2022/23 ballet seasons

[KyleCheng]

Besides regular revival on stage, I think another, perhaps more economic and realistic, way to preserve the classics would be to make available (to the public) recordings of more works that have yet been done so.

 

Being a huge fan of Manon and MacMillan's other full length works, I don't think I will ever say no to more staging of them. The same sentiment, I suspect, is shared by a large portion of the balletgoing community, the result of which is that it will be very hard for companies to also stage those less popular works of a choreographer. 

 

At present only a small number of Ashton's and MacMillan's works are committed to DVD/blue-ray. In the word of music records there are "complete collection of (insert composer name)" and I think we can do with something similar for choreographers. It would also allow a more systematic understanding of a choreographer's techniques, change of style over time, etc.

[Emeralds]

14 hours ago, art_enthusiast said:

I would love to see Manon! I've never seen Requiem, it sounds very interesting.

There was a time when we seemed to get Requiem every other year....lol. I think Anthony Dowell and Monica Mason were quite fond of it. It’s set to Fauré’s beautiful Requiem, and uses all 7 movements of it, and the choreography is sublime and inspired- it fits the music and text beautifully. 

 

My favourite soloists in the Pie Jesu role (one of two female lead roles) were Viviana Durante and Yuhui Choe, and I also remember Edward Watson, Federico Bonelli and Nehemiah Kish being wonderful in the male leads in the ballet. 

2 hours ago, alison said:

 

*and* Requiem.

 

Hang on, wasn't it Stuttgart Ballet who did that, back at the beginning of the 90s?

 

The additional vocal forces required may prove prohibitive, especially since mixed bills don't seem to have fared that well in Birmingham.

Just going to be cheeky and add that maybe if we’re already paying for the singers for one ballet, might as well keep them for the next...two for the price of one? (Haha). I’d love that combination. 

 

1 hour ago, KyleCheng said:

Besides regular revival on stage, I think another, perhaps more economic and realistic, way to preserve the classics would be to make available (to the public) recordings of more works that have yet been done so.

 

Being a huge fan of Manon and MacMillan's other full length works, I don't think I will ever say no to more staging of them. The same sentiment, I suspect, is shared by a large portion of the balletgoing community, the result of which is that it will be very hard for companies to also stage those less popular works of a choreographer. 

 

At present only a small number of Ashton's and MacMillan's works are committed to DVD/blue-ray. In the word of music records there are "complete collection of (insert composer name)" and I think we can do with something similar for choreographers. It would also allow a more systematic understanding of a choreographer's techniques, change of style over time, etc.

Song of the Earth was broadcast on the BBC when Darcey Bussell danced in it as her farewell performance so some people have recordings of it and snippets have made their way to YouTube; ENB have also put snippets from their own performances and rehearsals on YouTube and social media. One thing I would say about both Requiem and Song of the Earth - especially Requiem - is that I don’t think filming them does them full justice, as some of the power of the ballet comes from the live performance by good soloists and a good chorus. It’s like trying to squeeze a 4D experience into 2D. Then again, it’s better than nothing, I guess. 

[Jan McNulty]

3 hours ago, alison said:

 

*and* Requiem.

 

Hang on, wasn't it Stuttgart Ballet who did that, back at the beginning of the 90s?

 

The additional vocal forces required may prove prohibitive, especially since mixed bills don't seem to have fared that well in Birmingham.

 

Yes Stuttgart did do it in Birmingham - they were scheduled to do something else but Kenneth MacMillan had just passed away so they changed to this programme as a memorial to him.

 

BRB also performed this double bill and I think they have subsequently performed both pieces separately.

 

Going forward I would like to see NB tackling some MacMillan as they did so brilliantly during the MacMillan commemorations about 5 years ago.

[alison]

5 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

BRB also performed this double bill and I think they have subsequently performed both pieces separately.

 

I have absolutely no memory of that: was it Birmingham only?  I'd have thought I'd have gone to see it if it had been in London.

[alison]

28 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

One thing I would say about both Requiem and Song of the Earth - especially Requiem - is that I don’t think filming them does them full justice, as some of the power of the ballet comes from the live performance by good soloists and a good chorus. It’s like trying to squeeze a 4D experience into 2D. Then again, it’s better than nothing, I guess. 

 

Indeed, especially in the case of Requiem - I wanted it filmed so I could study the patterning, which has always intrigued me, but I never get to see it often enough to really understand it.

[Jan McNulty]

5 minutes ago, alison said:

 

I have absolutely no memory of that: was it Birmingham only?  I'd have thought I'd have gone to see it if it had been in London.

 

I believe it was pre-Stuttgart that they did the double bill.  Birmingham definitely and maybe Plymouth (where the audiences are more adventurous than the ones up North!).  

[Richard LH]

15 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

 

I'm hoping for Mayerling again before Manon, given Mayerling was last done in October 2018 & Manon in October 2019. Though I suppose the ROH may think Manon more bankable & I suspect that next season, like this season, they're going to want as many guaranteed sell-outs as they can get.

As I recall, Manon didn't appear to sell all that well last time round at the RB, although that may be because it was put on at the start of October 2019, just over a year after the previous run which had ended mid May 2018.

[bangorballetboy]

I have had the very great pleasure of seeing the Pie Jesu solo performed by Romany Pajdak, a pleasure I hope to enjoy again sometime in the confines of the ROH auditorium!

[LinMM]

I don’t suppose that is a hint is it BBB 

I meant by that is there a chance of Requiem being in the Rep soonish?
But probably even better if Romany Pajdak also performing! 

 

I discovered Faure’s Requiem as a piece of music from seeing the ballet first. 
The problem is then later on I chose In Paradisum for one of the pieces at my mums funeral so not sure if I could hold it together any more if I was at the Ballet ….what with the music and the dancing……

Edited March 14, 2022 by LinMM

[Lizbie1]

19 minutes ago, LinMM said:

The problem is then later on I chose In Paradisum for one of the pieces at my mums funeral so not sure if I could hold it together any more if I was at the Ballet ….what with the music and the dancing……

 

Oh no, you've just sent me to the St John's / Guest recording 😢

 

[bangorballetboy]

21 minutes ago, LinMM said:

I don’t suppose that is a hint is it BBB 

I meant by that is there a chance of Requiem being in the Rep soonish?

 

I have no inside information!

[alison]

I'm wondering to what extent Kevin O'Hare will still be playing it safe next season in terms of relatively "Covid-safe" repertory.  Requiem has so many different dancers doing different things that I imagine it might be quite a nightmare if you found yourself having to do short-notice cast changes.  There are some ballets which are likely to be more viable than others, I would think, at the moment.

[Sim]

58 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

Oh no, you've just sent me to the St John's / Guest recording 😢

 

My favourite is the Kings College Cambridge version that I have.  Those boys singing In Paradisum really makes me feel like the angels are singing in heaven...which in a way was a comfort when I used it at my younger brother's funeral.  And my mum's, a couple of years before that.  

[bridiem]

18 minutes ago, Sim said:

My favourite is the Kings College Cambridge version that I have.  Those boys singing In Paradisum really makes me feel like the angels are singing in heaven...which in a way was a comfort when I used it at my younger brother's funeral.  And my mum's, a couple of years before that.  

 

We also used In Paradisum from that version at our mum's funeral. And like LinMM, I first discovered the music by seeing the ballet. So the music and the ballet are inextricably connected for me, and even more meaningful now than when I first encountered them.

[alison]

As it was, I was in floods of tears at In Paradisum at the revival of Requiem at the ROH some years ago: I'm now very glad that my mum specified the Pie Jesu for her funeral  

[RHowarth]

On 13/03/2022 at 22:04, Dawnstar said:

 

I'm hoping for Mayerling again before Manon, given Mayerling was last done in October 2018 & Manon in October 2019. Though I suppose the ROH may think Manon more bankable & I suspect that next season, like this season, they're going to want as many guaranteed sell-outs as they can get.

Mayerling will be performed in 2022, by Scottish ballet, in a new version adapted from Macmillan's original production. I expect it will be seen in London in 2023 at Sadler's Wells.

[alison]

So it will.  I'd forgotten.  Bloomin' Covid

[zxDaveM]

1 hour ago, RHowarth said:

Mayerling will be performed in 2022, by Scottish ballet, in a new version adapted from Macmillan's original production. I expect it will be seen in London in 2023 at Sadler's Wells.

 

So the RB bound to be doing at about the same time...

[FionaM]

4 hours ago, zxDaveM said:

 

So the RB bound to be doing at about the same time...

Thanks for the giggle, need a 🤣  and 🙄 button 

[Fonty]

It seems that the MacMillan full length ballets go around in rotation.  This year it was R & J, so next year it must be either of the ones beginning with M.  I suppose it has been proven that full length ballets are more popular that mixed bills, but personally I adore and prefer many of his one act ballets.  

[AnneL]

 I find I either love or hate Macmillan ballets: there is no middle ground. However there are quite a few that I haven’t seen, so maybe that could change.

[Emeralds]

If MacMillan’s full length ballets are in rotation, would we be seeing Prince of the Pagodas next and Anastasia the following season? 😊

[zxDaveM]

11 hours ago, Fonty said:

I suppose it has been proven that full length ballets are more popular that mixed bills, but personally I adore and prefer many of his one act ballets.  

 

ditto - well, the ones without sexual assault or murder anyway

[Fonty]

9 hours ago, zxDaveM said:

 

ditto - well, the ones without sexual assault or murder anyway

 

I did say many of them were my favourites, but the Judas Tree is not one of them.  

 

10 hours ago, Emeralds said:

If MacMillan’s full length ballets are in rotation, would we be seeing Prince of the Pagodas next and Anastasia the following season? 😊

 

Well, it would make a change, although I had forgotten about them.  I have never seen either of them, although I have seen the latter as a one act ballet.  Strange about P of the P.  Was it not as popular as the Big Three, and therefore that is why it is not shown as often?

[bridiem]

28 minutes ago, Fonty said:

Well, it would make a change, although I had forgotten about them.  I have never seen either of them, although I have seen the latter as a one act ballet.  Strange about P of the P.  Was it not as popular as the Big Three, and therefore that is why it is not shown as often?

 

P of the P is not a big emotional blockbuster, and the music isn't lush and lyrical (though it's interesting - Britten), so it doesn't have the pulling power of the Big Three. I don't remember it very well but I would like to see it again.

[Mary]

The narrative of Prince of the Pagodas is not very compelling - there are rather a lot of longueurs and at times it verges on the daft. The Britten score is often beautiful but it lacks immediate appeal. 

I have watched the DVD many times for the sake of the young Jonathan Cope. but I am not sure it really works overall.

[Shade]

8 minutes ago, Mary said:

The narrative of Prince of the Pagodas is not very compelling - there are rather a lot of longueurs and at times it verges on the daft. The Britten score is often beautiful but it lacks immediate appeal. 

I have watched the DVD many times for the sake of the young Jonathan Cope. but I am not sure it really works overall.

It seems a shame that a major ballet score isn’t used. 

[bangorballetboy]

27 minutes ago, Shade said:

It seems a shame that a major ballet score isn’t used. 

 

The score was written for the piece - the composer conducted the first performance (of the Cranko version - Britten was dead by the time MacMillan choreographed his version). 

 

Which major ballet score did you have in mind? 

[zxDaveM]

1 hour ago, Fonty said:

 

I did say many of them were my favourites, but the Judas Tree is not one of them.  

 

 

yes, happy never to see that again.

The ones I'm thinking of are the likes of Concerto, Gloria, Song of the Earth, and of course, Requiem. And breaking my own 'rule', Rite of Spring

[Fonty]

42 minutes ago, zxDaveM said:

 

yes, happy never to see that again.

The ones I'm thinking of are the likes of Concerto, Gloria, Song of the Earth, and of course, Requiem. And breaking my own 'rule', Rite of Spring

 

Yes to all of those, Dave, apart from Song of the Earth.  I know it is a classic, and seen to be one of his best works, but I have never warmed to it.  

[zxDaveM]

12 minutes ago, Fonty said:

 

Yes to all of those, Dave, apart from Song of the Earth.  I know it is a classic, and seen to be one of his best works, but I have never warmed to it.  

 

I'll admit I struggled the first couple of times I saw SofE, but then it just crept up on me. There are still a few sections I'm not wild about, but overall, it does seep into you somewhat.

[Shade]

2 hours ago, bangorballetboy said:

 

The score was written for the piece - the composer conducted the first performance (of the Cranko version - Britten was dead by the time MacMillan choreographed his version). 

 

Which major ballet score did you have in mind? 

I was not clear in my post. I meant that it Is not frequently performed. I haven’t seen the RB production only the BRB Bintley production. 

Was the Cranko production the original?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jan McNulty]

1 minute ago, Shade said:

I was not clear in my post. I meant that it Is not frequently performed. I haven’t seen the RB production only the BRB Bintley production. 

Was the Cranko production the original?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I believe Cranko's was the original production for which the score was composed.  I've not seen that.

 

When MacMillan's production was revived in the very early 90s(?) I saw it at Covent Garden and it's the nearest I've ever come to leaving a ballet performance before the end.

 

I sort of enjoyed SDB's production but wouldn't rush to go and see it again.