The Royal Ballet: Frankenstein, May 2016

[LinMM]

Sorry you feel so disappointed by this work MAB

 

Was it more the subject matter ......eg is there a three Act ballet in it for example? ....or more the choreography and or music which let it down for you?

 

Somebody earlier asked about the music and whether it suited the choreography etc

Well I thought it sort of did fit the choreography in that sense they felt connected but on the other hand I wasn't exactly bowled over by the music

There seemed to be no real highs or lows in it.........as with so many modern ballet scores recently......and certainly didn't enhance the drama of such a theme for me......but luckily didn't turn it into a melodrama either!

It was just okay......and as with the dancing best of it in the third Act I think.

[A frog]

The last pdd between Victor and the creature was the only part I truly liked.

Apart from that there was nothing truly wrong, it was overall pleasant enough. You were given a spectacle which I suppose is still a good enough way to spend an evening at the theatre.

 

If the RB are going to continue having a new full evening length every other year , we can't expect greatness every time, and that this was the least successful they've done since they started commissioning three-acts works again is still quite an achievement. If, in the long run, a wider proportion of the audience gets used to going to see new works and stops equating ballet with the Tchaikovsky ones or a couple of the Ashton/MacMillan (usually based on stories they're more familiar with than they are with the choreographers), I'll definitely count it as a positive.

[aileen]

I haven't seen it but it sounds to me that Scarlett has chosen to make the central relationship the one between Victor and Elizabeth rather than the one between Victor and the Creature which distorts the story and robs it of much of its psychological drama. Without this, the story becomes a pedestrian horror story. It would be interesting to know why Scarlett took this approach. It could of course be that it arose out of the need / desire to provide a lead role for a senior ballerina.

[Mary]

I haven't seen it but it sounds to me that Scarlett has chosen to make the central relationship the one between Victor and Elizabeth rather than the one between Victor and the Creature which distorts the story and robs it of much of its psychological drama. Without this, the story becomes a pedestrian horror story. It would be interesting to know why Scarlett took this approach. It could of course be that it arose out of the need / desire to provide a lead role for a senior ballerina.

Yes, I have seen it and thought that was the central weakness.

The problem is that there isn't really a story attached to this relationship- it is just a situation, (childhood sweethearts..grow up..she is keener than he is to marry...) which does not provide enough drama for the time allotted to it, wonderful as the dancers were, and lyrical as were their pas de deuxs......in my opinion.

 

I have yet to see Scarlett write a really interesting female role-the female characters are victims who get mauled and killed in unpleasant ways, or saints like Elizabeth  (who also gets killed of course).  I acknowledge that I might have missed it, as I am not sure I have seen all his work.

 

This is a contrast to Wheeldon who has managed to create some marvellous female roles, e.g. in Winter's Tale.

 

So I feel Scarlett is rather old-fashioned in this very unfortunate respect. It is an influence of Macmillan perhaps, but in Macmillan I feel there is enough complexity of character at times, to somehow make these scenarios of women being abused and killed ( as in Manon and Mayerling) less one-dimensional.

[MAB]

Not sure I would class Woolf Works as a full length ballet.  When I saw it, I thought it was 3 one act ballets united by a common theme, and any one of the acts would stand alone as part of a triple bill. 

 

Strictly speaking you are right but Woolf Works was conceived as a full length work, just as Jewels was.  Both ballets deal with a theme, Virginia Woolf and gems.  I believe it took some years before Jewels was cut up, perhaps WW will be too, but I would prefer that it wasn't.  I can think of other full lengths that don't deal with a narrative as such, Angelin Prelocaj's Casanova for example which was made up of disparate episodes with the common theme of sexuality. 

 

The bottom line is that as far as I'm concerned two out of the last three RB full lengths have been flops.

[MAB]

Sorry you feel so disappointed by this work MAB

 

Was it more the subject matter ......eg is there a three Act ballet in it for example? ....or more the choreography and or music which let it down for you?

 

 

 

I don't object to the subject matter, I actually liked Wayne Eagling's take on the story, but he pretty much deconstructed it, though somehow it retained the gothic chills even though the events were out of time.

 

The new Frankenstein has no real structure, it rambles and for me is crashingly boring.  The dancers were all good but deserved better.  For the record I thought the middle act was not as bad as the first. The last act at least had the advantage of being short.

[alison]

I've just caught up with this review of the screening, courtesy of this week's Links page:

 

http://exeuntmagazine.com/reviews/review-frankenstein-odeon-covent-garden/

 

I think it's a pretty good assessment of what needs to be changed - and doesn't give into the "how marvellous it all was" attitude that so many reviews of screenings seem to fall into.

[CHazell2]

 

The bottom line is that as far as I'm concerned two out of the last three RB full lengths have been flops.

 

I am sorry that you feel like that MAB. Personally I loved the Winter's Tale because it was a very powerful ballet and dealt with some serious themes and I thought the acting in the broadcast was superb. I also quite liked Alice but I think that it didn't quite hold together as a ballet. I think that the ending was not the right one - I believe that Alice in the ballet was meant to be the real Alice Liddell and so I think that the ending set in the present day didn't quite work.

[zxDaveM]

 

The bottom line is that as far as I'm concerned two out of the last three RB full lengths have been flops.

 

flop, as in selling out the theatre and lots and lots of people enjoying them. Here's to more 'flops'

[A frog]

flop, as in selling out the theatre and lots and lots of people enjoying them. Here's to more 'flops'

 

The Winter's Tale revival sold noticeably less well already and had to have offers, the true test for any new work is profitability in the long run. Alice so far is the only indubitable success from a financial perspective.

[aileen]

The Winter's Tale did have a lot of performances though. Tickets for Manon were also discounted in the last, long, run. I think that, with the exception of Swan Lake, Nutcracker, R&J, Giselle and perhaps Alice, few programmes / ballets can sell more than about a dozen performances.

[A frog]

The Winter's Tale did have a lot of performances though. Tickets for Manon were also discounted in the last, long, run. I think that, with the exception of Swan Lake, Nutcracker, R&J, Giselle and perhaps Alice, few programmes / ballets can sell more than about a dozen performances.

 

Yes, between that last Manon run (and the previous short-ish one that came right on the heel of one six months earlier, I remember then empty-ish amphitheatres) and the Winter's Tale revival, the RB seems to have overestimated the audience's interest for these ballets following a very successful run (same thing with Anna Nicole when it comes to opera).

 

I'd be curious to know what occupancy rate they need to be profitable.

[Sim]

My second viewing was last night.  I went with an open mind and really wanted to like this ballet....but I failed to achieve my goal.  Although I was standing up, I was almost asleep by the end of Act 1.  Act 2 was brought alive by a lovely performance from Yasmine Naghdi as Justine, a nicely danced pdd from Lamb and Dyer, and Kish a revelation as The Creature.  By Act 3, I had gone home.

 

I won't repeat myself here because everything I said in my initial review still stands.  Somewhere in here there is a good ballet waiting to break out, but there is much that it needs to leave behind.  IMHO, with a much clearer narrative, and much better music, and suitable cuts made, I would enjoy it a lot more.  But then, it would be a totally different ballet.

[aileen]

The pricing structure for ballets like Manon and Winter's Tale and some of the more 'popular' mixed programmes is interesting. The best seats in the stalls and the Grand Tier may be significantly cheaper than for the blockbusters but the seats in the amphitheatre do not seem to be discounted in the same proportion. Consequently, they are still quite expensive for the people who would normally choose these seats and I think that this is why the stalls and the GT can have sold quite well whereas the amphitheatre is pretty empty. This is certainly the case with me and I don't suppose that I am alone in passing on ballets or programmes which I am ambivalent about seeing because they are just a bit too expensive.

[alison]

On the other hand, what does become clear with the less well-known ballets is that it's far better (when you are the RB, which has the luxury) to spread them well out rather than clump them all together near the opening night.  Despite our "always-on" culture, it seems that it still takes some considerable time for the message to get through about a ballet and for people to book tickets - the last performances of both Frankenstein and WT are all sold out, more or less, even if take-up was slow on some of the earlier performances.

[tabitha]

I think I must be the only person who liked the music. I thought the music was incredible and more than dramatic enough when it needed to be, with real quality and depth. I also loved the sets.

[A frog]

The pricing structure for ballets like Manon and Winter's Tale and some of the more 'popular' mixed programmes is interesting. The best seats in the stalls and the Grand Tier may be significantly cheaper than for the blockbusters but the seats in the amphitheatre do not seem to be discounted in the same proportion. Consequently, they are still quite expensive for the people who would normally choose these seats and I think that this is why the stalls and the GT can have sold quite well whereas the amphitheatre is pretty empty. This is certainly the case with me and I don't suppose that I am alone in passing on ballets or programmes which I am ambivalent about seeing because they are just a bit too expensive.

I think I remember that Manon run to be have top price tickets in the 80-90 range (and it wasn't that long ago, sigh...), and the amphi seats that were most badly sold were the mid-range ones (rows j-k I believe) which would support what you're saying.

 

I'm definitely more picky these days about what I buy, half of it is that I've already seen almost everything they put on so a couple of performances a run if that tends to be enough, and prices have increased far beyond inflation. I can only imagine how much of a deterrent it is for people who aren't already fans.

[Mary]

Yes it is expensive but is it that different to West End theatre prices?

[Jan McNulty]

Yes it is expensive but is it that different to West End theatre prices?

I never ceased to be amazed at the prices of (in particular) West End musicals! They are starting to make ballet at Covent Garden look cheap!!!

[A frog]

Most Wend End shows have cheapest tickets in the 15-20 range, similar to RB (there are cheaper but standing or restricted view is unlikely to appeal to newcomers); for 40 (the price of the vastly unsold Manon tickets I mentioned above) you start to get very good seats if not the best if you buy them through the tkts booth, not somewhere halfway in the amphitheatre.

Don't get me wrong, I think most West End shows are huge rip-offs, but for someone who's just looking for a night out now and then, they'll still be cheaper (not to mention easier to get your hands on without planning months in advance).

Edited May 27, 2016 by A frog

[aileen]

Yes, the West End and theatres like The Old Vic and The Almeida can be very expensive. However, there are discounts around. The best tickets in the house for mid-week matinee performances of The Caretaker at the Old Vic were reduced to £30 for pensioners and I don't think that these were stand-by tickets. It's an opportunity cost issue in terms of time, money and energy. If you pass on that fairly expensive ticket for, say, Winter's Tale or Manon which you are not that fussed about seeing again you can devote that time, money and energy to seeing something else. Personally, I prefer to see companies and works which I have not seen before to seeing the same ballets repeatedly with different casts. There are exceptions and I like to go to The Nutcracker every Christmas because it's a festive thing to do.

[Sim]

We are veering a bit off course here folks.   The subject of ticket prices is always an interesting one;  if the discussion is going to continue, shall I make a new thread?

[FLOSS]

Ballet and opera are both incredibly labour intensive art forms which generally require far more people than the average West End show. The big difference between West End musical  shows and ballet performances at the Royal Opera House is that he West End show will use a small, over amplified, pit band while the RB uses a full orchestra and in a ballet like Daphnis and Chloe the opera house chorus which all adds to the cost of performance. Of course  if you have never heard a full orchestra you don't know what you are missing. The quickest way to reduce prices would be to axe the live music. Do you want over amplified canned music?

 

The RB needs to cover its operating costs, but as far as I can see after that it is free to do what it likes as far as cross subsidising  programmes is concerned. You see how much the company depends on a limited number of ballets for its financial security when you look at the  ballets that appear to be on a timetable for regular revival.. When it comes to the cost of tickets for Sleeping Beauty and Nutcracker the once a year audience is paying for tickets for ballets like Raven Girl to  be sold at "popular" prices. I  am not sure whether this is because it is thought that if they are not sold at a discount no one will attend performances or whether they are thought to be ballets which are more likely to appeal to the impecunious young ballet goer.

 

As far as Frankenstein is concerned it seems to be popular with an audience which is far more mixed than usual by which I mean far more people who are not regular ballet goers seem to be in the audience. Tonight is the last performance and then it is off to San Francisco Ballet. Whatever we all think about it I think that it will be revived here in due course. When it comes back I hope that having staged virtually the entire book Scarlett is persuaded to pare the ballet down to only what is absolutely essential  to the narrative beginning with  cutting the sections described as "prologue". Then looking at each scene in  act 1 eliminating everything that is not directly connected to the creation of the Creature. This would mean recognising and accepting that Elizabeth is only a subsidiary character and should only be on stage when her presence is absolutely essential to the narrative. The initial anatomy theatre scene needs cutting , the brothel scene should be completely cut.The creation of the Creature takes too long while Victor's response to his creation is too peremptory.

 

Act 2 should begin with the Creature at the front of the stage so that the entire audience is aware of his presence throughout the scene even it can't see him. Perhaps that is the point to give him the opportunity to express his loneliness. The rest of the act should be left as it is except for the execution. I am not sure that it is necessary. In the last act I think that we should be made aware of the Creature's presence before the guests begin dancing. I think that the way that Henry participates in the celebration makes him look too much like the Jester in Cinderella. These are only suggestions. It will be very interesting to see what the choreographer does to adjust it. Sadly at the moment I can't help thinking that the season in which O'Hare plans to programme all the new works created during his tenure is likely to be a very cheap one for me.

Edited May 27, 2016 by FLOSS

[Vanartus]

Completely agree.

[Vanartus]

Particularly the Jester bit!

[Lindsay]

I thought Henry's part was more like Mercutio at the ball - like the pastiche of Prokofiev's Cinderella music, just randomly visiting from another ballet.  Very odd.

[alison]

Most Wend End shows have cheapest tickets in the 15-20 range, similar to RB (there are cheaper but standing or restricted view is unlikely to appeal to newcomers); .

Really? They must have dropped their prices considerably, then. Last time I looked, I was pushed to find anything much under £25.

[FLOSS]

There are two questions any would be choreographer should ask himself about a narrative ballet. The first is about the story itself. Is the story suitable for ballet treatment. A story over dependent on language is unlikely to work although elements of it may work. Antony Tudor made a success of a ballet based on the gulling of Malvolio. The second question relates to essence of the story being told. Whose story is being narrated and from whose viewpoint? Essentially Scarlett should have asked himself "Whose story am I telling ?". If he had done that the ballet might not have meandered quite so much and given us so much unnecessary detail..

[A frog]

Really? They must have dropped their prices considerably, then. Last time I looked, I was pushed to find anything much under £25.

 

Maybe not for the most popular ones or long-running musicals, I think I paid something close to 40 for Book Of Mormons (in previews even) which is still the only West End musical I've ever been interested in seeing.

But the production of No Man's Land later this year with Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen for instance had tickets starting from 10 and some stalls seats for 45 (last couple of rows but still). More and more theatres also seem to be doing day or week tickets for 20 and under (and they tend to be first row of the stalls, not last of the amphitheatre), I had for instance paid 15 to go see Skylight (then with Bill Nighy and Carey Mulligan).

 

ETA: and checking now a show which I guess would interest some here, An American In Paris tickets start at 17.50, 19.50 once previews are over.

Edited May 27, 2016 by A frog

[jmhopton]

Henry's dance in the last act reminded me of Bratfisch in Mayerling; even the music seemed a bit similar. I spent most of it trying to visualise Alex as Bratfisch. I think he would be a natural (if he hadn't already done it).

[capybara]

Henry's dance in the last act reminded me of Bratfisch in Mayerling; even the music seemed a bit similar. I spent most of it trying to visualise Alex as Bratfisch. I think he would be a natural (if he hadn't already done it).

 

Yes; he's danced Bratfish 

[Mary]

Yes; he's danced Bratfish 

Yes, he was a natural!

[Quintus]

Caught it at last tonight. I was middlewhelmed. The first act needs some pruning, there were some definite longueurs there, but the second act really picked up.  I think some of the music is too bland - this is a Gothic story and the music could contribute more to building that atmosphere - as it does do successfully, swirling and unsettling, in the ballroom scene, which I found reminiscent of the film adaptation of Poe's Masque of the Red Death. I didn't find it emotionally engaging most of the time; I very much remained an interested but detached spectator rather than being immersed. McRae was impressive, though I knew what to expect there from all the publicity clips.  The highlight of the evening for me was Fran Hayward, who did draw me in emotionally and was altogether a delight to watch.