In the cinema Feb 17 Wheeldon's The Winter's Tale

This pre-recorded Royal Ballet performance of Christopher Wheeldon's very widely acclaimed production will be shown in 400 cinemas throughout the U.S. beginning this Tuesday night. Search for your local venue at this link and at this link (better).  

Those in Manhattan who are currently struggling with their own 3 degrees winter tale may watch this performance at IMAX Empire 25 on 42nd St at 8th Ave, Union Square Stadium 14, and at IMAX Kips Bay 15 on 2nd Ave at 31st St beginning at 7PM.

2/17 – Edited to add post-performance reaction:

Wow. Just wow. Startlingly good. Emotionally exhausting.

 

Comments

[J]

I loved it. It was so thoroughly moving, intense, with brilliant dancing and characteizations from all. So grateful to have had the opportunity to see it.

[Haglund]

When struggling through The Winter's Tale as a reluctant student many decades ago, I never felt the drama in the play. In this ballet, I was struck how even though there was a "happy" resolution at the end, I felt no happiness - only a sense of relief from the ending of some of the characters' misery.

The entire cast was incredible but Watson and Yanowsky gave astonishing performances.

The choreography was tops and Christopher Wheeldon's best to date. Boy, am I feeling optimistic about the future of ballet.

[John G in NYC]

I love the play and have admired some of Wheeldon's previous choreography. Alas, I found his Winter's Tale utterly dispiriting. The biggest problem is the score which, to these ears, contains not a single interesting or effective idea; I never want to hear another measure from its composer. (Admittedly, the challenge of writing viable dance music these days is a daunting one.)
The dancers gave their all, and I suppose the story is made reasonably clear. But I saw only a couple of dance phrases--for MacRae & Lamb--that were even remotely interesting. Based on the (apparent) necessity of having the Hermione dance with a late-pregnancy pillow on her belly (cringe-inducing, that, though it might work in a parodic context), I'd suggest that the dramatic material is not well suited to classical dance. But then I don't like any of MacMillan's story ballets either, which will surely invalidate the above opinions for many. I suspect that you, Haglund, fall into this last category. I hope you won't take offense. I greatly enjoy reading your blog--especially when we disagree. Long live debate!
Judging from comments I overheard in the theater, I am in a distinct minority on this one. Chacun à son goût.

[Haglund]

Hi John G. Thanks for stopping by H.H.

Re: the score. I thought that it worked from a cinematic standpoint. Basically, it was movie music and we were at the movies. While listening to it last night, I wondered whether it would be as effective if I were sitting in the theater. I probably will never have the chance to find out, unfortunately.

I agree with your comment about the problems of writing music for dance these days. There's so much fabulous classical music that hasn't been used for dance yet. I'd rather see a choreographer cut & paste existing great music the way Balanchine did with Serenade or the way Neumeier, MacMillan, and Cranko did, rather than rely on something that isn't top-notch.

Yeah, that's a bummer that you don't like MacMillan's ballets, and, in that case, I can see why you might not like Act I and Act III. I thought that Yanowsky's choreography was more Graham-ish and Tudor-ish than MacMillan and I was blown away by the sheer weight and drama in her movement. Watson had me on pins and needles. I hope this man stays on the stage or in film when he is finished dancing.

[J]

Wheeldon's full length ballets seem to make it to New York. San Francisco Ballet brought his Cinderella to New York as did the National Ballet of Canada his Alice in Wonderland. Since his Winter's Tale is a co-production with National Ballet of Canada and that company is premiering it in Toronto and has American rights, I would expect it to show up somewhere in the U.S. during 2016-2017, performed by Natiional Ballet of Canada, whose director is pushing for the company to tour in large cities outside Canada.
Hope springs eternal.

[Haglund]

Hi, J.

That would be great to see National Ballet of Canada's Winter's Tale here. I understand that there is a movement afoot to have April 23, 2016 declared as World Shakespeare Day and that there will be special events throughout the world to mark the 400th anniversary of his death. So, we'll probably see a flurry of Shakespeare happenings just about everywhere during 2016-2017.

[Jennifer]

I appreciated the musicians on stage in the second act and much of the choreography. Whoever produces these cinema versions for the ballet could take a lesson from the Metropolitan Opera about how to fill the time during the intermissions. With the Opera, there are back stage interviews, live cams showing scenery changes on stage, etc. A picture of the closed curtain with a count down of 20 minutes, 19 minutes, 18 minutes until the end of the interval was lame. I recognize that budget must have been an issue.

[Haglund]

Hi, Jennifer.

I agree that they could have done better with the intermissions. I seem to recall that during the RB cinemacast of Sleeping Beauty there was more content during the intermissions.

Being that it was The Winter's Tale world premiere and given the complexities of the production, I imagine that the stress levels back stage were pretty high. Adding backstage interviews or cameras following the stage crew might have been a hindrance.

[J]

The intermissions gave me a chance to talk with my boyfriend about the production. I loved every minute of it, and am seriously considering going to Toronto to see the National Ballet of Canada's casts in November of 2015. (I wonder what role McGee Maddox will perform - he is an exceptional dance-actor.) Of related interest, Joffrey Ballet has announced that Wheeldon will be choreographing The Nutcracker for them to perform in December of 2016.

[Haglund]

That's an interesting step that the Joffrey is taking in retiring their Nutcracker instead of perhaps refurbishing it.

If Wheeldon wanted to make a Chicago-themed Nutcracker, which IMO would be a great idea, he certainly would have a lot of material to work with. With regard to the sets alone, he could draw ideas from the work of some of the city's great architects: Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Sullivan, Mies van der Rohe. And of course, there's Mrs. O'Leary's cow and the world's first ferris wheel. Hopefully, the ballet could be spared references to politics, organized crime, and basketball.

[J]

Kennedy Center has announced January 19-24, 2016, for A Winter's Tale, performed by the National Ballet of Canada.

[Haglund]

That's awesome. Thanks, J.