Sleeping Beauty - London Coliseum

Alien Sleeping Beauty - nothing like the ballet

This was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. I had high expectations for it but didn't think it would come close to Matthew Bourne's version, which was not only magical and atmospheric but strong on the story-telling front. Bourne's protagonists had definite personalities and relatable, absorbing storylines. The traditional Sleeping Beauty is more a collection of showpiece dances, most of which do nothing to further the plot, and Aurora and the Prince couldn't exactly be mistaken for complex characters.

However, this production reminded me of the amazingness of traditional choreography, and I was blown away by the costumes, sets and atmosphere.

The 'Aurora' for best costume has to go to the Fairy of Benevolence, who wore a cornflower blue tutu with lots of sparkles and a headpiece to which it would be impossible for me to do justice. The only dud costume was that worn by one of the princes in the Rose Adagio, which made him resemble a cross between Oliver Cromwell and a hippy. I liked the fact that the courtiers'/townspeoples' costumes started off as late 17th century and 100 years later they were proper late 18th century Gainsborough-esque outfits. Because this was a fairytale I wasn't sure they would pay such attention to detail. But they did.

Highlights for me:

• The entrance of Carabosse (Fabian Reimair) in a sinister little carriage, accompanied by bald minions
• The Fairies pleading with Carabosse through highly elegant mimes and being rebuffed
• The Garland Waltz, danced by the townspeople
• The Rose Adagio - I'm sure the final part of the music was slower than usual, which made Aurora's (Erina Takahashi's) being on pointe for that length of time even more impressive
• Aurora's 'sleep throes' - so elegant and moving
• The Lilac Fairy (Shiori Kase) casting the spell over the palace that sends its inhabitants to sleep. It was a truly magical moment and the Lilac Fairy's mimes in that scene were exquisite. Exquisite
• The Lilac Fairy entering the forest on board a little SHIP and travelling through the forest on said ship to the accompaniment of smoke
• Basically every scene with the Lilac Fairy, who was my favourite character
• The wedding celebration dances of Aurora and the Prince (Aitor Arrieta) - both solos and pas de deux

It amused me that the Prince hardly had to put any effort into finding and rousing Aurora. Doesn't he at least have to hack away thick and stubborn foliage in the fairytale? In this, the Lilac Fairy does EVERYTHING: takes him through the forest, banishes Carabosse and her minions and even confirms, when the Prince expresses uncertainty, that he needs to kiss Aurora in order to wake her up.

I give this production 4.5 spindle pricks out of  5.

photo credit: the_alien_experience Sleeping Beauty - The Kiss of Life via photopin (license)

Next: The Bacchae

Satyagraha - London Coliseum

Gandhi-ish figure

There are three elements one can reliably expect from a Philip Glass opera:

1. Repetition

2. Extreme slowness of movement

3. Unpredictability (in areas other than 1. and 2.)

Satyagraha did not disappoint in any of the above, although I admit to feeling a little restless during the last 15 minutes of the 3.5 hour performance when the main motif of the final song was entering its fiftieth repetition. 

Philip Glass operas lull me into a deep meditative, mesmeric state, such that it doesn't hugely matter how much I understand of what's going on. Which was just as well with this one, given that my Sanskrit comprehension is non-existent and we didn't have a programme (they were sold out).

When I say they lull me into a meditative state, I don't mean that my mind is blank, unaffected by the story and music. I found Satyagraha very moving and beautiful, as I did Akhnaten. You can understand the emotions conveyed by the actors and songs even if you can't understand the words.

Satyagraha portrayed Gandhi’s early years in South Africa, tracing the progress of his concept of non-violent protest as a positive force for change. There were a few other visionary characters depicted, including the back of Martin Luther King, who, using very slow, repetitive movements, acted out speaking to an imaginary crowd for about half an hour at the end while Gandhi sang.

One of the visual motifs used throughout was newspapers...words and pictures beamed onto held up newspapers, people reading newspapers, people throwing newspapers, people writhing among newspapers. My favourite scene featured a line of stereotypically Celtic-looking men with fake beards reading newspapers before proceeding to scrunch them up and pelt Gandhi with them, leading to a European woman coming to his defence. And there were amazing papier-mâché giants of different shapes and sizes that came stalking out at one point. Wonderful!

The person who impressed me most was Karen Kamensek, the conductor. The fact that it's humanly possible to successfully conduct a Philip Glass opera - retaining concentration for that length of time, on music with that level of repetitiveness - blows my mind.

Next: Surprise!

Akhnaten - London Coliseum

Akhnaten statue

This was a theatrical experience unlike any other. Juggling, a top hat with a skull affixed, full frontal male nudity, masses of blue hair belonging to six people all knotted together, oversized lychee stones and Philip Glass himself all appeared during the course of the evening. There was also a female conductor, which made me happy.

This was an extremely beautiful, sumptuous, mesmerising opera. It held even my attention, as someone who generally finds opera boring. Akhnaten tells the story of Akhnaten's rule as Pharaoh following the death of his father, Amenhotep III. Akhnaten's reign was different to that of his father as he introduced monotheism and formed a new kind of society, the particulars of which are unclear in the opera but no doubt symbolically expressed through the juggling etc.

Anthony Roth Costanzo made a wonderful, otherworldly Akhnaten, combining power and charisma with vulnerability. The Scribe (Zachary James), who also seemed to be the ghost of Akhnaten's father, was amazing - tall and formidable with an incredibly powerful voice. The actors' movements were intensely slow and smooth to the extent that when Akhnaten was walking up staircases I wondered whether he was on a conveyor belt or being otherwise mechanically pulled up in some way. It felt as though every tiny movement had been choreographed to within an inch of its life.

I don't know whether this is characteristic of modern opera in general or Philip Glass operas in particular, but I really liked the bits where the singers were making sounds together with the music for extended periods of time rather than singing actual words. It sounded amazing. One of my favourite scenes, 'The Temple', in which Akhnaten and his mother, Queen Tye (Rebecca Bottone), enter the temple and banish the priests who are performing old rituals, featured a lot of this.

One of my other favourite scenes was one towards the end, 'The Family', in which Akhnaten and his family isolate themselves from society. Their insularity is represented by the blue hair of Akhnaten's six daughters all woven together at the ends, forcing them to move around in a group. I loved the music and strong atmosphere of this scene.

Costumes were unsurprisingly impressive - Akhnaten's coronation robes were suitably grand and multifaceted - I loved his headgear that contained what looked like an oversized lychee stone. Tutankhamun's outfit was as you would expect. My favourite costumes were those of Queen Tye. She wore Queen Mary-early-20th-century style dresses that looked as though they had been designed by Jean Paul Gaultier. Beautiful colours, including a light blue that set off her vivid red hair.

...And during the curtain call, who should appear but Philip Glass himself! The audience went as wild as an opera audience could possibly go.

photo credit: Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum via photopin (license)

Next: we shall see

The Nutcracker - London Coliseum

Pointe shoe Christmas tree at Coliseum

I've wanted to see a traditional production of The Nutcracker for years, but have never got round to it due to a) the limited amount of time for which such productions normally run and b) the expensive nature of the beast. This being a Christmas present, for the first and possibly last time I got to sit in the middle of the THIRD ROW OF THE STALLS! At the Coliseum! I was so close to the stage I got to see not only the faces of the back row of the orchestra, but every muscle twitch of the skimpy tights-clad bottoms of the male dancers. 

I loved this production. Set in the 1900s, the costumes were exquisite, the sets gorgeous, the dancing divine and the atmosphere enchanting. It did a perfect job of setting the scene at the beginning, in conveying the excited atmosphere of anticipation before a party on Christmas Eve. The skating and sledging scene outside the house - complete with projected falling snow - was beautiful. It was all so elegant; even the fallings over on the ice were elegantly performed. 

My favourite scene was the party scene. There was so much going on! Elaborate set with big Christmas tree blazing impressively and comfortingly away at the back of the stage? Check. Party guests all doing interesting things in the background, showing that they had personalities of their own? Check. Actual children dancing (as opposed to adults pretending to be children)? Check. Eccentric magician guest? Check. Arrival of Father Christmas? Check. I loved seeing the children receive their presents and particularly liked the little old-fashioned hot air balloon present...and the way it made an appearance in Clara's dream as a life-sized balloon. Child Clara's (Sereina Mowlem's) dance with the Nutcracker doll was sweet and slightly poignant.

The Dance of the Snowflakes was enchanting, especially as it included the voices of the children singing in one of the theatre's boxes. 

Drosselmeyer (eccentric magician guest, who, according to Wikipedia, was also a 'local councilman' (!)), played by Daniel Kraus, was my favourite character. I loved his gesturings towards the curtain in the second half, for it to draw back and reveal a new, captivating scene. The Mirliton dance brought back fond memories of my own dancing days - that was the music to which my ballet class danced in a show, many moons ago. The triangular cylindrical (I don't know how else to describe them) costumes of two of the 'Russian' dancers were exceedingly impressive, as were the jumps of the male 'Russian' dancer. The dance of dream Clara (Begoña Cao) as the Sugar Plum Fairy with the Prince (Junor Souza) was another highlight.

I felt the parts featuring the mice went on for a smidge too long, especially the big fight in the first act. And I didn't get why the 'real', human Nutcracker kept being replaced by the Prince only to be replaced by the Nutcracker again. I could understand the Nutcracker turning into a Prince, but why turn back in a Nutcracker?? Wikipedia sheds no light on this. And apparently the Prince is Drosselmeyer's nephew! There's no way you would know this stuff without looking it up.

The final scene, where child Clara and her brother (Seamus McIntosh) stood outside the house and saw the balloon sail past in the distance, brought a tear to my eye. Wonderful!

Next: Legally Blonde