Beryl H Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 I was wondering how Muntagirov looked, the chance to see a second cast with him, Golding and Kaneko in particular is the reason I'm holding onto my ticket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 . I am surprised that there have not been more comments about Muntagirov in this current RB round. I thought he was TRULY OUTSTANDING in his debut in this Balanchine glory. Because 1) most of us got stuck into the Shechter and 2) we are becoming accustomed to Muntagirov producing the goods so very well? I didn't comment on his performance this time for fear of sounding a bit like a worn record - but he was his usual outstanding self. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 I've moved a lot of the most off-topic discussion into a new thread here: http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/9360-conservatism-and-access-to-the-arts/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 A frog's comments from yesterday: To try and steer this back on topic, some thoughts about Untouchable, I thought it was all a bit meh. I haven't seen much by Schechter but I've liked what little it was. This felt a bit repetitive and bit too long, and far more damaging, it was all a bit "small" when all about it should have been overwhelming (music included which while louder than normal ballet music wasn't loud enough). I'm however perfectly comfortable with this type of work being performed by the RB, the comments up-thread about the lack of principals reminded me of a scene on Wiseman's La Danse where Brigitte Lefevre tells Emmanuel Gat that he can have etoiles in his piece but he needs to give them something to dance that justifies casting them. I found it refreshing to have a work with the company front and centre, shame it wasn't a better one. I've been meaning to say that my assumption about the lack of volume in the music for the Shechter piece was that it was probably because of health and safety concerns for the musicians, some of who I understand have been suffering a lot recently. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAB Posted April 2, 2015 Share Posted April 2, 2015 I only stayed in my seat for this out of consideration for others as I would have disturbed a lot of people, one decibel louder though and I would have walked out. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A frog Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 (edited) I have no doubt that's the reason why it wasn't louder. I never go anywhere without earplusgs these days (came in very handy when going to see Savion Glover, I wouldn't have expected to need them for a tap dancing show), and I believe Sadler's Well were handing them out in previous occasions. I suppose that the ROH would have been rather against the idea, and that in any case having an orchestra instead of only recorded music made it simply impossible. Edited April 3, 2015 by A frog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 Are people complaining that the Untouchable music wasn't loud enough?? The idea that a theatre is actually handing out earplugs is almost beyond belief! Truly we live in an age when satire is no longer possible as reality is so absurd.,,what next- eye masks for McGregor's new piece? 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 The idea that a theatre is actually handing out earplugs is almost beyond belief! Truly we live in an age when satire is no longer possible as reality is so absurd.,,what next- eye masks for McGregor's new piece? The Lowry has handed out earplugs on request for some years. I think it's a good initiative if it means that people who might not otherwise will go. Personally, I can't stand loud, unexpected bangs and was asking when some gun shots were due in a play. I was offered the ear plugs then (and was also given some advice on when to use them) and have asked several times since (always for plays as it happens). I saw Political Mother at the Lowry and had to sit through most of it with my fingers in my ears because the music was soooooooooooo loud. The ladies on either side of me were also the same although I noticed that noone else around us seemed particularly bothered. We were towards the side and directly opposite and on a level with the speakers. At a Lowry Friends technical event I was asking and sound levels are governed by strict H&S rules but the theatre was aware that there could be "sound black spots" (my paraphrasing) and it looks as though I was sat in one. I saw rock bands (some of them extremely loud such as Black Sabbath and Atomic Rooster) long before (and after) I saw a dance performance so I wouldn't expect loud music to bother me to that extent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 Yes, I stood in front of a bank of speakers at a Black Sabbath concert in 1976 and nothing that Shechter throws at me could compare to that!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 If you want to have a look at the different costumes that Stuttgart Ballet uses for "Song of the Earth", there's a trailer on their website right now - the colours are much lighter and the horizon is mostly blue, the colour black does not exist. I only know the ballet in these colours, but from pictures I saw it was darker in 1965. The original costumes were mainly blue, the women had longer skirts. The cast sheet for the creation on Nov 7th, 1965 lists no stage or costume designer, just the choreographer and the musical director. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 Well, they really are completely different, aren't they? http://www.stuttgarter-ballett.de/spielplan/2015-04-03/hommage-macmillan/bilder/ In the link to the MacMillan website which Ian posted earlier, it talks about the change in colour schemes - and also refers, obliquely at least, to the lack of designer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barton22 Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 Well, they really are completely different, aren't they? http://www.stuttgarter-ballett.de/spielplan/2015-04-03/hommage-macmillan/bilder/ In the link to the MacMillan website which Ian posted earlier, it talks about the change in colour schemes - and also refers, obliquely at least, to the lack of designer. Jann Parry talks a little about the design change in her biography of MacMillan. She says regular MacmIllan collaborator Nicholas Georgiadis was the original designer for Stuttgart and was behind the change of the colours for London. She also says that the original costume idea was for floating chiffon garments and MacMillan found them "vomit-making" so they were changed for the more simple costumes that were finally used at the Stuttgart premiere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavycapers Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 I'm a bit depressed now having read all this and coming a long way to see the mixed bill on Friday! Still, this cheered me up Mistake Waltz - YouTube www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDP2c2FCHAM Maybe this should have been in the middle of the programme 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 I'm a bit depressed now having read all this and coming a long way to see the mixed bill on Friday! I wouldn't be, if I were you: as Meatloaf says, two out of three ain't bad (especially when they are masterworks anyway), and who knows, you may like the Shechter. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 I'm a bit depressed now having read all this and coming a long way to see the mixed bill on Friday! Just approach the evening with an open mind and you may then find that you enjoy the Shechter - perhaps more than one or both of the other pieces. I did! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToThePointe Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Follow the link below for more of my thoughts on the Shechter... http://tothepointemagazine.wix.com/tothepointemagazine 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Great article TTP! Wish I'd been able to get to London to see this programme. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Super final paragraph TTP. Thank you. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jillykins Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Thank you for such an excellent article. It was a relief to see so many of my own feelings so well expressed in print. I felt guilty that I had enjoyed the Shechter so much as I love and have taught classical ballet. I loved the contrast in the three pieces not only in dance but in music. TTP is so perceptive in her comments about the need of dancers to be stimulated and chalLenged. We need these challenges too. Can't wait to see Untouchable again! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 I agree, this is an excellent article, TTP. I am one of the ones who doesn't like the Shechter, but you have more than made me think again, and also you state so clearly the reasons that we need new work, whether we like it or not!! I still don't like the piece, but you defend it so well that I feel a bit warmer towards it now! Thanks and well done. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToThePointe Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 Thanks for all the kind words and please keep reading! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted April 10, 2015 Share Posted April 10, 2015 I'd be interested on more feedback on the other two pieces on this programme, too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Well, that's the end of that run. I have to say that, disappointingly, I found the bill as it ended up rather long and a bit indigestible: for various performances I noticed a lot of people disappearing before the end of the evening. Some vanished after 4Ts, others after the Shechter: I don't know whether that was because they'd come primarily for that, whether they'd seen Untouchable and decided to write the rest of the evening off as a failure, or whether they in fact knew and didn't get on with Song of the Earth. I would say that sitting out Untouchable, as I did tonight, made the evening feel rather shorter and easier to cope with. What I REALLY REALLY would like to see in the last four performances of Song of the Earth would be for the audience to wait until the curtains were closed - and preferably a beat or two after that - before applauding. It's the sort of piece of music which I feel needs a moment to take it in afterwards. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted April 14, 2015 Author Share Posted April 14, 2015 What I REALLY REALLY would like to see in the last four performances of Song of the Earth would be for the audience to wait until the curtains were closed - and preferably a beat or two after that - before applauding. It's the sort of piece of music which I feel needs a moment to take it in afterwards. agree totally with you on this. Yes, the disappearing audience members - I ended up on my own in row T in the amphi for 'Song'. And noticed several couples (I'm guessing non-operatic fans) leaving DURING 'Song of the Earth' from lower down in the Amphi which was a bit sad. I know Song 1 a bit tedious, but the last one (despite me also disliking operatic style singing) is somewhat glorious. Saying that, after 4T's - I did find myself longing for an all Balanchine bill.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Well, I didn't stay for Song at either of the two performances which I saw. I've seen it before and didn't particularly like it and it is a very long piece to finish the evening, only starting at about 9:20 pm by my calculations. I've decided to get rid of my ticket for the next triple bill as I think that it's unlikely that I'll stay for Song then and In the Night holds little interest for me. I think that Song needs to be in a shorter bill. 4T was ok this evening but it didn't do much for me. I have liked other Balanchine pieces more. I don't think that it really suits the company. Hamilton was probably the best this evening, and Mendizabal couldn't match Yanowsky in the same role. It was interesting to see Untouchable from lower down this evening. I still liked it but it was about 5 minutes too long and ran out of ideas around the time when the music sounded as if it was an orchestra tuning up. The dancers did produce some incredible movement in places though. There was more applause for this than 4T. Was there much for Song or had a large chunk of the audience left by then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billboyd Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 On previous outings of Song I think the cast sheet asked the audience not to applaud until the end. I hope they do that for the next four performances. (And, whenever 4Ts is done again) ***** Five stars from me for 4Ts/Untouchable/Song Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted April 15, 2015 Author Share Posted April 15, 2015 Are you thinking of 'Gloria' Bill? I don't ever remember seeing that for 'Song', though I'm not 100% certain I'm right on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billboyd Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Gloria - Maybe, I'm thinking of that cast sheet request. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 I know it is done for Requiem and as I have seen Requiem/Song as a double bill on various occasions perhaps the request also covers Song. It doesn't seem to me appropriate to clap during Song but much of my early ballet-watching was influenced by Christopher Gable's preference that the audience didn't clap to ruin the thread. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted April 15, 2015 Author Share Posted April 15, 2015 oh yes - it was probably Requiem I was thinking of! Doh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angela Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 (edited) It's a bit strange to read how London audiences do not really appreciate Song of the Earth. I think it may be MacMillan's best ballet. At the same time as it was shown at the ROH, there was a MacMillan double bill with Song and Requiem at Stuttgart Ballet, all 13 performances sold out and long, thankful applause after both pieces at every performance. I loved the evening: pure, meaningful choreography without too much scenery and costumes, philosophy (Song) and religion (Requiem) made visible. Of course we have the advantage to understand Mahler's words while seeing the pictures MacMillan imagined, but is it really so hard to read the text before the performance? Edited April 15, 2015 by Angela 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 I've never read the text and have always found Song profoundly moving Angela. Although I have seen it once with Stuttgart Ballet in Birmingham just after Sir Kenneth Macmillan died and a good few times with BRB I don't think I have ever seen the RB perform it, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 I can't imagine seeing Song and Requiem in the same programme. That would be too much of the same thing. I saw Song with a supposedly stellar cast in the last run and found it a bit pretentious; I don't like Requiem either (or Gloria). I really loved Song of a Wayfarer though, but perhaps that's not a good comparison (that was the middle ballet in a triple bill). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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