Royal Ballet: Carmen, Viscera mixed bill, October 2015

[billboyd]

 I found it unattractive to see the women in the body of the ballet partnered by such short men: Sambe, Zucchetti, Dyer, Acri, I guess I better get used to it because most of the upcoming male dancers seem to be tiny.  

I'm always delighted to see these splendid dancers.

[Bea@theballet]

I went to the Saturday evening performance, I can see why a lot of people didn't like Carmen. Personally, I didn't rate it but I think I could sit through it again. The main reason I went was to see Tierney Heap's debut, she was fantastic!

 

Annamicro ( it's hard to not think of an excess of superficiality and (self)indulgence both from Acosta and Royal Ballet management.)

I thought the same thing too.

[Sunrise]

Thinking of major ballet companies and not one man bands, is it common for a choreographer (in Carmen particular case also not very experienced) to cast himself in the first night shows? And to cast himself in two different leading roles?

I think Kobborg, when staging La Sylphide, cast himself last, which seems a lot more sensible.

[Sim]

Welcome to the forum, bea@theballet....we hope to hear more from you!

[annamicro]

I think Kobborg, when staging La Sylphide, cast himself last, which seems a lot more sensible.

...but unfortunately he didn't dance it due to illness.:-(

More sensible (and professional?) even if Kobborg made just a few little additions and changes to a consolidate masterpiece: in any case there is a whole production to keep under control.

Imagine with a brand new ballet...

[Bea@theballet]

Thanks Sim

I've been following Balletco for a while and after two recent trips to ROH I thought its about time I joined in!

[John Mallinson]

Thinking of major ballet companies and not one man bands, is it common for a choreographer (in Carmen particular case also not very experienced) to cast himself in the first night shows? And to cast himself in two different leading roles?

Reading your comments and the professional review, it's hard to not think of an excess of superficiality and (self)indulgence both from Acosta and Royal Ballet management.

 

This is an unusual situation. Acosta has been an important part of the Royal Ballet company for 17 years and leaves at the end of the run of Carmen. Under the circumstances a certain amount of 'self-indulgence' might be forgiven.

[Vanartus]

"This is an unusual situation. Acosta has been an important part of the Royal Ballet company for 17 years and leaves at the end of the run of Carmen. Under the circumstances a certain amount of 'self-indulgence' might be forgiven."

 

Just want to say I agree with above statement too. Cut Carlos a bit of slack - I don't think it was self-indulgent or arrogant. It's no masterpiece but it could become a popular hit on another circuit. Anyway I prefer to remember Carlos in Requiem, Manon and many other great performances.

[Balletfanp]

I will be seeing the cinema relay on the 12th so I will be interested to see it. It seems to have polarised opinions quite drastically, and of course people are perfectly entitled to dislike a piece, but I do think that one or two of the very forthright comments made on the ROH website verge on disrespectful to someone who has given so much to the Royal Ballet. It must be very hurtful to read. Acosta may well have made an error of judgement on this project, but many appear to have enjoyed it, and to my mind some of the comments went a bit far - but just my opinion, of course!

 

How was Tierney Heap's performance? Everyone has been strangely silent on the third cast! It was an important debut for her, so a shame in some ways that it took place in such a controversial production, but most people seem to have been prepared to look past their reservations and give fair credit to the performers. I'm also curious about Muntagirov's and Ball's performances.

[alison]

I thought Tierney did very well

 

On a side note, though - I'm curious to know about Matthew Ball's (presumed) costume malfunction in Carmen.  The shirt and trousers really didn't quite do it in the final part.  What happened to the Toreador's outfit?

[John Mallinson]

Acosta was the same in the afternoon - white shirt and tie.

[alison]

How strange.  Thanks.

[ElleC]

How was Tierney Heap's performance? Everyone has been strangely silent on the third cast! It was an important debut for her, so a shame in some ways that it took place in such a controversial production, but most people seem to have been prepared to look past their reservations and give fair credit to the performers. I'm also curious about Muntagirov's and Ball's performances.

 

 

I thought Tierney was fantastic – smouldering, in fact, which I think is a real achievement from a young dancer in her first major role.  Both Vadim Muntagirov and Matthew Ball also made very impressive debuts.  I particularly loved the pas de deux between Tierney and Matthew which had a real intensity about it.  Matthew certainly delivered in the show-stopping solo for Escamillo (he really has a wonderful dramatic presence in any role, it seems), and I really enjoyed the moment when Vadim could finally let rip with his flawless dancing in his final solo.  I’m very much looking forward to see them again on 9^th November. 

[alison]

It's worth having a look at Luke Jennings' review in the Observer today which covers this point in some detail.

 

Did I miss this?

[Jan McNulty]

No, it wasn't up when I did the links. The review will be in today's links (Monday).

[Bea@theballet]

I was sat quite far away from the stage but I still felt that Heap, Ballet and Muntagirov's performancings reached me. They worked very well together. Hope to see more of Tierney Heap in the future.

[capybara]

Acosta was the same in the afternoon - white shirt and tie.

 

Carlos was asked about this costume at the Stage Door and said that "it wasn't quite working". Sounded as if it was a conscious decision and a permanent change. We shall see in due course.

[Sim]

I was sat quite far away from the stage but I still felt that Heap, Ballet and Muntagirov's performancings reached me. They worked very well together. Hope to see more of Tierney Heap in the future.

I think you mean Ball, bea@theballet!   A good typo, though!

 

I won't get to see this cast, but my daughter went on Saturday night and said that Tierney was very good, and very earthy/lusty but without being vulgar.  She said that her technique was excellent, as was her characterisation.  Also, she was under the impression that the choreography in the pdd seemed to have been toned down a bit since opening night.

[Bea@theballet]

Thanks Sim, too much ballet on the brain!

[A frog]

.

 

Buying a ticket for new ballets, we take a risk and we cannot regret too much the wasted money; but, considering Jennings observations about funds, I hope that you have not paid it twice with also your taxes.

 

That is a common refrain in Luke Jennings' complaints about new ballets, he at least this time didn't drag Alice into it, but regardless of one thinks of the new works artistically, they tend to be successful enough. I don't think tax money is wastefully spent when it helps develop works that are popular. 

[alison]

No, it wasn't up when I did the links. The review will be in today's links (Monday).

 

Ah.  That would explain it.  Unusual of the Observer to be that late putting things up, isn't it?  Thanks, Janet.  I'll have a look later when I'm somewhere where I have stable broadband.

[newballetfan]

I went to the Saturday evening performance to see Tierney too - I love seeing the 'up and coming' young dancers! I thought she was great. I was up in the amphitheatre and didn't need binoculars to get the detail. I know nothing about ballet and would love to see an alternative cast for comparison, but on the other hand that would mean seeing Carmen again and for me the money would be better spent on something else. I agree with many of the comments here - it was unwieldy and a bit of a bizarre mish mash of stuff. I also think they need to differentiate the costumes between the two male characters in a more striking way, because from the back of the opera house they were hard to distinguish. I also felt the story was thoroughly unclear. I'm not familiar with the original story of Carmen but I have recently seen Matthew Bourne's Car Man. I have difficulty believing that the two were based on the same story frankly. No idea what the narrative actually was in Acosta's choreography, and the bit with the bull? Eh?! I laughed in a couple of places where I don't think I was supposed to - notably near the beginning where the whole boiling of them are on stage, a man walks across in a suit with a briefcase and gets shot dead, at which point the whole lot of them disappear noisily. It felt like a supremely clumsy and therefore comic way to clear the stage! 

 

Unfortunately I had it fixed in my head that the performance started at 7.30 and so I missed Viscera. However, Faun was my favourite of the whole evening. It was absolutely magical and Olivia Cowley and Matthew Ball were beautiful. So subtle and clever. The Tchaikovsky is what it is, it was impressive and glitzy but felt rather meaningless by comparison.

 

Why is Carmen being treated as a sort of Acosta swansong when he is dancing in Elizabeth in the Linbury in January? Is it his final thing on the main stage?

[alison]

I assumed so.  I thought we'd originally decided there might be something on later in the year that he might be in, but could be wrong about that: I can't remember what the last section of the schedule is.

[Jan McNulty]

Ah.  That would explain it.  Unusual of the Observer to be that late putting things up, isn't it?  Thanks, Janet.  I'll have a look later when I'm somewhere where I have stable broadband.

 

No, I was particularly early.  If I'm just doing it at home without a time constraint I usually go back and check if nothing has appeared but I didn't have time yesterday.  They usually seem to be visible on the site from around 0830.

[capybara]

I assumed so.  I thought we'd originally decided there might be something on later in the year that he might be in, but could be wrong about that: I can't remember what the last section of the schedule is.

 

There's only one ballet programme: New McGregor; The Invitation (MacMillan); Within the Golden Hour (Wheeldon).

 

It's difficult to envisage Carlos in this unless he will play the older man in The Invitation. However, some critics seem to be referring to him "retiring next year" so 12th Nov. may not be his last appearance on the main stage. No doubt 'something' will be revealed as part of the cinema broadcast.

[Ian Macmillan]

To my mind, the main burden of Luke Jennings' was not so much the financial aspect of recent RB narrative commissioning, but that he sees a lack of story structure in recent work, something he attributes to a refusal to involve outsiders in the narrative process, leaving the chosen choreographers to 'sink or swim.'  So, for him, it's back to the need for an Editor or Dramaturg.  Dare I say that such an approach has worked well over the years for Cathy Marston, delivering strong, dramatic work in Bern and elsewhere through her cooperation with Edward Kemp, now Director at RADA?

[Sim]

^{Didn't Wayne McGregor engage the author Audrey Niffenegger as dramaturg on Raven Girl?  That sure didn't work.....}

[alison]

It's difficult to envisage Carlos in this unless he will play the older man in The Invitation. However, some critics seem to be referring to him "retiring next year" so 12th Nov. may not be his last appearance on the main stage.

 

He's doing a retirement tour, apparently.  Not sure how I managed to miss out on that.

[Sunrise]

^{Didn't Wayne McGregor engage the author Audrey Niffenegger as dramaturg on Raven Girl?  That sure didn't work.....}

 

Maybe involving the author rather than outsider was the problem? There will surely be a resistance to any pruning or changes.

[Fonty]

I have to confess I had to look up what a dramaturg actually was, as I'd never heard of it before.  Presumably, they would be involved right from the beginning?  So that the creative process would be a collaboration?  In which case, I can see there might be a few issues with that when it comes to cutting bits out.

 

I was thinking more of a fresh pair of experienced eyes, who comes along when the whole thing is roughly worked out, who could then make suggestions.  Of course, whether or not the creator takes any notice depends on the personalities of the individuals, but in the case of someone who is new to choreography, I would have thought they would welcome the input from someone else who is knowledgeable in that field. 

[FLOSS]

it is far too easy to think of Ashton and MacMillan as choreographers who did not require assistance at any stage of their careers. Ashton worked in the commercial theatre as well as creating ballets for the Camargo Society. I think that working for an impresario like C.B. Cochran must in many ways have been the making of  Ashton the choreographer. He must have learnt very quickly what would and would not work in the theatre and what would please the audience. But even he occasionally had people in the rehearsal room. Sophie Fedorovitch the designer was one person who occasionally gave him advice and I am pretty sure that I remember reading somewhere that when he was setting  some of his ballets he had someone in the room to check that what he was setting was immediately comprehensible.

 

Perhaps everyone has forgotten that both Ashton and MacMillan occasionally worked with people other than the dancers in the rehearsal room.John Cranko, who was definitely a man of the theatre down to his fingertips, was very supportive of MacMillan in the early days of his career as a choreographer.Perhaps it doesn't fit in with the idea of MacMillan as outsider and universal genius for us to be reminded of this too often. Gillian Freeman worked as a dramaturg for MacMillan on two pieces Mayerling(successful) and Isadora (unsuccessful). and also worked with Lynn Seymour providing her with a scenario for a ballet which Seymour created  for SWRB in 1978 called Intimate Letters which worked quite well. The point about a dramaturg is that they provide the choreographer with the scenario for a ballet , it used to be called a libretto. It helps the choreographer focus his or her thoughts on what is going to be represented in each section of the piece and may help to provide a structure that the work might otherwise lack but it is up to the choreographer to recognise what can and can't be represented in dance.

 

I don't think that Isadora's failure can be ascribed to Gillian Freeman's scenario. MacMillan, as an experienced choreographer, should have been able to appreciate before he got the scenario that Isadora was going to be far too amorphous and episodic to hang together as a ballet and that it was not going to work as a theatrical tragedy told through dance.

 

In the case of Carmen a dramaturg might have helped to eliminate the feeling that the dramatic scenes and those for the corps exist almost entirely separate from each other with the scenes with the corps having the effect of putting the brakes on the drama each time it seems to be going somewhere. A friendly, trusted pair of eyes in the rehearsal room might have persuaded Acosta that little of what he was doing was that revolutionary and that much of the choreography that he had set for the corps goes on for far too long and merely draws attention to the fact that he has far more music than he has ideas to fill it with. 

Edited November 2, 2015 by FLOSS

[alison]

Maybe involving the author rather than outsider was the problem? There will surely be a resistance to any pruning or changes.

 

Except that I seem to remember Wayne, when Niffenegger expressed doubts, saying something along the lines of "leave the narrative to me", or at least I think he said that in an interview.  The whole thing was a collaboration between the two, wasn't it, rather than a staging of an existing work?

[Beryl H]

I went to Saturday night's, Viscera was the same cast (still not impressed with the outer movements, just the pdd) but the other 3 ballets were the third cast, have enjoyed seeing all these different dancers and still the first cast to come, Olivia Cowley and Matthew Ball made another great couple in Faun, likewise Lauren Cuthbertson and Matthew Golding in the Tchaikovsky, Lauren in particular looked so relaxed and happy!

 

I'm glad others liked Tierney Heap in Carmen, doesn't matter now if I say I thought she wasn't really strong enough at times to be the centrepoint of the ballet, Vadim Muntagirov was dancing and acting like a man possessed (fantastic performance) and the final pdd looked a little onesided. Matthew Ball's acting and technique was very exciting, and although the ballet itself makes me laugh in the wrong places with some major changes it could be another valid Carmen ballet, think Roland Petit's will still be my favourite.