The Royal Ballet: La Bayadère, London, November 2018

[alison]

I thought Muntagirov did two insane backbends, partway through and at the end of his solo last week: this week I only noticed the one. 

 

The Buddha statue used to crack in two, which was very dramatic and impressive.   Now, it just starts cracking and spalling from the top, with bits dropping downwards.  Apart from anything else, if you're up in the upper half of the amphitheatre you really can't see it.

[graemew]

57 minutes ago, Nogoat said:

 

And she did the same on-stage for Vadim & Marianela when they first appeared at the curtain calls on opening night.

 

Natalia is becoming much more tuned into RB ways nowadays without loosing that spark and impetuous way of dancing (love or hate it). She seems to be more of a team player as a result. She is still reluctant to speak English - is there a specific reason for that? She must have picked up a reasonable vocabulary by now. 

[Douglas Allen]

28 minutes ago, Xandra Newman said:

It's not so unusual I must say that Principals applaud each other at curtain call. I have seen other Principals applauding each other at the end of their performance. It's nice indeed.

 

At first sight, yes. It seems nice for dancers to applaud each other at curtain calls. On reflection, though, I disagree quite strongly with this practice. At curtain calls, the cast, collectively and individually are there on stage to acknowledge the applause (or otherwise) from the audience to them. It should not be for them to indulge in mutual congratulations. It is almost as if they are pre-empting and anticipating  the audience's response. It would inevitably lead to someone in the audience noticing if dancer A did not applaud dancer B and begin some round of speculation.  While they are in front of the curtain and in view of the audience, dancers should refrain from this kind of display unless the circumstances are exceptional (and I don't just mean a good performance). What Richard LH was referring to in his post above is different. Osipova was applauding Nunez out of sight of the audience (save for those in the extremities peering through the opening of the curtain. That is a genuine expression of pleasure and congratulations.

[Beryl H]

I really enjoyed last night's cinema performance, the only thing I would have liked were some higher up camera shots, but it was a memorable evening, Vadim Muntagirov's dancing was as "heavenly" as I expected it would be, now I'll get un unexpected chance to see him again, although I'm very sad I won't see Cesar Corrales! Also it will be strange to see Marianela Nunez and Natalia Osipova swap roles, especially with Vadim!

The corps were magnificent, think it was the first time I almost cried at the perfection of it all,  and great solo's from the 3 Shades, loved Yasmine Naghdi's musical phrasing. Thought Alexander Campbell did a superb Idol solo too, especially the final manege. It all had a very special feel, seeing Natalia Makarova getting a bouquet at the end added to the occasion! I still don't really like the short last act, not much dancing apart from the Idol and Gamzatti's solo, and the effects didn't work, at least not on the cinema screen.  

 

Edited November 14, 2018 by Beryl H

[Sim]

3 hours ago, Nogoat said:

 

And she did the same on-stage for Vadim & Marianela when they first appeared at the curtain calls on opening night.

Yes she did indeed, and I thought that was a lovely gesture. In the next performance, when they swapped roles, Marianela not only didn’t applaud her back, but she had a face like thunder until the whole line took a bow together.  I wasn’t impressed.  

[Douglas Allen]

7 minutes ago, Sim said:

Yes she did indeed, and I thought that was a lovely gesture. In the next performance, when they swapped roles, Marianela not only didn’t applaud her back, but she had a face like thunder until the whole line took a bow together.  I wasn’t impressed.  

See what I mean?

[Sim]

Except that I am not speculating.  I am just reporting what happened. I really like it when dancers applaud each other. It shows that they are joining the audience in showing their appreciation of how hard their colleague has worked, and how beautifully they have transferred the hard work into art.  If you don’t want to applaud that’s fine, but to smile might be nice. 

[Lizbie1]

2 hours ago, graemew said:

 

Natalia is becoming much more tuned into RB ways nowadays without loosing that spark and impetuous way of dancing (love or hate it). She seems to be more of a team player as a result. She is still reluctant to speak English - is there a specific reason for that? She must have picked up a reasonable vocabulary by now. 

 

Is there reason to believe she didn't applaud her Bolshoi or Mikhailovsky colleagues similarly? She's always seemed rather humble in interview so I'd be surprised to learn that she was previously not considered a team player, the normal Bolshoi politics aside.

 

I think I read here once that she speaks good English but is nervous about speaking it in interviews.

[bridiem]

2 hours ago, Douglas Allen said:

 

At first sight, yes. It seems nice for dancers to applaud each other at curtain calls. On reflection, though, I disagree quite strongly with this practice. At curtain calls, the cast, collectively and individually are there on stage to acknowledge the applause (or otherwise) from the audience to them. It should not be for them to indulge in mutual congratulations.

 

Yes; when Osipova applauded them at the end of the first night, I thought it was very touching, and possibly acceptable given that it was a big first night with Makarova there and etc. But in general I don't think it should happen - as Douglas Allen says, this is the time for audience appreciation, and is in a sense still part of the performance. It looks very amateurish for performers to clap each other (and I speak as an amateur choral singer - we do applaud our professional soloists, because we are acknowledging that they are on a different level from us). If the dancers start applauding each other on stage, the crucial divide between the cast and audience (which continues to matter until the final curtain call is over) is broken and it just becomes a mutual congratulation fest. And it would be endless - should the corps applaud the principals? And vice versa? Etc.

[graemew]

2 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

Is there reason to believe she didn't applaud her Bolshoi or Mikhailovsky colleagues similarly? She's always seemed rather humble in interview so I'd be surprised to learn that she was previously not considered a team player, the normal Bolshoi politics aside.

 

I think I read here once that she speaks good English but is nervous about speaking it in interviews.

 

That was based only on my own observation of her not having a connection on stage with other dancers - that magic we often look for. I'm not suggesting she may not have mixed or "gone down the pub" with any of her colleagues.  It's somethings which I have observed with Russian companies. Now I just love the way she reacts and throws herself into the mix.

[Fonty]

I don't really like it when cast members applaud each other, because I think curtain calls are part of the performance.  I want them to continue looking out at the audience, not turning to applaud each other.  Nunez and Osipova are seasoned performers, they don't need to congratulate each other on a job well done.  And supposing one of the principals felt their own performance wasn't as good as they wanted it to be?  Another cast member applauding them might make them feel rather annoyed!

 

I think the only time I wouldn't mind seeing it is if they are applauding someone inexperienced, who has had to perform a role for the first time at extremely short notice.

[Fiz]

Yes, Lizbie1, I saw somewhere that Osipova is nervous about speaking English. 

[Petunia]

My highlights from yesterday’s cinema broadcast are

1. the Shades

2. the Shades

3. the Shades

4. the three Solo Shades

and when Nunez does a supported jump, it never looks like Muntagirov lifts her up but rather tries to catch her before she flies away. What a glorious partnership this is. I’d buy the DVD in an instant, even though I don’t like Bayadère very much as a whole but I could watch those two in anything they do and the complete second act for hours.

 

And the Orchestra was fantastic, they really brought the best out of this not-so-brilliant score… the solo violin was exceptional! I was so grateful that they took great care to not overdo it, as it’s so often the case with Minkus’ music.

[Springbourne3]

I was at the ‘Bayadere’ livestream yesterday and it’s been a while since I’ve seen this ballet (has never been a favourite of mine) - however, I really enjoyed this production and was quite entranced by the Shades entrance last night.  It was like looking at a reflection in a hall of mirrors when you see your reflection going on into what appears to be infinity - the dancers worked in complete dreamlike unison and lead by the wonderful Romany Padjek (perfectly placed every time) - I didn’t notice any wobbles from any dancer throughout either.  The dancers that stood out for me in the Shades corps, besides Padjek, were Isabella Gasparini (giving her all beautifully and sincerely) and Sae Maeda (quietly gracefully confident in the front row).  The applause at the end of the Shades entrance was loud and prolonged - well deserved and I think it’s one of the best I’ve seen.

 

The three Shades - Choe seemed to lack her usual joy and I thought her (first) variation lacked attack and she looked a little nervous.  I thought that out of the second and third variations, danced by Nahgdi and Takada, Takada had the slight  ‘edge’ with soaring elevation and solidly held aresbesques - just stunning.

 

Nunez was outstanding and I thought she was a class above Osipova last night (just my opinion) - gracious, sincere and with beautifully executed classical technique.  I thought Osipova over-acted at times and it just didn’t ring true  and she didn’t seem to have convincing passion for Solor.

 

Muntagirov just gets better and better - I think the role of Solor really suits him - he can dance so very beautifully and act so very convincingly. 

Beautiful lines and port de bras.

 

Other dancers that stood out last night for me were, Elizabeth McCrae ( ‘pink ladies’ pas de quatre Act 1) beautiful quality/footwork and always ‘on’ the music and a glowing Nadia Mullova-Barley and Leticia Dias in the corps dances.

 

A couple of negatives were the poor lighting at times - particularly after Núñez performed a variation and when she came back on to take a reverence she just disappeared into darkness - there were a few comments about this from people in the cinema audience.  

 

The last at act was disappointing in that it seemed to of been cut short - where was the earthquake and special effects that Darcey B had mentioned in the previous interval? All we could see were lots of lamps flashing around the stage then blackness for a good few minutes.....and suddenly we jumped to the final tableau....end of story.......I remember from previous productions the lightening and the giant Buddha collapsing etc etc.  It felt as they had run out of time and the story hadn’t really been properly concluded.

 

it was lovely to see Markarova on stage at the end though.  

[graemew]

Springbourne3:  As has been noted elsewhere, the graphics seems to break from time to time and last night was very much the case. I wonder whether the cameras couldn't handle it or whether it just "went wrong". Either way, when I saw it live it was very clear and convincing. Last night it looked like a dust cloud.

[capybara]

Stop press! Mayara Magri fantastic as Gamzatti.

[Springbourne3]

1 hour ago, graemew said:

Springbourne3:  As has been noted elsewhere, the graphics seems to break from time to time and last night was very much the case. I wonder whether the cameras couldn't handle it or whether it just "went wrong". Either way, when I saw it live it was very clear and convincing. Last night it looked like a dust cloud.

 

Graemew - what an apt description re - dust cloud - it looked just like one! 

[Sim]

2 hours ago, capybara said:

Stop press! Mayara Magri fantastic as Gamzatti.

Indeed...a very impressive debut!

[alison]

Hasn't she danced it before?  I'd have assumed the cast must be on their second performance by now.

[Sim]

5 minutes ago, alison said:

Hasn't she danced it before?  I'd have assumed the cast must be on their second performance by now.

No, this was their first performance.  

[FrankH]

The local Curzon cinema was sold out full for La Bayadère. It hadn’t been for Mayerling.

As someone whose knowledge of ballet is very limited, I hadn’t realised how popular La Bayadère must be. In my days before 2014, as a very low-key ballet goer, I had even heard of Mayerling, but not of La Bayadère.

My random observations on what was a very enjoyable first viewing of this masterpiece.

The music. Although “classical” music is the performing art which I know best, I knew nothing about Ludwig Minkus. So I google his name, and read of his great importance in the history of ballet music.

The music suited the ballet very well. At one point in Act II it sounded briefly as it were about to morph into Émile Waldteufel’s Les Patineurs, which would have been most inappropriate for the mood of the Act! There were some fine passages, especially in Act III, but as a whole it wasn’t very memorable, and, unlike Tchaikovsky, I wouldn’t go to a concert just to hear the music.

Act I. Very long, and at a couple of points I found my attention wandering. Fortunately something always happened to refocus my attention, otherwise I might well have dropped off.

Did one of the corps have a fall? Out of the corner of my eye, while looking at another part of the screen, I saw her pick herself up from the floor. I wondered if she had slipped over. She rose in a suitably graceful manner, so it might have been part of the choreography. An advantage of being ignorant as to what should have been happening, is that I am not disappointed if something goes wrong, unless it’s obvious.

I couldn't see a "snake". Had somebody forgotten to put it in the bouquet?

Act II. I can quite see why this is sometimes presented as a showpiece by itself. It stands out as the highlight of the ballet – and yet has very little, if any, part to play in the narrative story. What a beautiful, magical experience to see it performed so well. Perfection in this very difficult piece would surely be almost impossible, but the wonderful RB corps got very close. As for the three main shades, I can only echo the praise of the more knowledgeable on this forum. Unlike another poster, I found Yuhui Choe as impressive as the two others, but then I don't know what the choreography should be.

Act III. Again, my ignorance as to what should actually have been seen, meant that I was less disappointed than others with such things as the relative invisibility of what was going on behind the “scrim” (what this is, is another thing I learned from this forum), and also with the darkness of the scene, which I presumed must have been meant.

The main dancers. If there were any flaws, I probably wouldn’t have noticed them. The main three were all superb as far as I could judge. The close-up view of the screen gives a good view of how good they are as actors. In this I thought Osipova was especially convincing, although I gather that some think she over-acts.

Ballet dancing at the highest level is a more physically demanding activity than any sport – apart perhaps from the Iron Man/Woman type of extreme sports – and is made even more so, because the dancers must try to hide the physical stress they are under. Even so, there are things which cannot be disguised. I suspect La Bayadère must be a very demanding ballet to dance for the principals, as at least two of them were quite visibly breathing very hard after their solos. This was especially so with Alexander Campbell after his solo, and the bronze “skin” seemed to highlight this.

The curtain calls were among the most touching I have seen, because of the inclusion of Natalia Makarova. If this performance is ever released as a DVD, I shall buy it, and among the other highlights, note the reactions of the cast, and especially Osipova, to the appearance of this “high priestess” among them.

One final thought concerning that dreaded, and much misused, term “Political Correctness”, which parts of the media, and the far right which they serve, have managed to make a worse crime than racism, sexism, xenophobia etc.,  and has enabled all these sorts of things to be revitalised in a virulent form. The original use of the term did have some validity however, and there are certainly some incidents, especially those concerned with student politics, where the term is correctly used to indicate an unjustified, often inane, sort of over-preciousness about “offence”. So how are we to judge La Bayadère, without falling into that trap?

I use a rule to judge these matters. Does  the item – book, play, film, comic act, ballet – etc. have the effect of inciting, increasing, or entrenching, distrust, dislike, hatred, misunderstanding, towards particular ethnic groups, races etc.?

It seems obvious to me that La Bayadère does not incite dislike or hatred towards Indians. Nor does it make them into comic figures, which is a perhaps valid criticism of the Chinese dance in The Nutcracker.

Anyone who is not prejudiced against Indians will not be made so by La Bayadère (unless they are very odd people with mental problems). La Bayadère is clearly an example of fantasies about the Orient, and may be an example of “Orientalism”, but if so, it is a mild and harmless form of this. To object to it, is really PC gone mad. And as some have already pointed out in this thread, there are far more serious issues and dangers which face humans today.

 

Edited November 15, 2018 by FrankH

[Kate]

Keenly awaiting reviews of the Ball, Cuthbertson and Magri cast.... pretty please. Going Saturday but dying to know what people thought of this particular casts first night.

[Tony Newcombe]

1 hour ago, Kate said:

Keenly awaiting reviews of the Ball, Cuthbertson and Magri cast.... pretty please. Going Saturday but dying to know what people thought of this particular casts first night.

Your in for a treat.

[alison]

I've just been reminded about something about the cinema showing: was it just my cinema, or was there something slightly off for a while in the betrothal scene?  Started more or less with the "short" girls in pink (as opposed to the "tall" girls in coral), and carried through into the early part of Solor and Gamzatti's bit as well.  Something slightly wrong with the rendition of the movement, that made it look just a touch ... robotic, or artificial, maybe standing out a little oddly from the background, or something?  I know I thought it didn't look quite right somehow.

 

Talking to other people at the ROH last night, there did seem to be quite a consensus that the live relay didn't quite meet the heights of last (?)Thursday's performance, which was also filmed.  If a DVD is to be produced, I hope they don't feel the need to stick as slavishly as possible to what went out in the cinema for it.

[alison]

Oh, and talking of tall and short, it seems to me very much, at corps level, that this is a "tall" girl's ballet.  What, apart from the Shades, do the "short" girls do?  Just the dance with the fans in the betrothal scene?

[Tony Newcombe]

Pas d’action has 4 taller girls and 4 who are shorter

[capybara]

8 minutes ago, alison said:

Talking to other people at the ROH last night, there did seem to be quite a consensus that the live relay didn't quite meet the heights of last (?)Thursday's performance, which was also filmed.  If a DVD is to be produced, I hope they don't feel the need to stick as slavishly as possible to what went out in the cinema for it.

 

 They "pick and mix" for a DVD.

[Sim]

Just briefly:  I think there was a bit of nervousness last night.  A few little wobbles from Lauren, a slightly off kilter ending of Mayara's fouettes....but solid partnering from Matthew for both of his ballerinas.  I really liked his characterisation, but I didn't feel any real emotional connection between him and Lauren.  Again, this might be due to first-performance nerves.  They were so lovely together in M&A that maybe it will come in the next show now that they have one under their belts.  If Matthew's innate and natural passion were returned, it would be a wonderful and emotional pairing.   I'm afraid Lauren's Nikiya didn't move me, and for me she wasn't ethereal enough.  Maybe she still had Sylvia (which she had danced at the Maryinsky just four nights previously) in her bones and in her soul because this was more of a performance along those lines.  I would absolutely love to see her as Gamzatti.  Mayara Magri made a very impressive debut as Gamzatti, and with another couple of performances she will really get into the character...which she already did, but I know that there is even more to come. 

 

Marcellino Sambe was a wonderful Bronze Idol (my favourite of the run), and the Shades were as lovely as ever. 

 

Having now seen all the casts, my favourite Nikiya has been Akane Takada.  For me, she just nailed every aspect of what I think Nikiya should be.  I am still thinking about the Gamzattis;  much more difficult for me to call as I really liked all of them. 

[penelopesimpson]

18 minutes ago, alison said:

Oh, and talking of tall and short, it seems to me very much, at corps level, that this is a "tall" girl's ballet.  What, apart from the Shades, do the "short" girls do?  Just the dance with the fans in the betrothal scene?

Play first maid in Mayerling

[Richard LH]

12 minutes ago, Sim said:

Having now seen all the casts, my favourite Nikiya has been Akane Takada.  For me, she just nailed every aspect of what I think Nikiya should be. 

 

Sim she is as perfect in this  as one could wish. I get goosebumps just thinking back over her performances.  Such a beautiful dancer!

[annamk]

I agree with much of Sim's report above. 

 

I thought Mayara Magri made a solid debut which promises well for the future. She did rush some of the confrontation scene probably due to nerves but I felt she showed a strong stage presence and acted convincingly. Technically the steps are no struggle for her although she didn't finish the fouettes tidily.

 

I'm afraid for me this is just not a good role for Matthew Ball.  It doesn't play to his strengths, demanding more technically in the solo dancing than he seems able to deliver but offering little opportunity to show off his acting ability beyond looking troubled and conflicted. I went to Berlin last weekend to see Ratmansky's new Bayadere & I think that it would be a perfect vehicle for him because the role of Solor has far more mime and acting and minimal virtuoso dancing. 

 

A shout out for the terrific corps, looking better than they have for years. 

Edited November 15, 2018 by annamk
Typos typos

[Fonty]

An interesting audience at my Odeon in North London.  This is in what used to be a rather poor area of London, although recently it is starting to get trendy and fashionable.  There were about 25 of us in total, and all bar 3 of us looked like OAPs.  Ballet obviously doesn't appeal to the younger generation round here.  

 

It has been many years since I have seen it live on stage. I think Cojocaru played Nikiya the last time I saw it.  After seeing this at the cinema, I have a few questions which I am sure all the knowledgeable people on here will be able to answer.   

 

1.  Who were the chaps with the dreadlocks and the streaks on their bodies supposed to be?  And who played the lead "savage" (for want of a better term)?

 

2.  Does anyone know the names of the 4 ladies in pink in the first act?  My eye was caught by the one second from the left as we looked at them.  She was so musical.

 

3.  Who was in the portrait that the two ladies kept pointing at?  I just didn't get who that was supposed to be. 

 

4.  In the Shades scene, when the dancers come  down the ramp, they all do the arabesque on the right leg.(I think?)  But when they get on the flat, each alternate girl is on the opposite leg.  I was trying to see how they adjusted, but the camera angle wouldn't let me.  How do they manage the swap without it jarring visually?

 

5,  And finally:  Did the tiger die of terminal moth?  

 

 

Edited November 15, 2018 by Fonty

[Fiz]

That was when we last saw La Bayedere, Fonty. I think the lead “savage” was James Hay after much cogitation. I totally agree with you about the poor old tiger!