Odyssey

In the light of this discussion of the two productions, it is worth reading Wright’s own account, including the revival of the RB version and the BRB adaptation for the 02 centre. In Wright and Wrongs, he talks at length about various sources, and notes, “A producer has to decide who motivates the story, Clara or Drosselmeyer. Is Clara a ten year old interested in toys -or a 16-year-old adolescent interested in boys? To what degree does the producer reconcile the two acts? How far does he he indulge every small girl’s identification with Clara and her desire to become the Sugar Plum Fairy?” Later on in his discussion, he also comments that with the BRB production he “ adopted a freer, more youthful and romantic telling” which he considers was more fitting for the company.

Moderators, please combine with my previous post. Forgot to add the wonderful pas de deux from the second movement of Concerto with Naghdi and Edmonds - sheer class.

I agree with this. The original version Sir Peter created for RB had some distinctive, ‘authentic’ features, as you describe, which have now disappeared . There’s also the wonderful pas de deux moment ( discussed previously on this forum) when the Prince places the material on the floor for Sugar Plum to glide across - magical, but sadly no more. It seems to me that over the years, with every alteration, the two Wright versions have become increasingly fused, which is a shame .

I thought this was an excellent selection which hopefully will have attracted the casual viewer as well as those of us who just revel in every opportunity to see some of our favourite dancers and choreography. I would love a part 2 particularly The Dream pas de deux, Monotones and more of the beautiful Within the Golden Hour.

A great season’s final. I’m relishing the thought of Gary Avis creating the character role in a Sweeney Todd ballet. Apparently Cranko choreographed a one act ballet for the Royal Ballet touring company in 1959.

Was the new prologue (outside as family arrive for the Christmas party) the section choreographed by Carlos Acosta? Interesting that it is similar to part of Sir Peter Wright’s prologue for the the RB production.

I have just watched the BRB slimmed down version which on the whole I thought was remarkably well done. This is indeed a special production and it must have been so difficult to adapt it to the Rep. ( I may have got this wrong, but I think the original plan was to run it at the Alex theatre, so if that is the case there must have been much reworking over the last couple of months to stage it in yet another theatre). I agree with Dawnstar regarding the absence of what is probably the best known music of the ballet, and having the Flowers and Mirlitons present only serve to remind you of the omission. The choreography of the snowflakes in this production is so effective and the camera work helped to appreciate just how good it is. I’d be interested to know what others, who know this production, thought of the backdrop in act2. After doing a remarkable job with the rich colours of act 1and the evocative lighting for the snowflake scene, I thought the painted squiggles and sun was a crude and poor substitute for McFarlane’s bold and vibrant flowers and constantly shifting, mirrored reflections. That apart, I thought the company performed well all round and the BRB Sinfonia sounded great. It is truly remarkable that BRB have been able to bring this together.

Just to add that there was a region 2 version. I picked one up on eBay last year so it is worth looking out for. It has the wonderful Yoshida as Sugar Plum with Mukhamedov guesting. I was fortunate to be in the audience the evening of the recording, so I was pretty pleased to track it down having previously had a pretty poor video recording.

It could well be the same one as I recall seeing this recording on Sky Arts. If so, this would be a shame for the funding stream for the ROH.

Thanks for taking the time to do this. Noticeable how the productions are old. Wish they would invest in some recent broadcasts.

Not strictly a streaming performance but I have just enjoyed the 1993 film of New York City Ballet with some dancers from the past including Darci Kistler, Kyra Nichols and the wonderful Wendy Whelan as coffee (Arabian).It’s on Netflix and is a lovely watch.

I guess it will have to be scaled down but the comment says “setting up” as in , a work in progress. Remember that the wonder of BRB’s transformation scene isn’t reliant on the size of the tree ( without giving too much away)

Yes, BRB . Just hoping it films well. I have the DVD and much of the first act is quite dark including the wonderful transformation scene, but it was recorded quite a few year’s ago.

Amidst all the praise for the principal cast, it’s good to see Claire Calvert receiving some lovely comments in a number of critics’ reviews (see today’s links).

Interesting omissions. Shame about the Arabian dance, but understandable. Rationing in the Kingdom of Sweets

Thanks for getting back to me. Just to add an area that I think might make for a really interesting podcast is the daily class. Since we get to see it on World Ballet day, it has generated a number of potential questions such as is there an etiquette about who goes where at the barre/ who carries the barre away? Are there some stories, which it’s okay to reveal, about individual dancers’ habits and routines during class? What’s it like to do guest class with another company? What about the movements dancers make with their hands when going through the steps the teacher has set? Teachers (perhaps from the past) that can be revealed to be notorious in some way. Favourite music for class.Are there fashionistas amongst dancers when it comes to class? .....Sorry I seem to have got carried away here!

A fairly recent title for youngsters is No Ballet Shoes in Syria by Catherine Bruton. Can highly recommend this. In the previous thread I suggested Dance of Shadows and Dance of Fire both by Yelena Black. I wouldn’t rule out Hope in a Ballet Shoe. Yes, the opening is quite hard hitting, but it is handled well and ultimately the book is uplifting and I am sure would appeal to a young teenager.

There are some lovely photographic books out there, but in terms of fairly recently published titles about the world of ballet, very little. There are also relatively few ballet biographies being published these days - more from America. I assume it’s the Dorling Kindersley one that you mean by ‘the ballet encyclopaedia’. If not it is definitely the one to get. It’s the one which Viviana Durante contributed to and is an excellent all round book.

Looking again at the statement, with the live stream you get a few additional items. ”Ticket holders for this pay per view production will also be able to enjoy some extra treats the Company have tied together with a seasonal red bow to make the experience as special as possible.” I think I will go for the video option though if, as I take it to mean, you can watch it multiple times within the time period. Not sure what I think of the two purchase options. I assume the marketing department have done their homework and believe it will work.

Anna Rose has had a fairly speedy rise through the ranks, so I think a further year or two at first soloist level is reasonable. Her time will surely come.

I really hope this will be well supported. BRB has gone to enormous lengths to adapt their gorgeous Nutcracker for live performances only to be thwarted at the final hurdle. How unlucky that both their chosen venues had to be cancelled.

I assume you will have to subscribe to the Disney channel to watch it.

Yes, I concur with all above comments and particularly enjoyed Nathalie Harrison’s contribution as compère. I am always struck by the positivity of the coaches at the Royal Ballet which surely brings out the best in the dancers. Great to see the career progression of Anna Rose and Marcelino from their former roles of Clara/ Hans-Peter.

I have so many happy memories of seeing her dance over the years. She was one of the first dancers I saw in the role of Odette/Odile. She was a versatile dancer with so many roles she could do well -Lise, Aurora, Juliet, Tatiana. I loved her graceful lilac fairy in Sir Peter Wright’s production (minus the tutu). She made a wonderful Lady Capulet and a truly wicked Carabosse. Her move with Sadler Wells to Birmingham was a testament to her faith in Madam and her director. She has been a wonderful champion for the company and a dame-hood would be a fitting reward for such a talented, hardworking and selfless woman. .

I have a copy which looks to be the same edition and Book 2 starts on page 131 following a series of photo plates. I could take photos of the missing pages on my iPad and send them to you if you pm me.