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Strangely muted evening. The expected running order was changed with Anxiety put in the middle of the bill rather than at the end as scheduled. So I couldn't sneak out as I'd planned. Think others had that idea too. Anyway glad I didn't as I actually rather enjoyed it, far more than the other times, and I thought the cast gelled well - really liked Campbell. The MacGregor was the opener and shortest piece at 19 minutes. I'm a MacGregor fan, and I found it fluid and lyrical. Beautifully danced. Very post-Woolf Works, a little bit MacMillan Requiem too, and really flowed with the music. Want to see it again. But my friend and neighbours hated it, and although the applause was warm, it was noticeably louder for the orchestra- never a good sign! The new Wheeldon looked great. Rather Fedorovitch/Symphonic Variations in feel, and it started strongly. But it meandered ...and the music was sort of faux Bartok which dragged on a bit and I sort of lost the plot (...well it was a plotless work, so I guess that's why...) ...but the dancing was superb. Tierney Heap a triumph! My friend and neighbours hated it even more than the MacGregor. And since they could only muster mild contempt for Anxiety, my corner of the Amphi was a little gloomy! Anyway I'm def done with Anxiety, would love to see the MacGregor again, and I'd also like to see the Wheeldon - it managed to be complex and a little superficial- want to sort it in my mind.

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A beautiful new piece from MacGregor, 'Yugen'. I'm not a big fan of MacGregor's, but like parts of Woolf Works, it revealed a far softer, lyrical and altogether more human-looking side of his work and, to my mind, far preferable to the violent and often ugly contortions. The loose-fitting costumes reinforce the flowing, melting nature of many of the movements. A combination of the choral setting and entrances/exits made often from a darkened upstage area brought 'Gloria' to mind. Highest compliments to a  wondrous cast lead by Lamb and Bonelli, including a specially luminous Hayward, a jaw-droppingly good Sissens and the that most welcome addition to the RB that is William Bracewell. Full cast: Bracewell, Bonelli, Churches, Hamilton, Hayward, Katsura, Kay, Lamb, Richardson, Sissens, Takada. Unlike most of MacGregor's work, this is one I most definitely want to see again. 

 

Its too late (actually, early in the morning) to add more, just to say that despite the best efforts of the wonderful cast, I haven't warmed much to The Age of Anxiety since last time: to me it looks like the work of a choreographer far less experienced than Scarlett.

 

...okay, a bit about the last piece...

 

Like the new MacGregor piece, the new Wheeldon also has a name and its ...'Corybantic Games'. Once again, fabulous dancers (aren't we are so lucky to be witnessing such a wealth of talent on that stage?). I liked the piece, stunning and inventive in places, but tends to get over complicated and loose its way - possibly not helped by, dare I say it, the music?! It felt like Wheeldon was making a bit of a statement having one mixed-sex and two same-sex couples dancing at the same time together - very 21st Century. The costumes were interesting, and I mean in both a literal and sarcastic sense: the see through, yet Napoli-style skirts are abandoned fairly soon; the picture that remains with me are of the black adornments on the dancers' costumes. At first, the costumes reminded me of Symphonic Variations, with the black lines, however, they also took on slightly different, unfortunate connotations, especially that of Hirano's. Full cast: Ball, Bracewell, Cuthbertson, Naghdi, Stix-Brunell (her solo looked fun), Magri, Sambé (both wonderful), Hirano, Heap , plus Bracher, Dias, Gasparini, Grennell, Lubach, Tonkinson, Churches, Dixon, Donnelly, Dubreuil, Emerton, Yudes.

 

 

 

 

 

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Vanartus posted his/her comment while I was writing mine, so have only just read it. Many similarities in our views of the performance. And yes, Campbell was great!

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5 hours ago, Vanartus said:

My friend and neighbours hated it even more than the McGregor. 

 

Think your friend and neighbours need a talking to!!  :-)  Feel the same about 'Age Anxiety', and costumes aside, loved both the new pieces enormously

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I was photographing at the dress rehearsal, so here are some photos from that...


40786218902_fe537e0f17_z.jpg
Yugen - Federico Bonelli, Sarah Lamb
© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

 

39933380265_9d3d4ea48c_z.jpg
The Age of Anxiety - Tristan Dyer, Sarah Lamb, Alexander Cambell, Bennet Garside
© Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

 

39933380735_a68bfa04e9_z.jpg
Corybantic Games - Charlotte Tonkinson, Camille Bracher, Isabel Lubach, Beatriz Stix-Brunell, Hannah Grennell, Leticia Dias, Isabella Gasparini
©  Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

 

See more... 

Set from DanceTabs: RB - Bernstein at 100
Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr


By kind Permission of The Royal Opera House

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Very interesting to read the comments above.  I haven't time to write anything substantive sadly - shouldn't even be reading this - (this is Bruce playing 'hooky') ... but just wanted to add that I thought the lighting design for the Wheeldon was truly spectacular.  So refreshing to see a piece employing a full canon of shade and colour - but where you could still - comfortably - watch the dance - e.g., no need to squint or question identity because of illumination - (or rather lack of it) - whether the choreography on hand be to your taste or not.  At least here you could fairly judge.  Here's hoping this will be  a concerted RB trend in terms of new productions (the lighting I mean).  Certainly that is one I would heartily applaud.  

Edited by Bruce Wall
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Just some quick thoughts from the bus:  I'm afraid for me it was a big fat 'meh'.  I knew I wouldn't like Age, but I sat through it again for the sake of being fair and giving it another chance. I thought the McGregor was dull and unimaginative (thank goodness for the music!) and the costumes too similar to Obsidian Tear.  The Wheeldon was the best of the bunch for me, but if it had been with two very good pieces it would not have seemed as good as it did last night.  The costumes were awful and unflattering, reminding me of a bondage scene from a porn movie (but that might just be my warped mind 😛).   I didn't much like the music, and whereas I thought there were enjoyable moments, it went on too long and didn't quite gel for me.  Tierney Heap was an excellent choice of casting, and conveyed an Amazonian power through graceful dancing.  There was a fun and exciting pdd for Marcelino Sambe and Mayara Magri (what a great season she is having) but it was over all too quickly.  

 

I will look at the two new pieces again, but I will definitely be in the bar for Age of Anxiety.  For me, it does nothing and says nothing, despite the very best efforts of the dancers, whose talents are wasted here.  

 

All in all, a dull and disappointing evening. 

 

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Sim:  Sorry about those costumes - they've clearly been given quite a push.  A second feature from the NY Times is in today's Links, and the Today programme (BBC 4) had Chris Wheeldon and the Erdem designer on this morning, around 8.25 am.

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I'm with Sim on Anxiety (along with others) but not with regards to Yugen. I really loved it - I like it best when Wayne does choreography to 'proper' music, rather than the noise of bleeps, whirrs and scratches. Liked the colours in the costumes, but not not much the trakkie pants bagginess. The lighting was interesting too (in a positive way) and not following the current trend of utter gloom. The staging for the Wheeldon was spectacular I thought - though not so keen on the costumes for the women - very 50's undies catalogue! The lighting was a joy (except in the blue-lit section).

Look forward to seeing both again

 

 

Oh - found this from the urban dictionary:

 

YUGEN

The subtle and the profound. 

Yugen is at the core of the appreciation of beauty and art in Japan. It values the power to evoke, rather that the ability to state directly. The principle of Yugen shows that real beauty exists when, through its suggestiveness, only a few words, or few brush strokes, can suggest what has not been said or shown, and hence awaken many inner thoughts and feelings. 

 

PS - don't look up 'corybantic' there!!!

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Dave's photo above of the Wheeldon piece reminds me of Les Noces. Did anyone else notice what I assumed to be the nod to Petipa in the MacGregor?

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23 minutes ago, Ian Macmillan said:

Sim:  Sorry about those costumes - they've clearly been given quite a push.  A second feature from the NY Times is in today's Links, and the Today programme (BBC 4) had Chris Wheeldon and the Erdem designer on this morning, around 8.25 am.

 

Funny how often the 'outside world' only takes an interest in ballet when a fashion designer is involved. :angry:

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For those interested in the music for this triple bill, I just found an interesting BBC programme on Bernstein's Serenade after Plato's 'Symposium':

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0202nz8

 

Here are the details from the BBC website:

Bernstein: Serenade after Plato's 'Symposium'

Leonard Bernstein's five movement concerto for violin, strings and percussion is one of his most personal compositions. It was inspired by Plato's discourse on love in all its aspects, the 'Symposium', which was presented in the form of a series of statements by celebrated guests at a banquet. Charles Hazlewood explores the relationship between Bernstein's music and the source of his inspiration.

Performances by Antje Weithaas (violin) and the BBC Concert Orchestra.

Release date:

30 May 2014
Edited by Bluebird
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46 minutes ago, Ian Macmillan said:

Sim:  Sorry about those costumes - they've clearly been given quite a push.  A second feature from the NY Times is in today's Links, and the Today programme (BBC 4) had Chris Wheeldon and the Erdem designer on this morning, around 8.25 am.

Yes, I've been watching all the press coverage about the costumes.  The NYT erroneously keeps referring to the skirts as tutus, which they clearly are not.  

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29 minutes ago, Darlex said:

Dave's photo above of the Wheeldon piece reminds me of Les Noces. Did anyone else notice what I assumed to be the nod to Petipa in the MacGregor?

And the nod to Song of the Earth in the Wheeldon?

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50 minutes ago, Sim said:

And the nod to Song of the Earth in the Wheeldon?

 

Add to that a fairly hefty influence of Robbins' Antique Epigraphs.  Notable t'was - and most especially fitting in this year of their matching centenaries .... given that they were only born seven weeks apart... and remained life long friends and colleagues.  .  

 

Edited by Bruce Wall
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8 hours ago, Vanartus said:

The expected running order was changed with Anxiety put in the middle of the bill rather than at the end as scheduled.

 

I thought it was always in the middle?  Certainly I've never seen it scheduled anywhere else.

 

Shame the McGregor is so short: I'd carefully booked two performances so that I could split the bill, but it's really not worth while turning up just for 20 minutes - it's not Symphonic Variations, after all.

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This triple gets a meh from me too. 

 

I liked the McGregor very much, possibly helped by the fact that at 19 minutes it could hardly outstay it’s welcome. The movement was more lyrical than much of McGregor’s past work for the RB and it was very effective. I liked his choice of dancers, it’s good to see some new faces in there. When I watched the insight it felt to me at times that Sarah Lamb was being parcelled around rather too much by the men but somehow the loose fitting costumes made the those movements look more attractive than they might otherwise have done. 

 

I hate Age of Anxiety: I watched the general just in case I could find anything redeeming in it and although I thought Campbell a definite improvement on McRae, I still felt it should have been strangled at birth. How on earth did the RB management conclude it was worthy of revival ? It’s like a second rate West End song and dance production without the singing. 

 

I had mixed feelings about the Wheeldon - I should say that I was on the sides so not a great viewpoint. It was probably unfortunate to have seen Ratmansky’s sophisticated and musically responsive choreography for the same Bernstein. In comparison Wheeldon felt at times like a poor relation. I thought the opening movement involving Ball and Bracewell was strong. Parts of the corps sections were also very attractive. But it seemed to me that the principal couple - Cuthbertson & Hirano - were underused. They deserved a more substantial pdd which might also have helped the sag I felt 3/4 of the way through. Much of what they did have to dance was in semi darkness, competing for attention with two other couples. Also, although Magri and Sambe were impressive in their section, the choreography here wasn’t the most interesting I’ve seen for a pair of fast, dynamic dancers. 

I love Erdem but the costumes didn’t live up to hopes. I’m not saying they were ugly just that they could have been better. What did the bits of black tape flapping around randomly mean ? Was there a programme note to shed any light on this ? 

 

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I felt that Yugen was carried along by the great music and the wonderful cast.

Age of Anxiety - pass, except for the backcloths of NewYork.

I found the music for the Wheeldon exceptionally dull and the costumes a touch sleazy; but the dancing was outstanding.

 

I do enjoy it when Principals and Soloists are mixed in with dancers from all other ranks and when relative newcomers are given a chance to shine. Both new pieces delivered mightily in this respect.

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I was also disappointed to find Anxiety in the middle, had been hoping to leave early, quite a struggle to keep going actually, especially  with 30 minute intervals, even after a 19 minute ballet. Nice to see some colour in the Yugen costumes, although red does seem to crop up a lot these days, lyrical slow dancing, but not sure what is was about (programme not helpful, more about the music than the dance). Anxiety looks fabulous and that's it, no real dancing until Tristan Dyer's solo at the end. Glad I stayed because I loved Corybantic Games, whatever it means, there was an Ancient Greek feel to it evoking the Olympic Games, Tierney Heap had a marvellous solo, costumes look both ancient and modern, except for the black ribbons flying about, lighting evocative, look forward to seeing this one again but it's quite a boring evening overall!

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6 hours ago, Sim said:

Just some quick thoughts from the bus:  I'm afraid for me it was a big fat 'meh'.  I knew I wouldn't like Age, but I sat through it again for the sake of being fair and giving it another chance. I thought the McGregor was dull and unimaginative (thank goodness for the music!) and the costumes too similar to Obsidian Tear.  The Wheeldon was the best of the bunch for me, but if it had been with two very good pieces it would not have seemed as good as it did last night.  The costumes were awful and unflattering, reminding me of a bondage scene from a porn movie (but that might just be my warped mind 😛).   I didn't much like the music, and whereas I thought there were enjoyable moments, it went on too long and didn't quite gel for me.  Tierney Heap was an excellent choice of casting, and conveyed an Amazonian power through graceful dancing.  There was a fun and exciting pdd for Marcelino Sambe and Mayara Magri (what a great season she is having) but it was over all too quickly.  

 

I will look at the two new pieces again, but I will definitely be in the bar for Age of Anxiety.  For me, it does nothing and says nothing, despite the very best efforts of the dancers, whose talents are wasted here.  

 

All in all, a dull and disappointing evening. 

 

"reminding me of a bondage scene from a porn movie" 😂😂😂 too funny!!

Didn't see the performance, but did wonder at all the fuss in regards to the costumes, as from the photos it looked like white tights on the men & large panties and bustier on the women, with black strips - I thought I was missing something 🙄

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  • John Mallinson changed the title to The Royal Ballet: Bernstein Centenary triple bill, March 2018

Oh dear!

 

Both sim and annamk have got me worried - I am going tomorrow (Sat 17). I am not a fan of modern ballet/opera, but was intrigued by the Bernstein connection, so bought tickets for the triple bill. Now I wonder if it's going to be "wow" or "meh" for me!?

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1 minute ago, sanj2000 said:

 

Both sim and annamk have got me worried - I am going tomorrow (Sat 17). I am not a fan of modern ballet/opera, but was intrigued by the Bernstein connection, so bought tickets for the triple bill. Now I wonder if it's going to be "wow" or "meh" for me!?

 

either view valid - let us know what YOU think  :-)

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Aliceinwoolfland you've literally just beaten me to it....those costumes look awful but haven't booked for this triple ....and don't feel that inspired to now anyway ....so won't have to put up with them!! 

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Sadly, the evening had an overall feeling of ‘meh’ for me as well.  Beforehand, I was expecting to enjoy the new Wheeldon & also the Age of Anxiety (which I hadn’t seen before); probably less enjoy the new McGregor. In the end it was the other way around.

 

I definitely enjoyed Yugen the most. I was slightly put off by the music at the start, as from where I was sat in the amphi I experienced it as a rather painfully deafening, strident wall of noise & was very relieved once the boy treble started singing. (I’ve since listened to the start of the Chichester Psalms online & was fine with it.)  I was glad I’d read the words to the Chichester Psalms beforehand (printed on the free cast list & also in the programme), as I’m not familiar with them & knowledge of the themes helped me connect to the dancing onstage.  The dancing felt more lyrical than some other Wayne McGregor pieces I’ve seen & deeply connected to the music. Lovely performances from all the cast & like others, I appreciated that there were some new faces, not just the usual McGregor dancers.

 

The staging of Yugen felt effective, including good lighting. I liked the deep, rich pomegranate colours of the costumes – created using vegetables dyes from villages in Iran (!) according the programme. It crossed my mind that the costume department might have raided Wayne McGregor’s own wardrobe for the very low crotch style baggy trousers :P  At first I wondered whether this trouser style would obscure the dancers’ lines or impede their movement, but I agree with annamk that they actually made movements I’d seen (via YouTube) from the RB’s Bernstein Insight event look more attractive. This is a piece I’d definitely like to watch again.

 

The Age of Anxiety was a real disappointment for me. I’m afraid that despite the best efforts of all the dancers involved, I didn’t feel this piece worked. I just wasn’t interested in any of the people being depicted, couldn’t see the point of the piece & actually kept falling asleep.

 

After a stroll in the second interval to wake myself up, I was ready for Corybantic Games. I think I’d like to see this piece again before commenting too much about the choreography & staging, as my first impressions were quite mixed. What I did appreciate was the cast, which like the new McGregor had a lovely range of dancers giving great performances.

 

I certainly wasn’t impressed by the costumes. The black strips of fabric were distracting & looked to me as though everyone had got tangled up in car seat belts. Though the person sitting next to me said that they reminded her of the sashes worn long ago when she was doing dance in school, which created an effect a bit like that.

 

As for the rest of the women’s costumes, I thought the pants & bra were a designer take on McGregor’s typical M&S style vest & pants look, done in 1950s lingerie style. The long diaphanous skirts worn at the start created a bizarrely distracting look from the amphi – exactly like pulsating jellyfish!  :wacko:  It was a relief when they were jettisoned.

 

I suspect what would have helped me get more out of the piece was an understanding of what it was based on - Plato’s Symposium. I had expected the programme to explain more about this, but as far as I can see it only mentions that Bernstein wrote the music as five movements in seven sections & was inspired by the different speakers in Plato’s Symposium. So I concluded from this lack of explanation that I didn’t need to know. I did pick up on the themes as I watched, but having looked up Plato’s Symposium online since, would have appreciated bringing that knowledge to the performance.  

 

From overhearing audience conversations around me, I got the impression that quite a few people had been disappointed by the evening overall. With Yugen being the most preferred piece.    I won’t be seeing this triple bill again, but would definitely book to see Yugen & Corybantic Games another time when an alternative piece to Age of Anxiety makes up the evening.

 

 

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52 minutes ago, sanj2000 said:

Oh dear!

 

Both sim and annamk have got me worried - I am going tomorrow (Sat 17). I am not a fan of modern ballet/opera, but was intrigued by the Bernstein connection, so bought tickets for the triple bill. Now I wonder if it's going to be "wow" or "meh" for me!?

Sanj, you might love it like Dave did, and Judith Mackrell!  If you don't, then you can just notch it up to experience, like I always do.  I always learn something, even from pieces or performances I don't like.  

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56 minutes ago, aliceinwoolfland said:

The Corybantic Games costumes look dreadful.

 

Emperor's new clothes?

 

I very much enjoyed the Insight relay and will be very interested to see the Triple Bill in the cinema so won't comment until then.  I'm still hoping that I'll want to see if there are any returns for the final performances.

 

Many thanks to Indigo and Bluebird for their posts.  I think some homework might help but all this does rather underscore the paucity of the ROH's website information.

Edited by JohnS
Missed a word
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Thanks, JohnS.  Just a little knowledge of what Plato's Symposium is about & also who the Corybants were would have helped me.

Alternatively, having seen the triple bill after reading The Telegraph & Guardian reviews! 

 

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