ricardo Cervera NOT Bonelli! Also Melissa Hamilton was in the original cast too.

[serenade]

I saw this triple bill for the first time last night.

 

I usually try and find positives about every ballet I see and there's usually something I can appreciate in the majority of pieces but I just hated the Unknown Soldier.  I thought it was just...bad.  Obviously the dancers were all great, it's no criticism of them but in my opinion the choreography was weak and completely uninspired, especially for Ball and in most of the group numbers.  I hated the music too... everything just felt wrong.  I didn't think the video footage really worked but at the same time I don't think it detracted.  I felt so far removed from the whole thing that they remain the most memorable thing about this piece.  Pretty much anything produced, tv/film/dance whatever, about war, can easily make me emotional but this left me cold.  So a big no for me.

 

I've never seen Infra before... I'm really not a McGregor fan but I am a huge fan of Richter the composer so I was at least looking forward to hearing the score (which I loved).  It's really not my thing, a lot of contemporary I just can't get into but for I did really like the final PDD.  I just took LinMMs advice to watch the original cast final PDD on youtube and it's  absolutely stunning 😃

 

I loved Symphony in C...it's so joyous and lifts you up.  I thought everyone was on very strong form but I particularly loved Choe and Sambe.  But really everyone dazzled.  One of Balanchine's masterpieces I think.

 

So a bit of a mixed bag for me but that's how these mixed bills usually go 😄

[LinMM]

Though I do think the ending of the ballet did connect with and honour Harry Patches story......though agree that placing Florence's young man as the man who died in Harry's arms did seem a little contrived and that could have been simply resolved by perhaps .....the Ted character comforting Harry Patch ...with another dancer being the one who died in Patches arms.... And then the Ted character also dying in a separate scene? 

 

Edited November 30, 2018 by LinMM

[Lizbie1]

6 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

I often wonder with new works whether anyone (the Director, perhaps) goes into the studio at a key point and asks a few challenging questions or offers an objective view. It must be very easy, when someone is making a new ballet, to be so close to it that it becomes impossible to see the wood for the trees. I sense that that has happened with The Unknown Soldier and that the multimedia approach has blurred matters further.

 

I was reading an old Ballet Association report from 2013 the other day, which contained this from Jonathan Cope:

 

"So far Kevin’s is a different approach, letting the people concerned put on the ballets and leaving it more to them, whereas Monica was very much in the studio putting over her ideas and also with the staging." (From http://www.balletassociation.co.uk/Reports/2013/McGorian_Cope13.html)

 

If that's still the case, perhaps it's time to change tack.  But that's not the only problem: the choice of choreographers, even when allowed to stray outside the near stranglehold of Wheeldon, McGregor and Scarlett, is so often uninspired! It feels mean to say it, but what has Marriott achieved that he merited a main stage RB commission?  And is it really so difficult to get hold of Cathy Marston?

 

Even when big names with fine reputations are brought in, Crystal Pite aside, the RB doesn't seem to bring out their best work. Why is that?

[alison]

1 hour ago, LinMM said:

Darlex before you give up on Infra completely do go to YouTube and find the RB video of the original cast....they are completely stunning!

 

Hoping you have better success than I did - my DVD is in storage  

[LinMM]

Could it be that these are contemporary choreographers often with their own contemporary companies and the Royal is largely a classically trained group of dancers? Not that they are not good but perhaps the choreographers feel more at home and relaxed outside a classical company. 

Just some thoughts ....have no idea really.

[RobR]

Thanks for the thoughts @LinMM

 

However, I’ve always very much enjoyed Forsythe's 'contemporary' work and seen it performed by classically trained dancers in classical companies. 

 

Whilst his work is, I believe, generally classified as contemporary some of it could, arguably, be described now as modern classic

 

I've seen 'In the middle...', danced by the POB, ENB and by the RB, with Bussell and Yanowsky. I can’t recall any of those performances of 'modern choreography' provoking anything like the divergent responses seen in this thread. They were all terrific and uniformly well received. 

[Sim]

11 hours ago, Shade said:

 

I was there on 29 Nov, sat in the Amphi, right in front of the (well behaved) GCSE students. I think Soldier is for the YouTube generation. From where I sat, you could not see the entrance of the women, their heads were obscured by the scrim. I found that the final scene diminished the work overall. I almost laughed as the girls behind me were wispering about the dancer being naked! Perhaps it would have worked better if the mother had appeared to welcome her son. However, the dancers were great to watch.

 

infra I enjoyed more this time (saw it when Mariinsky performed it). I would class it as dance rather than ballet though. Again terrific performances from the dancers. The students were very excited by it, such a shame that they had to leave before Symphony in C, the true ballet piece of the evening.

 

There was a collective 'ah' of delight for SiC up in the Amphi. It was the first time I have seen it live and I found it delightful. The second movement reminds me of swan lake and diamonds. I will definitely book to see it again. The whole cast looked good in this. I only wish they had put it on first rather than last.

Ha.....this is an age-old trick with dubious triple bills.....save the best for last to ensure the audience sticks around until the end!

[Sim]

I didn't dislike US as much as many people seem to.  I just looked at it as a simple but sad story being told.  I agree with Capybara that if Ted had called out Florence's name at the end it of would have been more poignant; however, Harry Patch said he cried out "Mother" as if he could already see her in the next world, so had he cried out Florence's name it would have gone against what Patch recounted.  I also agree  that introducing Harry Patch was incongruous, but I suppose it was an attempt, albeit clumsy,  to depict the tragedy that befell so many young people.

 

I enjoyed Infra, but not as much as first time around. It was beautifully danced by all casts, but I feel a bit "been there, done that" after watching McGregor's work for the last 15 years.  

 

SinC was marvellous each time I saw it.  Patricia Neary has done a wonderful job teaching Balanchine to the company over the years, and now they are up there with the best.  Someone said this triple bill should have been SinC three times, with the different casts....and I would have gone to all of them with great pleasure!

 

What has really stood out for me is the quality of the dancing at all levels.  However, my special congratulations to go Yasmine Naghdi and Akane Takada.  They are both such naturally beautiful classical dancers, yet are equally accomplished in McGregor's contortions and Balanchine's off-kilter turns.....and they can both convey so much drama and emotion.   Is there anything these two special artists can't do?  I feel blessed by the ballet gods that we have them.  Amen.

[zxDaveM]

Agreed Sim. Though for me, I enjoyed Infra more this time round than I ever have before - and its one of my favourite McGregor pieces so I do like it a lot. Mainly because of the 2 dancers you mention. Watching Akane Takada's face, if not whole body, crumple as the music soared and resonated in your core with that huge melancholy cord, brought a real lump to my throat; and then watching Yasmine Naghdi dance that beautiful final pdd, so beautifully, was life affirming for me! 

[Nogoat]

Thursday evening was our second Unknown Soldier/Infra/Symphony in C. All three works were slightly better second time around, though Unknown Soldier still lagged a long, long way behind the other two.

 

The deficiencies of The Unknown Soldier, catalogued in my original post, were still there - in fact, I was so distracted by them the first time around I missed some others! 

 

Firstly, though, the view. This time we sat in the balcony rather than the front of the amphi, and the half-raised scrim no longer interfered with seeing the dancers on stage, and the individual lights built into the top of movable, angled ceiling/screen were no longer visible, flashing away like a giant animated car indicator or runway lights at Heathrow. That’s not a positive, though, as it implies either the creative team didn’t check the view from the amphi, or they didn’t care; either is pretty damning, though I’d rather it was a simple oversight...

 

In my previous post I mentioned how some of the music reminded me of other compositions/composers (Alice, Frankenstein, Leonard Bernstein). But, on stage, there was one major association I didn’t grasp until someone told me to look for it - and that was Anastasia. The grey walls/ceiling with ‘hidden’ doors; adopting the simple, monotone flowing dress in the third act; and, dance-wise, the distraught reaction of Florence when Ted goes off to war compared with Anna Anderson reliving her traumatic memories in Anastasia (OK, the dance options for representing ‘distraught’ are probably limited, but the parallels are nevertheless there).

 

And this issue of parallels, associations and precedents in artistic endeavour has been nagging away at me since Thursday (and is one reason I haven’t posted until today). We need new works to stand on a similar-enough foundation that we can then appreciate creative 'added value', but where that transition is (and whether it’s present at all) is obviously open to debate and informed by personal experience. Inside the echo-chamber that is my head (where my opinions are constructed from my experiences, and my recollection of those experiences modified by my opinions) I’ve concluded there is little or nothing of merit within The Unknown Soldier and (as Darlex has said in relation to Infra) it is more a case of the Emperor's New Clothes. 

 

My list of parallels within this work is long enough to make me wonder about the distinction between paying ‘homage’ to and, for want of a better word, ‘borrowing’ from existing material. That distinction relies on personal interpretation, of course, and is informed by the context of its usage. For example, I think that Scarlett’s No Man’s Land is strengthened by his allusion to Act 2 of La Bayadere through his use of ramps, and to Mayerling in his choice of music (explained in my post on Lest We Forget). But I can see no contextual explanation for the similarities/associations I see within The Unknown Soldier; obviously, this is subjective to a large extent - I could argue the case for some of the similarities being there (eg Anastasia), but I wouldn’t convince myself. 

 

There is, however, one similarity that I only noticed in the second performance that I interpret as a true homage to other work. The Telegram Boy’s search for Florence among the milling crowd of women, combined with the music building to a tense climax, reminded me of the selection of ‘the chosen one’ in the Rite of Spring - I thought that association was sufficiently appropriate (both signified ‘inevitable, random death’) and clear (OK, it took me two viewings…) for me to label it a homage. That doesn't redeem the work in my mind - if anything it's the 'exception that proves the rule' to me that the piece is derivative and workmanlike (two words I don't like to use in relation to the ROH/RB).

To finish Unknown Soldier on a more positive note (though it’s more to do with them rather than the material) I was really taken by the chemistry at work between Naghdi and Ball. I’m really looking forward to seeing them in R&J!

 

 

Infra is a bit of a ‘Marmite’ ballet. I don’t like Marmite (my partner does) but I do love Infra (my partner doesn’t).

I thought Takada was wonderful. In her duet with Dyer, she pulled off the not-inconsiderable trick of fashioning McGregor’s cryptic moves into conduits through which her emotions could flow. It was no surprise that when she was left, isolated and unnoticed, an island in a river of passers-by, and the music welled up, so did I (my partner, of course, didn't). I do enjoy having to blow my nose at the ROH! 

For me, the 'noise' is an essential part of the music:- it represented the constant, loud (almost painful) noise of modern life that we are all exposed to (and to which we all contribute in a small but cumulative way) but from which we seek refuge. It also acted as a contrasting 'ground' on which the 'figure' of the piano/strings sections could be better appreciated for the respite and emotional impact  contained therein (that respite was important - for example, It's Gonna Rain in Multiverse was a bit too relentless!).

 

 

Was it the presence of so many young people at these performances, or the sheer contrast between Symphony in C and the preceding works that produced such approving and uninhibited gasps, grunts, giggles and assorted noises from the audience? Whatever it was, it was great!

The leads were on great form; Osipova seemed sharper; Lamb seemed slightly less ‘detached’ in her serenity (it could have been the angles, as last week in the amphi she seemed to have her eyes closed much of the time!); Choe was as bouncy and engaging as usual; Anna Rose’s timing was phenomenal.

I’ve been trying to figure out what it is about this ballet that makes it so timeless and uplifting, and have concluded that it is the ballet equivalent of 24 carat gold - it is pure, unadulterated movement linked to music.

And, like pure gold, it has universal appeal. There are no ‘impurities’ present, such as the abstract representation of complex, emotional relationships, or the less cryptic representation of sex/love/death within a narrative ballet, or even costumes other than the prototypical tutu and tights/top. The stage is plain, the lighting bright and uniform.

That purity is helped by the one-to-one relationship between the music and dance - literally a step for every note. In other contexts that literal approach could be seen as simplistic or patronising. Here it forges the strongest link possible between that universal human tendency to link rhythmic sound to rhythmic movement.

I’ve sometimes wondered what it’s like to have synaesthesia - for example, to be able to hear colour or see sound. Balanchine’s  Symphony in C is probably the closest I’ll get to the latter - through his genius he enables me to see sound.
 

[Josephine]

11 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

I was reading an old Ballet Association report from 2013 the other day, which contained this from Jonathan Cope:

 

"So far Kevin’s is a different approach, letting the people concerned put on the ballets and leaving it more to them, whereas Monica was very much in the studio putting over her ideas and also with the staging." (From http://www.balletassociation.co.uk/Reports/2013/McGorian_Cope13.html)

 

If that's still the case, perhaps it's time to change tack.  But that's not the only problem: the choice of choreographers, even when allowed to stray outside the near stranglehold of Wheeldon, McGregor and Scarlett, is so often uninspired! It feels mean to say it, but what has Marriott achieved that he merited a main stage RB commission?  And is it really so difficult to get hold of Cathy Marston?

 

Even when big names with fine reputations are brought in, Crystal Pite aside, the RB doesn't seem to bring out their best work. Why is that?

 

I agree re: Cathy Marston. Such a pity that she has never had a chance for a main stage commission, as far as I am aware. From those works by Alaistair Marriott which I have seen, Sensorium is the only one which I can clearly recall. Sadly the others are a little blurred, for me.

 

By contrast I have a very strong visual memory of three main stage works for the Royal Ballet by Kim Brandstrup. I find his work exceptionally powerful and inventive. I would love to see his work on the ROH main stage again, either in revival or new commission, but feel that this is unlikely to happen, looking at the pattern of Kevin O'Hare's commissions from non-RB based choreographers. Obviuosly this is just speculation. But I continue to hope!

 

Unfortunately I missed both my planned viewings of The Unknown Soldier mixed bill, one due to work and one due to illness. As I saw only the Friends' rehearsal I cannot comment on performances. If comment on concept is allowed, then I echo the views of some other posters above in finding the projections of oral history interview excerpts far more powerful and moving than the choreography itself. They are what I remember most vividly.

 

(Moderators: please delete the comment above if not allowed, as based on viewing a rehearsal. Thank you.)

 

[Richmondhill]

On 30/11/2018 at 11:05, ninamargaret said:

Let's face it, the Opera House was never designed for 21st century dance to be seen in! There are probably very few seats that offer an uninterrupted view of the stage, and an awful lot that don't. I hadn't seen Symphony in C before, and my side S/C seat, Row,A, offered a somewhat warped view, at times the whole thing looked a muddle, which I know it's not. I think choreographers and designers who are producing new work for the ROH  would do rather more to help, after all it's not just the cheaper seats that have some sort of restricted view.

 

It does make you wonder if choreographers and stagers take the trouble to visit each area of the auditorium when making or designing a new piece. I was lucky to sit in the Grand Tier for a head-on view but you could tell for US at least a third of the horizontal staging would be obscured for seats above, let alone traditional problems of far stage left/right sight lines.

 

I remember hearing that Margot Fonteyn took the trouble upon the company moving to Covent Garden to visit each part of the auditorium in order to better understand reach and projection. If people still do this then they are making some serious errors of judgement (I suspect some don’t).

[Sophoife]

41 minutes ago, Richmondhill said:

It does make you wonder if choreographers and stagers take the trouble to visit each area of the auditorium when making or designing a new piece. I was lucky to sit in the Grand Tier for a head-on view but you could tell for US at least a third of the horizontal staging would be obscured for seats above, let alone traditional problems of far stage left/right sight lines.

 

I think, based on what I've seen, that they don't. All the comments here and on Bayadère about scrims/screens recently...and what a difference there is in so many ballets between a straight-line viewing and one from an elevated position.

 

Elevation: one can really see the patterns the dancers are making on stage. Unfortunately increasingly large amounts of set, backdrop, projections, and/or stuff hanging from flies become invisible. And with the increasing use of projections supposedly integral to pieces, this is more and more relevant.

 

Straight-line: all sets, backdrop, visual projections etc visible. Full effect generated. Can't see stage patterns made by dancers.

 

I actually complained to a choreographer in person once that the projection that had been made much of was invisible from anywhere except the stalls in the two very different theatres in which I'd seen the ballet. His response was that I should buy better seats.

Edited December 1, 2018 by Sophoife
Grammar

[Mary]

Agree Nogoat that Symphony in C is the purest possible setting of dance to music and hence the intensity of the thrill and agree Darlex ...I now realise thanks to you what it is about McGregor's work I find so cold..that it 'could be set to any music or none'. Yes...often there seems to be v little 'setting to' and little structure ... Exception..Woolf Works-some of.

 

So that is the key difference for me..