Royal Ballet: The Dante Project - October 2021

[Mary]

9 hours ago, maryrosesatonapin said:

Honest question: was Fumi Kaneka (in the cast I saw) being cast as Satan a joke?  I find it difficult to imagine a less evil dancer.  She is sweetness, light and goodness.  Was this the point?  What WAS the point?  Explanations gratefully received.

 

Ignorant of Essex. 

You made me chuckle! - but honestly, I think it is better not to see dancers (or any performer, or anyone) in only one light. To state that Fumi Kaneko 'is' this, that or the other is a simplification, and a reduction,  of a person and a performer. How can we know?

 I am sure this very fine dancer has many aspects to her work we have yet to see.

I have often heard it said of some of my favourite dancers that they could not be convincing in this or that role - which has sometimes turned out not to be true at all.

 

[maryrosesatonapin]

I wasn't suggesting that Kaneko would be incapable, and indeed she was a very stylish Satan.  It's just that it almost seemed as though they had chosen the least likely dancer possible!

[LinMM]

Wow almost don’t recognise Fumi Kaneko in that picture!!  
You could be forgiven after seeing her Juliet yesterday that she was not a “typical” Satan character lol! 

 

[Jamesrhblack]

4 hours ago, Mary said:

You made me chuckle! - but honestly, I think it is better not to see dancers (or any performer, or anyone) in only one light. To state that Fumi Kaneko 'is' this, that or the other is a simplification, and a reduction,  of a person and a performer. How can we know?

 I am sure this very fine dancer has many aspects to her work we have yet to see.

I have often heard it said of some of my favourite dancers that they could not be convincing in this or that role - which has sometimes turned out not to be true at all.

 

I recall her as a superbly implacable Myrthe the night Hayward and Campbell made their debuts in Giselle…

[FionaM]

I recall Fumi as the cunning and devious lead gypsy in Two Pigeons.  And remember thinking then how different she seems in person.  

[alison]

13 hours ago, Mary said:

I have often heard it said of some of my favourite dancers that they could not be convincing in this or that role - which has sometimes turned out not to be true at all.

 

Hmm, yes.  Sometime around his Romeo debut in 2004, I seem to remember a discussion saying that Edward Watson would never be able to dance Mayerling.  Ahem!

[Richard LH]

17 hours ago, Jamesrhblack said:

I recall her as a superbly implacable Myrthe the night Hayward and Campbell made their debuts in Giselle…

Oh yes, I had forgotten Kaneko's role as Myrtha, although I saw this in the Naghdi/Ball cast for Giselle (the second RB performance I had ever been to, 10/02/18 ). Actually it was Magri as Myrtha in the Hayward/Campbell debut, the day before. 

Kaneko has also danced as Hermione in  the Winter's Tale.

All in all she has successfully played a pretty wide  variety of roles.

[Jamesrhblack]

1 hour ago, Richard LH said:

Oh yes, I had forgotten Kaneko's role as Myrtha, although I saw this in the Naghdi/Ball cast for Giselle (the second RB performance I had ever been to, 10/02/18 ). Actually it was Magri as Myrtha in the Hayward/Campbell debut, the day before. 

Kaneko has also danced as Hermione in  the Winter's Tale.

All in all she has successfully played a pretty wide  variety of roles.

Richard, you’re absolutely right. I saw back to back shows and remembered that Magri had been the other Myrthe but mentally switched casts. Thank you for the correction,

[alison]

Some (sometimes pricey) tickets for all remaining performances currently online.

[AnticaFiamma]

I saw it again tonight for the fifth (!!) and last time. I don't think it's perfect, but I really love it. Purgatory in particolar is one of the most poignant and moving pieces of theatre I've seen in years. Edward Watson really is superb, and so is the rest of the cast. The cast truly is an embarrassment of riches and everywhere you look you find talent at its finest. Singling out people feel a bit unfair since they're all brilliant, but I particularly enjoyed Calvin Richardson as Ulysses, Joseph Sissens (very striking as a soothsayer, but also as a thief, and in the whole Paradise sequence), Marco Masciari as Young Dante (clearly a star in the making) and William Bracewell, whose penitent in Purgatory was particularly touching.

 

There was an extra long curtain call tonight with ALL the cast (+ McGregor) involved, no doubt for the cameras. I'm looking forward to watching the streamed version in a couple of days, and I hope they'll bring it back next season. If they do, it would be interesting to see who will replace Watson...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bangorballetboy]

I finally managed to get a good picture of Ed Watson!

 

 

[LinMM]

Am too tired to comment properly now but agree all the dancers you picked out were extra exceptional. I had to ask the person next to me who the Other dancer dressed in red was and luckily they knew and that was Marco Masciari He definitely caught my eye as didn’t know who he was inspite of having watched him in the Prix de Lausanne 🙄 Really nice to see so

much of Joe Sissens too. 
Ed was amazing I wish I’d had a good camera at the curtain calls. 
 

[LinMM]

What a lovely picture! 

[Ianlond]

Third and last time for me last night and, having seen both casts, I think the first two thirds are great but not so sure about most of Paradiso; it just seems to be a lot of the same. Maybe this is due to the music, the repetitive ‘spirals’ used by Thomas Ades and probably Wayne McGregor is being deliberately repetitive, but I found it less than enthralling (and I’m someone who absolutely loves ‘abstract’ dance - give me Merce Cunningham any day!). 
Visually the whole thing is fabulous and the cast wonderful. Calvin Richardson exceptional as Ulysses and I was very moved by the duets between Edward Watson & James Hay in Inferno and Watson and Gary Avis towards the end of Purgatorio. Sarah Lamb exquisite. Last night I was also impressed by the choreographic variety in Purgatorio which I hadn’t appreciated on previous viewings. I do think that Inferno could work as a stand alone ballet in the future but could do without *quite* so much dry ice!

LinMM I wonder if you were sitting at the front of the balcony and if it was me you asked about Marco Masciari?? 😊

[LinMM]

OMG Ianlond! What a coincidence! 
Yes it was me sitting at front of Balcony and Thankyou for knowing who he was!!! 
I feel such a fool as I’ve already said what a wonderful new talent he was at the end of the Prix and glad he is with the Royal at the moment! 
There were quite a few moments last night when I seemed to be playing “guess who” though as didn’t have a “cast sheet”

I had no idea it was James Hay dancing with Ed Watson at one point for example and he’s another favourite of mine 🙄 

 

[Blossom]

10 hours ago, AnticaFiamma said:

I saw it again tonight for the fifth (!!) and last time. I don't think it's perfect, but I really love it. Purgatory in particolar is one of the most poignant and moving pieces of theatre I've seen in years. Edward Watson really is superb, and so is the rest of the cast. The cast truly is an embarrassment of riches and everywhere you look you find talent at its finest. Singling out people feel a bit unfair since they're all brilliant, but I particularly enjoyed Calvin Richardson as Ulysses, Joseph Sissens (very striking as a soothsayer, but also as a thief, and in the whole Paradise sequence), Marco Masciari as Young Dante (clearly a star in the making) and William Bracewell, whose penitent in Purgatory was particularly touching.

 

There was an extra long curtain call tonight with ALL the cast (+ McGregor) involved, no doubt for the cameras. I'm looking forward to watching the streamed version in a couple of days, and I hope they'll bring it back next season. If they do, it would be interesting to see who will replace Watson...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last night was my first and only viewing unfortunately and so many reviews not sure I have anything to add. So glad to hear it was an extra long curtain call - I guess as it was filmed for streaming (and possibly TV later on?!). Looking forward to streaming at the weekend.

 

And your post is spot on in terms of mentions  - Joseph Sissons absolutely incredible.

What I particularly enjoyed - and we got to see on stage with the curtain call - was just how many dancers from all levels of the company were involved, with proper dancing roles. It felt like a real celebration of talent.

[Ianlond]

Lovely to have met you LinMM! I agree Ed was amazing - I hope you enjoyed your evening. 

[LinMM]

You too albeit briefly sorry you’ve just found out I was that annoying person you had to pass with bags and coats not always under perfect  control lol! 
I do wish they would open the cloakrooms soon though! I know they don’t want too many lingering around together in queues after the performance but to be honest now we are all sitting next to each other again in the auditorium again I think they should consider it soon. It’s annoying screwing up your coat and putting it under seat!! 

[AnticaFiamma]

9 hours ago, Ianlond said:

 I was very moved by the duet between Edward Watson & James Hay in Inferno and Watson

That's such a lovely moment and the score is particularly beautiful there. Leo Dixon is also very good in that role in the other cast – I wonder if there's a promotion in his near future? He's such a lovely dancer and I was particularly impressed with him in Death in Venice

[LinMM]

I’m going to get the real negative out of the way first and it’s not so much about Dante as about McGregors style. 
Ive decided he is a movement “junkie”

...probably not a bad thing for a choreographer to be ..on one level... but with Wayne the movement just never stops! There is very little stillness in his work and yesterday for example I was just starting to settle back at one point in the third Act to watch the pas de deux between Dante and Beatrice which had started off so promisingly (to prove me wrong) but this was only too short and even in that piece of developing beauty just starting to take place between the two dancers ...another dancer came across the stage in front of them entirely superfluously or so it seemed to me to semi spoil it 😱 It feels a bit like somebody who is afraid of silence....  they must have noise all the time to feel safe and I do get this impression with McGregor that any choreography which brings out any fixed position for even a nano second is a no no for him. There is often just a bit too much going on at the same time which can leave you feeling a bit disconnected in the end. 

Having got that off my chest you really cannot help admire McGregor in creating this work .....what a feat to have practically the whole Company involved and so many Principals on stage at once while also giving great pieces to dance to the youngest members of the company ( Aud Jebsen dancers). You probably need a mixture of vision, audacity and ambition to tackle the huge themes involved in a work like Dante and use it for a ballet so not easy to pull off and do it complete justice. 
Also to have managed to acquire the especially written score by Adès. This shows some serious artistic intent so whether you like his work or not I think that deserves some respect. 
So did I like it? Well yes, mostly, but an awful lot to take in on one viewing!! 
I watched the whole thing “blind” yesterday as well as had no programme until the interval and no “cast sheet” until I got back to where I was staying!! 
So did I know what was going on? Well not really not in great detail anyway.  Did that interfere with enjoying the dancing? Well only marginally as I sort of got the general gist of all three Acts so could mostly enjoy the dancing in itself  ( minus the stillness) but will definitely need to see it again with a little more fore knowledge so as to get that much more out of it. 
In terms of the three Acts The first Act Inferno had a really stunning set and there was some very interesting choreography here in places but it was just a little too dark... and yes I know Hell is supposed to be a dark place but you do need to be able to see what’s going on! I had no idea that one of the very good solo pieces was Ulysses and that it was Calvin Richardson dancing it! But this one of the stand outs. I think I picked up generally from this Act that hellish feeling of being trapped with no way out ...just endless repetition ....like the horror of the Sisyphus story. But this was also more Dante’s torture as someone who at least had some hope of avoiding this ....but might not!!! You don’t have to actually believe in “Hell” though to understand that fear of not really fulfilling your life in actuality to the level you really “know” .....especially as older age encroaches 😱  

Ed Watson of course wonderful in his intensity as a tortured soul! 
I had no idea what the “thieves” bit was about as had no way of knowing they were “thieves” or why they were needing to move so fast as some sort of punishment but could enjoy that bit for the sheer exhiliarance and speed of the dancing! 
Was relieved when it was time for Dante to move on though. 
The second Act of Purgatory was the only Act I felt a bit more of an emotional connection with and I really enjoyed being able to see everything too!!   There were some lovely bits here and I enjoyed particularly the duet between Avis and Watson....What beautiful extended lines he has definitely etched on my mind from this....but a sensitive performance from Avis as well. Joe Sissens was another stand out here.  The only thing I didn’t like was the actual setting ...I thought this was too mundane for Purgatory especially after that stunning first set. 

The third Act Paradiso started off okay though the screen projection I ignored after a while as I didn’t feel it really conveyed Space and the planets that well ( perhaps he should have borrowed some of Brian Cox’s programmes Space footage lol) but you couldn’t really watch the screen and the dancers at the same time anyway so chose the dancers! There was a lot of amazing hurtling around here with the dancers spinning on and off in pairs in what appeared to be the most difficult positions wrapped around each other but it did go on a bit and I felt I should be seeing some development in the choreography ...here in Paradise ...so was waiting for this and as I said earlier the duet between Dante and Beatrice showed such promise but was disappointing in its brevity in the end ...though Sarah Lamb beautiful just under used!!! I just didn’t get that real feeling of her leading him towards “the light” not quite enough time for the necessary tension to be built up so when it came for him in the end it didn’t have quite the power or emotional impact it could have done ....not for me anyway. 



I would definitely like to see it again but unfortunately it won’t be in this run but glad was able to see Ed Watson in this as it was a really fitting farewell for him while he is still in such amazing form. 
Certainly everybody performing on the stage last night living up to their full potential ...no danger of banishment to Hell for any of them!!! 

 

 

 

 

[ninamargaret]

Not sure if this is the right thread, but have just received an email from the ROH advising that tomorrow's stream has been postponed to December. Date to be advised.

[Blossom]

Editing challenges or they’ve decided to use Ed Watson’s last performance instead? Was really looking forward to seeing it again so soon!!

[LinMM]

I thought the whole point of streaming is you are seeing the performance live....if you can get it to work that is! 

[Jeannette]

25 minutes ago, ninamargaret said:

Not sure if this is the right thread, but have just received an email from the ROH advising that tomorrow's stream has been postponed to December. Date to be advised.

 

Me too. So we won’t know until sometime in December, it seems. I’m guessing that this may be an especially difficult work to capture and edit effectively?

[Jan McNulty]

41 minutes ago, LinMM said:

I thought the whole point of streaming is you are seeing the performance live....if you can get it to work that is! 

 

In general terms it just means that something is being shown over the internet.

[JohnS]

With Cumbria pretty deluged I was thinking if the trains aren’t running on Saturday, I’d at least be able to watch a streamed performance. But I did wonder why Ed Watson’s curtain call was not going to be a part of the streaming which I think was scheduled to start from tomorrow for a month. Hopefully it will stop raining, I’ll make the trip, and catch the streamed performance in December.

Edited October 28, 2021 by JohnS
Wrong date

[Jan McNulty]

13 minutes ago, JohnS said:

With Cumbria pretty deluged I was thinking if the trains aren’t running on Saturday, I’d at least be able to watch a streamed performance. But I did wonder why Ed Watson’s curtain call was not going to be a part of the streaming which I think was scheduled to start from tomorrow for a month. Hopefully it will stop raining, I’ll make the trip, and catch the streamed performance in December.

 

Fingers crossed John!

[LinMM]

The curtain calls were amazing on Tuesday They absolutely can’t miss these out in the streaming for a farewell performance!!  
On Tuesday it was not only saying goodbye to Ed 😢 but every dancer took an individual bow so if you have a good camera a good chance to capture the whole Company ...well just about! Hopefully on the last performance even Adès will be on stage at the end as McGregor was as well on Tuesday. 
I really hope you get to make it in person JohnS as in the end nothing can come up to match that experience. 

[LinMM]

Because I follow “Max in the Lake District” on Facebook I realise how bad it is in parts up there 😳  
Hopefully there can be a 24 hour lull now! 

[ninamargaret]

Just a thought - maybe the streaming has been delayed so that they can include Ed's farewell curtain etc?  

[LinMM]

That would be good! 

[LinMM]

Looks like Ed. is going out with a bang! 
Solar storms and Solar flare predicted to hit Earth this weekend!! 
If you live up North more might be very good Northern Lights this weekend ...if you can see them through the rain lol! 
 

[alison]

Anyway, with regard to the actual performance, Purgatorio continues to grow and grow on me. Not sure I've got my head round Paradiso properly, though.