Some advice, please (re. Anastasia)

[penelopesimpson]

I have never seen Anastasia and wonder if it is a good one to book to take a relative ballet novice to? I adore Macmillan and Mayerling is my all-time favourite, so I will go anyway. Friend likes ballet but I want her to see something really fab.

 

Would also like opinions on Fille. I have never seen it as I tend to be less attracted to the lighter prices (didn't enjoy Quixote) and won't see Sleeping Beauty or Nutcracker again, but I gather from I've picked up on the enthusiasm on this site. Would welcome your thoughts.

[Anna C]

Can't help wrt Anastasia but personally I adore Fille. It's the ballet equivalent of a warm sunny day, or a really effective anti-depressant. Nuñez is my personal favourite as Lise but I would be more than happy to see Marquez or Choe.

[Jan McNulty]

I can't help with the three act Anastasia either.  I saw ENB do Act 3 many years ago - with Lynn Seymour and the following year with Trinidad Sevillano.  I found it incredibly powerful but it is not conventional ballet.

 

Fille is absolutely joyous.  Early in my ballet-watching days I saw it and wrote if off as slight.  I cannot believe I made that totally stupid mistake!  It may be a lighter subject and it may have the corps skipping around at time but Sir Frederick Ashton creates characters you care about and some of the choreography is the most sublime you are going to see anywhere.  The Fanny Elssler pdd is exquisite and gives me a lump in my throat for that reason.  If I was booking I would go for Marquez/Campbell (OK I'm biased!) or Morera/Muntagirov.  I'm very sad I can't make either of Mr Campbell's performance.

[capybara]

I like Anastasia enormously but it is not really a piece for someone relatively new to ballet. Acts 1 and 2 (to wonderful Tchaikovsky Symphonies) can drag a bit and the complete change of mood and music in Act 3 is not for everyone. In other words, the ballet is an acquired taste.

 

Go for Fille. You won't be disappointed with any cast but, if I were you, I'd go for Morera or Nunez with Muntagirov, Marquez with Campbell, or Hayward with Sambe.

[alison]

I agree with capybara.  Anastasia looks fantastic, but its structure is rather odd, and yes, it can drag a bit, I think - bear in mind it's over a decade since I last saw it!

 

You could always take your friend to see it in the cinema if, after seeing it, you think she'd like it.

 

And can I say that I didn't like the Don Q either - but I adore Fille, so the fact that it's lighter-hearted doesn't necessarily mean you won't like it.  And a feelgood ballet might be just what's needed come September, who knows?

[LinMM]

Yes go for Fille if you have never seen it. I have never failed to enjoy it in all these years and very often moved very quickly between tears ( final pas de deux) and then laughter as Alain comes back for his umbrella in final moments.

 

I am looking forward to seeing Anastasia again after many many years but in your situation on both your counts I think Fille is it.

[Jamesrhblack]

Fille is surely one of the perfect ballets. Not too long, charming score, blissful choreography and (I'm paraphrasing, I think, Mr Macaulay), "the subject may seem light, but the treatment is anything but." Muntagirov with Morera or Nunez will undoubtedly be great but Marquez and Campbell my top tip and as it's her farewell performances there could be some emotional scenes which would also be great fo a ballet novice - nobody can say goodbye like a ballet audience.

 

I think Anastasia is a most interesting piece, and don't subscribe to the argument that it has lost its value now that we know Anna Anderson was not the daughter of the Tsar. It seems to me to have validity as an exploration of memory and identity too and the last act, to that astonishing Martinu score, is tremendous. Sometimes, a new viewer can be more entranced by something that doesn't necessarily conform to expectation, but it is long and undoubtedly responses to background work, which is not necessarily something to which a relatively new viewer might commit.

 

I hope your friend enjoys their visit, whatever you decide, and returns for many more.

Edited June 30, 2016 by Jamesrhblack

[Coated]

[...] If I was booking I would go for Marquez/Campbell (OK I'm biased!) or Morera/Muntagirov.  [...]

 

I second Janet's biased opions as a differently biased bystander.

[Geoff]

I vote pretty pretty much with the consensus so far. Seen Anastasia a fair few times over the years and agree with previous comments (in addition I feel the Anastasia corps are treated with the usual Macmillan - make something up yourselves - disinterest, which might be pretty noticeable to a beginner looking for strong story telling) So maybe not for your friend at this point, though by what you write, you might well be interested yourself.

 

The only comment I would add to the excellent recommendations for Fille is to point out that (marmite queen?) Osipova is also dancing this ballet in the autumn. Not to get into the back and forth about whether Osipova has Ashton style or not, but your novice friend might be wowed by seeing her. I remember that when I was dating, a fair few years ago now, a night out with Darcey Bussell in the cast was always appreciated, even though I didn't always ahem feel she was the best available option. But it all rather depends on what your friend is most likely to respond to.

[Blossom]

Fille is a great first ballet with lots of attractions - ribbon dance is clever, clog dance is funny, English 'character' dancing of sorts, comedy with the unfortunate character of Alain...and a chicken dance!! Easy to follow story and simply charming. Can't beat a good piece of Ashton choreography.

[Colman]

As a relative newcomer myself, Fille is a wonderful piece of work. Easy to watch, lots of fun and lovely.

[Scheherezade]

The only comment I would add to the excellent recommendations for Fille is to point out that (marmite queen?) Osipova is also dancing this ballet in the autumn. Not to get into the back and forth about whether Osipova has Ashton style or not, but your novice friend might be wowed by seeing her. I remember that when I was dating, a fair few years ago now, a night out with Darcey Bussell in the cast was always appreciated, even though I didn't always ahem feel she was the best available option. But it all rather depends on what your friend is most likely to respond to.

 

I agree. I am seeing Morera/Muntagirov, Marquez/Campbell but I saw Osipova last time and despite the 'non-Ashtonian' criticisms enjoyed her portrayal immensely.

[loveclassics]

I took my niece, a newcomer to ballet, to see Fille and she adored it.  It's one of my favourites too and can be genuinely moving because the characters are so beautifully drawn and naturalistic.  MacMillan's characters, in contrast, can sometimes feel a bit black and white.  

 

But what is the Fanny Elssler pdd?  Is it the one with the ribbons?

 

Linda

[Don Q Fan]

Yes go for Fille if you have never seen it. I have never failed to enjoy it in all these years and very often moved very quickly between tears ( final pas de deux) and then laughter as Alain comes back for his umbrella in final moments.

 

I am looking forward to seeing Anastasia again after many many years but in your situation on both your counts I think Fille is it.

Woops this needs a spoiler alert re the ending - if you have never seen it that's the bit I find to be the best final twist

 

Too late now but the best performance of Fille that I have seen was Nunez/Acosta the chemistry between those two was a rare and splendid thing.  I love Fille and think ti a fine intro to ballet.  As Deborah Bull said it is a "sunshine ballet"

Edited July 2, 2016 by Don Q Fan

[Jan McNulty]

 

But what is the Fanny Elssler pdd?  Is it the one with the ribbons?

 

Linda

 

 

It's the pdd in the haystack scene.

[loveclassics]

Thanks Janet.

[FLOSS]

I think that when taking a relative new comer to see a ballet you need to reduce the chances of possible disappointment as much as you can. For me this revival of Anastasia presents too many uncertainties for me to recommend it as a good choice for your friend's next ballet outing..Both Cuthbertson and Morera appeared in minor roles when the ballet was last revived in 2004 but that gives little indication of how effective they are likely to be in the title role.

 

While all ballets benefit from careful casting, it seems to me that Anastasia needs special care if a performance is to be a rewarding experience for the audience. Anastasia was created in two stages using different styles and different composers. The dancer taking the title role needs to be able to hold the whole thing together so that it appears as an integrated whole  and the audience is only aware of the contrasts between the two sections of the ballet as an effective way of bringing Anderson's story to the stage rather than seeing it as a botched effort to create a three act work at speed.

 

The third act  of this ballet began life as a one act work about Anna Anderson the woman who claimed to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia.It is set in a mental hospital  showing incidents during the Revolution in a series of flashbacks.The music  for what became the third act in London is by Martinu. MacMillan  then added two new acts to it to create his first three act work for the RB as its director using music by Tchaikovsky for the first act set in 1914 and second act set in 1917. The second act set in Petrograd includes a grand pas de deux created on Sibley and Dowell depicting Mathilde Khessinskaya and partner which is a real test of technique. Very few couples manage to make it look effortless.. I can't over emphasize the extent to which the whole work depends on the acting skills of the dancer assuming the role of Anastasia. In 2004 I only found Benjamin truly satisfactory in the role.

 

Fille on the other hand is a work which was hailed as a masterpiece when it was premiered in 1960 and continues to delight audiences of all ages even Clement Crisp likes it. It is brilliantly constructed without an ounce of fat on it. There is not a single dance that does not tell you something about the characters or move the narrative along. It is full of choreographic delights only Ashton could have set the choreography for the corps of harvesters. It is a ballet that acknowledges the past while making it very clear that both technique and expressiveness are essential to ballet as a theatrical art form. If I could only go to one performance the cast that I would not want to miss would be Morera and Muntagirov who are likely to have Paul Kay as their Alain. My reason is quite simply that Morera is the only dancer who brings out Lise's willfulness, her guile and her laziness. Nunez is too sweetly smiling for my taste. I hate to say this but I would not be surprised to learn that this revival was to be Morera's last appearance as Lise. It would be a great shame if you didn't see her while you had the chance to do so Morera  has full command of Ashton's style and performs his choreography in a way I don't think even Nunez can match in this sort of role.

 

Penelope I don't much care for Don Q either and recent revivals of Beauty have been disappointingly bland but I live in hopes of it being restored to its former glory but that would require greater concern for the music that Tchaikovsky wrote and the choreography that Petipa set and far less emphasis on the ballet as an opportunity to display extensions and Aurora's balances and an understanding of the work's three act structure.

Edited July 4, 2016 by FLOSS

[penelopesimpson]

Big thanks to everybody who has provided such excellent advice.  Floss:  any recommendations for which cast I should go for with Anastasia?  I will take friend to Fille but want to see Annastasia myself.  

Edited July 4, 2016 by penelopesimpson

[FLOSS]

I was so undecided that I have booked for all three casts. They all have strengths and weaknesses. This is not a cop out. May I ask when will you be booking? I ask because I am not convinced that Anastasia will be the season's hot ticket. Ospova's performances may well sell out early after all Osipova, and Watson with Nunez and Bonelli as Kshessinskaya and partner is strong on paper but will Osipova be as good an actress as Morera or Cuthbertson? Is Morera with Hay and Takada in the classical pas de deux, a harbinger of the future, going to be better than Cuthbertson  with McRae and Lamb in the pas de deux? I suspect that Hay and Takada are likely to get closer to the required style than McRae but I could be wrong. 

Edited July 4, 2016 by FLOSS

[Jan McNulty]

I was so undecided that I have booked for all three casts. They all have strengths and weaknesses. This is not a cop out. May I ask when will you be booking? I ask because I am not convinced that Anastasia will be the season's hot ticket. Ospova's performances may well sell out early after all Osipova, and Watson with Nunez and Bonelli as Kshessinskaya and partner is strong on paper but will Osipova be as good an actress as Morera or Cuthbertson? Is Morera with Hay and Takada in the classical pas de deux, a harbinger of the future, going to be better than Cuthbertson  with McRae and Lamb in the pas de deux? I suspect that Hay and Takada are likely to get closer to the required style than McRae but I could be wrong. 

 

 

 

Good for you Floss!  You are giving all three casts a chance and I look forward to hearing what you think of them.

[FLOSS]

Penelope.

I am interested in seeing whether any or all of the Anastasias is any good in the role. Giving Osipova  the first night is no guarantee of the quality of her performance.I am not convinced that she is the sort of dance actress that this MacMillan ballet needs. Cuthbertson and Morera have had far more exposure to the MacMillan repertory than Osipova and have have the advantage of having appeared in minor roles in this work when it was last revived. So in spite of the stellar casting of the pdd and the presence of Watson this would probably be the cast I would choose not to see.

 

If I could only go to one performance I would probably go to Morera's rather than Cuthbertson's for reasons which have nothing to do with their relative abilities as dance actresses  and everything to do with the dancers appearing in the classical pdd in act 2. It is a very testing piece of choreography and I am really interested in seeing what Takada and Hay do with it. I think that it will suit Hay better than it suits McRae because Hay will emphasize its elegance while McRae is likely to show us his technique. As between Lamb and Takada I think things are more finely balanced.

 

Now being purely practical if you want to see Osipova you probably need to get a ticket as soon as you can. As far as the other casts are concerned you will probably be able to pick up tickets for their performances for some time.

[Beryl H]

Don't forget that the Osipova cast will be relayed live so if you are near a cinema you could see her then and book for another cast at the ROH.

 

I can't remember much about Anastasia at all, which is not a good sign, one scene is set on the royal yacht which is at least different, that's when I first saw Rupert Pennefather as an officer

[penelopesimpson]

I think that when taking a relative new comer to see a ballet you need to reduce the chances of possible disappointment as much as you can. For me this revival of Anastasia presents too many uncertainties for me to recommend it as a good choice for your friend's next ballet outing..Both Cuthbertson and Morera appeared in minor roles when the ballet was last revived in 2004 but that gives little indication of how effective they are likely to be in the title role.

 

While all ballets benefit from careful casting, it seems to me that Anastasia needs special care if a performance is to be a rewarding experience for the audience. Anastasia was created in two stages using different styles and different composers. The dancer taking the title role needs to be able to hold the whole thing together so that it appears as an integrated whole  and the audience is only aware of the contrasts between the two sections of the ballet as an effective way of bringing Anderson's story to the stage rather than seeing it as a botched effort to create a three act work at speed.

 

The third act  of this ballet began life as a one act work about Anna Anderson the woman who claimed to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia.It is set in a mental hospital  showing incidents during the Revolution in a series of flashbacks.The music  for what became the third act in London is by Martinu. MacMillan  then added two new acts to it to create his first three act work for the RB as its director using music by Tchaikovsky for the first act set in 1914 and second act set in 1917. The second act set in Petrograd includes a grand pas de deux created on Sibley and Dowell depicting Mathilde Khessinskaya and partner which is a real test of technique. Very few couples manage to make it look effortless.. I can't over emphasize the extent to which the whole work depends on the acting skills of the dancer assuming the role of Anastasia. In 2004 I only found Benjamin truly satisfactory in the role.

 

Fille on the other hand is a work which was hailed as a masterpiece when it was premiered in 1960 and continues to delight audiences of all ages even Clement Crisp likes it. It is brilliantly constructed without an ounce of fat on it. There is not a single dance that does not tell you something about the characters or move the narrative along. It is full of choreographic delights only Ashton could have set the choreography for the corps of harvesters. It is a ballet that acknowledges the past while making it very clear that both technique and expressiveness are essential to ballet as a theatrical art form. If I could only go to one performance the cast that I would not want to miss would be Morera and Muntagirov who are likely to have Paul Kay as their Alain. My reason is quite simply that Morera is the only dancer who brings out Lise's willfulness, her guile and her laziness. Nunez is too sweetly smiling for my taste. I hate to say this but I would not be surprised to learn that this revival was to be Morera's last appearance as Lise. It would be a great shame if you didn't see her while you had the chance to do so Morera  has full command of Ashton's style and performs his choreography in a way I don't think even Nunez can match in this sort of role.

 

Penelope I don't much care for Don Q either and recent revivals of Beauty have been disappointingly bland but I live in hopes of it being restored to its former glory but that would require greater concern for the music that Tchaikovsky wrote and the choreography that Petipa set and far less emphasis on the ballet as an opportunity to display extensions and Aurora's balances and an understanding of the work's three act structure.

I have read and re-read this post of yours and it is fascinating.  You continue to be a mine of information, brilliantly expressed and easy to understand.  Please accept my heartfelt thanks.  I have always loved ballet but work and family commitments prevented my going other than sporadically until a couple of years ago.  I may have come to it late but perhaps mature love is the best kind!

[penelopesimpson]

Penelope.

I am interested in seeing whether any or all of the Anastasias is any good in the role. Giving Osipova  the first night is no guarantee of the quality of her performance.I am not convinced that she is the sort of dance actress that this MacMillan ballet needs. Cuthbertson and Morera have had far more exposure to the MacMillan repertory than Osipova and have have the advantage of having appeared in minor roles in this work when it was last revived. So in spite of the stellar casting of the pdd and the presence of Watson this would probably be the cast I would choose not to see.

 

If I could only go to one performance I would probably go to Morera's rather than Cuthbertson's for reasons which have nothing to do with their relative abilities as dance actresses  and everything to do with the dancers appearing in the classical pdd in act 2. It is a very testing piece of choreography and I am really interested in seeing what Takada and Hay do with it. I think that it will suit Hay better than it suits McRae because Hay will emphasize its elegance while McRae is likely to show us his technique. As between Lamb and Takada I think things are more finely balanced.

 

Now being purely practical if you want to see Osipova you probably need to get a ticket as soon as you can. As far as the other casts are concerned you will probably be able to pick up tickets for their performances for some time.

Takada and Hay appeal to me, but I am torn because I am a terrific fan of Watson.  I share your concerns that Osipova may not shine in this ballet and would like to see Morera.  I am afraid I am not a friend so will have to wait for general booking.  I think becoming a friend is on my Christmas list.

 

With regard to Fille, I am keen on Hayward or perhaps Osipova.  I adore Hayward who gives me the emotional pull I look for.  I did, however, rate Osipova's Giselle and I adored her in Woolf Works where I thought she and Macrae were electric.  I am less sure about the invitation but that was probably because I just didn't get anything from the actual ballet.

Edited July 5, 2016 by penelopesimpson

[FLOSS]

I intend to see several performances of Fille including Hayward's debut next season.I'm not sure that I would take an inexperienced ballet goer to a debut in role as their first experience of a particular ballet for much the same reasons that I would not take them to see the revival of a ballet that has been out of the repertory for a long time unless I was convinced that I had identified a cast who were pretty much guaranteed to deliver the goods.

 

 If I could only go to one performance I would go to see the Morera, Muntagirov cast as they were outstanding when the ballet was revived in 2015. Their performance had a warmth about it that I felt the McRae Osipova cast lacked . Like Yanowsky, Morera is at a stage in her career when dancers start to relinquish roles and think about what they will do when they stop dancing.This could be the last chance to see Morera as Lise and her portrayal is full of nuanced detail that only comes when a dancer has full mastery of the choreographic text and is in a position to forget about the execution of the steps and simply dance the ballet.

 

I still have not made up my mind whether the problem that I had with the Osipova, McRae cast in Fille is that Osipova's stage persona does not compensate for McRae's coldness in the way that Marquez's did when they danced the ballet together;  whether it was connected with Osipova's lack of familiarity with the choreography and Ashton's style which meant that she was still concentrating on reproducing the choreography correctly or whether being cast together had the unintended result of making both dancers concentrate on the accurate reproduction of  the steps rather than actually dancing the ballet.

 

There is,it seems to me, a problem with the way in which dancers approach ballets with which they are unfamiliar and those which they find technically demanding. It is a problem that cropped up at the last revival of La Valse, the 2012  revival of Birthday Offering and the revival of The Prince of the Pagodas a few seasons ago. I don't know whether it is connected with the current obsession with technique as an end in itself or whether it is connected with a lack of adequate rehearsal time and limited  opportunities to consolidate experience but there is an unfortunate tendency among many dancers to hold back in performance and content themselves with concentrating on the precise reproduction of steps, often in their classroom form, as if that equated with dancing the ballet.

Edited July 5, 2016 by FLOSS

[Petunia]

Can anybody who remembers tell me how long a performance of Anastasia lasts? I'd like to see Morera at the Matinee on 29th October, and I'd have to be at Stansted  Airport at about 17.00 for my flight back home (I'm planning another "extravaganza", as Janet McN. would call it ).

[FLOSS]

According to the ROH performance database in 2004 Anastasia had a total running time of 156 minutes, including two intervals of 25 minutes each.  

Edited July 7, 2016 by FLOSS

[Petunia]

Then I can't make it .