2022/23 ballet seasons

[alison]

27 minutes ago, FionaE said:

Of these, Sambe has the artistry to be ‘above the technique’ required,

 

So does James Hay  

[capybara]

32 minutes ago, FionaE said:

I do wish the Prodigal Son will be restaged after being pandemic cancelled.

  

I bet Joe Sissens would be great in Rhapsody.  Also Daichi Ikarashi was brilliant in the solo at Yeo Valley in summer 2021 (better than many I’ve seen). 

 

Cinderella (with the pantomime dame sisters rewritten)

 

Agree with these three proposals but I'd want more casts for Prodigal Son as some 'obvious' candidates were omitted in 2020.

 

However, as Rhapsody is 'on' in April, it is unlikely to be in the 2022/23 rep. The upside is that, when it does return, some 'new' casts might be possible. Daichi was coached intensively for the solo when he was at the RBS and performed it marvellously at school performances, including at the Prix de Lausanne.

 

Of course, Cinderella could be from another choreographer, not necessarily Ashton. Ratmansky? Wheeldon? Corder? Zakharov?

 

For me, this thread has writ even larger the difficult choices which face ballet directors - not just in relation to the rep. (and all the many considerations which come into play there) but in terms of giving opportunities to up and coming dancers while keeping established Principals happy.

 

 

[Lizbie1]

26 minutes ago, capybara said:

Of course, Cinderella could be from another choreographer, not necessarily Ashton. Ratmansky? Wheeldon? Corder? Zakharov?

 

I'd be very unhappy were RB to introduce another choreographer's Cinderella into their repertoire, partly because it would be a disincentive to resolving the situation.

 

Besides, ENB have the Wheeldon in their rep and BRB have the Bintley. Alternative companies are available!

[alison]

I believe ENB sold their Corder production to Boston Ballet.  Can anyone confirm?

[LinMM]

I don’t know Prodigal Son at all has this ever been danced by the RB since 1973... I just looked it up to see it’s a Balanchine work and was danced by the Royal in 1973.... 
Ive certainly never seen it as the only ballet I know by that name was danced by Festival Ballet starring the talented Paul Clarke ...but that was years ago and I’m sure wasn't by Balanchine. 

 

 

 

[bridiem]

3 minutes ago, LinMM said:

I don’t know Prodigal Son at all has this ever been danced by the RB since 1973... I just looked it up to see it’s a Balanchine work and was danced by the Royal in 1973.... 
Ive certainly never seen it as the only ballet I know by that name was danced by Festival Ballet starring the talented Paul Clarke ...but that was years ago and I’m sure wasn't by Balanchine. 

 

The last time I saw it at the RB was in 2004. (They also did it in 1982 and 1993.) It would be great if the planned/cancelled performances were reinstated soon.

[capybara]

23 minutes ago, bridiem said:

 

The last time I saw it at the RB was in 2004. (They also did it in 1982 and 1993.) It would be great if the planned/cancelled performances were reinstated soon.

I agree.
 

I remember Putrov (exceptional), Mukhamedov (beyond belief amazing) and Acosta (powerful) in the lead  role.

[FionaM]

14 minutes ago, capybara said:

I agree.
 

I remember Putrov (exceptional), Mukhamedov (beyond belief amazing) and Acosta (powerful) in the lead  role.

wow … that’s 3 super casts!!!   Lucky you.  

[Ianlond]

LinMM, I believe Prodigal was danced by Sylvie Guillem with Carlos Acosta (I think! I haven’t checked) last time it was revived by the RB so I assume 15-20 years ago? 
 

Re. new seasons: 

I’m sure that, for all, having a healthy bank balance will be what comes first so, like many others, I don’t expect what I’d like to see come to fruition. However, I would like to hope that there will still be some creativity in programming. 

RB:

I would love Ashton’s (please, only Ashton’s!) Cinderella but I’m not sure problems with the rights holder over designs have been sorted out. Otherwise, certainly La Fille. Daphnis and Chloe is in dire need of being performed again. I wonder if we might get Symphonic Variations? Vadim in The Dream too, I hope! Please not M&A. De Valois The Rake’s Progress. Najinska’s Les Biches (like Daphnis, this is danger of being forgotten I feel). The Ashton Foundations rehearsal video of Raymonda Pas de Deux by Ashton has made we want to see it performed somehow - could it be used before a longer, contrasting ballet as part of a mixed bill?
As others have said, some of the ballets cancelled in previous seasons I would love to see: Prodigal, Tombeaux, 24 Preludes. By the resident choreographers Yugen, Infra. Wheeldon’s Polyphonia. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland along with Nutcracker (I assume there will be Nutcracker) at Christmas although I could see another run of Swan Lake around Christmas time selling well. Balanchine: 4 temperaments, Theme & Variations. Have the RB ever done Symphony in 3 Mocements? I love the idea of Glass Pieces by Robbins as mentioned above. Maybe a revival of The Cellist? 

I’m sure there will be a three act MacMillan since there always is. Gloria I would like to see again. I know it won’t be, but Symphonic Dances by Scarlett I do think deserves to be seen again (I’m sorry if that offends anyone). 

ENB

i really hope the new Raymonda sells well for them 🤞 would love, love to see a revival of their beautiful traditional Giselle. 
 

NB

i don’t see them much now but they hold a special place in my heart as the first ballet company I saw. A Christmas Carol inspired me to become a dancer; do others think it could be/ should be revived at all? 
 

Rambert (not strictly ballet I know!)

As well as new work which is essential, a commitment to exploring the rich history of modern/ contemporary dances which are basically never performed. Cunningham is essential but there is so much more and if the national, subsidised company can’t or won’t then which company will? 
 

BRB

I just hope everything works out well! Would love to see Hobson’s Choice but I doubt I will. 

Edited January 3, 2022 by Ianlond

[Jane S]

51 minutes ago, LinMM said:

I don’t know Prodigal Son at all has this ever been danced by the RB since 1973... I just looked it up to see it’s a Balanchine work and was danced by the Royal in 1973.... 
Ive certainly never seen it as the only ballet I know by that name was danced by Festival Ballet starring the talented Paul Clarke ...but that was years ago and I’m sure wasn't by Balanchine. 

 

 

 

 

This one?

https://www.nytimes.com/1974/08/18/archives/dance-prodigal-son-a-ragtime-ballet-is-sellout.html

[LinMM]

I wasn’t going to add to this thread as I can never make up my mind...so prioritise ...which ballets I really want to see!! I’d just have a long list!! 
But looking at some mentioned here perhaps this Prodigal Son would be good (if was planned anyway but then cancelled) 

as it’s new to me. 
I also like the idea of Las Hermanas and Gloria and The Dream for the shorter ballets. 
Perhaps around Christmas Alice and Les Patineurs ....if we have to have Cinderella then perhaps another look at the Wheeldon one ( dislike Ratmansky’s version but only seen once) 

I would love to see Fille and The Two Pigeons continually alternated so think it’s Filles turn?
A lot of my favourite Macmillan ballets are his shorter ones but hope it’s Onegin rather than Manon for next year. 
I can’t decide on the big classical ballets for next year....does the Royal have a version of Le Corsaire? If not perhaps something for the pipeline. Otherwise I suppose it’s Beauty’s turn. 
I wonder if a new Robbins for the RB could be arranged. Apparently he did a sort of West Side Story suite which might be interesting to see although not sure if it has even been performed in America for ages now so may no longer be viable but if anybody has seen this in the past would be interested in what they thought of it.
Otherwise a new Robbins would be great.
I also like the idea of the Mary Skeaping Giselle for ENB. And either ENB or one of the Royals to revive “Miracle in the Gorbals” a fantastic ballet I think. 

  
 

[alison]

BRB *did* revive "Miracle" a few years ago, with Cesar Morales in the lead role.  I don't imagine we'll be seeing that one again.

[alison]

4 hours ago, capybara said:

I agree.
 

I remember Putrov (exceptional), Mukhamedov (beyond belief amazing) and Acosta (powerful) in the lead  role.

 

I don't remember Mukhamedov doing that one - I did see the other two.  The problem I had with Acosta was that he looked so physically robust that I couldn't imagine that he would ever allow him to be set upon and beaten up like that - he'd have fought them all off!  Putrov was really good in the role, though.  And I know I put it down on my list of one of those ballets I'd like to see Ed Watson in, but that never came to pass.

[LinMM]

Looks like I’ve added a new ballet to Macmillan’s total! 
So apologies for senior moment with attributing Onegin to him 🙄

Incidentally do people think Anastasia can be performed exactly as it is now since it has been proved she did not survive after all and the lady who claimed to be her was a fraud. I’m not sure if it could work now in the light of current knowledge. 
 

I think it must have been BRB’s production of Miracle in the Gorbals that I saw at Sadlers Wells a few years back. 
Id certainly like to see it again revived by one of the UK Companies. 

[alison]

1 minute ago, LinMM said:

Incidentally do people think Anastasia can be performed exactly as it is now since it has been proved she did not survive after all and the lady who claimed to be her was a fraud. I’m not sure if it could work now in the light of current knowledge.

 

It seemed to work okay when the RB did it about 3 years ago.

[JohnS]

I think Anastasia was last performed in late 2016 - there was a November cinema screening. That performance was ‘streamed’ in May 2020 which might be why there’s a suggestion that it was performed fairly recently. I thought it a tremendous piece of theatre and would love to see Laura Morera dance it again. Natalia Osipova was also very impressive. I know some people prefer Act 3 and find the first two Acts lightweight but I think the full ballet makes for an astonishing evening.

[Fonty]

18 hours ago, FionaE said:

 

Full lengths I’d like to see at RB …

- Cinderella (with the pantomime dame sisters rewritten)

 

 

Rewritten?    If the original holders are quibbling about whatever it is they are quibbling about, I cannot see them agreeing to the rewriting of two of the major parts.  It has been a very long time since I have seen Cinderella.  However,  I thought the main problem was that these days they are not being performed in the way that was originally intended?

[LinMM]

Well I’m not saying Anastasia doesn’t make for a good evening at the ballet!! 
But it does lessen the impact for me somehow once you know for sure that the last Act doesn’t portray anything that happened in the end ....though I suppose you could argue “What if this had been true ....this might be a possible scenario.” 
It doesn’t really come up to the level of his ballet Manon though. 

[li tai po]

Your posts above have taken me down memory lane.

 

Prodigal Son was first presented by the Royal Ballet in a triple bill of Balanchine works all new to the repertoire - The Four Temperaments, Agon, Prodigal Son.  Prior to that the only Balanchine works in the Royal Ballet repertoire were Ballet Imperial and Apollo.  It was a remarkable evening and an extraordinarily innovative programme (for audience and dancers alike) commissioned by the director, Kenneth MacMillan.  Whoever said he was a poor director?

 

The first cast was Rudolf Nureyev with Deanne Bergsma as the Siren (what a cast!), but I also remember the later performances by Ivan Putrov and Zenaida Yanowsky.  He was so naive and vulnerable; she was predatory and domineering.  During the dance of the two servants, I hardly noticed them.  I was gripped by the tantalisingly slow dance of Ivan and Zenaida's hands, as they painstakingly moved them millimetre by millimetre towards each other, until they finally touched fingers.

 

Turning to Anastasia, I attended the general rehearsal in 1971.  The Barry Kay designs were breathtakingly beautiful, with the first act set in a forest of silver birch trees - so Russian.  The wonderful Svetlana Beriosova as a nervous, protective Tsarina, repeated her Lady Elgar - and Lynn Seymour was matchless as Anastasia, one of the great dramatic performances of her career.  I will never forget her wringing her hands in frustration, as the orchestra started to pick up in Act III.

 

Kenneth MacMillan died, before DNA evidence finally disproved the Anna Anderson claims to be the real Anastasia - so he never knew the truth.  In my view distorted history does not lessen the power of a work of art - think of Verdi's Don Carlos, Donizetti's Maria Stuarda or Shakespeare's Richard III.

[alison]

The first two both credited to Schiller, I think, since you mention Shakespeare?

[li tai po]

Yes - I stand corrected!

[LinMM]

Yes I think I largely agree with you li tai po 

it just marginally lessens the impact as the torture of Anna Anderson ...if it was true...would seem more acute. Although if she believed it to be true then the torture might be just as real!! 
In terms of choreography etc of course that stands as it is. 
I saw the original cast in this ballet and very exciting it was at the time too!! 
Lynn Seymour was just terrific in this role that whole final Act was electrifying and disturbing too. 
I can’t actually remember the last time I saw it....not in 2016 anyway ...but can imagine Osipova being pretty good in the role. 

I suppose it just doesn’t grab me as much as some of Macmillan’s other works but if it was revived now I’d go and see it again to see what I would feel about it now ....if certain dancers were dancing Anastasia that is! 

 

[alison]

Laura Morera was fantastic in it (and Lauren Cuthbertson was very good, too).

[JohnS]

I don’t think the fact that Anna was not Anastasia diminishes the impact of the ballet. What we see in Act 3 is Anna convinced that she is Anastasia and the first two Acts are her recalling what she believes was her earlier life. Just looking back at the 2016 thread, I noted that Anna opening Act 1 was telling and the staging showed that Acts 1 and 2 were set within the confines of the sanitorium, although this only became clear when we actual saw the set for Act 3. We did know that the first two Acts were imaginations because they ran counter to historical fact (Rasputin was assassinated in 1916 and Anastasia did not have a coming out ball).

 

I thought Kenneth Macmillan was ambivalent as regards whether Anna really was Anastasia and rather hoped that she might have been but recognised this was more a romantic fancy than likely to be fact. So it seems to me entirely credible to stage the ballet with Anna clearly believing that she was Anastasia and Macmillan presents an astonishing depiction of her obsession.

[TheaG]

Daphnis and Chloe

In The Night (Robbins)

Serenade (Balanchine)

Agon (Balanchine)

La Fille Mal Garde

Ondine

Las Hermanas

The Four Temperaments

The Prince of the Pagodas

La Sylphide

Symphonic Variations

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Blossom]

Still reading everyone else’s wish lists but really want to chime in!!!

 

 I think ENB can surprise me- have loved their eclectic programming of new and old works with new versions of old works like Raymonda (which I hope will be fabulous). I would love to see them tour Raymonda and assume it would come back to London too as they will need to get some value out of it as habe really missed out with postponement and cancellation. More new short works of many styles - loved their first programme last year at Sadlers which included the comical Jolly Folly. 
 

I would like to see BRB bring their full length performances to London - there is a huge value in offering what the ROH offers at a much lower price to make Don Q or R&J more accessible (and with fewer poor views). Last time they brought Fille to London I took both of my daughters for little more than one ticket for similar seats at the ROH. I want to see more of their heritage - follow ENBs lead on balance of old and new. 

 

For ROH I definitely want to see more Ashton too- this year’s offering is largely a rehash of what they have done in recent years and a bit of a disappointment. Someone needs to compromise to get Cinderella back on stage. I’d like to see a more surprising mix of one acts pulled together. 
 

In terms of full length ballets other than Cinderella, I’d like to see Bayadère, Anastasia, Sylvia with a preference for all of these over Sleeping Beauty.

 

Another Chance to see Winter Dreams as the Christmas/Jan mixed bill would be great:

 

More productions with shorter runs- great to have proper ballet back this year but feels like we’re still quite limited in number.

[The Sitter In]

Given 2023 marks it centenary…Nijinska’s Les Noces, perhaps one of the most remarkable works of the century.  And while they’re about it, her Les Biches too.

The RB has the finest and most authentic versions of these two extraordinary works, but the current management seems not to wish to engage with them.  

I can only hope and pray that they have their moment of revelation and bring them back to the stage, given some of the schlock we have had to sit through in recent seasons…

[Lizbie1]

2 minutes ago, The Sitter In said:

I can only hope and pray that they have their moment of revelation and bring them back to the stage, given some of the schlock we have had to sit through in recent seasons…

 

In my grumpier moments I'd like to see a 5 year moratorium on new RB main stage commissions, to allow KO'H to slow down and come up with a clear strategy to improve his record.

 

It's a pipe dream of course, but with new three-acters this season from both resident choreographers and a lot of repair work due on finances, now would be a good time for such a pause.

[bridiem]

31 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

In my grumpier moments I'd like to see a 5 year moratorium on new RB main stage commissions, to allow KO'H to slow down and come up with a clear strategy to improve his record.

 

It's a pipe dream of course, but with new three-acters this season from both resident choreographers and a lot of repair work due on finances, now would be a good time for such a pause.

 

I suspect that would be impossible from a PR point of view, and I also think it would be bad for the company's morale. But I understand the sentiment!

[Fonty]

1 hour ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

In my grumpier moments I'd like to see a 5 year moratorium on new RB main stage commissions, to allow KO'H to slow down and come up with a clear strategy to improve his record.

 

I think the same.  However, K O'H believes that new work is the only way to attract audiences, I feel very sad.  With regard to morale, dancers may very well find it exhilarating and rewarding to have new works choreographed for them, but how many of these new works are given a second showing, let alone become standard rep?  I was staggered to read that Wayne McGregor has been resident choreographer for 16 years.  In that time, I think he has created one work that I would be happy to see again (Woolf Works), and one or two that I would run a mile rather than endure again.  The rest are a lot of one act ballets that all seem to be the same.  Lots of frantic wriggling by multitudes of dancers in odd costumes to some horrible noises.

 

To be fair, I haven't seen his latest one, but based on my past experiences I not willing to spend the amount of money currently being charged by the ROH  on anything new by him until I have read the reviews on here, seen the photos, and got a rough idea what it is all about. 



 

[DanJL]

Is the issue the creation of new ballets or the particular ballets / choreographers being used? Surely any ballet company should look to commission new work alongside reviving classics, otherwise the art form stands still. 

[Fonty]

14 minutes ago, DanJL said:

Is the issue the creation of new ballets or the particular ballets / choreographers being used? Surely any ballet company should look to commission new work alongside reviving classics, otherwise the art form stands still. 

 

I can't speak for anyone else, but for me it is the style of dancing.  I would be more than happy to see something by choreographers who use classical ballet to explore and create new works.  Clement Crisp talked about this in  reviews from April 2002.  He was being particularly scathing about a triple bill, with Forsythe, Nacho Duato, and Mats Ek, and questioned why it was necessary to go to these choreographers in the first place.  He mentions Michael Corder as being a gifted classical creator, plus Matthew Hart, Jonathon Burrows, Matthew Hawkins, and says "The Royal Ballet is a classical ensemble and should be addressing this problem."

 

I know nothing personally about the choreographers mentioned, but it shows they were out there.  Yet here we are 20 years later, and the issue has still not been addressed. 

Edited January 12, 2022 by Fonty

[DanJL]

Thanks Fonty, that makes sense! As it happens I do personally enjoy some of the contemporary output but I would love to see more modern works based on classical ballet.