20th Century Masterpieces – BRB

Three cheers for Sir Peter Wright and three cheers more for Birmingham Royal Ballet who drew balletic attention away from the capital for once to focus it firmly on England’s second city. Wright is now in his 100^th year and was responsible for moving Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet away from its London home to Birmingham in 1990 and consigning its old name to the history books. He was a dynamic and demanding director and responsible for forming and showcasing more than one generation of superlative dance-actors, as well as confirming himself as one of the world’s finest stagers of the great classical repertoire. A celebratory gala given by the company on 18^th June paid tribute to his many achievements and made for a wonderful precursor to one of the best triple bills of ballet to have graced any stage in the UK for many years. 

In his time, Wright was the ‘master of the triple bill’ and one could not have wished for a better mix of pieces to evoke that aspect of his artistry. All three are linked to him: Frederick Ashton’s masterly Birthday Offering from 1956 is a snapshot of The Royal Ballet’s stunning principal dancers on the occasion of the company’s 25^th anniversary; Kurt Jooss’ 1932 The Green Table is an expressionist work in which Wright made his own stage debut in the 1940s; and Theme and Variations is George Balanchine’s 1947 evocation of pre-revolutionary Russian imperial ballet splendour and the work which raised the curtain at Birmingham Hippodrome for its new resident company. Today, triumphant performances of all three works graced the Hippodrome stage, bringing together a trio of choreographic masterpieces, carefully and expertly revived, and a source of learning, extension and discovery for dancers and audiences alike.

Birthday Offering is a pièce d’occasion which has survived 70 years on account of its seemingly endless inventiveness and charm. Ashton selected seven of The Royal Ballet’s finest ballerinas, giving each a solo which highlighted their particular strengths and character, and those solos still present considerable technical and interpretative challenges to today’s dancers. Stager Christopher Carr has done an outstanding job in instilling the essence of Ashton’s dance style and musicality, and BRB’s young dancers rise superbly to the occasion, delivering truly idiomatic performances, helped greatly by the drive of Paul Murphy’s baton and the engaged musical performance by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia. It would be invidious to examine each of the seven soloists but Yaoqian Shang’s shining solo (originally conceived for Russian-born and trained Violetta Elvin) stood out. Momoko Hirata – who had danced an enchanting Aurora in the previous night’s gala – took on the daunting challenge of Margot Fonteyn’s choreography and proved a delight, bringing grace and precision and a gracious warmth to her dancing. Inexplicably ignored by The Royal Ballet in London, which currently could field an impressive line-up if it chose to do so, Birthday Offering is a wonderful and totally satisfying opening work, yet also stands on its own considerable merits.

The central slot was occupied by The Green Table in its first UK revival since 1992. Expertly staged by Jeanette Vondersaar, it remains a timeless work, a powerful critique of international diplomacy and the indiscriminate suffering of those whose lives are affected by it. With the rise of Hitler, German dancer and choreographer Jooss sought refuge in the UK and settled at Dartington Hall, Devon in the 1930s. The Green Table is the work which perpetuates his name, a masterful and wholly original synthesis of ballet and modern dance techniques in the Expressionist tradition. BRB’s dancers perform it as to the manner born, fully engaged in what must be, to them, an alien idiom, yet their performances are intense, powerful and memorable. At the ballet’s centre is the character of Death, who implacably claims a variety of characters, all victims of needless war, from a grieving old mother to a young girl sucked into prostitution, from soldiers to partisans. In company principal Lachlan Monaghan, BRB has found a superlative interpreter of this weighty role. He is, quite literally terrifying, his eyes coldly blazing with emotionless intensity, his work never ending, his presence always felt. Monaghan grabs the opportunities offered by the part with relish, transforming his elegant ballet body into something weighty and oppressive. Quite simply, he gives the best interpretation of this role your reviewer has witnessed. The small ensemble who play not only Death’s victims over six tableaux, but also the masked diplomats of the opening and closing scenes, are uniformly excellent, while Fritz Cohen’s two piano score is given its full due by company pianists Jeanette Wong and Yen Lee.

To close, the celebratory joys of Balanchine’s Theme and Variations, in which BRB let fly with neo-classical dancing of infectious verve and attack. They were led by Japanese Principal Miki Mizutani – an ethereal Giselle the night before – and Mexican First Soloist Enrique Bejarano Vidal, who both took on the fearsome choreography conceived for Alicia Alonso and Igor Yousskevitch, no less. Theirs was an idiomatic and controlled performance, both fully at ease with the technical demands, yet also capable of bringing the aristocratic demeanour required in this homage to Russian Imperial ballet. Their fellow company members impressed greatly with the attack and confidence they brought to genuinely challenging classical choreography, an ensemble in full command of its material.

Company Director Carlos Acosta is to be congratulated for scheduling this spectacular programme. Once upon a time, its like was not unusual, but the triple bill has slowly slipped from ballet companies’ seasons, and those that make it to the stage are, certainly in the case of The Royal Ballet in London, so poorly assembled and generally lacking in pieces of true worth to make the exercise itself almost futile. So, it is a great pleasure to be able to report on something featuring works by true masters which is a showcase not only for the dancers but for the art form. Three cheers indeed for Birmingham Royal Ballet.