RB end of term triple bill

[zxDaveM]

The McGregor piece now has a name - Carmen Herrera (after the late artist/set designer). Still no casting though. I listened to an 'award winning' piece by the composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir, and can't say I was swept up.

Throw in (up?) the costumes in the Wheeldon, and the dispiriting nature (and camp soldiers) of Anastasia, and it is going to be a tough watch/listen to send us off into the summer....

[Sim]

I so agree, Dave.  I am only going once, and that's only because it's Laura's final performance (in London) with the company.  Otherwise I would be skipping it altogether.  

[Emeralds]

 

12 minutes ago, zxDaveM said:

The McGregor piece now has a name - Carmen Herrera (after the late artist/set designer). Still no casting though. I listened to an 'award winning' piece by the composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir, and can't say I was swept up.

Throw in (up?) the costumes in the Wheeldon, and the dispiriting nature (and camp soldiers) of Anastasia, and it is going to be a tough watch/listen to send us off into the summer....

Thank goodness someone else agrees the costumes in Corybantic Games are not great! (I was beginning to think I was in a real version of The Emperor’s New Clothes when reading newspaper reviews and audience comments at the time). And I say this as a fan of the designer (Erdem)- I’ve even bought  one of his designs (the real life clothing, not the ballet costumes). I was hoping that they would get a redesign like one of  Wheeldon’s other ballets, Within the Golden Hour (although the original designs for those were actually not bad - better than CG’s!) 

 

The credit for design of the new McGregor work does say “Burberry” so I’m hoping for something at least pleasing on the eye and flattering to the dancers, not some ugly “concept” outfits, even if not quite the dizzying heights of the gorgeous Hanae Mori designs for the Paris Opera Cinderella or the Jasper Conran tutus in Tombeaux.

Edited May 10, 2023 by Emeralds

[Dawnstar]

2 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

The credit for design does say “Burberry” so I’m hoping for something at least pleasing on the eye and flattering to the dancers, not some ugly “concept” outfits

 

The name Burberry makes me think of raincoats so....!

[Lizbie1]

3 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

Thank goodness someone else agrees the costumes in Corybantic Games are not great! (I was beginning to think I was in a real version of The Emperor’s New Clothes when reading newspaper reviews and audience comments at the time).

 

IIRC they did not impress this forum first time around.

[zxDaveM]

Just now, Dawnstar said:

 

The name Burberry makes me think of raincoats so....!

 

sooooo ...... Singing in the Rain!  🙂

[Emeralds]

The composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir has composed in different styles and genres, from a very beautiful Thomas Tallis style choral work to the familiar dissonant atonal type pieces found in 20th century music (eg Stockhausen, Berio, Henze etc) so it depends on which style McGregor has picked. The title isn’t much of a clue, but am hoping it will be more like Woolf Works and less like Metaverse. 

[Emeralds]

5 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

 

The name Burberry makes me think of raincoats so....!

I could quite happily watch RB dancers strolling around in Burberry raincoats/trenchcoats for 30-60minutes (McGregor does choreograph for fashion shows after all) before the more challenging visuals of Corybantic Games and the challenging drama of Anastasia Act 3. 😁

 

7 minutes ago, zxDaveM said:

 

sooooo ...... Singing in the Rain!  🙂

Yes please! 

11 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

IIRC they did not impress this forum first time around.

I hadn’t discovered this forum at the time but that’s a great relief to know! 👍  

[Dawnstar]

12 minutes ago, zxDaveM said:

sooooo ...... Singing in the Rain!  🙂

 

I much prefer that show to anything I've seen by McGregor!

[Sim]

18 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

IIRC they did not impress this forum first time around.

They certainly didn't impress me....and I love Erdem's clothes (from afar, of course!).

[Emeralds]

 

7 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

 

I much prefer that show to anything I've seen by McGregor!

It’s very difficult for anyone to top SITR! I’m humming the tunes now....

[annamk]

15 minutes ago, Sim said:

I so agree, Dave.  I am only going once, and that's only because it's Laura's final performance (in London) with the company.  Otherwise I would be skipping it altogether.  

 

Me too.

In fact I'm still dithering about skipping it.

Not sure I can think of a more crushing choice for an incomparable dancer to bow out on; I suppose in some ways it kind of reflects how under appreciated and under used she's been by the RB for much of her career. 

[alison]

I think it's what she wanted to go out on, though.

[JohnS]

Didn’t Laura Morera in one of her recent interviews suggest a preference for Asphodel Meadows if she had a free choice?

I found her Anastasia utterly gripping, one of those never to be forgotten performances, and think it entirely fitting that she brings the curtain down in London with such a role where she so clearly projects such a complex character as Anna. I do though wish it were the full 3 Act version.

[Sim]

I wish it were A Month In The Country.

[capybara]

24 minutes ago, Sim said:

I wish it were A Month In The Country.

Which she will be dancing (?)twice in Japan.

So often - too often - the rep. for the RB’s overseas tours includes shorter works which we don’t get enough of here. 
 

(As it is, it seems so fitting that this thread’s heading is in lower case.)

[OnePigeon]

I think she asked to dance Juliet and also Asphodel Meadows, but they said no.  I seem to recall she said only dancing the third act of Anastasia was a big challenge as you have none of the build up to get you into the right headspace.  

[art_enthusiast]

2 hours ago, OnePigeon said:

I think she asked to dance Juliet and also Asphodel Meadows, but they said no.  I seem to recall she said only dancing the third act of Anastasia was a big challenge as you have none of the build up to get you into the right headspace.  

Juliet - I suppose she could have just done the balcony scene so it could be squeezed into a triple bill?

That would have been amazing, I’m sure everyone would have been grabbing tickets for that, regardless of what else was included in the bill.

Such a great shame that they wouldn’t let her do it!

[LinMM]

Yes I was very surprised to read that she had not been given that much choice for her very last performance in London. In instances like this surely there could be a little more give and take (within reason) when dancers are finishing their sometimes very long careers. 
As it happens I don’t think the last Act of Anastasia goes particularly well with the other two ballets (as doubt a short ballet by McGregor will reveal anything we don’t know about his choreography) 

Unfortunately I can’t go on the day of Morera’s final performance which would have been the only motivating factor so won’t be going at all now to see this triple bill. 

[Rob S]

I like the Corybantic Games costumes.... and when I think Burberry I think scarves which I have no problem with them wearing🙂

[capybara]

Ref. the costumes (and, for that matter, the staging) of McGregor works, why the hell is the RB apparently using such ‘expensive’ designers when it is pleading poverty?

[San Perregrino]

1 hour ago, capybara said:

Ref. the costumes (and, for that matter, the staging) of McGregor works, why the hell is the RB apparently using such ‘expensive’ designers when it is pleading poverty?

 

perhaps no money is changing hands?

[Sim]

34 minutes ago, PeterS said:

 

perhaps no money is changing hands?

I very much doubt it!

[Mary]

I remember there was a lot of publicity around this when it came out- with lots of photos in the press- so maybe that was part of the thinking behind this collaboration, any cost being seen as worthwhile in those terms?

However, when I saw the costumes, and the piece itself, I felt it was disappointing and the costumes very unattractive indeed, - outstandingly so in fact, so that it joined a very small group of ballets I would not go to mainly because of the costumes!

 

[Emeralds]

Maybe it’s the opposite- Burberry paying RB to let them do the designs or doing it for free as a form of product placement?

 

After all, an audience of over 10,000 people forsix performances (am assuming some will be repeat attendees) watching your product for at least 20 minutes or more- that’s longer exposure than a tv advertisement, more focused attention than a billboard on the street or Tube station, and they won’t be able to leave to put the kettle on halfway or change the channel.

 

If Burberry created a print, digital or tv ad, they’d still have to pay models, stylists, film/photography crew, makeup team and hairstylists, so this could be a bargain in comparison. Also additional exposure when photos of the dancers wearing their designs end up in the newspaper reviews. 

 

I assume that the famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view) Burberry check is unlikely appear in the designs though. 

 

I too would love to see Romeo and Juliet pas de deux on the programme with Laura Morera dancing it! It’s not a long piece - they could squeeze that in after the new McGregor work and just take 5 minutes off each of the intervals-job done!  It would help sell a lot of as yet unsold tickets, and make a lot of people so happy! 

Edited May 11, 2023 by Emeralds

[Benjamin]

I could only assume Roh and Burberry want to make “headlines” or maybe Burberry wants their “fashion” to enter into the theatre world? One could only guess, but I don’t think that Roh would be paying big money.

[capybara]

14 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

Maybe it’s the opposite- Burberry paying RB to let them do the designs or doing it for free as a form of product placement?

I wasn’t thinking of Burberry alone but most of McGregor’s works.

And, if your theory is correct, the ‘top drawer’ designers’ generous support 😉would surely be acknowledged very prominently - and I have never seen any sign of that.

[Scheherezade]

3 hours ago, Rob S said:

I like the Corybantic Games costumes.... and when I think Burberry I think scarves which I have no problem with them wearing🙂

 

Perhaps Burberry should be kept in mind for future performances of Isadora Duncan.

 

57 minutes ago, Mary said:

 ...when I saw the costumes, and the piece itself, I felt it was disappointing and the costumes very unattractive indeed, - outstandingly so in fact, so that it joined a very small group of ballets I would not go to mainly because of the costumes!

 

 

That's how I feel about anything with a greige vest and knickers combo.

[Emeralds]

2 hours ago, capybara said:

I wasn’t thinking of Burberry alone but most of McGregor’s works.

And, if your theory is correct, the ‘top drawer’ designers’ generous support 😉would surely be acknowledged very prominently - and I have never seen any sign of that.

Ah, I understand you now regarding the expense. 

 

I think with prominent acknowledgments, eg Chanel sponsorship of ENB, that might only be if they gave a big financial donation (eg in the same way Aud Jebsen sponsors whole seasons or salaries for new dancers) but if they’re just doing the costumes without a fee or only a small donation, that might not count as sponsorship. 

 

Personally, I generally don’t like fashion or film designers getting involved in designing for dance, because very few are regular dancegoers (in the way a professional dancer or dance teacher is, or regular members on this forum are) and don’t appreciate that line, comfort and movement matter. I’ve seen Karl Lagerfeld design a costume with a thick ruff that shortened a dancer’s neck (and she actually has a long and elegant neck even among ballerinas!) and the wrong cut (from Coco Chanel) that made them look frumpy. There are exceptions - they have usually watched a lot of dance and want to make the dancers look good while dancing. Quite often fashion and film designers are good at designing a costume that looks very attractive when the dancer stands still or walks, or the costume is only seen in close up, but looks a disaster when they start to jump, turn, and lift/be lifted. 

[bridiem]

On 11/05/2023 at 10:02, capybara said:

Ref. the costumes (and, for that matter, the staging) of McGregor works, why the hell is the RB apparently using such ‘expensive’ designers when it is pleading poverty?

 

And for that matter, much as I ended up enjoying Cinderella, I would have enjoyed it just as much with less lavish sets and costumes. Clearly absolutely no expense spared.

[FionaM]

In the case of Romeo and Juliet by Johan Kobborg and PoluninInk, the costumes were made by an anonymous but elite fashion house with whom Sergei had prior connections … at an eye-watering cost of €800,000 which the fashion house ‘sponsored’.
 

There were due to be further performances, and I understand that one of these would have been a big reveal of the name.  However, world events overtook them (Covid, Sergei’s injury and surgery, the Ukraine/ Russia war) and so it has not happened, and may never happen.  

So by extension, the RB may not be paying anything at all.