The Royal Ballet, The Winter's Tale, April 2016

[capybara]

You do realise he and Ed are almost exact contemporaries?   Or is it "exact contemporaries"?  I can't remember.

 

Bennet was a year behind Ed in the RBS - he joined the company in 1995. He played the Young man in Two Pigeons in his graduation performance and very good he was too.

 

I liked his Leontes two years ago and I felt that he had developed his characterisation very effectively - particularly where the range of emotion in his face and shoulders is concerned. Of course, Watson's flexible hips enable him to whip his legs around more maniacally when the need arises and that brings a unique quality to the role.

 

But, for me the second cast (Nunez, Stix Brunell, Muntagirov and Mendizabel (a sensitive debut)) have the slight edge, not least because their emotions, especially love and real caring, ring out so truly. 

 

More generally, I would like to take the pruning shears to about 15 minutes of Act 1 and 10 minutes of Act 2.

[Mary]

I  have always admired Bennet Gartside. He is one of those dancers you immediately think of in certain roles,  for example. Prince Gremin in Onegin. He was far the best Hilarion I have seen.  Dancers such as him ( and Yanowsky and Morera and many more)  are the real backbone of the RB. One or two passing stars are lovely to see but, having so many very accomplished dance actors is what gives RB it's distinctive character, for me. Winter's Tale shows them off so well as it is an ensemble piece. It is not just a vehicle for 2 dancers.

 

I am looking forward very much  to seeing his Leontes again.

[RobR]

I'm surprised by some of the posts in this thread regarding the duration of TWT, and the consequent suggestions that it may be overlong.

 

As classical ballet lovers I assume we'd all think that the dancing is much more important to us than the narrative, which is really only a vehicle to give the dancers the opportunity to display their musicality and movement.

 

As far as I'm concerned, the longer the dancing lasts the better.

[penelopesimpson]

I'm surprised by some of the posts in this thread regarding the duration of TWT, and the consequent suggestions that it may be overlong.

 

As classical ballet lovers I assume we'd all think that the dancing is much more important to us than the narrative, which is really only a vehicle to give the dancers the opportunity to display their musicality and movement.

 

As far as I'm concerned, the longer the dancing lasts the better.

I'm with you, Rob.  I absolutely love it and having now seen it three times, there is so much more to read into each performance.  I think this is a ballet that is a lot more complex that it appears at first.  The cruelty of Leontes is hard to take and then you get the exuberance of Act 2.  I am thinking of going again if funds will allow.

[Mary]

I love Act 2 and enjoy every minute of it- the more dancing the better, it is super dancing and a lovely spectacle as well..

[FLOSS]

I hate to have to say this but dancer's performing lives are short and both Watson and Gartside are at a stage in their respective careers when retirement can not be that far off. If reviving this work had been left for another couple of seasons these  two dancers might not have been available and perhaps the original Paulinas might not have been either.

 

 As far as the structure of the ballet is concerned It follows the structure of the play. I am not sure how you could cut much of the first act without losing essential elements of the narrative. There seem to be some slight alterations to the first act. Leontes does not spend so much time lurking behind the statues as he did originally and the stage business with Hermione's necklace now registers in a way that it did not during the initial run. The fact that Hermione's emerald necklace is placed in Perdita's basket now registers much more clearly than it did during the first run of the ballet. The jewel is given more prominence in the scene in which the shepherds find the child. 

 

The Bohemian sheep shearing jollifications outstay their welcome although by how much, it seems to me, depends on who is dancing Perdita and Florizel. Muntagirov's and Stix Brunell's  act two feels shorter than McRae's and Lamb's. For me act two's weakness is not only its length but the nature of the dance and the fact that none of it, not even the sections in which Perdita and Florizel  dance together suggests any real emotion. The choreography has a lot of jumping about and awkward looking holds. Wheeldon fails to give Perdita and Florizel any element of humanity and fails to remind us that they are both different from the other characters who are low born shepherds. Shakespeare is able to use language to do this in the play and I am surprised that Wheeldon did not try to do the same with the choreographic language he gives them. I know that  he cannot employ the language of poetic pastoral which Perdita uses in the play when she gives flowers to Polixenes and Camillo the ballet's Steward.There is no choreographic equivalent of the lines in which after Polixenes has, so he thinks, brought the relationship between his son and Perdita to an end  Perdita says I was not much afraid for once or twice I was about to say the same sun which shines on his palace shines on us here. But there is the pas de deux. Both Ashton and MacMillan would , in their different ways, have created characters with humanity. Unfortunately Wheeldon gives us a pair of dancers who demonstrate their technique as they contend with his choreography. Choreographers make roles on dancers but they also respond to those dancer's individual gifts and the resulting choreography is an amalgam of the two influences. Perhaps it is that fact that Florizel was created on McRae which explains the role's rather one dimensional,step based  almost abstract nature. As McRae and Lamb dance their choreography  we see something akin to a display of dance, as Muntagirov  and Stix Brunell dance, it is less a display and has greater warmth but there is only so much that you can do with the steps that have been set. I wonder what the third cast will bring to it?

 

The third act has a better focus than it did in its initial season. The recognition scene is no longer over in the blink of an eye. This time you can't miss it.

 

It is a great achievement to create a three act  narrative work and an even greater one to make one where the story is told so well. I hope that this ballet  is still work in progress and that Wheeldon will have the inclination to do something about the second act so that Perdta and Florizel are less like cardboard excuses for dance. Shakespeare's act two is pastoral but it has characters rather than generic pastoral types. It would be nice to think that Wheeldon might revisit it after he has seen some more expressive dancers in the roles. The play on which this ballet is based is one of Shakespeare's greatest Wheeldon has it in him to make his ballet a great one. I hope he decides to do so.

Edited April 14, 2016 by FLOSS

[Jamesrhblack]

I'm surprised by some of the posts in this thread regarding the duration of TWT, and the consequent suggestions that it may be overlong.

As classical ballet lovers I assume we'd all think that the dancing is much more important to us than the narrative, which is really only a vehicle to give the dancers the opportunity to display their musicality and movement.

As far as I'm concerned, the longer the dancing lasts the better.

I'd be inclined to disagree with this statement. In a narrative work, I like the choreography to relate to situation and to respond to the music, otherwise there is the risk of something becoming just a sequence of technical stunts. I appreciate that this is a personal response, and it may be why I respond to Don Quixote and Le Corsaire less positively than many others....

[VickyPage]

I was there last night. I noticed that there were some small changes to the choreography, but they were very tiny. Marianela was amazing in the trial scene, really moving and emotional. I wasn't that impressed by Gartside. His acting was good enough, but he did seem to be struggling with the physical aspects of the role. It was hard to feel sympathetic towards his Leontes, but then again, when reading the play, it's very hard to feel sympathetic towards that character. Itziar Mendizabal's Paulina was interesting. Obviously her age changed the dynamic between her and Hermione; she was fab in Act III, but it did take her a little while to warm up to the role.

 

I really enjoyed Act II. It's actually always been my favourite act in TWT (sorry to everyone who hates it!) and I thought that Bea Stix-Brunnell was really fantastic. Perdita can be quite a dull character and from what I'd seen on my DVD, I got the impression that the ballet's version of her was a sweet little thing without much personality. However, Stix-Brunnell gave her a little more sass and vivacity, and, I felt, was a little closer to the character in the play than Sarah Lamb. Muntagirov was good; he managed something of the persistent boyishness that the role exudes. I've been becoming more keen on Luca Acri, and last night was no exception; he was really fun and technically very good. 

 

Act III, as always, feels a little rushed, particularly the final pas de deux between Hermione and Leontes. I would like to see more of the recognition between Perdita and Hermione, as that moment is very important in the play. Marianela was a very forgiving Hermione, but I don't say that in a bad way - she made it work beautifully. 

Edited April 14, 2016 by VickyPage

[FLOSS]

I have no doubt that without the presence of Ed Watson Wheeldon would have found it difficult to create a satisfactory vocabulary to express Leontes' jealous madness. Watson is wonderful in the role but for me Gartside's portrayal reveals the true potential of the vocabulary. It is the very fact that this choreographic vocabulary does not come as naturally to Gartside as it does to Watson that emphasises the effect of jealous madness on Gartside's  Leontes in a way that, beautifully danced though it is, it does not Watson's portrayal.  So for me their portrayals are different but equally effective. So with Hermione. Cuthbertson and Nunez are different but equally effective in the role.This to me is evidence of the strength of the ballet as a whole. It is not a piece which seems to be overly dependent on its original cast and this has to be good for the ballet's future.

 

So far the changes seem to have been tweaking rather than heavy pruning. Personally I think that the second act could do with a radical rethink. It is exuberant but has a certain relentlessness about it. I can see that he may want to show us the shepherds as members of a non elite group. You could perhaps argue that the yokels are merely being given relentlessly exuberant movements suitable for the peasantry but there is  insufficient difference between the choreography devised them and that devised for Perdita  and Florizel. In the play the Old Shepherd complains that Perdita holds herself aloof and is not bustling about among the guests as his wife used to be on such occasions. The raw materials for the feast which Perdita has sent the Young Shepherd to buy hint at her otherness as they sound more suited to a noble's table than a sheep shearing feast , It is strange to me that Weeldon has failed to pick up on this in his choreography for the royal couple. A little less exuberance and a bit more elegance seems appropriate for at least part of their choreography. Ideally something which draws the attention of everyone on stage to their dance. It would provide the act with an element of contrast which is currently missing and a choreographic equivalent to the comments made about Perdita by Polixenes and Camillo in the play. It would require some revisions to be made to the score for act two but it could be very effective.

Edited April 14, 2016 by FLOSS

[penelopesimpson]

I hate to have to say this but dancer's performing lives are short and both Watson and Gartside are at a stage in their respective careers when retirement can not be that far off. If reviving this work had been left for another couple of seasons these  two dancers might not have been available and perhaps the original Paulinas might not have been either.

 

 As far as the structure of the ballet is concerned It follows the structure of the play. I am not sure how you could cut much of the first act without losing essential elements of the narrative. There seem to be some slight alterations to the first act. Leontes does not spend so much time lurking behind the statues as he did originally and the stage business with Hermione's necklace now registers in a way that it did not during the initial run. The fact that Hermione's emerald necklace is placed in Perdita's basket now registers much more clearly than it did during the first run of the ballet. The jewel is given more prominence in the scene in which the shepherds find the child. 

 

The Bohemian sheep shearing jollifications outstay their welcome although by how much, it seems to me, depends on who is dancing Perdita and Florizel. Muntagirov's and Stix Brunell's  act two feels shorter than McRae's and Lamb's. For me act two's weakness is not only its length but the nature of the dance and the fact that none of it, not even the sections in which Perdita and Florizel  dance together suggests any real emotion. The choreography has a lot of jumping about and awkward looking holds. Wheeldon fails to give Perdita and Florizel any element of humanity and fails to remind us that they are both different from the other characters who are low born shepherds. Shakespeare is able to use language to do this in the play and I am surprised that Wheeldon did not try to do the same with the choreographic language he gives them. I know that  he cannot employ the language of poetic pastoral which Perdita uses in the play when she gives flowers to Polixenes and Camillo the ballet's Steward.There is no choreographic equivalent of the lines in which after Polixenes has, so he thinks, brought the relationship between his son and Perdita to an end  Perdita says I was not much afraid for once or twice I was about to say the same sun which shines on his palace shines on us here. But there is the pas de deux. Both Ashton and MacMillan would , in their different ways, have created characters with humanity. Unfortunately Wheeldon gives us a pair of dancers who demonstrate their technique as they contend with his choreography. Choreographers make roles on dancers but they also respond to those dancer's individual gifts and the resulting choreography is an amalgam of the two influences. Perhaps it is that fact that Florizel was created on McRae which explains the role's rather one dimensional,step based  almost abstract nature. As McRae and Lamb dance their choreography  we see something akin to a display of dance, as Muntagirov  and Stix Brunell dance, it is less a display and has greater warmth but there is only so much that you can do with the steps that have been set. I wonder what the third cast will bring to it?

 

The third act has a better focus than it did in its initial season. The recognition scene is no longer over in the blink of an eye. This time you can't miss it.

 

It is a great achievement to create a three act  narrative work and an even greater one to make one where the story is told so well. I hope that this ballet  is still work in progress and that Wheeldon will have the inclination to do something about the second act so that Perdta and Florizel are less like cardboard excuses for dance. Shakespeare's act two is pastoral but it has characters rather than generic pastoral types. It would be nice to think that Wheeldon might revisit it after he has seen some more expressive dancers in the roles. The play on which this ballet is based is one of Shakespeare's greatest Wheeldon has it in him to make his ballet a great one. I hope he decides to do so.

You make, as ever, some wonderful points.  I would be hard pressed to think who else could do Leontes.  I live in fear of Watson retiring, especially with the loss of Kobborg.  I only hope that they bring back Mayerling one more time before he goes.  Thank you, as ever, for sharing your knowlege.

[Jamesrhblack]

Mayerling is back next season Penelope

[penelopesimpson]

Mayerling is back next season Penelope

Oh-my-god!  You have made my day.  Thank you so much.  May I ask how you know?  Walking on air!   I shall divert Bolshoi budget to six Mayerlings.

[capybara]

Oh-my-god!  You have made my day.  Thank you so much.  May I ask how you know?  Walking on air!   I shall divert Bolshoi budget to six Mayerlings.

 

This has been on the ROH website since 6th April as is reported in another thread on here:

 

http://www.roh.org.uk/news/ballet-and-dance-201617

 

http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/12179-royal-ballet-201617-season/

[Odyssey]

I think TWT is a "grower" - not least in the wonderful score. Floss, I totally agree about your assessment of Wheeldon's interpretation of this wonderful play although I find the act 2 dances more engaging - I just love the energy of this act and it contrasts so well to the other two. There's so many opportunities for dancers in this ballet to show off both their dramatic skills and dancing prowess.

Edited April 15, 2016 by Odyssey

[Sim]

I am really pleased to see that all the critics have bestowed four or five stars on this ballet, and praised it to the heavens.  I can't remember if it had quite the same level of accolades two years ago, but either way I am so happy for the RB that taking the large step of commissioning a three-act ballet from a difficult story has worked so well.  Fingers crossed that the same happens for Frankenstein, after the recent disappointments of Carmen and Strapless.

[Margaret]

Loved Saturday's matinee performance of Winter's Tale - I thought Francesca Hayward and James Hay particularly wonderful, they dance so well together.  I was also impressed by Hirano as Polixenes and also Soares as Leontes - you could see who this role was choreographed for.  In all a wonderful afternoon at the opera house which was very full.

 

Great to see Gary Avis as ever, does anyone know who danced brother clown?  I didn't think it was Sambe as listed but did not pick up a cast change sheet.

[Bleaden94]

How was Claire Calvert as Hermione? From the pictures the debut cast looked particularly special to witness

[MargaretN7]

How was Claire Calvert as Hermione? From the pictures the debut cast looked particularly special to witness

Excellent. She had me crying in the trial scene.

[MargaretN7]

..., does anyone know who danced brother clown?  I didn't think it was Sambe as listed but did not pick up a cast change sheet.

Yes, it was Marcelino Sambe. And what a clown he was, brilliantly danced and clowned!

[alison]

I am really pleased to see that all the critics have bestowed four or five stars on this ballet, and praised it to the heavens.  I can't remember if it had quite the same level of accolades two years ago,

 

I think it did.  I remember I felt a bit mean mentally "only" giving it 4 stars myself

[Margaret]

Yes, it was Marcelino Sambe. And what a clown he was, brilliantly danced and clowned!

 

Thanks for that, I agree he was great which is why I wanted to check who he was.   I thought I saw a cast change for that role, but was obviously mistaken.  I also thought Claire Calvert was excellent as Hermione.  A really good performance by all.

[FLOSS]

A third cast safely launched and again giving a slightly different slant to the story. Soares is not a dancer who I go out of my way to see. He was disappointing in Song of the Earth last season as he seemed to lack the strength to dance some of it and he has a tendency to give edited highlights of Lescaut's choreography. However he was excellent as Leontes and I think made more of seeking Perdita's forgiveness in the recognition scene than either Watson or Gartside have done. The stage light still goes out before it should in this scene. Hirano gave a strong, well acted account of Polixenes.Calvert was very good in her first big acting dance role and her final pas de deux with Leontes was well judged and effective.Arestis was a very strong Paulina and her dancing was very expressive.

 

Hay and Hayward do not dance the second act's choreography with the same relentless vigour that McRae and Lamb bring to it. The result of their more lyrical approach is that it looks far less driven and somewhat less undifferentiated from the peasant's dances. Some of the lifts still look incredibly awkward as if they are different for novelty's sake rather than for reasons connected with the characters and their story. Reece Clarke made a very effective,authoritative Antigonus. His height helps.

 

While it is true that the two other casts are returning to roles with which they are familiar and are in the process of deepening their portrayals this cast did not suffer from being compared with them. Given that the second cast only came into being because Soares was unable to dance during the initial run it is little short of a miracle that management had enough sense to leave the casts as they were, rather than giving us the originally planned second cast. This third cast is certainly worth seeing.

Edited April 17, 2016 by FLOSS

[alison]

I think the cast change was Kevin Emerton replacing someone - Erico Montes? - as the Steward.

[Duck]

I very much enjoyed Wednesday's performance with the 3rd cast. Great acting by Claire Calvert, I believed in Hermione's pregnancy and her concern for her unborn child in act 1. In relation to the choreography for Leontes, I thought that the frantic movements of the limbs looked much tailored to Edward Watson and that they may be difficult to pull off by other dancers however I really liked Thiago Soares' movements with this mouth to express his emotions, both in act 1 and as part of the reconciliation in act 3. The reconciliation in act 3 was hugely effective given Calvert's acting and Soares' facial versatility.

 

And what joy in act 2 with Francesca Hayward and James Hay with lots of chemistry, they made the love between Perdita and Florizel look completely real. When Perdita is crowned May Queen and starts to dance, the crown came off, Hayward took it, threw it to some of the dancers who were portraying peasants and continued to dance with a massive smile as if nothing had happened. It even looked as if it was part of the story. Great reaction.  

[zxDaveM]

 

 When Perdita is crowned May Queen and starts to dance, the crown came off, Hayward took it, threw it to some of the dancers who were portraying peasants and continued to dance with a massive smile as if nothing had happened. It even looked as if it was part of the story. Great reaction.  

 

... and the dancers that caught it made out it was part of the action too - great stage craft!

[Duck]

I am currently using a public internet terminal where the quote function doesn't work hence a manual copy this morning

 

"... and the dancers that caught it made out it was part of the action too - great stage craft!"

 

Exactly, and then they put the crown back on when the dance was finished. :-)

 

 

[Beryl H]

I happen to particularly like all the dancers in the leading roles in this third cast and was really looking forward to it, plus the happy addition of Marcelino Sambe and Akane Takada, so was probably a bit biased, but enjoyed the performance last night as much as the other casts I saw last time, in fact probably more as I have come to appreciate the ballet a bit better although I still have reservations, mainly concerning the music which does establish a mood for each scene and has huge musical crescendos to the ends of acts, but doesn't have any emotional depth.

 

So glad Thiago Soares danced Leontes at last, perfect role for him, Claire Calvert brings the same purity to Hermione as Lauren Cuthbertson so is ideally suited, thought Christina Arestis the best Paulina I've seen, Francesca Hayward and James Hay didn't have the authority of Sarah Lamb and Steven McRae but were believable as the characters and totally charming, and great to see Reece Clarke pursued by a bear! Ryoichi Hirano continues to impress, if there are any promotions going!

Edited April 21, 2016 by Beryl H

[Jillykins]

So enjoyed last night! Only the second time I have seen Winters Tale. Although it is long it kept my interest all a the time. As mentioned before could bear some pruning but I admit to enjoying all the dancing. Loved all the costumes even if odd at times. Watson has the most amazing body and enormous control. Last night I was aware of how he spoke with his fingers, so expressive. How well Yanovsky matched his contorted movements in Act Three. She was splendid, such expressive arms. Good to see her again. Lauren Cuthbertson impressed in her dancing, acting and bodily control in some very difficult movements. Loved Zuchetti as Clown, he worked so well with Beatrix, I wish they had had more together! I don't want to criticise so I have concentrated on the enjoyment of the evening. Wish I could see other casts!

[Mary]

Just saw Cast 2 and thought Nunez/Gartside were marvellously expressive and human in their roles- especially the reconciliation pas de deux in Act 3 which was far the best performance of this I have seen. It was immensely moving, as they seemed to struggle to come to terms with what had happened, and both brought a depth of experience, a maturity, a quality of understatement to the piece that was very wonderful to watch.

Muntagirov was a very soulful Florizel, and Stix Brunell a dainty Perdita, and once again I thoroughly enjoyed the music, narrative drive, many very good performances and -for a wonder on a Bank Holiday Saturday- the very quiet and very appreciative audience.

[Timmie]

Last night’s The Winter’s Tale was really very good, I hadn’t been expecting to like it that much (not dancey enough for me) but I really enjoyed the performance. Act one was dramatically intense and Bennet Gartside really carried the performance along. Dramatic ballets aren’t really my thing but it was very involving.

 

Before I went I had been expecting to enjoy Act two the most (lots of dancing) it was pleasant enough but just passed by as a sort of filler between the drama. Watching Muntagirov dance the role of Florizel so soon after seeing his Albrecht seemed a bit of a waste.

 

Act three was again really intense and emotional. The reconciliation scene followed by the entrance of Perdita was very moving. Itziar Mendizabal’s Paulina was excellent all the way through and she got loads of applause at the end – very well deserved.

 

Probably not a ballet I will go and see again but I am very happy to have seen it once. It came across far better live than it did on TV. And as Mary noted, a very good audience.

[capybara]

I am becoming more and more impressed by Bennet Gartside's Leontes. He has grown into the character quite wonderfully and I really feel with him as he is overtaken by his delusions. His remorse in Act 3 is very affecting. So pleased that Nunez pushes him forward for a solo bow.

 

 

 Watching Muntagirov dance the role of Florizel so soon after seeing his Albrecht seemed a bit of a waste.

 

 

I understand what you are getting at, Timmie, but Vadim Muntagirov's joyful and beautifully danced Florizel demonstrates his versatility, I think. The choreography was clearly made for someone of Steven McRae's stature and its speed must be a challenge for a taller dancer. However, as we have come to expect from him, Vadim pulls it off and then some.....

[Bruce Wall]

Saw the performance last night and agree with all that Capybara says.  The Gartside/Nunez combination was my favourite principal mix last time round ... and remains so even now.  Moreover, Wheeldon's second act wags a different tail - at least for me - when danced by Muntagirov and the sublime Stix-Brunnell - and most especially when they appear alongside the ever vivacious Naghdi and the delightfully impish Acri.  Suddenly that glorious tree seems somehow to bear more sustainable - or certainly - sustained fruit.  That makes the blossom of their recognition sequences in the third act all the more potent..  Pointedly the second act doesn't feel quite so prolonged (as it has done elsewhere for me) - or artificially forced - but builds in its understandable rapture as a whole.  This team's idyllic tale seems to be told with a concerted sweep rather than in the mixture of its parts - albeit highly decorative ones.  Their dots, for me, are well joined ... and I, for one, attribute THAT to their artistry.  Bravi.  .    

Edited May 1, 2016 by Bruce Wall

[Beryl H]

Saw both performances yesterday, exhausting and not a good ballet to see twice on the same day, but wonderful to see different dancers, liked both the Paulina's very much, Itziar Mendizabal and Christina Arestis were very dramatic, almost Greek looking. At the matinee I was very high up and this improved act 2, it looked more classical and I was aware of how well the dancers use the stage space, the lighting is also very good, although some scenes in acts 1 and 2 are light and shade, everything is clear, it looks Italian and Shakespearean, the second act is also a typical magical forest scene, funny how even in his day Shakespeare did love to get out of the city and into the forest. 

 

One thing I did notice especially yesterday was the Perdita role and how well the choreography was moulded to Sarah Lamb, she is perfect in the role, likewise no-one dances the second act like Steven McRae!