Bruce Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 I saw yesterdays matinee at the Hippodrome and had a fine time. Preposterous plot but what great fun and great dancing from Momoko Hirata, Jo Caley, Celine Gittens and the company. More Nymphs for me please! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Macmillan Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 Will fairies do? http://twitter.com/damegrace/status/614278925829734400 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trog Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 No! No! They must be nymphs https://twitter.com/BRB/status/614356831775928320 (Very nice picture of Celine if you click above) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted June 26, 2015 Author Share Posted June 26, 2015 I won't say more - only dig a bigger hole for myself! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 Two fabulous performances yesterday! Currently stuck on M6 - serious accident ahead - coming up to 3 hours... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mallinson Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 Bruce, or how about a sylph? (from Princeton University collection) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted June 26, 2015 Author Share Posted June 26, 2015 Nice girls of course but if you want to party I don't really think that sylphs are for you! Dave Morgan was up at Brum to shoot Sylvia and shortly he will be along with some pictures of nymphs. Or had better be! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 Not sure about the nymphs, but here are some huntresses (from the BRB dress rehearsal of Sylvia) Celine Gittens as Diana© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr Momoko Hirata (Sylvia), Tyrone Singleton (Orion)© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr Momoko Hirata (Sylvia), Joseph Caley (Amynta)© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr See more... Set from DanceTabs: BRB - SylviaCourtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Pigeons Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 Love Celine and Tyrone in evening dress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavycapers Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 I've just seen the Friday night performance, and was grinning all the way back to my hotel. If there is any chance of you making it to the sat performances, I would thoroughly recommend it. The theatre was only about 2/5ths full, which was criminal but the audience that were there loved it. I am a huge David Bintley fan anyway but whenever I see the BRB the word 'fresh' always comes to mind. The cast as a whole were superb, but special mention must go to Chi Cao for his fantastic catch of Miki Mizutani as she fell backwards off a shoulder lift! Also to Yasuo Atsuji, so commanding as Orion and such huge jumps, and the delight that was Tzu-Chao Chou and Lewis Turner as Gog and Magog. The sets deserve a mention too. The whole thing was sophisticated and witty. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavycapers Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 And the pirates were so piratey! They were obviously enjoying it. Their ship was brilliant, the prow came on at the front of the stage and then when it left, a little ship sailed across the back. Made me laugh. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Is this Sylvia similar to the RB's version? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Is this Sylvia similar to the RB's version? apart from the music (though there are variations), and the outline of the plot, not really Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Is this Sylvia similar to the RB's version? It's by David Biney, so no! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted June 27, 2015 Author Share Posted June 27, 2015 Is this Sylvia similar to the RB's version? As others have said the Ashton and the Bintley are very different in tone and we are lucky to have both. But I have to say that if I could only keep one it would probably be Bintley's in the wonderful Sue Blane designs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted June 27, 2015 Author Share Posted June 27, 2015 Not sure about the nymphs, but here are some huntresses (from the BRB dress rehearsal of Sylvia)... The cast sheet refers to them as Huntresses, but in Bintley's synopsis he refers to them thus... Act I, scene 2 Diana, Goddess of the hunt, arrives in a moonlit grotto where she and her followers, chaste and virginal nymphs all, stop to refresh themselves after their evening's sport... And a big thank you for the pictures Dave. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 The story of (Sylvia and) Aminta is based on the poem Aminta by the poet Torquato Tasso*. It was presented as a play at the court of Ferrara and all the actors and audience were of the nobility. The Wiki entry describes Sylvia as a Nymph who likes hunting! I think David Bintley has been very clever with his current scenario but more of my thoughts on that later when I have seen the final performance of the season tonight. *Torquato Tasso was born in Sorrento. The main square is named after him and there is a hotel called the Aminta! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheilaC Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 They should be virgins (Diana was goddess of virginity- but also childbirth!) but should be more like Amazons than they are in this version. Neumeier's Sylvia ballet for the Paris Opera Ballet depicts them, and Sylvia herself, as more spirited, as they should be, IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavycapers Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 (edited) The story of (Sylvia and) Aminta is based on the poem Aminta by the poet Torquato Tasso*. It was presented as a play at the court of Ferrara and all the actors and audience were of the nobility. The Wiki entry describes Sylvia as a Nymph who likes hunting! I think David Bintley has been very clever with his current scenario but more of my thoughts on that later when I have seen the final perforce. *Torquato Tasso was born in Sorrento. The main square is named after him and there is a hotel called the Aminta! Dying to know what you thought, Janet! Edited June 29, 2015 by cavycapers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 I'm off to see Ballet Central tonight but will try to post something later. Meanwhile here is the view of a newbie ballet watcher: http://www.redbrick.me/culture/david-bintleys-sylvia-birmingham-hippodrome/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loveclassics Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 I think a performance of Bintley's Sylvia was shown on TV about a year ago. I really liked it but can't find any commercial recording. Does anyone know if it is likely to be released on DVD/Blu-ray? BRB performances don't seem to be filmed anymore but I am sure they have been in the past. I know I've seen some on DVD but can only remember a Nutcracker with Yoshida and Mukhamedov. Linda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Pigeons Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 Only that Nutcracker, Cinderella and Hobson's Choice have made it to DVD as far as I can remember. Actually, there is Nutcracker Sweeties although I am not sure if it's still available. Given the amount of new work BRB produce it's a shame more of it is not filmed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavycapers Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 It's funny, I always get the same feeling when I go to see the BRB. Although they may not have quite the virtuoso principals of the Royal Ballet or the ENB, I always feel that they match better as a company. No-one seems to be out dancing everyone else. I remember a couple of years ago going to see three Swan Lakes very close together, one by the ENB, one by the RB and the last one by BRB, and the latter felt like a breath of fresh air after the two tired and rather lumpen performances I had seen in London. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 (edited) I saw yesterdays matinee at the Hippodrome and had a fine time. Preposterous plot but what great fun and great dancing from Momoko Hirata, Jo Caley, Celine Gittens and the company. More Nymphs for me please! Bruce is quite right! The plot is preposterous but it is enormous fun!! Actually I think that David Bintley has been very clever. As I said higher up the thread, Tasso's poem was written for the nobles of the court of Ferrara and was performed by the nobles. Having realised that, it makes perfect sense to me that the action starts at a party being held by the Count and Countess and moves on to the pastorale scene from there (admittedly the pastorale scenario has been expanded with the inclusion of Diana, Orion and Eros but that just all adds to the fun). The Count and Countess are not very happy together and that is making for an unhappy household. Amynta (the valet) is in love with Sylvia (the governess). When she doesn't seem to notice him, Eros (the gardener) takes pity and transports him to ancient times where Sylvia is a nymph in the service of Diana. He is hidden and sees the Nymphs taking their rest when he is discovered. Diana blinds him because mortals are not allowed to see her. She makes it clear to Sylvia that she is in big trouble if she shows any sympathy for Amynta. Diana and the Nymphs depart but Sylvia comes back. What no-one has realised is that Orion is also watching the Nymphs. He kidnaps Sylvia. Eros helps the blind Amynta to follow Orion. In Act 2, Orion has Sylvia captive in his cave. I actually feel sorry for him at the start of this act because he is so tender with the sleeping Sylvia but when she wakes up and is repulsed by him he cannot cope and starts to get aggressive. He tells his servants Gog and Magog to prepare food and drink. Sylvia shows them how to make wine (hilarious) and gets them all drunk! Amynta arrives at the cave to save Sylvia. She is ashamed of what has happened and runs away. In act 3, Sylvia has been captured by Pirates who arrive at Diana's temple with a number of slave girls for sale including Sylvia. The pirates are truly scene stealers and extremely funny! Just as things start to get a bit sticky for Sylvia, Amynta arrives and at last they are united. Eros restores his sight and they disappear off. Cue for more hilarious pirate activity! Then Sylvia and Amynta reappear and have the most beautiful of PDD. Orion appears and is vanquished by Diana. She then tries to see off Amynta but Eros persuades her that is not a good idea. Of course, Diana is the Countess and as she reflects we move back to the original party. The Count (Orion) appears and is full of contrition. Sylvia and Amynta declare their love. The end! This is a ballet for women, there are very few roles for the men of the company (apart from Eros, Amynta, Orion, Gog and Magog there are 4 male party guests/pirates and 2 waiters/eunuchs). Well I saw the first three performances and the final one on Saturday night and they were all splendid. As the week went on I noticed more and more references to the great classics - Apollo, Giselle and of course Sleeping Beauty. There is plenty of humour - in the first scene Gog and Magog are party organisers and then are Orion's servants. There is a definite homage to Wilson, Keppel and Betty! Eros as the Pirate Captain is side-splittingly funny on his peg leg and as for the naughty pirates... The peg leg adagio has got to be one of the great comedic moments in ballet! The final PDD for Amynta and Sylvia is just breath-taking. There is plenty of action for the Nymphs and an attractive lament for the slave girls. Two casts of leads were presented during the week and both were wonderful. The opening night cast was Momoko Hirata (Sylvia), Joe Caley (Amynta), Celine Gittens (Diana), Tyrone Singleton (Orion), Mathias Dingman (Eros), Kit Holder and Lachlan Monaghan (Gog and Magog). The closing night cast was Miki Mizutani, Chi Cao, Samara Downs, Yasuo Atsuji, Oliver Till, Tzu-Chao Chou and Lewis Turner. The Company were on very fine form and I love the attention to detail. For example Luke Schaufuss was a servant for a couple of the performances and boy did he preen himself and eye up the lady guests! The Nymphs were beautifully co-ordinated throughout. I think I would class Saturday night's performance as the best I have seen of any this year so far! Perhaps because it was the final performance of the season the air was just full of magic dust and the company pulled out all the stops. Miki was a total delight as Sylvia and Chi was outstandingly virtuoso as Amynta. Together they were incandescent. Their final pdd was just soooooooo beautiful that I was in tears (as was my friend). Chi's spins were particularly immaculate and he looked as though he was trying to drill down to Australia! The lump arose in my throat as his sight was restored - the look on his face when he saw Sylvia was a joy to behold. Samara Downs was every inch the goddess Diana and Yasuo threw himself into the role of Orion - he was utterly magnificent in the cave scene. The orchestra, under the baton of Paul Murphy, was magnificent. This is a glorious score! Above all, it was a company performance. My friend and I came out of the theatre on a real high! I do wish this production was touring - it is such good fun and danced so fabulously by BRB - and it deserves to be seen and enjoyed by the public at large! Edited June 30, 2015 by Janet McNulty edited for a wrong word! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Pigeons Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 Hi cavycapers. Please may I endorse everything you say. A great friend of mine once said that the Royal have the best dancers but BRB do more with what they have. I feel that BRB has a clear ethos and emphasis on entertaining the audience. I am so grateful that someone had the foresight to make a permanent record of the original cast of Hobson's Choice. It may not call for virtuoso dancing but by gum you'd find it hard to have a better evening as an audience member. My other great regret is that for so many years we had a dancer like Robert Parker who could have found a place in any company in the world. I cannot think of any permanent record of his career. We have endless recordings of Nutcracker and Swan Lake but none of Edward II, Far From the Madding Crowd or Cyrano. As far as I am aware the only recordings of the Peter Wright Swan Lake or Sleeping Beauty were made by either Dutch National Ballet or the Royal Swedish Ballet. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 It's funny, I always get the same feeling when I go to see the BRB. Although they may not have quite the virtuoso principals of the Royal Ballet or the ENB, I always feel that they match better as a company. No-one seems to be out dancing everyone else. ? Sorry don't understand your comment that BRB does not quite have the virtuoso principals of RB or ENB. A view from the National Student Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 Well, I don't regard ENB's proscenium production of Swan Lake as 'lumpen' (there is very little dull 'filler' and a lot of attractive choreography for smaller groups and the corps plus a beautiful (and very demanding) adagio solo for Siegfried) but I am looking forward to seeing BRB's Swan Lake at the Wells in September as I've heard that it's a lovely production. However, I would like to know who's dancing before I book because I am very keen to see either Celine or Momoko. I am less keen on some of the casts who tend to get first night and Friday and Saturday nights in London. In one recent run Momoko didn't feature at all although she did not appear to be injured. Can someone give me the heads up when the London casting for Swan Lake is fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Pigeons Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 We'll try Aileen but casting tends to get released very late in the day. As someone for whom BRB is the company of choice I agree with what you say. I would automatically go for anything starring Celine and Tyrone but dread getting stuck with the lady principal I am far less keen on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emma-cann Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 A review of Sylvia from my blog here. I went on opening night, Wednesday 24th June 7:30pm, and saw Momoko Hirata, Joseph Caley, Celine Gittens and Tyrone Singleton in the lead roles. As you'll see from my blog, I am a massive fan of Momoko, always blown away by how effortless and lyrical her dancing style is. I have previously seen her as Princess Belle Sakura in Prince of the Pagodas, in which her acting was exquisite. She was just the same in Sylvia, with such beautifully expressive eyes! It was a real showcase for the women, and totally showed off how impressive the BRB corps is. The story line is absurd, but I felt it didn't take itself too seriously, with wonderful moments including Sylvia teaching Orion and his minions how to make win, and of course those roguish pirates. Overall it was fantastic fun and a great way to round off the season! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 I'm afraid that I was put off going to see BRB's Sylvia after seeing the RB's version which I didn't enjoy at all (the casting didn't help). The second act was 22 minutes long and bookended by what felt like interminable intervals. Are the two versions very different? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 I've never seen the Ashton version but you really have missed a treat Aileen. David Bintley's version is a fun romp with some fabulous choreography and not a wasted moment. Plus we saw 2 exceptional casts... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavycapers Posted June 30, 2015 Share Posted June 30, 2015 (edited) Well, I don't regard ENB's proscenium production of Swan Lake as 'lumpen' (there is very little dull 'filler' and a lot of attractive choreography for smaller groups and the corps plus a beautiful (and very demanding) adagio solo for Siegfried) but I am looking forward to seeing BRB's Swan Lake at the Wells in September as I've heard that it's a lovely production. However, I would like to know who's dancing before I book because I am very keen to see either Celine or Momoko. I am less keen on some of the casts who tend to get first night and Friday and Saturday nights in London. In one recent run Momoko didn't feature at all although she did not appear to be injured. Can someone give me the heads up when the London casting for Swan Lake is fixed. I don't think I was saying that the ENB's production is 'lumpen', I was rather saying that the particular performances I saw just before I saw the BRB looked tired and lumpen in comparison to them. It was not until I saw the BRB dancing with such joie de vivre and cohesion that it occurred to me. Edited June 30, 2015 by cavycapers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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