Royal Ballet - The Cellist, Dances at a Gathering

[LinMM]

Am seeing on March 4th ....the second cast ...but I've always loved Calvin Richardson whom I'm assuming has the Sambe part.

 

As its so new many choreographers revise their work once having seen it in live stage performance so if there is anything Marston now thinks is  superfluous I'm sure she will edit etc.

[Sim]

I really enjoyed DAAG, but I too wish it ended about 15 minutes earlier.  I never used to think that, and the comment is in no way to cast aspersions on the dancers...maybe I'm just getting old!  I think the whole cast did very well last night, and with a couple more performances it will get under their skin more.  There were places where it looked a bit scrappy, but as this was a first time for most of the dancers on the stage, I don't want to be too critical.  I love Robbins' choreography;  he really manages to convey the joys and frivolous tribulations of youth, with everything working out well in the end.  I can't single anyone out because I thought they all did a great job;  Alex Campbell was in fine form, bounding around with all the joy of spring, William Bracewell is back to top form, with his secure partnering and lovely lines, and whatever Federico Bonelli is on, I want some!!    The girls were all very good, with Laura Morera giving an utterly convincing comic turn as the girl ignored by the boys. 

 

As for The Cellist, I am in agreement with most of the comments above.  I too found it way too busy, and I just didn't get who/what the peripheral characters were supposed to be, nor what they were supposed to be doing, for much of the time.  I also found it all very rushed;  there were characters on the cast list such as teachers and I just didn't get any sense of when or how they taught her.  There was much coming and going, people whizzed in and out, scenery whizzed around,  and it was too distracting.  It seems to be part of Cathy Marston's choreographic technique.  I have often found the same problem, most recently in Victoria when I wrote similar things on here.  There is no time for character delineation or development.  I can imagine how hard it must be to convey a life in one hour, especially interesting lives.  Maybe it would be much clearer for the audience if one aspect or event of a life were depicted. 

 

Having said this, I did enjoy the bits where the stage was quiet and it was just the three main characters (having seen the Insight, I was expecting an intimate ballet, not one with all the narrative and quasi chaos).  I love the way the cello is made into a living, breathing being, which is how Du Pre probably related to her beloved instrument.  It was so much more than wood and strings, and that symbiotic relationship is conveyed very effectively, thanks especially to Marcellino Sambe's incredibly moving and sympathetic portrayal.  He managed to convince me that he was hurt when Du Pre could no longer play him, and so hurt that he kept trying to encourage her to keep on trying, even when she couldn't.    Matthew Ball as Daniel Barenboim danced as beautifully as ever, but again there wasn't enough for him to do, and not enough time for his relationship with Du Pre, in all its tempestuousness, to develop.  Lauren Cuthbertson did her very best, and for me it was the final ten minutes where she really had the chance to show her acting skills in a very emotional way.   

 

Even when I know a story or background to a new ballet, my litmus test is that I always try to imagine that if I didn't know anything prior to getting into the auditorium would the story have been conveyed to me clearly, and would I have got any emotional depth from it?  From this first viewing, I would say that the answer is no.  Now that I know a bit more about what the set is supposed to be, what all the extras are supposed to be, I might get more from the piece on my second viewing.  But for those who don't get a second viewing, I can imagine they went away doing a bit of head scratching.  I certainly did. 

 

[MJW]

Photos from Dances at a Gathering

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/royaloperahouse/albums/72157713148956048

 

The Cellist

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/royaloperahouse/albums/72157713147502286

[Tessie]

Those photographs make The Cellist looks absolutely heart-rending. Such emotion on the faces of Cuthbertson and Sambe. 

[JennyTaylor]

2 hours ago, ninamargaret said:

 

 

Thanks for this explanation JohnS. I hadn't taken in the fact that the set was meant to represent the inside of a cello, but I found it very effective without distracting from the ballet. Adding to my previous post I must say  that I became almost mesmerized by Sambe - it's a superb performance and somehow he managed to produce a half human/half inanimate object. Can't quite explain it - but hope I make some sort of sense. I still think there are too many people milling around on stage - a problem I found with Victoria, which admittedly I have only seen on tv. But I thinj, in the whole, there's a very good ballet trying to get out!

I felt exactly the same about Sambe, - in the end I couldn't take my eyes off him: an extraordinary performance.  For me, that was the most emotional part of the ballet's experience. I had expected to feel more emotion, but it didn't really take off for me, even though I really wanted it to.  Probably need to see it again. 

[toursenlair]

14 hours ago, Sim said:

A shame she refers to ballet as “a guilty pleasure” though.  Speaking of newsreaders, Fiona Bruce was there tonight.  

YEs, and why did she have to start off by saying "It's not everybody's cup of tea". NOTHING is EVERYBODY's cup of tea.

[Quintus]

Regardless of response to The Cellist, I defy anyone to watch this dry-eyed....

 

 

[penelopesimpson]

Hairs on back of neck stuff, Quintus.  Thanks for posting.  Do you know where and when?

 

I saw Yo-Yo Ma perform it about twenty years ago and it was amazing but, here's the thing, utterly different.  Nobody gets the emotion in to it like Du Pre.

[Quintus]

1 minute ago, penelopesimpson said:

Hairs on back of neck stuff, Quintus.  Thanks for posting.  Do you know where and when?

 

I saw Yo-Yo Ma perform it about twenty years ago and it was amazing but, here's the thing, utterly different.  Nobody gets the emotion in to it like Du Pre.

It was 1967, with the London Philharmonic, so she was just 22 - doesn't say where, I guess the default would be the Royal Festival Hall.

[LinMM]

When she couldn't play any more she gave a wonderful series of masterclasses to students ...it was absolutely fascinating and riveting viewing.

[alison]

Looks like a TV studio to me.  Those were the days - and I'm pretty certain the masterclasses were televised, too?

[JohnS]

So pleased to have seen this again.
 

I’d be very happy for Dances at a Gathering to carry on for a few more dances, particularly given the 10 soloists. It’s just so inventive and joyous - I’m sure I must have a huge smile whilst watching.

 

I was much more impressed with The Cellist on second viewing. The early scenes and family relations seemed much neater to me (although I’m not sure about all the cardigans), the extreme ‘busyness’ served a real point in highlighting the exhausting, manic concert schedule, and the score worked much better on second hearing. I still think it’s a bit dark at the start - two ‘f hole’ lights rather than one might help.

 

With the uncertainty of the new and unexpected largely gone, I was drawn much more to the three pivotal dancers and found their performances compelling and very moving, particularly Lauren Cuthbertson and Marcelino Sambe. At one stage Sambe nuzzles Cuthbertson with his head, cat like, to get a response, and the debilitating impact of MS and the ending are extraordinarily poignant. Lauren Cuthbertson must have bashed her knee just before the end as the blood was starting to flow. A huge ovation at curtain call and many congratulations to all. I’ll now look forward to the cinema and catching the second cast.

[LinMM]

Yes they were televised Alison. 

[Jan McNulty]

Totally.blown.away.tonight!

[alison]

I didn't realise you were there tonight, Jan  

[Jan McNulty]

8 hours ago, alison said:

I didn't realise you were there tonight, Jan  

I should have said something...  I bumped into some chums in the Floral Hall and...

[Candleque]

10 hours ago, JohnS said:

I’ll now look forward to the cinema and catching the second cast.

 

Agree. I actually booked my second cast ticket before deciding to spring for the opening night also. I'm a Beatriz Stix-Brunell fan, so happy to see her get a star turn rather than another cheeky harlot, courtesan, mistress part.

Didn't quite realise how huge the role would be. Can only imagine how exciting it is to dance Jacqueline du Pré in this ballet.

[Blossom]

I’ve wanted to see DaaG for quite a while and was delighted when this programme was announced. In the programme, Robbins is quoted as saying that after creating an initial dance, Balanchine said ‘make more, make it like peanuts’, but I echo Sim in saying that it was probably around 15 mins too long. Despite this, overall enjoyed the glorious dancing which had a lyrical ‘free-movement’ style. Generally well-cast, I was delighted to see another opportunity for Fumi Kaneko here, she suited the style so well and was such a contrast from her sparkling Aurora a few weeks ago. Interestingly, although a beautiful dancer, I think Hayward struggled to make the transition from precise and technically perfect to the more lyrical and fluid style needed for this role. Eponymising the qualities of fluidity and lyricism with a huge amount of charm and humour (and perfect timing) was Laura Morera in green, this is the sort of role made to measure for her. Bonelli and Zuchetti also stood out for me among the male dancers.

It’s hard to know where to begin with the Cellist. I should probably start by saying that the choreography really enabled me to feel the intense love du Pre had for her instrument and the longing when she couldn’t play, which was heart-rending (and brought me to tears). It didn’t matter where Cuthbertson or Sambe were on the stage in relation to each other, you could really feel the electricity between them, even more so, in the elements of the choreography where they were intertwined as one. There was a different intensity to Ball’s role as Birenboim, such power and gravitas as the composer and a very different sort of love expressed in his dances with du Pre.  I echo previous posters that the 3 main characters were very much my main focus and the choreographed characterisations and the individual dancers chosen to portray them were all outstanding. 

The ‘narrators’ in grey made sense to me some of the time, in others not so much. I didn’t really understand all of the running around with records (can anyone explain?), for example. I didn’t think it was clear what was going on when I think she was being diagnosed with MS. However, as an orchestra, the choreography was so clever, as each section ‘played’, I saw them more as a physical expression of the sound rather than personifying an instrument. A good use of the full cast was dancing in the ‘wedding scene’ which seemed to have a flavour of Jewish wedding dancing, I assume. 

I thought the use of the stripy cardigan to convey her childhood/need for parents’ care to her demise (a return to needing her parents’ care) was clever, but not sure what all of the other cardigans represented. Any thoughts on this?

In terms of the set, the insight was good pre-enlightenment –Marsden prefers sparse sets and for the dancers to provide most of the context, but the elements of physical set were supposed to represent a deconstructed Cello, hence the curves and the use of wood. Generally this worked well for me in terms of the way they represented home/concert hall etc, but there was a time when the bigger moving piece was going so fast and there were so many ‘narrators’ on stage that it seemed a tad more frantic than the life it was representing. Did the set need to keep on moving or should it have stayed still with only people moving to demonstrate the whirlwind of du Pre’s success?

And finally the music… I know most are focussed on the Elgar, but for me, new to du Pre, it was the  core cello theme throughout ‘Song without words’ (Mendelsohn) which has been on my mind since leaving the ROH last night. Such a beautiful piece and loved the way it was intertwined with the new score.

[Richard LH]

I thought the narrative in The Cellist was very clearly explained on the cast sheet. I didn't find it at all too busy. 

Edited February 19, 2020 by Richard LH

[Richard LH]

35 minutes ago, Blossom said:

it was the  core cello theme throughout ‘Song without words’ (Mendelsohn) which has been on my mind since leaving the ROH last night. Such a beautiful piece and loved the way it was intertwined with the new score.

 

[Sim]

11 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

I thought the narrative in The Cellist was very clearly explained on the cast sheet. I didn't find it at all too busy. 

Exactly my point:  I think a narrative piece should be able to explain the story clearly onstage, not on the cast sheet...

[Ian Macmillan]

I have noted all contributions to the thread thus far and have not returned to argue.  I only wish to say that I have waited for years for Cathy Marston's first main stage commission from the Royal Ballet and that I left Monday's premiere of The Cellist well satisfied.  36 hours later, I remain equally convinced that it is a work of substance.

[MJW]

Some more pictures from The Cellist

 

https://photos.alastairmuir.com/Ballet/Royal-Ballet/The-Cellist/

[Richard LH]

2 hours ago, Sim said:

Exactly my point:  I think a narrative piece should be able to explain the story clearly onstage, not on the cast sheet...

 

Hmm, not quite sure about that, Sim...ideally, I suppose, but  is it ever really possible to explain the whole context of a narrative ballet through the dance alone?  I seem to recall that whenever there is little, or no,  explanation provided (whether on the cast sheet or elsewhere) of what is supposed to be happening, it is generally seen as a serious omission. 

 

Perhaps it is my own ignorance or lack of perception, but I don't think there is a ballet I have yet seen, for which I haven't needed some sort of additional explanation of what on earth's going on ! 

 

Even if the background context is as minimal  as when Robbins expounded, in capitals: "THERE ARE NO STORIES TO ANY OF THE DANCES IN 'DANCES AT A GATHERING' THERE ARE NO PLOTS AND NO ROLES. THE DANCERS ARE THEMSELVES DANCING WITH EACH OTHER TO THAT MUSIC IN THAT SPACE" . Ironically though, this is a ballet in which various narrative stories and roles  DO appear to emerge when the ballet is seen, if only conjured from one's own imagination! 

[Sim]

6 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

 

Hmm, not quite sure about that, Sim...ideally, I suppose, but  is it ever really possible to explain the whole context of a narrative ballet through the dance alone?  I seem to recall that whenever there is little, or no,  explanation provided (whether on the cast sheet or elsewhere) of what is supposed to be happening, it is generally seen as a serious omission. 

 

Perhaps it is my own ignorance or lack of perception, but I don't think there is a ballet I have yet seen, for which I haven't needed some sort of additional explanation of what on earth's going on ! 

 

Even if the background context is as minimal  as when Robbins expounded, in capitals: "THERE ARE NO STORIES TO ANY OF THE DANCES IN 'DANCES AT A GATHERING' THERE ARE NO PLOTS AND NO ROLES. THE DANCERS ARE THEMSELVES DANCING WITH EACH OTHER TO THAT MUSIC IN THAT SPACE" . Ironically though, this is a ballet in which various narrative stories and roles  DO appear to emerge when the ballet is seen, if only conjured from one's own imagination! 

Well I have been seeing ballet for so many decades that I can't remember not knowing a story, but I can safely say that if I were seeing Onegin, Manon, Mayerling and various other narrative pieces for the first time I would be very clear about the story.  There might be a few characters who are confusing (especially in Mayerling) but the narrative would be very clear to me.  To each, his/her own, I guess!

[Blossom]

2 minutes ago, Sim said:

Well I have been seeing ballet for so many decades that I can't remember not knowing a story, but I can safely say that if I were seeing Onegin, Manon, Mayerling and various other narrative pieces for the first time I would be very clear about the story.  There might be a few characters who are confusing (especially in Mayerling) but the narrative would be very clear to me.  To each, his/her own, I guess!

 

Mayerling as a case in point - even reading the info on the cast sheet, I couldn't work out who was who to follow the story the first time I saw it. It took buying the DVD and checking the casting throughout to really start understanding it..

The Cellist by comparison was pretty simple to understand and think it is a fabulous addition to the repertoire. Can't wait to see the second cast and would like to see the first one again! A very special piece.

[RuthE]

7 minutes ago, Sim said:

Well I have been seeing ballet for so many decades that I can't remember not knowing a story, but I can safely say that if I were seeing Onegin, Manon, Mayerling and various other narrative pieces for the first time I would be very clear about the story.  There might be a few characters who are confusing (especially in Mayerling) but the narrative would be very clear to me.  To each, his/her own, I guess!

 

Indeed - sorry if this is off topic, but one of the best pieces of advice I've ever had before seeing a ballet for the first time - thanks @Carol - was to read up on the opening scene of Mayerling in advance, so that by the end of that scene I would be able to put a character name to each face.

Edited February 19, 2020 by RuthE

[Janite]

1 hour ago, MJW said:

Some more pictures from The Cellist

 

https://photos.alastairmuir.com/Ballet/Royal-Ballet/The-Cellist/

 

Gorgeous pictures, they make me long for the ballet itself. (I am seeing it in the cinema next week). 

[MJW]

Interesting to read everyone's comments thus far. 

 

I have rather mixed feelings on the evening; I thoroughly enjoyed Dances (though possibly could have been perhaps a bit shorter?) Full of praise for the dancers and the pianist Robert Clark.

 

Not quite sure what to say about The Cellist - excellent in parts and very moving. However the constant changing of the main set started to grate and I found it a bit of a distraction. The same applies with the supporting case - very cleverly used in parts but again sometimes they distracted from what was happening with the main trio. There were also a couple of occasions when I really didn't have a clue what was supposed to be happening.

 

I would probably give Dances 8 of 10, and The Cellist 6.5.

 

As an aside the survey I received from ROH today was the first time it had detailed questions, rather than just asking whether I enjoyed the visit and whether I would recommend a visit.

 

[zxDaveM]

I absolutely adored The Cellist. I enjoyed the way Ms Marston manipulated the corps to be crowds, or symptoms, or friends, or orchestral members - or domestically, the furniture (cupboards, record player, table, even a standard lamp). The movable set gave that buzz of being constantly 'on the road' - no wonder exhaustion set in (even before the MS symptoms made it worse) - or simply setting the scene for the next episode of the tale. Each scene was graphically drawn for me, the way the teachers pulled and pushed to enhance/enlarge/curtail her wayward playing, where her emotion was as much a part as her technique - or a teacher letting her rip, taking over from her mother's driving, another trying to reign her in to 'standard practice'. Marceliino Sambe as 'The Instrument' was dazzling, he does seem to respond to female choreographers (thinking back to those superb performance in Pite's 'Flight Pattern'). He possessed the stage! Matthew Ball was once again a super partner in the multiple pdd's he danced with Lauren Cuthbertson (and with Marcelino) bringing out the cardi-wearing 'country girl' (her mother trying to keep the domesticity in her, whilst also driving on her talent) to be a world travelling super-star, to all but over-egging the pudding. The pdds of love, and of drive, of musical divinity almost, had some gorgeous steps in them. The final section as Du Pre faded away, reminiscing about the music and the instrument that brought her the music, has me welling up now, just thinking about it. As for Lauren Cuthbertson - what a performance. She wrang the emotion out of me in those last minutes that I thought I was now devoid of. Oh - and I loved, loved, loved the music! Can't wait to see it again.

Dances at a Gathering is always an unfulfilling joy for me. There are parts of it I just wish would not end - there are a couple of sections though, I wish would not start. I always come away thinking that I wish it were 55mins, not 65mins. Beatutiful cast though - at one point, looking through my binoculars I see framed there, 4 of my favourite RB dancers in one go (Yasmine Naghdi, Francesca Hayward, Laura Morera and Fumi Kaneko). Worth the price of a ticket on its own! 🙂

[Blossom]

46 minutes ago, zxDaveM said:

 Matthew Ball was once again a super partner in the multiple pdd's he danced with Lauren Cuthbertson (and with Marcelino) bringing out the cardi-wearing 'country girl' (her mother trying to keep the domesticity in her, whilst also driving on her talent) to be a world travelling super-star

 

 

Thank you for the cardi explanation!

[JohnS]

A comment on the synopsis and programme as there’s been further discussion .

 

I’m pretty sure Cathy Marston has referred to 21 scenes in the ballet but the cast sheet synopsis doesn’t gives that detail and the programme simply repeats what’s in the cast sheet. The ballet portrays the du Pre family and of course du Pre/Barenboim’s relationship - the two sisters, the mother’s rather ‘obsessive’ behaviour, and Barenboim’s seeming ‘abandonment’ of du Pre are played out on stage and I’d have welcomed some discussion of evidence sources in the programme although I recognise the potential difficulties. I saw the ROH Shop was displaying the Carol Easton biography so I don’t think a programme note was an impossibility. And I’m not sure I agree with Cathy Marston’s comment in the programme that most of the audience know all about du Pre - I didn’t know she visited the ROH when she was ill.

 

I’d also have really welcomed a note on the reasons for the selection of du Pre repertoire and how Philip Feeney approached composing his score to bring all these together. The cast sheet and programme refer to music extracts by composer but without the detail and all we read in the programme is: ‘Marston worked with Feeney to identify which sections of her repertory would serve her narrative best.’ That doesn’t really do justice to what must have been a fascinating discussion over no doubt many months and may well have only reached a conclusion during final rehearsals.

 

I have to say that my ideal synopsis would be a brief description of the 21 scenes with references to the accompanying music which would be rather different to the synopsis provided.

And given the fabulous du Pre videos people have posted, here’s The Trout - which may also explain why we have three musical friends in the Ballet:

 

 

 

[zxDaveM]

38 minutes ago, Blossom said:

 

Thank you for the cardi explanation!

 

purely my interpretation! 🙂

For me, Cathy Marston has a way of story telling that once you sorta 'get' her method, I find quite compelling. And she does create some astonishingly beautiful choreography to illustrate, or tell, that story. Perhaps I have become a little biased I don't know, but the more of her work I see, the more I love it.