Tchaikovsky

REVIEW – Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty (The Lowry)

kristobel1 Comment
SLEEPING BEAUTY
Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty © Johan Persson
Date: 24 November 2015
Upstaged Rating: 

Matthew Bourne and New Adventures are back at The Lowry in Salford with a gothic reimagining of the classic fairytale Sleeping Beauty.

By Bourne’s own admittance the familiar story of Sleeping Beauty always left him ‘a little cold’ – understandably so – it is a tale about a Princess who spends most of her time asleep. Taking his inspiration from Tchaikovsky’s score and the original fairytale, Bourne plays with our expectations of the well-loved tale and adds further layers to the story, with a surprising twist and new characters – Sleeping Beauty is a faultless and magical production. Giving us all the visual clues that we need to experience the story in a new and refreshing way – there is no finer storyteller than Matthew Bourne.

Set to the backdrop of Tchaikovsky’s passionate and menacing score, Sleeping Beauty tells the love story of Princess Aurora and her one true love, the Royal Gamekeeper, Leo. However, their love story is cut short when the dark fairy, Carrabosse curses Aurora to sleep for a 100 years. Carrabosse’s son, Caradoc also has designs to wed the Princess – however, she can only be awoken by her true love’s kiss.

Sumptuous gold curtains frame the stage and footlights donning fairy wings cast their light up to the stunning movement. Lez Brotherston’s set and costume design is dreamlike and striking, transporting us through from the Victorian era to the Edwardian period and then the present day with ease.

There is an abundance of personality and humour from the outset as Bourne chooses not to depict Aurora as a babe in arms but a loveable and mischievous little beauty. Using clever puppetry, Aurora is given a strong identity from the very beginning bringing giggles from the audience.

As always with Matthew Bourne and New Adventures, the most striking feature is the individuality of the dancers and their outstanding talent as dynamic storytellers. Ashley Shaw shines as Princess Aurora, playful and dreamlike, with Chris Trenfield as her true love Leo – their pas de deux at the end of Act II is perfectly expressive of young love. Adam Maskell shows his versatility as a dancer playing both malevolent Carabosse and her sinister son, Caradoc. Led by Christopher Marney‘s Count Lilac, the winged fairies Mari Kamata, Cordelia Braithwaite, Leon Moran, Dena Lague and Liam Mower, complete a wonderful line-up – technically perfect – they perform with passion, wit and vivacity. 

Once you have seen a Matthew Bourne production you become hooked and poised ready for the next. Following the well-deserved standing ovation and rapturous applause for Sleeping Beauty, Bourne hinted that he has a brand new production waiting in the wings. With a formal announcement to be made after Christmas – he did reveal that it will receive its premiere in Salford at The Lowry. I can’t wait.

-Kristy Stott

Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty is at The Lowry until Saturday 28th November.

REVIEW – Swan Lake – Birmingham Royal Ballet (The Lowry)

kristobel
Birmingham Royal Ballet © Bill Cooper
Swan Lake — Birmingham Royal Ballet
© Bill Cooper

 

Date: 23 september 2015
Upstaged Rating: 

 

Swan Lake has returned to The Lowry this September – in this lavish, romantic and stunningly beautiful production by the Birmingham Royal Ballet. Swan Lake is arguably the most famous ballet in the classical repertoire, certainly one of ballet’s greatest love stories and a personal favourite of mine. Headed up by David Bintley CBE and with choreography by Marius Petipa, Lev Ivanov and Peter Wright, this production by Birmingham Royal Ballet is one of the finest that you will ever see.

Powerfully illuminated by Tchaikovsky’s striking score, Swan Lake depicts the story of Prince Siegfried’s love for a beautiful princess named Odette. Odette has been cursed by the evil sorcerer Baron von Rothbart and must spend her days as  a swan, only returning to human form between midnight and dawn. The sorcerer’s wicked enchantment can only be broken if someone who has never loved before swears an oath of undying love. However, Rothbart further complicates the lovers by introducing a beautiful black swan, Odile.

Prima ballerina, Céline Gittens  is captivating playing the twin roles of Odette and Odile – she turns effortlessly, for what seems like an eternity, on one spot alongside Tyrone Singleton, her Prince Siegfried. The whole company are outstanding – but the harmony between the two principles during their pas de deux is spectacular. Singleton demonstrates strength, energy and passion against Gittens’ purity and elegance – both dancers are masterful storytellers.

Philip Prowse’s set design is majestic and detailed from the grand setting of the reception at the castle to the haunting embankment at dawn. The costume design is a marvel – heavy, bejewelled and rich attire for the regal scenes, yet the dancers move with ease. The twinkling white tutu’s worn by the swans give a stark contrast against the medieval backdrop of red, black and gold opulence.  Atmospheric lighting design by Peter Teigan fully complements the graceful magic of the dancers on stage by conjuring up a sense of autumn and the haze of sunlight drifting through the trees; the cascading dry ice creates a haunting lakeside setting for the shimmering formation of the spectacular female corps de ballet, twinkling and moving perfectly as one body.

The wonderful sound of the soft padding of pointe shoes across the Lyric Theatre at The Lowry, backed by Tchaikovsky’s legendary lyrical score delivered  by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia make this a first rate production – thrilling, beautiful and faultless.

-Kristy Stott

Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Swan Lake continues at the Lowry until Saturday 26 September 2015. 

With First Steps: A Child’s Swan Lake on Friday 25 September at 1pm.