Kate Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 Did anyone attend the rehearsal today and if so are they willing/able to comment on any notable changes to Raven Girl? Or indeed Connectome. (Sorry not sure of the ettique re being able or not to comment on rehearsals before the actual production run -apologies if this is not the done thing!) I know Raven Girl was not all that popular last time around but I have to confess to really liking it and thinking it had great promise as a modern fairytale about transformation and longing to belong. On a practical note too I was wondering about the order in which the ballets will be shown an when the interval falls -i.e. in the midst of Raven Girl or between Connectome and Raven Girl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beryl H Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 I got an E-mail but deleted it, seems the running order is Raven Girl (shortened I imagine) 50m, interval 30m, Connectome 30m, finish 9.20pm. I still says running time 2h 15m on the website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 Thanks for bringing this up, Kate: until I saw your message about the general, I could have sworn the opening night for this was Thursday! Have now grabbed myself a cheap ticket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate Posted October 5, 2015 Author Share Posted October 5, 2015 Wow that does seem quite a shortening, I am quite surprised- I thought adjustments to Raven Girl might have extended rather than shortened things but I guess the proof will be in the viewing. I can understand somewhat more now why the tickets seem to be comparatively cheap to the full evening and triple bill programmes. Good work with the cheap ticket grab Alison -it's always nice to grab a short notice cheap seat, especially at the start of a rather wet and miserable Monday! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Newcombe Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 Raven Girl is 75 minutes. Interval 30 minutes and Connectomes 28 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthE Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 Did anyone attend the rehearsal today and if so are they willing/able to comment on any notable changes to Raven Girl? No, but it has been mentioned elsewhere on this forum that the role of the prince is being greatly increased. This was something Gary Avis mentioned when coaching Beatriz Stix-Brunell and Ryoichi Hirano on the final pas de deux at the Insight Event the other week - the prince is now present throughout the ballet, with a demanding solo just prior to the pas de deux. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPD444 Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 I will not comment on the dancing but it was very noticeable that the auditorium at the rehearsal was nowhere near full, certainly in the stalls and stalls circle there were plenty of seats. Seems to confirm the unpopularity of the ballets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mallinson Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 I will not comment on the dancing but it was very noticeable that the auditorium at the rehearsal was nowhere near full, certainly in the stalls and stalls circle there were plenty of seats. Seems to confirm the unpopularity of the ballets. …or that the Friends are not enamoured of new(ish) work. There are quite a lot of changes which I won't enumerate - go see for yourselves! The running time has actually increased by 3 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPD444 Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 …or that the Friends are not enamoured of new(ish) work. There are quite a lot of changes which I won't enumerate - go see for yourselves! The running time has actually increased by 3 minutes. Good Point. There is a resistance against more abstract works in the audience generally so I assume "friends" are no different. I thoroughly enjoyed both of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted October 5, 2015 Share Posted October 5, 2015 I like new work and abstract work very much but having seen these before, I didn't want to see them again. I guess I am not entirely alone there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 I was at the dress rehearsal taking a few photos - here are a couple of examples:Raven Girl - Sarah Lamb & Eric Underwood© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / FlickrConnectome - Lauren Cuthbertson© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / FlickrSee more...Set from DanceTabs: RB - Raven Girl, Connectome Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr By kind permission of the Royal Opera House 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Dave, these photos encapsulate aspects of these works perfectly. Thank you. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate Posted October 6, 2015 Author Share Posted October 6, 2015 As always Dave, such excellent work, thanks for posting. Thanks also for feedback everyone, looking forward to seeing both these ballets in the flesh tonight and/or Thursday. I am sure debates about the merits and more challenging aspects of both will continue! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 I've seen Connectome before and enjoyed it. Looking forward to seeing Raven Girl for the first time; I won't recognise changes but it will be interesting to see if the initial lacklustre reception has prompted them.. I went to a Russell Maliphant premiere at the weekend, and while one piece (not a premiere) was superb, the new work looked to me as if it would have benefited from some direct feedback during conception. Choreographers seem to get much freer rein than say film directors, and would often benefit from a degree of forced editing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate Posted October 6, 2015 Author Share Posted October 6, 2015 The role of the Prince in Raven Girl allegedly has been increased and I'm not sure how I feel about this. Part of the reason I liked Raven Girl last time was that rather than a traditional romance narrative it seemed to be much more about Raven Girl finding her own way of being in the world that felt alien and hostile to her and her difference. The beautiful , uplifting last pas de deux to me was more like a metaphor for her finding herself rather than finding her Prince. Not sure i can make tonight now so will look forward to hearing what others think. Quintus there seems to be a bit of a push towards choreographers consulting dramaturgs to help edit their work into more clear narratives/storylines. I know that's probably irrelevant to Maliphant since most of his work is abstract but I do think/hope the dance world is becoming more open to ways of structuring work. Tamara Rojo was saying that a key part of the new ENB building will be a small theatre where new works can be tried in front of small audiences. It sounds like a very simple but essential way of ensuring choreographers can try things in a safe space before being exposed to a more critical audience. Anyway I digress -I hope everyone who is there tonight has a fabulous evening. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 (edited) Briefly: There are actually - or as I perceived it - a goodly number of changes to Raven Girl apart from the early introduction of the Raven Prince (although that - in and of itself - didn't disturb - for me at any rate - the Raven Girl's own independent progress). Certainly now the story felt more clear ... and not just because the lighting is (or so it seems to me) brighter than it was on the production's premiere night. The fairly full house in its overall response appeared to buoy. Lauren Cuthbertson made a distinguished debut in Connectome. Those bourees haunt with an electricity all of their own. Edited October 6, 2015 by Bruce Wall 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanartus Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 I really liked RG first time round - not just glorious final pdd - but it did need both streamlining and restructuring. I do like Wayne's world (!) , WW was the first ballet that has moved me so much since MacMillan. It makes me sad that so many people so actively and so aggressively dislike him as a choreographer. Clement Crisp is beyond cruel. Anyway will see it (by accident) Thursday and Saturday, and I'll squeeze in the second cast on 24th. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 My reactions on seeing this bill was that Luke Jennings, at least, is going to have a field day I had what turned out to be a disappointingly restricted view of proceedings, so think I'd better leave it for others to give the main feedback. I did notice a number of changes, though: particularly Ed Watson having a higher ratio of dancing to cycling, and a change to the end of the final pas de deux, as well as the interpolation of the Raven Prince already mentioned elsewhere. I'm afraid that Connectome continues to do very little for me, and visually it seemed not dissimilar to Raven Girl, with its largely monochrome projections. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Newcombe Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Oh Alison, as a medical scientist, those wavy and wiggly lines meant everything to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Newcombe Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Alison, your last sentence has changed since my posting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Yes, I decided to edit it, Tony, sorry - I don't think you can have hit "Post" before I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penelopesimpson Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Good Point. There is a resistance against more abstract works in the audience generally so I assume "friends" are no different. I thoroughly enjoyed both of them. You may be right but I adore new work and book tickets when I can. However, Raven Girl - no way am I seeing that again! Loved the Hofesh Schechter, Woolf Works and Winter's Tale. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beryl H Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 I enjoyed both ballets first time round and in general I liked Raven Girl even more last night and Connectome less so, afraid that the absence of Natalia Osipova added to that, Lauren Cuthbertson is serene (more like Sarah Lamb in the second cast ) but Natalia puts so much into it and she has that huge jete, Steven McRae gave the best performance for me. Can't recall too much extra dancing for the Raven Prince, but in the final pdd Sarah Lamb and Eric Underwood were superb, this is the closest Wayne McGregor gets to the big closing pdd, great dancing and choreography! The lighting was definitely better, the scrim kept going up and down but I never felt I couldn't see properly as before, agree Edward Watson had more actual dancing right from the start, that was good, Paul Kay has an excellent too solo but I don't know if it's changed. Thought the audience were rather cool, no applause during the ballets, but these are cool hi-tech looking ballets, bit of a difference to Saturday's matinee though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmie Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Interesting comment about the scrim going up and down Beryl. If I remember correctly the scrim was down the whole performance last time around and this was one of my biggest bugbears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanartus Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 Saw second cast tonight. Really enjoyed Raven Girl - thought the changes helped a lot. Beatriz wonderful - as was all of cast. Really felt they believed in the ballet. Good audience reception. Connectome well danced and Sarah Lamb wonderful - and it looks good too - but it fizzles out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 I saw it last night. I hadn't seen Raven Girl before and found it mostly enjoyable. The final pdd was wonderful, and the scene where she gets her wings was also striking. There were a few weak passages, like the scene while she is being transformed where the stage is full of pairs of dancers just, well, doing stuff. Not sure I'd rush to see it again but I don't regret going. I really enjoyed Connectome. Sarah Lamb was a good fit to the role and was a delight to watch. I'd seen an extract of this before as part of the Russian Masters bill and remember Natalia Osipova launching herself at her partner like a cruise missile. SL is less 'robustly committed' in her style but the slight coldness I find in her was actually well suited to this piece. The music is fabulous, particularly the first piece from Fratres 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duck Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 (edited) I didn't hugely enjoy Raven Girl or Connectome when they were first shown a couple of years ago and admittedly, I bought the ticket for today's matinee performance solely based on the cast. With the various changes in Raven Girl (if my memory doesn't play up), however, I enjoyed today's performance much more than in 2013. There was more dancing and less cycling in circles for Edward Watson. There were ravens looking out from the rock face when the letter is delivered, making the small raven at the bottom of the rock as having fallen from its nest more credible. The role of the townspeople was much clearer. The lighting was generally a lot brighter. The isolation of the Raven Girl in the town, being rejected both by the people and the ravens was more compelling. With the storyline clearer, the scenes in the lecture hall were scarily creepy. The Raven Prince was introduced earlier however as there was no link between his earlier appearance and other elements of the story, I am not sure about this part yet. Connectome has grown on me compared to its first outing. I could see something like a progression from individuals to groups of various compositions, and at the same time the graphics in the background becoming more complex and colourful. I think, however, that I would need to watch it a few more times to fully observe the links between the graphics in the background, the dancing and the meaning of the word connectome. I had been to the Insight Evening before its premiere and then was disappointed last time that the ballet didn't use the piano version of Arvo Paert's music. I was more comfortable with the orchestrated version of the music this time and this has contributed to enjoying the ballet more today. Edited October 10, 2015 by Duck 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 With the storyline clearer, the scenes in the lecture hall were scarily creepy. That reminds me: if they haven't already done so, they need to move the lecture scenes further in towards the centre of the stage - they were virtually invisible to many of those sitting on the left-hand side of the auditorium on the first night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harwel Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 I loved this programme this afternoon. The dancing was superb. The Raven girl final pas de deux was really beautiful, very difficult but flowed all the way through. I thought the set for connectome was very clever and effective. Loved the cast for connectome and can see why Matthew Ball is the one to watch - just mesmerising. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duck Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 That reminds me: if they haven't already done so, they need to move the lecture scenes further in towards the centre of the stage - they were virtually invisible to many of those sitting on the left-hand side of the auditorium on the first night. I was sitting in the centre so can't tell whether they were difficult to see from the side. I wondered though for one of the two ballets today whether the dancers could be seen well from higher up as they were dancing below some items that were hanging down from the ceiling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted October 11, 2015 Share Posted October 11, 2015 . Connectome well danced and Sarah Lamb wonderful - and it looks good too - but it fizzles out. I think the fizzle out is part of the point - as you die your 'connectome' disconnects as the synapses cease to fire. At least, that was my take on it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanartus Posted October 11, 2015 Share Posted October 11, 2015 Aha! Good point... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLOSS Posted October 11, 2015 Share Posted October 11, 2015 (edited) I don't think that the regular ballet goer or regular opera goer is against new works.The problem is that so many new operas and ballets seem to lack any real substance or interest.When the audience was offered the prospect of a new Ashton or MacMillan work it could assume that the odds were heavily stacked in its favour as far as seeing something of real quality was concerned, say 8 to 2 in favour of the work being a substantial one. Now I fear that the odds are more or less reversed. But I am an optimistic soul and hope always conquers experience. As a result I go to new works when they are programmed but I see no need to go to the revival of a ballet in which the narrative was weak and the choreography banal. Its strongest feature was its design which was probably the most expensive part of the enterprise. The announcement of its revival did not come as a surprise but after reading the comments of those who have seen the revised version and talking to others who have been to see it recently I am still left wondering whether the cost of the original production rather than its artistic merit was the real reason for its revival. Connectome does not appear to have improved since its premier either. I do hope that Stix-Brunell and Hirano are given the opportunity to take the leads in a full length work of real quality in the near future; so far they seem to have picked the short straw as far as leading roles in revivals are concerned.They appeared as an unscheduled cast in MacMillan's Prince of the Pagodas and gave a far better performance than it deserved and more experienced casts had given because they danced the ballet rather than merely reproducing the steps. And now they have Raven Girl. Well I suppose that it is true that there is no such thing as wasted experience I just hope that they get the opportunity to put their experience to good use some time soon.. Edited October 11, 2015 by FLOSS 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now