Cinderella's Prom outing

[John Mallinson]

Next Wednesday, August 22, 7pm, Valeri Gergiev conducts the LSO in the full score of Cinderella at the BBC Proms.

[alison]

So, did anyone else go? Or listen? As usual, Gergiev drove me to distraction at times with his over-fast tempi (I keep imagining ballet dancers looking white as a sheet at the prospect of having to fit so many steps into so little time), but apart from that I thought it was very good. He had a quite substantial brass section up in the gallery - just so we could have the Prince's fanfare properly announced. I've never actually seen people go and take a look at them before, though.

[bangorballetboy]

There were a few fluffy bits where the brass and strings weren't together (mainly due to Gergiev's lack of a downbeat, I suppose) but on the whole the LSO created a luscious energetic sound. Nice to hear the bits we don't normally hear. As Alison said, the tempi were often pushed and pulled to a dancer's ear but they work for a concert performance. My internal iPlayer was run full pelt with a veritable mix and match of RB dancers past & present.

 

Lovely picture in the programme too (Blair, Fonteyn, Helpmann, Ashton).

[tim b]

Re tempi - I remember spending two blissfully happy hours in the dance section of the New York Public Library on my first visit there in 1979 watching an American TV recording of Cinderella - Fonteyn, Somes and I must have the others written down somewhere but I remember being amazed at the great speed of the tempi and that the 1955-ish Fonteyn had no trouble at all with them - interestingly there were no stairs and that tricky male solo was omitted

[Bluebird]

Re tempi - I remember spending two blissfully happy hours in the dance section of the New York Public Library on my first visit there in 1979 watching an American TV recording of Cinderella - Fonteyn, Somes and I must have the others written down somewhere

 

Would that be the NBC TV recording that was issued on VAI to celebrate the Ashton Centenary in 2004? If so, it was recorded in April 1957 and the Ugly Sisters were Ashton and MacMillan, the Jester was Alexander Grant, the Fairy Godmother was Julia Farron and the Seasons were Merle Park, Annette Page, Svetlana Beriosova and Elaine Fifield

 

Edited as some of the text mysteriously became gobbledygook and had to be corrected

Edited August 23, 2012 by Bluebird

[tim b]

To slightly mis-quote 'Ennery 'Iggins - By George I think you've got it

[alison]

If it's the one I had out on DVD rental reasonably recently, then I too remember being amazed at the speeds - or was that Sleeping Beauty I'm thinking of?

[aileen]

I took my husband and children to this concert. My daughter had seen the ballet but my husband and son had not. We all really enjoyed it and the half-price tickets for children were very good value. I agree that Gergiev conducted at a fast pace but it was fine in the context of a concert. I was struck by the very large number of violins and violas in the orchestra. I counted about 36 and I couldn't see the whole of the right hand side of the orchestra. The 'Cinderella theme' was really exqusite. The concert left me wanting more and I think that a trip to Birmingham to see their production of Cinderella is on the cards. Thank you to John for alerting us to this concert.

[JaneL]

I listened to this from the gallery, lying down with my eyes closed, and it was pure bliss (though I did also notice that it was quite speedy!). I really, really wish we had got the whole of Romeo and Juliet as well, though. I did enjoy the Suite but would have exchanged the Act 3 pdd and Juliet's funeral and death for the Act 1 townspeople music. I was all ready for an emotional overhaul and it didn't happen because Romeo and Juliet didn't die!

[alison]

One reason why I always go in the gallery!

 

Gergiev actually did the whole of R&J a few years back. It might have been before you were down here, because he's done 3 Tchaikovskys and two Prokofievs now, I think.

[JaneL]

Yes, it's such an amazing way to experience classical music (second best only to experiencing it accompanied by ballet )

 

I think you're right and that must have been before I moved back to London. I've been to the proms every year since I did, and I don't remember seeing that on the programme (of course, the first year (2009), when I wasn't very aware of the proms as something that I wanted to go to, I might have just not paid much attention to what was on!)

[bangorballetboy]

Gergiev actually did the whole of R&J a few years back. It might have been before you were down here, because he's done 3 Tchaikovskys and two Prokofievs now, I think.

 

Not at the Proms, he didn't. The complete ballet has not been performed at the Proms.

[alison]

Hasn't it? Well, I guess that'll be next year, then.

 

Now you mention it, it may have been at the Barbican. I've definitely heard him conduct the whole thing.