The Royal Ballet's The Weathering / Solo Echo / DGV: Danse à grande vitesse: 24 March to 07 April 2022

[Mary]

48 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

(I am going to this week's though - attempting once more to love Wheeldon!)

DGV can be really exhilarating. If only they would lash out a bit on some electricity and turn the lights up ( I know it's expensive but really...)

[Dawnstar]

9 minutes ago, Mary said:

DGV can be really exhilarating. If only they would lash out a bit on some electricity and turn the lights up ( I know it's expensive but really...)

 

Never mind the RB's pointe shoe appeal, maybe they should have a lighting appeal: ask for donations so they can afford to light the stage more brightly! I can think of a few opera companies that should do the same too.

[alison]

So should Sadler's Wells, then - perhaps even more so  

[zxDaveM]

make the lighting designers wear dark glasses - they'll have to then brighten things up for the good of all! 😉

 

[LinMM]

Janet I love your cast for Wuthering Heights. Having just seen Cesar as Siegfried …where there is not enough dancing for this role in my opinion …..would love to see him as Heathcliffe!!  I’d probably be there every night!!
 
 

[Mary]

I do agree, not enough dancing for Siegfried in this production... I am almost muttering in Act 1 'Oh please dance!' ....as he stands around and stands around...does a few teasing steps...then stands around again- it's very frustrating.

 

[jmhopton]

6 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

Selfishly, I'd rather have triple bills be all classic/"heritage" or all modern rather than a mixture as it saves me having to make the trek up to London so much because I'm not generally interested in new work until it's been given the thumbs up by people I trust. (I am going to this week's though - attempting once more to love Wheeldon!)

I do agree about the triple bills composition, Lizbie1.  I'm so glad there is more of an effort these days to split modern and traditional ones. There was a phase in the 90s and early this century when I didn't attend any as they were so poorly constructed (from my point of view).

Also good luck with the attempt to like Wheeldon (something I've never achieved yet).

[SheilaC]

On 21/03/2022 at 15:18, Jan McNulty said:

 

I think (bearing in mind I'm not a regular at RB) I would go for Natalia Osipova as Cathy (for her wildness), Cesar Corrales as Heathcliff (darkly brooding), Anna Rose O'Sullivan as Isabella and William Bracewell as Edgar.

What has poor William Bracewell done to deserve selection as Edgar?

And the roles of young Cathy and Heathcliff are important, who would you choose? Isabella Gasparini is very familiar with David Nixon’s choreography from her years at Northern Ballet and might make a good young Cathy.

[Jan McNulty]

9 hours ago, SheilaC said:

What has poor William Bracewell done to deserve selection as Edgar?

And the roles of young Cathy and Heathcliff are important, who would you choose? Isabella Gasparini is very familiar with David Nixon’s choreography from her years at Northern Ballet and might make a good young Cathy.

 

He's a wonderful actor.

 

Yes I would agree with Isabella as Young Cathy.  I'm not familiar enough with RB to suggest a dancer of the correct stature for Young Heathcliff.

[LinMM]

Corrales would be very fine!! 
If not him then probably Bracewell. 
Im sure Reece Clarke also has the look but I’ve never seen him in anything that dramatic so don't know what his acting abilities are like. 

[Guest oncnp]

The musicians are listed for tomorrow night's performance but not the dancers...

[MJW]

Some rehearsal pictures of The Weathering from ROH's Flickr

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/royaloperahouse/albums/72177720297536330 

[Clara_f]

7 minutes ago, MJW said:

Some rehearsal pictures of The Weathering from ROH's Flickr

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/royaloperahouse/albums/72177720297536330 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful thanks MJW! 

[JennyTaylor]

I've booked once for tomorrow. I'm hoping to be proved wrong, but I think that will be enough for me. 

[Bluebird]

The cast for tomorrow's General Rehearsal is on the ROH website:

 

https://static.roh.org.uk/digital/cast-sheets/The-Weathering-Solo-Echo-DGV/theweathering-soloecho-dgv-v4.pdf?_ga=2.109152581.130573533.1647870173-1332193509.1615112770

 

THE WEATHERING Choreography KYLE ABRAHAM Music RYAN LOTT Costume designer KAREN YOUNG Lighting designer DAN SCULLY Conductor JONATHAN LO Off-stage conductor EDO FRENKEL

 

Dancers FUMI KANEKO, AMELIA TOWNSEND, LIAM BOSWELL, WILLIAM BRACEWELL, NICOL EDMONDS, BRAYDEN GALLUCCI, DAICHI IKARASHI, JOSHUA JUNKER, AIDEN O’BRIEN, CALVIN RICHARDSON, JOSEPH SISSENS

 

Flute CHRISTOPHER GREEN Clarinet CHARYS GREEN Horn PHILIP MUNDS Trumpet JASON EVANS Violin NATALIA LOMEIKO Viola KONSTANTIN BOYARSKY Cello CHRISTOPHER VANDERSPAR Off-stage Flute KATHARINE CONSTABLE Off-stage Clarinet MARINA FINNAMORE Off-stage Trumpet DAVID CARSTAIRS Off-stage Violin ANNA BLACKMUR Off-stage Viola REBECCA BROWN Off-stage Cello HETTY SNELL

 

SOLO ECHO Choreography CRYSTAL PITE Music JOHANNES BRAHMS Scenic design JAY GOWER TAYLOR Costume design CRYSTAL PITE, JOKE VISSER Lighting design TOM VISSER Staging ERIC BEAUCHESNE, DEIRDRE CHAPMAN

 

Dancers LUCA ACRI, LUKAS B. BRÆNDSRØD, HARRY CHURCHES, ASHLEY DEAN, BENJAMIN ELLA, ISABELLA GASPARINI, HANNAH GRENNELL Solo Cello CHRISTOPHER VANDERSPAR Solo Piano ROBERT CLARK

 

DGV: DANSE À GRANDE VITESSE Choreography CHRISTOPHER WHEELDON Music MICHAEL NYMAN Designer JEAN-MARC PUISSANT Lighting JENNIFER TIPTON Staging CHRISTOPHER SAUNDERS Conductor JONATHAN LO Guest Concert master NATALIA LOMEIKO ORCHESTRA OF THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE

 

Dancers GINA-STORM JENSEN, MATTHEW BALL, AKANE TAKADA, WILLIAM BRACEWELL, MARIANELA NUÑEZ, RYOICHI HIRANO, MAYARA MAGRI, JOSEPH SISSENS ARTISTS OF THE ROYAL BALLET

Edited March 23, 2022 by Bluebird

[Dawnstar]

I hope Bracewell will still have the energy to appear in Swan Lake on Friday evening given he's dancing 2 performances of both The Weathering and DGV tomorrow.

[Jamesrhblack]

I appreciate one cannot comment on Generals and am sure If I overstep the mark my remark will be deleted. However, feel I compelled to write that Joseph Sissens in full flight in DGV is a truly joyous sight to behold.

 

Also hoping that Akane Takada is ok as she didn’t make it back on stage for the Finale which William Bracewell completed on his own marking the partnering.

Edited March 24, 2022 by Jamesrhblack

[bangorballetboy]

Sorry to say that Akane Takada is replaced by Yasmine Naghdi in DGV this evening.

[Guest oncnp]

Cast list...

 

24.3.22-theweathering-soloecho-dgv-v2.pdf (roh.org.uk)

[LinMM]

Oh No poor Akane she hasn’t had much luck recently. 

[DanJL]

I thought this was a wonderful mixed bill - exactly the kind of contemporary works I most enjoy! The Weathering was full of beautiful yet virtuosic looking moves, all based around a moving theme of sorrow. Anna Rose O'Sullivan (who I think was in the Osipova role) and Fumi Kaneko were both incredible, as were the strong cast of male dancers. I'm ashamed to say I didn't know all of the men's names, but the highlight for me was a heartfelt, quite innovative solo from one of them - I hope someone more knowledgeable can give them the credit they deserve! 

 

I've been a big fan of the emotional beauty of Solo Echo since the performances last summer and tonight's seemed an even better performance - partially helped by much better lighting. I could see all the dancing last year, but it wasn't always easy to make out faces. Tonight all was completely clear. I particularly enjoyed Isabella Gasparini and Ashley Dean, but the whole group worked together perfectly. 

 

And to finish, my first time seeing DGV. So much to enjoy in this - great performances from the leads, especially Gina Storm-Jensen and Marianela Nuñez, who I don't think I've seen dance in such a contemporary role before - starting to feel like there's nothing she can't do! But actually many of my favourite moments from this ballet were from the corps - wonderful choreography and all danced perfectly. 

[JNC]

I agree I thought it was a good selection of a contemporary bill as each piece had a slightly different tone. 
 

I’ll admit I didn’t quite “get” The Weathering (perhaps a diplomatic way of me saying I found it a bit boring and uninspiring!). It feels like a variation on other contemporary works I’ve seen and didn’t bring anything new. The costumes I found awful, although I did enjoy the set (basically some nice lights although it did remind me of Ikea perhaps). At times I couldn’t tell if dancers were out of time/sync with each other or if it was intentional from the choreography. For me it went on too long, there were a few sections where I found the dancing interesting but too few overall. The standout was Kaneko who was excellent but I felt underused. (Is there nothing she can’t do?) Overall it felt a bit flat for me and I have to say audience response did feel rather muted compared to the other two pieces so perhaps I wasn’t the only one. Will be interesting to see if others and the critics do get it and maybe I’m missing something? 
 

I also noted the performance was nowhere near sold out, which made me wonder why perhaps young ROH or other offers hadn’t kicked in. Lots of tickets still available for sale, I wonder how that will compare to the Ashton triple in the end. 

 

I hadn’t seen Solo Echo before but instantly found it engaging. The choreography was interesting and the dancers highlighted their amazing movements in not just ballet. (I’m no expert but I would say this didn’t feel like a ballet to me but rather contemporary dance.) I would say it could be slightly better lit but I understand the atmosphere they were trying to (successfully) go for. All the dancers were excellent in this and it was a thought provoking piece.

The night ended on a high with DGV - again all dancers superb and good to see Nunez and Hirano. I admit some of the pairings didn’t quite work for me, Naghdi and Bracewell (appreciate this was a cast change) and also Magri and Sissens didn’t seem to quite suit each other. But the music was good and fitted the work well and this piece ended the night on a high. 
 

I did feel a little annoyed that the digital cast sheet provided no information at all about the choreographer’s insight for any of the works - I presume this must have been in the programme but I didn’t really want to pay £8. I wouldn’t expect a large essay but 2-3 lines broadly outlining each piece would be good to see.

[bridiem]

I'm afraid I found this bill very disappointing. The major plus was the quality of the dancing, which was uniformly outstanding. I think I'm very intolerant of a lot of contemporary dance now since I've seen too much that's tedious. I disliked the music of The Weathering and found the choreography disjointed and largely uninteresting; it all seemed to go on for ever to no obvious purpose. I didn't see Solo Echo first time round; the music (Brahms) was beautiful and there were also moments of beauty in the choreography, but also too much that was predictable. I didn't like the fact that most of the time only a small part of the stage was used - why have a big stage and not make use of it? But it did at least feel more purposeful than The Weathering. I couldn't remember DGV very well, and although I enjoyed the opening section with Gina Storm-Jensen and Matthew Ball I quickly got bored with seeing a lot of similar steps being performed by other couples (often with the women spending a lot of the time being lifted with their legs in the air, which I actually found rather disrespectful in the end). I also found the music overblown and rather crude, and ultimately that was what I thought of the choreography too. These dancers are absolutely brilliant, but I don't like seeing them perform works that I don't think are worthy of them.

[FLOSS]

I am glad someone enjoyed this mixed bill I am afraid I did not. I found Weathering tedious, episodic, overly long with no obvious sense of structure . It ended with a lone dancer abandoned on stage and an audience uncertain for several seconds as to whether the piece had actually ended. As two much younger people in my row said "That's forty five minutes of my life that I won't get back". It might have been bearable if it had been shorter, say thirty minutes rather than the full forty five minutes it took to peter out. Solo Echo did not make the impact it had on first viewing perhaps it was simply a victim of its place in the bill. DGV also came as a bit of a disappointment. I remember it being a much better ballet. This time it felt a bit too relentless. Perhaps it is one of those pieces which really only works with its original cast and their energy? All in all a seriously underwhelming mixed bill. The Amphi on first night was perhaps one third full which is a bad sign for the rest of the run.

 

Perhaps instead of commissioning new works from outside choreographers Kevin should do what the first three choreographer directors did and acquire pieces which have already proved their worth as pieces of choreography and limit new commissions almost entirely to choreographers with connections to the company and the school.

[zxDaveM]

My tuppenny's worth.

In agreement with most of above about The Weathering. At 35mins it did seem a good bit longer. Lots of vigourous runnings on, lingering about looking lost and/or misplaced then running off again. Call me old fashioned (I probably am) but men dancing aimlessly with men doesn't really do it for me. I did like the solo the sublime Fumi Kaneko did, which led into the duet with William Bracewell (which was also good), and enjoyed the end solo for Joshua Junker, even if it did die a death a bit at the very end. Can't the music caught my ear on first listen, seemed a bit 'flat' and monotonous - perhaps a second listen in order.

 

I really enjoyed Solo Echo this time round. Which surprised me. Maybe this cast 'flowed' more with Pite's choreography. I thought Luca Acri, Ashley Dean and Isabelli Gasparini particularly fine, with Lucas BB as the 'big bully' also a standout.

 

Even though DGV lacked some urgency, I still enjoyed it overall. Though some of the partnering needed tightening up to my eyes! (a second viewing will be intersting) I may be wrong, but I think the only dancers that had previously been in it were Nunez and Hirano, with Yasmine Naghdi (when in the corps) and maybe Matthew Ball (also as a corps dancer). Everyone else was new to it. I know Chris Wheeldon was there last night (so I assume had been overseeing the final rehearsals), and I did notice the odd tweak here and there.

 

So, overall, probably not the best triple, but many interesting moments and worth seeing again for these old eyes.

[JohnS]

I rather liked the opening night having seen the rehearsal (and bought a programme). Much better visibility in the evening being in a favourite seat (H sides Orchestra Stalls) as I found it pretty difficult seeing who was dancing from the back of the Stalls Circle for the rehearsal. Not just a question of lighting but the uniformity of costumes (Solo Echo). That said I wish there’d been costume uniformity for The Weathering as Fumi Kaneko’s costume was so much more attractive than Anna-Rose O’Sullivan’s baby doll outfit.

As regards the dancing, I was impressed by the Royal Ballet’s commitment throughout and I think The Weathering will benefit from greater familiarity. The programme refers extensively to loss and also gives 9 headings for the Lott score which may possibly help.

I like Solo Echo although I am not convinced that the violence/tension on stage reflects the music. The Brahms cello sonatas are sublime and there’s an overwhelming sense of unity and reconciliation, particularly in the two movements selected for Solo Echo.

I’ve always enjoyed DGV and very much like the Michael Nyman score but thought previous performances made greater impact.

Looking forward to seeing one other performance with the other cast and I’m pleased it’s going to be streamed. 

 

[Guest oncnp]

Via ROH Twitter....

 

Kyle Abraham’s New Ballet Is a Tribute to “Love, Loss and Acceptance” | AnOther (anothermag.com)

[alison]

Oh, so that's what it was.  That's good to know.  I'd come to it completely "blind", not having seen the insight evening or read anything about it, and I wasn't sure.

[JNC]

Whilst I did overall enjoy the bill on balance I do echo a lot of the disappointment. 
 

would I want to go see any of these works again, either during this run or in a future run - no.
 

I think there is merit in commissioning new work and they have to be experimental as well so of course some works will inevitably fail. But it’s worrying that much new output seems to fall into this category for me at least. 
 

A similar question is would I go and see a contemporary mixed bill at ROH again when I know it’s just going to be variations on this again? I don’t know but if lots of people were disappointed by this evening the answer is likely to be no and that’s quite worrying with regard to the sustainability (both artistically and financially) of new works. 
 

Where are the Ashtons and Balanchines of our time? 

[MJW]

5 minutes ago, JNC said:

Whilst I did overall enjoy the bill on balance I do echo a lot of the disappointment. 
 

would I want to go see any of these works again, either during this run or in a future run - no.
 

I think there is merit in commissioning new work and they have to be experimental as well so of course some works will inevitably fail. But it’s worrying that much new output seems to fall into this category for me at least. 
 

A similar question is would I go and see a contemporary mixed bill at ROH again when I know it’s just going to be variations on this again? I don’t know but if lots of people were disappointed by this evening the answer is likely to be no and that’s quite worrying with regard to the sustainability (both artistically and financially) of new works. 
 

Where are the Ashtons and Balanchines of our time? 

I don’t want to prejudge the mixed bill as I’m not going until the 2nd but as a very general question - what input/control does Kevin O’Hare/Royal Ballet have over newly commissioned works?

[bridiem]

1 hour ago, oncnp said:

Via ROH Twitter....

 

Kyle Abraham’s New Ballet Is a Tribute to “Love, Loss and Acceptance” | AnOther (anothermag.com)

 

What a choreographer has in mind, however worthy, may not, of course, come across to the audience. And I must admit I get tired of being patronised by the idea that non-narrative work is somehow revolutionary.

[JennyTaylor]

I enjoyed myself last night, but that is because I talked to some nice people, not because of the actual performance. 

Where to start - well, with a positive. The quality of the dancing was wonderful in all respects.  

Sadly, not even 24 hours later, I'm struggling to remember the first 2 ballets in any sort of detail.  They have merged together in my mind as dark (the lighting), anonymous (the costumes) and meaningless. I had no idea what was going on and I did read the programme notes. 

So, no emotional connection at all. I spent most of the time trying to work out which dancer was which in the dim lighting and featureless clothes they were wearing - and I was in OS Row F.  Heaven help anyone even a few rows further back let alone any of the higher tiers.  

DGV was better but still not enough to make me ever want to see it again. 

The audience reaction was OK, but nothing more than that, I would suggest. 

Perhaps any ballet which starts with the black screen in front of the stage, rather than the red curtains, should be given a health warning. It seemed so last night. 

 

So, it's back to Swan Lake for me - this evening, and I can't wait.  

[EVWS]

10 minutes ago, JennyTaylor said:

Perhaps any ballet which starts with the black screen in front of the stage, rather than the red curtains, should be given a health warning. It seemed so last night. 

 

I always get nervous when I go into the auditorium and see that!!