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Royal Ballet: Asphodel Meadows / The Two Pigeons / RBS: The Cunning Little Vixen, 2019


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But even skipping by Royal Ballet Students is a joy to watch ....lovely height ...lovely pointed feet...lovely charm while performing!! 

 

I much much prefer watching children perform appropriate age related works than see very young children doing grown up variations as you see on YouTube and at some competitions.

 

Ive also been to Upper School performances at the RBS which have made me cry.

I just think that I'd rather see them more often but the Linbury seems more appropriate because of the costs and ticket sales probs if on at the main theatre too often. 

I guess even parents relatives and friends would have a problem ( money wise) attending too many performances put on on the main stage. 

 

 

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I’d been meaning to return to the point I’d queried about Liam Scarlett ‘s ‘flawed judgement’ but had difficulties accessing the thread the other day.

 

On 16/02/2019 at 21:29, JohnS said:

Whilst I’m sure Bridiem has reasons for what she says and might well have voiced those reasons in posts over the years, this statement to me comes a bit out of the blue on this thread.  I’d welcome some examples of ‘flawed judgement’ as I find it a little difficult to respond to such a statement which seems pretty damning.

 

Having now re-read the thread, what strikes me most as regards Scarlett is the almost universal praise for Asphodel Meadows and people’s surprise at how impressive they found the work.  There has also been a fair bit of praise for Vixen, particularly in one or two reflective posts where people had seen more than one performance.  At one point in the thread people were musing on what might be included in a Scarlett Triple Bill, with some enthusiasm.  There was perhaps one critical post highlighting a concern that Scarlett has been given too many opportunities and expensive productions.  

 

When I first read Bridie’s post I did think it a little strong and unsubstantiated in the context of this thread and drafted a brief response.  I ended up deciding to include that response when adding my thoughts about Saturday’s matinee, the deciding factor being a conversation I had where my neighbour spoke eloquently and passionately about Scarlett’s ballets.

 

On 16/02/2019 at 22:03, bridiem said:

 

I was referring to works such as Sweet Violets, The Age of Anxiety and Frankenstein, all of which I think were so chock full of design, plot, steps, and characters that they were ultimately less successful than they could have been (in spite of all the works having merits - I often really like his works at first viewing when I get swept along by their scale and ambition, but on further viewings I get frustrated by the flaws). It's really good to be ambitious but I sometimes think that 'less is more'. And as you know I think that the ending of the new Swan Lake is misjudged, marring what was otherwise a great achievement.

 

I haven't seen most of his works created for other companies, but I thought that No Man's Land for ENB was excellent. And I do have a great deal of respect for Scarlett - he has undoubted choreographic talent and a lively imagination.

 

I’m very grateful to Bridie for providing her response and elaborating on what she sees as ‘flawed judgement’.  Bridie in her initial post reserved judgement on Frankenstein and, as we will soon see what tweaks are made in the restaging, I wasn’t going to add anything about Frankenstein other than to say I’m looking forward to the second run and hope very much ticket sales will accelerate.  I appreciate the points made about design, plot, complexity etc.  But I have to say I found Sweet Violets gripping, in part because I thought the plot, choreography and music were so well integrated, and I would be very pleased to see it performed again.  I was not as moved by Age of Anxiety because I found the characters less interesting/sympathetic but I thought it certainly worked as a piece of theatre, and particularly in the cinema.  It certainly worked for me much better than Strapless, The Wind and The Unkonwn Soldier.  As regards Swan Lake, I appreciate people have different expectations for the ending but I wonder if it’s fair to say that because a choreographer takes a different view to an audience member (or even a large number of audience members) that is evidence of ‘flawed judgement’?  Taken to an extreme, that’s almost suggesting that anyone who disagrees with a particular interpretation has ‘flawed judgement’.  It strikes me many interpretations are valid and may well be worth presenting and whilst I might have preferences, I wouldn’t presume people who don’t share my preferences have ‘flawed judgement’, let alone the choreographer.

 

On 16/02/2019 at 23:59, Sim said:

I also agree with Bridie’s comments and have said so in threads about those ballets, so these comments are not out of the blue.  I think Scarlett is very talented, but for me he is hit and miss.  I think he needs to find his own choreographic voice;  I find a lot of his work very derivative, especially of MacMillan.  

 

As regards Sim’s comment, I’d just highlight that I was making the point that the criticism of Scarlett’s judgement to me came out of the blue on this thread.  The vast majority of comment to that point had been positive (if surprised) and I do think if a strong statement is being made, it really helps the debate if some argumentation is presented.

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10 minutes ago, JohnS said:

I’m very grateful to Bridie for providing her response and elaborating on what she sees as ‘flawed judgement’.  Bridie in her initial post reserved judgement on Frankenstein and, as we will soon see what tweaks are made in the restaging, I wasn’t going to add anything about Frankenstein other than to say I’m looking forward to the second run and hope very much ticket sales will accelerate.  I appreciate the points made about design, plot, complexity etc.  But I have to say I found Sweet Violets gripping, in part because I thought the plot, choreography and music were so well integrated, and I would be very pleased to see it performed again.  I was not as moved by Age of Anxiety because I found the characters less interesting/sympathetic but I thought it certainly worked as a piece of theatre, and particularly in the cinema.  It certainly worked for me much better than Strapless, The Wind and The Unkonwn Soldier.  As regards Swan Lake, I appreciate people have different expectations for the ending but I wonder if it’s fair to say that because a choreographer takes a different view to an audience member (or even a large number of audience members) that is evidence of ‘flawed judgement’?  Taken to an extreme, that’s almost suggesting that anyone who disagrees with a particular interpretation has ‘flawed judgement’.  It strikes me many interpretations are valid and may well be worth presenting and whilst I might have preferences, I wouldn’t presume people who don’t share my preferences have ‘flawed judgement’, let alone the choreographer.

 

As regards Sim’s comment, I’d just highlight that I was making the point that the criticism of Scarlett’s judgement to me came out of the blue on this thread.  The vast majority of comment to that point had been positive (if surprised) and I do think if a strong statement is being made, it really helps the debate if some argumentation is presented.

 

I don't think that choices are always just 'preferences' (though sometimes they are); sometimes I do think they're actually flawed (though I fully respect the right of others to make them, and to disagree with me.) And my comment about Scarlett was responding briefly to the previous post, which had made and quoted brief general comments about him as a choreographer. I didn't expand further because I didn't think this thread was the right place to enter into an extended discussion.

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17 minutes ago, ToThePointe said:

I’m having a lovely Monday morning at work listening to the score from Two Pigeons (FYI the album is on Spotify) and I’m wondering if someone could tell me who Ashton created the roles of the girl, boy and gypsy girl on? 

 

Lynn Seymour, Chris Gable & Liz Anderton, respectively.

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From the Ashton Foundation website:

http://www.frederickashton.org.uk/pigeons.html

 

D The Young Man: Christopher Gable; The Young Girl: Lynn Seymour; His Mother (renamed A Neighbour: 1974): Shirley Bishop; A Gypsy Girl: Elizabeth Anderton; Her Lover: Robert Mead; A Gypsy Boy: Johaar Mosaval; Two Old Gypsy Crones: Lorna Mossford, Valerie Deakin; Friends of the Young Girl, Gypsies, Sightseers: corps de ballet
FP Royal Ballet touring section, Royal Opera House, London, 14 February 1961

 

 

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21 minutes ago, ToThePointe said:

I’m having a lovely Monday morning at work listening to the score from Two Pigeons (FYI the album is on Spotify) and I’m wondering if someone could tell me who Ashton created the roles of the girl, boy and gypsy girl on? 

 

Hi ToThePointe,

 

The ballet was created for the Royal Ballet Touring Company, now Birmingham Royal Ballet.

 

The Young Girl: Lynn Seymour

 

The Young Man: Donald Britton, but he was injured (I don't know how long before the premiere, anybody?) so Christopher Gable danced the first performance (was some of the choreography also created on him, I wonder?)

 

The Gypsy Girl: Elizabeth Anderton - she still teaches RB company. It seems odd to me that her name isn't listed for principal coaching for this revival

 

Gypsy Girl's lover: Robert Mead

 

Gypsy Boy: Johaar Mosaval  - now 91 years old

 

I have just checked the ROH performance database that I got the  facts correct with this link:

http://rohcollections.org.uk/performance.aspx?performance=11844&row=0

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3 minutes ago, Darlex said:

 

The Young Man: Donald Britton, but he was injured (I don't know how long before the premiere, anybody?) so Christopher Gable danced the first performance. 

 

 

According to David Vaughan, Britton was injured on the day of the dress rehearsal. And he says that (because Gable was younger and less virtuosic than Britton) this changed the ballet so that it became the story of a young man who had to sow his wild oats before learning the nature of true love, as opposed to the original conception of an older man not quite ready to settle down with a younger woman. Apparently when Seymour danced it with Alexander Grant and later with Britton, the ballet reverted to Ashton's original conception.

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4 minutes ago, bridiem said:

 

According to David Vaughan, Britton was injured on the day of the dress rehearsal. And he says that (because Gable was younger and less virtuosic than Britton) this changed the ballet so that it became the story of a young man who had to sow his wild oats before learning the nature of true love, as opposed to the original conception of an older man not quite ready to settle down with a younger woman. Apparently when Seymour danced it with Alexander Grant and later with Britton, the ballet reverted to Ashton's original conception.

Thanks, Bridiem.

 

Was the character originally called The Old Man? !!!

 

It would be interesting to see it cast this way again.

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6 minutes ago, Darlex said:

Was the character originally called The Old Man? !!!

 

It would be interesting to see it cast this way again.

 

No, still The Young Man! So clearly just old-er, rather than old!! And yes, it would be interesting to see it with this different slant.

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3 hours ago, bridiem said:

 

According to David Vaughan, Britton was injured on the day of the dress rehearsal. And he says that (because Gable was younger and less virtuosic than Britton) this changed the ballet so that it became the story of a young man who had to sow his wild oats before learning the nature of true love, as opposed to the original conception of an older man not quite ready to settle down with a younger woman. Apparently when Seymour danced it with Alexander Grant and later with Britton, the ballet reverted to Ashton's original conception.

 

Just this once, I believe David Vaughan was wrong - Britton was not injured, he was ill (with flu) and had been out for some days. Britton actually danced the role  for the first time at a matinee on March 18th,  about a month after the premiere (by which time Gable himself was out, with a strained back). Clive Barnes said:

 

"His dancing was very vigorous indeed, and had a pleasing virility and breadth of movement. ....However, although his conception of the role was more detailed and more varied it was at the same time less convincing than Gable's. He tended to over-stress the humour of the first scene and missed much of the lyric passion of the reconciliation pas de deux."

 

(Incidentally, in the same article Clive Barnes scolds the RB for substituting another dancer for Svetlana Beriosova one evening - in a leading role - with no explanation or publicity apart from the substitute's name appearing in the cast list: "many of the audience must have especially booked [for Beriosova]" and " A poster of apology outside the theatre would not have come amiss in these circumstances" - sounds familiar...

 

 

 

Edited by Jane S
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Lynn Seymour contributed to the character of the role. Ashton initially expected the Young Girl to be sweet and charming but Lynn wanted a more interesting depiction so introduced some of the irritating moves at the start. That's why I liked Beatrix best in the role, this time round, her portrayal was closest to Lynn's lively slightly bolshy approach.

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I was lucky enough to see the original cast of Two Pigeons.  Seymour was wonderful - in both acts.  She managed the two sides of the Young Girl's character perfectly.  If you only saw her in MacMillan, you would not know what an excellent comedienne she was - unforgettable in The Concert too.  A real dance actress.

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I find it very interesting that Seymour was a favourite of both MacMillan and Ashton.  

 

From the clips I have seen of her dancing, she is able to convey that she is a real, flesh and blood woman. This is my main complaint about some of the current casts for Two Pigeons.  The girls seem too ethereal, too balletic.  

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14 hours ago, jm365 said:

I was lucky enough to see the original cast of Two Pigeons.  Seymour was wonderful - in both acts.  She managed the two sides of the Young Girl's character perfectly.  If you only saw her in MacMillan, you would not know what an excellent comedienne she was - unforgettable in The Concert too.  A real dance actress.

 

What a lovely notation, jm365.  I think it could be summed up by just saying Seymour was simply unforgettable in whatever she did ... Cranko included :) ..... She is one of those artists who wasn't afraid to be vulnerable or ugly .... and always gave 110%.  Her artistic drive easily drove the inspiration of oh, so many lucky souls watching her.  Hers was always a dangerous voyage during which any number of wonderful things could (and usually did) happen.  I, too, was fortunate to share in this any number of times.  That memory is, I agree, indelible.  

 

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On 25/02/2019 at 11:58, SheilaC said:

Lynn Seymour contributed to the character of the role. Ashton initially expected the Young Girl to be sweet and charming but Lynn wanted a more interesting depiction so introduced some of the irritating moves at the start. That's why I liked Beatrix best in the role, this time round, her portrayal was closest to Lynn's lively slightly bolshy approach.

Yes. Lynn said that in the documentary Deborah Bull made about choreographers.

Three years ago I knew nothing of this ballet when I first saw clips of the revival broadcast. I didn't like Lauren Cuthbertson in it -- She didn't seem to move her upper body enough as suggested by the music. She's a very good dancer actress, and I liked her in roles like Juliet, Marguerite, Manon and Mary Vetsera, but her dancing doesn't have that liveliness required by TP.

Later I found a recording of dress rehearsal with Seymour and Gable in the NYPL Digital Collection (Gable is also marvelous in it) https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/3c8814e0-f87e-0130-4822-3c075448cc4b

I believe the short clip on YT below is from this recording. It is available for access onsite at NYPL for Performing Arts at the Lincoln Center in New York if anyone's interested.

 

 

Edited by yvonnep
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