Does the Royal Ballet's current leadership respect the past?

[AnneMarriott]

23 minutes ago, LinMM said:

...

I have seen Les Noces once since I read Fokine’s book back in 1982-3 so was very keen to see it at one point but I can’t remember now where I saw it!

Did Festival Ballet dance a version does anybody know?….or maybe it was the Royal but doesn’t seem very recently. 
 

...
 

Last performed by RB in 2012 and before that several times during the noughties.

[Scheherezade]

14 hours ago, Tango Dancer said:

 

Ballet companies need to be solvent.  Nutcracker (love it or hate it) makes money and allows companies to fund the more unusual and potentially less popular things. 

 

The problem being that the majority of the alternative works funded by the acknowledged cash cows (and I am someone who feels that Christmas isn't Christmas without a taste of Nutcracker) are invariably either hip hop-infused creations that could be performed by pretty much any member of Joe Public, preachy, suicide-inducing gloom-fests or overly-pretentious vanity projects that serve little purpose beyond feeding the ego of the choreographer rather than the neglected works from the distant or not too distant past.

 

13 hours ago, AnneMarriott said:

The problem with Fille is that the character of Alain could be taken as showing disrespect for people with learning difficulties.  Recent performances do seem to have over-egged his clumsiness and lack of self-awareness, which I think reflects a modern tendency to coarsen characterisation ...

 

 

 

A problem that doesn't seem to matter one jot - either to producers or audiences - within the lucrative world of seasonal panto. And one that could easily be remedied by changing the emphasis, where needed, to that of affection (which, by the way, I feel is almost always fully realised anyway).

 

18 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

 

... I would definitely like to see The Rake's Progress & Job, plus other de Valois works such as Checkmate & The Gods Go A-Begging. I'm not sure about Les Noces but I'd like to see Le Train Bleu & Les Biches. I might not enjoy all/any of these works but unless we can see them then how will I, or anyone else either too young or too lately come to ballet watching to have seen them, know if we like them & want to see them continue to be performed or not?

 

Absolutely, Dawnstar! Well said!

Edited September 24, 2023 by Scheherezade

[DVDfan]

Personally I think that Alain could be portrayed simply as a gauche teenager, not ready for romantic relationships. 

 

As far as heritage is concerned, I don't think RB can win. If they focus on their heritage they won't be able to do any new work, and they would be criticised for that just as hard. You could equally argue that producing new works is a major part of their heritage - Ashton and McMillan were new once.  And not everything that McMillan produced was good.

 

I think too that ballet and theatre generally have forgotten the value of entertainment for people's health and well being. People don't flock to 'feel good' pieces because they are somehow culturally poverty stricken, they do it because it makes them feel better. I know that theatre has a role in holding up a mirror to society and asking serious questions about life and morality, but so can every other art form including newspaper columnists and the bloke down the pub. Where theatre does something unique is in getting a crowd of people together and laughing - the health benefits of this are considerable. 

[Linnzi5]

8 hours ago, alison said:

 

Well, yes, I take your point, Linnzi5, but this has been going on before the pandemic, when the financial situation wasn't nearly as pressing.

 

But yes, regardless of the quality of the current state of the company, I must admit that boredom is starting to settle in.  I almost can't believe it, so short a time after lockdown - and of course the exorbitant prices of the formerly cheap seats haven't helped - but I'm finding it hard to care that I've booked so few tickets so far this season.  Only 2 for Don Q - and one presumably to be sacrificed to the rail strike, at that? :shrug:   Not even bothering to book at all for certain programmes? :shrug:  "Oh well, it's only Don Quixote / Nutcracker / Swan Lake ... - hardly vital"  It's all getting rather stale, to my mind - and I'd rather save my limited funds for the less-frequently performed works.  What's bugging me more is that there's so little alternative ballet around without having to travel significantly.  Maybe I should take up crochet or something ...

I do understand what you are saying. Good luck taking up crochet  🤣

 

I think, because I made a vow to start attending more 'live' ballet over lockdown (once things were back to 'normal' again), that I am in a different situation to a lot of forum members. Though I have loved and attended local live ballet performances for decades (including annual ROH visits for Nutcracker and whenever Swan Lake is performed), I watched ballet virtually solely on DVDs (I own just about all that is available!). So, I am not bored of DQ, Manon etc. as I have not seen them performed live at ROH. For me, having the opportunity to watch these ballets now is wonderful and I am very excited. In fact, I cannot wait for the Ashton and MacMillan triples, whereas maybe to some people these are not so exciting? I can't wait for Romeo and Juliet again, Giselle etc. I do want to see Fille though and am disappointed this has not been scheduled.

[OnePigeon]

I’m sure it’s possible for them to stage Les Noces within a triple bill without it being a guaranteed money loser.  Having said that, the timing of the centenary is tricky for them within the season and in all honesty, I would have been satisfied if the ENB had staged it instead of that god awful sixth form drama version they did dance - quite a baffling decision, but there you go.
 

The RB take enough chances on new choreographers and untried new pieces, why not also stage some ballets that haven’t been seen or danced in generations?  I suspect their arts council funding dictates that they focus on new works and I have no problem with them doing a profit making Nutcracker season, but I do agree that their current programming is very uninspired and they could surely bring some lesser seen works to light if they program them strategically.  There are some genuine crowd pleasers such as the aforementioned Fille which I’m sure would sell well, which are yet to see the light of day and I do rather wonder if some of the programming is simply down to a matter of personal taste?  
 

I am firmly of the opinion that programming a variety of work from their history should be part of their remit and that it does matter that we get the chance to see these works and the dancers are given the opportunity to dance them and keep them alive.  It doesn’t mean they have to revive throwaway or less artistically successful works, but there are so many that rarely are staged while it feels like we have the same few on constant rotation.  When I see the way NYCB celebrate and honour the legacy of Balanchine and Robbins it makes me sad that we will not do the same in this country and that by not doing so we diminish the legacy and reputation of our great choreographers, insinuating they are second rate and passé,  instead of celebrating them and presenting them proudly.

[Scheherezade]

7 minutes ago, OnePigeon said:

When I see the way NYCB celebrate and honour the legacy of Balanchine and Robbins it makes me sad that we will not do the same in this country and that by not doing so we diminish the legacy and reputation of our great choreographers, insinuating they are second rate and passé,  instead of celebrating them and presenting them proudly.

 

I so agree. And isn't this a particularly British thing, in the arts as in everything - the seeming need to apologise for our past achievements rather than celebrate them.

[San Perregrino]

Given that the RB shares the ROH with the RO, there are fewer opportunities for RB performances than I would wish for be they those currently performed on a regular basis or those in mothballs.
The company has so much depth and breadth of talent that is under-utilised that foreign audiences sometime see more of RB dancers than we do. 
If more performance dates were available perhaps we’d see more of ‘our’ RB dancers on domestic stages and the repertoire could be expanded beyond the cash cows and new commissions to include past works that aren’t currently danced.

The creation of an RB2 company dancing on a smaller London stage might address those ballets which people yearn for but for which the main stage wouldn’t sell out. 

Sadlers Wells East is due to open soon, the increased capacity across London may offer up opportunities hitherto unavailable. 
Start small but aim high. A sell-out in a smaller venue can create demand for a larger audience. e.g. plays that start in the Dorfman that transfer to the Olivier or the Lyttleton at a later date. 

 

[Scheherezade]

22 minutes ago, DVDfan said:

As far as heritage is concerned, I don't think RB can win. If they focus on their heritage they won't be able to do any new work, and they would be criticised for that just as hard. You could equally argue that producing new works is a major part of their heritage - Ashton and McMillan were new once.  And not everything that McMillan produced was good.

 

I do, of course, agree that heritage works were once new and that new works have to be part of the mix. Just not the only part. Can't we have a balance? And what came of the pre-lockdown suggestion that the Linbury could be used for smaller stage heritage works?

 

Edited to add that I totally agree with your other comments about the joy and overall value of feelgood pieces. Who doesn't like going home on a high?

Edited September 24, 2023 by Scheherezade

[Emeralds]

I concur with FLOSS on this because:

 

a) I notice that a lot of Ashton works that I think would have been great on the company - for the dancers, the fans  and the box office- have been ignored for a number of seasons, and lovely works made for the Royal Ballet itself by Ashton, Cranko, Macmillan and Bintley are now performed more by other companies rather than RB,

 

b) I’m still very annoyed that for Fonteyn’s centenary nothing was done until a last minute belated gala was hurriedly put together after clamouring from fans (and the insult of putting on a triple bill of Cherkaoui/ Wheeldon/ Pite works that had nothing to do with Fonteyn on both the matinee and evening shows on the day of her birthday,  that didn’t sell that well and was ultimately depressing to attend despite excellent performances by the dancers and musicians). RB in large part still owes some of its reputation to Fonteyn - I know many members of the public who aren’t ballet fans who are completely blank and not at all interested in Balanchine/McGregor/Wheeldon etc but if you said Fonteyn they would say “Ah! She was incredible! Shall we go to see Royal Ballet?” (And no, these are not 90 year olds. They’re young enough to click on the ROH website and spend a lot on tickets.) 

 

c) the current RB leadership basically ignore all anniversaries which would have been lovely for audiences, and a money spinner at the box office (the way Mozart and Beethoven anniversaries were a box office hit for orchestras, record labels, and event promoters) if presented right. It wouldn’t have taken much to present Sylvia on 18 May 2019 as well as the rest of that month, considering it sold out on its last run in Dec 2017.

 

Re: Les Noces, I don’t feel that RB is Ballets Russes 2.0 and it’s their “obligation” or duty to be the ones to commemorate Noces or Nijinska  - there are other companies around the world more closely associated or indebted to Nijinska/Ballets Russes/Stravinsky and could easily acquire and present the ballet.

 

I’m afraid I am one of the regulars who (perhaps due to having attended Les Noces many times in its previous revivals) is now bored of Noces in the traditional/authentic Nijinska version. Not because it’s a terrible ballet -far from it; it’s  a masterpiece - but because in being very dutiful to authenticity or the details, it’s begun to look very samey at ROH whichever cast dances it. Granted if you are a tourist or a newcomer who has never seen the ballet before, it will be fascinating and enjoyable!  (I also find it a bit boring when they keep casting dancers for the parents and the bride, groom and friends all looking about the same age and they end up looking like identically dressed peasants just jumping about and looking glum.) On the other hand, I would watch a visiting company that I’ve never seen before (eg Staatsballett Berlin? Norwegian National Ballet?) dancing it on tour here should they wish to bring it, because it would be a completely new group of dancers.

 

However, I’d be happy to watch Les Noces presented by RBS (which they could pull off as it’s not a technically demanding ballet unlike some others in the repertoire, and the RBS students have performed harder ones)  with some RB dancers as part of a joint bill (like they did with the RBS in Cunning Little Vixen and RB in The Two Pigeons, which was for me one of the best ROH performances I ever saw of all time, and I have seen loads). The younger peasants, bride, groom etc could be danced by the students while the parents could be danced by veteran RB character artists or soloists, who have the maturity for the acting as well as looking more convincingly like possible parents of the youngsters. And it would be a beneficial and fun change for the older RBS students (a good addition to the cv). 

 

I’d also prefer to see Les Biches (The Does), Checkmate and The Rake’s Progress than yet more non-classical/unpopular contemporary work revivals.  Besides their excellent choreography, they have more saleable names to promote for marketing rather than some of the contemporary works/premieres.  Personally I’d rather buy tickets to The Rake’s Progress and Job than Prodigal Son again, because TRP and Job hardly ever get performed. I do accept that for some fans it’s  the other way round, so perhaps alternating mixed bills like what RB did in the past and what the Alvin Ailey company did this month at Sadler’s Wells, eg a few shows with ballets A, B and C, a few with ballets A,C, D, and a couple with B, D, E etc, might be better. 

Edited September 24, 2023 by Emeralds

[Sim]

7 hours ago, Tango Dancer said:

 

Yeah I never saw Alain as being someone with learning difficulties.  I just thought he was eccentric and someone who walked to the beat of his own drummer.  It wasn't like he was particularly interested in Lise and he seemed happy at the end to have his umbrella and a happy life.  I mean I grew up in small towns and villages and most of them had an eccentric loner who had not much interest in women.  

From a young child I have always been very uncomfortable with people being laughed at for any emotional, mental or physical disabilities.  I never had any truck with it, and never involve myself with anything that makes fun of such people.  However, the fact that I have never felt uncomfortable watching Fille tells me that there is nothing cruel or nasty about it.  Alain is gently teased by the villagers but loves it when the girls tickle him.  I always think of him as a boy who has had a very sheltered upbringing and simply prefers his own company and that of his umbrella.  He is immature and has no interest whatsoever in Lise or marriage.  I never see him as being portrayed as the village idiot, or a mentally deficient boy.  He is, as someone said, eccentric and a loner.  My father was a Fulbright Scholar with a PhD, Masters and a BA, and a professor for most of his career.  However, if you had seen him trying to get in and out of a car or the sea, trying to boil an egg or change a lightbulb or hammer in a nail, you would definitely have thought that he had serious issues. He was convinced once that the cat had eaten his hard plastic contact lens box (I can hear my mother now, telling him not to be so ridiculous and how could a cat possibly eat a hard plastic box, but he was having none of it.  My brothers and I had to run into the other room because we were laughing so hard)  because he couldn't find it anywhere.  Where was it?  In the bathroom cabinet, where it should have been.  He was one of the cleverest men I have ever known...but just from watching him day to day, you would never, ever have known it.  Maybe Alain is similar?  

[jm365]

And when Alain was danced by Alexander Grant, I think there was never anyone who needed to feel upset by his portrayal.

[AnneL]

Some random observations:

I have seen the RB Les Noces twice, the first time with Svetlana Beriosova and Derek Rencher. It was unforgettable. I would love it to be dome again with the memorable Stravinsky score. Its link to the RB is because of Ashton, who asked his mentor, Nijinska to stage it. So as with the Firebird- another masterpiece - it links to the Ballets Russes via the RB. The RB is therefore part of these works’ histories, in a similar way to - say - Swan Lake. 
I agree the programming is currently uninspiring for regular fans like me and I admit to not being a big Nutcracker enthusiast. Yes, it’s bums on seats, but there are plenty of other productions in town, and the RB is in receipt of public subsidy, so why is money such an overwhelming consideration? ( I am not denying its importance). In earlier decades the RB would mount different ‘family’ ballets at Christmas - maybe Coppelia or Cinderella. I think this would be a healthier approach and would be very surprised if they didn’t sell out at that time of year. As traditions go, endless RB Nutcrackers is a recent one (unlike for NYCB). ‘Everyone wants Nutcracker at Christmas’ has become a self-fulfilling prophecy when people are only offered Nutcracker at Christmas.

Re Alain, the part was created by Ashton for one of his favourite dancers, Alexander Grant, so how can it be anything but an affectionate portrait?

Finally, I would love to see Sylvia again- one of the greatest yet most underrated ballet scores! 

[alison]

12 hours ago, Linnzi5 said:

I think, because I made a vow to start attending more 'live' ballet over lockdown (once things were back to 'normal' again), that I am in a different situation to a lot of forum members.

 

That's an attitude I can understand, because it's one I shared - or at least, I thought I did.  So - even disregarding the financial side - I'm rather surprised to find myself feeling this way.

[JNC]

I think most of the comments on this thread show a good understanding for the financial side (eg compromise or fine with nutcracker being an annual thing) but still want more diversity in programming.

 

I agree re phrases such as “boredom setting in” and “uninspiring”. It feels now if you’ve been watching RB since a few years before the pandemic everything has come round again once at least with the exception of some mentioned here (Onegin, Coppelia, bits of Ashton and Balanchine and Robbins). 
 

I think the company has enough talent now to do Nutcracker alongside a mixed bill (eg Les Patineurs, still kicking myself for not seeing this pre pandemic) or Manon alongside an Ashton or “heritage” triple. 
 

I love Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty but even I can’t face much more, next year for Swan Lake I’d like to see Nunez as I’ve missed her so far but at these prices I won’t bother with other casts. 
 

The only programmes I’ve been really excited by post pandemic have been the Cinderella revival and Ashton triples (last year’s plus next year’s). I’m also looking forward to the MacMillan triple just because it’s not one of his “big three”! 
 

I would love to see Bayadere, Fille, Sylvia (more Ashton really), Les Noces (either Nijinska or a reworking could be interesting), things like Rite of Spring, more Balanchine or even MacMillan triples. At this point I’m not holding my breath.

 

Even a pretty serious ballet fan like me can only take so much repetition and the lack of diversity in programming is depressing. It feels a decline of the RB at a time when the standard of the dancers is so high so wasteful - we barely see many principals as with the mammoth long runs of some productions over months they are cast only twice. 
 

I get the financial argument to a point but there seems enough money to do a new MacGregor every year…

[Tango Dancer]

45 minutes ago, JNC said:

I think most of the comments on this thread show a good understanding for the financial side (eg compromise or fine with nutcracker being an annual thing) but still want more diversity in programming.

 

I agree re phrases such as “boredom setting in” and “uninspiring”. It feels now if you’ve been watching RB since a few years before the pandemic everything has come round again once at least with the exception of some mentioned here (Onegin, Coppelia, bits of Ashton and Balanchine and Robbins). 
 

I think the company has enough talent now to do Nutcracker alongside a mixed bill (eg Les Patineurs, still kicking myself for not seeing this pre pandemic) or Manon alongside an Ashton or “heritage” triple. 
 

I love Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty but even I can’t face much more, next year for Swan Lake I’d like to see Nunez as I’ve missed her so far but at these prices I won’t bother with other casts. 

 

I'd agree.  The programming feels a bit uninspired and repetitive if you're comparing it with some of the other ballet companies which are being a bit more innovative with new work as well as reviving old favourites, e.g. NB combining a well received new triple with old favourites Romeo and Juliet and Beauty and the Beast, BRB doing Black Sabbath (not my scene) with the Still Life at Penguin Cafe triple and Sleeping Beauty, Scottish Ballet doing a version of Coppelia which sold out at SW.  

 

I think the other thing is there's a lot more competition for RB nowadays so they don't have a guaranteed audience.  Sadlers Wells has a varied programme of touring dance companies as do other venues.  Having just moved out of London, I'm quite surprised by how much dance is available around the country and am not going to London for things nearly as much as I expected, not least because it gets quite pricy.  

 

 

[alison]

2 hours ago, JNC said:

I agree re phrases such as “boredom setting in” and “uninspiring”. It feels now if you’ve been watching RB since a few years before the pandemic everything has come round again once at least with the exception of some mentioned here (Onegin, Coppelia, bits of Ashton and Balanchine and Robbins). 
 

I think the company has enough talent now to do Nutcracker alongside a mixed bill (eg Les Patineurs, still kicking myself for not seeing this pre pandemic) or Manon alongside an Ashton or “heritage” triple. 

 

They may have the talent, but I'm not sure they really have the dancer capacity.  I think Kevin O'Hare, probably at a Ballet Association meeting, indicated that it was too much for the dancers to put on another bill around Christmas in addition to Nutcracker (although that may have been in relation to the Nutcracker/Sleeping Beauty combination of a few years back).  

 

As for the boredom factor, heaven knows the company has enough good dancers to make me happy to see them in the works I'm less interested in, at normal prices, but I'd rather prioritise and save my money for the programmes coming up in future periods, because heaven knows how much the tickets are going to cost for those now.  By that time, I suppose, it will be too late to book anything for the previous periods.

[capybara]

Would Nutcracker and Cinderella be too much for the dancers?

Maybe it’s the rehearsal logistics which are the deal breaker for that or another combo?

[San Perregrino]

11 minutes ago, capybara said:

Would Nutcracker and Cinderella be too much for the dancers?

Maybe it’s the rehearsal logistics which are the deal breaker for that or another combo?

As I mentioned up-thread, logistics at the ROH aren’t limited to just the RB, they mean juggling the Royal Opera alongside the Royal Ballet. That might be the deal-breaker? 

[jmhopton]

3 hours ago, JNC said:

I get the financial argument to a point but there seems enough money to do a new MacGregor every year…

I agree totally, JNC. Like most people here I'm OK with the Nutcracker if it steadies the finances but then I'd like them to use more of those finances to devote to at least one heritage programme a year (is two too much to ask for? with possibly a full length such as Sylvia and a mixed bill whether it be Ashton,  Macmillan,  Balanchine or Robbins). It's so long since many of their short ballets have been seen they will be 'new' ballets to much of the audience.  I know this year we're not doing too bad with the Macmillan triple and all the Ashton in June including Sarasota Ballet, but like JNC says if the RB is as short of money as Alex Beard and Kevin O' Hare say, how come they can afford a new full length commission every year? I know a company needs new works (and possibly the Arts Council demands it) but does it have to be every year? I've said before, the RB huge  rep. can end up being a bit of a curse as new works take a lot of finance and stage time and add to the rep, so the heritage rep. gets squeezed out between the new works and classical cash cows as sadly they are deemed most dispensable. Its terrible that someone like Vadim may only have 3 Don Qs and 2 or 3 Nutcrackers before Christmas and then 2 or 3 Manons and Swan Lakes after Christmas before the Ashton in June.  No wonder principals are always guesting elsewhere, they've nothing else to do, whereas if there were more short programmes they'd have more to do and we wouldn't be as bored. I don't see why they can't do a double or triple the same time as Nutcracker for those who want a bit of variety for their Christmas entertainment.  I wouldn't be surprised if they don't do Cinderella next Christmas for a change to recoup their outlay, and was Coppelia financially successful when they did that Christmas 2019? There may be occasional alternatives to Nutcracker EVERY year.

 

[capybara]

10 minutes ago, PeterS said:

As I mentioned up-thread, logistics at the ROH aren’t limited to just the RB, they mean juggling the Royal Opera alongside the Royal Ballet. That might be the deal-breaker? 

Yes, I know but opera performances are largely absent over Christmas. And there have been years when a triple bill has been put into the festive mix.

3 hours ago, JNC said:

 I get the financial argument to a point but there seems enough money to do a new MacGregor every year…

There must be some ongoing guarantees associated with McGregor’s position. But, after 10+ years, any that assure him of yearly commissions and/or performances of his works require amendment on both artistic and economic grounds.

4 hours ago, JNC said:

I agree re phrases such as “boredom setting in” and “uninspiring”.
(……..)

It feels a decline of the RB at a time when the standard of the dancers is so high and so wasteful - we barely see many principals as with the mammoth long runs of some productions over months they are cast only twice. 

Agree. BRB, ENB and Northern are now the companies offering the ‘must see’ programmes and generating excitement around ballet. The RB needs a good shake (and I include in that the need to celebrate its past and some works from earlier times).

And don’t get me started (again) on the subject of several Principals being hardly ever seen.

9 minutes ago, jmhopton said:

I know this year we're not doing too bad with the Macmillan triple and all the Ashton in June including Sarasota Ballet.

I’m somewhat confused about the Sarasota/RB mix as the programme is pretty much the same for the dates clearly shown as Sarasota and those not.

And there is The Winter’s Tale revival in which, surely, some interesting debuts can be anticipated.

[San Perregrino]

19 minutes ago, jmhopton said:

Vadim may only have 3 Don Qs and 2 or 3 Nutcrackers before Christmas

Vadim isn’t dancing Nutcracker until 5th & 10th January. Plenty of tickets still available for both performances.

[Jan McNulty]

I think the RB and BRB are between a rock and a hard place in respect of rep as they are both keepers of historic works that we fans would like to see in the mix with newer works.

 

In respect of Northern Ballet, Christopher Gable had jettisoned all the previous rep within 2 years of taking over the company and it was the same when David Nixon took over.  Mind you, a couple of chums and I had a conversation with David Nixon, asking if some of our favourite of his works could be brought back (specifically I Got Rhythm but others too) and he answered that tastes change and some ballets would now not work however much we wanted to see them again.

 

It is not a dissimilar position with ENB over recent years where ballets I remember seeing when I was first a ballet watcher and that I would love to see them perform again eg Onegin (my fondest memories are of LFB/ENB performances rather than RB), Peter Schaufuss production of La Sylphide, Napoli, L'Arlisienne, Three Preludes and more.  I've not enjoyed any of the company's Nutcrackers since the Schaufuss version.  I am thrilled that we've got the 2 Giselles coming up though and am interested to see the direction ASW takes the company.

 

Christopher Hampson has molded Scottish Ballet into the company of his vision.

 

With BRB I worry about where Acosta's vision will take the company.  Having seen him give a couple of online talks during lockdown where he said we would not see any of the historic works for at least five years, I am glad to see that he seems to have stepped back a bit from those sweeping statements given we've had Swan Lake, a great mixed programme (which I was devastated to miss) and we've got Sleeping Beauty coming up.  The Birmingham June season usually gave us a mixed bill but there isn't a June season next year.  I've not seen anything about the annual evening at Symphony Hall yet either.

[capybara]

14 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

I think the RB and BRB are between a rock and a hard place in respect of rep as they are both keepers of historic works that we fans would like to see in the mix with newer works.

 

In respect of Northern Ballet, Christopher Gable had jettisoned all the previous rep within 2 years of taking over the company and it was the same when David Nixon took over.  Mind you, a couple of chums and I had a conversation with David Nixon, asking if some of our favourite of his works could be brought back (specifically I Got Rhythm but others too) and he answered that tastes change and some ballets would now not work however much we wanted to see them again.

 

It is not a dissimilar position with ENB over recent years where ballets I remember seeing when I was first a ballet watcher and that I would love to see them perform again eg Onegin (my fondest memories are of LFB/ENB performances rather than RB), Peter Schaufuss production of La Sylphide, Napoli, L'Arlisienne, Three Preludes and more.  I've not enjoyed any of the company's Nutcrackers since the Schaufuss version.  I am thrilled that we've got the 2 Giselles coming up though and am interested to see the direction ASW takes the company.

 

Christopher Hampson has molded Scottish Ballet into the company of his vision.

 

With BRB I worry about where Acosta's vision will take the company.  Having seen him give a couple of online talks during lockdown where he said we would not see any of the historic works for at least five years, I am glad to see that he seems to have stepped back a bit from those sweeping statements given we've had Swan Lake, a great mixed programme (which I was devastated to miss) and we've got Sleeping Beauty coming up.  The Birmingham June season usually gave us a mixed bill but there isn't a June season next year.  I've not seen anything about the annual evening at Symphony Hall yet either.

 

Some very interesting points there, Jan.

[bridiem]

The problem with directors who change the whole rep when or soon after they arrive is that it effectively becomes their company, not the company they inherited. All companies have a history and heritage without which there would be no company, and I don't think it's right for a new director to pay lip service to this whilst then re-making the company in their own image. There has to be a balance between the director's vision and the company's history/heritage.

 

I don't think that Kevin O'Hare gets this balance quite right; not in that he has a big vision (or a big ego) but in that he focusses too much on only the new and the classics (including the MacMillan 'classics' but not, for some reason, the Ashton 'classics'). He pays lip service to the history/heritage, but doesn't on the whole programme accordingly. I can't really understand why this is.

[San Perregrino]

 

56 minutes ago, capybara said:

Yes, I know but opera performances are largely absent over Christmas. And there have been years when a triple bill has been put into the festive mix.

 

IIRC, last December together with Nutcracker, the main house was replete with Bohème, Tosca, and/or perhaps Traviata? 

 

from 1/12 to 31/12 this year there will be 3 Dante & 19 Nutcracker  = total 22 ballets

alongside 6 Cav & Pag & 9 Hansel & Gretel = total 15 operas

WWGF will also occupy the Linbury.

 

so, actually, not an insignificant amount of opera competing for the same space as the ballet over the Christmas period.

 

 

Edited September 25, 2023 by PeterS

[alison]

I think, though, the demands on the lower levels of the hierarchy for Nutcracker are too high.  It might conceivably be possible to fit a "small" triple bill with small casts in, I suppose, possibly using mainly higher-ranked dancers?  Say some of Winter Dreams / Symphonic Variations / Les Patineurs / In the Night / Monotones / some diverts?  In fact, some of those did feature in the most recent couple of Christmastime mixed bills.

[Ondine]

2 hours ago, capybara said:

Would Nutcracker and Cinderella be too much for the dancers?

Maybe it’s the rehearsal logistics which are the deal breaker for that or another combo?

 

It's not only the dancers. The sets, lighting, props, costumes, orchestra, conductors...   the logistics of doing those side by side? Horrific!

[Tango Dancer]

1 hour ago, Jan McNulty said:

I think the RB and BRB are between a rock and a hard place in respect of rep as they are both keepers of historic works that we fans would like to see in the mix with newer works.

 

In respect of Northern Ballet, Christopher Gable had jettisoned all the previous rep within 2 years of taking over the company and it was the same when David Nixon took over.  Mind you, a couple of chums and I had a conversation with David Nixon, asking if some of our favourite of his works could be brought back (specifically I Got Rhythm but others too) and he answered that tastes change and some ballets would now not work however much we wanted to see them again.

 

 

I shall be most interested with NB to see where Federico Bonelli takes it.  So far in his first proper season we have the mixed programme (1 old and 2 new), David Nixons Beauty and the Beast and Nutcracker and Christopher Gable and Massimo Morricone's 1991 Romeo and Juliet.  Which is an interesting mixture.  I hope he won't discard all of the old repertoire but I'm liking his thinking so far.  

[miliosr]

On the theme of Les Noces . . .

 

On 23/09/2023 at 06:23, capybara said:

I take your point, @FLOSS but I don't want to see some of those older ballets - e.g. The Rake's Progress; Job and, yes, Les Noces . The fact that they bore me and others of my (older) generation does rather suggest that they might not pull in a more modern-thinking audience.

Having seen the Ballet West revival in Salt Lake City in spring 2023, I can say that Les Noces is more modern - after a century - than many of the self-consciously "modern" works premiered these days.

 

On 23/09/2023 at 06:26, Ondine said:

It isn't something can be thrown together quickly. It's not been in the rep for a considerable time. I'm not even sure who could stage it, Monica Mason has of course danced in it.

The Ballet West production proved that Les Noces is perfectly revivable. Now, if the Royal Ballet were to consider reviving it, they might have to admit weakness and go outside the house walls to find someone to stage it.

 

On 24/09/2023 at 05:55, Emeralds said:

The younger peasants, bride, groom etc could be danced by the students while the parents could be danced by veteran RB character artists or soloists, who have the maturity for the acting as well as looking more convincingly like possible parents of the youngsters.

This was the greatest flaw in the Ballet West production. The parents were cast with dancers who were in the same age bracket as the bride and groom. So, the story point was lost because the parents and the bridal couple all looked like siblings.

 

18 hours ago, AnneL said:

I have seen the RB Les Noces twice, the first time with Svetlana Beriosova and Derek Rencher. It was unforgettable. I would love it to be dome again with the memorable Stravinsky score. Its link to the RB is because of Ashton, who asked his mentor, Nijinska to stage it. So as with the Firebird- another masterpiece - it links to the Ballets Russes via the RB. The RB is therefore part of these works’ histories, in a similar way to - say - Swan Lake.

The revival of Les Noces at the Royal Ballet in the 1960s was major event in the Ashton directorship, in the company's history and in classical dance more generally. On those grounds alone, it was worth reviving at the Royal Ballet in its centennial year. But then this gets back to FLOSS's original point - that the O'Hare directorship is heedless of the past.

Edited September 25, 2023 by miliosr

[Emeralds]

I notice that the last time the RB did Les Patineurs (with Winter Dreams and The Concert), they performed it on 18, 19, 20 (matinee and evening) Dec 2018 and  2, 4 Jan 2019 so it was timed around Christmas and in between  Nutcracker, which was performed from 3 Dec to 15 Jan (a very long run of Nutcracker)! So a very short run of the triple bill with only 6 shows, which seems an odd decision when it has well liked ballets that aren’t staged very often. The triple bill sold very well and was actually harder to get good seats for than Nutcracker or the new production of Swan Lake that had premiered 7 months earlier. They could easily do it again in late November to early December which is within the festive season. 

 

I agree with those points, @miliosr. I generally try not to “judge” dancers according to age, eg I’m very happy to see 35-40 year old Juliets or 35-40 year old Romeos when they can dance and act much younger than their actual birth certificate age. It’s more a problem, I find, when the roles of the  parents are danced by dancers who are young and they move like teenagers rather than with the gravity and slowness that comes on with age. RB dancers are not bad actors, but sometimes I’ve ended up with a third cast, especially when there are illness or injury substitutions, where a parent and the bride or groom are similar in age and because the choreography and costume is both prescriptive and restrictive, there is not a lot of leeway for the dancers to add to their mime or movements to show they are older or younger. 

 

I notice that a lot of fellow members asking to see Les Noces say they have only seen it a couple of times, so maybe that’s why they would like a repeat whereas I’ve seen it more than 15 times, and have to say, unfortunately it’s not like seeing Romeo and Juliet, or Giselle, or Swan Lake 30 times with different leads. Maybe it’s the way it has been revived, but after about the 7th or 8th viewing, it seems to be the gift that stops giving, unlike Swan Lake or Giselle. 

 

The company also seem to typecast who can be cast as the bride and groom- typically, tall dancers who are either soloists or first soloists or character artists (although Zenaida Yanowsky did continue performing it after her promotion to principal, and she was brilliant as the bride, but she was the exception). Why do they all have to be tall? Can’t short or medium height people get married in fictional peasant culture?? 😮😂

 

I would like to have seen Laura Morera and Romany Pajdak as the bride, Brian Maloney and Thiago Soares as the groom, all of whom are expressive and insightful dance actors, but that never happened, and all of them except Pajdak have now left.  So maybe some of the “samey” predictable impression I get, although it’s beautifully danced, sung and played, is also from casting many of the same people repeatedly. 

Edited September 25, 2023 by Emeralds

[Richard LH]

On 23/09/2023 at 19:40, Linnzi5 said:

My only gripe is lack of Fille - it is such a charming, feel good, delightful ballet and I love it - it is so disappointing that it's being ignored and I don't understand why and hope the rumours of it being 'not politically correct' are incorrect, because, really? 

I think I have said this before.....I can't see any serious cause for offence with Fille, and the ROH must feel the same, otherwise they would not be streaming it.

[AnneMarriott]

2 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

I think I have said this before.....I can't see any serious cause for offence with Fille, and the ROH must feel the same, otherwise they would not be streaming it.

No-one who has posted here on this point feels there is a problem.  Nor do I personally, and I speak as someone who had a physically and mentally handicapped younger brother (now sadly no longer with us) and witnessed at first hand the mockery he suffered from members of the public.  Alain was undoubtedly created as an affectionate depiction of an innocent, unworldly and awkward individual, totally unsuitable as a prospective husband but, as sometimes performed, he can come across as a laughing stock and in these times of political correctness it may be that there is pause for thought before staging a work that COULD cause offence.  Of course it's always possible that the problem lies with the participation of the pony - animal exploitation etc.

[Anna C]

That’s a good point, Anne.  However, in other ballets containing elements that weren’t originally but are are now considered problematic, those elements (be they costume/makeup or choreography) can be - and have been - altered.  I’m thinking in particular of the Tea/Chinese dance in RB’s Nutcracker, where both costume/props and choreography have been changed.  
 

I can see no reason why Alain couldn’t be portrayed as more “eccentric bachelor”, totally uninterested in/unaware of marriage, than someone with developmental delay/learning difficulties, who is laughed AT, as opposed to laughed WITH.  Likewise, as much as I enjoyed Naughty Peregrine the pony, he’s not pivotal to the story.  
 

People may have their own views on modernising certain dances/portrayals, but surely it’s better to do that than not perform the production at all?