Woolf Works - Royal Ballet March 2023

[LinMM]

Hee hee Postie you should have just said it must have been this damned predictive text lol! 

[Janite]

I watched Woolf Works when it was first staged in 2015, it was such an incredible performance I thought I would never want to see it again as it could never be as good. I was wrong, just back from the matinee and it was breathtakingly good.

[Jamesrhblack]

I’m just back from the matinée, still rather overwhelmed by what I experienced this afternoon.

 

Becomings remains a weakness for me: I can admire the extreme virtuosity of dancers such as Fumi Kaneko, Nicol Edmonds and Joseph Sissens (all in sensational form), but on a third viewing still can’t get an angle on the structure, whether musically or choreographically. Interestingly, my partner, who tends to take short shrift with anything they consider pretentious and who enjoys dance very much but is perhaps less regular in attendance them I am found it absolutely thrilling.

 

I Now / I Then seems to be a masterpiece, almost unbearably poignant as it explores our present reflections on our past, sometimes through melancholy, sometimes in sheer joy (The Older Clarissa rapturously replacing her younger self in duet with Sally) or the journey towards madness and suicide of two troubled individuals (the shattering duet between Clarissa / Woolf and Septimus reaching for now different conclusions). I was in tears as The Older Clarissa relived her past (or her aspirations) in the arms of Peter and as Septimus battled his demons in vain. The final sequence with past and present, author and her creations, intertwining, before finding temporary respite at Monk’s End touched me deeply.

 

And I think Tuesday unbearably poignant, from Gillian Anderson’s reading of the letter to the images of Woolf’s suicide, sometimes an expansion into water, sometimes a desperate struggle to escape and a final release into death, perhaps blessed by a brief memory of happiness. The image of the central figure removing her shoes in preparation  as the children laugh and play is unforgettable.

 

Neither my partner nor I was able to speak afterwards and as I write this the poetry and poignancy of Alessandra Ferri’s performance, as actress and, so remarkably, as dancer and the tenderly solicitous support of William Bracewell, together with the superb commitment of the dancers and orchestra under Koen Kessels’ baton continues to resonate vividly.

 

 

 

 

[BeauxArts]

1 hour ago, postie said:

 

Interesting. Fwiw, I saw men in tutu's and women not, as well as both n tutu's and neither. I saw men with their masculine bits tied down somewhere and virtually no bulge at all. I saw a lot of ungendered dancing in singles and in pairs.

 

I just didn't see what you saw. But i do have a cheap and cheerful standing ticket and will take care to note any open crotches.

Perhaps your 2nd paragraph was posted in haste but this is an inappropriate and coarse comment. 

[postie]

2 hours ago, annamk said:

endlessly manipulated by the men into a succession of one splayed and open crotch pose after another. 

 

Is it not a quote?

[MJW]

This afternoon was my first ever Woolf Works; first a confession in that I am not a fan of McGregor's works but having been so impressed with Qualia as part of the Diamond Celebration last year, I thought I ought to go. Unfortunately I wasn't able to make the general due to illness but am so glad I was able to go this afternoon -

 

An incredibly moving I now, I then with the Calvin Richardson and Joseph Sissens leaving me in tears (good job its dark in the auditorium!). A quite astonishing Becomings - I don't think I'e seen anything quite like that on stage before and finally the beautiful Tuesday.

 

I'm very tempted to try for next Saturday but will have to see how the strike plays out but am soooo glad I saw this.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CpqM6Q8IH-_/ 

[Agatha]

1 hour ago, capybara said:

Fumi Kaneko seems to be able to ‘do anything’! She was outstanding in Becomings.

 

But, then, Yasmine Naghdi also displayed her incredible versatility as the young Clarissa.

 

In a week where amazing tributes are being paid to the great Lynn Seymour, I wonder whether we, today’s audience, are appreciating what we have today enough. (I could, of course, add in other names but, in addition to Ferri, it was the star talent of Fumi and Yasmine which grabbed me this afternoon.)

 

 

Yes, absolutely agree with this review. Ferri I thought sublime and I found Naghdi’s performance so moving - I’d actually like to see her paired with Bracewell in the future. As for Fumi - she’s extraordinary! I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Just gorgeous dancing from the entire company. 

[ChrisG]

I saw this afternoon’s matinée performance of Woolf Works and thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s one thing or another for me with McGregor’s ballets - I either love them or hate them. So for example, Dante Project and Chroma - definite thumbs up, Carbon Life and Obsidian Tear - not so much. Woolf Works is definitely in the love category however, and seeing it during its first run changed the course of my PhD that I was a couple of years into at the time by exposing me to the work of Virginia Woolf. I was was looking at the way the real world is described in fiction and I ended up using a couple of excerpts from Mrs Dalloway to try and prove that Woolf was just as good a describer of a subjective reality as writers such as Arnold Bennett and J.B. Priestley were of an objective reality. They just came at it from different directions. I found that McGregor captured this perfectly in the first section of Woolf Works, and my two subsequent viewings, both as with the first viewing starring the luminous Alessandra Ferri (who appears to be ageless), have only intensified that feeling.

 

I get the same feeling in the final section and both these sections always bring me to tears, especially the moment in the first section leading up to Septimus Smith leaping off the balcony and the moment in the third section where Ferri stands still as Gillian Anderson reads out Woolf’s unbearably sad suicide note. I’m still not quite on board with the second section, though it always looks great, but it’s always the bit where I feel my concentration wavering. However, Orlando is the one out of the three novels that I haven’t yet read so maybe that might help with the interpretation.

 

My evening’s entertainment at Sadler’s Wells was just the tonic I needed after the melancolia of Woolf Works. What a programme Tiler Peck’s Turn it Out was - an hour and a half of full-on enjoyment, and what a dancer she is!! I really must save up to go back to New York and see her again before she retires.

 

Great to see both of these in one day!!

Edited March 11, 2023 by ChrisG

[MJW]

Managed to bag a ticket for next Tuesday (I was trying for Saturday matinee again but  the train strike complicated things). Hopefully it will be as fantastic as last week!

Edited March 14, 2023 by MJW

[Stephenwolf]

Seated in the White Lion Covent Garden having just experienced an extraordinary performance of Woolf Works. I was at the rehearsal a couple of weeks ago, and really enjoyed it. However, I was not enthused by Act 2. I watched it from the amphitheatre, and the lasers, I thought, were a real hindrance. Tonight, though, seated in the stalls it was totally different, a revalation. Act 2 had a standing ovation!  To be fair, though, any performance with Alessandra Ferri is going to be well received, but the whole cast were just wonderful. Typically, Fumi Kaneko was a stand out. She is really beyond belief.  But they were all just brilliant. I just didn’t want it to end. I’m enjoying my pint, basking in the recall of Alessandra Ferri, who remains a virtual nymph, and would still be a convincing Juliet!

Edited March 16, 2023 by Stephenwolf
Typos

[Blossom]

55 minutes ago, Stephenwolf said:

Seated in the White Lion Covent Garden having just experienced an extraordinary performance of Woolf Works. I was at the rehearsal a couple of weeks ago, and really enjoyed it. However, I was not enthused by Act 2. I watched it from the amphitheatre, and the lasers, I thought, were a real hindrance. Tonight, though, seated in the stalls it was totally different, a revalation. Act 2 had a standing ovation!  To be fair, though, any performance with Alessandra Ferri is going to be well received, but the whole cast were just wonderful. Typically, Fumi Kaneko was a stand out. She is really beyond belief.  But they were all just brilliant. I just didn’t want it to end. I’m enjoying my pint, basking in the recall of Alessandra Ferri, who remains a virtual nymph, and would still be a convincing Juliet!

I echo your sentiment, definitely made a difference sitting in the stalls vs higher up in terms of benefitting from the lights and lasers in Orlando. Not fully read up on this work but the lasers, lights and light smoke gave the sense that you were seeing Orlando across fragments of time. 

 

The cast this evening was exceptional - in terms of the overall casting but also the quality of performance. Was potentially feeling a bit emotional anyway after a really exhausting week but found Mrs Dalloway to be incredibly emotive. It’s hard to pick out performances but Joseph Sissens is an incredible dancer and loved his partnership as Septimus with Calvin Richardson, also standout.

 

 

 

 

[JohnS]

I’ve been thinking about Woolf Works after I saw the Osipova cast 3 March but not got round to posting. I was impressed and Osipova gave a great performance. There’s much that I admire in Woolf Works but I still have nagging questions which don’t in my mind make a 5 star performance.

 

I thought Macauley made some valid points in his review. 
https://slippedisc.com/2023/03/alastair-macaulay-this-royal-ballet-cannot-be-overlooked/
The amplification was very intrusive, particularly for the soprano. Yet I struggled to hear Virgina Woolf and Gillian Anderson Act 3. It’s good that On Craftsmanship is in the Programme but not Woolf’s suicide letter which is readily accessible on line. 
https://www.openculture.com/2013/08/virginia-woolfs-handwritten-suicide-note.html

 

I think it’s a little too easy for assertions simply to be made about what Woolf Works conveys, including those of Alessandra Ferri in her recent Guardian interview: “We are not telling any facts, we are telling [Woolf’s] emotions through her work, and sometimes they are the emotions of her characters and sometimes they are her own.”  It’s an easy a line to spin but what emotions are McGregor et al trying to convey about Woolf’s feelings in Becomings? I’m afraid I’m finding Becomings more fatuous on repeat viewings where the Dramaturg has in effect gone AWOL. From the Programme 2015, I see Uzma Hameed quotes (I think with approval) Woolf’s diary: ‘Our ambition is to put in nothing that need not be there.’ But does McGregor ever follow that maxim?

 

There is though much that is good and deeply moving - particularly Acts 1 and 3. But I still worry about the presentation of suicide: it seems verging on suggesting suicide was the admirable response to circumstances for both Septimus and Virginia Woolf but sanitised and shorn of the appalling trauma and distress.

 

It’s good to see the changes to the cast sheets and provision of synopses but I don’t think the cast sheet/synopses/programme provide adequate answers, as I’m afraid is so often the case with dramaturg polemic, more recently with Rusalka.

 

I’ll try to be more timely in posting about today’s double Woolf Works.

 

Edited March 18, 2023 by JohnS
Formatting

[Linnzi5]

Back from Wolf Works. Not the easiest of journeys, due to the rail strike. We had to drive to Epping, our nearest tube station. Out of nearly 600 car parking spaces in the station car park, we found one and quickly took it. The parking cost more than my train fare! Anyway, despite the longer journey (the central line takes a long time to get to Holborn and we had a 20 minute drive to the station), it was easy and I'm so glad we made it up to ROH as I loved all I saw.

 

This evening's performance was wonderful. Allesandra Ferri was just amazing. What an inspirational woman. In acts 1 and 3, she danced with fluidity, sensitivity and her acting was brilliant. Kevin O'Hare made a lovely speech at the end - apparently, it was the 40th anniversary of Ferri being at The Royal Ballet - lots of flower throwing and standing ovations both preceded and followed the speech.

 

I loved the 1st and 3rd acts. Very emotive and sensitive dancing from all. I thought, no surprises here, that William Bracewell was a sensitive partner to Ferri and just brilliant in every way - he can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned. Francesca Hayward and Yasmine Naghdi were both wonderful, with Naghdi really stealing the scenes, I thought. Both were delightful though. Act 2 felt like something from a totally different ballet. However, I loved the laser light show (looked amazing from the stalls) and Fumi Kaneko stole the show! Wow. she was just amazing - her body was so flexible and I can't believe some of the positions she effortlessly contorted her body into. She is so classy and a delight to watch.

 

Act 3 touched me the most. I thought Ferri's duet with Bracewell was so heartfelt - it was very moving. Special mention to Joseph Sissons who is just fantastic in all he does.

 

All in all, a wonderful evening and my significant other ('I only like Nutcracker' man) really loved Richter's score and didn't complain once. Miracles never cease . . . Bravo to all tonight's performers, with a special congratulations to Ms Ferri - what an amazing woman. 

 

 

Edited March 19, 2023 by Linnzi5

[JohnS]

I very much agree with Linnzi5. Last night’s performance was a fabulous celebration for Alessandra Ferri and all the cast, and the flower throw hugely deserved.
 

I very much enjoyed seeing Becomings from the Stalls: it’s a very different experience seeing the projections onto the stage rather than from above through the laser beams, perhaps again a production where you wonder whether the team checked the view from less favoured angles. It doesn’t answer the questions I have about that Act but I think my ‘fatuous’ comment was too harsh. The dancers were fully committed in all performances I’ve seen but for me it remains very thin in terms of drama compared to the other Acts.

I also enjoyed the matinee - Marienela Nunez made for a compelling Clarissa/Virginia Woolf. I was very taken with Ashley Dean’s young Clarissa and the men astonishingly good - Matthew Ball, Calvin Richardson, Tomas Mock and Marco Masciari. Leticia Dias impressed in Tuesday.

 

I think Act 1 is my favourite, culminating In Septimus’s suicide and I do wonder why the curtain doesn’t come down at that point. I’m not sure what’s added by the meanderings of the five (Clarissa/Virginia Woolf, Peter, Richard, Sally and young Clarissa) although I do like seeing all these characters on stage, particularly when they are danced by so many favourites, and the projections are idyllic. I’d also be very interested in knowing what McGregor/Hameed wanted to convey in the Clarissa/Virginia Woolf & Septimus pdd. Clarissa and Septimus never meet in the novel so I assume it’s more Woolf/Septimus and it’s very affecting. And whilst I have my own thoughts, I do wish McGregor/Hameed were more forthcoming when discussing their work.

 

In Act 3, I do wish the cast sheet named the Will Bracewell/Mayara Magri characters. Is Bracewell still Peter or an abstraction of Virginia Woolf’s lovers or Leonard? Is Magri Vanessa? 
 

The final curtain for Woolf Works this run for me and I’m very pleased it ended with the Ferri cast and that flower throw.

 

[capybara]

The flower throw was no doubt not only hugely deserved but also a recognition of it being Ferri’s last performance and, possibly even, her farewell to the ROH stage.

 

AND, I see, 40 years since her promotion to RB Principal.

 

Edited March 19, 2023 by capybara

[art_enthusiast]

1 hour ago, capybara said:

The flower throw was no doubt not only hugely deserved but also a recognition of it being Ferri’s last performance and, possibly even, her farewell to the ROH stage.

I hope it’s not a farewell yet!

Edited March 19, 2023 by art_enthusiast

[Linnzi5]

35 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said:

I hope it’s not a farewell yet!

Well, Kevin O’Hare did say he’d hope Alessandra would be back, if I remember correctly. She appeared to be very touched by the flower throw and speech. It was a lovely tribute to her. 

[Jamesrhblack]

For what it is worth, all opinions my own, the Woolf / Septimus sequence is two people, one real, one fictional, driven by suicidal impulses but reaching, for now, different conclusions.
 

The fictional character is driven, literally, over the edge. 
 

The creator, for now, finds solace in their work and  the tranquillity of Monk’s House.

 

This is, of course, in stark contrast to the end of the triptych.

 

 

 

Edited March 19, 2023 by Jamesrhblack

[LinMM]

Well it could well be the last we see of Ferri in Woolf Works as she is very shortly going to be 60 ( albeit a fit 60) but if you look at what she does especially in final act there are quite a few lifts and moves there which can’t be easy!! And it could be 4-5 years before Woolf Works comes back. 
She could have another work created on her though ….I seem to remember Fonteyn had a special work created for her by Ashton right at the end of her career …Salut d’Amour? 

[capybara]

Actually - and I know that it might not be popular to be saying this - I think that choreographers should be focusing on making work using current RB Principals. There are now (IIRC correctly) 11 of them (ballerinas) (with one due to leave) and, arguably, they do not get enough stage time as it is.

 

After being promoted to Principal at a very young age, Ferri quickly chose to develop her career elsewhere and not to return to the RB until well after her retirement.

 

Coming back as a coach is an entirely different matter as that would doubtless be of benefit to today’s company.

 

That is not, of course, to take anything away from her recent performances (I loved her).

[LinMM]

I agree …however that piece for Fonteyn  must have been at some special gala and was possible only about 5-6 mins long. 
And looking back now I think if I was Ferri I might have been very tempted to go and dance with Baryshnikov in his prime too …..though I wasn’t best pleased with her at the time!!! 

 

[zxDaveM]

2 hours ago, capybara said:

I think that choreographers should be focusing on making work using current RB Principals. There are now (IIRC correctly) 11 of them (ballerinas) (with one due to leave) and, arguably, they do not get enough stage time as it is.

 

 

 

indeed - when I got smitten by my fave dancer(s), I would enjoy seeing them several times a week in whatever roles. Now, I'm lucky if it is 12-15 times a year

[JNC]

4 hours ago, zxDaveM said:

 

indeed - when I got smitten by my fave dancer(s), I would enjoy seeing them several times a week in whatever roles. Now, I'm lucky if it is 12-15 times a year

 

Of course the most recent principals are all very deserving of their promotions and I was happy for them, but part of me was selfishly sad as I knew we would no longer see them in both principal and first soloist roles, it felt like a golden age when they were getting principal roles (Kaneko and O'Sullivan as Aurora for example) but still getting lots of stage time in the first soloist roles too. 

 

I also think the lack of diversity of programming probably contributes as well. We've only had 8 (off the top of my head?) programmes this year, and O'Sullivan and Magri haven't been cast as Cinderella (which is understandable given the number of principals but still) it means we don't see them that much. I feel a lot of the principals are now spending almost half their time out of the country doing other galas and guest performances - great for them I hope, less so for us. 

[capybara]

Kaneko has had Lilac Fairy (3) as well as Aurora (2) and will have Fairy Godmother as well as Cinderella. She also is cast (I think) 6 times in Woolf Works and was both Mitzi Caspar (2) and Marie Larisch (2) in Mayerling. In addition, she is listed for a McGregor in the summer. 

[Odyssey]

Meanwhile, there have been several first soloists who, we have noted before, have been underused. 

[Sim]

When Yasmine Naghdi dances Cinderella on March 29th, it will be her first major role on the ROH stage since SPF in December.  She has danced Young Clarissa three times and that's it.  Luckily she has been guesting all over the world so has still been getting plenty of stage time and experience...and international exposure.

[Dawnstar]

20 hours ago, JNC said:

I feel a lot of the principals are now spending almost half their time out of the country doing other galas and guest performances - great for them I hope, less so for us. 

 

1 hour ago, Sim said:

When Yasmine Naghdi dances Cinderella on March 29th, it will be her first major role on the ROH stage since SPF in December.  She has danced Young Clarissa three times and that's it.  Luckily she has been guesting all over the world so has still been getting plenty of stage time and experience...and international exposure.

 

Given the ROH has said so much about needing to be careful with their finances in the last couple of years, I wonder if they have considered whether they are getting value for money with their Principal dancers. Presumably the dancers are getting paid a full-time salary by the RB and then getting paid for guest apearances separately. Could the RB try to get more value for money by casting the dancers in more performances rather than have them sometimes not appear on the ROH stage for months at a time?

 

The first cast of Woolf Works included 5 female Principals so if they can dance non-lead solo roles in that then why not in the classics? There are plenty of solo roles in SB yet apart from Kaneko as the Lilac Fairy I don't think any of the Principals have danced any role other than Aurora this run. Why not some more Principal Lilac Fairies or Princess Florines (Naghdi & Hayward I believe did dance that role in the last run) or even the other fairies?

[capybara]

1 hour ago, Dawnstar said:

Given the ROH has said so much about needing to be careful with their finances in the last couple of years, I wonder if they have considered whether they are getting value for money with their Principal dancers.

 

Well they clearly aren’t but this is not the fault of the dancers - the difficulties must surely lie (inter alia) with the rep., casting decisions, arguably too many promotees, and the amazingly high standards throughout the company.

 

About 15 years ago, a dancer I was particularly keen on seeing perform used to be on the ROH stage 25+ times a year in principal roles. Those days seem long gone.

 

While I like the fact that several RB Principals are now being recognised abroad  as the stars we know they are, we need to see more of them here too.

 

(I feel that I have been the cause of diverting this thread away from its intended purpose. Apologies for that!)

[Dawnstar]

2 minutes ago, capybara said:

Well they clearly aren’t but this is not the fault of the dancers - the difficulties must surely lie (inter alia) with the rep., casting decisions, arguably too many promotees, and the amazingly high standards throughout the company.

 

I certainly didn't intend to imply I was blaming the dancers in the slightest. I was questioning the RB's decisions, not the dancers'. If they're not being given stage time at the ROH for months then I can quite understand why they'd go & dance elsewhere. I just wish the RB would give them more stage time.

[alison]

When I started going to the RB, I took note of one particular ballerina because a colleague was friendly with her. She had a grand total of 10 performances in one year - barring any roles in mixed bills where casting wasn't announced.

[Lizbie1]

There's a documentary about the RB from the very early '80s which has principals saying they need a second stage because they get so few performances. Plus ça change...

[JNC]

It’s never going to be perfect but I do think diversity of the rep (and especially mixed bills, three different principal casting options in one night!) is the main issue to me.

 

I’m not opposed to seeing more principals in “first soloist” roles like lilac fairy and Myrtha (although actually these two are definitely principal roles also, maybe Florine and some of the other fairies is a better example) but you also have to give these opportunities to those rising up the ranks too, so I’d prefer to solve it by increasing programming personally. Surely the dancers would like to tackle and dance things they’ve not tried before either? 

[MJW]

I’m writing this having managed to get from Covent Garden to sitting on my train from Waterloo within ten minutes!

 

Another magnificent performance of Woolf Works tonight with a superb cast. Special shoutouts to Harris Bell and Marco Masciari.

 

Last time I was in the stalls circle and tonight I was bang in the centre front row of the GT. Its very interesting how different each part looks from different parts of the auditorium. Becomings was as mad but magnificent as ever; I now, I then moved me less than before but Tuesday was beautiful and made so much more sense to me than before!

 

Poor timing but I have a meeting with my new boss tomorrow so hopefully I will have managed to get some sleep from a late night back. 

 

Looking forward to Cinderella rehearsal on Friday.