Royal Ballet: Manon, autumn 2019

[Rob S]

If it is unique to this cast/performance I can only assume GM was pointing out the added security of the safety clasp that other similar looking bracelets don’t have 😉

[alison]

I've seen GM have the bracelet out earlier - but which GM it was, I don't now know.

[Lynette H]

Dowell did this as G.M. in performances with Guillem. He made more of it than Gartside did.

[Dawnstar]

31 minutes ago, Rob S said:

If it is unique to this cast/performance I can only assume GM was pointing out the added security of the safety clasp that other similar looking bracelets don’t have 😉

 

Good point! First time I've seen Manon have to rip off her own bracelet!

 

Another bracelet-related query: does anyone know if the bracelet the Gaoler tries to give Manon in Act 3 is the same prop as her Act 2 bracelet? They do look rather similar!

[bangorballetboy]

Just now, Dawnstar said:

 

 

Another bracelet-related query: does anyone know if the bracelet the Gaoler tries to give Manon in Act 3 is the same prop as her Act 2 bracelet? They do look rather similar!

 

He's not giving her the bracelet, he's saying "so where did you get this rather fancy bracelet?"

[Dawnstar]

36 minutes ago, bangorballetboy said:

 

He's not giving her the bracelet, he's saying "so where did you get this rather fancy bracelet?"

 

I thought he was trying to give her the bracelet in return for sexual favours & she was refusing because not only did she not want to perform any sex acts on him but also it reminded her of the previous row with Des Grieux over GM's bracelet. Is it supposed to be that they've brough the bracelet to America with them & the Gaoler finds it? If so then how? I don't recall seeing him rifle Des Grieux's portmanteau? And why would Des Grieux pack the bracelet when he'd been doing his best to get Manon to get rid of it? I'm now very confused!

[alison]

2 hours ago, bangorballetboy said:

 

He's not giving her the bracelet, he's saying "so where did you get this rather fancy bracelet?"

 

Oops, never noticed that before!  I'd always assumed he was trying to buy her favours.

[JNC]

2 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

 

I thought he was trying to give her the bracelet in return for sexual favours & she was refusing because not only did she not want to perform any sex acts on him but also it reminded her of the previous row with Des Grieux over GM's bracelet. Is it supposed to be that they've brough the bracelet to America with them & the Gaoler finds it? If so then how? I don't recall seeing him rifle Des Grieux's portmanteau? And why would Des Grieux pack the bracelet when he'd been doing his best to get Manon to get rid of it? I'm now very confused!

 

I think both you and @bangorballetboy are correct?

 

In the sense that Manon takes the bracelet with her to the Colonies - perhaps because she is still attached to it as a pretty thing and or because perhaps it's maybe a useful thing to keep something of value that they could sell if they need the money?

 

And the way I interpreted the scene was the Gaoler had sort of 'stolen' it off her, but then perhaps says 'you can't have it back if you do X'...to which Manon is repulsed by and also perhaps at this point the bracelet reminds her of the bad times with G.M. etc...

 

But of course I don't know the actual intention/storyline MacMillan intended for this scene so I may have been interpreting it all wrong too! 

[Dawnstar]

1 hour ago, JNC said:

 

I think both you and @bangorballetboy are correct?

 

In the sense that Manon takes the bracelet with her to the Colonies - perhaps because she is still attached to it as a pretty thing and or because perhaps it's maybe a useful thing to keep something of value that they could sell if they need the money?

 

And the way I interpreted the scene was the Gaoler had sort of 'stolen' it off her, but then perhaps says 'you can't have it back if you do X'...to which Manon is repulsed by and also perhaps at this point the bracelet reminds her of the bad times with G.M. etc...

 

But of course I don't know the actual intention/storyline MacMillan intended for this scene so I may have been interpreting it all wrong too! 

 

Given Manon was being arrested at the end of Act 2, would the guards & GM have let her take it though? I would have though GM would have taken it back, if anything - he could always recycle it for his next mistress! (Aside: I wonder if GM & Lescaut's Mistress might get together, after Lescaut's death & Manon's deportation, both having a vacancy so to speak!)

[RobR]

I think that these are different bracelets. We can see a bracelet on the Gaoler's desk. 
 

Probably my mistake, given my recent history, but I’ve always seen the bracelet as an allegory. Both M. GM and the Gaoler give jewellery to those they desire and wish to corrupt. The Gaoler has clearly been examining the new shipment of transported harlots for his own gratification and has Manon dragged to his quarters. 
 

In the first instance, Manon succumbs to the temptation but with the Gaoler, the wiser Manon sees the offer for what it is and rejects both the bracelet and the advances (and is raped, nonetheless).

 

Following her arrest, trial, haircut and transportation, Manon, like the other harlots, arrived with nothing but the rags she stands in. 

Edited November 1, 2019 by RobR
Additional

[JNC]

Ah yes it does make sense for them to not let Manon keep the ‘original’ bracelet, even if she did want to keep it. 

 

 

[Rob S]

22 minutes ago, RobR said:

Following her arrest, trial, haircut and transportation, Manon, like the other harlots, arrived with nothing but the rags she stands in. 

 

With her chap carrying the bag they were packing at the end of Act 2

[RobR]

2 minutes ago, Rob S said:

 

With her chap carrying the bag they were packing at the end of Act 2

Well Rob, you may be right but I’d have thought if the bag contained anything of hers, DesGrieux would have given her something better to wear and, on that premise, do we see either Des Grieux or the bag go into the stockade with Manon? 

[JNC]

I do find it odd that they let Des Grieux accompany Manon. Is she living in the jail (presumably yes) and so all Des Grieux can do is visit her? 

 

I suppose he’s devoted to her and if they got extra money to transport him perhaps they didn’t care, but would they let prisoners have visitors in those days anyway? 

[RuthE]

Re the above bracelet-related queries: it probably didn’t help that thanks to the bracelet stubbornly refusing to leave Manon’s wrist at the end of last night’s Act 2 pdd, Manon could have more plausibly retained it into Act 3 😂

[Rob S]

5 minutes ago, RobR said:

Well Rob, you may be right but I’d have thought if the bag contained anything of hers, DesGrieux would have given her something better to wear and, on that premise, do we see either Des Grieux or the bag go into the stockade with Manon? 

 

I’ve assumed that DesGrieux is a bit low on cash, the money he won cheating at cards got hoovered up by courtesans, and that they both realise this bracelet will be worth something so it’s put in the bag, then Manon gets arrested. 

I’ve then gone on to assume that a guard eventually intervenes to stop the bag being looked at by the topless men at New Orleans ferry terminal during the interval as everyone else leaves the stage and the bag remains there. The contents are then confiscated and given to the gaoler. 

[RobR]

I’m racking up posts tonight, but appreciate that we all, subjectively, insert our own detail into the broad brush of this or any narrative ballet.

 

I’m afraid we’ve all considered why Giselle had a suicidal breakdown and the finer points of Von Rothbart's scheme to turn young women into swans and seize power, etc, etc., but on JNC's point, I’ve always assumed that Des G was so in love with Manon that he chose to follow her into exile and share her hardships.

 

Perhaps he found and sold the bracelet to pay for his passage, or......

[Rob S]

I’m sure it’s a multi purpose ship, prisoners at the bottom, paying punters upstairs 

[RobR]

(Apropos of my previous post, I’m always amazed at how few posts I’ve accumulated, as compared with so many posters who’ve joined after me and the fact that I have, again in comparison, a comparatively poor ‘Community Reputation'.)

[Rob S]

In terms of whether the bracelet is the same one, I can confirm that from what I saw from my central SCS position yesterday and a look at the Manon Blu-ray as I type  they are one and the same 

[capybara]

3 minutes ago, RobR said:

(Apropos of my previous post, I’m always amazed at how few posts I’ve accumulated, as compared with so many posters who’ve joined after me and the fact that I have, again in comparison, a comparatively poor ‘Community Reputation'.)

 

Less can sometimes be more, RobR (says she who is perhaps among the more garrulous ones!).

[Dawnstar]

I think I've racked up a lot of posts asking questions! I have a bad habit of way over-thinking pieces once I've seen them a few times. I'm currently musing on whether the Act 2 harlots & Act 3 deported women could be the same characters, given they're played by at least some of the same dancers, if GM was so furious that he had the entire brothel arrested for prostitution!

Edited November 1, 2019 by Dawnstar

[JNC]

30 minutes ago, Rob S said:

In terms of whether the bracelet is the same one, I can confirm that from what I saw from my central SCS position yesterday and a look at the Manon Blu-ray as I type  they are one and the same 

 

Thanks Rob! 

 

I like to stick with my interpretation (the bracelet is brought with them to the Colonies) in any case as it works for me.

 

(Re GM taking the bracelet back, I imagine he could out of spite but he seems to me like he has enough money to not really be concerned about recycling things - if anything I imagine he is more likely to take it back just to throw it away to make a point! But I think he doesn’t really care enough or remember to take it back after shooting Lescaut and so it’s easy for Manon/Des Grieux to keep it if they want to, until the Gaoler confiscates it because he’s greedy and wants to exert additional power over Manon?) 

 

Appreciate on some level it’s all subjective though so I may be ‘wrong’ factually speaking, but I think it’s not a weakness that we are able to interpret this all so differently but adds more depth! 

[Scheherezade]

42 minutes ago, RobR said:

(Apropos of my previous post, I’m always amazed at how few posts I’ve accumulated, as compared with so many posters who’ve joined after me and the fact that I have, again in comparison, a comparatively poor ‘Community Reputation'.)

You’ll have to get a nice profile photo like Rob S ...

[Scheherezade]

2 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

I wonder if GM & Lescaut's Mistress might get together, after Lescaut's death & Manon's deportation, both having a vacancy so to speak!)

I feel a sequel coming on ...

[Rob S]

2 minutes ago, Scheherezade said:

I feel a sequel coming on ...

 

Oh no, not.....ballet fan fiction!!!?😱

 

My guess, she gets together with ‘sneezing client’.🤧

[Anna C]

24 minutes ago, Rob S said:

I’m sure it’s a multi purpose ship, prisoners at the bottom, paying punters upstairs 

 

I actually thought that, Rob!  Hence Des Grieux is allowed to carry luggage.  The prisoners would have been down in the bowels of the ship but perhaps the Captain was making a bit extra by taking some paying passengers too.

 

Luca Acri was a very good Lescaut last night; his drunk dancing was very clever and just funny enough.  He wasn’t quite as menacing as I’ve seen Lescaut played previously and I did miss that slightly, as I missed Gary Avis’s utterly revolting foot fetishist GM (although I was delighted he was playing the Gaoler).  I enjoyed Meaghan Grace Hinkis as Lescaut’s Mistress and it was lovely to see two of my favourites in Choe and Calvert as the two beautiful Courtesans.  

 

Thank you to everyone who suggested choosing this cast for my one outing to Manon this time - I found Morera and Bonelli more moving than any other pairing I’ve seen.  I did initially think Morera looked a little too mature in Act 1 but perfectly suited to Manon’s more worldly look in Act 2 and she danced magnificently throughout, every tilt of her head and hand movement had meaning.   Bonelli must have a portrait in the attic because he never seems to age and at times, looked almost like a little boy in his hurt and bewilderment.  I wish I’d had two pairs of eyes to watch him and Morera at the same time because they’re both such exceptional actors.  

 

Each one of their pdds had me welling up, as did the tenderness on Morera’s face as she rushed to Bonelli after his heartrending Act 2 solo.  The trust they have in each other was beautiful to watch; Morera didn’t have to visibly gear herself up for the big throws but went into them so smoothly and naturally that they just seemed to flow seamlessly.  Bonelli’s technique is obviously not as perfect as it once was but he’s still beautiful to watch, a wonderful secure partner and most of all, he completely inhabits every role he dances.  I cried with him at the end and I rarely cry.  Morera looked exhausted and I thought slightly tearful at the end but was quite rightly rewarded with huge cheers.  What a brilliant partnership these two have been.  

 

 

 

 

[Scheherezade]

1 minute ago, Rob S said:

 

Oh no, not.....ballet fan fiction!!!?😱

 

My guess, she gets together with ‘sneezing client’.🤧

Because, of course, after Lescaut’s drunken cavorting she has shown that she has the necessary aptitude  for dealing with partners with unfortunate bodily spasms. 

[Dawnstar]

34 minutes ago, Rob S said:

 

Oh no, not.....ballet fan fiction!!!?😱

 

My guess, she gets together with ‘sneezing client’.🤧

 

If I'm thinking of the right client then that would only work if he survives being accidentally stabbed by Des Grieux during the fighting.

[Rob S]

13 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

 

If I'm thinking of the right client then that would only work if he survives being accidentally stabbed by Des Grieux during the fighting.

 

🤣

 

I’d like to change my guess to the rat catcher 

Edited November 1, 2019 by Rob S

[RobR]

54 minutes ago, Rob S said:

 

🤣

 

I’d like to change my guess to the rat catcher 

In the conservatory with the candlestick?

[alison]

On ‎21‎/‎10‎/‎2019 at 00:40, alison said:

No, there's also the one in predominantly bottle green velvet (with red, I think), who's the one I was talking about.  One of the ones who gets handed over to one of the clients.

 

Sorry, my mistake, as I've been meaning to say for the past week.  It's the shawl that's green - that, and a couple of stripes on the bodice of her dress.  The rest is deep red.

 

2 hours ago, Scheherezade said:

I feel a sequel coming on ...

 

But I believe there *is* a sequel.  I'm sure I read it in the intro to the novel, probably last century(!).  The argument was that Des Grieux, having hurriedly buried her body in the sand (because there's a desert outside New Orleans) and then grieved over her grave all night, returns to Europe and I can't remember what happens, but it turns out that Manon wasn't actually dead, she'd only fainted or something - and also he hadn't stopped to check the body of whoever it was he'd "killed" instead of the Gaoler properly, because he wasn't dead either ...  I don't think it was written by Prévost, though.

[capybara]

I think that, for me, the bracelet isn’t only a physical object but a metaphorical reminder of the value Manon continued to place on her more luxurious life - until she finally rejects that when the repulsive Gaoler dangles the (her) remaining jewel in front of her.