Jeannette Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 (edited) I was up early to enjoy Tchaikovsky Overtures! Wasn’t Shale Wagman fantastic as the Spirit figure? So fluid and musical! I also loved Osiel Gouneo - such a powerful performer - as Hamlet. The Munich company has quite a cadre of top male dancers. Women are excellent too…but the male soloists are out of this world (McKay, Acosta, Casslinho, etc.). Edited January 7 by Jeannette 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabine0308 Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 (edited) 7 hours ago, Jeannette said: I was up early to enjoy Tchaikovsky Overtures! Wasn’t Shale Wagman fantastic as the Spirit figure? So fluid and musical! I also loved Osiel Gouneo - such a powerful performer - as Hamlet. The Munich company has quite a cadre of top male dancers. Women are excellent too…but the male soloists are out of this world (McKay, Acosta, Casslinho, etc.). Shale Wagman was just PERFECT for this role. His artistry is just shown in every single movement and facial expression. I was very sceptical about the combination of Opera singers and a ballet dancer onstage, I thought the singers would distract from the dancing. But no, of course Mr. Wagman owns the stage, and singers and dancer complemented each other. The beautiful music did the "rest". Little Antonio Casalinho was a whirlwind. I also liked Osiel Gouneo as Hamlet, although he seemed to have lost a bit stamina in the end, just like Yonah Acosta. I cannot say much about Julian Mackay, he didn't have much solo time and the choreo made it difficult to see the main roles of R&J stand out. Altogether I found the choreography a bit repetitive in movements, and although the host in the introduction said that it isn't a narrative ballet, the stories did show up, or were altered. Which was a bit strange imo. I have to see this live! Edited January 7 by Sabine0308 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tattin Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 I have just watched it twice and hope to able to watch for a third time while it is still available. I agree, by and large,with the two comments above: Shale Wagman was superb, incredibly expressive and musical, and Antonio Casalinho amazing; I kept expecting him to flake during that long, fast solo as Ariel, but no - he just kept going as strong as ever and really deserved the applause. I found it strange that, although they were announced as not being narrative works, the plot of The Tempest was perfectly clear. The only thing I really missed, however, was seeing Capulets and Montagues in different costumes in the R &J act. But what a joy it is to see Ratmansky's magnificent use of the classical idiom! 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annamk Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 I really really enjoyed watching this; very grateful to Munich Staatsballett for making it available. I need to rewatch to make any considered comment but I agree with posters above about the dancing of Shale Wagman, Antonio Casalinho and Osiel Gouneo. For me the costumes, lighting and staging could perhaps have been more attractive/striking/interesting but I found the choreography incredibly appealing - rather the opposite of Wayne McGregor. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeannette Posted January 7 Author Share Posted January 7 (edited) Watched again. What a lovely, satisfying ballet. (Ratmansky keeps on hitting!) This was a film of the December 2022 premiere. The bows included Ratmansky, wearing blue and yellow boutonnière, in honor of Ukraine. MacKay was more than a partner…he WAS the gorgeous dancing Romeo! 💕 Gouneo lost steam at the very end of his section…all of what happened to Hamlet! Its too bad that not all soloists in Hamlet were named, e.g., who danced Ophelia and the King & Queen? The soloists for the other two segments were named in the talking portions. Edited January 7 by Jeannette 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaM Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 @Jeannette I will watch later and can identify some of the dancers. In the meantime here is the full cast list https://www.staatsoper.de/media/user_upload/BSB_2223_TSCH-OUVERTUEREN_BZ__10S__2022_12_23__I.pdf which I found embedded on this page of their website about the premiere show https://www.staatsoper.de/en/productions/tchaikovsky-overtures/2022-12-23-1930-13253 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabine0308 Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 (edited) 1 hour ago, Jeannette said: Watched again. What a lovely, satisfying ballet. (Ratmansky keeps on hitting!) This was a film of the December 2022 premiere. The bows included Ratmansky, wearing blue and yellow boutonnière, in honor of Ukraine. This confused me a bit. On instagram someone asked about cast and performance date for this VOD, and the ig team for Bavarian State Ballet answered "from 2nd and 3rd performance after the premiere". Well the bows were obviously from the premiere night. Prisca Zeisel and Matteo Dilaghi were King and Queen, Bianca Teixeira was Ophelia, if I'm right. Edited January 7 by Sabine0308 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Drat. Looks as though I've missed this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myrtle Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 30 minutes ago, alison said: Drat. Looks as though I've missed this? The link is still up for me. Please check again if still interested. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 I've had a quick look, but my bed is calling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabine0308 Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 5 hours ago, alison said: I've had a quick look, but my bed is calling Until 10 am today (CET).🤞 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Oh my goodness me. How can an "abstract" ballet be so emotionally moving? I feel as though I've been put through a wringer. I loved the choreography, I loved the set, I loved the music and (most of all) I loved the dancers. I would love to see it live!! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Perregrino Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 I just managed to watch this before it goes offline. Thank you so much for the link. How refreshing to see a recent new piece of work properly lit to display the dancers and the choreography in such a way that it complements their talents and shows them to their best advantage. McGregor could & should learn from this. The Hamlet section choreography had echos of McGregor’s Inferno from Dante Project and made me think how much better the latter would perhaps have been received if it had been better lit. Hamlet and The Tempest worked best for me. The combination and interweaving of classical and modern dance vocabularies illustrates that it is not necessary to throw away the ‘old’ in order to bring in ‘the new’. The talents and stage charisma of Shale Wagman and Antonio Casalinho are exceptional. I may save up to travel to see them live. R&J didn’t have the same impact and would perhaps be better enjoyed live. I found both the singers and the singing distracting and definitely wouldn’t have had them centre stage with a solo was being danced. Very pleased to have been able to watch this. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Maybe they'll put it up online again at some stage, in which case it really isn't to be missed. I do wish they'd listed the "acts" below the video, though: I wasted a lot of valuable time trying to work out which was what, and when they started. As I said, I only managed to catch fairly brief snatches of each, and now need to get back to my pressing deadline, so couldn't have done any watching this morning. Perhaps a shame that it was shown Sunday-Monday rather than Saturday-Sunday? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 I agree entirely Peter: it does show it's possible to make something modern, innovative, not lumbered with too much sentiment and narrative, and yet- not breaking up the classical line and language but using it to create a deeply satisfying dance that reaches us, and means something, without any need for words in a programme. And- lit so we can see it all! Very moving indeed- the music does help rather. The dancers are all good but what glorious men they have. I'd love to see this in the UK. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeannette Posted January 8 Author Share Posted January 8 What a gift was this stream…and my husband and I celebrated Orthodox Christmas yesterday! Timing was perfect for us (the Caribbean is in eastern-US time during winter); woke up at about 4:00am and went to church for Christmas at 7:00am. Thank you, Van Cleef & Arpels, and the Munich ballet team!🎁 🎄 🔔 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DelphiumBlue Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Thank you - I was able to watch some of this morning. Was very taken with the 1st backdrop ( somewhat to my surprise ) and found the choreography fascinating . 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tattin Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 Many thanks FionaM for the complete cast. I have watched it twice now right through and parts of it - especially Shale Wagman and The Tempest- four times. It was supposed to have disappeared by now but I could still watch it (instead of going out & attending to the long list of things I have to do) at 11.30 a.m. European time. My only criticism is the dim lighting, especially in Hamlet and R&J and not helped by dark costumes, but I realise that it is the fashion these days and we just have to wait til tastes change. I'm going to see the company in Patrice Bart's La Bayadére in Madrid in spring but how I wish they were bring this to Spain instead! Incidentally, I have been following Antonio Casalinho's career since he was a student (before the Prix de Lausanne) so I am delighted to be seeing him doing so well. I even made a terribly complicated journey to Sintra in Portugal last summer to see him dance in person. And what a lovely surprise it was to see tutus in a new ballet! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaM Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 I noticed one cast difference in the broadcast to the pdf castsheet : The exciting young soloist Bianca Teixeira replaced Sofia Ivanova in Elegy/Hamlet as Ophelia. FYI … Bianca and Osiel Gouneo were on Alina Cojocaru’s tour of China in November 2023 (I still haven’t watched this broadcast in full but I do have it downloaded.) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 8 hours ago, PeterS said: The combination and interweaving of classical and modern dance vocabularies illustrates that it is not necessary to throw away the ‘old’ in order to bring in ‘the new’. Absolutely. But as far as I can gather, it's pretty much only Ratmansky who does this, and I think he's rather busy as it is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizbie1 Posted January 8 Share Posted January 8 44 minutes ago, alison said: Absolutely. But as far as I can gather, it's pretty much only Ratmansky who does this, and I think he's rather busy as it is He's also very busy (!) but IMO Forsythe does, or at least can do, this too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeannette Posted January 8 Author Share Posted January 8 9 hours ago, FionaM said: I noticed one cast difference in the broadcast to the pdf castsheet : The exciting young soloist Bianca Teixeira replaced Sofia Ivanova in Elegy/Hamlet as Ophelia. FYI … Bianca and Osiel Gouneo were on Alina Cojocaru’s tour of China in November 2023 (I still haven’t watched this broadcast in full but I do have it downloaded.) A heartfelt thanks to you, @FionaM, and to @Sabine0308 for names of dancers essaying Ophelia and the King & Queen in the Hamlet section! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabine0308 Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 (edited) On April 18, I was finally able to see this live in Munich. It was a very special night, because I had brought my parents to see this performance, it was my gift to their 60. Wedding Anniversary (go figure...the Diamond Wedding). The main cast was the same as for the livestream, beginning with "Elegy" - the entrance of "Tchaikovsky's spirit" Shale Wagman - he was spiritual indeed, reflecting the different pieces we were about to see with such a depth and wonderful lyrical musicality. "Hamlet" was danced by an impressive and demanding Osiel Gouneo but I had difficulties to follow "the story" - I know it's not a story ballet but when you give the child a name...you search for some hints, in my opinion. Aside from 2 females (Elvina Ibraimova, Bianca Teixeira) and the death scenes I couldn't make out more of the story. So it actually didn't touch me. "The Tempest" was indeed much better recognizable, although the focus is very much on the main characters (former Duke and his daughter, future husband for the daughter, and the 2 spirits Ariel and Caliban). We saw a lovely daughter Madison Young and a strong Prospero Jinhao Zhang, with some humorous scenes when future husband Ariel Merkuri was involved 😃. Caliban (Y. Acosta) and Ariel (A. Casalinho) fought with each other, and while I had enjoyed the whirlwind Casalinho during the livestream, he seemed to be a bit laid back that night. (Maybe he was in his thoughts already on the plane to New York for the YAGP gala the next day🙈). The female corps had some wonderful scenes in the beautiful costumes (dark blue for the upper body, white tutu below). I smiled about their entrance, with seductive shrugs of the shoulders (very non-classical but entertaining). Last piece was "Romeo and Juliet", in 2 different settings. At first, we see a dead Julia (Maria Baranova) lying on the floor, the corps arrives, and a mourning Romeo (Julian McKay) is at her side, then they "switch sides", and "Tchaikovsky" (Wagman) appears again together with a Soprano and a Tenor. All other dancers disappear. For the following 15 minutes, the singers tell the hopeless love story of R&J in enchanting duets. Shale Wagman's artistry was perfect for expressing the love, dreams, hopes and desperation of the so very famous lovers. He was telling this timeless lovestory in lyrical, joyful, charming but in the end very desperate movements, and touched us deeply. The physical interaction between dancer and singers was choreographed very carefully, tender and deep, for example when the singers supported the dancer by holdings his hands before he lifted his leg into an arabesque. It was pure beauty. The singers than parted their ways by leaving the stage on opposite sides, leaving the dancer alone, he was lost in revery. Personally I would have been happy when this would have been the final scene, because the story had been told. But then the dancers R&J and corps returned to the stage to dance some more. I cannot say if this added to the ballet or was just a neccessary "filler" to show a dancing couple R&J, and then finish the piece with them on the shoulders of their peers, to show that their eternal love survived, but ok. Aside from some flaws in turns/going into arabesque, Mckay was a reliable partner for a charming Baranova. But like I wrote after the livestream, there are no special PDDs for them, so it was rather an ensemble piece. I am very grateful to Shale Wagman for taking the time and having a lenghty talk with my parents at stage door, it made them so happy (and him too🙂). We wish him all the best. Edited April 21 by Sabine0308 7 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 Thanks for your wonderful review, Sabine. 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 Thanks for your wonderful review Sabine. What a lovely thing to do for your parents for their diamond wedding anniversary. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annamk Posted April 21 Share Posted April 21 Sabine, echoing the thanks above. It’s really great to read about performances outside the UK. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaM Posted April 22 Share Posted April 22 I’m gutted that this ballet has gone from the repertoire for now. I would very much have liked to have seen it live. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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