JohnS

I've been thinking about Floss's post 105 above for some time and just wanted to add a few comments. I always read Floss's posts with great interest and appreciate the deep knowledge and insight they bring to the Forum. I do wonder if some of the judgements made are a little harsh, particularly in relation to Anastasia and Frankenstein. From Floss's post it seems clear that the three act Anastasia is considered by Floss to be one of Macmillan's 'failed story ballets'. "Of the six full length ballets which MacMillan created only three really work as effective narrative works the other three have major defects ... when [MacMillan] created the three act Anastasia, he had already created Song of the Earth and his Romeo and Juliet and his other two failed story ballets lay in the future." A number of eminent critics and several contributors to the Forum have argued that the thee act version works dramatically for them and that the first two acts do shed light on Act 3: the earlier acts provide an idealisation of what Anna imagines her life might have been like in Imperial Russia. The Tsar and Tsarina, her brother, sisters and Rasputin are all developed in the first two acts and so Act 3 becomes much more understandable in terms of many of the characters who appear. The film of the Imperial family at play, including skating, has also been presented on stage in the earlier acts, to my mind very effectively. Floss refers to the Tsar and Tsarina being better developed because of parallels with Enigma Variations: "At the time it may not have seemed as threadbare as it does now because by casting Rencher and Beriosova as the Tsar and Tsarina and requiring them to repeat the roles of Elgar and Lady Elgar he gave the characters an emotional depth which his own choreography failed to generate." I'm afraid I haven't seen the 'Enigma Variations' ballet (I do hope it’s not too long a wait) but I find it hard to see how dancers playing roles in other ballets would generate as much tension as we saw on stage from Gary Avis, Kristen McNally, and others. I'm also not sure if Floss is suggesting that a triple bill which includes both Enigma Variations and the Act 3 Anastasia would be dramatically more coherent than the three act ballet. I don’t think this is what is being suggested as it’s surely only in the three act ballet that we can see the Tsar and Tsarina roles being fleshed out. But if we’re talking about Enigma Variations and the three act Anastasia being performed in broadly the same time frame (by Rencher and Beriosova), I do find it it a little difficult to see how this would add significantly to the dramatic tension in Anastasia. Turning to ‘Frankenstein’, Floss states: “I don't think that Frankenstein is a complete failure as it has some very effective scenes. Its weaknesses are structural. Scarlett would have benefitted from editorial input to help him to identify those elements of the story which, however much he loves them, need to be cut because either they overstay their welcome or do not work in balletic terms.…For example I think that the audience needed to know why the Creature behaved as he did and that if he had been given a proper entrance in Act 2 we would have been aware of him as a brooding presence throughout the scene of celebration.” I am pleased that Floss found some scenes very effective. I thought it worked very effectively in the theatre and some scenes were indeed gripping. That isn’t to say that it wouldn’t benefit from some revisions. Like Floss I would welcome further development of the ballet, giving the Creature more prominence at the end of Act 1 and at the outset of Act 2. In addition I have some difficulty with Victor who in the ballet knows with complete certainty that the Creature has killed William (the Creature shows Victor William’s coat) but Victor does nothing to save Justine. Doesn’t it call out for a solo of absolute remorse? But these are minor and the thrust of Frankenstein is I find clear and dramatically convincing, including the effective story-telling in Act 1 which may not be particularly original but it is I think beautifully executed. The recent BBC broadcast underlined for me the narrative dynamic. Given the above I do find it a bit harsh to describe the ballet (paraphrasing) as ‘not a complete failure’. I don’t think much has been said of Christopher Wheeldon in the discussion on the dearth of successful narrative ballets to date. I would just say how much I have enjoyed Alice and Winter’s Tale and think these excellent narrative ballets, with memorable productions and performances by the Royal Ballet. Apologies for the length of this post but I would just emphasise that for me the narrative ballets mentioned above have provided wonderful performances, at times giving that raw, gut wrenching experience that makes me want to return to these ballets again and again.

Thank you Capybara - what a Christmas treat we have in store!

22 years I believe with the Royal Ballet. A wonderful dancer with a great sense of humour - truly Queen of Hearts!

Thank you zxDaveM. You've certainly whetted our appetite for February when we're catching a few casts. Do hope Francesca and Alex are the Bluebirds in at least one performance! Kristen was fantastic in the Insight evening when helping Olivia Cowley who was new to Carabosse and I think that Insight broadcast is still available on the ROH website. http://www.roh.org.uk/news/watch-rehearsals-for-the-sleeping-beauty-to-be-livestreamed-on-22-november-2016

Not all critics were quite as dismissive of Matthew Golding's Romeo as may be suggested. Judith Mackrell is worth quoting: "It’s only in act three that [Hayward's] inexperience registers; while touchingly convincing in Juliet’s revulsion against Paris and in her uncomprehending fury against her parents, Hayward doesn’t quite register the gutted desperation, the cold steel of adult knowledge that elevates Juliet from teenage girl to tragic heroine. Matthew Golding, whose Romeo starts out as a romantic boy, spiking with hormones, finds that steel in his own closing moments. He’s surprisingly well paired with Hayward, an ardent, attentive partner. ." While Yasmine Naghdi and Matthew Ball were mesmerising in their debut, I found the Hayward/Golding performance very moving as well as being technically brilliant.

Thank you all for recent comments. Matthew's Onegin, in as Bruce Wall says an outstanding cast (Ben Gartside also), has been a real highlight. I thought his Romeo remarkably generous, caring and supportive for Francesca's Juliet.

Just received our pointe shoes - Anna Rose O'Sullivan. We saw her delightful Clara (when Francesca made her SPF debut) so maybe these were part of her Nutcracker preparations and dancing. Hopefully we'll all see some of this performance as part of the Christmas Day Nutcracker documentary. Many thanks to Anna Rose, Olivia and all for signing their pointe shoes and congratulations to Olivia et al for raising £1,700 for Alzheimer's. I do hope others have been successful but I guess Olivia would be working all hours and more to meet demand.

Sorry Rachel if I've taken the last of the latest batch but do keep trying Olivia's website - do hope you're successful in time.

Just managed to buy a pair - perfect stocking filler. Will wait with interest to see whose they were. Many thanks to Olivia and all her colleagues!

Congratulations Olivia - we keep looking to make a purchase but no joy as yet. Have often wondered if some value could be generated from Royal Ballet's 6,000 pointe shoes and Olivia and all her colleagues who sign the used shoes are doing a fantastic job.

I'm sorry you're under the weather Alison. Whilst some comments above are critical of the camera work, others are supportive and many of the comments here and on the ROH website highlight how much people enjoyed the relay. If you're feeling better, I'd strongly recommend catching the encore!

Wonderful performance last night. I just hope Francesca carries on dancing Clara - loved her SPF debut but for me it's Clara's ballet and she is exquisite. I recall her Clara in 2013/14 and it's been a privilege to see her triumph in so many roles since then. Aurora in February will be special. Many thanks to Alex, Gary et al for making an unforgettable evening. I thought the camera work was better than on some occasions and certainly captured the magical moment when Clara recognises her necklace and its import - for me very much the start of Christmas.

Thanks Penelope for the information about the Anastasia survey although I think we might disagree about the merits of the 3 Act ballet. I'd be interested to know who was undertaking the survey - was it ROH? I must say how much my wife and I enjoyed the recent run of Anastasias which we'd not seen before. Living in Cumbria it is a bit of a trek but we found the experience more and more rewarding and would love to see the full evening Anastasia again in the not too distant future - not just dusted off every 10 years or so. All three casts were so well worth seeing - we managed 4 performances in the theatre and the cinema relays. I think I earlier asked what might be included in a triple bill to complement Act 3 and recall a suggestion of Obsidian Tear but not too much else. Would it be useful to consider the relative merits of the full Anastasia as opposed to a mixed triple bill? For my part I found the full 3 Acts worked incredibly well and I find it hard to see what might be more coherent but I'd love to know what more knowledgeable folk think would make a great triple bill with Act 3.

Thank you Lily - lovely to read Louise Levene's review and bring back memories of last Tuesday. Looking forward immensely to Christmas Day 4pm and what I'm sure will be a delightful programme.

Wonderful start to Christmas thanks to Francesca, Alex, James and Anna Rose et al. The grand pdd was fantastic - Francesca has that absolute quality of being so on the pulse, like the leader of an orchestra's bow, which she sustained magnificently throughout the (very slow tempo?) introduction. Radiant and I do hope some of the matinee will be included in the BBC documentary for all to enjoy. A special thanks again to Kristen McNally - excelled in the Spanish dance. Not sure what happened to the sleigh at the end of Act 1 - must have got stuck in the London traffic. But no matter, a magical afternoon and many congratulations to all. Will look forward to the cinema relay next week.

Thank you Fonty and all for the fascinating comments on Voices of Spring speeds. I do wonder if context is also a factor - Merle Park/Wayne Eagling providing the party piece for Die Fledermaus with Placido Domingo conducting, and no doubt having a very strong view of tempo, and the pdd being presented as part of a gala? I think there's lots to admire in both but would love to see other versions as neither quite convinces me - some timing issues and need for greater precision? Apologies if this is taking the thread further away from the 'dearth' of modern narrative works - I'm a keen advocate of both Christopher Wheeldon and Liam Scarlett and am wondering whether to add my penny worth in defence of their narrative abilities.

Thanks Timmie and apologies for my delay in getting back to you - rather flaky broadband in rural Cumbria, particularly in bad weather. You were asking about Steve Reich - I'm pretty unfamiliar but I did find ROH's webpage helpful. In News/Ballet there's a recent page just on Steve Reich and the music for Multiverse which include a five minute introduction from Steve Reich explaining his music and approach. The Insight evening is also still available and gives folk an opportunity to see Steven McRae and Paul Kay dance that frenetic 7 minutes. You can of course select your own volume when watching the tape! I just found the intensity and urgent repetition of the tape brilliantly matched the dance and that there was a real dynamism to both. It reminded me a little of the compulsion that I experience when seeing DGV or just listening to Michael Nyman's MGV music although I should add that I doubt very much that I'd just listen to 'It's gonna rain' . Apologies also for mentioning Francesca's Sugar Plum Fairy debut - will no doubt take this forward in another topic. Quite a contrast from Wayne McGregor but will be wonderful to see her Clara and SPF! http://www.roh.org.uk/news/watch-insights-into-wayne-mcgregors-brand-new-ballet-multiverse http://www.roh.org.uk/news/listen-our-species-dances-to-music-steve-reich-on-his-music-dance-and-working-with-wayne-mcgregor

A word of thanks to ROH for listening to audience comments about the volume levels for Steve Reich's 'It's gonna rain' and taking action. I'd been very worried about attending a performance at the theatre but Saturday's tape was fine, almost restrained, and I very much appreciated being able to listen and watch Paul and Luca dance with such gusto. I'd been looking forward to this after the ROH Insight evening and thought this a highlight of Saturday's performance. I found the tape and dance complementary and worked very well for me. I liked 'Runner' but was less sure about the choreography - has Wayne McGregor gone a little soft or was this just that I couldn't get Luke Jennings' 'la la land' description out of my mind? But Francesca was awesome in her rhythmic attack, truly captivating, and again in Carbon Life - looking forward to her Sugar Plum Fairy debut! I enjoyed Chroma and the Alvin Ailey/RB mix but I'm afraid Carbon Life, apart from the obvious exuberance of the dancers, was not for me. Loathed the music and volumes, found much of the dancing ugly and quite shocked when Eric Underwood had his hands around Francesca's throat. Not my idea of a fun ballet but I recognise that I'm in a minority and the audience were very enthusiastic.

I'd like to echo Capybara's thanks above (302). This is the first time we've seen Anastasia and we have been more and more impressed with the three Act ballet, from the web Insights evening, a stage rehearsal, the cinema relay and encore and performances at the ROH. Our experience has been enhanced by the various contributions on the Forum with particular thanks to Capybara and Jamesrhblack. If I could make a couple of comments: To Capybara's tribute list, could I add Kristen McNally in all her roles - as the Tsarina, Lady-in-Waiting or fearsome Matron. As with Bennet Gartside, Kristen always seems to bring so much to the character, whether large or relatively minor. We've found the three Acts make for a gripping evening and form a coherent whole when seen from the perspective of Anna and her 'memories' of being Anastasia. Anna opening Act 1 is telling and the staging does show that Acts 1 and 2 are set within the confines of the sanitorium, although this only becomes clear when we see the actual set for Act 3. We also know that the first two Acts are imaginations because they run counter to historical fact (Rasputin was assassinated in 1916 and Anastasia did not have a coming out ball). I thought Kenneth Macmillan was ambivalent as regards whether Anna really was Anastasia and rather hoped that she might have been but recognised this was more a romantic fancy than likely to be fact. So it seems to me entirely credible to stage the ballet with Anna clearly believing that she was Anastasia - the fact that she was mistaken doesn't undermine the drama or Kenneth Macmillan's genius. As I've said previously, I look forward immensely to the DVD (would be fantastic if it could include a decent recording of the Durante/Swanson pdd which must be in the Royal Ballet's archive) and do hope we don't have to wait another 10 years for a revival.

Wonderful to read of Yasmine and James - can only imagine what it was like and thanks to all for their comments! The cinema relay did include a curtain call for the pdd but not in other performances I've seen.

Thank you Capybara in response to Floss 11:07 above. We haven't seen Anastasia before this run and are finding it a tremendous piece of theatre, harrowingly exploring Anna's psychological state by three astonishing Annas/Anastasias. All three Acts work for us, with the first two being clearly Anna's 'memories' of Imperial Russia and what might have been and so that we know who virtually all the characters are in Act 3. It is telling having Anna on stage at the very start of Act 1 to underline this point. Bob Crowley has explained that Acts 1 and 2 are set within the confines of the psychiatric hospital (although I have to say that it hasn't been that obvious to me in the theatre or from the cinema relay: we were fortunate enough to attend a stage rehearsal and with no safety curtain and full lights could see the scene changes between the Acts and how the sets for the first two Acts sit within the hospital). If I could make a couple of suggestions for emphasising that the whole ballet is from Anna's perspective it would be to have Anna on stage at the start of Act 2 and to consider renaming the ballet 'Anna/Anastasia'. Looking forward immensely to Saturday's two performances and, in time, the DVD. So many thanks to Kevin O'Hare and all at the Royal Ballet for reviving the full Anastasia and I sincerely hope that we won't have to wait another 10 or so years for a further outing.

Thank you Floss, Odyssey and all for the recent comments, particularly re the Act 2 pdd. I've been more and more struck by the Durante/Sansom 1993 performance and have tried to add a YouTube link below. It just looks so easy for these two and almost nonchalant where Sansom seems to lift Durante with one hand (twice). Viviana Durante I think was coaching both Anna/Anastasia and the pdd roles so I'm not sure why for the performances we've seen, the pdd hasn't yet come off when all three Annas/Anastasias have been mesmerising. We're looking forward very much to seeing the final two performances on 12 November as we've only seen Sarah/Steven in a rehearsal and think Akane/James will gain from experience: we're also seeing the cinema encore (but I don't imagine the pdd will spring to life unless the Durante/Sansom film could be spliced in).

Isn't the point that Acts 1 and 2 are Anna's 'memories' and are not supposed to be true historic accounts?

We tend to plan trips to the Royal Ballet well in advance but having seen an earlier stage rehearsal decided to take in an extra performance - Saturday's matinee with Laura. What a tremendous tour de force and still playing so vividly in the memory! And such a wonderful cast: Ben's husband, delivered with such care and accomplishment; the three officers, all brilliant and promising so much for the Royal Ballet's future; the Tsar and Tsarina, Gary and Kristen appropriately regal, and you could carry on listing the cast. I found the three Acts worked really well with the first two Acts setting up the visceral third Act. My one slight reservation is the Act 2 Mathilda pdd which looks fiendishly difficult and didn't quite convince me. I've since seen the 1993 Viviana Durante/Bruce Swanson recording which in my very much non expert opinion sets an incredible benchmark - is this fair or are there some embellishments (the one handed lifts)? But unless the pdd is stunning, I think it becomes hard to make much of the various observations on court relationships and it may be more difficult dramatically to justify the introduction of Mathilda and her partner. I must though reiterate how compelling Laura was, a truly memorable performance, and so generous when we congratulated her at the stage door. Can't wait for the cinema relays and we're fortunate enough to have tickets for the last two performances.

Thanks all for the interesting discussion which really whets the appetite. I'm afraid I've only seen the Lauren cast at a stage rehearsal and am looking forward tremendously to seeing finished performances at the ROH and in the cinema. It seems to me that the full three Act ballet can work well and agree very much with Jamesrhblack above. Even if the two opening acts are considered something of a prelude to the visceral third Act, they do seem complementary, fleshing out Anna's 'memories'. What I'd find very interesting to know is what ballets would be as complementary if just Act 3 were performed as part of a triple bill?