Royal Ballet: The Two Pigeons, Monotones I & II, November 2015 & Rhapsody January 2016

[Sim]

Re wobbles, having been to see the same M1,2 casts at the general the day before, I was somewhat on the look out during the first night. From where I was sitting (side amphi, so looking down and slightly at an angle) I saw wobbles. But these were of a kind which may not have been so obvious from front on, ie stalls. By the way a good example of how M2 can go (though a murky video) is on YouTube:-

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=C1iFPJdnFSo

I was also sitting in the side amphi on the first night, and the only wobbles I noticed were in M2...

[zxDaveM]

I once saw the Coli wobble....

[Mary]

Very enjoyable performance tonght.

Monotones 2 seemed better than 1 to me. Nunez and Watson were beautiful.

 

It was a joy to see Pigeons again. Morera was excellent as the gipsy girl in ever way. Fast, precise footwork. She flew and soared but, neatly, never messily.

 

Muntagirov and Cuthbertson charming and his solo was a highlight- as it was in Fille- soaring jumps and lovely expressive lines.

 

Act 2 was possibly better than Act 1-

 

my first impressions.

 

Two wonderful ballets we do not see often enough. Very difficult to dance, very worthwhile.

 

- how varied ,how expressive, how interesting to watch.

[bridiem]

What a stunning bill! A real eye-opener. The joy of being able to relax, knowing that you're in the hands of a master. Beauty, craftsmanship and wisdom. I'd forgotten how perfect The Two Pigeons is. The moment when the second pigeon flies in (if it works! Which it did tonight) is surely one of the great moments in theatre, not just ballet. Heart-stopping. Superb dancing all round (Cuthbertson, Muntagirov, Morera et al) - I do understand Luke Jennings's comments about Cuthbertson but she is still very touching and dances beautifully, and M&M were magnificent. Monotones 1 and 2 - gripping! A few wobbles, mainly in 1 (Pajdak, Magri and Hay), but I found the clear commitment of all the dancers this evening very moving. It looks to me as if Ashton is more difficult for current dancers to dance than most of the other rep at the moment, which is one of the good reasons to do more of it. But there was also a sense of the dancers coming home - really trying to serve the company's founder choreographer well and taking joy in so doing. Wonderful.

P.S. How come the pigeons don't get to take a bow?!

Edited November 25, 2015 by bridiem

[aileen]

A very enjoyable bill. I would echo bridiem's comments. Morera was fantastic as the Gipsy Woman, and I actually found the Ashton gypsy / Spanish dancing genuinely enjoyable and so much livelier than that in the Acosta Don Quixote. I thought that the orchestra was very good this evening; the Austrian man sitting next me, who was an opera lover more than a ballet lover, said how good it sounded.

 

I thought that the costumes for Monotones looked much better in the flesh than in the photographs and the caps were not unflattering at all.

[SMballet]

Dear all of you, I have just returned from a wonderful, heart-warming evening.

 

Sometimes mixed programmes can feel to me as though they go on for a bit too long, really one intermission too many, but tonight I just didn't want the evening to end, and at the end when the curtain fell I sat forlornly wishing that Laura Morera, ie the Amazing Gipsy girl, would return, all flashing eyes and lightning fast feet and seductive shaking shoulders, to reclaim once again the errant Young Man, after another wild dance-off with the prissy Young Girl!

 

Well, I thought I’d write down a few thoughts to share with all of you, because I so enjoy reading what you have to say here about various performances, and I often feel bad that I contribute so little myself. But the caveat is that , unlike so many of you, I'm an inexperienced, uninformed and novice ballet-watcher, with no real knowledge about the art form, and very little understanding of its history and culture.

 

- Monotones 1: I thought, unfortunately, that it didn't work all that well, and it was the weakest link in the evening: the dancers and the choreography just didn't catch my attention (particularly not when compared to what came immediately after). And I kept thinking, while watching, "oooh this must be so difficult for the dancers" which is exactly the opposite of what one should think when watching ballet dancers perform. At no point in the brief piece did I ever forget that I was watching “a ballet”; nothing about it was transporting or moving. The dancers were good, of course, but, really, I did notice the wobbles (maybe because they had been mentioned here?)

 

- Monotones 2: I'll echo everyone else: Marianela Nunez, Queen. I think I held my breath the entire ten minutes or so that she was on stage. She made it look so effortless, and the "flow" that is essential to Ashton's choreography (as discussed by the critics and some of you above) seemed, in her case, to be so natural as to be innate to how she moves. Watson was a wonderful partner for her, and his soft, bendy body, when writhing in and out alongside hers, made an unforgettable impression on me. They were so beautifully matched: in time, in emotion, in every little movement. Unfortunately, I thought Hristov stuck out rather like a sore thumb: maybe it was just the angle at which I was sitting, but he always seemed to me to be a bit out of synch, a bit awkward, a bit too slow or too fast, and – I know this will sound cruel and rude and I will probably regret writing this tomorrow – I felt, at times, that it would have been so much better as just a pas de deux with MN and EW. Oh but that’s an awful thing to say. It must all be fiendishly difficult, which is why I'll repeat what I've said above: Marianela Nunez is truly a QUEEN. An alien queen from another planet. A glorious magnificent queen, and we are so lucky to have her.

 

-  One other note: Monotones 2 reminded me quite a bit of Song of the Earth. Am I crazy? Maybe it is just because it is a pas de trois, for two men and one women? But there was something about the pale lunar light; the empty stage; the eery music; and the three haunting otherworldly figures gliding about, intertwining their sinuous bodies with each other, which suddenly recalled to me that poignant, and utterly heartbreaking moment last June when I'd watched Marianela and Carlos and Thiago Soares dance their pas de trois together. Very different pieces, but strangely reminiscent of each other.

 

- For those of you who have watched Monotones I and II before - by other casts, in other eras, and by different companies - is there meant to be such a huge difference in feeling and tone between the two pieces?

 

Two Pigeons:

-       Again, I’ll echo what others have said above: Laura Morera and Ryo Hirano absolutely stole the show. And oh my god how hotttttttttttttttttt are they both? They absolutely sizzled on stage tonight, and every time they came on I could feel the atmosphere not just on stage but in the entire hall get hotter and more electric. Morera was just so perfect that she had me longing to see her in Swan Lake. Why is she not cast in everything? She was on fire!

 

-       Muntagirov and Cuthbertson were lovely – in fact I thought Cuthbertson was very well suited to her role: she played the first act as a rather prissy, bratty, annoying, spoiled girl, who then transforms, in the most heartbreaking and utterly convincing way, into a woman. The story is silly - like so many ballet stories - I mean, come on, Swan Lake!! – but I was suddenly, and unexpectedly, overwhelmed by the emotion, and the poignancy, of the last moments: when Muntgirov walks softly, so softly, down the stairs, finally come home, a pigeon perched on his shoulder, (really, it baffles me that anyone could think, after having seen him just in that moment, that he cannot act: there was no dancing involved; there was nothing, just a man walking down the stairs): there was pin drop silence in the hall, and I was worried that I’d ruin it for everyone by bawling. 

 

-       The “gipsy” business – while beautifully danced by the corps, who were, like Hirano and Morera, on fire tonight - nevertheless makes me feel really uncomfortable. Am I the only one?

 

-       I was really reminded, at many points, of Swan Lake. And seeing the contrasts between Morera and Cuthbertson (both in their dancing and in their characterization) made me wonder why Swan Lake is always staged with the same ballerina as Odette and Odille. Wouldn’t it be far more effective if it were, as in two pigeons, two completely different women, symbolizing two completely different attributes of feminity?

 

-       Cad he might be, but no one can really fault the “young Man” for following Laura Morera tonight. I’m a young (well, not all that young anymore!) girl myself and I wanted to follow her too!!!

 

-       Oh god, how utterly silly, but how utterly moving, is the pigeon business in the end? HOW did they manage to train the pigeons so well? And yes, why don’t they get a bow?

 

I’d better end now because I have gone on for far too long. I'm not even going to edit any of this, because i worry that if I stop to re-read/edit I will feel ashamed of having blathered on for so long, so I'm just going to hit "post" now, and live to regret it another day!!!!

[AnneMarriott]

Dear all of you, I have just returned from a wonderful, heart-warming evening.

 

 

Two Pigeons:

-      

 

 

-       The “gipsy” business – while beautifully danced by the corps, who were, like Hirano and Morera, on fire tonight - nevertheless makes me feel really uncomfortable. Am I the only one?

 

 

 

No, you're not alone and I'm delighted to find that now neither am I!

[Sim]

Ladies, I am curious to know what it is that makes you really uncomfortable about the gypsy dances?

[Mary]

Enjoyable review SMBallet. I agree it was a really rousing evening and also a very moving one. Morera is always extremely good- last night one of the best performances I have seen her give. To my mind she has always been a little under rated.

 

Monotones I and II  I think are meant to be different in atmosphere-Monotones 1 earthly and Monotones II other-worldly almost as if set in space.

 

I felt this was captured last night, but for me, I had a few too many wobbles.

[Lindsay]

Sim, I imagine it is the stereotyping of gypsies (very common in 19th and early 20th century culture) as dangerous/seductive/dishonest/criminal - a trope representing everything that is opposite to and disruptive of "decent" middle-class Western society.  Encapsulated well in this ballet as the gypsies are the thing tempting the young man away from his "proper" relationship.

 

Such tropes (also racial stereotypes - see Bayadere, Arabian and Chinese in Nutcracker, Petruchka and even that awful caterpillar in Wheeldon's Alice) are very common in ballet, in a way which would really not be acceptable in theatre nowadays (at least in Western Europe).  It is something that often makes me squirm and wonder why it should be acceptable....

[Two Pigeons]

Surely this view of gypsies as romantic but dangerous is not limited to the time period you suggest Lindsay. They don't come out that we'll in From Russia With Love from the early 1960s.

 

The ballet I am always surprised is allowed to continue is Petrushka. Having said that this a work which is a complete work of art in terms of music and design as well as the choreography. I am less than keen on it but I would be sorry if modern eyes decided it should be consigned to the pages of history.

[Fonty]

Well, I was going to post my thoughts about last night, but I seem to have stepped in to the Political Correctness forum by mistake!  Instead, I shall say that if PC starts creeping in to ballet, then I shall stop going.  Can we not just accept that the gypsies are an excuse for some exotic costumes and lively dancing, and leave it at that?  Or do we have to comb through every ballet and take out everything that is deemed unacceptable to today's sensitive dispositions?  Perhaps we should rename them Travellers?  And what costumes would modern audiences find acceptable? 

 

Otherwise, I can see we shall have to get re-choreograph all those national dances in the Nutcracker (we can't have such stereotyping of all the countries, and anyway the music isn't right)    Cut out all those peasants that feature so heavily in so many productions (they are now esteemed agricultural workers, and must be shown as the equals of everyone else on stage). Swan Lake must be cancelled (animal cruelty)  Ditto the Bluebirds in the Sleeping Beauty, not the mention Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf.  No more Shades in La Bayadere, as it seems to be saying that drug taking is glamorous.  No princesses (the idea of a monarchy in today's society is totally unacceptable)  No kissing the Sleeping Beauty to arouse her from her sleep.  This must surely be sexual assault, she is incapable of giving her consent.

 

Etc etc etc

 

I shall now stomp off and have a col shower to calm down. 

[AnneMarriott]

Ladies, I am curious to know what it is that makes you really uncomfortable about the gypsy dances?

Well I can only speak for myself of course but my discomfort is based as much on what I consider to be dreadfully twee choreography (rapidly dons protective clothing) as the stereotyping mentioned by Lindsay. I actually dislike the whole ballet (hides under dining table) and always have done. Yesterday evening's performance confirmed my view. The gypsies are just a particular bugbear. Apologies to the dancers, all of whom put on a wonderful display - my dislike has nothing to do with the delivery. I won't say more in a doubtless vain attempt to avoid rotten tomatoes, brickbats and other missiles being prepared by the legions of Two Pigeons' fans.

[Lindsay]

Yes Two Pigeons - sadly you are right that the stereotyping is by no means historic - I think I meant to allude to the period when the gypsy stereotype became "romanticised", especially in music - with all sorts of cod, "authentic" compositions inspired by their music.  

 

And I totally agree about Petrushka. although the music is of course brilliant.  When ENB did it a couple of years ago, I felt they evaded the issue by casting a black dancer as the Moor, which avoided the need for blackface but still left me feeling very uncomfortable.  Not as bad as Bayadere in Russia with the blackfaced children (do the Russian companies still do this kind of thing in London or New York?) but still awkward...... 

[Lindsay]

Fonty you are reading perfectly reasonable expressions of concern, from people who go to and enjoy the ballet but have a sense of unease about some aspects of it, and taking them to a thoroughly illogical conclusion.  There is no need for anyone to feel that they (or ballet) are being personally attacked by discussions like this - it is healthy to have them.

Edited November 25, 2015 by Lindsay

[Lindsay]

whispers at Anne Marriott *I thought Two Pigeons was unbearably twee also, especially the infantile, cutesy steps for the young girl, which is why I didn't write a review and spoil the party*

[bangorballetboy]

Well I can only speak for myself of course but my discomfort is based as much on what I consider to be dreadfully twee choreography (rapidly dons protective clothing) as the stereotyping mentioned by Lindsay. I actually dislike the whole ballet (hides under dining table) and always have done. Yesterday evening's performance confirmed my view. The gypsies are just a particular bugbear. Apologies to the dancers, all of whom put on a wonderful display - my dislike has nothing to do with the delivery. I won't say more in a doubtless vain attempt to avoid rotten tomatoes, brickbats and other missiles being prepared by the legions of Two Pigeons' fans.

 

Just confirms that we all like different things.  If it were otherwise, the world would be an incredibly boring place.

[Sim]

Fonty, I couldn't agree more. The stereotyping of gypsies hadn't even occurred to me when watching 2P! To me, they were indeed just colourful dances. I wonder if anyone is now going to complain about the stereotyping of the upper classes as moronic fops, such as Gamache in DonQ? And are we not supposed to be allowed to have The Taming of the Shrew anymore? Nor Cinderella, which shows an abuse victim being rescued by a man? Same for Snow White? The list could go on and on.

 

When I saw the Maryinsky in St. Petersburg in February they had blacked-up kids onstage during the wedding entertainment in Bayadere. I was quite surprised to see this, but the audience was not. When I questioned it, I was later told that this is a historical piece, and the company dance it as it would have been danced and produced when it first came out.

[bangorballetboy]

the infantile, cutesy steps for the young girl

 

Just to mention that this is required in order to show the passage from immature young girl (in act 1) to more mentally developed young adult (act 2).  That's part of the plot and, dare I say it, the point of the piece.

 

Having said that, you're free to dislike the work.

[Lindsay]

Indeed bangorballetboy - I got the characterisation and thought it well performed, just very much too saccharine for my taste.  

 

But equally I have no absolutely no issue with those who enjoy it, especially when they respect my right to differ 

[Sim]

I love the 'saccharine, infantile, cutesey steps' for the Young Girl....those steps are incredibly hard to dance if doing them correctly, and making them look 'cutesey' for me indicates success. And the world being what it is at the moment, I would rather have something sweet and escapist on the stage than misery or sadness. We get enough of that on the news, unfortunately.

[aileen]

I found the first act quite twee but I wonder whether a different dancer as the Young Girl could have made her choreography a little less saccharine. Cuthbertson was charming but I felt that there was something missing in her dancing and characterisation. Oddly, as someone who has sometimes cringed at other things, I didn't find the gypsies' characterisation and role in the ballet unpalatable. This does raise the interesting question of to what extent should ballets (and other art forms) be altered to fit current attitudes and sensibilities around race, disability, mental illness or whatever. The reality is that fairy tales and old stories, whilst they may contain a moral (usually good triumphs over evil) contain all sorts of attitudes which, in another context, would be objectionable. A really prevalent trope is that beauty equals virtue and that lack of beauty / disfigurement is a source of pity or even shame and is sometimes a punishment for something.

[MAB]

The oldest ballet in existence is The Whims of Cupid and the Ballet Master, not seen in Britain since the 1970's I think.  Wildly politically incorrect by today's standards with the blacked up couple.  Must that be ditched?

 

Gypsies are impossibly romanticised in the arts, think Rachmaninov's Aleko. Lawrence's Virgin and the Gypsy etc. etc.  Why stop at gypsies, what about Arabs?  Italian Girl in Algiers, Escape from the Seraglio, perhaps the Arabs in Raymonda should be brought up to date with ISIL flags and AK-47's?

 

All art is of its time, either accept it or avoid it.

[Fonty]

Fonty you are reading perfectly reasonable expressions of concern, from people who go to and enjoy the ballet but have a sense of unease about some aspects of it, and taking them to a thoroughly illogical conclusion.  There is no need for anyone to feel that they (or ballet) are being personally attacked by discussions like this - it is healthy to have them.

 

It was not my intention to attack anyone personally, and I apologise if any poster thought that was the case. I was just being a little bit more robust in my opinions that usual! (I am allergic to PC)

 

I think the point I was trying to make was that ballet is based on fairy tales and fantasy.  If the word gypsy is offensive to some, then perhaps they could mentally substitute "exotic foreigner".  And I don't think I was being illogicial - merely applying the same criteria to other aspects of the art form. 

 

Anyway, back to last night.  First of all, I adored the concept, costumes and choreography of both parts of Monotones.  I had no problems at all with the caps, they looked elegant and charming to me.  However, although the music for 1 was gorgeous, it just didn't work properly for me, and I think it boiled down to one simple fact.  The dancing wasn't good enough.  I checked to see who the original cast were, and it was Antoinette Sibley, Georgina Parkinson, and Brian Shaw.   Three superb dancers at the top of their field.   Last night we got 2 first artists and a first soloist, and I think it was too hard for at least one of the females.   I don't know which lady was the one standing on the right from the point of view of the audience, but she didn't manage a single arabesque without wobbling.  Unfortunately, she was the one who was always at the front when they were lined up one behnd the other, so there was no hiding place for her, and I felt myself getting more and more tense as I watched.   Having said that, I thought James Hay looked very comfortable and gave a good performance.

 

Which is why Monotones II was so wonderful  I felt I could relax in the capable hands of Nunez.  But then, she is a principal with a proven track record in the Ashton rep, so I would expect nothing else.  Watson also looked good, and I don't remember feeling that Hristov stuck out too much, but I wasn't really looking at him.  Nunez stole the show. 

 

Regarding Two Pigeons, altough I thoroughly enjoyed it, I didn't like it  as much as when I saw the BRB production.  I am trying to put my finger on why this was.  Morera was sensational, as everyone has said, and I thought the gypsy traveller exotic foreign dancers were terrific - showy, lively and fun.  It was the bits in the attic that seemed a bit flat.  Muntagirov was great (is there nothing he can't do?) so that only leaves Cuthbertson.  She danced beautifully, but I don't remember the Girl being such an annoying character before, she seemed a bit too young and childish.  I remember Lynn Seymour saying that the key to the character was to make her hoydenish, and I wasn't getting this at all from Cuthbertson.  All I saw was an irritating girl, and I am not surprised the young man left her.  What amazed me was that he went back, although the final pas de deux showed he had made the right choice. 

Edited November 25, 2015 by Fonty

[Lindsay]

Are those the only two options MAB? Cannot we reflect upon art as a product of its time, acknowledging those aspects of it which feel (for some people) uncomfortable by modern standards and frame modern productions/interpretations in the light of that consideration?  

 

This has happened for a long time in theatre (when was the last time you saw a blackfaced Othello - maybe Olivier?) and, increasingly, music (for example recent discussions on orientalism and alla turca themes in the music of Beethoven and others).  It doesn't mean that we reject great art as 'tainted', but we have a conscious debate about it and how it can be understood and meaningful to modern audiences.

 

I am less aware of that debate happening in relation to ballet, beyond a few critics and dance writers (although I would be delighted to hear of instances) but I think it is important that directors/choreographers are seen to be aware of the issues. There is often a tone-deafness in ballet discourse which can be very jarring (I recall the ROH promotion for Alice including some really awful gushing stuff about the slinky, exotic caterpillar with his harem - no excuse for it being an historic work there).  This can make many people who might otherwise be an audience for ballet (those who are happy to attend contemporary dance performances for example) dismiss it as reactionary and irrelevant and, as someone who loves watching ballet and would like to encourage others to attend, I find that disappointing.

[Mary]

Lindsay I agree with much of what you say. But like Fonty I dread losing some wonderful ballet.

 

I think it must be about finding a path through the historic repertoire that keeps what is good , ditches what is really no longer enjoyable ( blacking up- a recent Bolshoi example was cringe-making) and tries to avoid reproducing unnecessary and- often- boring- stereotypes unthinkingly. I didn't like the caterpillar in Alice at all, and felt " uncomfortable" that Eric Underwood was cast in that role. That was a brand new ballet, so it just felt strange, unnecessary and a bit embarrassing.

 

Similarly I have criticised some of the gender stereotyping in brand new works and would like to see something for today by modern choreographers including some more women. But one accepts, to a degree, the historic attitudes of the classics.

 

Each piece perhaps needs to be considered in its own light.

 

In Two Pigeons the gypsies are not stereotyped JUST in a negative way- they are also powerful, attractive, beautiful- they represent perhaps the sexuality that has yet to burgeon between the young couple. It  has  a bit more depth to it in other words.

 Surely they were more meaningful than the stereotypical Spanish dancers in Carmen- but let's not start that again!

 

I agree that the debate  should be attempted.

[Fonty]

Are those the only two options MAB? Cannot we reflect upon art as a product of its time, acknowledging those aspects of it which feel (for some people) uncomfortable by modern standards and frame modern productions/interpretations in the light of that consideration?  

 

This has happened for a long time in theatre (when was the last time you saw a blackfaced Othello - maybe Olivier?) and, increasingly, music (for example recent discussions on orientalism and alla turca themes in the music of Beethoven and others).  It doesn't mean that we reject great art as 'tainted', but we have a conscious debate about it and how it can be understood and meaningful to modern audiences.

 

I am less aware of that debate happening in relation to ballet, beyond a few critics and dance writers (although I would be delighted to hear of instances) but I think it is important that directors/choreographers are seen to be aware of the issues. There is often a tone-deafness in ballet discourse which can be very jarring (I recall the ROH promotion for Alice including some really awful gushing stuff about the slinky, exotic caterpillar with his harem - no excuse for it being an historic work there).  This can make many people who might otherwise be an audience for ballet (those who are happy to attend contemporary dance performances for example) dismiss it as reactionary and irrelevant and, as someone who loves watching ballet and would like to encourage others to attend, I find that disappointing.

 

 

Maybe this could be started as a separate thread?  I am sure people will have plenty to say about it?

[capybara]

whispers at Anne Marriott *I thought Two Pigeons was unbearably twee also, especially the infantile, cutesy steps for the young girl, which is why I didn't write a review and spoil the party*

 

As well as expressing early immaturity, the steps are surely shaped by the pigeon references.

 

But, hey Lindsay, please keep your comments coming. Reading various perspectives (and, in the process, perhaps re-shaping one's own) is surely what this forum is all about.

[MAB]

Are those the only two options MAB? Cannot we reflect upon art as a product of its time, acknowledging those aspects of it which feel (for some people) uncomfortable by modern standards and frame modern productions/interpretations in the light of that consideration?  

 

This has happened for a long time in theatre (when was the last time you saw a blackfaced Othello - maybe Olivier?)

 

 

I totally deplore the fashion of only allowing black actors to play Othello, it has robbed a generation of great Shakespearean actors from performing one of our national poet's greatest creations.  Curiously the pc rule doesn't exist in Opera, no one is saying only black tenors can sing the role.  There is a huge double standard, why do black actors play historical characters that were clearly white but a white actor cannot play Othello?

 

The Maltese tenor Joseph Calleja recently wrote about how he wanted to sing the last night of the Proms in the costume of a Knight of Malta, but no, Crusader connotations said some pc idiot, ffs!  the crusades were centuries ago. 

 

PC rubbish should have no place in the arts at all and the idea of making changes to accommodate some currently fashionable belief is anathema to me.

[Lindsay]

One person's "PC rubbish" might be another person's "respect" Mab. Whether it is fashionable or unfashionable to perpetuate offensive stereotypes about particular racial groups, I simply don't want to watch it.

[Jan McNulty]

A wise friend once said to me that you can't superimpose current values on historic events.  She is right - to do so is to attempt to change history.

 

OK, I know that history has sometimes faded away and we have to make an interpretation but in the technical era that we are now in that must surely change.

[Fonty]

Janet, any chance you or one of the other moderators could shift the PC posts to a new thread?

 

I am dying to joing in, but I feel the original topic of Monotones and 2P is being lost in a maze of comments about other issues.

[Lindsay]

But Janet, a performance taking place today, even of a work which was created many years ago is not an historic event.  Performance culture is a living thing and changes in every time and place - for example, I can't imagine many forumites being happy if crowds at the opera house still ate, flirted, wandered around and cat-called the performers as they did in the early years of Italian opera.  The same applies to the performances on stage - art which is set in aspic is missing the point.