The Royal Ballet: The Sleeping Beauty

[Jacqueline]

Matthew Golding excels at the 'prince' rolls, where he is required to be handsome, charming and slightly baffled!

Regarding requirements for the prince to be handsome, charming and slightly baffled, if not sometimes downright obtuse, having watched last night's fairytales revisited show, the young man might also be rather wanting in the acceptable behaviour department. Rather than being awakened from her slumber with a kiss, the sleeping beauty originally awoke to find herself in the family way. As was Rapunzel in her tower. Both women had twins according to legend. I don't know if it was the same prince.

As for bafflement, the prince who discovered Snow White in her glass casket and thought her to be beautiful, although apparently dead, didn't try to rouse her with a kiss but carried her round still in her casket. Or rather, had his servants do the heavy lifting. In the end, not unreasonably, his staff grew tired of this arrangement. They lifted her out of the case and tried to wake her by striking her repeatedly, in a sort of pre-Heimlich manoeuvre. Eventually, the poisoned apple lodged in her throat flew forth, Snow White recovered and they all lived happily etc etc.

I can't imagine any of these versions making it onto the ROH stage.

[Bruce Wall]

As for bafflement, the prince who discovered Snow White in her glass casket and thought her to be beautiful, although apparently dead, didn't try to rouse her with a kiss but carried her round still in her casket. Or rather, had his servants do the heavy lifting. In the end, not unreasonably, his staff grew tired of this arrangement. They lifted her out of the case and tried to wake her by striking her repeatedly, in a sort of pre-Heimlich manoeuvre. Eventually, the poisoned apple lodged in her throat flew forth, Snow White recovered and they all lived happily etc etc.

I can't imagine any of these versions making it onto the ROH stage.

 

Well, after Sweet Violets, H&G and Frankenstein ... something  suggests to me that this Snow White perspective might well be up Scarlett's street.  

Edited December 21, 2016 by Bruce Wall

[Fonty]

Regarding requirements for the prince to be handsome, charming and slightly baffled, if not sometimes downright obtuse, having watched last night's fairytales revisited show, the young man might also be rather wanting in the acceptable behaviour department. Rather than being awakened from her slumber with a kiss, the sleeping beauty originally awoke to find herself in the family way. As was Rapunzel in her tower. Both women had twins according to legend. I don't know if it was the same prince.

As for bafflement, the prince who discovered Snow White in her glass casket and thought her to be beautiful, although apparently dead, didn't try to rouse her with a kiss but carried her round still in her casket. Or rather, had his servants do the heavy lifting. In the end, not unreasonably, his staff grew tired of this arrangement. They lifted her out of the case and tried to wake her by striking her repeatedly, in a sort of pre-Heimlich manoeuvre. Eventually, the poisoned apple lodged in her throat flew forth, Snow White recovered and they all lived happily etc etc.

I can't imagine any of these versions making it onto the ROH stage.

 

  Maybe not the ROH stage, but I could see Matthew Bourne having a field day with some of these.

 

Edited to add that I got distracted there, I meant to respond to Floss's post about the number of SB productions. I am not sure what qualifies as "umpteen", but the fact that Bussell was in four different ones during her career suggests a fair few changes in a relatively short space of time for one ballet.  

Edited December 21, 2016 by Fonty

[penelopesimpson]

Regarding requirements for the prince to be handsome, charming and slightly baffled, if not sometimes downright obtuse, having watched last night's fairytales revisited show, the young man might also be rather wanting in the acceptable behaviour department. Rather than being awakened from her slumber with a kiss, the sleeping beauty originally awoke to find herself in the family way. As was Rapunzel in her tower. Both women had twins according to legend. I don't know if it was the same prince.

As for bafflement, the prince who discovered Snow White in her glass casket and thought her to be beautiful, although apparently dead, didn't try to rouse her with a kiss but carried her round still in her casket. Or rather, had his servants do the heavy lifting. In the end, not unreasonably, his staff grew tired of this arrangement. They lifted her out of the case and tried to wake her by striking her repeatedly, in a sort of pre-Heimlich manoeuvre. Eventually, the poisoned apple lodged in her throat flew forth, Snow White recovered and they all lived happily etc etc.

I can't imagine any of these versions making it onto the ROH stage.

This made me laugh out loud!

[penelopesimpson]

Loulabelle,you may not believe me but I wish that I could be more positive about Matthew Golding's presence in the company.It is nearly three years since he joined the Royal Ballet as a Principal dancer but apart from a handful of performances in Acosta's Don Q in which he partnered Tsygankova rather than a company member and his appearances in The Four Temperaments he has not done anything which has impressed me.He may have a fine technique and be very good as Basilio, if he is dancing with the right partner, but even if Don Q stays in the repertory this time, and there is no guarantee that it will, it is unlikely to become a staple of the repertory as it does not play to the company's strengths as dance actors. 

 

The company has plenty of ballets in its repertory which play to its dancing and acting strengths but on current showing they don't seem to suit Golding.We all look for different things in performers and performances but a fine technique is not sufficient for most of the works that I am talking about and most of them require an element of speed which seems to be a problem for him. Unlike Don Q, as it has come down to us, they do not exist simply as vehicles for a display of bravura technique by the leading dancers.They are ballets which require the dancers performing them to apply their technique to telling the story and portraying the characters created by the choreographer.On the basis of his performance of Oberon which was  ponderous rather than light and mercurial I would suggest that he lacks the speed required for quite a bit of the Ashton repertory. I wonder whether it was his lack of speed which led to him being replaced in Symphonic Variations as I  don't recall any announcement of an injury simply an announcement that he was being replaced.

 

I know that it takes dancers who have worked elsewhere a bit of time to settle into the company, become fully integrated and become part of the team. Muntagirov has settled in very quickly but I see little sign that Golding has done so. His prince in Sleeping Beauty appeared to be more interested in his solos than in his Aurora; Russian critics noted the lack of chemistry between him and his Manon and the general consensus among the critics writing about his debut as Romeo was that the performance showed the limits of what a Juliet could do in the absence of a responsive Romeo.The replacement of Golding by Muntagirov in Sleeping Beauty was simply announced without any explanation which is rather odd. I can't help wondering whether Kevin was thinking about the Royal Ballet's repertory when he hired Golding as he is hardly going to change it to suit this one dancer. 

Well, absolutely.  Nothing whatsoever against Matthew Golding who is a dancer of high calibre, but I too question why he is at RB.  I just don't get it.  And I'm thinking from his point of view as much as that of the audience.

[Vanartus]

And so it begins all over again...sigh!

[Jan McNulty]

Let's please move on and away from dancers who are not in SB.

 

This thread is for discussion of the production and performances!

[Fonty]

I think I had better make a point of deliberately booking a Golding performance when he is next around.  I am puzzled as to why this particular young man should be attracting such negative comments.   Looking at the current crop of male Principals, I would say that there are several there who have obvious limitations as far as I am concerned.  But I won't mention any names, as my response is purely personal. 

 

And this will be my last word on the subject. 

[Loulabelle]

I am glad to be able to read Floss' post as it wasn't me that took offence to it.

I am no expert and am relatively new to regularly watching the RB. My disappointment merely stemmed from having seen Golding in Swan Lake with Osipova and specifically booking to see him with Lamb in Sleeping Beauty. I hope I will get the opportunity to watch him when he is recovered from his injury.

I am now looking forward to the reviews from this evening performance.

[MAB]

Regarding requirements for the prince to be handsome, charming and slightly baffled, if not sometimes downright obtuse, having watched last night's fairytales revisited show, the young man might also be rather wanting in the acceptable behaviour department. Rather than being awakened from her slumber with a kiss, the sleeping beauty originally awoke to find herself in the family way. As was Rapunzel in her tower. Both women had twins according to legend. I don't know if it was the same prince.

As for bafflement, the prince who discovered Snow White in her glass casket and thought her to be beautiful, although apparently dead, didn't try to rouse her with a kiss but carried her round still in her casket. Or rather, had his servants do the heavy lifting. In the end, not unreasonably, his staff grew tired of this arrangement. They lifted her out of the case and tried to wake her by striking her repeatedly, in a sort of pre-Heimlich manoeuvre. Eventually, the poisoned apple lodged in her throat flew forth, Snow White recovered and they all lived happily etc etc.

I can't imagine any of these versions making it onto the ROH stage.

 

I enjoyed it too and the point was made that these stories go back a very long way indeed.  Although the programme concentrated on the Grimms, SB in its balletic incarnation harks back to Perrault and therein lies the intrinsic problem for a lot of ballet goers.  There is an entrenched belief that Beauty can only be set in the court of Louis quatorze which means ugly wigs and costumes as a backdrop.  I'll admit to being upset when so many here voted SB as a least favourite ballet, but can't help thinking if a little imagination could be employed as to settings it would be a lot more enjoyable.  Best of all those beauty productions listed was the Wright/Ashton version that was set in the medieval period, it was sublime.  A recording exists and probably the original designs and models too:  revive it.  

[RobR]

After reading the above I'm uncertain if I'm in the right topic but, on the assumption I am, I'll press on regarding the new production.

 

I appreciate that forum correspondents rarely comment on rehearsals but having seen today's 'general', I just thought I'd post how impressed I was with this new production.

 

I thought that the sets and scenery were great, as was the lighting. And I really enjoyed the choreography, which I think far less clunky than my recollection of recent earlier productions and there seemed far more scope for 'joi de vivre' than I remember previously in SB.

 

The music was unchanged - a relief!

 

As you'll gather, I very much enjoyed it.

[CHazell2]

I enjoyed it too and the point was made that these stories go back a very long way indeed.  Although the programme concentrated on the Grimms, SB in its balletic incarnation harks back to Perrault and therein lies the intrinsic problem for a lot of ballet goers.  There is an entrenched belief that Beauty can only be set in the court of Louis quatorze which means ugly wigs and costumes as a backdrop.  I'll admit to being upset when so many here voted SB as a least favourite ballet, but can't help thinking if a little imagination could be employed as to settings it would be a lot more enjoyable.  Best of all those beauty productions listed was the Wright/Ashton version that was set in the medieval period, it was sublime.  A recording exists and probably the original designs and models too:  revive it.  

 

I would love to see that recording although I suspect that it was erased from the BBC archives - hopefully it wasn't. 

Edited December 21, 2016 by CHazell2

[MAB]

I would love to see that recording although I suspect that it was erased from the BBC archives - hopefully it wasn't. 

 

We have DVDs of the company from the 1950's, early 60's, so could be a royalties problem.  Without doubt there is a ballet treasure trove in the BBC archives, I had hopes that that with the inception of BBC4TV we might have seen some of that back catalogue.  So far that hasn't happened but I live in hope. 

[Melody]

I'm not sure that I would agree that this is the umpteenth version of the Sleeping Beauty which the Royal Ballet has danced. There has not been much of a turn-over of productions in recent years. It has been dancing the same text since 2006 which, with the exception of Wheeldon's uninspired Garland dance, is the text which the company danced from 1977 to 1993 and that text was almost entirely what it had danced in 1946.

 

Twentieth Century.

 

The company first danced the ballet in !939 staged by Nicholai Sergeyev and designed by Nadia Benois. Then there was the  famous 1946 production staged by Nicholai. Sergeyev and de Valois with designs by Oliver Messel. This was replaced in 1968 by Peter Wright's production with designs by Lila de Nobili. This was not a popular production and MacMillan replaced it with his own production in 1973. This too was a short lived production and not much liked. It was performed between 1973 and 1976 and replaced by a new production by de Valois in 1977. This production was much admired as far as the text was concerned although it was thought by some to be insufficiently grand. It lasted until 1993. In 1994 Dowell replaced it with his own production with fussy costume designs and sets by Maria Bjornson which suggested that the king's palace had struck an iceberg and was sinking.

 

Twenty First Century.

 

Ross Stretton decided that what the company needed was the Kirov production by Konstantine Sergeyev and gor Markarova in to stage it. That production was heartily disliked by many people who thought it was something of an insult to abandon the company's own traditions.and replace what the company usually danced with a version which was further removed from the original and only dated back to the early 1950's. It was only performed in in 2003 and 2004. Mason scrapped it and staged the current version in 2006. I believe that the Sainsbury's made a substantial contribution to this production. However something was not quite right in Farmer's original costume designs for the 2006 production which were pastel shades rather than something close to Messel's positive colours. The 2006 costume designs were replaced, I think, in 2009.

The more I read about Ross Stretton's decisions for the company, the more I wonder why he was allowed near it in the first place. He sounds more and more like a person who didn't have a clue what the RB was about.

 

As a person seriously prone to motion sickness, I had a lot of trouble with the Bjornson designs and the weird perspectives. I'm not sure how useful it is for the current designs to be based so heavily on ones from more than half a century ago, but for me they're a major improvement over that previous version.

[Jan McNulty]

So what did people think about the performance last night?

[zxDaveM]

So what did people think about the performance last night?

 

I thought Sarah Lamb was exquisite, and Vadim Muntagirov shone as her Prince. Nothing too flashy, just a beautifully elegant response to the music. The supporting cast was excellent too - Francesca Hayward and Alexander Campbell gave a fine rendition of the Bluebirds (hers being one of the finest I've seen in recent years), Claire Calvert a magnificent Lilac, Kristen McNally having an absolute ball as Carabosse, Yasmine Naghdi and Beatriz Stix-Brunell as fine a pair of sisters to Flori as there can be! The corps de ballet looked glorious in the set pieces too - so an enjoyable evening was had from yours truly.

[capybara]

I will write later about last night. However, I am wondering whether the Mods could please start a new thread with Dave's post #82 so that we can concentrate there on our views of the performance? Most of this thread is discussion which can, perhaps, be left behind now that the real show has begun 

Edited December 22, 2016 by capybara

[MAB]

The more I read about Ross Stretton's decisions for the company, the more I wonder why he was allowed near it in the first place. He sounds more and more like a person who didn't have a clue what the RB was about.

 

As a person seriously prone to motion sickness, I had a lot of trouble with the Bjornson designs and the weird perspectives. I'm not sure how useful it is for the current designs to be based so heavily on ones from more than half a century ago, but for me they're a major improvement over that previous version.

 

I actually liked Makarova's production, and I wasn't alone as the previous Dowell/Bjornson version was generally disliked, even by those without vertigo problems.  I think there was a general feeling of relief at seeing something easier on the eye.

[John Mallinson]

I will write later about last night. However, I am wondering whether the Mods could please start a new thread with Dave's post #82 so that we can concentrate there on our views of the performance? Most of this thread is discussion which can, perhaps, be left behind now that the real show has begun 

 

Done.

 

Further discussion of the RB's current run of The Sleeping Beauty to go here please.

[suesharp12]

Golding was brought to the RB because he is talented. Though he was born Canadian he has alway dreamed of dancing with RB.  One of the many reasons is because of his love and devotion for his great grandmother..  She was a WWII bride from West Wickham.   Golding spent  2016 dancing injured until he could no longer.  Lets wish him the best in the 2017 season.  Positive thoughts can be contagious.

 

[Jamesrhblack]

Oh dear.  This did make me laugh!

 

I am not a fan of Sleeping Beauty but have booked a seat for Naghdi and Ball and another for Hayward and Campbell so they better be good!

 

Likewise. Dream casting, surely ,,,

[RuthE]

I have known performances where, after the very female-orientated Prologue and Act 1, a really special Prince has come on in Act 2 and transformed the whole proceedings 

 

Wasn't it Beauty (in the previous run) in which Muntagirov made his RB company debut, replacing somebody else?  I don't like the piece, and thought I'd had seen it as many times as I could bear for one run, but I seem to recall buying a ticket at the last minute and turning up in the second interval...

[capybara]

Wasn't it Beauty (in the previous run) in which Muntagirov made his RB company debut, replacing somebody else?  I don't like the piece, and thought I'd had seen it as many times as I could bear for one run, but I seem to recall buying a ticket at the last minute and turning up in the second interval...

 

Yes. In March 2014, Muntagirov replaced David Trensemiech who had left the RB to be a Principal in Bucharest. Akane Takada (then a Soloist) was Aurora.

[Jan McNulty]

Yes. In March 2014, Muntagirov replaced David Trensemiech who had left the RB to be a Principal in Bucharest. Akane Takada (then a Soloist) was Aurora.

 

 

 

You have got a serious treat to come with a certain Mr Campbell.  When I saw him make his debut at BRB with Momoko Hirata he was (and still is) the best Prince I have ever seen.  He really fleshed out the character of the Prince and made him totally real (which doesn't always happen).  That really was a very special performance indeed as Momoko was just out of this world too.

 

I am very sad that I am unable to attend either of his RB performances but I am very much looking forward to seeing fellow Liverpudlian Matthew Ball and Yasmine Naghdi on the matinee of the 18th.

[Fonty]

Thanks for that, Janet.  It just so happens I have a ticket for a certain Mr Campbell. SB is not my favourite ballet, but I hope he and his partner will make me see it with fresh eyes. 

[Nina G.]

Likewise. Dream casting, surely ,,,

 

I have no doubt Naghdi/Ball and Campbell/Hayward will each bring something very very special to SB! Can't wait.

[Nina G.]

I received my copy of Dancing Times and there is a lovely interview with three Auroras: Lauren Culbertson, Yasmine Naghdi and Francesca Hayward. As The Royal Ballet celebrate 70 years of their landmark production, it's quite an achievement for these three former RBS/White Lodgers to all dance "Aurora" (Naghdi/Hayward debuts) on this grand occasion. 

 

Jonathan Gray also reviews the Nutcracker and roles danced by various dancers, incl. the Sugar Plum Fairy performances of Naghdi, Calvert, Stix-Brunell and their respective partners.