Vanartus

12 hours ago, BalletBoysDad said:

I snorted my coffee when you said ‘Molly Goddard’. I thought exactly the same thing, with a brief contemplation of Giambattista Valli. Then fully settled on Molly Goddard 😂 

…I thought Cinderella‘a father was the spitting image of Karl Lagerfeld!

6 hours ago, oncnp said:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CpkXpEioG7J/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Via Dancer's Diary

Oh wow…this got me!

A role I remember her in was the lead ballerina in Glen Tetley’s Voluntaries. Stunning. 

A wonderful statement - from State Opera House - on every possible level. Spot on!

I totally agree. The reasons for this situation are complex, and deeply felt by two strong and respected people. It is highly regrettable, but these concerns need to be approached with sensitivity and trust. These concerns are real, whatever opinions people may have. Using words like “pathetic” do not help.

What an amazing letter you wrote, and at least you got a speedy reply which contained a grain of hope. Thank you for making the effort. 

53 minutes ago, Sim said:

And I find it a tad offensive that you find it offensive…

And so the “barre” gets lowered…

22 hours ago, Sim said:

Yet another example of how pathetic things are becoming.  People choose to be offended because it’s a lot easier than thinking.  Well it’s Copenhagen’s loss.  

I actually find your use of “pathetic” a tad offensive…

Liked first part - particularly my first Qualia, and enjoyed the Robbins-eque Wheeldon piece. Second part was again good, all pieces had a place on the menu. I thought the Toonga would be definitely worth a second look, loved the Tamowitz with its mean spikiness and knock-out dancing, thought the Osipova piece a good gala serving, and Prima I liked for its vintage ode to the ballerina style in the manner of Ashton and Birthday Offering. And I liked the costumes! Sadly the siren call of South West Trains made me miss Diamonds, but I’ll catch it on an encore showing in Berlin when I’m back. I was just so glad to have been there in person. Just a pity that two pieces had to be danced to recordings - took the edge off the enjoyment. 

6 hours ago, Mary said:

Not unusual for galas I know, not to give a full programme- but the rehearsal insight did perhaps give a slightly misleading impression of what's coming and it did make me start to wonder whether I really want to go - taking into account all the usual boring things ( expense, travel etc). 

 

It would be nice to be reassured and enticed.

 

I was wondering whether there would be any Friends there who have been Friends for the whole 60 years. I manage about a third of that,  and am sure many can easily beat that record.

46 years from Junior Associate/Young Friend in September 1976

I just want My Brother, My Sisters back.

I agree. (In response to John S) Think Hayward should have done Vetsera last time, and Corrales as Rudolf this run. Probs no MacRae or Hirano in next run, but that’ll be earliest  2025 unless they adjust the rota!

19 minutes ago, zxDaveM said:

I was making my way down the stairs from the stalls circle behind McCauley on the way out after the opening night, and just thought to myself, well there walks a negative review...

🤣👏🤗🥂

37 minutes ago, Suffolkgal said:

Anyone else go back far enough to remember him waiting with us in floral street?

I’ve known him since 1977…

24 minutes ago, annamk said:

 

I don't think the review is any of those things. He didn't like it (neither did I) and he tells us why. I think his reviews tend not to be generous towards the RB but then IMO other reviewers are over generous. 

Oh sorry. I hadn’t actually got round to discussing the review. 😉

PS

The Macauley review. Mean spirited, nasty and bitter. 

I was deeply moved by it. Third time for the original “flight pattern”, and i

got more out of it than I was expecting. The new sections I found wonderful. I didn’t find them trite,(Gramilano “ickle children” and like “The Snowman”), nor “sentimental” as (FT or Indy - forgive, no longer sure), but deeply moving. Some movements reminded me of MacMillan’s Requiem or Tetley’s Voluntaries, but somehow more grounded or approachable. I thought the choreography for the children was well crafted, and what a chance for children to dream of dancing! And the final section which dealt with ageing and death was stunning. Quiet, moving and heartfelt. And what generosity of spirit for the RB to have two elderly dancers (non-professional I believe) to guide the piece to its conclusion. The corps and the soloists were amazing. Award worthy! And the music, singing and orchestra divine. I personally could have seen it without break all the way through, but that’s my over-exposure to less intervals in Germany!

Seeing second cast tomorrow…

13 hours ago, Nogoat said:

 

I thought I'd hold off so I could write just the one post on two performances (by the same cast) with one of them from two different perspectives (ROH and cinema encore).

I apologise right away as it turned out just as long-winded as usual... 😐

 

Wed 5th - ROH - Osipova/Hirano
Sat 8th - ROH - Osipova/Hirano
Sunday 9th - encore showing of the Wed 5th cinema broadcast

 

I love Mayerling - it is a work of genius, a pure alpha-predator of a ballet; all muscle and sinew, power and fearful beauty, with not an ounce of unnecessary flab or filler. And all driven by primal urges we share with much of the animal kingdom - except, perhaps, that knowledge of our own mortality and, tragically, the ability to take that path in extremis.

 

So I did get slightly annoyed reading in The Times review that 'this overlong ballet has its faults (too many characters, too many scenes, too much plotting)', particularly after reading a quote in a Guardian article the previous week 'that if you have to read the programme, a ballet has failed in its job'. 

Well, no and no! 

Mayerling is NOT entertainment, to be supped on as a distraction; it's education, to be engaged with, assimilated and processed - and that takes work!

It's convoluted because life is messy and complicated, even (particularly?) for Royal Families. In fact, a ballet based on real life almost demands complexity as there are no magic wands to wave, no enchanted kisses to give, and certainly no deus ex machina to bring the whole edifice crashing down at the end. If there is a 'god' at work, it is MacMillan teaching us about the human condition.

The Guardian article also contained Balanchine's quote 'there are no mothers-in-law in ballet'. I would qualify that with 'but there can be if you do some homework or read the programme'. In Mayerling, a simple scowl and tap of a walking stick speaks volumes about the relationship between Elizabeth and her mother-in-law. Does anyone know when Balanchine came up with that quote? It would be wonderful to think that MacMillan included Archduchess Sophie to test that 'law'...

The lady sat next to me on opening night had not seen Mayerling before, but she had read the synopsis. She managed to keep up until about halfway through Act 2, then lost it (I didn't make it that far on my first viewing). She still enjoyed the spectacle and the dancing, though, as did I that first time.

 
So, if we can be encouraged by the choreographer to get the most from Like Water for Chocolate by watching RB Insights that were as long as the ballet itself, then I won't accept those complaints about Mayerling in The Times. And if I do want to be entertained while I'm being educated, then the best source I've found is the old South Bank documentary on YouTube (Part 1 here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IntawIGac4).

I approached Wednesday's performance full of nervous expectation and anticipation - it was opening night at the ROH, with a cast of favourites, doing one of my favourite ballets, with the cameras present and the possibility of a video release!

I found myself getting unusually emotional during Act 1, and there was lots of (hopefully) surreptitious sniffing going on. I initially put it down to the excitement of the occasion and the fact that after a couple of uninspiring new full length ballets over the last two years, I was finally watching a true masterpiece.

 

However, it also happened on Saturday 8th at the ROH and even on Sunday at the encore screening. It happened mainly during Rudolf's PDD with his mother, which laid bare the gulf between his longings and her inability to reciprocate - it was tragic to watch.

But it was also triggered by his cruel mistreatment of Stephanie, in this case the sympathy switching to Francesca Hayward as she was thrown around like a rag doll - frightened, confused and trying to adapt to the situation she found herself in as best she could.

It was even bubbling away in the earlier PDD between Morera's Larisch and Rudolf; again, the communication between them, expressed through dance and expression, had a clarity that hit home. The three females - Morera, Hayward, and especially the poker-faced Mendizabel - were on top form, but the common denominator of Hirano's Rudolf really helped to expose and amplify the dynamics of those relationships.

 

The character of Rudolf is difficult to portray as it needs to demonstrate his gradual inner disintegration across the three acts. The dancer can't start off completely 'mad and bad', and neither can he leave his madness until his last scene with Mary. During the last run, there was some criticism of Hirano keeping too much of his inner turmoil, er, inside. I felt he certainly improved over three performances in the last run, but for this run I think there has been a marked improvement in projecting that gradual disintegration (and the causes of it) to the audience. This may just be his growing experience, but it might also be receiving the benefit of Ed Watson's insights now he has moved to coaching. 

Either way, his improved skills at projection, coupled with his incredible physical stature, strength and endurance, bodes well for the future. Rudolf may well be disintegrating before our eyes, but Hirano is consolidating his own interpretation of this character very nicely indeed.

 

And what of Osipova's Mary? She, too, goes on a journey from wide-eyed adolescent at the Imperial Court to nymphomaniac (going to meet someone alone, in their bedroom, dressed in a negligee sort of gives the game away) and, ultimately, to willing (and even eager) participation in the story's deadly conclusion.

I think Osipova mentioned in the broadcast between acts that she is at her best when she completely inhabits the character on stage. That doesn't happen every time with her (just most!), but when it does her performance and character's journey can reach heights that few others can. Examples would include the shifts in character required for the three acts of Sylvia, for Romeo and Juliet, and certainly for Anastasia (as an aside, this is one reason I'm a bit worried about the RB just doing Act 3 of Anastasia - I think it needs the context-setting of Acts 1 and 2 to make it work. It's that business of real-life stories being complicated again!).

Having seen yesterday's encore cinema broadcast of opening night, I'm actually now more impressed with the Act 2 bedroom scene than I was on the night itself - and I think this was down to how much I was hoping for a flawless performance as it was being filmed/broadcast.

And there were a few 'issues' that had a disproportionate effect on me - the revolver firing too soon and having to be fired again, plus the rather untidy, early dismount from a lift (and ironically, there was a segment in the interval broadcast that referred to the difficult of their PDDs - lots of hands being moved to lots of places. Of course, it worked perfectly there!).

The final PDD was harrowing, but at the same time somehow intensely beautiful to watch as they made the ultimate sacrifice for each other.

 

There were other gremlins as well, including Mitzi Caspar having to spend some time extricating her skirt from the chair she was trying to get up from, just when Rudolf was about to ask her to commit suicide with him. And please, please bring back proper blanks to be fired behind the screen for the double 'suicide' (they don't even have to be in the gun); otherwise the gunshots can be lost in the music, and the lack of a bright flash from the gun leaves doubt as to what's happened. Given all the technology available, why not give the job to a percussionist - surely they could get their beats and the bangs on the dot?

And talking of the 'old days', it used to be that broadcasts were filmed twice - once to practise and get something in the can, and the other on the night itself. This was filmed only once, on opening night - not even part-way into the run when things generally get smoother - so there's no fall-back position! Was this just over-confidence, or a cost-cutting exercise - or both? 🤔

And while I'm at it, why on earth was it broadcast and not streamed? I know it was an encore broadcast, but there were literally ten people in the city centre cinema we went to. This cost the two of us around £40 including parking and travel, of which the ROH would receive a fraction. I would much rather pay £25 direct to the ROH and settle down in front of a TV - no hassle, no traffic jams, no parking, no having to go out to the desk to tell them there was no sound (though someone else did that, not me), and a much better picture quality (it's in the nature of the projection equipment that blacks are rendered a dark grey - modern TVs pride themselves on rendering black, so if a TV was that bad it would be straight back to the shop!). 

I didn't realise until I went to the Saturday performance, which wasn't filmed, that the lighting was exactly the same as on opening night; no allowance was made for filming. Yes, the cinema broadcast was dark, but it was still watchable (key dancers were well lit) and nicely reflected the overall dark mood.

 

What is really annoying is that Saturday's performance with the same cast was absolutely superb! After the 'practice' that was opening night, the cast had extended their 'comfort zone' and danced with a confidence, precision and abandon that completely swept me along. It was one of 'those' performances, and the great shame of it is that the cameras were not there to record it...

 

In a ballet that is a relentless challenge for the male lead, I'm becoming increasingly in awe of a scene in which he does not feature - when Larisch arrives at the Vetsera household, where Mary and her mother are arranging flowers. This scene becomes the historical axis around which the increasingly complex plot is cajoled into moving in the direction that ultimately leads to tragedy and, eventually, repercussions across Europe and the world.

This is instigated and steered by deception on the part of Larisch. Three women in a drawing room, and a game of tarot; and that music - full of foreboding. A stunning piece of story-telling. I'm reminded of the bit of The Second Coming that starts 'Turning and turning in the widening gyre' and ends 'Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world', and it makes me shiver.

And the things is, we know what's going to happen - we have a god's-eye view, but we are impotent gods; all we can do it watch it unfold, Cassandra-like. The impact of that scene was enhanced by the excited dancing of Osipova's Mary - full of the fast, hyperactive movement of the adolescent, but also accompanied by laser-sharp movements and stops - in contrast to Morera's more deliberate movements in controlling events.
Unlike some, I have a lot of sympathy for Larisch. I think she genuinely cares for Rudolf (more than all the other women thus far) but is gradually losing her influence and ability to rein in his increasingly deranged behaviour. She hopes that 'younger blood' will be able to help, and forgoes her own position in a selfless quest to help Rudolf.

Why do I say this? Because at no point does Rudolf ask her to die with him. To me, her motive is not to find a sacrificial lamb, but a salve for his troubled mind. She may be an arch-manipulator, but that alone doesn't make her evil. From our privileged position, it can look like the bestowing of a death sentence (especially with that sombre chord that is played when she places her hand on Osipova's shoulder) - but that is the sadness that comes with our knowledge of the future. Larisch sees a slightly different future, and her contained excitement is contained and only manifested in her stuttering exit across the stage.

 

I've already mentioned how MacMillan managed to demonstrate the relationship between daughter- and mother-in-law. A couple of other tiny, but telling, encounters worked particularly well. The Hungarian officer trying to flirt with the Empress is beautifully put in his place by a suave Gary Avis demonstrating that the officer might well be able to kiss the outside of her hand, but in turning that hand over and kissing it on the inside he implies he has much more intimate access - superb!
And I just love the way Mary's increasingly reckless relationship with Rudolf is implied in the way she traverses the stage to him, moving the gun around in circles like a gunslinger, and also when she goes across to him, arms flailing like a windmill. 
And I mentioned in the last run how Mary moving across the stage in the suicide scene on her knees, and prostrating herself in a cross made perfect sense when I found out that the land underneath where they died became a place of worship. There are so many layers to be mined here...

Finally, I'd like to say how much I enjoyed Leticia Dias' Louise - she really does have 'presence'.

 

Thank you for reading all of this! 

 

 

The best ever review I’ve read in such a long time! Wow - I’m on a high!

Wonderful to read the stunning reviews in the press today. I’ll be watching the encore screening on Sunday in Berlin, so I’ll be able to enjoy it then. (Also at a later date in person for Hayward/Sambe.) One quick comment - when I saw Hirano’s third performance of Rudolf in the last run, I was stunned by his performance- particularly when he disintegrates in the final act. I also noted his eloquence in the solos in Act 1. I’d rather have his subtlety than the melodrama of the previous recording with a different cast,  but I guess it’s all a matter of taste and judgement - one person’s melodrama is depth of interpretation, another’s subtlety is not digging the depths. So there you go!

12 hours ago, Bruce Wall said:

 

Sabine, I believe that Mr. Parish (sadly I don't know him so I don't feel I can rightly refer to him by his first name) is currently a dancer with the Norwegian Ballet.  Perhaps that might be the best association under the circumstances to note - given that it at least appears to be current.  

Mr Wall, I think Sabine is perfectly ok using Xander. 

34 minutes ago, TSR101 said:

 

Unfortunately, I suspect this won't be the case and he will be welcomed back - at least to Italy, Germany, and some of Eastern Europe. There has already been a weakening of the previous rejection of Russian ballet companies/stars linked to the Russian state performing in Europe. 

I’d be very surprised if Germany welcomed him back. Zelensky at BSB was his only ally, and he’s gone! 

7 hours ago, Two Pigeons said:

No Clem, no Dance Books, no Dancing Times, hardly any Ashton and BRB cutting back on anything classical.  Oh dear, my great years of ballet going really are over.

It’s a strange moment, I agree. The closure of both Dance Books and Dancing Times is sad. The sudden closure of such a key publication is also shocking. As someone who first went to Covent Garden in 1976 I’m just going to console myself that I saw some amazing dancers do some great works. And I agree, some of them should be seen far more often than they are now. But alongside campaigning for more frequent revivals - yes to more Ashton and also to some almost forgotten MacMillan works - I’m still going enjoy the best of the new. And for me that does include McGregor, Pite, and new ones still to come. I’m very happy to live in the present and look to the future…I just don’t want the best of the past to be neglected. It too deserves to be part of the present and the future. 

…and he’s brilliant too!

I’d always recommend  joining Friends if you’re living in the UK and go regularly to the ROH.  Now I’ve settled in Berlin, I think I’ll let my membership slide after this season. Covid broke the rhythm of my trips back, and I really enjoy the live screenings here - the cinemas are great, there’s free Sekt on offer and the printed programs add a touch of “I’m almost there -ness”. So really for me Mayerling, Nutcracker and the Friends’ nights will be seen in Berlin, and the new Pite I’ll catch up with in Oslo. I’ll only make the London trips for Woolf Works, Cinderella and the new triple bill. I’ve been a friend since 1976 when I went to Goldsmiths. Thanks to the junior Friends’ vouchers and reductions I got the most wonderful grounding in ballet and opera…and I loved the glossy magazines too. I owe the organisation a lot. But I think 23/24 will see me join the equivalent group(s) in Berlin. Time to move on.