ENGLISH NATIONAL BALLET: RAYMONDA

[FLOSS]

Ashton's 1968 Awakening pas de deux was seen in the early performances of de Valois 1977 production of Sleeping Beauty but it was dropped after a couple of seasons. Eminent critics complained that it was not Petipa and therefore not authentic but I think the real reason it was dropped was the same one that led to the loss of the Farandole in the Hunting Scene. Those short sections  meant the performance went past 10.30 pm and the company had to pay overtime. The pas de deux  was shown in the mixed bill performance televised as part of the Ashton centennial celebration in 2004 which is almost certainly the source of the recording.

[Dawnstar]

3 hours ago, LinMM said:

I wonder though that regarding this Raymonda’s sneak off at the end that this should have been an engagement party celebration so she makes her break for freedom without doing the dirty on John as doesn’t actually marry him! Also that would allow a little more tension between John and Abdur as I felt Abdur was a little out of place in this last Act just sort of lurking!!

 

So there's no happy ending?! I can only hope that works better seen in context because reading it, the day before I'm due to see Raymonda, makes me feel very disappointed & less keen on seeing it.

[Blossom]

39 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

 

 

At times like these I wish ENB & London Coliseum or ENO had the facilities and technology to do live streaming. I think this is a production that many international viewers would love to have been able to get tickets to, to stream and watch online. 

 

They did seem to be filming, however, based on equipment, not sure if it was streaming/DVD quality filming or for internal critical use

[LACAD]

I’m not overly familiar with the order of Glazunov’s score, but I didn’t notice any major changes to the score that makes it completely unrecognisable and clunky to the average ballet goer. There were a few moments in act one where the variations were clearly slotted in, but it still had some flow to it.

 

As for Macauley, I’m not surprised. He very much gives critique from *his* opinion, which is valid but in my view - prone to melodrama and nitpicking. He interviewed Doug Fullington recently who studied the Stepanov notation and assisted Rojo, Macauley is ostensibly very knowledgeable and I presume very passionate about the classical production. However I don’t think that justifies calling the ballet a ‘violence’. Please.

[Meetmeatthebarre]

2 hours ago, Blossom said:

 I think there's also a piece from Raymonda used in the current Intermediate syllabus also for the classical dance. I don't dance anymore but it does produce quite an emotional response for me as a result.

 

It's the music to the Lute/pas de châle variation

[LinMM]

Emeralds I think it was a John Humphrey selection last a Sunday (16th) 

I made a mental note of the Tchaikovsky piece at the time ....which Ive now forgotten lol ( pleasures of old age 🙄) but think it was Symphony no 2 ....now I’m going to have to listen on catch up to check this out!! 
 

Dawnstar I suppose it depends what you mean by a happy ending! In this Raymonda she is continually conflicted between the two men so perhaps sneaking off away from both of them was the happy ending ....for her at least!!! 
I just thought it even more “feminist” not to have gone through with the marriage in the first place!! Don’t worry though it’s not on the level of R&J so not that involving I don’t think you will be too worried by her running away though a little harsh on poor old John. 
Perhaps Abdur runs after her sensing his chance at last lol!!! 

 

[capybara]

Ouch LinMM, you should have signalled SPOILER ALERT on your last post.

[DanJL]

It depends very much on interpretation of course, but I felt the choice she made at the end was a positive one, given the circumstances. Not happy in the fairytale sense perhaps, but it seemed like an empowered resolution. 

[LinMM]

Well to soften the blow for Dawnstar ....of course her departure might not have literally been on her wedding day ...just symbolic of what she might do in the future a glimpse of what the future held ...so no stay at home Victorian wife!! 
So she may well have had a few years of happiness with John before taking up her career. Or you never know John may have been an early “new man” so stayed at home to look after the children whilst Raymonda went off to follow her vocation! 
You definitely should go Dawnstar it will cheer you up no end and it’s overall a light weight ballet in terms of mood etc. 

Edited January 19, 2022 by LinMM

[San Perregrino]

1 hour ago, Dawnstar said:

 

So there's no happy ending?! I can only hope that works better seen in context because reading it, the day before I'm due to see Raymonda, makes me feel very disappointed & less keen on seeing it.

it’s incorrect to say that the ballet doesnt have a happy ending. I won’t spoil it by saying anymore 

[Emeralds]

2 hours ago, FLOSS said:

Ashton's 1968 Awakening pas de deux was seen in the early performances of de Valois 1977 production of Sleeping Beauty but it was dropped after a couple of seasons. Eminent critics complained that it was not Petipa and therefore not authentic but I think the real reason it was dropped was the same one that led to the loss of the Farandole in the Hunting Scene. Those short sections  meant the performance went past 10.30 pm and the company had to pay overtime. The pas de deux  was shown in the mixed bill performance televised as part of the Ashton centennial celebration in 2004 which is almost certainly the source of the recording.

Thanks, FLOSS, I wasn’t able to see it (Awakening pas de deux) in the theatre long after it had been cut out of de Valois’ production but I suspect it might have been due to overtime costs. Am also sad about the cutting out of the Farandole!

 

Interesting that the critics didn’t complain about other non-Petipa Ashton creations, such as the lively and gorgeous Neapolitan Dance in Swan Lake etc. I’d be quite happy to sit in the darkness listening to the entr’acte (as we used to do in the Kirov Ballet seasons of old) without any dancing too. Wonder why we can’t start longer ballets early at 6.30 or 7pm like we do for some of the long operas.

 

I think Tchaikovsky and Glazunov wrote longer scores than what the modern shows of today have time for in the typical 7.30 to 10pm (or 10.30pm maximum) running time - they believed in a long show (value for money??) in those Imperial Ballet days!  A lot of the no-longer-played pieces are really beautiful; I know of solo musicians or ensembles who have used them as encore pieces which have been enthusiastically received.

Edited January 19, 2022 by Emeralds

[Emeralds]

1 hour ago, Meetmeatthebarre said:

 

It's the music to the Lute/pas de châle variation

Meetmeatthebaree, don’t you mean Lyre (which she carries and “plays” in the traditional productions) which is performed in the orchestra pit on the harp, the modern equivalent of the lyre. (Autocorrect/predictive text playing up?) 😉 

[Dawnstar]

1 hour ago, LinMM said:

Dawnstar I suppose it depends what you mean by a happy ending! In this Raymonda she is continually conflicted between the two men so perhaps sneaking off away from both of them was the happy ending ....for her at least!!! 

I just thought it even more “feminist” not to have gone through with the marriage in the first place!! Don’t worry though it’s not on the level of R&J so not that involving I don’t think you will be too worried by her running away though a little harsh on poor old John. 
Perhaps Abdur runs after her sensing his chance at last lol!!!

 

Maybe I should have said not a romantic ending. I certainly don't think leaving your bridegroom at the altar is a romantic ending. Maybe not as bad as R&J but after seeing 4 R&Js and 4 Giselles in the last few months I was looking forward to seeing one romance that, I thought, would end well before another 3 R&Js. But evidently not.

[Beryl H]

Are paper cast lists available at the Coliseum, they don't seem to be anywhere on the website to download?  I suppose there is also a programme on sale.

 

I think I like the sound of the ending, it's more romantic in a way 🙂

 

 

 

 

[LinMM]

Yes programmes AND cast lists were available yesterday. I did buy a programme this time as was a new production and it was well worth it ...I think it was £6 but lots of info. 
The synopsis also hints at an unusual ending! 

[Angela]

4 hours ago, Emeralds said:

But I would just warn you that Macaulay has become more and more odd in the last 15 years of his writing.

 

Thank you, Emeralds, I've read his reviews over the last ten, fifteen years, I know he is all pride and prejudice and I don't like him (Clement Crisp was at least funny when he panned a ballet). But in the sentences I cited he just describes what happened to the music with examples, so I think I can believe him there.

[Angela]

The New York Times review:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/19/arts/dance/raymonda-english-national-ballet-tamara-rojo.html

[Lizbie1]

23 minutes ago, Angela said:

The New York Times review:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/19/arts/dance/raymonda-english-national-ballet-tamara-rojo.html

 

Interesting review. I don't know how much some critics' opinions is clouded by knowledge of the versions currently performed, but she at least makes an attempt to judge this one on its own merits, unlike Macaulay.

 

I've only ever seen Act 3(!) so am looking forward to making my own mind up about how well it hangs together, dramatically, musically and choreographically.

 

Edited to add: I always find the international reviews interesting but they are frequently less enthusiastic. I wonder how much this is because they're writing for a different audience - UK readers generally just want to know whether it's worth forking out for a ticket (or, put another way, does this stand up as entertainment?); whereas someone reading ballet reviews from afar is more likely to be a dance fan with background knowledge who wants to know what's going on in the wider ballet world. At least that's my assumption.

Edited January 19, 2022 by Lizbie1

[LinMM]

A Tchaikovsky aside: 

Emeralds ...sorry I don't think it was that particular John Humphrey programme last Sunday now but the Tchaikovsky music was similar to the variation usually performed first in SB ....but not sure what that variation is called. 
Somewhere on YouTube the Paris Opera Ballet Company perform the variations and it’s the first one there. Also the Royal Ballet ....the music was similar to the first variation  there ( performed by Yuhui Choe) I wish I could remember which Tchaikovsky piece it was in though. 
Aside over. 

[Meetmeatthebarre]

3 hours ago, Emeralds said:

Meetmeatthebaree, don’t you mean Lyre (which she carries and “plays” in the traditional productions) which is performed in the orchestra pit on the harp, the modern equivalent of the lyre. (Autocorrect/predictive text playing up?) 😉 

The RAD attributes it to the "Lute" variation and a few major opera houses still portray it as a lute (from a quick google - it's not as if anything but Act 3 is regularly on the roster!) but I have also heard it as the lyre variation for the reasons you state above!

[capybara]

I think we might be forgetting that the Nureyev version of Act 3 for The Royal Ballet, with which many of us are familiar, includes solos from other acts.

[alison]

I didn't actually know that   It would explain why I found some bits of Act I familiar, though.

[AnneMarriott]

9 hours ago, Angela said:

The New York Times review:

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/19/arts/dance/raymonda-english-national-ballet-tamara-rojo.html

This review clarifies for me exactly why I didn't enjoy the ballet.  I'm not familiar enough with the score or Glazunov's music in general to notice the changes others have found worrying, and have only ever seen the entire ballet on stage once (discounting the cheeky Trocks version with the White Lady teetering around with a wedding cake at inopportune moments).  I thought the idea of resetting it in the Crimean war was interesting and was really looking forward to seeing the complete work again.  But the feast of dancing in the first act turned into a glut (as Shakespeare had it "play (dance) on, that surfeiting, the appetite may sicken and so die".  I couldn't get involved with the characters and thought all the cheerful dancing (performed with much pizzazz - can't fault the dancers at all) was at odds with the setting of a war camp.

There were enjoyable moments throughout, not least two pas de trois which referenced similar episodes in Manon and Mayerling and the male reinterpretation of the Kingdom of the shades from La Bayadere, but on the whole I found it difficult to reconcile the score with the setting and the choreography with the music.  However the first night audience clearly enjoyed it, including most of those posting here so I wish it well.

[capybara]

9 hours ago, alison said:

I didn't actually know that   It would explain why I found some bits of Act I familiar, though.

Also, Nureyev ‘borrowed’ the female pas de trois for his third act.

[bridiem]

3 hours ago, AnneMarriott said:

This review clarifies for me exactly why I didn't enjoy the ballet.  I'm not familiar enough with the score or Glazunov's music in general to notice the changes others have found worrying, and have only ever seen the entire ballet on stage once (discounting the cheeky Trocks version with the White Lady teetering around with a wedding cake at inopportune moments).  I thought the idea of resetting it in the Crimean war was interesting and was really looking forward to seeing the complete work again.  But the feast of dancing in the first act turned into a glut (as Shakespeare had it "play (dance) on, that surfeiting, the appetite may sicken and so die".  I couldn't get involved with the characters and thought all the cheerful dancing (performed with much pizzazz - can't fault the dancers at all) was at odds with the setting of a war camp.

There were enjoyable moments throughout, not least two pas de trois which referenced similar episodes in Manon and Mayerling and the male reinterpretation of the Kingdom of the shades from La Bayadere, but on the whole I found it difficult to reconcile the score with the setting and the choreography with the music.  However the first night audience clearly enjoyed it, including most of those posting here so I wish it well.

 

Very well put, AnneMarriott. The Seen and Heard review in today's Links expresses similar reservations. It is clearly a great vehicle for lots of classical dancing for the company, which is good, but as a drama I found it entirely unsatisfying.

 

As a particular point: Raymonda's behaviour in Act 3 really isn't borne out by the joyful, celebratory music. I don't think it's OK (or effective) to impose ideas on a work that are at odds with the music.

Edited January 20, 2022 by bridiem
Paragraph added

[alison]

Did anyone see last night's cast, BTW?

[DanJL]

1 hour ago, bridiem said:

As a particular point: Raymonda's behaviour in Act 3 really isn't borne out by the joyful, celebratory music. I don't think it's OK (or effective) to impose ideas on a work that are at odds with the music.

While I understand that point, it was my perception that both the music and dancing were rendered differently to normal (at least in comparison to the Royal Ballet act 3 Raymonda which I'm most familiar with) in a way that reflected Raymonda's emotional anguish. It was actually this part of the ballet that impressed me most as a consequence.

[bridiem]

5 minutes ago, DanJL said:

While I understand that point, it was my perception that both the music and dancing were rendered differently to normal (at least in comparison to the Royal Ballet act 3 Raymonda which I'm most familiar with) in a way that reflected Raymonda's emotional anguish. It was actually this part of the ballet that impressed me most as a consequence.

 

That's interesting, DanJL. I don't know the score well enough to know what changes were made, but my experience of the music was overwhelmingly as something joyful and climactic, not uncertain or ambivalent (though I could see that's what Raymonda was apparently trying to express, which I found odd).

[DanJL]

Maybe it was just a consequence of having watched the Royal Ballet DVD so many times! But it certainly felt a more thoughtful and deliberately less passionate interpretation of the music in comparison, at least to me. 

[capybara]

52 minutes ago, alison said:

Did anyone see last night's cast, BTW?

A beautifully drawn and danced Raymonda from Erina Takahashi and an impressive (but ever so slightly villainous) Abdur from Daniel McCormick.

[EVWS]

1 hour ago, alison said:

Did anyone see last night's cast, BTW?

I saw last night’s performance and on the whole, enjoyed it. I’ve only ever seen the RB do Act 3 and haven't seen the whole ballet so can’t comment on the changes to the music as I just don’t know it well enough.

 

It really was a feast of dancing for the whole company, but I do think that Act 1 was overly long especially the scene at the army camp which felt a bit jolly for a group of people on the brink of going to war…(it also started 10 minutes late which might have contributed to that feeling!). I really enjoyed the dream sequence and thought it was lovely to have the men of the company more involved in that as most ‘dream scenes’ in ballet are the female corps only!

 

I did feel though that the dramatic impact was somewhat lacking across the whole cast which made it hard to really invest in what would happen in the end. Steps were danced beautifully but without much emotional impact if that makes sense?! The one dancer who really stood out for me was Natascha Mair (Sister Clemence), a lovely technically assured musical dancer.

 

Overall, I definitely think it’s a keeper and a lovely leaving gift to the company from Tamar Rojo.

 

Edited to add that I think Alastair Macaulay was there last night as well, so would be interesting if he reviews the second performance any differently(!) 

Edited January 20, 2022 by EVWS

[zxDaveM]

1 hour ago, alison said:

Did anyone see last night's cast, BTW?

 

Yes, I was another there last night. Really enjoyed the dancing in the multitude of combos - really struggled with the scenario and 'plot' though. I wondered that if Act 2 was the party - what was it in Act 1? A 'not a party', because we had the chipper, if not jolly, wounded souls scattered around the stage sides, providing the nurses something to pat? And when going to 19th century war, don't forget to pack your posh frock, in case someone throws a ripping party in their tent...

Aside from those minor quibbles, loved the music, loved the dancing. And there was plenty of both! I've only ever seen the Act 3 celebrations before (as most of us I guess), last seen at ROH in 2019 (and I'm sure ENB did it back in 2013/14 as I recall a bit vaguely - with Tamara Rojo herself in the lead). Erina Takahashi was as elegant as ever, in fact really surprised she wasn't in the first cast (opening night cast). She is one of those dancers that never seems to disappoint. The Act 3 Raymonda solo (I may be in a minority on this one, but loved seeing the cimbalom being played at the back of the stage) was breathtaking. Joseph Caley was a stirring John, and Daniel McCormick a rather caddish Abdur (I mean, who crashes a mate's wedding and tries to steal away the bride!). As well as the 3 leads, enjoyed Natascha Mair's Sister Clemence, all virtue and purity, a nagging but beautiful concience, and especially Katja Khaniukova's Henriette, smoldering so hotly I'm surprised the stage didn't catch fire (for me, she's the more smiley Brigitte Bardot of dance). Also catching the eye (as always) was Francesca Velicu in the Spanish Dance (as did Sarah Kundi) in Act 2 and as one of the Bridesmades in Act 3, for all those wonderful variations.

Will look forward to seeing it again later this week, with a different cast. So much in it, I'm bound to find new things I missed first time round

 

PS - I have the feeling the 10mins late start may have been due to covid passport checks at the door, as lots of people seemed to be still arriving after the supposed 7.30 start. I got out to the pavement outside the theatre at 10.35pm, so even allowing for the late start, the published running time needs an update!

[Dawnstar]

2 hours ago, zxDaveM said:

PS - I have the feeling the 10mins late start may have been due to covid passport checks at the door, as lots of people seemed to be still arriving after the supposed 7.30 start. I got out to the pavement outside the theatre at 10.35pm, so even allowing for the late start, the published running time needs an update!

 

I really hope it doesn't start too late tonight. I've just discovered that if I miss the 23.12 train then after that there's a replacement bus for the next train which doesn't get to Cambridge until 2.15am!

Edited January 20, 2022 by Dawnstar