Birmingham Royal Ballet - Sleeping Beauty, Spring 2024

[Rob S]

42 minutes ago, San Perregrino said:

I spoke to Front of House when I arrived at this evening. Curtain call photos are permitted. 

With a camera? 😆

[San Perregrino]

2 hours ago, Rob S said:

With a camera? 😆

Nothing fancy 

Edited April 26 by San Perregrino

[alison]

11 hours ago, Rob S said:

Maybe it's a BRB thing as the ushers were quick to stop me trying to take a pic at La Fille at the Bristol Hippodrome with my phone...I was taking pics of the set to see if it was the same as the RB's.

 

Well, in that case perhaps I'm not surprised - there would be copyright considerations in that case, I suppose.  (And I'm pretty sure it is).

[Rob S]

The best I could get with an usher stood 6ft from me.

 

 

 

 

 

[LinMM]

Gorgeous pic of Celine….inspite of the no pics usher!!

[FionaM]

I posted on Instagram stories from Bristol shows and BRB replied thanking me. 
 

I suggest the problems at Sadler’s Wells are with unclear briefing of ushers.  

[FionaM]

Lovely performance from Celine Gittens and Yasiel Hodellin Bello last night.  She’s a classy and clearly very experienced ballerina. His Act 2 solo was all gorgeous lines, floating jumps, and soft landings.  Act 3 wasn’t as good. Though he makes any stage look small with his long legs on the jete manège! 
 

Carabosse and Lilac Fairy, Eilis Small and Tori Forsyth-Hecken, embodied their roles.  I still wish the Lilac Fairy’s costume was more lilac.  
 

Others to catch my eye ..

• Riku Ito as a fairy cavalier
• Beatrice Parma as a fairy and Bluebird princess
• Yu Kurihara was sparkling as the Fairy of Joy (elsewhere known as Lilac Fairy solo).  Her arabesques were held for ages.  I’m looking forward to seeing her again as Aurora tonight.
• Alisa Garkavenko as the Fairy of Song and in corps roles in all the other acts.  Wonderful poise and radiance. New joiner this season.  Trained in Kyiv, Vaganova and Princess Grace Academies

Edited April 27 by FionaM
Typos

[LinMM]

I’m finding it difficult keeping up with new joiners in both BRB and ENB! 

[Rob S]

4 hours ago, LinMM said:

Gorgeous pic of Celine….inspite of the no pics usher!!

Thats the one that suffers due to the uncertainty, I had to use my smaller lens in order to avoid the attention of the usher

[MJW]

47 minutes ago, LinMM said:

I’m finding it difficult keeping up with new joiners in both BRB and ENB! 

As I don’t follow BRB I don’t have a clue about the cast at all! Where are the cast sheets in the SW website?

[Bluebird]

5 minutes ago, MJW said:

As I don’t follow BRB I don’t have a clue about the cast at all! Where are the cast sheets in the SW website?

Tried to paste link but didn’t work. Sorry!

 

https://www.brb.org.uk/downloadable-castsheets

 

edit: success!

Edited April 27 by Bluebird

[LinMM]

Glad you could find them Bluebird I hadn’t a clue! 

[MJW]

1 hour ago, Bluebird said:

Tried to paste link but didn’t work. Sorry!

 

https://www.brb.org.uk/downloadable-castsheets

 

edit: success!

Thanks for this! You’d think Sadlers Wells would have a link at the very least. I’ll know for next month when I see Northern Ballet

[Dawnstar]

I can't decide whether the 3 Auroras pictured in the recent curtain call photos are wearing tutus with slightly different bodice details or if it's the different angles & lighting that is making them look different.

[annamk]

On 24/04/2024 at 23:50, Sebastian said:

Congratulations to conductor Philip Ellis for tonight driving the score at tempi which approach the authentic rehearsal metronome marks (rather faster than we have got used to at the Royal Ballet). Was every cast member to my taste? No, but all showed that speed is no obstacle to dancing this wonderful ballet, despite what we are sometimes told. 

 

This afternoon's performance was conducted by Charlotte Politi at an equally exuberant tempo (tempi ?).  My music knowledge is pretty paltry so I'm probably wrong to say this but the extent to which this slightly faster tempo energises the ballet seems out of proportion to what appears a relatively minor adjustment. I mean the ballet isn't really any shorter 😂

 

Anyway, a super time was had at Sadlers Wells this pm in spite of : the people filming in front of me, and all the crisp munchers, crunchers and rustlers elsewhere in the 1st circle.  Excellent performances all round, I very much enjoyed the dancing from the principal couple Momoko Hirata and Tze-Chao Chou. 

 

Edit - I also wanted to say that it was very pleasing to see Sadlers Wells packed out for a classical ballet. 

Edited April 27 by annamk

[Shade]

It was pretty packed Friday evening too and fairly quiet in the second circle. Plus on my way in I saw Carlos Acosta- so handsome.

[lady emily]

Really nice time seeing the Sleeping Beauty this afternoon for my first performance with BRB. A very sublime performance from Momoko Hirata and a flawless Rose Adagio. A really mature, refined performance where you didn't ever feel nervous that the balances would tip. Well worth the cost of the ticket for this Rose Adagio alone. Tze-Chao Chou's dancing was also good but his partnering I thought was top-notch. During the diagonal fish dives in the PDD I often flinch in fright of it going terribly wrong, but these were perfect. 

 

I personally wasn't as impressed with a lot of the soloist performances, but really enjoyed Olivia Chang Clarke as a fairy and found my eye drawn to her in everything else all evening. 

 

Really, really enjoyed having the Lilac Fairy as a character dancer rather than on pointe in a tutu. Her interactions with Carabosse and the miming seemed much more balanced. I too was annoyed by the lack of lilac in the costume, especially when they had stressed the significance of the colour to the ballet in the programme! 

 

Anyone else notice the ornate guards who looked like they were from ancient Rome who appeared for moments in the Prologue and then left? 

 

A bit confused about the divvying up of the acts and intervals. Having the intervals after the Prologue and Act I makes sense as then each section takes place in the same time period. The end of Act II can seem like the end of the ballet and with the non-usuals audience there this afternoon I did see some people get their coats and leave at the second interval. 

 

I had no issues taking photos at the curtain calls and was sat on the end of a row near to the door. 

[LinMM]

Was Carlos in his white suit? 

[cackles]

A  bit late now, but I found the cast sheets for all of the performances on the BRB website before this short run began.

[BeauxArts]

I am in full agreement with the all the praise for this afternoon’s matinee. I loved Momoko Hirata’s expansive dancing and technical command. Chou was an excellent partner and gave a really good account of his solos. I enjoyed the sumptuous  production but would have preferred to see it on a bigger stage which  would probably have done it even more justice. Overall the company look on good form.  A pleasure to see the theatre full for the matinee, albeit I was sitting next to someone eating the world’s biggest and noisiest packet of crisps, opened - with great timing - as the Rose Adagio began…. Perhaps the pre-show announcements can  be expanded to request no photography and no crisp consumption during  the performance….
 

Edited April 27 by BeauxArts

[Shade]

14 hours ago, LinMM said:

Was Carlos in his white suit? 

No he wasn’t when I saw him Lin.

I did enjoy Friday’s performance- Celine Gittens was a radiant Aurora.

[Scheherezade]

Saturday evening was my first ever viewing of the BRB Sleeping Beauty and I loved it: sets, costumes, tempi. It zipped along with style and brio, almost three hours with two helpfully short intervals of a mere 15 minutes each - ROH take note - flying by, and it was impossible not to go home on a sustained high. 

I liked the non-dancing depiction of the Lilac Fairy, which I felt added to her serenity and authority, particularly when pitched against the calculated frenzy of an irredeemably bitter Carabosse (an appreciative mention here for both Eilis Small and Daria Stanciulescu) and I felt that, by comparison with the RB version, this Sleeping Beauty delivered more pace, variety and cohesion to the whole. 

 

One such preference was the

“Snowflakes” style sequence in which the corps provided rather lovely, and somewhat welcome, relief from Florimund’s otherwise endless trek through layer upon layer of overgrown forest in his ongoing quest to find Aurora. I also found him a rather

more switched-on Florimund than those generally at large here in London: having caught sight of the somnolent Aurora he made a bee line straight for her and didn’t need to be told to give her that life-restoring kiss. 

Sticking with the production, I was quite happy to see the back of those poor women who, in the RB version, are almost executed for smuggling in their spindles: all a little alarming at Aurora’s 16th birthday celebration and not great PR for the king.

 

Moving forward 100 years, I liked the colours, costumes and backdrop to the Act 2 hunting scene, beautifully reminiscent of those bucolic 18th century paintings, with an additional plus for the presence of the musicians, who brought an added vitality to the overall tableau.

 

And so to the dancing, and I absolutely loved Yu Kurihara. Yes, there were a few wobbles in those fiendish balances, but they were all held, they were less noticeable in the second set, and in no way did they detract from a performance imbued with delicacy, vivacity and a joyfulness that characterised every step she took. 
 

Lachlan Monaghan was a considered and credible Florimund, three-dimensional in a role in which it is difficult to move beyond the cardboard cut-out of the Disney Prince. His partnering was exemplary, the connection between him and Yu Kurihara was palpable and the fish dives, in particular, were utterly spectacular. 
 

Last night was also the first time that I have seen Beatrice Parma, and whereas the performances of the other Prologue fairies and Act 3 character dancers varied in quality, Beatrice was a notable stand-out both as the Fairy of Temperament and the Enchanted Princess. 

Which wraps up pretty much everything apart from the audience behaviour which, from where I was sitting on the far left of the 2nd circle, was pretty good: no spilled drinks or unpleasant food odours; nobody humming along to the music; and no-one checking out their mobiles, nor smart watches flashing away every time their owner lifted their arm. There were a number of children, some very young, and all, as far as I could see, perfectly behaved, which perhaps gives added credence to the pace and clarity of this particular production.
 

The only disturbance came when a woman who had slipped out of the 2nd circle just before the end of the first interval (I noticed the usher motioning to her watch as she went out) returned during the performance to stand in front of the protective mesh, blocking off half the stage for the people sitting near me.

 

A woman to my left, having shrugged in disbelief and coughed loudly to no avail, was forced to shout “blocking”, which fortunately had the desired result as the offender turned around and moved back and to the side.

 

 

 

Edited April 28 by Scheherezade
Pesky autocorrect

[Mary]

10 minutes ago, Scheherezade said:

almost three hours with two helpfully short intervals of a mere 15 minutes each - ROH take note -

I too would welcome shorter intervals BUT I can't help feeling one reason for them is that Sadlers is happy to sell masses of food and drink to be consumed at leisure all through the performance, whereas ROH - rightly- only allows this in intervals, so to make any money from the bars, intervals need to be longer.

 

Given a choice between shorter intervals, and no food and drink in the performance....no contest.....

(Someone on the forum suggested ROH might have shorter/fewer intervals and leave the bar open for half an hour afterwards- I would really welcome that,  but no doubt it would be tricky for them as clearing up would have to be done very late.)

 

Lovely to see BRB's glorious show- it's a really pretty production and I agree with all the positive comments above about the tempo, orchestra and the excellent dancers but I found all the munching, rustling etc completely out of place, lacking in respect for the peformers,  and  extremely distracting.

 

 

[Jan McNulty]

1 hour ago, Mary said:

I too would welcome shorter intervals BUT I can't help feeling one reason for them is that Sadlers is happy to sell masses of food and drink to be consumed at leisure all through the performance, whereas ROH - rightly- only allows this in intervals, so to make any money from the bars, intervals need to be longer.

 

 

 

Shorter intervals than at ROH are standard for both BRB and NB.

[JNC]

I saw last night’s production. I think others have captured most thoughts but to add some diversity - whilst I very much enjoyed the production I have to say the Royal Ballet’s current version remains the gold standard for me in terms of plot, costumes/sets (the choreography is to be honest mostly similar, so felt very consistent!).

 

I actually prefer the lilac fairy as a tutu role, but this didn’t detract at all. I did think the costumes for BRB were a little drab - with the set heavy on the brown tones and the lighting a bit dark and overly “spotlight” it felt a bit gloomy overall, particularly the prologue and act 1. The lilac fairy costume was more grey! And I wish the individual fairies’ costumes were distinguished a bit more as in the RB version. And red riding hood was more orange riding hood…and I found the interval after the prologue not my preference - as already mentioned an interval during the 100 years of sleeping makes more sense (and provides more set variation). I also feel the pacing works better in the RB version - there was a bit “extra” of Carabosse lurking in her cloak after Aurora collapses which removed some of the dramatic tension for me. I actually don’t mind the scene with the spindles in RB, I probably wouldn’t be bothered if it was removed but I don’t dislike it. I did think the scene when they travel to the castle in act 2 worked better here as the “sledge ride” (aptly described!) is a bit of a momentum killer in the RB version. The pacing of the music was excellent throughout, though to be honest I wouldn’t say it was obviously slower than the Royal’s version. 

 

I agree that Beatrice Parma was a standout as one of the fairies and as the female bluebird companion. Lachlan Monaghan gave a really good performance in the finale pas de deux and did some impressive turns. Daria was a great Carabosse and overall the company looked good. Kurihara was technically fine as Aurora but to be honest I didn’t connect with her - this is less an issue with her and more that I’ve been very lucky to see fantastic Auroras at ROH - Naghdi, Hayward, Nunez, Kaneko - all technically strong in this role and they bring a wonderful character and ease with lots of smiles to the character. 
 

Overall this was a lovely evening and I enjoyed seeing a different version of the ballet. My (minor) criticisms are more preferences and I’m very much looking forward to seeing the company in La Fille later this year (I think I spotted Parma is in the photo advertisement for the piece so if I’m lucky maybe I’ll see her!). 
 

Re intervals - I think 15 minutes can be a bit tight if you’re trying to go for a comfort break as well, I don’t like overly long intervals but if the trade off is no food and drink in the auditorium and no delays past advertised times then I think it’s a fine trade off. 

[Dawnstar]

Reading the reviews in today's Links, I'm baffled by these sentences in the Seen and Heard review.

 

Quote

Some of the other decisions made, to modernise the production perhaps, are more questionable. The display of toxic masculinity by two of the four princes who come to offer Aurora their hand in marriage. The way one of them follows Aurora around the stage after being rejected.

 

I thought one of the four Princes was played as a bit arrogant & self-important but I liked that there was an attempt to provide some character & differentiation between the Princes, as often none of them show any character whatsoever. Is a male character being a bit full of himself really considered "toxic masculinity" nowadays?! Also, when does Aurora reject any of her suitors? I thought she succumbed to sleep before she had time to make any choice among the Princes. I feel like I was watching a different production to this reviewer.

[Jan McNulty]

20 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

Reading the reviews in today's Links, I'm baffled by these sentences in the Seen and Heard review.

 

 

I thought one of the four Princes was played as a bit arrogant & self-important but I liked that there was an attempt to provide some character & differentiation between the Princes, as often none of them show any character whatsoever. Is a male character being a bit full of himself really considered "toxic masculinity" nowadays?! Also, when does Aurora reject any of her suitors? I thought she succumbed to sleep before she had time to make any choice among the Princes. I feel like I was watching a different production to this reviewer.

 

 

Some years ago the Princes were even more characterful and I believe were asked to tone it down.  It did mean that I never actually watched the garland dance as I was too busy watching the antics of the Princes!

[Tango Dancer]

27 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

Reading the reviews in today's Links, I'm baffled by these sentences in the Seen and Heard review.

 

 

I thought one of the four Princes was played as a bit arrogant & self-important but I liked that there was an attempt to provide some character & differentiation between the Princes, as often none of them show any character whatsoever. Is a male character being a bit full of himself really considered "toxic masculinity" nowadays?! Also, when does Aurora reject any of her suitors? I thought she succumbed to sleep before she had time to make any choice among the Princes. I feel like I was watching a different production to this reviewer.

 

Yes, I always read it that she was enjoying being 16 years old and at a party and being courted by these princes and wasn't really sure which if any of them she wanted, but was enjoying getting to know them.  It's never felt to me like she made any decisions about them.  

[alison]

If sadler's wells are going to have 15-minute intervals, then they need to sort out the queues for ice cream and programmes. They were incredibly slow (understaffed?), and I had barely bought my ice cream when I had to get back into the auditorium. Plus there were still long queues for the ladies' at the bell.

[Sebastian]

4 hours ago, Scheherezade said:

all a little alarming at Aurora’s 16th birthday celebration and not great PR for the king.

 

36 minutes ago, Tango Dancer said:

Yes, I always read it that she was enjoying being 16 years old and at a party and being courted by these princes and wasn't really sure   

Yes Aurora pricks her finger on her 16th birthday, that’s what it says in the BRB programme (presumably reflecting the Sadler’s Wells 1946 production Peter Wright drew from, does anyone have a 1946 programme we can check?) But there is some confusion: the original Perrault tale does indeed say "fifteen or sixteen years" (Grimm later said fifteen) but the libretto for the 1890 premiere of the ballet clearly specifies she is twenty years old in Act I. 

 

Does anyone have any ideas as to why they choose a 20th birthday in 1890 (the manners of the Imperial court perhaps or the taste of the censor)? And why this was changed again in 1946 or more recently?

[LACAD]

I thoroughly enjoyed last night’s performance from BRB. This production is the same one I watched as a child at Dutch National Ballet, albeit the Dutch set is larger and a little more gilded and bright. Still, I felt very nostalgic watching Wright’s Beauty. 
 

Overall I was quite impressed with the level of dancing, SB is very exposing for any company and some fatigue peeked through in the first act among some cavaliers and fairies. Beatrice Parma proved her worthiness as BRB’s newest incumbent principal—effortlessly sparkling in each of her solos in the evening.

 

As for Yu Kurihara stepping into the role of Aurora for Alina Cojocaru, what a discovery for me! Steady as anything in her turns, but also playing with musicality in her dainty variations.  My hope is that the balletomanes of London were as impressed as I was by her radiance. Lachlan Monaghan was full of spring turning the chugging slogging variation of the grand pas de deux into a spritely gallop in the palace. 
 

Sleeping Beauty isn’t my favourite ballet, mostly owing to its length. While a few people left around us after the second act believing the action was all over, I was more than happy to see this sumptuous production to the glittery end. 

[Geoff]

 

What have I learned from a week of The Sleeping Beauty (I missed only the Friday evening for an unavoidable professional engagement)? Here are a few random observations:

 

- As the newcomer who came with me yesterday evening observed, how fresh this 40-year old production by Sir Peter Wright looks. My friend particularly praised the gorgeous costumes and clever lighting. To those who are puzzled by the colour of Lilac’s dress, perhaps the gels were originally set differently, which might have adjusted the look of that costume.

 

- Like others I was very pleased to hear the wonderful score approaching the right tempi, even if a touring production can’t quite manage a band on the lush scale of Covent Garden or the Mariinsky. 

 

- In terms of casting, this run suffered from the withdrawal of the luminous Alina Cojocaru whose Aurora I last saw on what I remember as a wet midweek matinee in a less than full Coliseum in 2018. Alina transformed a potentially unpromising atmosphere to one of the greatest experiences of my ballet-going life. Some dancers just do the steps, others impose a performance from outside (by copying others or watching themselves in the mirror in not necessarily the best way) but a very few of the very best illuminate the role from inside. Cojocaru is one of those rare ones and her absence was keenly felt.

 

- Nonetheless it was a pleasure and a privilege to be able to compare and contrast three different Japanese Auroras (I had to miss the only exception): Momoko Hirata, Miki Mizutani and Yu Kurihara (twice). Some highlights: Hirata’s seasoned strength and experience, Mizutani’s charming last act variation and Kurihara’s second performance, so different to her first (which seemed slightly tentative, even perhaps anxious). Last night Yu and the company left the crowd on a high, cheering in a way which is not always the case with this ballet.

 

- It was a pleasure to see older men with strong characterful faces inhabiting the king and other members of the court in a way which lifted the scene.

 

- As to younger dancers, it’s worth noting that a BRB touring production keeps the youngsters working hard. For example radiant smiles from Germany’s delightful Frieda Kaden easily reached the back of the theatre so it was easy to spot her many quick changes last night, from Lilac Attendant to Garland Girl to Lady at the Hunt to Lady of the Court. I especially welcomed newcomer Ukranian Alisa Garkavenko and Spain’s Sofia Linares, now a First Artist showing real promise.

 

What a marvellous ballet and thank you very much BRB.

 

 

[FionaM]

Yu Kurihara was more confident and expansive on Saturday, just one week on from her Aurora in Bristol that I also saw.  Her portrayal was more interactive with the 4 princes and she covered the larger stage easily.  I look forward to seeing her develop further.  
 

She and Lachlan Monaghan had a super chemistry together also.  Lovely end to the run.