Royal Ballet: The Dante Project - October 2021

[J_New]

Sim - did you see it from above, or from the SC? I feel as though it would be a different experience from different viewpoints.

[Beryl H]

16 minutes ago, Sim said:

I loved it too... a bit of fun and light relief in what is a heavy theme.  And it's always great for the men to get a chance to show what they can do.

 

I agree with LACAD that it isn't particularly emotional as a whole, although I found some of the pdd very moving.  For me, I just loved it as spectacle.  I know we are supposed to look at all McGregor works in a deeply intellectual way (!), but this piece also works if you just sit back and enjoy the wonderful dancing, set, music and lighting.  Well it did for me, anyway!

 

I was going to ask if you can simply enjoy the ballet for the dancing etc. without knowing anything about Dante's Inferno, glad that the answer is yes!

[Ian Macmillan]

Beryl: Reviews have started to appear online - and at least one critic admits to not having read the Inferno whilst awarding the piece 4 stars.

[Sim]

My husband is a Dante scholar so by osmosis I do know a small amount about the Divine Comedy, but for this reason I decided I didn't want to watch it and nitpick about what is clearly conveyed from the story/narrative.   It works on one level regarding the story, but as Bridie pointed out it is also, like all the best ballets, concerned with universal human themes.

 

Or...it's just a cracking good show that you can just sit back and enjoy!

[Sim]

2 hours ago, J_New said:

Sim - did you see it from above, or from the SC? I feel as though it would be a different experience from different viewpoints.

I was SCS, right in the middle so a perfect view of the stage.  I had to bend forward to see the screen in the last act, but when I realised that it was planetary I didn't need to keep looking at it.  We could see the bottom half of it so that was enough! 

[alison]

"Alert (15/10/21 16:45 BST): Due to a technical fault some customers who have booked tickets for performances this weekend may not have received their E-tickets via email. To access your e-ticket please sign-in to your Account and select ‘View eTickets’ from the ‘Events’ tab. We hope to resolve this problem as soon as possible and apologize for any inconvenience."

 

I, on the other hand, have probably about 15 separate emails in my inbox sending me my ticket for one performance next week.  Definitely a technical glitch!

[Tony Newcombe]

3 hours ago, alison said:

"Alert (15/10/21 16:45 BST): Due to a technical fault some customers who have booked tickets for performances this weekend may not have received their E-tickets via email. To access your e-ticket please sign-in to your Account and select ‘View eTickets’ from the ‘Events’ tab. We hope to resolve this problem as soon as possible and apologize for any inconvenience."

 

I, on the other hand, have probably about 15 separate emails in my inbox sending me my ticket for one performance next week.  Definitely a technical glitch!

Same for me as well

[Richard LH]

5 hours ago, Sim said:

Or...it's just a cracking good show that you can just sit back and enjoy!

Which we certainly did this evening!

[KyleCheng]

9 hours ago, LACAD said:

Hamilton/Grennel(?)

I was at tonight’s (15th) performance, which seems to have the same cast as yesterday’s, and I think Melissa Hamilton was dancing with Mayara Magri. Both are stunning too. I’ve always felt that Melissa looks particularly convincing and stunning (i wish I could be more precise…) in more contemporary choreographies and tonight was no exception.

[RobR]

I haven’t always been quite as comfortable with McGregor’s work as many on the forum have but, with that in mind, I must say I enjoyed seeing it tonight and I have a ticket to see it again. 

I very much enjoyed the first act but the dancers and orchestra, conducted by Thomas Ades, were terrific throughout and the music, particularly in acts 1 and 3 drove the choreography and gave the cast the opportunity to set a very high standard.  
 

The set design and lighting in Inferno was brilliant, and seemed innovative to me, as was the staging, and it was an unexpectedly enjoyable evening. 
 

[Rob S]

I don’t have a plot synopsis to hand so forgive me for asking….is the conductor supposed to throw his baton across the stalls at the end of Act II? Was this The Baton Projectile? 🤷🏻

[Nogoat]

(TL;DNR - The occasion was really enjoyable, the dancers were numerous and brilliant, the staging was OK; but as a full-length, narrative ballet I found it lacking compared to McGregor’s earlier Woolf Works.)

I didn’t realise just how excited I would be returning to the ROH on Thursday for the premiere of The Dante Project! 

 

It might be autumn, but it seemed more like spring in the way the pace of life was getting back to its normal, hectic self after the enforced quiescence of the last 18 months. The motorway was horribly busy; the traffic crawled the last half mile to our parking spot, with pedestrians overtaking the car; the tube was jammed; Holborn was hectic; service was slow in the busy restaurant (if Nandos can be classed as such!) - but it was all much more reassuring than our visits to the ghost town that was the West End earlier this year. 

 

The walk down to the ROH was in that wonderful half-light where the illumination from sky and buildings complement rather than dominate each other; all very promising. I mentioned to the guy checking the bags that this was our first attendance at a performance, and a ‘normal’ one at that, since the socially-distanced Beauty Mixed programme. He asked which approach I preferred, and I said without hesitation I was looking forward to the house being jam-packed and noisy, even if it meant a bit of added jeopardy, rather than the ‘sterile’ atmosphere that came with those restrictions. And so it was - a full, raucous amphitheatre; the chance to shell out £8 for a glossy programme; the pre-show entertainment of watching latecomers invariably heading for seats in the centre of occupied rows; a full orchestra; the dash for the exits at the end. About the only thing missing was the level of coughing that used to punctuate performances and pauses - and I’m not complaining about missing that (though I would about the lack of compliance by about half the audience with the request to wear a mask. Is that an issue for the ‘audience behaviour’ thread?).

And in between the coming and the going? Well, it was a complete pleasure to see just about everyone I’d want to see on stage at the same time - it’s probably easier to list those missing; Nunez, Muntagirov, Bonelli and Morera spring to mind. 

 

The concentration of stellar talent (established and rising - Sissens particularly stood out in the latter category) on show was more typical of a gala, and unfortunately the impression of being at a gala was only reinforced by the disjointed, episodic nature of the event itself.

 

I had ‘prepared’ myself by watching the hour long YouTube ‘insight’ in the hope of getting some, er, insight into what I was about to see. 

On the plus side, the two pieces rehearsed during the insight (Watson/Lamb doing their Dante/Beatrice duet, and Ball/Hayward doing theirs) benefited from that familiarity during the performance itself - in which case I might enjoy the complete work more when I watch it again, streamed, as well as when I attend the last performance (booked to see Watson’s farewell more than anything else). I also appreciated learning about the costumes in Act 1 - body-suits with chalk applied to give some variation; for me, this was about the only genuinely novel, creative touch I picked up on in terms of staging. 

 

I also planned to read the programme beforehand in the hope (but, from past experience, not the expectation - especially for McGregor’s work) of shedding some light on the proceedings. It all looked a bit involved, so I didn’t read it then and I still haven’t got past KOH’s introduction days later. My main problem concerned the onstage realisation of the source material - I felt there was a translation/communication problem that lost much of the meaning that might otherwise have carried across. 

 

To be effective, art can’t just be the external representation of something going on inside the creative’s head, even when that something already exists (as Dante’s work does) and it is the medium into which it is being translated that differs. That ‘something’ needs to be presented and communicated to the audience in a way that is comprehensible - it needs a shared vocabulary and, in the case of a story, an equivalent narrative. 
Now, I have no doubt that there is a lot going on inside McGregor’s head; unless he is doing it for effect, his constant ‘tweaking’ of the dancers’ movements in the rehearsal (accompanied by various ‘whooshing’ noises that the dancers seem to understand) illustrates his efforts to instantiate his thoughts as movement (having said that, I’m not convinced the dancers incorporated those changes on the night). 
But the thing is, McGregor has been living with everything going on inside his head for, presumably, all of his creative life - and I haven’t.

I’ve seen and enjoyed some of his more abstract works (Chroma and Infra spring to mind), but for abstract works the amount of storytelling is reduced, and so is the complexity of the dance language and the ‘bandwidth’ we must share to get the ‘story’ across. Even though the individual Acts of his narrative ballet, Woolf Works, are distinct, the narrative within each one is strong (particularly the first one - it makes me very emotional in places) and comprehension is aided by his use of slightly more established, more traditional, choreography.

With Dante, he seems to get the mix wrong - too much abstraction and insufficient narrative. Dante’s source material seems vast and episodic (I admit here to not having read it), so needs to be pruned and communicated in a way that can still carry the audience along its narrative arc. But, unfortunately, the choreography and staging present only a handful of snapshots instead of a larger series of developing vignettes that would provide the dynamism to drive a full-length ballet (the dynamic on show was; Act 1 - Dante in mental anguish and turmoil; Act 2 - ditto; Act 3 - ditto until right at the end when Dante literally sees the light, signified by, er, the auditorium lighting up). 

And some of those snapshots were, literally, misleading. Here’s a quote from KOH’s effusive intro - ‘...Guiding us through the frozen depths of hell and climbing the mountain of purgatory to the radiant light and cosmic heights of paradise,...’ 

So, where was the ‘mountain of purgatory’ in Act 2? The action took place in what looked like a dentist’s waiting room, complete with basic seating and a cheap looking, random piece of artwork on a ‘wall’ - a street scene, complete with cars, with a large tree in the foreground, perhaps passed through a bog-standard Photoshop filter. Or maybe it was supposed to be a departure lounge, with penitent passengers waiting for the gate to paradise to open? What possible creative process led to deciding to use that picture to dominate the stage and represent what, presumably, KOH had been told would be represented? Who knows? And who cares? Well, it sounds like I do, which means I need to decide between the following explanations; I’m not sufficiently sophisticated to understand what is obvious to the creatives and the majority of the audience; there has been a breakdown in the creatives’ ability to communicate between themselves and/or the audience; the creatives are being lazy and paying insufficient attention to detail; everyone’s fooling each other and it’s a case of the Emperor’s New Clothes.

 

There is certainly evidence for a lazy approach in an apparent recycling’ of aspects of the production. It’s important to state here that I think there is a difficult balance to be struck between the novel and the familiar in any new production; done well, the deliberate referencing of previous work can help understand, through shared experience, what would otherwise be difficult to assimilate. ENB/AK’s Creature is a case in point; I thought it used both obvious and subtle references to previous work to guide my understanding of a completely novel narrative (my first horror/gothic/sci-fi/dystopian/fever-dream ballet). In contrast, some of the approaches used in The Dante Project just looked like lazy referencing/recycling for the sake of it, sometimes counterproductively.

 

- During the Insight McGregor alluded to something at the end of Act 1 that would really impress, but he didn’t want to say any more to avoid spoiling the surprise. So, what we got at the end of our truncated trip through hell was a dozen male dancers coming on stage and doing their thing to some rousing music (which seemed familiar, but which I couldn’t place) - the Dante equivalent of putting the Don Q PDD at the end of a gala to go out on a heady bang? But this show-boating not only seemed at odds with the whole point of hell (if that’s what happens in hell, count me in!), and the all-male cast strutting their stuff simply reminded me of ENB’s showstopper of choice, Playlist 2. It also turned out not to be the end of the act anyway; that was something involving Watson that was anticlimactic enough for the details to escape me.

- Act 2 brought out the now much-used trope of using young dancers as younger versions of the protagonists. We’ve seen it in Wheeldon’s The Winter’s Tale, Scarlett’s Frankenstein and McGregor’s Woolf Works.

- The background of the whole stage in Act 1 was a video projection that changed, effectively, to create variations in the atmosphere. In contrast, Act 3 had a video projected onto the back of the stage, but it was tiny and unimpressive in comparison to the projection used in Act 3 of McGregor’s Woolf Works.

- Given all the music available, why were two sections from Mayerling dropped into Act 1? Watson, of course, is the definitive Rudolf, so was it just a nod to that role? The first piece came from the scene in the Empress’ chambers, but there was nothing in that exploration of their relationship that seemed relevant to the relationship between Dante and Virgil. The second was from the hunting scene, and the only tenuous connection I could imagine was between the four females onstage at the time and the four Hungarian officers in Mayerling.

- The very end of the performance has the stage lighting come right up and move out into the auditorium. It was very similar to, but less impressive than, the ending of Woolf Works where the auditorium is flooded with laser light.

 

McGregor’s choreographic style remains pretty opaque to me. He comes up with movements that, presumably, convey meaning, but I’m not sure if I have the time or inclination to invest the effort needed to decode them - even if I could find some sort of Rosetta stone to translate them. McGregor (and to a much lesser extent Wheeldon) inject movements that stamp the choreography as theirs, but look ugly and devoid of meaning to me - the choreographic equivalent of graffiti artists’ tags.

For example, during the ‘insight’ rehearsal Hayward put both her hands on the sides of the small of her back - as if it ached a bit and she was stretching and supporting it. When the dancers repeated that section she did it again. At the end of the insight she was obviously exhausted, so I assumed she had been supporting her back. I was a bit surprised, then, to find her repeating that movement on opening night itself. So, it was part of the choreography, but it looked ugly and out of place (I think she was supposed to be like a leaf being blown around in the wind). What on earth did it mean, and how on earth did McGregor expect me to know? Or did the usual get-out clause apply - that it meant whatever it evoked in the viewer? 

 

In another example, Watson was emoting (presumably) his anguish and he ended up pointing an elbow into the air and looking at it. Again, it looked ugly and evoked nothing in me apart from the question ‘why is the choreographer getting him to look at his upturned elbow?’

Sorry if I’ve gone on a bit (and I could have gone on even more) but I do think it’s important that whoever is given the privilege to tap into the potential might of the ROH (particularly that of the dancers who devote body and soul to their art) can withstand scrutiny of their output at every and any level. If the whole is to be greater than the sum of the parts, then the parts need to fit together seamlessly. When I dissected away my joy at being back in a packed ROH, hearing a full orchestra and seeing most of my favourite dancers, I still failed to find that satisfactory ‘fit’, and failed to find any real emotion in most of it; but I am prepared to give it another go via the stream and Ed’s final performance, so perhaps paradise may not be lost (though my knowledge of poets obviously is). 

 

PS: Having read an article a few days ago that mentioned the extent to which one’s behaviour is influenced by other’s views, I decided not to read any of the posts on the forum, nor any online reviews. Having now looked, it seems my views are in a very small minority...

 

[Sophie_B]

I also really liked this one! I loved the changing moods and pairings of the first act, Inferno. Such a treat to see the parade of principals, and some younger first artists / soloists being featured (Calvin Richardson and Joseph Sissens were great but really this was about the whole company being thoroughly excellent). I only managed to pull up the cast list in the interval and it would have definitely helped to have known the names of the different group dances / sins they represented, but not knowing anything I still really enjoyed it. I also bought the programme later because I've never read Dante - though now I think I will! Just about every review has also commented on this, but the set with the mountains and different light projections was great. Some of the costumes were on the edge of making the legs blend into the same-coloured background to the point of making it hard to see the dance from the amphi, but I suppose if you're going to have a dark and bleak hell you might as well lean into it.

 

Act 2 was enjoyable, I particularly liked the score here actually - a fusion of styles and a mix of vocals on tape and the orchestra playing into it. Marco Masciari being featured very prominently and getting to show his Contemporary chops, what an opportunity for him (and nice to see him on stage after the big covid hiatus, I'm glad the RB extended the PDL / Aud Jebsen contracts). Act 3 (Paradiso) was lovely to watch, I thought less surprising choreography-wise, but a nice uplifting end. Watson did a wonderful acting job especially at the end of acts 1 and 3, looking into worlds beyond the stage. 

 

As an aside, the people sitting next to me were there for the music and Adés rather than the ballet, which was interesting. There seemed to be quite a few normally-opera-not-ballet types around, so it was good to see this collaboration attracting a varied audience. 

[Bluebird]

1 hour ago, Nogoat said:

Given all the music available, why were two sections from Mayerling dropped into Act 1?

 

I don't imagine Adès had any intention of quoting from Mayerling.  It just so happens that the music of Liszt is the source for both Inferno and Mayerling. In a Times interview with Debra Craine earlier this month, he said the following about Inferno:

 

“Well, Dante had Virgil to guide him through, I had Liszt,” ...... “And there couldn’t be a better guide to Hell than Liszt. The Dante Sonata that he wrote for piano is the beginning of my Inferno. I wanted it to be like ventriloquism — Liszt would be the dummy and I would speak through him. But it’s Liszt cubed and sometimes cubed cubed, and there are some numbers in Inferno where there is no Liszt at all.”

 

Edited to add the link to the interview in The Times: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/thomas-ades-interview-dante-project-88nc96h8n

Edited October 16, 2021 by Bluebird

[capybara]

1 hour ago, Sophie_B said:

 As an aside, the people sitting next to me were there for the music and Adés rather than the ballet, which was interesting. There seemed to be quite a few normally-opera-not-ballet types around, so it was good to see this collaboration attracting a varied audience. 

 More than a few "normally the opera but we do like ballet" patrons (lower case p ) around me too this afternoon.

1 minute ago, Bluebird said:

I don't imagine Adès had any intention of quoting from Mayerling.  It just so happens that the music of Liszt is the source for both Inferno and Mayerling.

Precisely - thank you reminding us.

 

I enjoyed Dante, especially the first act which seemed more 'polished' in concept and delivery than the other two - maybe because, following its showing in Los Angeles in 2019, it has had time to simmer in MacGregor's mind and blossom in the performer's bodies...............

But, overall, the extended MacGregor dance vocabulary is a simply terrific vehicle for showing off an amazing ballet company, an opportunity which, unfortunately, ENB missed with its recent, somewhat repetitive Creature from Akram Khan.

[AnticaFiamma]

I saw last night's performance and today's matinee and I really enjoyed it. It's not quite as good as Woolf Works, but it's similar in aims and structure (eg: the first act is quite close to the literary source while the last one is pretty abstract). The score is beautiful and I hope it gets recorded and released soon.

 

The second cast is not quite as starry as the first one, but still impeccable. On the whole there is a lot to admire and even something to love. I particularly liked the Ulysses (Calvin Richardson last night, Harry Churches at the matinee)  scene after Paolo & Francesca, and the so called Pope's adagio toward the end of Act 1. I thought Purgatory was absolutely gorgeous and by far the most poignant and cohesive part of the show. After such a beautiful and moving piece, the third act is a bit anti-climatic and I agree with what was said earlier on about Paradise being the least successful part of the ballet.

 

The role was clearly written for Edward Watson, who is a terrific Dante – and what a role to end a career with! With his freakishly long limbs and elasticity Watson conveys great depth of anguish: his Dante almost never leaves the "dark wood" of his mind and, as danced by Watson, is a figure of great suffering and introspection. Bonelli's portrayal is very different, but equally compelling. His body and skills are different from Watson's and Bonelli's Dante is perhaps least successful in Hell, but really shines in Purgatory and Heaven. He has a more masculine and romantic presence and his pdd with Beatrice is particularly moving. He is, I think, a better partner than Watson, who is sensational when dances on his own and maybe slightly less so in other movements. They're both great for different reasons, but it's pretty much Watson's role. 

 

For me it's a solid 4* production and I think I'll try to catch it one more time, although I don't know if I want to see it again with Bonelli or Watson!

 

Btw, @Rob S, do you happen to have taken a pic of Bonelli at the curtain call? If so I would love to see it – I hate that ROH is not showing any material with them!

[Rob S]

12 minutes ago, AnticaFiamma said:

 

 

Btw, @Rob S, do you happen to have taken a pic of Bonelli at the curtain call? If so I would love to see it – I hate that ROH is not showing any material with them!

More Dante pics to come but Strictly is about to start and dinner is almost ready…

 

 

[ninamargaret]

First of all, what a great to be returning to the ROH! Staff all seemed super helpful,even coping with one lift on the left hand side being out of action,which didn't help the several wheel chair users and many, like self, with mobility issues.

 

I think Dante is pretty stunning. I admit to being a Bonelli admirer, so I booked this and decided to see Ed Watson n the streamed performance. I thought the whole cast were on excellent form but due to the already mentioned lack of cast sheets I found it difficult to identify who was who. Trying to unscramble a complex cast list on a small phone screen is not good for my eyesight or temper. I suspect Bonelli's performance is a lot softer and less sharp than Ed Watson's - but to my mind a totally acceptable interpretation. I think I was most struck by the production as a whole. I loved the simple sets offset by stunning lighting. And musically it's a superb score. Look forward to seeing the stream - and would be more than happy to see it again at any time.

[AnticaFiamma]

9 minutes ago, Rob S said:

More Dante pics to come but Strictly is about to start and dinner is almost ready…

 

 

Thank you so much, what a beautiful pic!

[JNC]

My thoughts are to broadly agree with many comments already here so nothing groundbreaking!

 

I thought Inferno was the strongest of the three acts - both in choreography but also the sets and costumes. The way the lighting changed the atmosphere and the constant rapid different short dances was beautiful to watch, even if particular ‘characters’ or themes were not immediately obvious without knowledge of Dante or reading the programme. 
 

I found the music throughout to be a highlight and really pleased to see a full ‘classical’ (not pop or film type music) being commissioned for a new ballet. (Sorry not a music expert but hopefully the meaning is clear!)

 

I struggled a little more with Purgatorio - it felt very ‘modern art’ to me and felt this was meant to have more of a narrative thread with the children appearing and it completely passed me by, and knowing I was ‘missing’ some meaning meant I disengaged a bit. 
 

I found Paradiso interesting but by this point I felt it was all quite abstract, I find this type of dancing a lot easier to digest in smaller chunks and it was hard to distinguish what the plot was and who the individual dancers were due to costuming. I enjoyed the look of all the sets but felt there was a clear link to the set and plot/choreography in Inferno that I didn’t feel with the final 2 acts. 
 

Overall I enjoyed just absorbing and watching it despite some parts feeling unnecessary/over long (apart from the final pas de deux with Watson and Lamb which I thought was far too short!).

Overall certainly more positives than negatives with interesting choreography and music throughout. I struggled to understand a ‘plot’. But it was a very bold new production which certainly deserves a repeat viewing and I think I’d gain more second time round. And thought all the dancers were fantastic - notably Kaneko, Sissens, Richardson and Watson of course (though dare I say I found him a bit underused?). Great to see new work being supported and invested in by ROH and hope it returns in a couple of years with a similar all-star cast. 

[capybara]

What a pity that The Times has Edward Watson celebrating his 25 years with the RB when he's been there since 1994.

Interesting, also, that Bonelli looks in fine form at aged 43 and will return to Romeo in the New Year. He's been with the RB since 2003, apparently - how time flies.

[Rob S]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[JohnS]

Very pleased to see The Dante Project Friday evening with the Ed Watson cast and Saturday’s matinee with Federico Bonelli’s cast. In seeing it twice I am more impressed with the unity of the piece. On Friday night I found Act 1 a tour de force; this afternoon I found Acts 2 and 3 more compelling. I hadn’t particularly liked the chanting in Act 2 on Friday but it seemed much more evocative second time round. Similarly the creative team had set a very high bar for expectations for Act 3 but on first viewing, I found the boxed film above the set distracting (as bridiem has said). This afternoon I thought the film better although at times the lighting for the stage seems at odds with the colours in the film. It works better where stage lighting and film are complementary and I think when that happens it is very effective. I thought the ending second time really does build and I can appreciate the comparison with the closing pages of Parsifal.

 

I’m not sure if Nogoat might have mixed the ending of Act 1 with that of Act 3 from the Insight. Act 1 has the upward pointing arrow leading to the mountains, interesting in heralding Act 2 but not the bold, impressive moment Nogoat was expecting. I’m quite sure the creative team were extolling the ending of Act 3 and the effect it had on the orchestra/Dante team when first rehearsed.

 

As regards the dancers, I thought the Ed Watson cast stupendous but Olivia Crowley made for a truly malevolent Devil. Fumi Kaneko doesn’t project that festering evil but I must say was wonderful as Beatrice.

 

I liked McGreggor’s use of the three Dantes/Beatrices which gave Act 2 a welcome narrative. There’s only so much penitential dirge that I want to see/hear, particularly when the dirge is recorded and I think too removed from musical key.

 

As I said I found Act 1 on Friday scintillating but I was not as taken with it this afternoon, in part because I had a better appreciation of the other Acts. But I’m not sure that McGregor’s hell is as gruesome as Dante’s - dancers for ever trapped dancing might be some people’s idea of paradise. And the Devil has the best tunes.

 

I do agree with the comments about some of the lighting, particular in Acts 1 and 3. I was in Orchestral Stalls side H but it was really only at the curtain calls that I could be sure who was dancing.

 

Having seen a couple of performances and found The Dante Project growing on me the second time, I’ll be very keen to see the live stream and am really pleased to have a ticket for Ed Watson’s final performance.

[LinMM]

I can’t comment on Dante as haven’t seen it yet but a sentence stuck in my mind from your long review Nogoat 

“ or did the usual get out clause apply that it meant whatever it evoked in the viewer”

This is because I read of an artist recently who literally put a blank canvas on view in a Gallery! Perhaps the ultimate experience or ultimate insult lol! 
At least I hope McGregor will not have short changed to that extent! 
I’m sure the Divine Comedy is a huge work to choose for a ballet so could never give it complete justice just as a ballet about Virginia Woolf was very ambitious ....as which works do you include and which not!! 

Ballets tend to work better when focussing in on just one story on the whole. 
For me in Dance half the battle is won by the choice of music so by all accounts it does look as if at least the score for this Ballet will be worth listening to! 

Anyway am looking forward to seeing this soon ....but first Romeo and Juliet ....now there’s a good idea for a Ballet! 
 

Just slightly related but if anyone can bear it Radio 4 are broadcasting Milton ‘s Paradise Lost tomorrow afternoon....at least the second part ...the first was on this afternoon. 
I had to study this for A level!! At 18 I can’t imagine what I got out of it or what on Earth I would have had to say about it .......must have all been rather cerebral anyway. 

 

 

[maryrosesatonapin]

Well, that was an experience!  My thoughts on the Dante Project (first cast, seen Saturday evening 16/10/21):
 

The music was just about bearable (much better than Khan’s ballets!) except for the middle act, Purgatory, which consisted of yearningly beautiful Jewish synagogue music which precisely captured the ‘nostalgic’ aspect of this section. 
 

The scenery was impressive in first act, with an ominously flowing River Styx and a mirror on the ceiling (why don’t more ballets have that!  It adds an interesting extra dimension.)  I wasn’t keen on the backgrounds for acts 2 and 3 though.
 

The lighting was superb – it really added a huge amount to the visual excitement and drama, especially in the third act, Paradiso.
 

I loved the skin-tight costumes, often highlighted with chalk to emphasise the shape of the dancers’ athletic bodies and the deeds of which they were guilty.  (Chalky hands for the thieves, chalky other body parts for different sinners.)  To me, the almost-nude effect was far from sleazy, but instead made the figures almost like living, writhing statues.  I wasn’t so keen on the dressing-gown type robes worn by Dante and Virgil though.
 

The dancers were all terrific.  Stand-outs for me were the duet with Mayara Magri and Melissa Hamilton, the young Marco Masciari dancing with Francesca Hayward (what stage presence he has already!) and Matthew Ball throughout.  Sarah Lamb had a beautiful ‘medieval maiden’ look – perfect casting.  There was a little girl in ‘Purgatory’ who danced very well indeed as the child Beatrice. Osipova appeared at the front of the stage for a very brief spell towards the end, but was dazzling when she did.
 

The choreography was variable.  There were moments of brilliance but overall the story-telling wasn’t clear enough IMO – contrast with MacMillan’s crystal clear detailing in the recent productions of R&J.  I felt a lot more fun could have been had with the various sins.  (The thieves were entertaining though!) I would also have liked to see a more substantial pas de deux between Dante and Beatrice.  McGregor was very innovative – including a strange new-to-me step that was very similar to when something is stuck to the kitchen floor.  I throw down a floor wipe and swish it around with my foot before bending down to clean it properly.  So I think of this step as the floor-wiper.
 

Overall, I enjoyed the performance but am not as enthusiastic as most seem to be (including professional reviewers).  I’m glad I went, but doubt I will ever go to see The Dante Project again, nor will I seek to buy a CD of the score, should one become available.
 

And then there was Ed.  Edward Watson.  Edward with his lovely red hair, and his angst, and his tortured movements, his poetry, his passion and his total commitment to the role.  He WAS Dante.  He did the part justice and then some – what a fitting finale for him.  And he even smiled a bit at the curtain call!  That is a rarity from him, in my experience, and that is how I shall remember him now he is about to retire.

Edited October 17, 2021 by maryrosesatonapin
typo

[Silke H]

my photos' file-sizes are always too large to upload straight to the forum but you can find them here if interested:

 

Facebook

 

Instagram Friday 15 Oct 2021

Instagram Celestial Bodies 16 Oct 21 Matinée

Instagram Saturday 16 Oct 21 Matinée

[KyleCheng]

Thank you @Rob S and @Silke H for the lovely photos.

Does anyone recognise Ms Nadia Mullova-Barley, current an artist with the RB, in any of them? I saw her name on the cast sheet but I am terribly bad with faces.

The interest, of course, stems from my admiration for her mother, whose Mendelssohn concerto I find to be among the bests.

Edited October 17, 2021 by KyleCheng
typo

[Rob S]

8 minutes ago, KyleCheng said:

Thank you @Rob S and @Silke H for the lovely photos.

Does anyone recognise Ms Nadia Mullova-Barley, current an artist with the RB, in any of them? I saw her name on the cast sheet but I am terribly bad with faces.

The interest, of course, stems from my admiration for her mother, whose Mendelssohn concerto I find to be among the bests.

 

She was in an earlier act and wasn't in the curtain call

[Rob S]

I see from Gary Avis’ latest Instagram post that the whole cast appeared at the opening night curtain call but that seems to have changed to the final act’s cast for later shows. 

[alison]

21 hours ago, maryrosesatonapin said:

There were moments of brilliance but overall the story-telling wasn’t clear enough IMO – contrast with MacMillan’s crystal clear detailing in the recent productions of R&J.  

 

Several people have made not-dissimilar comments, but I'm not sure that that's really the point: I think it's been clear from McGregor's previous work that he doesn't "do" traditional detailed narrative - from Infra (which I think was the first time he mentioned narrative) through to Woolf Works and Obsidian Tear, the narrative element has never been terribly explicit, and I doubt that will change.

[alison]

6 minutes ago, Rob S said:

I see from Gary Avis’ latest Instagram post that the whole cast appeared at the opening night curtain call but that seems to have changed to the final act’s cast for later shows. 

 

I'd guess the dancers who only appeared early on probably had things they'd prefer to be doing with their time than hanging around for a couple of acts just to take a curtain call?  After all, it's not exactly unknown: the first-act dancers from Giselle and the Shades from La Bayadère are examples of others who don't appear at curtain calls.

[maryrosesatonapin]

Just now, alison said:

 

Several people have made not-dissimilar comments, but I'm not sure that that's really the point: I think it's been clear from McGregor's previous work that he doesn't "do" traditional detailed narrative - from Infra (which I think was the first time he mentioned narrative) through to Woolf Works and Obsidian Tear, the narrative element has never been terribly explicit, and I doubt that will change.

That's fine, for people who enjoy long episodes of abstract puzzlement.  The fact that the programme had to include detailed text suggests a deficit to me, though.

[KyleCheng]

28 minutes ago, Rob S said:

 

She was in an earlier act and wasn't in the curtain call

I see. Thank you for the information!  I think I've seen her in Onegin, if I am not mistaken, but that felt a long while ago. Everything before March 2020 did.

 

I saw the Friday evening performance with Watson/Lamb. Most of my thoughts have been more eloquently put by others so I will not repeat them. Though there seem to have been not as much praise for Sarah Lamb as I feel she deserves.

 

Seeing her in rehearsal, I already felt that her long lines and impeccable elegance showed her to be a wonderful, if not perfect, cast for Beatrice.

Now at the main stage, supplemented by the glossy dress and fairy-resembling make-up, she simply looked dreamy, otherworldly but also fragile and sorrowful, reminding one of the absence of a happy ending between the pair.

 

Lastly, a story concerning the lyrical Ed Watson: the last time I saw him was Nov. 2019 at the stage door of the Coliseum, after a triple bill which included a short McGregor piece dance by him alongside Olga Smirnova. I remember saying to him "looking foward to seeing you at the Opera House again soon!" Little did I know it would be nearly two years before that happen...