English National Ballet: Le Corsaire, Winter 2015/16

[Beryl H]

Very exciting performance last night, even though I only saw about two thirds of the stage, what a marvellous group of young male dancers, athough I thought Tamara Rojo outshone them all, she had true ballerina radiance!

[Don Q Fan]

Well I hope Corrales stays at ENB I just feel it is a happier more family type place to be and thus much better for nurturing talent than RB.... Yes shoot me down in flames for saying that. ENB is frequently on the biographies of many a star like Carlos Acosta.

[Jillykins]

Can only agree with previous comments. Having been ill for some weeks it was first trip out since Christmas and it really was a tonic! Gloriously colourful, musical, dramatic and full of great exhibitions of technique. Neat changement on pointe, terrific brisee volees and Tamaras virtuoso pirouettes! Considering she has picked up extra performances so audiences are not disappointed you can only admire her phenomenal talent. I will certainly follow the career of young Corrales wherever he dances. Sad the lady lift attendant said Alinas ankle injury was really bad. Sorry that is just her opinion. I am feeling better now and have booked to watch company class next Saturday. If you don't have a ticket try to go.

[Jan McNulty]

I'm particularly excited to see the mightily explosive Cesar Corrales again. A massive star for the future.

 

Though, might there be a danger of the RB snatching him at this exciting time in his career? or do they tend to wait until the ENB promote him to principal first, if they want him, such as happened with Vadim Muntagirov?

Does anyone know how it usually works?

If they were to get him now, would he remain soloist at the RB, in a bigger pond of potential principals? Is it better to be a big fish in the smaller pond at the ENB?

 

 

Judging by this afternoon's performance of Rhapsody and Two Pigeons, wonderful though he is, I don't think the Royal need him as they already have so much young talent.

 

I didn't plan very well, with a bit more thought I could have fitted a Corsaire in to my trip and some other delights too.  I am home now but back down to London on Monday for Jonny Ollivier's memorial gala.

[capybara]

I remember Cesar Corrales from the 2013 prix de Lausanne he was one of the students who did a video blog. He just looked so young then but you could see his potential. He did win a prize but don't know what he did with the Prize money.

I won't be seeing him on Sunday but I'm sure anyone of the cast is going to be interesting and exciting am very much looking forward to it especially after attending the workshop in the morning!!

 

Cesar is dancing Birbanto tomorrow in place of Fernando Bufala. This change is noted on the casting thread!

[alison]

Have ENB updated the casting page yet?  They hadn't as of yesterday, I think it was.

[Don Q Fan]

Alina's photo of her foot/ankle on Twitter looks painful. Hope she's better soon.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYsgEwcWwAApUtu.jpg

Edited January 16, 2016 by Don Q Fan

[capybara]

Have ENB updated the casting page yet?  They hadn't as of yesterday, I think it was.

 

ENB has.

[Balletfanp]

Alina's photo of her foot/ankle on Twitter looks painful. Hope she's better soon.https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CYsgEwcWwAApUtu.jpg

Ouch! It looks exactly like a photo I have of my own ankle following a nasty sprain a couple of years ago. The good news is, I was back doing Taekwondo 4 weeks later, and pretty much back to normal after 6 weeks. I don't know if it's the same thing, but I hope it's as quick for Alina.

[IPalmer]

Hello again all on ballet.co, as was.  Whilst the rest of the world was at the Rhapsody first performance, I slipped in to the Corsaire matinee.  It was the third time seeing ENB doing this production in various places around the country and bizarrely (and not with intention) my third time seeing Takahashi as Medora.  She convinced me far more than ever this time round, though it is such a tricky one for any ballerina.  In the first act I loved her "soubrette" manner but it did not quite transfer to the Jardin Anime sequence.  I would love to see Cojocaru in this role, as I imagine she can traverse all the acts in the same way that Assylmuratova used to.  I've seen American Ballet Theatre do this production in New York and the Bolshoi's one is pretty similar too.  At ABT they had such a plethora of male stars that each role was defined by their personalities.  In the Bolshoi production the male roles are differentiated by whether they are character dancers, demi-cararetere , soloists or a danseur.  I did not get this sense of definition among the male roles in this ENB performance and I thought it suffered thereby.  Clearly, however, the standard in the female dancers at ENB has gone up significantly since Tamara Rojo's tenure and the Odalisques were superb.  I really don't like the Pas de Deux "a trois" in the second act and the Chabukiani insertions.  Unless Ali is going to be done in the high camp Farukh Ruzimatov way, can it not just be for Conrad and Medora?

[Sim]

Oh Ian how absolutely, totally wonderful to have you back! Please keep your posts coming! ☺

[cavycapers]

What a very strange thing to say/ask. Vadim has confirmed in several interviews that he was ready for a move. He wasn't "snatched".

In any event, I thought Corrales was excellent last night. I hope that his freshness, vitality and youthful abandon do not diminish.

If I am wrong in what I am saying, please find a nicer way of refuting it than saying what I am saying is 'strange'. That's not very polite.

[Quintus]

I loved last night's performance. That pas d'action had Mrs Quintus gasping, as did the threat of me trying to recreate one of those inverted lifts with her, after topping up the life insurance... Isaac Hernandez was particularly impressive. I must see whether there are still seats around, Id very much like to see a Lauretta + Ksenia casting.. One quick boo to the oaf in the front right dress circle box who had his phone screen lit up in Act 1.

[Don Q Fan]

Plenty of seats for the matinee on Thursday with Ksenia (Travelzoo offer see ticket forum).  I bit the bullet and booked again for Thursday as have a few others I know.

[nottsballetlover]

I've plumped for last minute ticket for today's matinee! All the reviews above make this a no-miss show, hang the expense!!

[alison]

At ABT they had such a plethora of male stars that each role was defined by their personalities.  In the Bolshoi production the male roles are differentiated by whether they are character dancers, demi-cararetere , soloists or a danseur.  I did not get this sense of definition among the male roles in this ENB performance and I thought it suffered thereby.

 

Ian, as Sim says, great to see you back!  Do carry on posting

 

Are you effectively saying that you don't think the males should be chopping and changing roles as much as they are?  I must say that I have found certain dancers more effective in a given role than others, but haven't seen enough performances (or enough cast changes) yet to judge (I've had the same Birbanto, Ali (and Medora) each time so far).

 

May I say that I thought Shiori Kase was gorgeous as Gulnare the other day?

[Fonty]

May I say that I thought Shiori Kase was gorgeous as Gulnare the other day?

 

You may, Alison.  I went on Friday night, and I agree with you. 

 

In fact, the only complaint I have was that there was no synopsis of the story on the free cast list, so I wasn't sure which male character was which at the beginning.  Fortunately, it isn't one of those ballets where you have to concentrate very hard on the plot.

 

The Odalisques had some wonderful variations, although I must confess I am not entirely sure what the difference is between an odalisque and a concubine.  Does anyone know who did the dance with all the pirouettes?  I just loved her cool, controlled turns, all beautifully in time with the music.  

[nottsballetlover]

ENB has posted audience reactions on social media:

 

https://storify.com/ENBallet/le-corsaire-audience-reaction

 

I can't make any of the London performances. I'm so glad I saw it in Liverpool. Everybody should beg, steal or borrow a ticket to go!

[nottsballetlover]

Janet above said 'beg borrow or steal a ticket'. I bought mine in a conventional way but I'm so glad I did!

I didn't see this production first time round so today was my first viewing. I'm kind of glad I don't have to compare casts!

Today was Mack as Conrad, Sousa as Ali, Corrales as Birbanto and Zhang as Lankedem. Plus Sommerscales and Ksenia. Adjectives fail me. Great show and dazzlingly superb dancing by all of them. Amazing pace throughout despite ridiculous plot (but frankly who gives a damn about the plot??)! It would be unfair for me to single any of these out.

One section stood out though for me today which was the pas d'action on Act 2 with Mack, Souza and Sommerscales. It made me cry just because the sheer joy of the dancing was so intense. Nothing to do with a plotline! The music and the dancers just soared in total harmony! It was phenomenal!

 

As I said, so glad I sent ahead with a last minute ticket on this. I previously thought I was jinxed with ENB as I previously had 2 shows all bookwd on the last 12 months plus trains and was I'll at last minute so could not attend either or even try to let someone else have my ticket. Heartbreakingly. Made today even more special. Fabulous show.

[nottsballetlover]

Oops, double posted while on train! Please remove duplicates post! Thanks

[capybara]

  Does anyone know who did the dance with all the pirouettes?  I just loved her cool, controlled turns, all beautifully in time with the music.  

 

Isabelle Brouwers.

[nickwellings]

I did the double bill on Saturday, and I'm glad I did.

 

Just must say that Isaac Hernández was astonishing as Ali.

 

And I too loved the Odialesques, especially the little variation with travelling type entrechats. Both dancers did those so well. The show as a whole deliciously silly, and well worth catching. Happily I have the Rojo cast again I think on Saturday 23rd. Lots to look forward to once more!

[aileen]

Yes, I thought that it was an excellent performance this afternoon. It was, I felt, more even and less nervy than Wednesday evening's. Laurretta was serene and confident in the role of Medora. She is dancing at principal level now and I feel that she will be promoted to that rank before long. Corrales was fabulous as Birbanto. He had huge stage presence in the role. The hairs on my neck stood up at one point as he strode across the stage, seething with resentment, and I loved the way that he looked out at the audience very directly at various times. He's a hugely charismatic dancer.

 

It was nice to have a chat with Lin in front of the Pointe Shoe tree.

[LinMM]

Yes I loved it too!! I hadnt realised that Cesar Corrales was dancing today and he gave such a powerful performance as Birbanto with some stunning turns at one point but all the main leads male and female were wonderful today.

Brooklyn Mack was Conrad and a great performance from him with some excellent partnering.

I love Junor Souza as Ali as I think he interprets this role really well and another dancer with a very good stage presence is Jinhao Zhang who played Lankendem this afternoon.

I agree with Aileen in that Lauretta Summerscales was looking very relaxed and serene in the role of Medora and did some super fouettés and some deliciously soft dancing in the bedroom scene.

It was great to see one of my favourite dancers in this company Isabelle Brouwers as the third Odalisque too.

 

I've seen her in class a few times and she is a beautifully stylish dancer with lovely line. This morning having just finished a workshop in which we did the Villagers dance from Act one Isabelle was doing some stretches right next to my bags etc!! so I plucked up courage to speak to her and she said she would be dancing one of the Odalisques. I am always amazed when dancers say that your support means a lot to them but this company deserves our adulation just at the moment.

What a romp this ballet is but I love it!! I feel I ought to read the poem by Byron now just to see how much licence has actually been taken with it all ......something must have inspired him to write the poem .....pity he couldn't see the show today....he might have been inspired to write another poem about that

 

Lovely to catch up with Aileen this afternoon sorry we didn't have longer to chat.

[Quintus]

[What a romp this ballet is but I love it!! I feel I ought to read the poem by Byron now just to see how much licence has actually been taken with it all ......something must have inspired him to write the poem .....pity he couldn't see the show today....]

 

 

this reminded me - while we were waiting for curtain up, one of the old chaps behind us read out 'Lord Byron' from the big Le Corsaire pictorial curtain (or whatever you call those) and said in all seriousness "Is Lord Byron here tonight then?".  Bless. 

[MAB]

What a romp this ballet is but I love it!! I feel I ought to read the poem by Byron now just to see how much licence has actually been taken with it all ......something must have inspired him to write the poem .....pity he couldn't see the show today....he might have been inspired to write another poem about that

 

 

 

Only the names remain from Byron's original, the plot is totally different.  In the original French Corsair, they stuck with Byron's story line complete with Conrad rescuing Gulnare from the burning palace, apparently it was quite spectacular.  A few decades later a new story line was devised in Russia and that's the one we see today. 

 

Do read the original though, it's fascinating and quite beautiful, as is all of Byron's work.

[LinMM]

I will definitely search it out now MAB!

[FLOSS]

In the programme Anna-Marie Holmes speaks of her production as if  she had staged the original version of Corsaire with a few slight adjustments.Well having seen the Ratmansky reconstruction  which is said to be based on the Stepanov notation I will simply say that the latter version reveals a ballet which has a degree of musical and narrative coherence which is sadly lacking from ENB's production. The Ratmansky production is not perfect but it seems closer to Petipa in spirit and choreography than the Holme's version and it provides good roles for male dancers which seem more integrated into the narrative of the work. Some character are even given the opportunity to dance expressively rather than as if they were dancing at an international ballet competition.

 

For me the problems with the Holme's production is that it is an edited highlights version of Petipa's ballet with sections of dance detached from their original position in the ballet  to keep the audience entertained and protect it from boredom. .What are the three Odalisque's (concubines or servants in a harem depending on which dictionary  you read) doing in the street in act 1 rather than appearing in act 2 where they belong except to stop the audience from being bored by group dances and narrative?

 

 The over all effect of this production  is a version in which  we see displays of dance rather than dance used to tell a story or to create mood and such story as there is, reduced to a "jolly romp". This version also has an exceptionally crude score in large part   because of the re-ordering of the dances. The score and pacing of the ballet are much more interesting in the Ratmansky reconstruction than in this production as it suggests  that both Adam and Petipa were rather good at their jobs. This production  leaves you wondering why anyone would have employed them as their work appears to be so crude and cartoonish..

 

For me too much  of the female soloists' choreography was performed as if the dancers were wading through treacle and there was too dancing in the  fashionable stop, start ,move to a pose and freeze frame it, style, rather than joined up dancing with a flow of movement. The fact that the music is performed to accommodate  this style of performance adds to the impression of crudeness and over all musical incompetence which attaches to mid nineteenth century ballet music and this score in particular. .

 

Of course it may not have been very wise to go from the  joined up flow of movement  of Ashton  where the emphasis is on apparent ease of execution and overall elegance,where any narrative element is embedded in the choreography to this ballet in just over twenty four hours but there was more to it than that. At the Sunday matinee all the men danced their roles as if they were at an international ballet competition rather than appearing in a ballet of which their pas were an integral part . I was always aware of the effort that they were putting into their dancing and especially so in the case of Brooklyn Mack who seemed far more concerned with the impact of his dancing on the audience than  bringing any element of artistry to it. A bit like Roo it was a case of " Look at me Jumping". In this context Laurretta Summerscales  and Ksenia Ovsyanick stood out by not merely producing a display of technique but bringing a real element of artistry to their performances. In fact I think that both deserve to be in a production that does not encourage the male dancers in particular to go in for a lot of empty technical display. I am glad that so many who have posted about these performances have enjoyed themselves but I think that there is more to Petpa's ballets than most current productions suggest and this ballet is far greater choreographically than this production suggests it is.

 

The original version of this ballet by Mazilier seems to have disappeared from the Opera's repertory after a couple of years. How closely Petipa's version follows Perrot and how closely he followed Mazilier it is impossible to know at least until someone does some serious work on the Justament archive. Now a revival  based on the Stepanov notations danced in period appropriate style through out with lots of petite batterie would be worth seeing.

Edited January 20, 2016 by FLOSS

[Fonty]

I have never seen Le Corsaire in any form before.  If I had something to compare it with, I might have found it garish, lacking in characterization, and with no flowing dancing.  As I hadn't , I just enjoyed it for what it was - a rattling good romp, gorgeous costumes, and no dull moments.  And plenty of dancing for the men, which makes a nice change. 

 

I was just happy to sit back in an uncritical manner and let its liveliness wash over me. 

[Bruce Wall]

I have never seen Le Corsaire in any form before.  If I had something to compare it with, I might have found it garish, lacking in characterization, and with no flowing dancing.  As I hadn't , I just enjoyed it for what it was - a rattling good romp, gorgeous costumes, and no dull moments.  And plenty of dancing for the men, which makes a nice change. 

 

I was just happy to sit back in an uncritical manner and let its liveliness wash over me. 

 

I agree, Fonty .... and I've seen a goodly few of the Russian productions of the referenced same as well.  Reading FLOSS' as ever well penned article made me ponder:  What if we were to turn the time tables; how I wonder would 19th Century audiences (Russian or otherwise) react to ENB's current production of Le Corsaire?  There's something in me that keeps braying that they would be cheering every bit as much as the Coliseum audiences currently are .. but I may well, of course, be wrong.  We'll - none of us - EVER know  

[Beryl H]

I am enjoying this production enormously, although the Bolshoi one is grander and has even more choreography, also the only real characterisation here comes from Michael Coleman's Pasha, a marvel every time! Otherwise it's non-stop dancing and last night gave me a chance to see yet another bravura dancer, Osiel Gouneo, with Cesar Corrales, Junor Souza, and Yonah Acosta it was quite an evening, and wonderful to see Lauretta Summerscales dancing so well and looking so relaxed and happy, with her moving up to Medora I was able to see Ksenia Ovsyanick as Gulnare too. Very exciting dancing from Summerscales and Gouneo in the Soviet style "cave" pdd!

[Petunia]

I have never seen Le Corsaire in any form before.  If I had something to compare it with, I might have found it garish, lacking in characterization, and with no flowing dancing.  As I hadn't , I just enjoyed it for what it was - a rattling good romp, gorgeous costumes, and no dull moments.  And plenty of dancing for the men, which makes a nice change. 

 

I was just happy to sit back in an uncritical manner and let its liveliness wash over me. 

 

This could have been written by me... !

To see Hernandez jump and turn, Rojo delivering fouettés and Cesar Corrales as Ali flying like a bird was totally worth it.

Only the Jardin Animé made me a little sleepy, but the Odalisques and the fabulous macho pirates compensated for a short moment of tediousness.

[MAB]

Before criticizing ENB's Corsaire, perhaps it's only fair to bear in mind that it was no doubt tailored to the company's needs.  ENB is primarily a touring company and although the gold standard version is the one at the Bolshoi, it is significantly longer.  I seem to remember the last time it was shown in London complaints were made regarding its length and how little time ballet-goers had to rush off for trains at curtain down.

 

By shaving the best part of an hour off the work, ENB has cut back on extra sets and costumes.  Their abridged version does in fact make dramatic sense as the most important aspects of the story remain along with the most familiar parts of the choreography.  Most ballet fans seem to favour the Kirov's Vinagradov production above others, ironically the least authentic of the five versions I've seen to date, full of cuts and what I assume are interpolations.  Its popularity owing to the fact it was the first Corsaire we saw in Britain.

 

As to current standards of performance I imagine the acquisition of new male dancers at top level both as guests and company members may well have led to a a certain lack of integration with company style.

 

Incidentally, Mazilier was not the first choreographer to tackle Corsaire.  François-Ferdinand Decombe whose stage name was Albert saw the potential of Byron's poem and his staging closely followed Byron.  Mazilier created the story line we're familiar with today and which is substantially different from Albert's work.