The Royal Ballet: Frankenstein, May 2016

[Angela]

would a chamber piece have been appropriate? It seems to be there is a lot of pressure to produce something spectacular.

 

I did not ask for a chamber piece, I did ask for a piece of artistic value - and if that means to drop the corps de ballet, than do it! If you can use the corps de ballet for a great scene or the whole act, then use it! But don't use the corps de ballet or lots of character soloists just because the AD expects "something spectacular" from you. Spectacular should mean different, something that does not go along the used paths we all know. And no, I did not talk about experimental ballet, I thought I made this clear.

 

ed. for my problems with the English language

Edited May 19, 2016 by Angela

[Lindsay]

http://www.spectator.co.uk/2016/05/the-royal-ballet-is-literally-losing-the-plot/

 

Discuss

[Beryl H]

My third Frankenstein last night, and technical quality was much better this time at the Brighton Odeon, perhaps they have taken notice of the ROH recommendations, still don't think there is enough significant choreography in the first Act apart from the pdd for Victor and Elizabeth, a long solo after his mother's death would establish why Victor wants to create life and Elizabeth's character is very underdanced, tavern scene really boring again, and I wasn't really as frightened by the Creature coming to life as I should have been, a longer pdd there would help too, ending much too rushed. Why does it take so long when there is so little dancing?

 

The second Act felt like a different ballet, this was the first time I started to notice how expressive and at times beautiful the music is, and the dancing is continuous, lovely pdd for Victor and Elizabeth and well filmed last night, it captured the flow of movement. Then the excellent solo for the Creature, emotional dancing from Steven McRae, and how light and 18th century the corps de ballet music felt, some nice choreography here, followed by the dramatic duet for William and the Creature and the violent ending this felt like a well constructed Act. Act 3 starts well too with the beautiful waltz and pdd, but I feel it falls off towards the end, too many deaths in too short a time, and I don't like the Phantom of the Opera references, the Creature doesn't have much time left at the end to establish pathos, but it does have a spectacular visual finale.

 

Glad to see Darcey Bussell back!

[Colman]

I liked Carmen: it made perfect sense as a personal work. Maybe not one for the ages. 

 

Looks like plenty of people like Frankenstein. And not a few liked Strapless. 

 

I read a recent survey of modern art photography and what is told me was that it was almost all gibbering nonsense: a way for critics, galleries and an art world to pleasure themselves and exclude outsiders. The main criteria seemed to be having a esoteric process (travelling to isolated spots to take utterly blurred photos, floating a picture of a river in the river for a few months) and an artists statement that made no sense (generally a comment on the fact that photography is always a representation, got it the fifteenth time, bored now). Making the work affective seems to be a bit too populist. (And this is the polite version of my assessment …) 

 

A lot of ballet criticism seems to be in a similar vein. 

 

(Also, I'm grumpy because I missed the cinema streaming. Local cinema cancelled showing because there weren't enough bookings. No one books because you never need to unless it's Swan Lake or the Nutcracker.)

Edited May 19, 2016 by Colman

[aileen]

Well, having seen it, I don't recommend the RB going down the Lucy Guerin 'Tomorrow' route. However, Lopez Ochoa's one act work about Frido Kahlo for ENB was, IMO, very successful in telling the story of her life in an innovative, more expressionist way. The dancer playing Kahlo didn't even pick up a paintbrush or stand next to an easel. Personally, I find Scarlett a rather conservative choreographer despite his choice of subject matter (prostitution, paedophilia) and reliance on 'sexy effects' eg toplessness (for the women), harlots (again!).

 

Edited to correct a name

Edited May 19, 2016 by aileen

[Lindsay]

I agree Aileen.  The Kahlo ballet was excellent and I also think Scarlett is stuck somewhere in the 1950s (at least with his narrative stuff).

 

I find it quite amusing that McGregor conveyed the essence of three Virginia Woolf novels in one evening, whereas Scarlett missed the point of a far more straightforward single novel in about the same space of time....

[Jillykins]

Two enjoyable and different nights. I really enjoy seeing something new and after the live performance on Tuesday I really didn't know if I thought I had seen something I wanted to see again. However the chance of seeing a different cast made me go to the cinema screen performance, taking my non ballet fan husband. I thought he would hate it but he really enjoyed it! So did I. I think you really do need a second viewing. I saw so much detail on screen that I had missed on stage. I agree it needs pruning, for me too much in anatomy theatre, cut most of tavern. A few snips to birthday party and final waltz. I liked the music and set designs. I expect I show my ignorance but I couldn't understand why Elizabeth wore an identical dress throughout her life, until her wedding.

I enjoyed all the performances. Preferred Bonelli to Dyer. Something to do with longer legs and beautiful line. For me more convincing acting. Loved Lambs Elizabeth, seemed so young and innocent but also really enjoyed Morera's acting and dancing. Both Monsters were excellent but I found Hirano more frightening, maybe his more powerful and threatening body. Hirano and McCrae conveyed real distress and confusion at what they had done. Such an imaginative duet by Victor and Monster.

Great that we have such different reactions! Great that we have such talented dancers, lovely to see such maturity and ability to the two young boys I saw. I personally look forward to watching young Liam Scarlett creating and developing in the future.

[alison]

I expect I show my ignorance but I couldn't understand why Elizabeth wore an identical dress throughout her life, until her wedding.

 

No, I've wondered that, too.  I guess she must be a very thrifty soul

 

I am also still wondering why on earth Victor is in full-on classical-prince white for the wedding, come to that.  It's not as if they went in for Posh'n'Becks-style celebrations back in those days.  And don't all those women in their sparkly dresses know it's incredibly bad form to upstage a bride on her wedding day?

 

Being in London for a work-related thing yesterday afternoon, I did consider staying on for the Trafalgar Square showing, but decided not to in the end.  There weren't many people there at all by the time I left - put off by the weather, perhaps? - but I hope it filled up a bit: I suspect this ballet would have caught the interest of a lot of non-balletgoing people, and as I think I said before, I think it would have benefited from the close-up camerawork.

[FLOSS]

Three points to remember in all this:-

 

1) The critics got Manon horribly wrong. If they had had their way it probably would no t have survived its initial season.

 

2) Some critics write as if they fantasise about being invited to run the RB.

 

3) Over the years ENB has been used at regular intervals by critics as a useful stick to beat the RB with ; and at the moment Tamara is the critics' darling.

 

May I ask those who think that Scarlett's choreographic language is old fashioned what they think it should be like? Would it be better in your opinion if he followed Wheeldon or adopted McGregor's choreographic language? Wheeldon often seems to go in for novelty for novelty's sake, with awkward looking lifts and holds that don't create particularly beautiful or arresting images. In Alice I often think that the solos don't arise naturally out of the narrative but because he is conforming to ballet convention or because he suddenly realised that he had Ed Watson and he had not used him for a bit. The final pas de deux seems to occur only because it is the end of the ballet and you have to have a pas de deux at that point. As far as McGregor is concerned should Scarlett look at the first and third acts of Woolf Works or act two for his model?

Edited May 19, 2016 by FLOSS

[CHazell2]

Will there be an encore screening as I missed it yesterday. Would dearly love to see it. Or is there a DVD to come.

[Fiz]

There is an Encore screening at our local Odeon. We've booked to see it again.

[aileen]

My comment was about Scarlett's overall vision for his works (structure, character development, use of the corps etc) rather then the steps or 'choreographic language' per se. I can't comment on Alice because I've never seen it. I feel that Woolf Works aimed to get to the essence of three of Virginia Woolf's books in a variety of ways. The work would have been less interesting if all three books had been treated in the same way and with each book being presented as a linear narrative. FWIW, I don't much like Manon anyway but perhaps the problem (for me) is that it looks very dated with cluttered sets and ugly wigs.

[Don Q Fan]

I really enjoyed Frankenstein so I am happy with Scarlett's work and kudos to him for doing a classical ballet - such a refereshing change from the gymnastic McGregors of this world.  I try not to go into too much depth, what really matters to me is on the night "did I enjoy it"?  If the answer is yes that'll do me.

[capybara]

Will there be an encore screening as I missed it yesterday. Would dearly love to see it. Or is there a DVD to come.

 

If you go to the ROH page given below and click Encore, you can search for a cinema near you which is showing a replay - mainly this coming Sunday (22nd May):

 

http://www.roh.org.uk/showings/frankenstein-live-2016

[SusanR]

I very much enjoyed Frankenstein at the cinema last night & sorry to read so many negative comments. I thought Liam did wonderfully well & the dancing was superb from all. I agree that the first act could do with pruning a bit & I also found it to be too dark. What really irritated me though was Darcey Bussell. Her hosting skills have improved but she kept giggling like a schoolgirl. Drives me mad. She did look beautiful though. Why do they need two presenters anyway? You can find all the info in the programme or online.

[Timmie]

The Act 3 ballroom scene ...  I loved that scene, it's my kind of ballet.

 

Totally agree with this DQF. If I can't have tutus then Act 3 is as good as it gets for me.

I enjoyed Frankenstein a lot with each Act getting better. I loved Laura Morera in this, totally charming and engaging. The ballet came alive when she was on stage.

[Fiz]

Oh, Susan, snap about your observations and Darcey Bussell. She is an adult and a mother, for goodness sake! A little dignity please!

[Katharina]

After reading all those interesting comments on this thread I couldn´t wait to see this in the cinema.

 

I disagree that Mary Shelley´s "Frankenstein" is a horror story, or rather I disagree that horror is what it is about. I don´t think it is about love either - at least not about the love relationship between Victor and Elizabeth.

The way I understand the novel, it is about hybris, and I would like to tell you what I associated with it:

The story is set in the 18th century which was a time of great scientific discoveries and optimism. I remembered a line from Mozart´s Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), "den Göttern gleich" ("like the Gods"). Since this was also the era of the Enlightenment, there was a tendency to remove God as a central point of focus and replace him with science and rationality (Romanticism later tried to reverse this, which is why it is sometimes called a reactionary movement).

So Victor tries to create life, then turns away and runs, and his creation becomes his nemesis. That seems to me to be a timeless issue, "if God exists, why does he allow ..." I think it is called the theodicy question.

The horror aspect in my opinion is what trivial literature has extracted from it, so in our time the Frankenstein novel can be seen as the source of inspiration of the genre of horror fiction.

 

I was surprised that Liam Scarlett´s ballet has so many opportunities for Victor - Elizabeth pas de deux, and such a lenghty household description - the most conventional part of the story.

 

I don´t think any great novel or play is ever about the plot - it is about ideas and their appropriate expression, the plot being just the frame, the skeleton: the plot of Romeo and Juliet could just as well be that of a soap opera. Therefore a ballet or opera does not need to follow the plot of a literary source in such a literal way as Liam Scarlett has done. In fact new theatre and opera productions have been moving away from this approach for quite some time now.

[JulieW]

I saw it at the cinema last night and sent a message to my daughter afterwards saying it was the best thing I'd seen by the RB in ages. It has its flaws (I'm still irritated by Elizabeth wearing the same dress after 7 years) but overall I loved it. Full of theatre, music was great (if not very memorable but I feel like that about Manon too), I was more and more moved as the evening went on, and was gripped by the performancee. And I didn't have to fight stay awake like I do sometimes in an evening cinema showing lol!

 

I don't hold it against them that there were odd things about story or that the characters could've been portrayed differently - since when has ballet been "realistic"?

[Angela]

May I ask those who think that Scarlett's choreographic language is old fashioned what they think it should be like? Would it be better in your opinion if he followed Wheeldon or adopted McGregor's choreographic language?

 

I don't think Scarlett should follow anybody's choreographic language - I guess what I missed was some kind of personal touch, just a small hint that he has some language of his own - what I saw was just a string of academic elements. Maybe a longing in the port de bras, maybe new lifts, maybe very small inclusions of contemporary/everyday movements, a touch of sophistication or a different phrasing: whatever. Maybe as a choreographer you need a style, like a writer - that does not mean you have to refrain from the classical vocabulary, not at all. But this looked even "older" than MacMillan or Cranko. Well, that's my big question here: is it possible to use the academic steps in a new, (slightly) different way to develop the story ballet into the future? Until now I think Wheeldon is doing much better here. And speaking from a German point of view: I wish you knew some of John Neumeier's full-length works in Britain. Even if I don't like his steps sometimes, he is light years ahead of Scarlett when it comes to dramaturgy and telling a story.

[Paul Arrowsmith]

 I wish you knew some of John Neumeier's full-length works in Britain. Even if I don't like his steps sometimes, he is light years ahead of Scarlett when it comes to dramaturgy and telling a story.

 

I agree much with much of what you say Angela, particularly in relation to use of a classical language interestingly put.

 

I would differ only from you when say 'light years ahead.' I think just different. 

[Lindsay]

Perhaps part of the problem is that Scarlett has never really had to prove himself.  He was nurtured as an 'insider' through the RBS and then the company, with access to excellent dancers and a supportive audience from the start of his choreographic efforts. Despite all that he has not developed in any significant way since Asphodel Meadows and,by moving into narrative, the quality of the work has actually declined.  And I don't think we should be describing him as 'young' and 'learning' after 10 years of work and main stage commissions at the RB and around the world.

 

I agree with Ismene Brown and others that the RB shows an outrageous degree of complacency in repeatedly feeding  commissions to Scarlett, Acosta, Wheeldon and Marriott (the last two both RBS alumni also).

 

Bringing McGregor in from 'the outside world' was by far the best decision of Mason's directorship but the current administration shows no signs of making similar decisions (one commission from someone as well established as Akram Khan really doesn't cut it).

 

Might it be possible to have choreographers come in and pitch for a commission from the company? It doesn't have to be an open, public competition, since obviously some experience is needed to work on a stage that big, but SOMETHING is needed to shake up the cosiness  

 

Repeatedly mining the same pool of 20-30 dancers each year who come through RBS and the even smaller pool who make it into the company does not seem to me a reliable way to find the most promising choreographers with potential to develop in interesting ways.

[John Mallinson]

Akram Khan? Surely you mean Crystal Pite! But same difference.

[zxDaveM]

 

 

I agree with Ismene Brown and others that the RB shows an outrageous degree of complacency in repeatedly feeding  commissions to Scarlett, Acosta, Wheeldon and Marriott (the last two both RBS alumni also).

 

Bringing McGregor in from 'the outside world' was by far the best decision of Mason's directorship but the current administration shows no signs of making similar decisions (one commission from someone as well established as Akram Khan really doesn't cut it).

 

 

Does Crystal Pite not count? Or Hofesh Shechter? David Dawson?

The last Alastair Marriott piece was stunning, to my mind

[LinMM]

I went on Wednesday night and very much enjoyed this new ballet it has some really fine moments but am VERY busy at mo will post a bit more of a review.....though of course only my opinion.....as soon as get a mo! But yes it's a fine achievement for Scarlett.

Putting on a full length ballet is a pretty daunting process for any choreographer however much experienced so well done to him and the whole cast on Wednesday.

[Lindsay]

Sorry - I did mean Crystal Pite.  And Hofesh is very well established too.  And David Dawson (another RBS alumni by the way) has done his most interesting work for European companies.

 

None of that takes away from the point that the proportion of commissions going to a few insiders is outrageous.  Throwing a few bones to 'safe bet' outsiders with stellar reputations does not change that.

 

Without the leg up he has been given by the RB I would go so far as to say that Scarlett would not be thought of as anywhere near the same level as Pite, Schechter, Dawson or many others you might care to mention.  It is really an outrageous piece of cronyism that he got the nod for Swan Lake.

[Fonty]

 

 

Bringing McGregor in from 'the outside world' was by far the best decision of Mason's directorship but the current administration shows no signs of making similar decisions (one commission from someone as well established as Akram Khan really doesn't cut it).

 

Why do you think that, Lindsay?   If the idea was for McGregor to use his contemporary background to work within the traditional  mould, and create some new, interesting classical ballets, then it has failed. 

 

Yes, he has produced lots of new work, none of which has done anything to raise the standards of the dancers, or even used their training to good effect IMO.  Moreover, the young choreographers coming through don't have any examples of new classical works to inspire them.  Hence, someone who wants to create a more traditional piece for the RB has to delve into the archives.

Edited May 20, 2016 by Fonty

[zxDaveM]

why is it outrageous? They have been brought in (and I assume paid) to make new work, for the company that pays them - so of course they'll get a lot of commissions. That's plain sense to me. Wheeldon and Scarlett have had successes in the USA for example, as well as ROH, and the Swan Lake going to someone brought through from school-company-commisioned choreographer for such an iconic work, for the company that nurtured him, seems a natural fit in my mind.

[Lindsay]

What is outrageous is that a heavily state-funded company is funding work that could have been made in the 19th century.  It's as if modernism, expressionism, and a zillion other important developments have passed them by.  

 

There is no evidence of a brain at work behind any of this.  If you look at the the theatrical work, art, modern dance, music and yes, I will say it, Tamara's commissions at ENB that are all available to London audiences, the RB's offerings are for the most part pitiful and ossified.  

 

Yes, they should preserve the classics but if they are just going to dance those (and frankly not as well as the Russians) while we discuss endlessly the revolving soap-opera of principal casting, then I don't see the justifcation for continuing the huge subsidy.

 

Ashton and Macmillan  were groundbreaking in their day.  They were linked in to artistic developments beyond the company and that fed through into their work.  McGregor is the only 'regular' choreographer at the opera house who appears ever to stick his head outside the 'ballet bubble'.  His work is not to everyone's taste but the solution to that should not be sticking to safe, conservative, more of the same.  It should be to find other choreographers with brains and new ideas and let us see their take on the form, using the brilliant dancers that the RB has at its disposal.

[zxDaveM]

I do agree with may of your points - but part of the RB's attraction IS its tradition, which is why the Tchaikovsky works always sell out, whereas the new works don't - they have a duty to put on the tradional works that people still want to see - especially the more casual ballet viewer who are unlikely to be reading anything on this forum

[Lindsay]

But if they are just going to dance Tchaikovsky for tourists and people taking their children to the Nutcracker at Christmas, I'm not sure that justifies state-funding.  As you rightly say, those ballets sell out, so they can present them on a commercial basis - as West End musicals have to.

 

To justify huge subsidies there must be some kind of artistic purpose and at the moment I really struggle to see what that is.  

[annamk]

Great post Lindsay - I completely agree with you. To my mind Scarlett produced some interesting early work as a result of which he was seized upon by the RB as the next MacMillan the company so deeply desires to carry forward the dance/acting tradition. Unfortunately, Scarlett's forays into story ballet have been been based on odd choices of subject & have resulted in expensive productions in which tedious choreography & poor storytelling are masked by terrific staging.

[LinMM]

There's room for every style in the Royal Ballet!!

 

I don't mind McGregor but or Hofesh Schecter but wouldn't want to see just all their work!!

 

We do,need choreographers who are prepared to create something new but albeit in a more classical style or eventually one runs the risk of the style dying out! And I personally would hate that!!

 

Do you like Classical Ballet Lindsay? Not everybody does.

I say this because of the comments about Scarlett " being stuck in the 19th Century"

 

The classical style is timeless to me so am glad to see NEW classical works .......as well as the old ones and of course the more modern and Contemporary developments of the style.....room for ALL ....I hope!