Anybody who takes on Stravinsky's monumental and notoriously difficult(both choreographically and especially musically) ballet deserves some kind of praise for trying, regardless of how it turns out. This production is a brave attempt and is an interesting documents for fans of Uwe Scholz, but those looking for choreography that excites and moves or a production capturing the spirit of the ballet are likely to find themselves short-changed.
Stravinsky's music, challenging as it is play and initially to listen to if not familiar with the style, is undoubtedly magnificent if not appealing to all tastebuds, and the production is interesting for the use of two versions- one for 2 pianos for one for orchestra(the latter of which is more familiar to me admittedly). The dancers, despite not having the most compelling choreography to work with, do a good job, with the exception of Kiyoko Kimura whose acting is pantomimic on occasions(i.e. her laughter in her final scene) and her choreography has much writhing about and such and not much that's interesting or recognisable as choreography. Particularly worthy of praise is Giovanni Di Palma, whose dancing is superbly athletic and poised and he commands the stage beautifully. The piano playing from both pianists is top-notch, Rite of Spring sounds impossible on the piano but the pianists did a cracking job at it.
The orchestral playing is not as consistent, some fine moments but also some lacklustre ones. In terms of sound and balance, the orchestra sound fine, it's powerful playing on the whole and there is evidence of energy and nuance, the famous bassoon solo for example is beautifully played. At the same time, there are some lethargic-sounding tempos going on, this may have been a deliberate choice to accommodate the dancers and fair enough but it took the excitement and intensity away from the score. The sloppy(with some missed cues) and underpowered timpani section(a major problem for a score full of percussive moments) and compressed sound quality don't help, the Ritual of the Rival Tribes, Dance of the Earth and especially Sacrificial Dance(which should have been much more suspenseful) sound a little ordinary and Ritual Action of the Ancestors is well played but could have been creepier.
With the production's choreography, it is very much a matter of taste, and to be honest I didn't care for the choreography here. The choreography for the piano version too often bordered on pedestrian and distasteful, like with the toilet business in the Act 2 climax. The choreography for the orchestral version was little better, athletically danced sure and there are some nice abstract parts, but it was just so uninteresting on the whole and like watching a gym class filmed on fast-forward. If it was meant to be a mix of classical ballet and modern/neo-classical, it didn't feel very obvious to me, not being graceful or elegant enough for classical ballet and not energetic or wild enough for neo-classical(Sacrificial Dance easily could have been a great example of the latter if done right but it just doesn't have any impact. Stravinsky's music in Rite of Springs constantly changes meter, time signatures and tempos, and even with the slower tempos there was the sense that people were struggling to keep up, which was the main issue with the choreography of the Sacrificial Dance.
Visually, the production also isn't great. It's well-photographed actually, the lighting has some atmosphere and the costumes suit the story and music style well. The sets and props however are non-existent, and the backdrop is little more than a dark background with use of images and figures that tends to distract rather than add.
All in all, this Uwe Scholz-directed production is a brave attempt at a very difficult ballet, but while I respect what it was trying to do it just wasn't my cup of tea. 4/10 Bethany Cox
Stravinsky's music, challenging as it is play and initially to listen to if not familiar with the style, is undoubtedly magnificent if not appealing to all tastebuds, and the production is interesting for the use of two versions- one for 2 pianos for one for orchestra(the latter of which is more familiar to me admittedly). The dancers, despite not having the most compelling choreography to work with, do a good job, with the exception of Kiyoko Kimura whose acting is pantomimic on occasions(i.e. her laughter in her final scene) and her choreography has much writhing about and such and not much that's interesting or recognisable as choreography. Particularly worthy of praise is Giovanni Di Palma, whose dancing is superbly athletic and poised and he commands the stage beautifully. The piano playing from both pianists is top-notch, Rite of Spring sounds impossible on the piano but the pianists did a cracking job at it.
The orchestral playing is not as consistent, some fine moments but also some lacklustre ones. In terms of sound and balance, the orchestra sound fine, it's powerful playing on the whole and there is evidence of energy and nuance, the famous bassoon solo for example is beautifully played. At the same time, there are some lethargic-sounding tempos going on, this may have been a deliberate choice to accommodate the dancers and fair enough but it took the excitement and intensity away from the score. The sloppy(with some missed cues) and underpowered timpani section(a major problem for a score full of percussive moments) and compressed sound quality don't help, the Ritual of the Rival Tribes, Dance of the Earth and especially Sacrificial Dance(which should have been much more suspenseful) sound a little ordinary and Ritual Action of the Ancestors is well played but could have been creepier.
With the production's choreography, it is very much a matter of taste, and to be honest I didn't care for the choreography here. The choreography for the piano version too often bordered on pedestrian and distasteful, like with the toilet business in the Act 2 climax. The choreography for the orchestral version was little better, athletically danced sure and there are some nice abstract parts, but it was just so uninteresting on the whole and like watching a gym class filmed on fast-forward. If it was meant to be a mix of classical ballet and modern/neo-classical, it didn't feel very obvious to me, not being graceful or elegant enough for classical ballet and not energetic or wild enough for neo-classical(Sacrificial Dance easily could have been a great example of the latter if done right but it just doesn't have any impact. Stravinsky's music in Rite of Springs constantly changes meter, time signatures and tempos, and even with the slower tempos there was the sense that people were struggling to keep up, which was the main issue with the choreography of the Sacrificial Dance.
Visually, the production also isn't great. It's well-photographed actually, the lighting has some atmosphere and the costumes suit the story and music style well. The sets and props however are non-existent, and the backdrop is little more than a dark background with use of images and figures that tends to distract rather than add.
All in all, this Uwe Scholz-directed production is a brave attempt at a very difficult ballet, but while I respect what it was trying to do it just wasn't my cup of tea. 4/10 Bethany Cox
