I was lucky enough to enjoy two new story ballets at the Royal Opera House, one in the Linbury and one on the main stage.
Hansel and Gretel from Liam Scarlett
Liam Scarlett's first full length ballet was hosted in the Linbury studio theatre. I was pleased to be given a reseat on arrival as I had originally had a standing spot and was offered a seat instead. This was due to the ballet being staged in the round, sitting in the temporary rows across what is usually the back of the stage I was not really convinced by the statement 'in the round' as I often felt as though I was watching from the back. However, I'm not complaining because from where I was sat I could easily see all the action, from the children's bedroom on the mezzanine level to the Witch's basement sunk into the stage under a garden shed.
Overall I enjoyed the ballet, it was dark and twisted as one might expect and the Sandman did leave me with nightmares. I saw the reviews which said there was some overacting but for me it was all part of putting on a fairy tale. I loved Ryoichi Hirano's witch, torn between his desires and hints of a dark and miserable childhood, I felt a little scared of him but mostly sorry for the lonely being under the garden shed haunted by the terrifying Sandman.
Raven Girl from Wayne McGregor
I saw Raven Girl on opening night from the middle of the amphitheatre. I wasn't expecting a classical ballet, it is a Wayne McGregor after all. However, given the dark lighting and seeming lack of dancing I was disappointed and what is a lovely story fell flat. That said, my friends, two of whom had never been to the ballet before enjoyed it and liked the black box theatre feel. I wanted to see more dancing from Ed Watson and less cycling. Thiago Soares gave a mad professor that would be hard to match, taking complete glee in turning raven girls arms into wings.
Based on my first experience mum and I decided to treat ourselves to stalls seats for my second visit to see the second cast. We were near the centre of the front row of the stalls and I can say this was indeed a good choice. Coupled with the fact that some changes had been made seeing the dancers faces made all the difference to the ballet. The lighting had been adjusted and my least favourite scene where they removed the raven girl's wings was removed. Alexander Campbell gave a great performance as the boy, you could sense his shyness about approaching the raven girl and his empassioned encounter with the Gartside's doctor was great. I was sad that that final pas de deux didn't sing out in quite the same way. However, when this ballet comes back I will be there and will definitely be treating myself to a decent seat.
Raven Girl was paired with Balanchine's Symphony in C, a beautiful contrast. This ballet had beautiful music, crisp white tutus and lots of bright lights. Beautiful performances all round and fresh from their run of La Bayadere the ladies of the corps de ballet created stunning shapes and patterns. I look forward to seeing this work again and have downloaded the score to my iPhone to keep me going.
