Another splendid evening at Sadlers Wells yesterday - <http://sadlerswells.com/> - Vollmond (Full Moon) by Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch (http://www.pina-bausch.de/en/pieces/vollmond.php#).
And, would you believe it, there was a lot of 'tanz'! Okay, so there were the usual props and frocks - chairs, bottles of water, glasses, but there were lots of excellent solos and thrilling group work. Sometimes it is easy to feel that Pina Bausch's work relies too heavily on 'business' and 'jokes', however Vollmond proves this not to be the case. Sadlers Wells was packed and I did not see anyone leave (unlike last week during Two Cigarettes in the Dark).
But water, there was a lot of water.....in glasses, in mineral water bottles - and then in a 'river' across the back of the stage and raining down from above. The dancers danced, swam and played in the water. They threw it at each other, they drenched the large rock that graced the stage for the entire piece. I don't think I have seen that much water on stage since the last time I saw Tap Dogs!
Tuesday 26 February 2013
Friday 15 February 2013
Two Cigarettes in the Dark - Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch - Sadlers Wells
Last year there was a huge Pina Bausch-fest (<http://www.pina-bausch.de>) split between the Barbican and Sadlers Wells (<http://www.sadlerswells.com>) when I managed to see three very different works (a fourth was on the schedule but I did not make it in the end).
It has to be said, it is very difficult to go to something created by Pina Bausch if you haven't been before....and many people won't go again. Indeed I took a friend last year and he left at the interval. Last night four people behind me did not come back after the interval (and overhearing their conversation, they clearly had no idea what they were coming to see!) and (rudely) during the second half I noticed at least four people leaving.
All the trademarks were there - monotony, alienation, nudity, smoking, water, strangeness of all sorts! You either have to like it or just stay away.
I did miss the massed rhythmic section that has appeared in other works to great effect, there was one towards the end of the second half where couples 'danced' around the stage sitting on the floor. Must have been very uncomfortable for the dancers. The final danced piece to the song - Two Cigarettes in the Dark - also added some of the repetition and group dancing lacking in the first half. I am sure that the spreading of hay and the dumping of coal left most people wondering what was going on! Me too, nevertheless, I enjoyed it!
Looking forward to the next one (coming up very soon!).
It has to be said, it is very difficult to go to something created by Pina Bausch if you haven't been before....and many people won't go again. Indeed I took a friend last year and he left at the interval. Last night four people behind me did not come back after the interval (and overhearing their conversation, they clearly had no idea what they were coming to see!) and (rudely) during the second half I noticed at least four people leaving.
All the trademarks were there - monotony, alienation, nudity, smoking, water, strangeness of all sorts! You either have to like it or just stay away.
I did miss the massed rhythmic section that has appeared in other works to great effect, there was one towards the end of the second half where couples 'danced' around the stage sitting on the floor. Must have been very uncomfortable for the dancers. The final danced piece to the song - Two Cigarettes in the Dark - also added some of the repetition and group dancing lacking in the first half. I am sure that the spreading of hay and the dumping of coal left most people wondering what was going on! Me too, nevertheless, I enjoyed it!
Looking forward to the next one (coming up very soon!).
Wednesday 13 February 2013
La Traviata - English National Opera 12.2.13
I must say I approached ENO's new version of La Traviata (<http://www.eno.org>) with much trepidation. I had read about the fact it had no interval, that there were some cuts and that the staging was very minimal.
Perhaps it is indicative of the current financial situation at ENO that the staging was so simple - a chair, a pile of books and lots and lots of red curtains, but somehow it worked in a funny sort of way. Of course we miss the opulence of earlier productions, but let's face it, there are some cracking tunes in La Traviata!
Director Peter Knowitschny managed to make it all very entertaining - even without the gypsy dancers. My biggest gripe was bringing on Alfredo's sister to be used as a bargaining tool by his father - and having her as a small child. This seemed at odds with what was being sung.....we are led to believe that she won't be able to marry if Alfredo carries on bringing shame to the family through his liaison with Violetta. In a way it seemed very creepy! How long was this child going to be betrothed?
Corinne Winters was an excellent Violetta. She sang well and looked great.
Ben Johnson's Alfredo also sang well. I'm not sure why he had to be dressed totally at odds with the party outfits of everyone else.
Giorgio Germont, Alfredo's father was capably, if somewhat boomingly, sung by Anthony Michaels-Moore.
As usual, the ENO chorus added to the whole production and would be sadly missed if the current financial crisis brings back the worrying suggestion that it needs to be cut (as happened last time the company was having money problems!).
Perhaps it is indicative of the current financial situation at ENO that the staging was so simple - a chair, a pile of books and lots and lots of red curtains, but somehow it worked in a funny sort of way. Of course we miss the opulence of earlier productions, but let's face it, there are some cracking tunes in La Traviata!
Director Peter Knowitschny managed to make it all very entertaining - even without the gypsy dancers. My biggest gripe was bringing on Alfredo's sister to be used as a bargaining tool by his father - and having her as a small child. This seemed at odds with what was being sung.....we are led to believe that she won't be able to marry if Alfredo carries on bringing shame to the family through his liaison with Violetta. In a way it seemed very creepy! How long was this child going to be betrothed?
Corinne Winters was an excellent Violetta. She sang well and looked great.
Ben Johnson's Alfredo also sang well. I'm not sure why he had to be dressed totally at odds with the party outfits of everyone else.
Giorgio Germont, Alfredo's father was capably, if somewhat boomingly, sung by Anthony Michaels-Moore.
As usual, the ENO chorus added to the whole production and would be sadly missed if the current financial crisis brings back the worrying suggestion that it needs to be cut (as happened last time the company was having money problems!).
Wednesday 6 February 2013
Tatyana - Companhia de Dança Deborah Colker - Barbican 5.2.13
Based on the Pushkin novel, Eugene Onegin, Tatyana introduces another character - Pushkin himself. This seems contrived and unnecessary. The Pushkin character doesn't really help or drive the narrative, but it does give Colker a chance to appear herself.
At the start and for chunks of Act 1, I wasn't very engaged. I found some of her language odd and unattractive. Having the main characters danced by a number of dancers isn't new (Matthew Bourne did in Play without words) and sometimes it makes things messy. Although some of the pieces with the whole company did look good.
Act 2 works better. The dancing is more focused and the large 'tree' which dominates the stage in Act 1 has gone. There are some quite dramatic lifts and throws in Act 2 which makes me (slightly) pleased that I did not give up after Act 1!
Links
<http://www.barbican.org.uk>
<http://www.ciadeborahcolker.com.br>
At the start and for chunks of Act 1, I wasn't very engaged. I found some of her language odd and unattractive. Having the main characters danced by a number of dancers isn't new (Matthew Bourne did in Play without words) and sometimes it makes things messy. Although some of the pieces with the whole company did look good.
Act 2 works better. The dancing is more focused and the large 'tree' which dominates the stage in Act 1 has gone. There are some quite dramatic lifts and throws in Act 2 which makes me (slightly) pleased that I did not give up after Act 1!
Links
<http://www.barbican.org.uk>
<http://www.ciadeborahcolker.com.br>
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