Works of John Neumeier

[stucha]

On 01/05/2020 at 18:29, Angela said:

 

If it helps: The Beethoven ballet is not Neumeier's best work.

 

I'm not trying to be facetious here, but what in your opinion is Neumeier's best work? I'm just trying to understand.

Illusions like Swan Lake is one of my all time favourites but I struggle with the rest of his output.

Edited May 8, 2020 by stucha

[Angela]

My Neumeier favorite is Nijinsky, closely followey by Lady of the Camellias and A Streetcar Named Desire. If interpreted by great dancers, these are the ballet evenings you live for, that leave you shattered, impressed, in awe. I also like his Midsummer Night's Dream very much, although the costumes look a bit dated, and his Othello. These are the works where he combines his masterful art of storytelling, which is sadly never appreciated enough in the English and American ballet world, with his best choreography, with the perfect choice of music, sets and costumes. Wonderful roles for dramatic dancers. Lately,  I fear, he lacks a bit in both, the Beethoven Project is confusing, incoherent, uninspired. Neumeier can be a true genius of choreography and I'm certain some of his ballets will live forever.

[toursenlair]

3 hours ago, Angela said:

My Neumeier favorite is Nijinsky, closely followey by Lady of the Camellias and A Streetcar Named Desire. If interpreted by great dancers, these are the ballet evenings you live for, that leave you shattered, impressed, in awe. I also like his Midsummer Night's Dream very much, although the costumes look a bit dated, and his Othello. These are the works where he combines his masterful art of storytelling, which is sadly never appreciated enough in the English and American ballet world, with his best choreography, with the perfect choice of music, sets and costumes. Wonderful roles for dramatic dancers. Lately,  I fear, he lacks a bit in both, the Beethoven Project is confusing, incoherent, uninspired. Neumeier can be a true genius of choreography and I'm certain some of his ballets will live forever.

 

Count me as another huge fan of Lady of the Camellias and Nijinsky. Streetcar not so much. I did enjoy The Seagull. I love Neumeier's Illusions Like Swan Lake, Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty. He was supposed to be doing a new version of the latter for this June; I hope he won't mess with it too much.

I also like 3rd Symphony of Gustav Mahler, Bach Suite 3, and Shakespeare Dances.

I haven't seen Othello.

I find Neumeier is either brilliant (and when he is brilliant he is really brilliant) or.... not.

[ninamargaret]

having just watched Swan Lake and thoroughly enjoyed it ( though why he didn't get rid of those wretched little swans i don't know), I wonder what he'd have made of Mayerling?

Edited May 8, 2020 by ninamargaret
spelling

[Jeannette]

15 hours ago, stucha said:

 

I'm not trying to be facetious here, but what in your opinion is Neumeier's best work? I'm just trying to understand.

Illusions like Swan Lake is one of my all time favourites but I struggle with the rest of his output.

 

I love his Nutcracker...and I’m usually not a big fan of any Nut! I also admire his Nijinsky and the recent Liliom for Alina Cojocaru.

[Jan McNulty]

Funny thing about Lady of the Camellias.  Two friends had been raving about it for the best part of 20 years having seen Hamburg Ballet perform it during a festival in Copenhagen (around 1987/88).  I noticed that POB were performing it in Paris in 2006 so one of those friends and I decided to go and duly got tickets for 2 performances.

 

The first evening (I think Aurelie Dupont and Benjamin Pech) I thought it was OK but couldn't understand why my friends had been raving about it for so long.  In fact the friend I had gone with said she couldn't understand why she had been raving about it for so long!  The second performance was Agnes Letestu and unannounced guest Jiri Bubenicek.  What can I say.  To this day I cannot say why a man standing at the side of the stage reading a book reduced me to sobbing out loud!  At the end of the performance there was a tremendous standing ovation.  I think the backstage staff gave up and went home because suddenly the house lights went up but the vast majority of the audience stayed ovating for probably another 10 minutes!  I have never sobbed so much at a performance before or since and my friend and I were beyond the power of speech for about an hour after the performance.  I conclude from this that the casting for this piece is essential.

 

I saw his Romeo and Juliet in Copenhagen (RDB) and didn't like that at all.

 

Is Neumeier a bit marmite? 

[Angela]

1 hour ago, Jan McNulty said:

To this day I cannot say why a man standing at the side of the stage reading a book reduced me to sobbing out loud!

 

I remember seeing Lady of the Camellias shortly after the premiere at Stuttgart. I was 13 or 14 years old and I cried so hard, especially because Armand was crying real tears over Marguerite's diary, that I refused to go to the ballet ever again... Luckily I changed my mind, but the end is heartbreaking. Just the moment when the piano starts to play Marguerite's theme, but now behind the scenes, not in the orchestra pit any more, but like a distant memory: what a simple, but brilliant idea. You should see Alina Cojocaru in this scene, she's incredibly moving - different than Marcia Haydée, very different, but oh so beautiful. Yes, these are ballets for dancers like Haydée, Bubenicek, Cojocaru - or Edward Watson, who never danced Neumeier, did he?  

[toursenlair]

Here's another weepfest for Lady of the Camellias. I first saw it in Stuttgart with Robert Tewsley and Sue Jin Kang. From the moment he gives her the money at the party to the end of the ballet (must be about 15  minutes) I sobbed uncontrollably, tears pouring down my cheeks. I have never had an experience like that at the ballet before. I was worn out from crying by the curtain calls; I could barely clap or shout bravo.

[alison]

1 hour ago, Angela said:

Yes, these are ballets for dancers like Haydée, Bubenicek, Cojocaru - or Edward Watson, who never danced Neumeier, did he?  

 

Not that I'm aware of - from what you say, it sounds like a shame

 

I saw Lady of the Camellias in the cinema some years ago (Paris Opera Ballet?) and was unmoved, although that may have had something to do with it being run through with no break, or even indication of where the acts began and finished.  I definitely needed an interval somewhere.

[ninamargaret]

has any major work by Numeier been seen in the UK? I've enjoyed what I've seen of his work. Maybe his work is more appreciated by other countries, as would seem to be the case with Van Manen and Kylian. 

And I do agree that Ed Watson would have been an ideal interpreter of Neumeier's works  - I thought this when I watched the DVD of Nijinsky 

[Raymonda]

When I saw Nina Kaptsova at the Bolshoi dance Marguerite in Lady of the Camelias, I couldn’t stop sobbing for an hour after. She is one of the great dance actresses of all time. She danced the third act PDD at a gala in Moscow, which Marcia Haydee attended. A friend of mine who sat near her heard her say to a friend, “I feel like I’m watching myself.”

[Raymonda]

[ChMeBa]

I may be a bit late to respond to this topic, but only was aware of this thread now. His Swan Lake has to be the top of my list for the simple reason that it's so seldom performed. To my knowledge it was only on in Hamburg and Munich. I've seen it in Munich several times and every time have enjoyed it esp with Lucia Lacarra as Odette. And was always overwhelmed by the end. My attempts to see it in Hamburg were thwarted by a municipal strike and then by Corona.

Then followed by Lady of the C. and then Midsummer Night. I am not impressed by the later works which I've seen - Othello, Streetcar, Nijinsky and Beethoven

[simonbfisher]

Does anyone know whether 'A Cinderella Story' and 'A Streetcar...' are available on DVD or some other medium? I cannot track either of them down.

 

And having read through the above - yes: Ed Watson in Neumeier ... what a loss! Seems obvious now I think about it.

[Angela]

3 minutes ago, simonbfisher said:

Does anyone know whether 'A Cinderella Story' and 'A Streetcar...' are available on DVD or some other medium?

 

As far as I know, they have not been recorded. Maybe when Alina Cojocaru will dance Blanche Dubois some day.... Maybe Edward Watson could still do Stanley Kowalski? It's a difficult, hard ballet, but they would be a dream cast.

[Estreiiita]

I have recently been to the 47th Ballet days in Hamburg and to my mind the Hamburg ballet is in a great shape; it was a pleasure to watch " The winter's tale" with Felix Paquet (Leontes), Ida Praetorius (Hermione), Silvia Azzoni (Paulina), and many others; " The Glass Menagerie" with Alina Cojocaru, accompanied by Edvin Revazov (Tennessee), Felix Paquet (Tom), Patricia Friza (Amanda) and Christopher Evans (Jim) was superb; " Sylvia" with Madoka Sugai (Sylvia), Anna Laudere (Diana), Alexandr Trusch (Aminta), etc. has become a true revelation for me, beautiful dancing, stylish costumes for most of the participants, with a touch of decadence in a 2nd act and a lifelike ending; " The Sleeping beauty" with a prince from the present (Alessandro Frola) and a beautiful princess from the fairytale  (Madoka Sugai), the mighty Thorn (Karen Azatyan) and tender Rose (Anna Laudere) was marvellous and at last " Hamlet 21" - this one I should watch again as I don't think I appreciated it as much as previous ballets - maybe because I was overwhelmed by impressions during the first days. But all actors showed a lot of skills both dancing and acting and Edvin Revazov (Hamlet) was quite convincing,  Ophelia (Anna Laudere) very disturbed and Geruth (Yaiza Coll) torn between two brothers - Horvendel (Florian Pahl) and Fenge (Felix Paquet).

  I love Ida Praetorius very much and I think she 's a wonderful ballerina, actually I hoped to see her in more ballets, but maybe she is still adapting to the new team and way of dancing as in Copenhagen you can only rarely have several different ballets in a row; at least she was employed only in " The Winter's tale". The dancers I liked most were, first of all, Madoka Sugai, who also danced Perdita in " The Winter's tale", besides Sylvia and Aurora; then Alessandro Frola, a young dancer with a great future, I believe (he also was Endymion in " Sylvia"), Anna Laudere (Diana, the Rose, Ophelia) - but well, actually all dancers were great! 

  I'm looking forward to the next season in Hamburg, especially to Nijinsky Gala as it will probably be the farewell of John Neumeier with the ballet. Though some of the works planned for the next Ballet days in Hamburg are under question as Neumeier wanted to bring the Bolshoi with " Anna Karenina" and the Royal Danish ballet with " Othello" , but now " Othello" is substituted with " A Midsummer night's dream" as some dancers in Copenhagen complained about the racist nuances in " Othello".

[Josette]

For me, it’s hands down Liliom. I saw it twice and it demolished me both times. I had the opportunity of telling John Neumeier two years later how much I loved it and how much it meant to me. I saw his St. Matthew Passion four times this spring and discovered more in it each time. 

The Hamburg Ballet is bringing his Glass Menagerie to Chicago in February of 2023 and I will be there. 

[Estreiiita]

For a couple of weeks ago I've been in Hamburg to watch several performances during the  48th Ballet days. This ballet event was dedicated to the 50th anniversary of John Neumeier's leadership of Hamburg ballet. Initially it was planned to be his last season in the company but as Demis Volpi can't start as a new artistic director of the ballet before the next year, John Neumeier agreed to prolongate his career at Hamburg ballet for one more year. 

    The first ballet I saw was " The Nutcracker" and I was absolutely charmed by it - to the extent  that I've already bought the ticket to see it in December again (partly because I'm not sure it will stay in the repertory of the company once John Neumeier leaves it). Many of ballet lovers know that this ballet doesn't have any connection to the Christmas, but is a ballet dedicated to the ballet, with  funny references to some well known choreographic works. I liked especially Olivia Betteridge, initially from Australia, but graduated from Hamburg school as Marie, she danced so well and I'm sure she'll be a star of the company one day. Borja Bermudez was ballet master Drosselmeier and created a very good image of a ballet genius, dedicated to the art but not deprived of some weaknesses. 

   Christopher Evans was a perfect partner for Olivia Betteridge as Gunther, the leader of cadets and then the soloist of the ballet company. I also liked Priscilla Tselikova and Florian Pahl in a bit from " La Fille du Pharaon" and Sivia Azzoni as Esmeralda.

   The second ballet I saw was " Illusions like Swan lake", a story about the man and madness. Alexandr Trusch was The King, Florian Pahl was The man in shadow, an Evil Genius of the king, Ida Praetorius was Princess Natalia, an angel trying to support and protect the king. Jacopo Belussi was Count Alexander, the friend of the king; Anna Laudere was Odette and Lasse Caballero - Prince Siegfried. Everybody was superb.

  Then I saw "The Sleeping beauty" with almost the same cast as the last year, except The Thorn danced now by Matias Oberlin and I liked it again.

 At last I saw " Bernstein dances" but though the cast was great: Alexandr Trusch as Bernstein, Alessandro Frola as Love, Ida Praetorius as Bernstein's wife and many other good dancers, I don't feel like I appreciate this ballet as much as other works, although there were beautiful pdd's and ensemble dances, and two very good singers on the stage, and I liked especially Alexandr Trusch and Ida Praetorius.

   Then in some days' time I saw "A streetcar named Desire", also in Hamburg but performed by the Czech National ballet. I liked it a lot, especially Alina Nanu as Blanche DuBois, Irina Burduja as Stella, Paul Irmatov as Stanley Kowalski and Patrik Holecek as Mitch. I would love to see this ballet again performed by Hamburg company - maybe I'll come to see it in September.

  This week I'm looking forward to see " Lady of the Camelias" performed by Stuttgart ballet in Hamburg.

  

[Sim]

Many thanks for this lovely review, Estreiiita.  What a fabulous-sounding ballet marathon!  Do let us know please what 'Lady of the Camelias' is like.