The Tempest

Birmingham Royal Ballet, The Tempest, The Hippodrome, Birmingham, 8 Oct 2016, 19:00

Even before the curtain rose I knew I was in for a treat. The clues lay in the blue curtain with its lines suggesting a swirling ocean with a tiny bejewelled model barque in the centre together with the cries of seagulls and a gentle lapping of waves. The lights dimmed and the silhouette of a seemingly floating figure approached the model and carried it away. The curtain rose and the scene changed to a ship's bridge with jolly, dancing mariners whose mood swiftly changed as flashes of light indicated that their ship was entering a storm.

It often takes time for me to get to like a new ballet. It took two years for me to appreciate Christopher Wheeldon's The Winter's Tale (see Royal Ballet "The Winter's Tale" 14 April 2014 and The Winter's Tale Revisited - Some Ballets are better Second Time Round 20 April 2016) and I am still not there with Jonathan Watkins's 1984 (see My First Impressions of 1984 12 Sept 2015 and 1984 Second Time Round 24 Oct 2015).  The Tempest is different in that it was love at first sight. I think it is my favourite work by David Bintley so far. In fact, I can't remember a time when I was as excited as I am now about a new British full length ballet since the days of Sir Frederick Ashton.

David Bintley's libretto follows Shakespeare pretty faithfully (see "The Plot" in Wikipedia's entry on The Tempest). It makes powerful roles for Prospero, Miranda, Ferdinand, Ariel and Caliban. Prospero's masque for Miranda and Ferdinand provides a splendid opportunity for a delightful divertissement that included charming dancers for Ceres and Juno as well as other classical deities. The antics of the drunkards provide another opportunity, especially when they discover the dressing up box in Prospero's cave after which they are set upon by a pack of dog shaped spirits. 

Although the ballet - like the play - is about raw human emotions such as greed, resentment, ambition as well as love it is leavened by those divertissements.  The need for such relief in the form of divertissements was understood by Petipa and indeed by Ashton and Bintley as it was by Shakespeare. The complete absence of such relief, as in Akram Khan's Giselle, makes for a very drab work indeed. As I noted in my review of the remake:

"At least in the traditional Giselle there are some happy bits such as the crowning of Giselle as harvest queen. There was nothing like than in Khan's. Just a morose folk dance for the landlords who were heralded by blasts that sounded like factory sirens or perhaps fog horns. Very intense and just a little depressing."

The freshness and exuberance of the work continued even into the reverence which was a little ballet in itself. The dancers did not simply bow or curtsy.  They danced into their applause. This performance really did deserve a standing ovation and I was one of several who rose at the curtain call.

Last night, Prospero was danced magnificently by Iain Mackay, Miranda delightfully by Jenna Roberts and Ferdinand plaintively by Joseph Caley. Mathias Dingman was a great Ariel and Tyrone Singleton a fine Caliban. It was good to see Michael O'Hare as Alonso and Céline Gittens as Ceres and Delia Matthews as Juno and Prospero's wife. There was superb character dancing from James Barton a the jester and Valentin Olovyannikov as the drunken butler.  As I say so frequently whenever I see this magnificent company, everyone in the show danced well.

Bintley's choreography was (as always) sparkling. There were spectacular chaînés and  fouettés for Ariel, beautiful pas de deux for Ferdiand and Miranda after they first met and as their love developed, delightful dances for Ceres and Juno and plenty of arabesques and opportunities to admire the corps. According to Gerald Dowler's programme note this ballet had been 30 years in the making and the reason for the long gestation is that Bintley had been waiting for the right composer. Quoting Bintley, Dowler wrote:

"I heard Sally Beamish's music in 2012 and it all seemed to fall into place."

It was well worth the wait. Beamish's score was enchanting. I particularly liked her use of the flute to indicate voices or underscore excitement. Equally impressive were Rae Smith's designs. The waves and ship were even more realistic than in The Winter's Tale. The peacock throne was especially impressive. All the more remarkable as the sets have to be portable as this ballet is to be taken on tour.  Combined with Bruno Poet's lighting, something close to magic was created on stage.

Now this ballet really will last. It was created in collaboration with the Houston Ballet Foundation and the Houston Ballet will present it to American audiences in Spring.  If I know Americans - and as a graduate of one of their finest universities and have made many trips to their shores I think I do - they will relish this production at least as much as I do. So, too, will audiences in the rest of the world.

Lear with a Happy Ending - Birmingham Royal Ballet's Prince of the Pagodas 30 Jan 2014

Prince of the Pagodas  The Lowry, 30 Jan 2014

I have just returned from watching the first performance in the UK of David Bintley's Prince of the Pagodas. When I get back from a show at this time of night I usually make straight for bed and leave the review till at least the morning. But this performance was so good that a review won't wait until morning. I am so excited about it that I will not be able to sleep until I have written it out of my system.

The Prince of the Pagodas is not a new ballet. It was created by John Cranko in 1957, a choreographer for whom I have a particularly high regard (see "Cranko's "Taming of the Shrew": Now's our chance to see one of the Ballets everyone should see before they die" 21 Sept 2013) and has been revised by Kenneth MacMillan and Monica Mason. Bintley created the work that we saw last night for the National Ballet of Japan  in 2011.  He has now brought his work home to the Birmingham Royal Ballet. 

As you can see from the synopses of the National Ballet of Japan and the Birmingham Royal Ballet the story is based very loosely on King Lear. Bintley has made a number of modifications to the plot that distance it still further from Lear in that he substitutes a wicked stepmother for a wicked sister and the Cordelia character is called not Rose but Sakura which means Cherry Blossom. But the essentials from Lear of an ill used and ailing father and a devoted but alienated daughter are retained by Bintley.

Both the Japanese and Birmingham synopses omit important details.  Immediately before the curtain rose Tzu-Chao Chou sat in the centre of the stage.  He danced the jester or fool and was the link for each stage of the story from the welcome of the conductor to the rostrum to attending and supporting the imprisoned emperor in his confinement. A remarkable character artist  he brought humour to the ballet.  The kings of the cardinal points were dressed respectively as Uncle Sam, a Russian, a Zulu and something else which I am still trying to ascertain from the company's website, the "Creating Pagodas" blog and programme. Possibly a Pacific islander or a native American  Each bought a gift representing his culture: an elephant tusk from the African, a miniature oil well from the Russian, a cache of guns from the American and a long pipe from the fourth cardinal point.  Those characters appeared again as demons in red as Princess Sakura and her brother, the salamander, passed through fire on their escape from their wicked stepmother.

There is a lot of material in this ballet to which a review of a few paragraphs will never do justice so I shall focus on the essentials. First, Benjamin Britten's score has been the subject of more than a little criticism (see, for example, Judith Macrkrell's review of the Mason production in The Guardian of 6 June 2012).  I found it majestic, complex, delicate and varied.  I particularly enjoyed the gamelan sequences. I loved it all and would gladly listen to it again and again. I can see why Britten's music would be difficult to choreograph but I think Bintley has found the way.  The audience's attention was retained through a very complex story by some quite spectacular dancing from the entry of the four kings to a fight scene in the last act where the princess and the salamander rescue their father and send the wicked empress packing. Last but by no means least were Rae Smith's sumptuous designs - glorious backdrops of Mount Fuji, swirling elements and a salamander - and costumes with everything from sea horses to kimonos. I can't remember such a visual feast in any theatrical performance.

Bintley demanded a lot from his dancers but all were equal to the challenge: Joseph Caley and Momoko Hirata who danced the salamander and Sakura, Elisha Willis the wicked stepmother and Rory MacKay the emperor. Each of the four kings was splendid - Mathias Dingman as king of the north, Chi Cao the king of the east, James Barton king of the west and my favourite, Tyrone Singleton king of the south.

In the programme there is an article by Paul Arrowsmith entitled "Transforming and Unloved Prince". It notes that the ballet has never been popular with British audiences even though it was created and revised by a succession of great choreographers and considers why.  I think this version will be the one that sticks.  It certainly deserves to do so and I hope it will.