Ratmansky's Sleeping Beauty at La Scala

[SwissBalletFan]

I attended the premiere of Ratmansky's Sleeping Beauty with Svetlana Zakharova and Jacopo Tissi as the lead performers on Saturday night.

 

First thing I have to say was too look for the set english word to describe the performance as a whole...and it is GORGEOUS!

In a world of cut budgets, and downscaling of set design and costume, the stage and (most of) the costumes were the most extravagant and gorgeous I have ever seen. It reminded me of Hollywood sets in the Golden Era of stage design...amazing, awe inspiring, and delicious!

 

A lot has been written about the inspiration and research that Ratmansky undertook to make this staging as close to Petipa's original, and fantastically the programme all 150+ pages included a lot of the original drawings and research which demonstrated the aims of Ratmansky. 

 

It is with this point, the audience would be split. There is very little dancing in the whole performance, with a lot of posturing and acting and ,most of the dancing on Demi-point and with low arabesques and the legs not being raised above hip level. This for me resulted in a very natural fairy tale piece of beauty and history that took me back to my childhood, and the innocence of beauty and simple imagination and stories. Which I loved!!! With each of the 3 acts defining the story in amazing sets, and all of the cast looked free and like they were having fun, especial in the final act where the fairy tale characters were playful and full of energy!

 

Then we get to how this project fits into the 'modern' age and how it fits with all of the additions and changes since this faithful original reproduction. First, Jacopo Tissi is a beautiful dancer, however there was very little dancing for him apart from a variation in the third act that involved very fast small movements, and like 'hopping' for his lines and length it was not very suitable to his natural skills, but there were some glimpses of fantastic quality.

 

Zakharova seemed a bit nervous in the beginning, and the role and the choreography on mostly demi-point did not showcase her fantastic ability either. However her variation in the final act and her arms were beautiful!

 

Massimo Murru was great as the Carabose with such amazing set design and costume in the background, deserving of a hollywood Oscar.

 

I felt the music was slower than it was supposed to be as some of the variations were quite 'laboured', so maybe not as Ratmansky designed.

 

At the final curtain of Ratmansky's premiere of Sleeping Beauty with Svetlana Zakharova as the lead on a saturday night in Milan....(I emphasise these points as I had my expectations of a respectful and great reaction for the choreographer and Etoile)

 

The crowd politely clapped for each of the cast in the first curtain call. As the curtain closed after the first call 80% of the parkett stood up and headed straight for the exits. I was aghast and totally shocked, as the the lead characters came in front of the curtain to some applause and to see the backs of the people leaving. After opening again to show the full ensemble a group of the crowd formed at the front of the stage to take photos, but the parket was largely empty.

 

In talking to some audience members, they said they are used to the speed and dancing of Nureyev's version and simply didn't take to the project with the 'lack of' technical dancing and show-off variations.

 

Regarding Polunin etc... he was not missed in this role really, as there is not much opportunity for the prince to show off his dancing skills to the fullest. I would expect a future star in Tissi however.

 

I personally left very happy, having seen the most beautiful thing I have seen in my life regarding stage and design, and having a part of my childhood given back to me with an innocence and naivety. Whatever the reviews, I think the world needs a reminder of why Ballet exists and why people love the escapism of a Fairy Tale night.

 

I can't wait for how his Swan Lake will look in Zurich, which will be a crowd that I am sure will rapturously applaud a beautiful project! I would not be so confident that the crowd at La Scala will be wildly excited for their premiere this season, but I think Swan Lake will be back to the times of Pavolva, and I can't wait!!!!

Edited September 28, 2015 by SwissBalletFan

[alison]

I'm glad you managed to enjoy the production, SBF, and thank you for posting about it so quickly.  What a shame about the audience reaction, though - although given how over-stuffed the Nureyev version is I can understand from what I've heard of the Ratmansky that the difference must have been disconcerting to many audience members.  Sounds as though Tissi is one to watch out for ...

[betterankles]

indeed he is... a real Prince in waiting of whom there are SO few these days. Like Berlanga, another...and Parish (fortunately not waiting any more )

Edited September 28, 2015 by betterankles

[betterankles]

How does one edit spelling mistakes?

[alison]

By clicking the "Edit" button at bottom right of your post.  Within 30 minutes of posting, I think.

[betterankles]

Managed thanks

[SwissBalletFan]

Here is the guardian review: http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/sep/30/alexei-ratmansky-the-sleeping-beauty-la-scala?CMP=share_btn_tw

[Alice Shortcake]

It sounds wonderful. I wonder if there's any possibility of a DVD release?

[stucha]

Having seen the 2nd performance with a 'home' cast - Nicoletta Manni as Aurora and Timofej Andrijashenko as the prince (no he is not Italian) and Claudio Coviello as the Bluebird, I pretty much agree with Judith Mackrell.  There is much more mime, particularly in the prologue, than we are used to seeing but no less dancing I think.  And the epaulement   and bending, so beloved by Ashton, give so much charm, warmth and humanity to the dancing. The demi pointe work in solo passages  which took a little getting used to for me, also contributes in the same way.

It has been mentioned elsewhere that the Panorama scene was omitted. But at La Scala, at the end of the vision scene, the panorama music started, LF and the Prince got into the barque and they sailed off stage as the curtain descended.  The music continued in order to cover the reset of the stage.  When it finished the curtain rose for the awakening scene.  For me this worked well.

( In other productions, the boat seems to wander aimlessly around the stage for the full length of the music.  The only exception was the RB production ( Macmillan ??) in the 70s where the scenery moved and suggested a journey through different lands.  I think the backdrop was on rollers.  I have not described very well but others may remember this too.)

The sets and costumes are truly breathtaking - I don't think I have ever seen anything so lavish and on the whole they serve the ballet well.  They catch the style of the Bakst costumes nicely.  And the soft tutus for the women enhanced the movement and dancing beautifully.

Unlike SBF, I found the music to be taken at a much faster speed than normal particularly in the fairy variations in the prologue and the character variations in the last act.

As for the orchestra, the brass played so loudly that they overbalanced the sound from the pit and I got the distinct impression that ballet nights are not their favourites.  They had a definite oompah sound in certain passages.

But this did not spoil a wonderful evening of ballet and shows the same amount of care and preparation Ratmansky gave to the revival of Paquita.  Like SBF I look forward to his Swan Lake for Munich, also a coproduction  with La Scala.

Edited October 3, 2015 by stucha

[FLOSS]

Lucky you to have the chance to see this reconstrucution.It sounds fascinating. I just hope that it persuades the Royal Ballet  to modify its production so that the modern "improvements" such as treating the Rose Adagio as an international sporting event as far as the duration of Aurora's balances are concerned and all those coarse arabesques are removed. Ratmansky said in an interview words to the effect that as everyone praises Petipa it was time we saw his choreography.It sounds gorgeous, What an innovation to play the music at the tempi set by Petipa! I can see that it would come as a shock to an audience who have grown up with a production crammed with more twentieth century style dancing and choreography than is good for it. It must be a shock to see choreography treated as beautiful comparatively restrained movement rather than an opportunity to display flamboyant technique. 

 

As far as the panorama is concerned I think it was the Royal Ballet's 1977 production by de Valois that had the panorama. That production was intended to make  up for the two previous productions both of which had been thought less than satisfactory.

 

I hope that the Ratmansky production finds its way onto DVD. I also hope that if it does it doesn't suffer from all the clever camera work that mars La Scala's recent Don Q DVD.

Edited October 3, 2015 by FLOSS

[stucha]

Floss,

this is the link to the production I was referring to.  1973.  The production was not well received.  The costumes were a sore point too as I recall. It was quickly replaced.

 

http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/production.aspx?production=1343&row=4

 

I never saw the de Valois production so I can't comment on that one.

 

  And NB.  Ratmansky's new Swan Lake will be for Zurich not Munich as I incorrectly stated above.

Edited October 3, 2015 by stucha

[nickwellings]

Here's links to my two posts about the Ratmansky Beauty at La Scala. I went on two nights. The first was me a bit underwhelmed by the dancing and the second is where it really worked well. 

 

https://theoperatunist.wordpress.com/2015/10/05/the-sleeping-beauty-la-scala-manni-andrijashenko-zeni-october-1-2015/

 

https://theoperatunist.wordpress.com/2015/10/05/the-sleeping-beauty-la-scala-zakharova-tissi-murri-october-2-2015/

 

High quality dancing from all, but truly the stand out for me apart from the expected qualities from Zakharova was from Maria Celeste Losa. Just delightful. Stucha is right though it really is a feast for the senses.And I really agree with everything SwissBalletFan has set down!

 

Such a shame thought that everyone talked during the curtain down moments when music was still playing. I was astounded at the behaviour in the theatre. I have never been in a worse audience in my life. At least I got some lady stopped from filming the entire thing. The ushers were very good when I told them.

Edited October 5, 2015 by nickwellings

[aileen]

So, the audiences in the UK are pretty well behaved then?

[nickwellings]

aileen, I am not exaggerating to say we are angels in comparison. I think the "tourist element" didn't help. A Chinese couple behind me had second row gallery seats and couldn't see anything. They talked a lot/whispered. and left at end of act I. On my first nigth the couple to my right just commented on everything in Italian constantly. I told both couples to please shush. The aforementioned filming lady was right in my eyeline a level below. Her big camera recording/snapping everything. Flash photos from the far side too, people reading their devices during the Panorama/transit scene and moreoever, just talking normally and having a conversation. The constant whispering was horrible too. I have never been in a worse audience, and that includes things like school-kid-heavy matinees where one would expect a bit of boredom etc. I also imagine that a lot of people in the stalls reading their screens/emails are rich enough not to care what's going on, or how others see them. I also got into a polite argument with a lady who wanted to sit next to me, without having booked that seat. I refused repeatedly, because she would have totally blocked my view by leaning.

[Bruce Wall]

aileen, I am not exaggerating to say we are angels in comparison. I think the "tourist element" didn't help. A Chinese couple behind me had second row gallery seats and couldn't see anything. They talked a lot/whispered. and left at end of act I. On my first nigth the couple to my right just commented on everything in Italian constantly. I told both couples to please shush. The aforementioned filming lady was right in my eyeline a level below. Her big camera recording/snapping everything. Flash photos from the far side too, people reading their devices during the Panorama/transit scene and moreoever, just talking normally and having a conversation. The constant whispering was horrible too. I have never been in a worse audience, and that includes things like school-kid-heavy matinees where one would expect a bit of boredom etc. I also imagine that a lot of people in the stalls reading their screens/emails are rich enough not to care what's going on, or how others see them. I also got into a polite argument with a lady who wanted to sit next to me, without having booked that seat. I refused repeatedly, because she would have totally blocked my view by leaning.

 

Nick, thanks so very much for your very fine and detailed reviews.  They have been much appreciated.  I hope that I might one day be able to see this production.  I so enjoyed Ratmansky's restoration of Paquita in Munich earlier this year.

 

I have to say that your description of the audience at La Scala is not dissimilar from my own experiences in that hallowed (and enchantingly beautiful) house.  Indeed, I have sometimes found the La Scala audiences even MORE rudely animated at operatic performances (if you can imagine).  I've always put it down to being the cheap(er) seats in the uppermost reaches.  

 

Bless you for ALL.  

[nickwellings]

Thank you so much for your kind words, Bruce. They are very much appreciated. I am still finding my way in terms of writing I think but I am glad you have read and found them engaging! I am only sorry that I missed Paquita! I hope I might be able to see the Zurich Lake to make up for it.

 

What a shame we have both found La Scala's attendees to be a little boorish. I notice too that Ilona Landgraf made them same points I did about photos, smartphone etc. My whining about poor audience behaviour in the UK is nothing compared to those nights I just spent in Milan!

[northstar]

Great to hear some reviews of this production. I saw ABT dance it in New York and commented in a thread earlier this year (here's the link if anyone is interested http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/9129-ratmanskys-revision-of-sleeping-beauty-for-abt/), and was very interested to hear some more experiences.

 

I agree about the richness of the staging mentioned by SwissBalletFran and the charm and warmth of the dancing mentioned by stucha. But to my tastes the costumes sometimes went a bit over the top in terms of brightness/colour. On the dancing, in some ways it is a relief to see all those 6 o'clock extensions removed. But perhaps I'm rather too addicted to the excitement of classical ballet's physical spectacle, so could not help feeling that something was 'missing' when watching this performance. As the Guardian review that SwissBalletFan kindly linked above says, there is no sense of holding the breath in the solos and pas de deux. And on the demi-pointe work - I feel that feet in modern pointe shoes with the large block look slightly odd and awkward in that position. But that being said there was much I did admire, as I said in my original review. Thank you nickwellings for those wonderful thorough descriptions and appreciation of the production, they make me want to see it again. 

 

I've been going to classical ballet for years now, and watching it on YouTube, I think the gymnastic, athletic aspects can occasionally be too prominent. Not very often, I have to say, I think the principals of the great ballet companies are artists dedicated to the poetry of motion. But the preferred physique (particularly among Russian companies, is it unfair to say?) does seem to be leading in a direction favouring physical spectacle over musicality/movement. I hope productions such as this Sleeping Beauty help to rebalance this.

Edited October 6, 2015 by northstar

[SwissBalletFan]

Thank you so much for your kind words, Bruce. They are very much appreciated. I am still finding my way in terms of writing I think but I am glad you have read and found them engaging! I am only sorry that I missed Paquita! I hope I might be able to see the Zurich Lake to make up for it.

 

What a shame we have both found La Scala's attendees to be a little boorish. I notice too that Ilona Landgraf made them same points I did about photos, smartphone etc. My whining about poor audience behaviour in the UK is nothing compared to those nights I just spent in Milan!

 

Dear Nick, I hope you do make it to Zürich, the Swiss do make for a very knowledgeable and appreciative audience. A tip on tickets as due to currency fluctuations, they will be a bit scary for visitors.... The cheaper seats on the side have a very restricted view, so go central and its not that high even in the cheapest seats compared to the Bolshoi or La Scala. I think I remember Roberto Bolle saying that i was like a very beautiful comfortable living room

[SwissBalletFan]

Here is a review by Gramilano: 

 

http://www.gramilano.com/2015/10/ratmanskys-sleeping-beauty-in-milan-casts-its-magic-spell/

 

I agree with everything he says apart from the recepr¨tion of the audience, which to my ears was much more muted at the premiere. He does however tackle the reaction of the 'La Scala stalwarts'  to this version, versus that of Nureyev.

[FLOSS]

Mounting this production should not prevent La Scala from reviving the Nureyev version in future years if the company wishes to do so.It will certainly mean that the audience will see Nureyev's production with fresh eyes. Will they find it a relief to return to the familiar Nureyev choreography or will they see it as very much a product of Nureyev's Soviet training and experience full of rather more choreography than is good for it? Will they prefer the Nureyev display of dancing with some sections of choreography looking more like  a series of technical tests, a bit like a  choreographic show jumping course, or will they come to admire an attempt to stage a version of the ballet that Petipa might recognise as his own work? 

 

At least the La Scala audience has not been sold the story that their old production had faithfully preserved every element of Petipa's choreography.Seeing anything danced at the speed intended by both choreographer and composer with  a real attempt to reproduce the style of the early twentieth century, even if the fish dives from the 1920's London revival are included, is likely to come as a bit of a shock to everyone audience and dancers alike.But Ratmansky has to be right when he says that as everyone admires Petipa so much perhaps it is time we looked at his choreography.

 

I wonder what if anything is lurking in the La Scala archives from the original Petipa production.As I recall the original Petipa Sleeping Beauty was a co-production with La Scala.Did it all get lost or is it still sitting somewhere waiting to be discovered?

 

Stucha the MacMillan production was the second one that I saw. I don't recall all that much about the staging except that the colours were all rather subdued and the fairies looked as if they were dancing in a swimming pool.i think that it was an attempt to restore the choreography but it wasn't that well received. I think that a significant part of the audience was still mourning the loss of the Messel production because when DeValois was asked to mount a new production although no one criticised the choreographic text there were lots of people who thought that it wasn't opulent enough.

Edited October 9, 2015 by FLOSS

[annamicro]

"Even if the fish dives from the 1920's London revival are included"

 

I saw just the dress rehearsal (danced by Manni and Andrijashenko) and fish dives were not included, as they are not in Vikharev reconstruction. Unless that sort of inclined supported pirouette in the pdd is a "pre historic" fish :-)

Edited October 9, 2015 by annamicro

[nickwellings]

Not a fish dive fan myself, but what a good post from Gramilano. He really sums it up perfectly. Thank you for posting, SwissBalletFan.

[Melody]

I hope this comes out on DVD one of these days. From the still photos, it looks absolutely wonderful.

[stucha]

Interesting that the moving panorama was part of the 1921 version.   I would love to see that restored.  At least I did see it once in the 70s at RB.  It was probably the best thing about that production.  FLOSS sums it up perfectly.

No one has mentioned the treatment of the Lilac Fairy.  The role is part dancing and part non-dancing. She dances in the prologue but from then on, no dancing at all.  Nureyev made the entire role non-dancing.  Both treatments worked for me.  The costumes for the POB version and the Ratmansky are very similar for LF.

 

As someone else mentioned, there is probably not much chance of a DVD.  Ratmansky is said to be against recordings.  The only one of his available on DVD is the Mariinsky "Cinderella".  That was his first full length I think. He clearly changed his mind after that.

 

And the fish dives on 1 October were part of the pas de deux (Manni and Andrijashenko), but as Nick mentioned, the second was fumbled and the third taken with care.

 

And thank you for posting the Gramilano review.

Edited October 9, 2015 by stucha

[FLOSS]

I found the Vikharev reconstruction fascinating and think that it was a great pity that it was not released on DVD as whatever the Russian audience thought of it, it was an important attempt to show us what the original production looked like which it did since the original designs were used and to some extent it showed what the original choreography looked like.I think everyone would have had good grounds for doubting its status as a genuine attempt to reconstruct Petipa's Sleeping Beauty if there had been any attempt to include an anachronistic fish dive.As far as I am aware the fish dive was introduced into the choreography of the Sleeping Beauty in the Diaghilev production for which Nijinska  provided additional choreography such as the Three;Ivans. this latter innovation had the effect of depriving the Act III grand pas de deux of its coda.

 

I do not pretend to have any knowledge of the text danced in Milan apart from what I have read about it and the ABT performances.I referred to the fish dives in the context of the La Scala performances of Ratmansky's Beauty as I understood that,although inauthentic because they post date Petipa, they were included in the ABT production because they were regarded as iconic. Perhaps Ratmansky felt able to omit them in Milan.

 

I find this sudden enthusiasm for trying to restore Petipa's text and trying to dance it in the appropriate style particularly  fascinating when one of the leading lights is one of the most sought after choreographers working today.It is a great pity that Ratmansky is not in favour of DVDs as a DVD is likely to be the only opportunity that most people will have of seeing anything remotely resembling the choreography that Petipa set however stylistically perfectly or imperfectly it might be danced.I assume that his objections to DVDs are based on the idea that a recording can only be the account of how a dance text was performed on a single occasion and should not be treated as holy writ as to what it should look like.It may even be that he regards all the work so far as "work in progress" because he is asking his dancers to adopt a style that is not one to which they are accustomed.But that fails to take into account the number of ballet enthusiasts there are who will never be able to see a performance of it unless it is recorded.

Edited October 9, 2015 by FLOSS

[Melody]

I was hoping he'd make an exception to his dislike of DVDs in this case because it would be one way of helping defray the cost of the production.

[SwissBalletFan]

I was hoping he'd make an exception to his dislike of DVDs in this case because it would be one way of helping defray the cost of the production.

 

I would hope that the production would tour to the many Opera Houses in the world, then everyone can see how it is. I doubt blue ray could even do the beauty of the setting justice Put a call in to Mr O'hare

 

I am even more excited about the coming Swan Lake and the mind boggles how beautiful it could be...and now that makes me feel like a child

[FLOSS]

Is the Zurich Swan Lake to be based on the choreographic text recorded in the Harvard collection?

[SwissBalletFan]

Is the Zurich Swan Lake to be based on the choreographic text recorded in the Harvard collection?

 In actuality there has been until yet very little about the aims of Ratmansky's Swan Lake or the inspirations about its setting. I guess we can gather from his Sleeping Beauty that it will be very beautiful and traditional. Until he starts to work with the staff and dancers in Zurich I guess he will keep his cards close to his chest. I will set up a new topic if/when any news comes through

[FLOSS]

 In the past it might have been clearer because Ratmansky had the assistance of people who could read Stepanov notation in which Petipa's ballets were recorded in various degrees of completeness but I believe that he can now read it himself so it may not be all that clear until much closer to the date of the performance. As he has been recorded as saying words to the effect that as everyone expresses admiration for Petipa it is about time we actually looked at his choreography the omens are good.

 

According to Wiley who wrote a book about Tchaikovsky's Ballets and was involved in the creation/recreation of the Royal Ballet's last production of Swan Lake the notation is fairly full and only some elements of Act I are missing. The really interesting element in all of this is the impact of the stager's interpretation of contemporary performance style and practice. Two revivals based on the same notation can end up looking very different because of the stager's input.

 

The production may not look as wonderful as the recent Sleeping Beauty simply because unlike Beauty, where the designs were inspired by the Bakst designs that were in large part responsible for Diaghilev's financial failure, there doesn't seem to be an obviously iconic production to use as the basis for the design of Swan Lake. Although the archives of the Bolshoi and Mariinsky may yield some treasures including production photographs and descriptions by journalists and diarists .

[nickwellings]

Swan Lake is of course very 'white' for half its length. In terms of costuming I am almost certain we will see skirts for the swans more like the ROH's now dormant staging: net/tulle, knee length, and soft. No pancake tutus there. Photos exist of dancers from 1895 wearing the rounder type of bell tutu. This shape is more in keeping with the demure leg extensions Petipa/Ratmansky favours.

 

(Also rather than championing Petipa alone, Ratmansky will have to start praising Ivanov too )

 

There's lots of freedom for Act I and Act III with costuming, I suppose. Lacking the source of an iconic older staging as you rightly point out, FLOSS, will return the production team to contemporary visual evidence, where it exists. And force them to work to, I imagine, a new aesthetic of their own,in keeping with the feel of the steps. We're unlikely to be offended by the costuming, nor disappointed. I will be interested to see choice of set/scenery though.

 

Again as you say FLOSS, the text is pretty much intact as far as I have read about it, how it is actually given life will be what matters!

[stucha]

Some clips that give a flavour of SB at Milan. One of the younger casts in the Vision scene and final pdd.

 

Act 2 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QnekJ2D82Y

 

Act 3 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WecbHUHO8Aw

Edited October 11, 2015 by stucha

[Bruce Wall]

Thank you very much for this Stucha.  Although the ballerina is perhaps not the most secure technician in the world, the shape of Ratmansky's treatment for the SB choreography is certainly musical - refreshingly appears to celebrate petit allegro - and ensures that - through mime, head position acknowledgement and the rapid tempi of the movement - the warmth of the humane relationship between the two principals in these sequences is always present.  That is not always the case elsewhere methinks.  Again, thanks.  

Edited October 11, 2015 by Bruce Wall