Royal Ballet mixed bill: Within the Golden Hour / Medusa / Flight Pattern, May 2019

[Bluebird]

1 hour ago, Lynette H said:

The orchestra in the pit was a fairy modest size for this triple bill.  If the ROH was ever going to reinstate the seating in those areas of the stalls circle closest to the stage, this would have seemed to be an opportunity. But they didn't. So maybe we should conclude that those seats are gone for good ? 

 

1 hour ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

Does anyone know whether they were made available for the Bolshoi season? I think it’s been remarked previously that they (are able to) take a rather more relaxed attitude.

 

1 hour ago, RuthE said:

 

I believe so.  They certainly seem to have complete freedom to make their own decisions in this matter.

 

The stalls circle stage seats are definitely available for the Bolshoi season.  I've booked in that area for most of my performances  as those bench seats are cheaper than my normal front side amphi seats.

 

They are also usually released for Royal Opera performances of Mozart operas.  For example, for the recent run of Così Fan Tutte, they appeared without warning on the ROH website around two weeks before the first night.

[Jan McNulty]

I finally got to see this programme on stage last night, having seen it at the cinema last week.

 

I appreciate that at the cinema we have to see the "directors cut" but, for me, it was almost like seeing a different programme!  I should point out that I did greatly enjoy the cinema showing last week but last night took every piece to another level.  Was it just the cinema/theatre contrast or was it the different casting for the first two works.

 

Within the Golden Hour was just glorious last night.  The whole cast melded beautifully and their dancing was immaculate and with feeling.  This really was a gold standard performance.  I was talking to the gentleman sitting next to me and he wasn't keen on the new costumes.  I do still prefer them but the ladies' skirts were not as diaphanous live as they had seemed at the cinema.  

 

Again, although I enjoyed Medusa at the cinema last week I got so much more out of this piece last night.  I will say that I much preferred Fumi Kaneko's interpretation to Natalia Osipova's.  I thought she gave a much more rounded, nuanced performance.  I saw her attraction to Perseus, I saw her being frightened and distraught by Poseidon's unwelcome attentions.  I saw her as the steely snake-headed gorgon and I saw her dreamlike redemption when Perseus had beheaded her.  I would happily see Medusa again (especially if Fumi Kaneko is in the eponymous role).

 

Last week was my first viewing of Flight Pattern and last night was the first time I had seen it live.  Oh wow, what a powerful and thought provoking piece it is.  The whole cast really brought the tragedy over the footlights and Kristen McNally was truly heartbreaking.  Bravi Royal Ballet!

 

So for me it was an excellent programme.  Great too to see other Forum members!

 

[Vanartus]

5 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

I finally got to see this programme on stage last night, having seen it at the cinema last week.

 

I appreciate that at the cinema we have to see the "directors cut" but, for me, it was almost like seeing a different programme!  I should point out that I did greatly enjoy the cinema showing last week but last night took every piece to another level.  Was it just the cinema/theatre contrast or was it the different casting for the first two works.

 

Within the Golden Hour was just glorious last night.  The whole cast melded beautifully and their dancing was immaculate and with feeling.  This really was a gold standard performance.  I was talking to the gentleman sitting next to me and he wasn't keen on the new costumes.  I do still prefer them but the ladies' skirts were not as diaphanous live as they had seemed at the cinema.  

 

Again, although I enjoyed Medusa at the cinema last week I got so much more out of this piece last night.  I will say that I much preferred Fumi Kaneko's interpretation to Natalia Osipova's.  I thought she gave a much more rounded, nuanced performance.  I saw her attraction to Perseus, I saw her being frightened and distraught by Poseidon's unwelcome attentions.  I saw her as the steely snake-headed gorgon and I saw her dreamlike redemption when Perseus had beheaded her.  I would happily see Medusa again (especially if Fumi Kaneko is in the eponymous role).

 

Last week was my first viewing of Flight Pattern and last night was the first time I had seen it live.  Oh wow, what a powerful and thought provoking piece it is.  The whole cast really brought the tragedy over the footlights and Kristen McNally was truly heartbreaking.  Bravi Royal Ballet!

 

So for me it was an excellent programme.  Great too to see other Forum members!

 

 

So glad you enjoyed Medusa - it got some rough treatment by many of the critics - unfairly and sometimes way over the top- and I wish I could have seen it with the second cast. Thanks, you’ve cheered me up!

[Guest]

5 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

I finally got to see this programme on stage last night, having seen it at the cinema last week.

 

I appreciate that at the cinema we have to see the "directors cut" but, for me, it was almost like seeing a different programme!  I should point out that I did greatly enjoy the cinema showing last week but last night took every piece to another level.  Was it just the cinema/theatre contrast or was it the different casting for the first two works.

 

Within the Golden Hour was just glorious last night.  The whole cast melded beautifully and their dancing was immaculate and with feeling.  This really was a gold standard performance.  I was talking to the gentleman sitting next to me and he wasn't keen on the new costumes.  I do still prefer them but the ladies' skirts were not as diaphanous live as they had seemed at the cinema.  

 

 

Who were the lead couples in WTGH? 

[Rob S]

9 minutes ago, oncnp said:

 

Who were the lead couples in WTGH? 

 

Last night? Yuhui and James Hay, Francesca Hayward and Valentino Zucchetti, and Yasmine Naghdi and Tristan Dyer 

[Jeannette]

On 19/05/2019 at 02:23, Mary said:

I am reassured to find others not really liking Flight Pattern: not just me then.

 

I found a second viewing of Medusa brought me closer to Darlex's succinct 2 word view of it- really it is not a finished piece of work.

 

Why were so many replaced last night? Is this all injuries? even Muntagirov? now that is worrying.

 

I watched this program at my local cinema and totally agree with you about Flight Pattern. Dreadful, dreary, dark. What a waste of a classically trained corps! We saw one nice volley of jumps from Marcellino Sambe near the very end but, other than that, hardly any dancing. A bunch of synchronized slow undulations with some miming from a distraught mother. Yawn...It makes Jane Eyre seem like Sleeping Beauty. 

 

Osipova as Medusa? Ok, it’s not Kitri but it brings out her acting skills. At least I didn’t yawn, as I would a bit later with Flight Pattern. At least we got drama, costumes, sets.

 

Wheeldon’s Golden Hour began the evening on a high. What brilliant ballet - true ballet movement! - to gorgeous music. Loved all of the soloists, particularly the ethereal Sarah Lamb, gorgeous in her golden dress, partnered by the strong Alexander Campbell in...uh...his golden diaper. Honestly, the original costumes for the San Francisco premiere of this ballet were so perfect - south-Asian tinged unitards in shades of blues, greens and tans - that I don’t understand the reason for the changes.

[Stevie]

On ‎09‎/‎05‎/‎2019 at 11:57, Lizbie1 said:

Oh! A stray thought I had watching Flight Pattern was that I’d like to see Crystal Pite choreograph or even one day direct an opera - she’d use the chorus beautifully.

Unfortunately Flight Pattern does not use an Opera Score, it is based on a Symphony. And if you wish to see the extremely emotional and moving Gorecki Symphony No 3 destroyed, then this is a very admirable attempt. The Tempi was completely wrong, with Gorecki having stated that of Antoni Wit and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra being the right one.

The requirement for the Soprano is to hold a single note for extended periods across a the full range of the Soprano voice, at regular intervals. It is the opposite end of the scale to Belle Canto vocal acrobatics. This Soprano has a vocal 'woble' on extended notes, much the same as the infamous Callas 'Wobble', for which she was regularly booed when supposedly holding a note. This music has been the most requested score on CFM over the years, but this aberration can only diminish its popularity.

The Choreography amounted to nothing, with the Choreographer admitting in interview that she was playing out her own indulgence, but please not at the expense of wonderful music.

Gorecki may have turned in  his grave if he saw and heard this. Excerpt from a correct version below.

 

Edited June 18, 2019 by Stevie
typo

[Lizbie1]

Well - I don’t want to fan any flames but I’m afraid I’m too much of a musical snob to like the piece in the first place, so that aspect didn’t bother me.

[Stevie]

30 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

Well - I don’t want to fan any flames but I’m afraid I’m too much of a musical snob to like the piece in the first place, so that aspect didn’t bother me.

Not knowing what constituted a musical snob, I decided to Google it and this is what it told me :-

'a person who believes himself or herself an expert or connoisseur in a given field and is condescending toward or disdainful of those who hold other opinions or have different tastes regarding this field:' a musical snob.

So no surprises really, that it is only a belief.

[Lizbie1]

53 minutes ago, Stevie said:

Not knowing what constituted a musical snob, I decided to Google it and this is what it told me :-

'a person who believes himself or herself an expert or connoisseur in a given field and is condescending toward or disdainful of those who hold other opinions or have different tastes regarding this field:' a musical snob.

So no surprises really, that it is only a belief.

 

I was expressing a difference of taste in a light-hearted way. I don’t think that gives permission to be rude.

[Stevie]

1 hour ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

I was expressing a difference of taste in a light-hearted way. I don’t think that gives permission to be rude.

A quote from 'Urban Dictionary' or any Dictionary cannot be considered rude when they merely provide a meaning.  Of course there are different musical tastes, which most people accept. Perhaps you did an injustice in describing yourself as a 'musical snob', when you are not at all ?  Sometimes difficult to detect what is 'light hearted', in writing, without the Imogi.

There remains the fact, that as of April 2019, Gorecki Symphony Number 3 remains the top of the CFM charts, which it first topped in 1992 and has remained there for most of the time since. Maybe CFM is not everyone's choice, but that's an extremely popular piece of music, impressing a significant proportion  of the population, even without your own support.

[zxDaveM]

4 hours ago, Stevie said:

 

Gorecki may have turned in  his grave if he saw and heard this. Excerpt from a correct version below.

 

 

This 'correct version' extract is from the middle movement surely (Flight Pattern uses the first), so not sure what that proves. The version I'm most familiar with (and I imagine most of the CFM listeners and/or TV viewers that saw it) was the Dawn Upshaw version, who is hardly 'wobble-free' so to speak. I love that version, so wasn't that enamoured by the version used for Flight Pattern - though I did love Flight Pattern in its own right. I don't know enough about classical music (especially when sung) to really make an informed comment about things like the tempi or the voice-wobble, but all I know is that Flight Pattern moved me to my core, and was helped to that by the music, imperfect as it may have been...

 

 

[Jan McNulty]

Dave, I know very little about classical music either but agree with every word of your post!  I was blown away by Flight Pattern.

[Stevie]

1 hour ago, zxDaveM said:

 

This 'correct version' extract is from the middle movement surely (Flight Pattern uses the first), so not sure what that proves. The version I'm most familiar with (and I imagine most of the CFM listeners and/or TV viewers that saw it) was the Dawn Upshaw version, who is hardly 'wobble-free' so to speak. I love that version, so wasn't that enamoured by the version used for Flight Pattern - though I did love Flight Pattern in its own right. I don't know enough about classical music (especially when sung) to really make an informed comment about things like the tempi or the voice-wobble, but all I know is that Flight Pattern moved me to my core, and was helped to that by the music, imperfect as it may have been...

 

 

I can only give you the CD version of the first movement as there is no visual reproduction. This is the stated tempo required by the composer. The London Sinfonietta version was to fast as well. Presumably RB to suit the choreographer. Hope this helps.

 

Edited June 18, 2019 by Stevie

[Stevie]

1 hour ago, Jan McNulty said:

Dave, I know very little about classical music either but agree with every word of your post!  I was blown away by Flight Pattern.

A good mix, some don't like Gorecki music, some don't like the ballet, but like the music, some changes of mind,  some don't like either and some like both. Sounds like another referendum may be needed.

[alison]

I can't imagine that filming Flight Pattern from stalls level would really have done it justice - as I think I probably indicated above, it's far better served by being viewed from above.

[Duck]

A late addition to the thread as I saw this triple bill in a nearby cinema on Sunday.

Within the Golden Hour. I just loved Beatriz Stix-Brunell’s playful, joyful, flirtatious smile, and this 1st PDD remains, together with the ensuing male duet (superb dancing by David Donnelly & Teo Dubreuil), my favourite part of this work. I like the shape of the dresses for the female dancers but actually prefer the colour palette of the previous costume design as I think this was slightly more colourful. They didn’t announce the cast changed on screen but, thankfully, earlier posts here did point them out. Views of the full stage were rather sombre (whereas close-ups and interviews came across perfectly fine in terms of lighting), I don’t remember whether I felt the same when I saw this work live on stage at The Royal Opera House. Beautiful relaxed music. All in all, I was very happy to see this piece again.

Medusa. I am part of the minority that enjoyed this work. Great lighting effects, lights from the top for the bowls on the floor, dancing in light shafts, dancers hiding behind and pursuing others around the columns. Striking, beautiful costumes for the female dancers (I barely recognised Olivia Cowley) … I am less convinced of the costumes for the male dancers though. I found it refreshing that the assault on Medusa was shown symbolically rather than graphically, and the same applies to the beheading. I found the choreography for these scenes pretty creative, and the drama came across pretty well in my view. Finally, I found the final solo very moving (not sure about the role of the bowl though).

Flight Pattern. The first time that I’ve seen this, wow, just wow, utterly compelling. I hadn’t welled up watching ballet or dance for quite some time, and there I just couldn’t help it. A group of people shuffling along, in despair, in the dark, sleeping out in the open, being tossed around by the sea, helping each other struggle on. The woman deeply traumatised, mourning the loss of a child/ baby, of hope/ dreams, and so many others joining in. The man doing his best to help, and yet unable to do much in this apocalyptic environment. Superb performance by the whole cast and in particular by Kristen McNally and Marcelino Sambe.

Much looking forward to the DVD next year.

Last but not least, I quite enjoyed the interviews this time, in particular as I found that the interaction between Darcey Bussell and Ore Oduba worked very well.

 

[MJW]

On 02/07/2019 at 15:23, Duck said:

A late addition to the thread as I saw this triple bill in a nearby cinema on Sunday.

Within the Golden Hour. I just loved Beatriz Stix-Brunell’s playful, joyful, flirtatious smile, and this 1st PDD remains, together with the ensuing male duet (superb dancing by David Donnelly & Teo Dubreuil), my favourite part of this work. I like the shape of the dresses for the female dancers but actually prefer the colour palette of the previous costume design as I think this was slightly more colourful. They didn’t announce the cast changed on screen but, thankfully, earlier posts here did point them out. Views of the full stage were rather sombre (whereas close-ups and interviews came across perfectly fine in terms of lighting), I don’t remember whether I felt the same when I saw this work live on stage at The Royal Opera House. Beautiful relaxed music. All in all, I was very happy to see this piece again.

Medusa. I am part of the minority that enjoyed this work. Great lighting effects, lights from the top for the bowls on the floor, dancing in light shafts, dancers hiding behind and pursuing others around the columns. Striking, beautiful costumes for the female dancers (I barely recognised Olivia Cowley) … I am less convinced of the costumes for the male dancers though. I found it refreshing that the assault on Medusa was shown symbolically rather than graphically, and the same applies to the beheading. I found the choreography for these scenes pretty creative, and the drama came across pretty well in my view. Finally, I found the final solo very moving (not sure about the role of the bowl though).

Flight Pattern. The first time that I’ve seen this, wow, just wow, utterly compelling. I hadn’t welled up watching ballet or dance for quite some time, and there I just couldn’t help it. A group of people shuffling along, in despair, in the dark, sleeping out in the open, being tossed around by the sea, helping each other struggle on. The woman deeply traumatised, mourning the loss of a child/ baby, of hope/ dreams, and so many others joining in. The man doing his best to help, and yet unable to do much in this apocalyptic environment. Superb performance by the whole cast and in particular by Kristen McNally and Marcelino Sambe.

Much looking forward to the DVD next year.

Last but not least, I quite enjoyed the interviews this time, in particular as I found that the interaction between Darcey Bussell and Ore Oduba worked very well.

 

Couldn't agree more; it was a last minute decision to go and see this live and I was so glad I did !

[miliosr]

I've rewatched Medusa this week on DVD - admittedly, not your typical holiday fare!

 

When I first saw Medusa in June 2019 at a cinema broadcast, I wrote this (elsewhere) about it:

"Enjoyment of Medusa probably depends on how much you can stomach of old-school American modern dance, particularly the "Greek" period of Martha Graham. Medusa is like a full-blown tribute to Graham from its costumes for the women (Graham "Greece" rather than ancient Greece "Greece" or Isadora "Greece") to its prodigious use of fabric to Athena's hair, which boldly co-opts Graham's own hair style from her later years."

 

I still stand by that analysis. But what puzzled me at the time of the broadcast and continues to puzzle me is the long solo for Osipova after the stage action has reached its dramatic peak with Medusa's beheading. To me, the solo seems disconnected (pun intended!) from what had come before and works solely as an excuse to show off Natalia Osipova.

 

The American dance critic Arlene Croce wrote (in 1974) of Graham dance theater:

"No Graham heroine dies unillumined. The difference between her and the fated heroines of nineteenth-century ballet - a Giselle or an Odette - is that the Graham heroine possesses, herself, the key to her mystery. She does not entrust it to the hero [note: my emphasis]; she herself must unlock the inner door."

 

What I think Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui wanted to show (and his comments in the booklet accompanying the DVD would appear to confirm this) was Medusa taking hold of her own fate (that moment of illumination found in Graham theater) by allowing Perseus (Matthew Ball) to behead her. The ensuing solo was then meant to act as Medusa's celebration of her physical and spiritual freedom, which stemmed from her own act.

 

The problem with all this is that the moment of illumination - the moment when Medusa achieves agency (choosing to die) and thereby gains freedom - is by no means self-evident in either dance or mime terms. The beheading occurs but without any clear depiction that the heroine instigated the hero into giving her release. (There's no sin in this. Croce noted that this same problem occurs in some of Graham's works.)

 

I think Medusa has merit and I hope Cherkaoui doesn't consign it to the scrap heap. Shorn (pun intended!) of its excessive length and tightened in terms of actually showing clearly Medusa's command of her own fate, it could be a work worth keeping. That being said, Medusa's true home probably isn't with the Royal Ballet (where it would always be a real outlier) but with the Graham company itself.

Edited December 28, 2023 by miliosr

[Vanartus]

Wow! I really enjoyed reading this - very helpful too. I had a humdinger of a row (in public to my shame) with a ballet critic who was way over the top critical, and particularly nasty about Osipova. I’d like to see it again live, and I agree with you its “home” is probably outside of the RB. A pity though…

Edited December 28, 2023 by Vanartus
Typo