Royal Ballet: Obsidian Tear bill, May-June 2016

[Beryl H]

I agree about the music in Within The Golden Hour, almost inaudible at times from where I was sitting, and too dark, I began to wish I hadn't bothered to stay, nice to see Matthew Golding and Lauren Cuthbertson again though, I thought Obsidian Tear and The Invitation got marvellous final performances, so pleased to see Wayne McGregor come onstage and get so much adulation, what a follow up to Woolf Works!

[Don Q Fan]

I saw the matinee yesterday after successfully seeing some Royals at Trooping of the Colour.  I didn't get much from Obsidian Tear though I liked the orange glow effect from the orange perspex overhanging the orchestra pit.  Who was the man in red trousers?  Quite a few new names to me.  I did think this was very similar to Rite of Spring with the red trouser man being the Chosen One.  Wayne McGregor was circulating in the Amphi Bar in the first interval.  I won't rush to see OT again, if ever.  The Invitation was very good, but I found it very darkly lit from my seat in the Amphi - I just wish it had been a bit brighter so I could take in more of the acting from the wonderful dancers.  I thought Yasmine Naghdi was very good indeed.  I would like to see it again from a closer vantage point, but it's finished now hey ho. Within the Golden Hour was good, and again needed slightly brighter lighting for those sitting miles away.  Do lighting designers/engineers EVER try sitting in the Amphi to see what it is like?  I really liked the dancing and special praise for the Alexander Campbell/Yuhui Choe first big PDD midway through I loved them!  I have to say I found the piece very reminiscent of DGV another Wheeldon piece I like - was the music by the same composer - it had elements of DGV about it which is possibly why I linked the 2 works.

I was very pleased to meet up with LinMM, Janet, Jacqueline, Fonty, Indigo and Pulcinella, nice to put a face to a nom de plume!

At the stage door I was chuffed to meet Alexander Campbell after the show and congratulate him on both his performance and promotion. He said he is very excited by the promotion, so I am very much looking forward to seeing more of him next season.  It was also lovely to see Vadim Muntagirov with Daria Klimentova arriving for the evening show and also Roberta Marquez who was just leaving.  

The only blot on the day was slight sighting of the naked bike riders just as I went into the restaurant opposite ROH for my tea  

Edited June 12, 2016 by Don Q Fan

[alison]

I forgot to save a copy of the casting page for Obsidian Tear while it still had both casts on it   For future reference, does anyone feel like posting the second cast in relation to their counterparts in the first cast?  I think both lots were simply listed alphabetically in the cast sheet.

 

Ed Watson - Nicol Edmonds

Alexander Campbell - James Hay

... but then I start getting a bit lost. 

Was it Tristan Dyer - Fernando Montano?

I did note who was doing Paul Kay's role, but have forgotten for the time being.

 

Thought all the company still looked to be on very good form last night, which is good since they have a tour coming up.

[billboyd]

 And to find nine separate credits listed for the fairly dire costumes was almost beyond belief.

 

 

And these emperor's new clothes must have cost a fortune.

[Ian Macmillan]

DQF: Further to the lighting for The Invitation, I'm told that the original production had a very clear difference between the lighting level for the earlier daytime scene as people arrived and that for the later evening scene.  There didn't seem much difference last night.

[alison]

Now you mention it, I'm surprised it was so dark throughout - that's not my recall (admittedly pretty dodgy) from the previous outing.

[Balletfanp]

And these emperor's new clothes must have cost a fortune.

And Ryoichi Hirano only appeared to be wearing shorts and a T-shirt. Pay me a fortune, and I'll design that for them....

 

(Edited to correct Hirano's surname, which autocorrect had decided must be Hitachi! - second time around just now, it tried Hudson....)

Edited June 12, 2016 by Balletfanp

[Bluebird]

I forgot to save a copy of the casting page for Obsidian Tear while it still had both casts on it   For future reference, does anyone feel like posting the second cast in relation to their counterparts in the first cast?  I think both lots were simply listed alphabetically in the cast sheet.

.

 

The ROH website lists the casts in the order of their roles in the piece.  

 

I've attempted to reproduce the listings side by side below.  eg Ed Watson has the same role as  Nicol Edmonds and so on down the list:

 

Edward Watson                      Nicol Edmonds

Ryoichi Hirano                        Reece Clarke

Alexander Campbell               James Hay

Luca Acri                                Sander Blommaert

Tristan Dyer                            Fernando Montaño

Paul Kay                                 Marcelino Sambé

Eric Underwood                      David Donnelly

Matthew Ball                           Benjamin Ella 

Calvin Richardson                  Lukas Bjørneboe Brændsrød

Edited June 12, 2016 by Bluebird

[Bluebird]

I saw the matinee yesterday after successfully seeing some Royals at Trooping of the Colour.  I didn't get much from Obsidian Tear though I liked the orange glow effect from the orange perspex overhanging the orchestra pit.  Who was the man in red trousers?  

 

Lukas Bjørneboe Brændsrød

[Don Q Fan]

Thank you Bluebird!

[Don Q Fan]

DQF: Further to the lighting for The Invitation, I'm told that the original production had a very clear difference between the lighting level for the earlier daytime scene as people arrived and that for the later evening scene. There didn't seem much difference last night.

Thank you and yes that would seem reasonable had they actually made a distinction.

[alison]

Lukas Bjørneboe Brændsrød

 

I hope I never have to type *that* name when I'm on the laptop.  Stupid thing won't even do standard French accents these days

 

Thanks, Bluebird.  I was assuming the casting would be down from the website now, but guess it may still be around on the individual ballet page.

[Balletfanp]

I saw last night's performance. I had also seen the general rehearsal a couple of weeks ago, and hadn't really engaged with Obsidian Tear then. It did improve on a second viewing - brilliantly danced, of course, and certainly quite compelling - but I did find it a bit repetitive after a while, and as someone else said, there was an awful lot going on on stage. I found I couldn't keep up with it all and my attention wandered a bit. I did find the ending, with Matthew Ball silhouetted against the orange glow before throwing himself into the abyss, quite effective.

 

I really enjoyed The Invitation (if "enjoy" is the right word...). I suppose it has dated a bit, but the overall story and message is so compelling that it overrode any small flaws in my eyes. Needless to say, all the main performances were superb. I thought Muntagirov and Hayward made the most adorable pairing. They hit off the naivety, playfulness, and coy, innocent adolescent flirting perfectly - which served to throw into even greater relief the contrast after the terrible deed has taken place. I found it almost unbearably touching how she runs to her cousin for comfort after the rape has happened - only to recoil when he becomes a little amorous.

 

Gary Avis was quite wonderful (for a nice chap he plays villains awfully well!), and Yanowsky also brilliant. When she sides with her broken husband after the rape, it seems that she has finally taken control of their relationship (and him) and has gained the upper hand - at the expense, of course, of two innocent lives ruined; although on the face of it, the boy hasn't really suffered, but he has lost the cousin he loves. All quite hard to watch but quite brilliantly acted by them all. And a word for Mayara Matrix as the hen - really good - and Isabella Gasparini as a very annoying little girl!

 

I loved Golden Hour! So beautiful, flowing and uplifting after the first two ballets, and the music gorgeous. I find the end, with the curtain closing on them all moving fluidly together onstage, very effective.

 

I fully intended to try to find fellow Balletco-ers in the interval, but I was ragingly thirsty, and by the time I had queued for water, then queued for the toilets in the intervals I had to rush back! I did bump into Janet purely by chance, though!

[Balletfanp]

Mayara Magri! I'm really going to have to figure out how to switch off autocorrect....!

[RuthE]

I did find the ending, with Matthew Ball silhouetted against the orange glow before throwing himself into the abyss, quite effective.

Sadly at the matinee the ending was spoiled by a lighting error - the blackout happened a few seconds too early, so you never saw the dancer (Benjamin Ella in that cast, I think?) throw himself off the back. Somebody on the technical crew must have been kicking themself hard...

[LinMM]

Aha now I understand .....had been thinking never saw a second person go over....and if that was Benjamin Ella ...what a fine dancer he is becoming....loved his dancing and congrats to the young Aud Jebsen dancer then in the role of the man in Orange ...both those two fantastic in this piece in the matinee.

Sorry will full report back tomorrow!

[Jacqueline]

I do agree about the lighting. It seemed a little murky for The Invitation and there was little or no differentiation between daytime and evening. Golden Hour was a bit soupy as well. Where I was sitting in the Grand Tier, it was bordering on being too dark to pick out much in the way of  dancers' features and facial expressions, apart from anguish or beaming smiles. It felt like you were seeing them through gauze.

Due to migraine, I am apparently 'light phobic' and can't deal with bright light, whether sunlight or artificial. Soft lighting suits me fine but that is not the same as dim light and I did wonder, if I was finding it hard to see detail, what it must be like for people higher up and further back.

The further away from the stage you sit or obviously, if you sit somewhere with a restricted view, the more detail you will lose but that should only be due to distance, not poor lighting. The same with music, it shouldn't be inaudible anywhere in the auditorium surely. Whoever is responsible for staging the work should ensure these things don't happen.

[lyn]

Sadly at the matinee the ending was spoiled by a lighting error - the blackout happened a few seconds too early, so you never saw the dancer (Benjamin Ella in that cast, I think?) throw himself off the back. Somebody on the technical crew must have been kicking themself hard...

 

 

I actually originally thought that was a nice bit of artistry! Where they caught him just as he was deciding what to do.

 

I did peer overly hard for blue badges but could find none! I suppose I did have my head down in twitter all night as well..

Edited June 13, 2016 by lyn

[Sim]

I was there for the matinee and evening on Saturday and I thought that lighting blip was inexcusable....they have done it enough times over the past few weeks.  I know everyone makes mistakes, but that one ruined the ending of the whole ballet;  I think it is very important to know that the Ball/Ella character jumps into the void after his friend.  It is also a wonderful moment that makes everyone gasp at the very end.  On Saturday, everyone just sat there not knowing what happened and whether it was over or not.  There were an awkward good few seconds until the applause started.  A friend of mine, whose first viewing it was, was a bit non-plussed and said she wished she'd known that Ben jumps over at the end;  it would have changed her whole view of what came before. 

[Fonty]

Sim, I didn't realise that was supposed to happen either.  I didn't go back to read any reviews, so if anyone mentioned it I had forgotten.  I did think the ending was rather odd at the time.  We didn't know whether we were supposed to start clapping or not. 

[LinMM]

I think this explains also why the dancing went on for awhile after the "chosen one" went over.

 

The fact that he was tormented at losing his friend explains that if you know he also jumps over.

 

I would like to double check who danced in orange at the matine .....was it the young Aud Jebsen dancer Lukas or Nicol Edmonds?

[bangorballetboy]

I would like to double check who danced in orange at the matine .....was it the young Aud Jebsen dancer Lukas or Nicol Edmonds?

 

Lukas.

[Sim]

Nicol Edmonds danced the 'dress role'..... very good he was, too!

[LinMM]

Sorry who danced that initial duet then Lukas and was it Benjamin Ella( who I thought it was) or Nicol Edmonds then?

 

Sorry I had a cast list but no programme and all the dancers in this piece were just listed together

[Jacqueline]

Sadly at the matinee the ending was spoiled by a lighting error - the blackout happened a few seconds too early, so you never saw the dancer (Benjamin Ella in that cast, I think?) throw himself off the back. Somebody on the technical crew must have been kicking themself hard...

Well, I am afraid I was none the wiser as to this error. I saw the second dancer jump into the 'abyss' but can't remember the lighting or thinking that anything seemed amiss. I must have been half asleep! I suppose I just assumed it meant 'whatever' and as such, was what it was, in a Wayne's world sort of way. I don't even think I realised the applause was initially muted. I must have been well away!

[capybara]

Sorry who danced that initial duet then Lukas and was it Benjamin Ella( who I thought it was) or Nicol Edmonds then?

 

Sorry I had a cast list but no programme and all the dancers in this piece were just listed together

 

Benjamin Ella. Nicol Edmonds came on after the duet/violin piece.

[alison]

I have to admit that I'm usually okay at recognising the company's men, but seeing them all with slicked-down hair made me realise how much I usually depend on their hairstyles to distinguish them!

[Beryl H]

In the evening, James Hay replaced Alexander Campbell, but he was difficult to recognise too due to the black hair

 

I often get confused with James Hay, Luca Acri and Benjamin Ella.

[alison]

I do sometimes, as well.  Mainly because I forget what Hay's face shape is - he's noticeably less round than either of the others.

[LinMM]

As usual difficult to give informed comment on ballets one is seeing for the first time or after a gap of 20+years!!

 

On Saturday matinee I Was seeing both Obsidian Tear and Ŵithin the Golden Hour for the first time and The Invitation after a very very long time. Anyway all these ballets were satisfying on one level or another.....so worth taking another look.

 

The afternoon started well enjoying a chat with Jacqueline on the terrace whilst surreptitiously looking out for blue badges and then quite unexpectedly the fly past for the Queens Birthday flew right over our heads so a grandstand view of all the planes ( wish the Vulcan could have been part of it but it was great anyway ....the roar of the red arrows always a thrill.

Then to the ballet!

 

I have seen hardly any of McGregors work so haven't got much to compare to but I did quite enjoy this ......and with no programme notes.....but I got the gist and thought the tension between the dancers building up to some event was very palpable. The costumes and set ...( loved the orange glow and sense of being on the edge of some precipice) and music all indicated some private/ priestly sect up in the mountains somewhere. As soon as the Orange dancer was marked it did take on a sort of Rite of Spring aura and the build up to the dramatic moment where he is thrown over was really well done.

It then started to repeat a little and was wondering where it was all going after the obvious point to end was gone but could sense the tension building again then they moved towards the edge looking and then lights out bang the end!! So it was a little puzzling this extra bit of Choreography .....until I discovered that a mistake had been made and the lights went off too soon so did not see "Benjamin Ella" jumping after his "friend" Of course with that knowledge it then all does make sense.

All the dancing was strong and in places moving and although a fine performance from all I think I have to say Benjamin Ella ( who occasionally I do confuse with James Hay) and Lukas Bjorneboe Braendsrod......the latter who must have very recently joined the Company....were so good in the Matinee. All in all I liked it and hope to see it again at some point. A very good ballet to demonstrate the male strengths in the Company though of course very contemporary in style.

The Invitation was another powerful performance but did have a strange feel about it.....maybe it was just such a contrast to,the first ballet.

Macmillan is always very good at showing suppressed sexual tension in his ballets and this work exudes it. As I didn't have a programme I don't know when this ballet was first performed but it feels early. I'm sure I saw it in the middle to late seventies but perhaps it was later than this. But even for the seventies the setting would have been strange even though it's "turn of the century"

I'm just fascinated as to why Macmillan would set this ballet at that time ....when the main theme is also much more contemporary.....so the laughing at naked statues although appropriate for the time set somehow seems slightly odd. Well they were children I suppose but still too old tobe doing that!! ( for me)

There is quite a lot of (deliberate) stylised dancing...... presumably Macmillan used this to show conventionality and people trapped in it.

The beginning of the awakening of the young girl danced by Yasmine Naghdi was beautifully shown ......that sort of innocence yet at the same time semi unknowingly provocativeness she caught spot on. She is a huge talent I think.

Thomas Whitehead played the husband completely coldly I thought which is one way of interpreting the role so difficult to feel much for him further on and you didn't feel he would have been so remorseful. There would have to have been some vulnerability shown on his part to believe this. Olivia Cowley played the wife in a very sympathetic manner.....you felt for her ......why was she with this man?......You sensed some hopelessness in this relationship. So very effective then ....her cold glance at the girl at the end .....and the endless protection of the husband was to continue ( in line with convention) but at that moment you lost sympathy with her too .....but I feel this is a very modern response for a more modern time than when ballet was created.

The rape scene is still shocking however and very uncomfortable to watch ....and Naghdi was brilliant again. No counsellors on hand in this era so her devastation all the more poignant.

The last part of this ballet was quite darkly lit for obvious artistic reasons .....but sometimes a little more light can help you see what's actually going on more clearly. Please Directors go and sit up in the Amphi and see if you can still see the dancers before deciding exactly how much light to allow!!

A very sobering and dark little ballet but for all its slightly odd idiosyncrasies is still powerfully effective today....but not a favourite Macmillan piece for me.

The last work I really loved.....and again perhaps because of the contrast with the previous ballet....and a first viewing.

I loved the music to this though I know some found it a bit thin etc but I thought it was a perfect match for the choreography.

Beautifully danced and some really nice choreography and duets I thought.

What a treat : Yuhui Choe with Alexander Campbell, Francesca Hayward with Valentino Zucchetti and Akane Takada with Tristan Dyer.

All the duets had their individual moments but personally I thought Choe caught the essence of that piece ...some lovely subtle dancing and wonderfully partnered by Campbell..... and I know there's another thread for this but her performance enhanced my disappointment that she has not been promoted. She definitely held her own here.

 

So an interesting and very satisfying afternoon at the ballet.....all so different...so a brilliant combination. Thanks RB.

[Sim]

LinMM, The Invitation was made in 1960 for a very young Lynn Seymour and Christopher Gable. Lovely review by the way...I was at the matinee and agree with your sentiments.

[LinMM]

Thankyou Sim ....as early as 1960. I definitely didn't see Seymour dance in this role.

 

But somehow that 1960 date explains a few things.....must have been quite shocking to see this ballet at the time.....I wonder how it was received.

I was wondering whether Macmillan set this story at the time he did because of something he had read .....and loosely based it on this.

In a way quite brave of him showing that even in that much more conventional period rape was something that happened......but not spoken about. And in 1960 wasn't either.

[Jacqueline]

Thankyou Sim ....as early as 1960. I definitely didn't see Seymour dance in this role.

 

But somehow that 1960 date explains a few things.....must have been quite shocking to see this ballet at the time.....I wonder how it was received.

I was wondering whether Macmillan set this story at the time he did because of something he had read .....and loosely based it on this.

In a way quite brave of him showing that even in that much more conventional period rape was something that happened......but not spoken about. And in 1960 wasn't either.

The programme notes say that MacMillan took his theme from two novellas, one providing the basis of the girl's story and set in Argentina, the other for the boy originally set on a holiday in Brittany, both of which had already been made into films. He and his designer set the ballet in a tropical location at the turn of the 20th century, depicting all the buttoned up hypocrisy of the times. Divorce for adultery was a scandal, although discreet dalliances were condoned. Marriageable daughters were carefully - or not so carefully perhaps - watched over by governesses and the like.There was ignorance and embarrassment about sex and relationships. Better not to talk about it even though it was all going on.  A woman's reputation was easily ruined, never to recover. While a man could be considered to just be doing what men do. It was all about appearances and surface respectability.

Interesting to view now, when society has seemingly gone so far the other way and we let it all hang out. Neither end of the moral spectrum is a great place to be. I must say I didn't get any sense of remorse from The Husband. He seemed to feel sorry only for himself and sought the girl's forgiveness for himself, so he could go back to his wife with a clear conscience. The Girl would just have to manage somehow, no one was going to help her, more likely blame her. 

There seems to be some suggestion that the Husband is not a bad man, just trapped in an unhappy marriage with a 'tricky wife'. Really? He does what he does out of desperation, frustration and so on. He misunderstands the girl's signals and can't control himself when she rejects anything more than a bit of flirting. So, are we to conclude that it is not his fault but his wife's and the girl's? And society.

It is a question of personal responsibility which is just as apt today, in an age where people don't or won't take responsibility for their actions. It is always somebody else's fault. Although we live in very different times now,it was ever thus.

Edited June 16, 2016 by Jacqueline