Royal Ballet: Beauty Mixed Programme, July 2021

[Rina]

The timings on the three films are all about 4 minutes 50 seconds. The streamed one is 5 minutes 5 seconds. Yet Park/Eagling give the impression of lingering and pausing at the end of phrases as if they had all the time in the world. They also differentiate the quality of each of the skimming lifts by subtle changes of tempo. Merle Park catches the Aphroditic spirit of this dance - precision and abandon all at once. Could the difference also be to do with counting? I seem to remember she said she never counted, so perhaps the modern way of counting could be a handicap in a pdd like this, but I'm not a dancer. I'd be interested in what others think.

[Scheherezade]

1 hour ago, Lizbie1 said:

Looking at that 1982 performance, it's not just the lightness and apparent ease, it's the sheer flow!

 

I would really like to see Hayward in this - lightness and flow are her hallmarks, IMO. I don't know who I'd have partnering her though.

 

Not Corrales. Terrific as he is in the right pieces, this isn't one of them. I love the Hayward/Bracewell partnership, both give out the suggestion of unforced, feather-light flow.

[maryrosesatonapin]

50 minutes ago, Scheherezade said:

 

Not Corrales. Terrific as he is in the right pieces, this isn't one of them. I love the Hayward/Bracewell partnership, both give out the suggestion of unforced, feather-light flow.

I was thinking of Bracewell too.

[Jane S]

At least Sambe doesn't have to wear the original costume! - very Spring Waters. I vaguely remember the first night being broadcast and in the second interval there was a certain amount of joshing between Eagling and Robert Tear on the subject... but Cassidy wears it with pride and looks great - and how nice to see him again!

 

I haven't seen anyone credited with coaching Sambe and O'Sullivan - it's a pity no-one taught Sambe how to do that last lift and make it look easy.

Edited July 14, 2021 by Jane S

[alison]

56 minutes ago, Jane S said:

At least Sambe doesn't have to wear the original costume! - very Spring Waters. I vaguely remember the first night being broadcast and in the second interval there was a certain amount of joshing between Eagling and Robert Tear on the subject... but Cassidy wears it with pride and looks great - and how nice to see him again!

 

Oh dear.  I may never be able to un-see that image now  

[Two Pigeons]

4 hours ago, Rina said:

 

I share Jeannette’s concerns. It may help to consider the context from which the pdd was taken – a new production of Strauss’s Die Fledermaus. Films of the premiere in 1977, and performances in 1982, and 1990 are available on youtube. Park and Eagling dance the pdd in the first two, Durante and Cassidy in the third.

 

It was a tradition to interpolate some divertissements into Act 2, which is set in an elegant, light-filled (please note!) ballroom at Prince Orlofsky’s palace. As the Act proceeds there are songs about kissing, laughing and champagne, people losing their inhibitions, and much swaying to music in waltz time. In the first two films, the divertissements begin with Ashton’s explosion polka, two minutes of mayhem which are reminiscent of Facade with a hint of a 1930’s show number. I particularly love the "slippy" steps. It begins at 1.39.31 of the 1982 film at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dka-_N6KaG0

 

In between the polka and the pdd in 1977, Daniel Barenboim played a Chopin ballade, and Isaac Stern the final movement of Mendelssohn’s violin concerto. Chopin, Mendelssohn, Ashton. Yes! In 1990, the performance was the vehicle for Dame Joan Sutherland’s farewell, and the entertainment came from her, Pavarotti, and Marilyn Horne. Yes! In 1982, they had two songs from Hinge and Bracket and a rendering of “She” by Charles Aznavour. Yes – actually I think the best of all because they fitted the feeling of the operetta. In all three cases, by the time it came for Voices of Spring, the whole place had been warmed up, with waves of happiness buoying up the dancers as they entered to applause from the guests on stage.

 

Watching the streaming from the ROH, I felt that the dancers looked very lonely out there. Out on a limb, with no context of fellow feeling from the four preceding works. All of them were performed in semi-darkness, and even Voices of Spring was given a dark background. (Couldn't they back project an image from Vienna like the Schonbrun Palace or a peach or rose colour?) The other works gave no sense of build up to the Ashton, which in the opera is the climax of the divertissements, leading directly into the whole company dancing a waltz. It didn’t have a chance. I feel a bit sick about it because to me it shows a want of feeling, a lack of sensitivity to the RB’s founder choreographer. Or a deliberate slighting? 

 

At the end of the 1977 film, we can glimpse Ashton in the line up standing next to Kiri Te Kanawa. “It was nothing, just a piece of froth,” we might imagine him saying to her, secretly pleased to have stolen the show with it.

I was lucky enough to be at the live recording in 1982 and there was a further 'cabaret item' which didn't make it to the recording.  Paul Tortelier played (as I remember it) some Bach with his wife and another member of his family.

Relating to the original costume for the Male dancer, an alternative cast was the delightful Ravenna Tucker with Julian Hosking.  He wore the dreaded Male toga which was just too camp for words.  I can see why Wayne Eagling refused point blank to wear it.

[Two Pigeons]

P.s.  I had completely forgotten Domingo was the conductor.  Shame on me!

[Lizbie1]

I didn't sign up for the streaming so can't test this - but maybe part of the problem is the modern dread of looking messy or imperfect? Watching Eagling and Park - and you have to make allowances for this being a live performance in a difficult space - you see lots of moments which are far from picture perfect.  But it works!

 

Edited to add: I did however see it live on opening night with O'Sullivan and Sambe and agree with the more negative reviews here.

Edited July 14, 2021 by Lizbie1

[Richard LH]

4 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

I would really like to see Hayward in this - lightness and flow are her hallmarks, IMO. I don't know who I'd have partnering her though.

Bracewell ?......as per  Dances at a Gathering...

Edit...I see others have suggested the same!

Edited July 14, 2021 by Richard LH

[MJW]

Regarding the comments about Voices of Spring  you may find the Masterclass with Merle Park and Wayne Eagling organised by the Frederick Ashton Foundation quite interesting - link below

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo1A73hPC8U

[Jane S]

1 hour ago, Two Pigeons said:

I

Relating to the original costume for the Male dancer, an alternative cast was the delightful Ravenna Tucker with Julian Hosking.

 

There's a Tucker/Eagling performance - a gala in the US, not with the RB - on YouTube.

[Balletfanp]

Right, better late than never - quick review of the two performances I saw on the 9th and 11th. Being able to see two different casts for everything is a rare luxury for me but I will try not to make it a blow by blow account and I’ll just pick up

my particular highlights.

 

I enjoyed Anemoi. I think Zucchetti has a real future as a choreographer and if he has a fault it lies, for me, in a tendency to make the lifts over-complicated, which in turn makes it difficult for the dancers to maintain a flow. But I really love the fact that his compositions give the younger dancers a chance to shine, and shine they did. Of the two casts, my pick of the crop was Daichi Ikarashi - not only a fantastic dancer, but he possesses real stage presence and a very winning smile.

 

Of the Divertissements, I hadn’t been particularly impressed by Morgen when it was premiered in the lockdown concert some months ago, but it has grown on me, not least due to Joseph Sissens performance - his movements were just incredible, and fascinating to watch. For me, the Naghdi/Sissens combination just edged it over Hayward/Corrales - although both were excellent.

 

Winter Dreams was quite odd - I yearned to see it in the context of the whole ballet as I think it loses a little of its impact as a stand alone performance. With the Morera/Hirano combination, Morera was wonderful and emoted to the hilt, but Hirano seemed a bit leaden both dancing and acting-wise. With Nunez/Muntagirov, I found the opposite - Muntagirov’s dancing soared as ever and his body is just so wonderful at expressing his extreme anguish and despair - a very emotional performance. But uncharacteristically I found Nunez lacking somehow - I just wasn’t feeling anything from her. Odd, as she is usually so good in emotional acting roles.

 

Woman with Water I wasn’t sure if I would like it or not - but in the event I did, very much. It’s a fascinating piece (what is it about? My feeling was of an abusive relationship, but I could be way off the mark!). On both performances, sections of the audience broke into laughter when the woman finally collapsed and was swept off the stage. I’m not sure why, I felt no inclination to laugh as I felt it was sinister and tragic. But two amazing performances from both Magri and Osipova - how do you even begin to learn something like that?? Magri just edged it for me - she conveyed more of a sense of desperation, I thought - and Lucas Bjoerneboe Braendsrod was also excellent.

 

I’m afraid I’m with the critics of O’Sullivan and Sambe in Voices of Spring. It felt a bit tense and messy - even under rehearsed. The smiles seemed fixed. I felt Hinkis and Zucchetti nailed it rather better, they had a sense of fun, genuine smiles, and seemed to just get the spirit of it more than the others did.

 

I saw Stix-Brunell and Clarke in both performances and they were sublime in both. I felt tearful in her penultimate performance so it was inevitable that the last one would be worse! You could hear a pin drop in the auditorium - a beautiful performance. She will be so much missed. It was lovely to see the affection and esteem she is held in both by the Company and the audience, and I’m so glad I managed to see her big send off!

 

Sleeping Beauty highlights - Isabella Gasperini! She was one of Florestan’s sisters on the first performance and Florine on the second, and was a delight in both, with her beautiful smile and evident enjoyment of performing. She had the quickness to keep up with the fast tempo which I’m afraid some of the other dancers struggled with - however I do think Koen Kessels was partly to blame there because the tempo was very fast in some pieces but too slow in others. I had a good view of him and I don’t think I saw him glance at the dancers once.

 

Joonhyuk Jun made a fantastic debut (finally!) as Bluebird - a technically sound and powerful dancer who made it look easy. However, I do agree with Capybara above somewhere in as much as he needs to develop his stage personality more as I was getting very little stage presence from him, not even a smile. Nerves perhaps?

 

As for Nunez and Muntagirov, they get better and better. I was frustrated by the the very slow tempo (I mean, there is only so long even a dancer like Vadim can stay in the air!), but they dealt with it like the pros they are and it was a sparkling performance. There has been criticism of the fish dives being slower than some people would like - personally, I prefer to see artistry over flashy effects and the dives were beautifully performed, and the last one was held for what seemed like ages. Gorgeous. Naghdi was also a very beautiful Aurora, and Bonelli is always pleasant to watch, a wonderfully dependable partner and a very likeable presence. I think they may have taken the dives a tad faster, but they weren’t so clean.

 

A wonderful weekend to satisfy my need for performances before the long wait now until October 🙁. Only spoiled by the fraught walk to any station we could find that was still open through a football riot! Not the greatest end to the weekend, but hey, we survived it!

[Lizbie1]

Everyone has a different way of viewing things, but there are two counter-arguments I'd like to make to those in favour of the slower fish dives.

 

The first is that speed is definitely not the opposite of musicality, and in my opinion not the opposite of lyricism either - both require give-and-take, and as I think Jeanette said, the fish dives offer contrast and punctuation to the slower passages.

 

The second is about interpretation. While Act III presents to us the "fulfilled" Aurora, she is still a very young woman (notwithstanding her long sleep!) and a new bride; not a queen or even a young matron. She should be as capable of excitement and energy as she is in Act I, and the fish dives remind us of that.

 

But really I have to be honest and say that the thrill of the faster dives is a large part of my preference for them. 

[Jan McNulty]

2 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

Everyone has a different way of viewing things, but there are two counter-arguments I'd like to make to those in favour of the slower fish dives.

 

 

Beautifully expressed Lizbie.

[alison]

It seems to me that it's less a question of speed, and more a matter of how the fishdives are executed.  A ballerina throwing herself headlong into them, as happens when they occur in some other ballets, for example would not be appropriate for the character of Act III Aurora, in my opinion - I suppose because it would lack a certain grandeur/poise.  The first time I ever saw Sleeping Beauty was with Northern Ballet Theatre, and the speed of their Aurora was stunning (I'm not sure I've ever seen the fishdives done faster), but I never felt it was inappropriate in the context.

[Two Pigeons]

21 hours ago, MJW said:

Regarding the comments about Voices of Spring  you may find the Masterclass with Merle Park and Wayne Eagling organised by the Frederick Ashton Foundation quite interesting - link below

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo1A73hPC8U

Thank you so much.  I REALLY enjoyed watching this.

[Lizbie1]

2 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

Beautifully expressed Lizbie.

 

Thank you! Really, this kind of discussion is what makes this forum so valuable - disagreeing civilly with reasons attached rather than people simply saying, "you're wrong".

[FionaM]

On 12/07/2021 at 12:25, Jeannette said:

 

Sorry to disagree but the fishdives segment is one of THE wow moments in the entire balletic cannon...like the 32 fouettes in SL. I expect sheer explosion. Pow! I’ll never forget when Cojocaru/Kobborg   performed them here at the Kennedy Center. 

 

Go Big or Go Home.

 

 

 

 

 

completely agree … this is a one of those WOW moments.  I like your phrase …Go Big or Go Home!
 

Naghdi/Bonelli were only slightly quicker on Sunday than Nunez/Vadim in the stream, and Bonelli looked close to losing control, but at least he and Naghdi had a go!   She sparkled throughout, as well as the costume and tiara..  Fabulous ✨ ✨ 

 

Edited July 15, 2021 by FionaE
Clarification

[capybara]

 

Surely, all sorts of considerations come into play where fish dives are concerned. It is all too easy for the ballerina to knock her partner off balance and, however strong and secure he might be, her weight is a factor - but one I don’t propose to dissect in detail.

The expression “Go big or go home” doesn’t sit easily with me at all, whoever is involved, as it seems to border on the disrespectful.

I was one of the lucky people who saw both Nunez/Muntagirov and Naghdi/Bonelli live and felt it a privilege to be able to witness such illustrious dancing from them all.

 

 

 

Edited July 15, 2021 by capybara

[Lizbie1]

8 minutes ago, capybara said:

The expression “Go big or go home” doesn’t sit easily with me at all, whoever is involved, as it seems to border on the disrespectful.

 

I think it was meant light-heartedly - it's only ever been used that way around me.

[capybara]

5 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

I think it was meant light-heartedly - it's only ever been used that way around me.

 

I've never heard it before!!!! 😊

[maryrosesatonapin]

24 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

The expression “Go big or go home” doesn’t sit easily with me at all, whoever is involved, as it seems to border on the disrespectful.

 

 

The crudity of the phrase doesn't do justice to the skill and art of (some of) our dancers.  Unlike you, @capybara, I only saw Núñez/Muntagirov but I did think their unusually slow pace in the fish dives gave a very grand impression, every moment savoured in its perfection.  Of course these two are more than capable of performing at speed, as they have proved over and over again, but their artistic judgement was good enough for me.  They were quite simply superb.

[DanJL]

I was lucky enough to see Osipova / Clarke, Nuñez / Muntagirov and Naghdi / Bonelli live in this run and can honestly say I found all their fish dives, varied as they were in speed, at least as exciting as the two clips above. 

 

I agree that it's all personal preference. But for me at least, the point is that both slow and fast fish dives can be exciting, yes also both can be musical and lyrical. It's not a case of every dancer choosing one over the other - we can enjoy all the different interpretations. Stylistically Nuñez and Muntagirov choose to draw out the move, presumably because they believe that works best with their overall style. It's a choice I enjoy, but of course other preferences exist 🙂

[Jamesrhblack]

On 14/07/2021 at 18:08, MJW said:

Regarding the comments about Voices of Spring  you may find the Masterclass with Merle Park and Wayne Eagling organised by the Frederick Ashton Foundation quite interesting - link below

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo1A73hPC8U

I really enjoyed watching this. I found it interesting that the original male casting, Eagking and then Cassidy, was along the more heroic build, but the role now seems cast with more compact dancers. Most noticeably, the emphasis was very much on style and characterisation. Watching the complete Park / Eagling performance, there was no sense of technical limitation (why would there be as the choreography was created on these dancers) and yet in the Masterclass, at the rehearsal I saw and on the stream, the dancers seemed uncomfortable, even inhibited by the demands.

[Jane S]

WARNING: Trying to synchronise those two videos so that the two ballerinas dive simultaneously can waste you a serious amount of time.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Jamesrhblack said:

I really enjoyed watching this. I found it interesting that the original male casting, Eagking and then Cassidy, was along the more heroic build, but the role now seems cast with more compact dancers. Most noticeably, the emphasis was very much on style and characterisation. Watching the complete Park / Eagling performance, there was no sense of technical limitation (why would there be as the choreography was created on these dancers) and yet in the Masterclass, at the rehearsal I saw and on the stream, the dancers seemed uncomfortable, even inhibited by the demands.

I also love the performances of past casts. As you say, they made it look effortless and also understood it so well. 

In defence of the dancers at the Masterclass, they had never danced together before. 

I will get around to watching the stream soon. 

[alison]

2 hours ago, Jamesrhblack said:

I really enjoyed watching this. I found it interesting that the original male casting, Eagking and then Cassidy, was along the more heroic build, but the role now seems cast with more compact dancers.

 

Yes, I noticed that, and wondered if it made a difference.  I suspect it does.

[alison]

I'm loving this discussion about the fishdives, BTW.  It was only this morning that I remembered they're a later accretion, so not authentic at all anyway

[Lizbie1]

1 hour ago, alison said:

I'm loving this discussion about the fishdives, BTW.  It was only this morning that I remembered they're a later accretion, so not authentic at all anyway

 

Yes - but I think not rejected by Ratmansky when he made his quasi-authentic version. So presumably he considered them in keeping with the whole.

[James]

35 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

Yes - but I think not rejected by Ratmansky when he made his quasi-authentic version. So presumably he considered them in keeping with the whole.

I believe that Ratmansky has had second thoughts and removed them from more recent performances.

They were introduced by Pierre Vladimiroff, who danced the Prince in the Diaghilev production in 1921, clearly with the intention of adding a “flashy effect” to the pdd. One of the Auroras refused to perform what she called an “acrobatic feat”.

[Beryl H]

I didn't know the fishdives dated from 1921, thanks for this interesting information. I watched the pdd last night and enjoyed the unhurried and gracious way Nunez/Muntagirov danced it.

 

 

[FionaM]

And here are the lovely and musical duo of Yuhui Choe and Alex Campbell in Voices of Spring

 

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CHxUrs_AjoV/?utm_medium=copy_link

[bridiem]

Fascinating! Fonteyn and Blair are so exciting - fast, light, flowing, musical, and with an air of otherworldliness that tells us this is a fairy tale, a fantasy; almost as if they're oblivious of the audience and dancing purely in their world. All their dancing is a means to an end not an end in itself. Terrific.