English National Ballet - Giselle (Khan) - Autumn 2016

[Sim]

Did anyone see Madison Keesler's debut tonight? She was soooo excited about it!

[capybara]

Did anyone see Madison Keesler's debut tonight? She was soooo excited about it!

 

Alas, no. It was the matinee so there is a good chance that someone on BCF made it. I believe, from what she has posted on social media, that Madison has been involved in the creative process and rehearsals for around 15 weeks !!!

[Tatiana]

I can't wait to see Madison in the London matinee! I saw a lot of the rehearsals before the tour started and watching her grow into the role was fascinating. She's going to be incredible.

[alison]

I went. There were a lot of debuts, and I thought they all did very well, but since it's my first viewing I think I'll reserve judgement until I have some other performances to compare with.

[Mummykool]

Just back from our second viewing and I have to say it was much better second time around. Having seen a glorious performance of Fille on Tuesday, Thursday's performance of Khan's Giselle was a bit of a culture shock and I totally concurred with Penelopesimpson and VickyPage's comments.

 

However I thoroughly enjoyed tonight and would now happily see it again/buy the dvd. Due to cast changes we saw James Streeter and Caesar Corrales both times and regard that as a bonus as they were both wonderful. 

 

As for Giselle,Tamara was good on Thursday but tonight Alina was sublime...... 

 

What a privilege it is to be able to see three world class ballerinas in the same week!

[aileen]

It's interesting that you mention culture shock, Mummykool. I had that experience a year or two ago but it was the other way around with a powerful contemporary work followed by a classical work, which I found rather twee. I wish I could remember what the works were. I don't think that they appeared in the same programme and the works may have been performed by different companies. It makes me wonder whether too much of a contrast between different works in the same programme is not always a good thing.

[Ja Sm]

Well we went the the matinee at Bristol on Saturday and were completely blown away. There was so much that we loved (lifetime ballet watcher Mum, dd and myself) that I hardly know where to start. Dd and I were moved to tears at several points and we both gave little gasps at particular wow moments. Madison Keesler danced Giselle, Altor Arrieta was Albrecht, Ken Saruhashi asHilarion and Isabelle Brouwers was Myrtha- all completely worthy of mention. Madison's sensitivity and emotion were beautiful and Isabelle stunningly strong and powerful. I could go on and on. Loved the tension between the male rivals, beautifully danced. My mum was particularly struck by the corps and felt hat she had rarely seen such a strong performance, so in time, so strong and talented. I liked the set and lighting and the score, with the fleeting sounds of the traditional music. I also particularly loved the use of both silence and stillness in the performance, which I felt created both moments of beauty as well as tension.

How much more I could write!

In summary, thank you ENB for giving the three of us so much pleasure and so much to think about. We even dreamt Giselle last night!

[LinMM]

Don't suppose anyone else going to the Southampton matinee this Thursday?

[LinMM]

Well completed the tricky journey this morning ....arrived in Southampton 10 mins early in fact....found the theatre and now kicking around John Lewis et al till the show starts! Even got plenty of sunshine so might venture into the Park conveniently near the station.

[alison]

There's a park? Or do you mean the treed section in front of the art gallery/library?

[LinMM]

West Park?

[alison]

Oh, that's not the park where the Titanic memorial is, is it?  I was trying to think of somewhere nearer the theatre.

[capybara]

C'mon, folks, please leave the domestic stuff on one side and let's hear your views about Khan's Giselle 

[LinMM]

Okay capybara ....as soon as recovered from 5 and half hour trip home this evening!!

[LinMM]

Well what did I think of it after all that.....was it worth the journey.

 

Well yes it was....yesterday....but not for another time I think!

 

This ballet is called Giselle but to be honest I barely recognised the "Giselle" in it.

Perhaps it could have been called something else but with a note ....fashioned on the story of Giselle.

 

Words that come to mind are ...driven...grim...dark( in all senses of the word).. dramatic...grey...gripping ...relentless...

You definitely feel like you've been put through the wringer afterwards.

 

I know the greyness and darkish tones were suited to the setting....in a migrants camp after all....but there were times when it was so dark it got a bit of a strain .....however I know this really low lighting is popular at the moment.

The Wall ( that traps the migrants in) was a clever idea I thought and used to superb dramatic effect at different points in the ballet reinforced by terrific crescendos in the music.

However somehow for me the love story between Giselle and Albrecht ( danced brilliantly by Madison Keesler and Aitor Arrieta ....new person for me...) got a bit lost in the first Act as there was so much movement on the stage. There might have been silences in the music but not much stillness to focus on any of the main characters.

I wasn't sure what to make of the scene when the "landed gentry" arrive ....although wonderfully and powerfully introduced with the movement of the Wall...because they looked even more out of place (in fact totally unreal) than they do in the original ballet.

Some of the costumes were striking but verging on the absurd .....but then perhaps Khan was trying to say something here ....perhaps about the grossness of the wealthy feeding off the poor who work for them and not caring that much what happens to them. Perhaps not. I don't know.... but Bathilde' s role although beautifully done by Begona Cao seemed to be reduced to just staring and standing around being very statuesque ....certainly not in any way sympathetic.

At the very end of Act one there was some confusion of how Giselle died....and strangely seems to be reenacted in Act two ....just after Giselle has been brought to Spirit life she is then seemingly killed again by Hilarion....a recall of what had happened??

 

Act two carries on in the same dark grey and relentless way but has some truely beautiful moments as well. The queen of the Wilis must be the coveted role in this ballet!! It was danced to wonderful affect by Isabelle Brouwers .....though it was so dark I didn't recognise her until the curtain calls ....the use of the sticks is strange but very effective. The Wilis were more like a cross between vampires and zombies but powerful nevertheless and the killing of Hilarion (danced by Ken Saruhashi) was very dramatic and graphic.

 

The dancing highlight for me was the beautiful pas de deux for Giselle and Albrecht in this Act ....almost worth seeing whole ballet for...the only detraction being that I didn't feel their relationship had been established enough in Act one which would have truely enhanced the pathos of this piece.

At the very end when Albrecht is left on the stage I felt the desolation of his position but somehow it did not move me ...I didn't feel his loss of Giselle as I've felt moved to tears by on many occasions in the original ballet.

But then I'm not sure Khan wants these more sentimental feelings to come to the fore in his ballet I think he wants to put you through the wringer .....and in this way his ballet is absolutely and stunningly successful.

 

How often would I want to see it? We'll definitely again that's for sure ....but maybe every three years ...rather than every other year as I like to see the original!

The whole Company were on great form ....love them as much as RB at the moment....and this ballet is great theatre ....if not really great dance.

I'm glad Khan has done this ballet it is valid in its own rite .....but Giselle it is not!!

Also I don't think it's that suitable for under 10's .....as a general rule ....and certainly not for under 7's.

There's a few comments I'd like to make about the Mayflower Theatre but perhaps for room 101!!

[capybara]

A really interesting review LinMM. Thank you.

[Jan McNulty]

At the very end of Act one there was some confusion of how Giselle died....and strangely seems to be reenacted in Act two ....just after Giselle has been brought to Spirit life she is then seemingly killed again by Hilarion....a recall of what had happened??

 

 

 

 

Lin, this was discussed on page 2 of the thread.  LTD confirmed that Myrthe is telling Hilarion why he is being punished - i.e. that he is the one who strangled Giselle at the end of Act 1.

[Jamesrhblack]

A truly haunting evening. It's a long journey from East Sussex to Southampton, four hours by train, and involves an overnight stay too but I'm very glad I made the effort.

 

Akram Khan's Dust moved me to tears the two times I saw it, and in recollection too, and at the interval I wondered if I'd out too much emotional anticipation in to this evening.

 

Although there were some thrilling visual moments, I particularly enjoyed the dancers becoming the mechanics of the loom, I wasn't convinced that the relationship between Giselle and Albrecht was presented with enough commitment for us to invest in. Her madness and death seemed to come from nowhere and I was both non plussed and non committed after Act One.

 

Conversely, Act Two really drew me in: my Giselle pre-conceptions (and it was the first classical ballet I really loved, listening to my aunts' Ace of Clubs LP of the ROH / Irvine version and then the Monte Carlo / Bonynge version endlessly as well as it being my first ROH visit with Sibley and Macleary) were swiftly forgotten.

 

Myrtha, having exchanged an act of jumping for bourréeing, was, with her cohorts, chilling, Giselle being reborn to a living death truly chilling, and Hilarion re-enacting Giselle's death truly unsettling. I really liked the references to the traditional choreography (mirroring those in the music): the "cow hops," Albrecht just missing Giselle as she moves past and the raised hand in the pas de deux.

 

Perhaps I missed the emotional release of the traditional version but it's important not just to watch with new eyes but to learn how to watch too.

 

Of the commitment shown by the cast (superb corps with Rojo, Streeter - almost as moving as they were in Dust and another wonderful May - ish / September pairing, Corrales and Quaegebeur) there can be no question, nor of the excellence of the design and stage craft with the orchestra absolutely committed) there can be no question.

 

This one will undoubtedly resonate and grow in recollection.

[aileen]

Some people may be interested to hear that part of the score (the last part, I think) is being released under the title Requiem to raise money for the towns / people affected by the earthquakes in Italy which I believe is the home country of the composer, Vincenzo Lamagna.

 

Edited to add: It is apparently the closing music of the ballet, which has previously been released as a solo, and the proceeds of sale of Requiem up to 31 December 2016 will be donated to the earthquake victims. I found this information on the composer's Instagram account.

Edited October 29, 2016 by aileen

[LinMM]

Largely the music for this has a rather bleak quality with some insistent factory like sirens every so often and gradually building crescendos with a sort of more or less continuing background rumbling noise.....all very dramatic and suitable for this ballet.

 

However in the second act ....especially for that pas de deux ...the recognisable and lovely theme from the original score can be heard arising on the cello and this is beautifully affective. It's used.... in the original ...near the beginning for Albrechts visiting Giselles grave armed with masses of lilies ( Nureyev used to do this so solefully)

So you hear that melody ( some respite from the droning on) and see a most lovely piece of Dance ......which I think when the piece stops being so new and I can just settle into it more ...will be the possible really moving moment in it all.

 

I'm assuming it must be this section which is being released for the Requiem.

This musician is certainly very talented so interesting to see what he does in the future.

[LinMM]

Apologies to Nureyev .....soulfully even!! I sometimes cannot hear this piece without picturing him. He could almost make you weep just walking on stage with some lilies( and a very large cloak)

 

 

Janet .....even though from the rehearsal I sort of knew what was supposed to be happening to Giselle ....in the event of actually seeing the ballet I didn't think it was clear at all!! Because I don't recall seeing Hilarion as one of the people surrounding her at the end of Act one.

 

To have to demonstrate it in Act two to me seemed a bit clumsy.....and in fact this could have made a fitting and terrible end to Act one ...much more dramatically satisfying.....and in keeping with this version of the ballet absolutely....just imagine ....just Hilarion and Giselle on stage .......

As it stands we have just been put through the queen of the Wilis ( what an even more peach of a role in this version ) dramatically and even slightly horrifyingly bringing Giselle back to life in the Spirit World as it were and Giselle being dragged into this new world .....all wonderfully enacted....and then when Hilarion comes on ....we are suddenly back in Act one!! Just didn't like this ...as it took away for me the terrifying haunting ness of this other world that have just got into!

Just my view.

As this ballet is so new I would like to see it again fairly soon .....I may even try for a return in London....but probably this can never replace the original for me ....hence why I'd still like to see the other version more often.

But this is a worthy ballet in itself and hopefully will be kept in the repertoire of ENB.

[Jan McNulty]

I didn't see Giselle die in Act 1.  It was only in the third performance I saw that I noticed the 2 huntsmen holding her and Hilarion moving towards her.  It was only then that I realised Hilarion was being told why he was being punished.  

 

In the traditional version it has always seemed very harsh to me that Hilarion is killed by the Wilis when all he was really trying to do was show his love for Giselle and protect her.  For that reason the scene in the Khan version makes a lot of sense to me.

[Richard Soper]

After much anticipation I also finally saw this production last Thursday evening in Southampton. It was one of the most powerful performances I have ever experienced, and I was profoundly moved by it. There are so many great reviews and commentaries already in this thread (thank you everyone!), so I'll confine myself to a few random comments by way of a contribution to the discussion.

 

Although several members found the overall level too dark, I cannot think of think of another ballet where I felt the use of lighting was more appropriate. I had the advantage of sitting in the second row, and I'm sure this helped – from further back some of the subtlety may well have been lost, and it may have appeared just too much like shades of gloom. In contrast with the deep darkness and blinding brightness which occasionally enveloped the stage, I thought the subtlety of shading and positioning, especially in Act One was masterful, and really supported the narrative and building mood.

 

The music was remarkably effective with (as others have pointed out) a combination of scratching, sinister fog siren sounds, right through to close quotations from Adam. However, despite the wide range of its character I felt it was at all times solidly integrated with the ballet itself.

 

The staging was stunning – the wall/monolith was a very effective dominating feature, emphasising the sense of oppression and alienation of the Outcasts at the start, and – positioned at a different angle - creating the claustrophobic feel of an underground world for the Wilis to inhabit in Act Two.

 

A key insight is contained in Ruth Little's contribution to the programme, 'The violence of Inequality', which explains the creative thinking of this reimagining. It's about globalisation and its victims – not just those living in post-industrial Britain at the start of the 21^st century, but also those of colonial India in the 19^th. Knowing this I loved how Khan's ballet blended 19^th Century (and modern) European with Indian classical dance movement into a convincing fusion of styles which made the point better than any words that this was about something universal.

 

Frankly, as many members have said, the narrative is full of holes, and I perceived them as weaknesses as others have done. The roles (and motivations) of the leads are insufficiently clear, and the progress of the plot – while easy enough for those of us familiar with the story of Giselle – will probably lose anyone who doesn't know the original. However, these are such obvious points it's curious that Khan hasn't resolved them. I read somewhere that he had only seen Giselle once when he accepted the commission, but he will have been surrounded by those who know it very well indeed, and must have felt as we all seem to. I've therefore concluded that the relative lack of plot detail is probably a conscious choice, perhaps because he feared that more plot/motivation detailing could have detracted from the power of the overall impressionistic effect. In any event, I'm certainly not expecting any future production to 'fill in the gaps'.

 

I wholeheartedly agree with Don Q Fan and Northstar who have expressed admiration for Rojo's leadership of ENB. Clearly her mission is to give it a distinctiveness as a company leading innovation, confirmed by her recent statements about 'reinventing the classics'. Frankly I just like enjoying something new and fresh and it's good to see the cultural cross-fertilisation here in ballet as it is already taken for granted as a well-spring of creativity in other arts.

 

Finally, since it was the ENB, the dancing was wonderful of course, and I fully agree with those who have said they found the Company 'dancing their hearts out'. The star role for me was Hilarion, danced superbly by Oscar Chacon. In many ways his is the most developed individual character on the stage, and he probably therefore had the chance to express the widest range of emotions, from pathetic to just plain nasty. Fernando Bufala delivered Albrect, (relatively weaker in prominence as Hilarion is stonger), and Fernanda Oliveira was just wonderful as Giselle. I don't think I have ever before seen so much en pointe dancing from so many for so long as from the Wilis in Act Two – I kept thinking, they must stop soon, they must stop soon... but Khan clearly didn't think that less would be more in this particular case! It must have been very demanding for the dancers, pre-eminent amongst them Isabelle Brouwers as Myrtha, who perfectly conveyed the requisite combination of menace and other-worldliness.

 

This ballet certainly doesn't aim to leave its audiences feeling comfortable at its end. After all the issues which drive the real plot (about the imbalance of power, wealth and security) remain unresolved. And even though Giselle's love delivers some respite, it is imperfect, and the Landlords will still be remote from and exploiting the Outcasts wherever they are, and the Wilis will still be waiting to extract their revenge after the deeds of injustice have been done. So what is there to feel comfortable about...... except perhaps the prospect of seeing the same casts in Mary Skeaping's Giselle in January!

[aileen]

Khan has said that he was particularly drawn to the character of Hilarion in the 'traditional' Giselle and so decided to expand the role of Hilarion in his production. In traditional versions he is a sort of Shakespearian tragic hero in a way in that his fatal flaw - jealousy - causes the death of the woman he loves and subsequently his own death.

[zxDaveM]

In between shows in a pub in Southampton, after seeing the matinee (with Fernanda Oliveira cast). Wowser! The first act had some gripping moments, some eye opening moments, some tender moments, but act two was visually jaw dropping! The Wilis are scary in their feral stalking on the stage - those canes become deadly weapons, graceful deadly weapons.

The whole afternoon just flew, I could hardly believe it was time for the final curtain. Alina's cast tonight, and looking forward to that immensely.

[zxDaveM]

Oh - and Derek Deane was just behind me as I left the theatre, but no amount of ear wigging could I hear whether he liked it or not!

[LinMM]

I totally agree that the killing of Hilarion makes more sense in this production.

 

I would just have preferred this to have happened more naturally in the First Act instead of a re enactment in the Second!

 

If he had killed her at the end of the first Act ...we would have "got it" as to why he was being singled out by the Wilis I think!!

[Pas de Quatre]

I'm afraid I am in the underwhelmed camp.  Just back from this afternoon's matinée.    Much to admire in the ensemble dances in the 1st Act, but I never really felt engaged in the story.  The main roles just didn't come alive.

 

In the 2nd Act I found that after a few minutes of bourreeing on pointe and using the sticks, it became repetitive.  The traditional Giselle moves me profoundly, here I felt very detached from the action even though I tried hard to appreciate it.

 

Edited for grammar

Edited October 29, 2016 by Pas de Quatre

[Dancing2003]

I took my dd to the performance at the Mayflower in Southampton this afternoon, we were totally blown away such amazing dancers, so different, wished it went for on a bit longer

Edited October 29, 2016 by Dancing2003

[LinMM]

Just out of interest Dancing 2003 how old is your DD?

 

It's just that I thought for any very young children parts of this could be a bit too disturbing .....primary age ...especially some bits in the second Act.

 

I'm not sure exactly where I would put a suitable age for this as children themselves are so different etc but as a general rule feel 10 is about right or at least certainly not until upper junior age 9-11

 

Is your DD older than this.....what did she think if younger?

You can PM if you want as it is rather personal but am just interested ( as a retired teacher) whether I would recommend it for school children .....though general performances aimed at schools are mostly post 11.

[Petunia]

Much has been written already - thanks to all of you for that - and I agree with most of it.

 

I went all the way to Southampton to see the first performance with Cojocaru / Streeter / Corrales / Quagebeur and I very much hope for a DVD because watching it only once just isn’t enough, there is so much to see and think and listen to.

 

Even in this awful cave of a theatre the energy and the power of the dancers blew me away, I was thoroughly bowled over.

 

Alina Cojocaru gave herself completely over, physically and mentally. I’ve rarely seen a dancer of this caliber.

I own a video of her and Kobborg in Giselle (I have never seen her in the role on stage) and somehow I feel both versions of the character came alive at the same time. Her last duet with Streeter had me in tears (that rarely happens), it was so intensely painful.

 

Myrtha and the Wilis – I always wanted the traditional Wilis to be more threatening, these were surely scary! The bamboo sticks already had an appearance in “Until the Lions”, but in a quite different way.

 

And Corrales is an Animal with a big A.

 

The stage and lighting are truly fabulous, but I’m sorry to say I found the music a bit repetetive and sometimes boring.

 

I wish I could see it again, I hope ENB keeps it in the repertoire. I’m so glad I was there, it will stay in my memory for a long time.

[LinMM]

Have to,agree about the theatre Petunia....glad just not me.

 

Glad you enjoyed

 

Because I'd liked to have seen Corrales and Quagebeur in their Roles I may try for a return up in London just to see it once again before it disappears for a while.

[Tatiana]

I must have watched about ten rehearsals of act two and still didn't get why Giselle was dying "twice" - thanks for clearing that up, everyone! I'm so excited to see it in London.