The Royal Ballet: Mixed Program (November 10th, 2015)

The Royal Ballet's

Viscera

& 

Afternoon of a Faun

&

Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux

&

Carmen

Nov. 10th, 2015

This was a mixed program featuring a brand new ballet. I saw what was apparently the 'B' cast (thank you guy sitting next to me), but I'm positive that in most cases, they were every bit as good as the A cast must be. Certainly there were performances that were so perfect I couldn't see anyone else doing them. I've divided the review into brief thoughts on each piece in the order in which they were performed. Enjoy!

Seat/Venue Review: I sat C25 in the Stalls Circle, and it was a £33 day seat. Not a bad seat. A bit annoying when one of the pieces heavily focused their choreography on an area of the stage I couldn't see. I didn't get in late, but they'd already run out of cast sheets, which was annoying. 

Viscera

(flickr)

Viscera, choreographed by Liam Scarlett, included a large ensemble of dancers, featuring Fumi Kaneko, Leticia Stock, and Nehemiah Kish. The 23 minute ballet was divided into three parts; a large group number, a PDD, and a second group number. I can't really tell you anything about any particular dancers, as it was too quick to pick out individual faces/styles. I think I spotted Olivia Cowley, and there was one blonde dancer (usually in the front) who had atrocious hands/wrists, but aside from that, I can't identify any dancers (not including the PDD), so I'll speak about the piece as a whole.

I found the choreography quite chaotic. It looked like it could've used a bit more rehearsal; many of the synchronised parts had one or two dancers a beat in front or behind of everyone else. In some areas, this was clearly intentional, in others, not so much. Overall, it was pretty sloppy. The PDD was nice enough, I didn't find anything particularly noteworthy about either of the dancers. It felt like they were doing their job, and that was that. Both strong dancers, of course, but I thought there was more they could've done expression wise to communicate the meaning of whatever they were dancing. As it was, I have no clue what they were talking about.

I also had a bit of a problem with the costumes. The three types of costumes (two for girls and one for boys) were just different enough to clash quite noticeably. The colours and styles (tight, square necks for the girls and baggy cowl necks for the guys) just didn't go together; deep red and plum aren't complementary. I suppose they were pretty traditional, contemporary ballet costumes, but I thought a little more thought could've gone into how the costumes looked onstage with each other.

I did enjoy watching Viscera, I just felt that it was an unfinished product that had been thrown onstage before it was totally ready. The choreography was chaotic and not exactly memorable, and many lovely dancers just faded into the messy background. 

Afternoon of a Faun

Olivia Cowley
(© @damegrace on Twitter)

This 11-minute Jerome Robbins piece featured two dancers, Olivia Cowley and Matthew Ball, and was probably my favourite piece of the evening. While the name is a bit nonsensical (aside from Cowley's pseudo-grecian tunic, nothing is remotely greco-roman about it), it's a simple, yet enjoyable performance. It tells a brief story of two dancers in a ballet studio, in which the audience is the mirror. The unnerving thing about this idea is that the dancers are looking right at the audience, yet you know that they're looking at a reflection. The head tilts and subtle movements make this very clear. It's a cool idea, and Cowley and Ball execute it to perfection.

The choreography and performance felt very classical with a modern edge to it, shown through the costume and set. There were no fancy tricks; rather, it focused on the relationship between two dancers. It was a piece that was quietly elegant without being overly complex; very clean, very light and airy. Ball was charming and engaging; his little warm up routine at the beginning was very realistic. Aside from the heavy makeup, it didn't look like he was performing on stage. However, Olivia Cowley stole the performance for me. She's such a gorgeous dancer, with lines and extensions to die for and the most beautiful stage presence. Her dancing and the music felt like they were the linked together so absolutely that I can't imagine one without the other; she really connects to the music, her partner, and the audience in a way very few dancers do. She's living it, rather than performing it (does that make sense?); it's incredibly effective, and makes her a joy to watch.

I've read other reviews that suggested a heavy sexual undertone of the piece, which I didn't see. To me, it was more about childlike innocence, beautiful clean lines and simple, yet elegant steps. It was like watching a waterfall at sunrise (imagery much?); peaceful, yet transfixing. I could've sat and watched it go on for hours.

Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux

Lauren Cuthbertson and Matthew Golding
(roh.org)

This Balanchine piece featured principal dancers Lauren Cuthbertson and Matthew Golding. I'm typically not a Balanchine fan; I find his choreography frenetic and lacking in flow or rhythm. However, I did quite enjoy this piece (mostly because of the dancers, but I loved the music too). Lauren Cutbertson is always radiant (although slouching off the stage after a turning section before she's actually out of view of the audience wasn't one of her finer moments - I always find things like that disappointing because she was executing these beautiful, quick turns with such precision and finesse… and then she just stopped bothering before she was off stage. It kind of ruined the moment). But her footwork is quick and tidy, complemented by an elegant port de bras. I felt that she made the best of the choreography; she kept it light and spritely while maintaining her usual fluidity and expression. I really enjoyed Matthew Golding in this piece too. He's a very expressive, emotive dancer, but this gave me a chance to watch his actual dancing a bit more than I did at R&J. Great lines and extension, rock solid turns, very sharp, hit all the accents in the music and choreography easily. I really liked that he's got gorgeous presentation, but will draw your attention to his partner; if you're watching him, it's like he finishes his thing, then slowly extends his arm and head in the direction of Lauren so you follow his gaze right to her. It's hard to explain, but very effective. Pairs skaters/Ice Dancers - take note! My one complaint about him is he tends to 'eat an air donut' quite a lot (basically 'biting' the air while dancing… a lot of dancers and figure skaters seem to do this; it just looks a bit awkward). So, although I'm not a Balanchine fan, the expression and technical ability of Golding and Cuthbertson made this piece entertaining and entrancing. I would happily watch it over and over again. 

Carmen

Marianela Nunez and Matthew Golding
(roh.org)

A new work by Carlos Acosta, featuring a mix of ballet and opera, starred Tierney Heap as Carmen, Vadim Muntagirov as Don Jose, and Matthew Ball as Escamillo. This was the second Acosta-choreographed piece I've seen, and I can't say I'm a fan of his work. It's chaotic, nonsensical, fails to communicate a story… essentially, this version of Carmen was a glorified striptease. I honestly don't know why the Royal Ballet continues to pour money into Acosta's choreography, as it's clearly not been successful thus far (this based on my personal opinion and on other reviews). There was more making out between characters and stripping off of clothes than actual dancing, which was disappointing and unnecessary. The opening consisted of a group of men removing clothing bit by bit as Carmen danced around seductively. Subtle, real subtle. In the middle of the ballet, there was a table prop, and a dancer was put front and centre simply to strip off her top/vest, then jump back down again. These kinds of things happened frequently, and they detracted from the story, leaving a confused mess of props and clothes. I also felt the ballet was far too highly sexualised. In many cases, implication is more effective than actually showing what was happening. Drawn out kisses, dancers rolling around on top of each other, and awkwardly positioned lifts made the piece decidedly un-sexy - any charm or seductiveness that the dancers achieved was cancelled out by the above. 

That is not to say the dancing itself wasn't good. It was clear that Heap and Ball were putting everything into their characters. Heap was sultry and daring; every inch of her screamed seductress through the ballet, yet she was capable of showing the character's more emotional side when confronted with her own demise. Ball was charming and suave as Escamillo, you could see exactly why Carmen was drawn to his intriguing nature. There wasn't a whole lot of actual dancing on his part, but Ball managed to express the character's personality while tidily executing what little dancing he had been given to do. Muntagirov was a bit awkward and muted; he faded into the background very easily, and I didn't see the psychological break that has to happen for Don Jose to murder Carmen. 

Marienala Nunez and Carlos Acosta
(roh.org)

Another thing I liked was the opera chorus. They sang one full song (accompanying Ball's matador -esque introductory routine) and provided some background singing at other times. It added an interesting dynamic to an art that is usually silent aside from the orchestra, providing some depth and a connection to the most famous version of Carmen. I did think the fortune teller could have been played by a ballet dancer rather than sung. In this case, the singing felt cumbersome and unnecessary.

Carmen was a disappointing way to end an otherwise interesting and engaging mixed program. I hope that this ballet will be put aside for a while, or at least go back to the drawing board and reworked into a stronger, more coherent piece. I would certainly be willing to give it another shot if it were reworked. 

This quadruple bill presented by the Royal Ballet is certainly worth seeing, although it disappoints in some areas. Afternoon of a Faun and Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux are beautiful, engaging pieces, and Viscera, though chaotic, is intriguing nonetheless.  

The Royal Ballet: Romeo and Juliet (November 5th, 2015)

The Royal Ballet's

Romeo and Juliet

Nov 5th, 2015

This was my second time seeing The Royal Ballet's version of Romeo and Juliet, and I enjoyed it far more this time. There are certain things that I still wasn't feeling and details I felt were missing, but all in all, this was a better performance of the ballet, which made me like the ballet itself much more than the first time I saw it.

Seat/Venue Review: I sat in C87 Stalls Circle Right, and it was a £35 day seat. It was ok; it's probably the best of the bench seats, but you miss all the action that happens on the far side of the stage, and there's a lot of adjusting around to compensate for other people. ROH is nice as always. Friendly staff, easy to get around. My one issue is the lack of bathrooms on the right side of the theatre. And the exorbitant program costs, but at least they give free cast sheets.

This trip to the ROH was a spontaneous "friends are going and everyone says this girl playing Juliet is amazing so I should go check it out" trip. And boy am I glad I went. I've already talked about the production/set/costumes in my last review here, so now I mostly want to talk about the dancers and this particular performance itself.

Matthew Golding and Francesca Hayward
(The Guardian)

Matthew Golding (Canadian! Whoop!) and Francesca Hayward played the title characters. I really, really liked Matthew Golding. He has a very Prince Charming-esque character about him. It totally doesn't hurt that he's quite good looking (and has the Disney Prince hair), but it's mostly in the acting and his relationship with other characters. Golding believably portrayed a wide range of emotions, from cheeky and fun-loving around his friends, to head-over-heels, passionately in love with Juliet, to complete devastation at the death of his friend, to desperation and betrayal at Juliet's 'death'…. and then everything in between. I was so wrapped up in his emotional execution that I really couldn't tell you a whole lot about his dancing. Really nice lines with great legs and feet, big jumps, neat turns - but really, it's the emotions and the feeling that made Golding's performance truly unique and interesting. I wasn't entirely sold on the partnership of Hayward and Golding; she's tiny, and he's very tall, so it looked a bit awkward at times (though he certainly had no problems lifting her, he had to hunch all the way over - with her up en pointe - for the kisses, which looked slightly creepy). Though individually they were both strong emotional dancers, as a pairing I just didn't feel a lot of chemistry.

Francesca Hayward as Juliet
(roh.org)

Francesca Hayward was the dancer I've been hearing about for months. Everyone I've talked to has spoken of how wonderful she is, how Juliet is the perfect part for her, etc. That's a lot to live up to, so I was trying not to expect anything too exceptional, especially considering how young Hayward is. Well, she completely lived up to - and then exceeded - the hype. Hayward's Juliet was spritely and charming in the beginning, complete with light-as-a-feather jumps. The nuances and details in the introduction to the character immediately drew you in. Through the ballet, Hayward evolved from the youthful, happy child, to the young woman in love, to the absolute devastation that comes over Juliet by the end. It was a believable development, and you could tell Hayward had put a lot of thought and emotion into her performance. One of my favourite parts was watching Juliet interact with Paris; Hayward started out playfully trying to avoid him, before realising that her parents weren't going to let her get around it, after which she became more dour and unwilling to get too close to him. I like that the emotion the character is feeling extends to every part of her body - face, head, arms, torso, legs - her whole body tells the story. It's not just dancing with the feet, it's with the heart. I can't really comment on Hayward's technique as I was far too focused on her overall performance, but her dancing has a very airy quality. She landed her leaps soundlessly, and the intricate footwork looked precise, yet was executed with apparent ease. Her 'rag doll' at the end - when Juliet is supposedly dead - was perfect; she was entirely limp, and even when being dragged around the floor and tossed around (which according to her, hurts - I'm not surprised), not a muscle twitches. One could truly believe her to be dead. All in all, Hayward was a stellar Juliet. Though very young, she proved herself to be capable of handling the technical and emotional demands of the part better than many seasoned principal dancers. An exquisite young star that we can expect great things from.

Other notable performances came from Marcelino Sambe as Mercutio; from the moment he stepped on stage, you knew who he was. He was cheeky, charming, and delightfully humorous. He captured your attention instantly, which made it quite sad when he died. Last time I saw this ballet at ROH, I had no idea which dancer was Benvolio and which Mercutio until Tybalt killed one of them. The Three Harlots were hilarious; they have little routines in the background choreographed so they're always bugging someone, fighting, waving their skirts around, etc. It's fun to watch. And of course, my favourite part was in the background of the first scene, when a fight erupts in the market place. Way in the back, one guy was beating another guy up with a fake fish. You don't get much better than that.

Lauren Cuthbertson and Edward Watson
(the Guardian)

My one issue with this performance was that I felt it could've used a bit more rehearsal. The corps parts were fine, but some of the duos/trios (i.e. a Romeo/Benvolio/Mercutio trio near the beginning had the three dancers completely off time with each other for most of the trio). It just felt a bit disconnected, dancers focusing more on their individual performance rather than staying with the group (an 'ensemble of individuals' as someone else put it). I didn't quite feel a bond between any of the characters.

I really enjoyed this performance of Romeo and Juliet, and I wish I could go back and watch it again. If you get the opportunity to watch any of the dancers discussed in the review, do so. It's absolutely worth it. 

The Royal Ballet: Raven Girl & Connectome (October 22nd, 2015)

The Royal Ballet's

Raven Girl

& 

Connectome

Oct. 22nd, 2015

I had the pleasure of seeing these two ballets as a treat for myself to celebrate the end school (for now, anyway!). Originally I'd planned on going on Saturday, but the allure of  seeing Lauren Cuthbertson live was too much, so at 8am, I arrived at the ROH to grab a day ticket (of course, no one else showed up til 930, but still I got a cheap return, which was an excellent seat). This review will be divided in two sections, one for each ballet. I have also been asked by some people to review seats/venues in my reviews, so I'll do that first.

Seat/Venue Review: I sat A99 in the Stalls Circle Right, and it was £24. Definitely the best seat I've sat in at the ROH thus far, you could see 95% of the stage, and there were no heads or other obstructions in front of me. It's so close you're practically on the stage. I did get a slightly sore neck from having it turned the entire time, and the light from the orchestra was distracting at times, but it was an excellent seat, especially considering the price. Would definitely sit there again. As always, the ROH is a great venue, though the programs are very overpriced and they only sell them in the lobby.

Raven Girl

Sarah Lamb and Eric Underwood
© Dave Morgan

Raven Girl featured Sarah Lamb as the titular character, Edward Watson as the Postman, Olivia Cowley as the Raven, Paul Kay as 'Boy', Thiago Soares as the Doctor, Poppy Downing as a Raven Child (a role which I didn't even notice…), and Eric Underwood as the Raven Prince. They were supported by Hannah Grennell, Sander Blommaert, Marcelino Sambe, and Artists of the Royal Ballet.

The basis of the story is a raven and a postman fall in love (yes, you read that right), and have a child, the Raven Girl. This half-girl, half-bird looks human, but cannot speak, and longs for wings. Despite what other reviewers had said, I thought the narrative itself was relatively simple to follow. I'd read a basic summary beforehand, and that's all I needed to keep track of what was happening. To be fair, the actual narrative was interspersed with some bizarre group dances, and the conclusion came out of nowhere and made very little sense, but all in all, I didn't have a problem with it. I assume the group numbers were to cover up changes in set or mark the passage of time, but it felt a little random.

I had mixed feelings about the sets. Some of the set pieces were stunning; the rocky backdrop of the Raven's cave was incredibly effective, as were the large glass box which held the wings. But some things, like the window that moved around a lot, and some of the smaller set pieces (like the door at the beginning and other bits of chairs, chalkboards, etc.) felt awkward and out of place. I was also incredibly irritated by the text on the screen; it took an eternity to show up (it began with a series of random letters appearing and flickering until they reached the intended words), and this didn't really add anything, so it felt unnecessary. I liked to consistency of colour in the set though; everything was grey, black, and white. Costuming was hit and miss, and the lack of consistency bothered me - if the prince is meant to be a raven, where's his headpiece? And where did Raven Girl's wings go? I understand practicality, but if they knew they wanted to do this dance with the two of them, why didn't they consider this in the overall costume design, rather than changing everything for the last piece? I think that's part of what made the last dance between Raven Girl and the Prince feel so disconnected from everything else. I also didn't really like the floppiness of the raven costumes as it was distracting; I felt they could've been more effectively designed. The headpieces were awesome though.

Sarah Lamb and Eric Underwood
(google)

I have to admit, I didn't really pay attention to most of the male dancers. Partially because the characters portrayed by the girls were more intriguing, and partially because I tend to watch them more closely anyway so I can learn from them, and apply whatever I've learned to my own dancing. So I can tell you that Eric Underwood had extreme control, but lacked any emotional connection and wasn't particularly interesting. Edward Watson was charming and believable as the Postman, but he certainly didn't look comfortable with the partnering with the Raven; he was hauling her around and grimacing all the while. The 'Boy' didn't do any actual dancing as far as I noticed, he was more of a prop. I thought it was interesting that the ensemble of ravens was made up of both male and female dancers; if I weren't sitting so close, the two would've been indistinguishable. Usually the men and women have such different styles and ways of movement.

Sarah Lamb was lovely as the Raven Girl. I felt that this was a better part for her than Juliet; it was more wild and free, and it allowed her to explore a character that was very unique in that it's not something that really exists in other ballets (aside from maybe Swan Lake). However, I did feel that at times, she forgot she was playing a character and was like "Ok, now I dance." This was most noticeable during the partnering with the Raven Prince at the end; I didn't feel there was an opportunity for these two characters to develop a relationship, so they were more sort of dancing for themselves and putting on a performance rather than 'living' it. That said, Sarah has beautiful lines and gorgeous feet. I still felt as though her jumps were quite heavy (how can such a small, slim person land so loudly?), but she was very confident in the hoops and climbing up the chairs. I also felt she handled the awkwardly huge wings with ease, which had to be difficult (they didn't look light). My favourite part of her performance was how flawlessly she portrayed drugged/asleep; she was being dragged around and manipulated into various positions, and managed to maintain beautifully pointed feet and legs, graceful movement, etc without actually looking like she was still in control of her body. It was very intriguing and incredibly well done. Actually, she did this very well as Juliet too. So she's just really good at playing dead.

Olivia Cowley and Edward Watson
© Dave Morgan

I have to write about Olivia Cowley, because she was one of the highlights of the piece. From about 10 seconds into her first appearance onstage, I knew she was going to be the one to watch. She truly embodied the character of the Raven in everything she did; the constant rapid head movements, her arms and legs bending and moving exactly how a bird would - it's difficult to describe, and has to be seen to be truly appreciated. But you didn't see a trained dancer, you saw a wild, frenetic-yet-elegant bird. Her elegance and finesse made the sometimes awkwardly choreographed partner work look so much better. Olivia's acting, too, was just sublime. I'm always amazed how dancers manage to act without saying a work, but they have the advantage of facial expression - Olivia did all the work without her face, and produced twice the result of most dancers. You could see what her character was thinking and feeling just through head tilts and arm movements, such as when the Raven Girl got wings and her mother and father were upset by it, yet you could see the tenderness and love in the 'mothers' movement (I'm so not doing Olivia justice here). I also loved her dancing by itself. She has the most beautiful extensions (I want legs like hers!), and there's a very light, airy, and fluid quality about everything that she does. An all-around stellar dancer who I will definitely be making a point of seeing dance again. She absolutely needs to dance Juliet in R&J, and based on her ability to play a bird with such finesse, the Odette/Odile in Swan Lake. 

Connectome

The cast of Connectome featured Lauren Cuthbertson in the lead role, with Steven McRae and Edward Watson as the leading men. They were supported by a corps of men, including Luca Acri, Matthew Ball, Tomas Mock, and Marcelino Sambe.

© Dave Morgan

I'd heard mainly negative or neutral reviews of this piece, so I wasn't expecting much. I don't know what those reviewers were thinking, however, because I loved it! To be fair, any theme/storyline went completely over my head. I had no idea what the piece was meant to be about or what it was trying to convey (I believe it had something to do with identity/connections between people? Who knows). At the same time though, I found it intriguing to watch.

The set - a series of long poles - was very intricate, yet didn't feel overcrowded or 'too much'. The choreography was such that the dancers moved through the poles with grace and ease, and it added a sense of dimension to the overall performance. This was helped by the simplicity of the costumes, the lead dancers wore simple white leotards (ok so the men were basically wearing underwear), and the supporting men wore greenish/beige. The result was a visual effect that felt very controlled, clean, and modern. At one point, projections were used on the white poles that made up the set - I couldn't for the life of me tell what these were meant to be though, as I was at a bad angle to see them. But they were pretty cool, so I guess my point here is that they could have thought the logistics of that through a bit better, but overall the lighting design complemented the set and ballet very nicely. The music was a bit odd and got repetitive at times, but overall I liked it.  

Lauren Cuthbertson
© Dave Morgan

I have to write about Lauren Cuthbertson, because, well... Lauren Cuthbertson. This is the first time I saw her dance live, and I was completely blown away. She was mesmerising - the DVDs of Alice and R&J don't do her justice. It's hard to put a finger on what made her so interesting and engaging to watch; the quality of movement was obviously stellar - such fluidity and ease. It doesn't look like she's performing very practiced choreography, if that makes any sense. Because I was so close to the stage, I could actually hear the dancers breathing - my point here is that most of the dancers were just breathing whenever it was convenient, but Lauren's breaths were very controlled. She only let out a loud breath at certain moments in the choreography, which was weird, but it added something. I don't really know how to describe it; it's very much like what we had to do in AGG routines, which I think is why I noticed it.  So her performance felt fresh and new, but also very controlled. Does that make any sense? Yeah I didn't think so. Another one of those that needs to be seen to be understood. Anyway, I loved it, and I'm absolutely dying to see more of her dancing. It's just subtly brilliant.

Edward Watson and Steven McRae were dynamic and exciting; they interacted nicely, fitting together like two puzzle pieces rather than one overpowering the other. The male ensemble made a good support structure; they didn't stand out individually, but moved together as a unit.

I feel like I didn't do either of these pieces justice, but with shorter, unfamiliar pieces, it's difficult to do any hard-hitting analysis. But I hope this gave an idea of what I liked and disliked about Raven Girl and Connectome. I definitely encourage seeing both if you get the chance, and if you ever get the opportunity to see Lauren Cuthbertson and/or Olivia Cowley, you are very lucky indeed. 

I also wanted to share this link to Dave Morgan's photography of these two pieces, the photographs are stunning and give a bit of a glimpse into how visually beautiful and dynamic Raven Girl and Connectome are. 

The Royal Ballet: Romeo and Juliet (September 22nd, 2015)

The Royal Ballet's

Romeo and Juliet

Sept 22nd, 2015

A trip to the Royal Opera House is always exciting, but doubly so when you're going to see your favourite ballet! My favourite shakespeare play and my favourite ballet, Romeo and Juliet is a beautiful story with so many different possible interpretations, and I was very excited to see what the Royal Ballet had put together. I was also lucky enough to see the show as it was being filmed and streamed live across the world. It was very exciting. Anyway, onto the review!

The cast of this performance was as follows: Sarah Lamb (Juliet), Steven McRae (Romeo), Alexander Campbell (Mercutio), Gary Avis (Tybalt), Tristan Dyer (Benvolio), Ryoichi Hirano (Paris), Christopher Saunders (Lord Capulet), Elizabeth McGorian (Lady Capulet), Bennet Gartside (Escalus), Lara Turk (Rosaline), Genesia Rosato (Nurse), Alastair Marriot (Friar Laurence/Lord Montague), and Sian Murphy (Lady Montague). Juliet's Friends were played by Elizabeth Harrod, Meaghan Grace Hinkis, Fumi Kaneko, Emma Maguire, Anna Rose O'Sullivan, and Romany Padjak. The Three Harlots were played by Itziar Mendizabal, Olivia Cowley, and Helen Crawford. 

This production was very different from Ratmansky's R&J at the National Ballet of Canada, which is the only other version of the ballet I've seen live (and which I love dearly). Of course, Prokofiev's beautiful score is the same, and the orchestra at the ROH is absolutely stunning. All in all, though, I have to say I probably preferred NBoC's R&J. However, there were many things I enjoyed about the Royal Ballet's, and I'll discuss that first.

The costuming, first of all, was beautiful. The court gowns were sumptuous and richly coloured, with immaculate headpieces. The women's dresses were light as air, and moved beautifully as the girl's turned and jumped. All of the men's tops were detailed, sparkly (yay), and looked perfect for the period. I liked that there was a clear colour scheme; one family was in red (Capulet) while the other was in shades of green and blue (Montague). It made it easier to tell who was who (though I couldn't tell you the difference between Mercutio and Benvolio until the former died). I really liked the attention to detail; the costume designer successfully made the piece look like it came straight out of renaissance Italy (the headpieces/wigs were very helpful in creating this vision). 

The set design was also very good. Big, grand buildings and backdrops. Nothing was left to the imagination; it was all there in front of you, and the dancers interacted with the set, which I loved. This is important to me because so often detailed sets aren't really incorporated into the ballet, in which case the set looks more like its in the way than anything else. So in this way, the interaction between the choreography and set design were very well thought out.  

The leads, Sarah Lamb and Steven McRae, were no doubt phenomenal dancers individually. Exquisite technique, flawless execution, not a bobble or wobble in sight. McRae didn't dance much individually, but his interactions with Benvolio and Mercutio were charming and entertaining, and the three of them danced together as a group very well. McRae established a playful young man who became utterly consumed by his love for Juliet. Lamb's approach to Juliet I felt was not fully fleshed out. She excelled at the 'Juliet Alone' variation (it was beautifully emotional), but otherwise, while I saw the young naive girl, there was nothing else to the character. Moreover, for being so small and thin, she landed her jumps very heavily. She didn't feel very airy or free. I wasn't really feeling these two as a partnership either. There was little to no connection; they looked at each other and smiled occasionally, but I couldn't feel the chemistry that is so essential for a believable Romeo and Juliet. Some of it may have been the choreography; there was very much a sense of 'ok, now we're dancing…. now let's stop dancing, emote a bit… ok, back to dancing' if that makes any sense. It just felt lacklustre, and I really couldn't get into the story because of it.

I also felt that some of the choreography was rather weak. The aforementioned interactions between Romeo and Juliet aside, in general, the choreography felt repetitive (more so than your average ballet). How many times can one dancer, who is otherwise an extraordinary dancer, do the same arabesque to plie? Apparently, eight or nine times a scene. I did really like the little dance interludes that Mercutio, Benvolio, and Romeo had every once in a while. Those three dancers worked very well together, and the choreography was clever, spritely, and interesting. Other than that, though, it just felt boring. As well, there was a lot more emphasis on the period dance (especially at the ball) rather than straight ballet. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but it wasn't to my taste. There was a particular scene in Ratmanksy's R&J where the Friar is telling Juliet what the potion will do, and how the plan is meant to work - I won't say exactly what it is (see my June 2013 Review), but let's just say that Ratmansky's way of explaining it to the audience was far more effective than the Friar waving his hands around a few times and 'voila!' explained!

Although I didn't enjoy this trip to Romeo and Juliet and I do believe it's a solid production, there were a number of weaknesses I felt should be addressed that prevented it being my ideal R&J. That said, I'm looking forward to seeing more of the Royal Ballet this year. The costuming, set design, and technical abilities of the dancers is beyond compare. 

The Phantom of the Opera (September 25th, 2015)

The Phantom of the Opera

Sept 25th, 2015

So, this was my first foray into the new cast at Phantom. There was an almost complete overhaul of the principle cast, and I had an understudy on for one of the roles that hadn't changed. So all but 2 of the principles (plus understudy Lisa-Anne Wood) I hadn't seen before. I thought it would take me longer to brave the new bunch, but then Lisa-Anne had scheduled dates, so… we all know how that ended. Anyway, it was a bit difficult given so many special people had left, but overall, I really enjoyed the new cast. I'm going to organise this by actor; I'll try to include as much detail as I can, but I'm writing this late at night so it's a bit fuzzy.

John Owen-Jones (Phantom)

John Owen-Jones
(Google)

Ah, the great 'JOJ', essentially a legend within the online Phantom community. I'm not sure of exact dates, but either he or Scott Davies (or possibly an understudy/standby) were my first ever Phantom, so it was exciting to see JOJ, whether this was the first or second time. And I have to say, he certainly lives up to all of the hype.

What. A. Voice. Seriously. His first notes in Angel of Music practically boom around the theatre; it's so powerful that I'm surprised the mirror wasn't shaking. He has a great stage presence as the Phantom - cold and intimidating, rather than trying to do that 'sexy' thing a lot of Phantoms do. Liked how unhinged he was in Stranger Than You Dreamt It - you could really see the craziness and it didn't feel contrived (if I can be very un-eloquent - he totally lost his shit at Christine - I mean, not literally, but you know what I mean). 

I really loved JOJ in Wandering Child; he had this way of singing it that was incredibly hypnotic, so you're not sitting there thinking "Really, Christine, really?" You can see what makes him so alluring. He also went totally crazy with the fireballs; he doesn't hold back at all. I may have been seeing things wrong, but it somehow looked like he had two in his hand that he threw onto the stage seconds before the fire at the front of the stage came up. Anyway, it was a cool touch, and I liked it because it looked like the Phantom was really in control of all that was going on. Another cool touch was after Raoul and Christine ran off, he screamed "CHRISTINE!" as a last-ditch effort to get her back.

In PONR, I loved that JOJ kept up the fake Italian accent until he sat down next to Christine; it made it more believable that she wouldn't realise it was the Phantom. I loved this Final Lair; it was extremely confrontational, which is what made it awesome. JOJ was the driving force behind this; his stature and presence is very intimidating, and any softness from the earlier parts of the show was gone. But Christine was having none of his crap, and that only made his Phantom angrier. Lisa and JOJ really played off of each other much better than most other Christine/Phantom pairs I've seen have. Unfortunately I don't remember a lot about the Lair, but I remember liking JOJ and his performance a lot. The one thing I do remember is his "Go NOW and leave… meeeee!" It was really great (a few people started clapping). Hard to understand, but great. Very passionate and emotional. He also gave a little laugh when the monkey music box started up, like "Huh, ironic timing". It was a nice touch. A funny thing that happened was the cloak started falling down over the chair, so just before Alicia tore the cloak away, a large white hand came out to straighten it. I giggled a bit. I definitely look forward to seeing JOJ's Phantom again. 

Lisa-Anne Wood (Christine)

Lisa-Anne Wood (w/ Geronimo Rauch)
(Tumblr)

What's left to say about her?! I always forget just how good she is until I see the show again. Lisa is absolutely phenomenal. I truly do believe she's among the best, if not the best, Christines there has ever been. She has the voice, the acting, the look - everything is just there (wow, I sound like a broken record). There's nothing really missing. I mean, because I'm neurotic there are a few things I wish she did slightly differently, but for the most part, I love her Christine to bits, and it's difficult to narrow down just a few things to write about. But I've done my best. 

I. Loved. Her. Think of Me. It's always struck me as a bit of an awkward song, because obviously it's not just a performance, the song itself has some meaning to it. And it's essentially here that Christine sound very youthful, joyful, and pure in this song to contrast Carlotta's very overdone version. Anyway, Lisa doesn't do my favourite TOM ever, but it's up there. I like her transition from Hannibal to TOM; she starts out with her head down, very tentative, but you can really see Christine starting to get more comfortable and really give it her all. Lisa's TOM hits all the notes I want it to; very natural and beautiful, great voice, etc. Her cadenza (I think that's what they're called? Sorry, I'm a skater, not a singer) was absolutely glorious. She holds all the notes as long as she possibly could (well, I'm sure she can go longer, but as long as was logical), which I thought was a nice added touch. It didn't feel like she was cutting the song off. Angel of Music was really nice; we all know how I feel about Alicia as Meg, so we're not gonna talk about that. Nadim and Lisa are so adorable together; they just look really good, but his sensitivity and protectiveness matches her innocence and naiveté very nicely. They make it look like a mutual caring rather than one-sided (often on Christine's part). Love the acting from Lisa when Nadim was saying "you must change" etc; she doesn't just stop at 'things have changed', she was frantically trying to explain herself out of the situation, though of course Raoul wouldn't listen. It seemed more real. Also loved her acting in AOM with the Phantom; she doesn't do the whole 'hyptonised' thing, but rather a combination of fear and curiosity, which was an interesting choice that I really liked.

All I have to say about the Title Song is holy bananas does Lisa just look like Christine. Like, it's not Lisa-Anne Wood on stage. It's Christine Daae. That is all. (I mean obviously the singing is good and her acting was nice - she doesn't look like she's lip synching at all- but I never have much to say about the title song just because it's prerecorded, so it never changes). Nice STYDI (her voice is so clear and high, I love it). Her 'curious' acting is great.

A small note from Il Muto; I LOVED, as in, seriously adored, that Christine jumped on the bed, curled up in a ball, and covered her head. She was visibly shaking; it really looked as if she expected something horrible to happen. THe look of abject terror she gave Firmin when he announced that she was going to perform was heartbreaking. It was a small touch, but I thought it was very effective. It was a very childlike thing to do, which matched the rest of Lisa's approach to Christine very nicely.

Twisted Every Way has to be another of my absolute favourite moments of Lisa's Christine. It's such a small thing, but in my opinion, TEW can be make it or break it for my perception of Christine. Some Christines just look far too chill about it all. I love how you can see her getting increasingly distressed through the scene, and she just explodes on "Stop, I'll go mad!" I've never seen anyone scream that line quite the way she did. The distress and fear was very visceral; you could see it in her face and in the way she clutched Raoul, and even more so in her voice. I think the reason I liked it so much is because that was where I really started to feel for Christine; anyone that can make me actually care about a character like that deserves a cookie. I liked that when everyone had converged around her at the end of the song, she was covering her head and her eyes with her hands as if she were trying to block it all out.  Her "I can't!" was also great, she basically screamed it, and hardly stopped to say that, just sprinted off stage as fast as she could. When she came back on for the rehearsal, her face said "I'm about six seconds from absolutely losing it again," which was nice, because that's exactly what happens next.

Lisa-Anne Wood
(Pinterest)

So. Wishing. Epic is a word I would use to describe it. Heart-breaking works too. Spectacular also comes to mind. I could go with emotional if I wanted to keep things simple. Whichever word I use, the point is the same. I've only seen one other Christine who can execute Wishing as well as Lisa can. And she keeps changing it up, adding new details, keeping it fresh - that's another thing I love about her; in five shows, I still don't feel like I'm watching her do exactly the same thing twice. Anyway, back to Wishing - the way she sings "and speaks my name" has changed, and I'm not entirely sure how to describe how she sings it, but it (especially 'name') sounds more like a raw keening than just 'singing' it; it's really, really beautiful, and really effective. It's the little touches like this that Lisa adds to her singing that make you really feel Christine's grief and pain. Her faces and movement are great too, but if you close your eyes and just listen, that's all you need to know how Christine feels. To me, that's the mark of an excellent Christine. That's not to say she doesn't have her beautiful, operatic-y moments - she totally does. Lisa's got a gorgeous, if a little higher than I always expect, voice, and she uses it to its fullest extent in this song. I guess what I'm trying to say is she's not holding anything back, and it shows. But voice aside, her acting too is totally on point. She doesn't overdo the fake sobbing, and you can really see and feel the amount of character growth in the song - she goes from very distressed and emotional to quite sure of herself (does that make sense?). I like that arc; it makes her development in the rest of the show seem more real (she starts out the show very naive and innocent (Hannibal through , shifts to distressed and scared, and then comes away quite confident and fierce). Anyway, she always has me teary when she sings Wishing, and if I had to pick a single favourite thing from her performance (who would do such a cruel thing to me?), it would be this.

Onto Point of No Return, which is certainly another highlight. This is also where the character development Lisa's built up is very important - I said she ended Wishing rather sure of herself, and her PONR would make absolutely no sense if she hadn't made that development very clear. Lisa's PONR is very sultry, and she's definitely not playing the "I'm scared out of my mind but I'm gonna go along with it anyway" angle, which I appreciate. I really don't think her Christine expects anything to happen (which is complemented by JOJ's Phantom expertly imitating Piangi, so it really is believable that she wouldn't know). So the result is a very different, but very interesting take on PONR. I love that at the end of the song, she really fights to get away from him (JOJ was literally dragging her by both arms) and she got out of his grasp as soon as she could (Arms pulled away on "stand and watch it burn" - a little detail that I think is brilliant. Don't ask me why, I just like it). I like that she doesn't just let herself be dragged around. 

Lisa-Anne Wood
(Pinterest)

As I've already mentioned, this Final Lair might just have been the most terrifying, emotional, and confrontational one I've ever seen. If there was ever a Final Lair that I wish had been captured on video, it was this one. Partly because I can't really remember details anymore, it was that intense. But I really love how much ferocity Lisa shows; you can see how Christine's gotten to that point of being fed up with being walked all over and she really gets in the Phantom's face (which was kind of funny because Lisa is tiny and JOJ is not). At one point, she slammed the bouquet into his chest (at "It's in your soul"), and I was just thinking "YES this is why you are my favourite." I loved that when she went to return the ring, she was trying not to look at him; the Phantom was trying to hold onto both of her hands and get her to stay, but she just wouldn't make eye contact and got the heck out of there. There was a nice sense of finality to it. Also loved her reaction to Raoul being freed; she just screamed "Raoul!" and dove on top of him. It was interesting because he was so protective of her earlier in the show, but now it was her turn to be the protector. She was keeping herself between him and the Phantom as much as possible for most of the show. Last thing: "You deceived me!" was screamed, and she was visibly breaking down as she said it. It was a moving touch. There are so many more things I liked about this and I may add to it later, but I'm trying not to write a novel here.

Of the few things I didn't like, the thing that bugged me the most is she does the same 'skirt thrust' in PONR that Harriet did ('speech disappears into silence *grabs skirt* … silence *grabs skirt*) - that skirt is so wonderfully swishy and voluminous; let it go! I still miss Olivia and her twirls. Anyway, it's a tiny thing and it really doesn't affect anything else, but for whatever reason, it irritates me. It just doesn't look right. My other issue is her grabbing the Phantom's mask way too early in Stranger Than You Dreamt It, but I'm going to assume that was a momentary lapse as I'd never seen her do that before. But I loved the look she had on her face that whole section (and she's gotten that fake trip down to a science; it doesn't look silly anymore). The only other thing I could've used was a slightly longer pause before the tears of hate bit. But I loved the way she sung the line itself. I'm just partial to a little bit of a longer pause. 

In general, I really love that Lisa-Anne uses acting that's subtle enough to not seem overwhelming in the front row, but big enough that it really projects to the circles. It's nice that no matter where I'm sitting, I can really see how thorough and detailed her acting is, as it's my favourite part about her portrayal. Aside from my minor neuroses, there's really nothing that I don't like about Lisa's Christine, which, for those of you that know me, is saying something. I really look forward to seeing her as Christine more in the future, and I absolutely cannot wait for her to be the official alternate (and maybe principle next cast? Fingers crossed!) come June. She's absolutely perfect. 

Nadim Namaan (Raoul)

Nadim Namaan
(Tumblr)

I'd heard great things about Nadim's Raoul (though nothing specific - more like "He's so good you're gonna love him!") and I'd really enjoyed his voice in Playing Our Part a couple years ago, and his acting in Titanic in Toronto was fabulous. So I was really excited to see him play Raoul. I have to admit, most of my focus was on Lisa-Anne, but from what I saw of his Raoul, I really liked, and he definitely makes my top 3 Raouls. 

Nadim has a really strong, deep voice, which I typically don't like, but with his more protective (I'm going to use that word a lot to describe him), kindhearted approach to the character, it worked. His auction was a lot more coughy/hoarse than I'm used to, but it did make sense in the context, so I liked it. Loved how excited he looked at the gala; he was really thrilled to see Christine again, and this carried over to the dressing room. He wasn't as stuck up or self centred as recent Raouls have been - his attention was much more focused on Christine and you could really see the connection and chemistry between the two. Side note, I thought Nadim and Lisa were a really adorable pair. 

In All I Ask of You, Nadim was still playing the very protective Raoul. It was a really nice touch and something I'd never seen before. He was acting like he couldn't bear to let her out of his sight or arms. Very calculating during the lead up to Don Juan/PONR; liked that you could really see his thought process. Very involved acting; just because he was off in the corner thinking didn't mean he was ignoring what was happening around him. Also liked how powerful his voice his; you can easily hear him in all of the group songs. I also really liked his acting in Twisted Every Way; it was more like Raoul really saw having Christine perform as the only way to catch the Phantom, and the best thing to do for her benefit. Whereas other Raoul's don't seem to care about Christine's fear, Nadim was actively trying to comfort her and assure her that it would all be ok. 

Liked how concerned Nadim acted over Christine when he got through the gate at the Final Lair. He looked like he was giving her a once over to make sure she hadn't been harmed, and then didn't want to let her out of his grasp, just to keep her safe. He really struggled agains the noose and his might've been the most believable 'hanging' I've ever seen. It didn't look contrived or false.

I can't wait to see Nadim's Raoul again; I have no doubt aspects will grow and change as he settles into the role, and it should be very interesting. I'm also curious to see if his main character traits change at all depending on which Christine he's with; Lisa's is a Christine that very much needs protection and love, whereas Emmi's doesn't. Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing it. Nadim's a great Raoul.

Megan Llewellyn (Carlotta)

I had no idea what to expect with her, and I'm still not entirely sure what to think. I really loved her Hannibal/Think of Me. She was sassy, funny, and emotional. I could really see a fleshed out character. I loved her little interaction with the managers at "These things do 'appen;' she really took her time with expressing her distress and emotion. Her voice was very big and powerful and she had a great accent going, but I felt that some of her inflections and phrasing seemed off. It was a bit stop-and-start. Other than that, I felt that her character kind of disappeared after Hannibal; she hadn't really figured out a defined character to go with, so I look forward to seeing her develop that further, because she's got a really great Hannibal. 

Michael Matus (Andre)

Nothing extraordinary, but good signing voice, decent acting. Didn't really see anything that made his character stand out, but he wasn't bad either. He could have milked the humour a bit more in the Il Muto Ballet introduction. I didn't feel that he and Christopher Dickens made a very interesting pair; there were no special interactions or connection between the two. 

Christopher Dickins (Firmin)

I really wasn't sure about him at first; he was very loud, very 'out there' - almost avant garde. But as the show wore on, and he really kept this loud, enthusiastic portrayal going, it grew on me. It was a nice contrast to his far more muted business partner, and I had a good time (and a lot of laughs) watching him. Definitely looking forward to seeing more from him. 

Paul Morrissey (Piangi)

This guy was awesome. I have no idea how many times he's been on (it's early in the cast so I'm gonna guess not many), but he really had his stuff together. He does Jeremy Secomb's extra long 'Hooooooooooooome' which I loved to pieces. It's so funny watching the cast react to it and the audience absolutely loved it. He has a stronger, richer voice from the principle Piangi, and I enjoyed his humorous characterisation a lot. Absolutely want to see more from him (and I would totally support his replacing John Ellis). 

Alicia Beck (Meg Giry)

Alicia Beck
(Phantom Photo Brochure)

So she's obviously not new, but I wanted to say briefly that I was pleasantly surprised by her today. She kept her eyeballs inside her head, and her acting wasn't quite so twitchy. She does blink an awful lot though. Her singing was more in-tune and just generally more pleasant to listen to as well. Her Angel of Music is still shrill and nauseating, but other than that, she wasn't half bad. Her dancing has gotten stronger too; she's not tipping out of the pirouettes so often and she actually has quite nice feet and extensions. 

Everyone else

I really didn't like the new ballet girl. My first thought was "that's the best they could do to replace Layla?" You know how you don't realise how good someone is until they're gone? Yeah, that. I mean, I knew Layla was good, but I didn't fully appreciate her fluidity and stage presence until now. Anyway, the new BG, Lily Howes, was just… awkward. Very jerky and abrupt; she was going from position to position without any transition between the two. She was also practically jumping into the attitude positions in the Hannibal Ballet, and her attitude didn't match everyone else's (It almost looked like she was attempting an MG or ring…). Her arms were very awkwardly bent. The other weird thing was her face; it looked like she was trying really hard to act and not just smile, but that resulted in an almost constant duck face. Very odd. It also didn't look like any of her costumes fit. The hannibal bodice looked too low-cut and the hips far too wide (and long), and the leggings on her Masquerade costume were all wrinkled. Obviously that's not her fault, but it was noticeable, and didn't help my perception of her. Anyway, she's young and new, and I hope she'll get the hang of it soon. Zoe Arshamian, a ballet girl who has been around for a year but was always kind of in the background, has stepped into Layla's spot in Il Muto and part of Hannibal, which I was pleased with. Zoe's a nice, if not particularly interesting, dancer. But I did generally like the rest of the new ensemble. No one stuck out in a bad way, anyway. 

All in all, this was a good show, and I loved a majority of the new cast. I'm looking forward to seeing more from Lisa-Anne and the rest in the future, and hopefully seeing Celinde Schoenmaker and some other understudies in the future. 

Sleeping Beauty at the National Ballet of Canada

Sleeping Beauty

National Ballet of Canada

Unfortunately, National Ballet's Sleeping Beauty has closed at this point, but I thought it was worth reviewing anyway. It was quite different from anything I've ever seen before, so it's an interesting challenge to write about. I attended the matinee on Saturday, June 20th (the second to last performance), and the cast included Svetlana Lunkina as Princess Aurora and Francesco Gabriele Frola as Prince Florimund. I had a bit of a challenge identifying who was playing who (i.e. aside from the third variation, I have no idea who was playing the fairies) as I missed the announcement of who was filling in for who, so apologies if I misidentify anyone.

Svetlana Lunkina and Francisco Gabriele Frola
(Ross Petty on Twitter)

The production itself was alright. It felt a bit dated and dry at some point; you can certainly tell it is a classical ballet choreographed many years ago (this particular choreography was first performed at National Ballet in the 1970s). There was very much a stop-and-start feel to it - there would be a short dance, then bows, then another dance, bows - wash, rinse, repeat. The story of sleeping beauty itself is beautiful, but in this case, it seems more like a loose plot line used to explain why people are where they are. Essentially, the story was an excuse to have certain pieces of choreography set in certain places with certain emotions. The best dancing and choreography was in the third act, by which point most pre tense of a storyline had been abandoned. 

The performances of the lead dancers, Lunkina and Frola, were alright. It's somewhat forgivable that they weren't perfect as they had little time to learn the role together (Lunkina was a last-minute replacement for injured Elena Lobsanova). Lunkina's technique is divine, she never faltered, her turns, jumps, etc. were on point - I'd expect nothing less from a Russian trained dancer (Bolshoi, nonetheless).  The partnering with Frola felt somewhat awkward; en pointe, she was a good few inches taller than him, and their extensions didn't match very well. But it was nice enough. Frola doesn't have quite the finesse or feet of Guillaume Cote. The emotional execution wasn't there - he was just trying to get through the choreography. He was a nervous turner (though his third-act turns were more secure), but his jumps were exquisite. Such amazing height, beautiful flexibility, and he really covered the stage with his jumps. At one point, he actually ran out of stage. Frola definitely has a lot of potential; he just needs a bit more confidence in his abilities, and to really start performing his parts. 

Artists of the Ballet (national ballet website)

A few other performers I'd like to mention are Meghan Pugh and Christopher Stalzer, who danced the Pussycats. That PDD was charming, entertaining, and just fun to watch. A very cute duo who worked well together. I also thought the Corps were much stronger than I'd seen them in the past; one particular dancer (who is shorter than everyone else) is still very weak (low jumps, a beat behind everyone else) is still in there and still draws attention for the wrong reasons, but the rest of the dancers were beautifully in synch (I loved the scene with the Naiads). 

Emma Hawes
(ballet.co.uk)

A review of Sleeping Beauty would be incomplete without mentioning the gorgeous Emma Hawes. I had seen all the attention she was getting in the Nutcracker, and thought she couldn't possibly be that good. I was wrong. I was so, so wrong. Hawes - in this performance, dancing the Third Fairy Variation and Princess Florine - is absolutely exquisite. I'd say a promotion to second soloist wasn't quite enough - I'd happily see her dance principle parts. Her technique is rock solid - pirouettes and balances were all held to their absolute limit (and then some), stunning extensions, beautiful flexibility - this girl has it all. She brought charm and entertainment to both of her parts, and was simply a joy to watch.

Another thing I'd like to mention is the costumes! Some were absolutely stunning - bluebird/Florine, the third fairy (orange), and the Lilac Fairy in particular. But others seemed very worn out and faded, and in need of updating. It became very easy to confuse characters because everyone's costumes looked exactly the same. Not the most creative costume design I've ever seen. Nevertheless, it served its purpose. 

So, not the best production National Ballet had ever put on, but I did enjoy it very much and it is a classic worth seeing. 

The Phantom of the Opera (June 5th, 2015)

The Phantom of the Opera

June 5th, 2015

(otherwise known as the day I became a dinosaur)

What a wonderful show! It was one of those that was so good that by the end, you forget the beginning. When you think something can't possibly get better, it goes and does. Especially Lisa-Anne (don't get me started on her. I'm writing a soliloquy below), but in general, everyone was just on today. They all looked exhausted at CC, and rightly so. It was quite the performance.

Lisa-Anne Wood

(Tumblr)

I am not ready to say goodbye to her Christine! I can't cry on my birthday (superstitions :P) but I got teary watching her Wishing because she's just such a wonderful Christine, and I want to see her another 10 times! 4 just wasn't enough. I guess I wasn't as grateful for the many times I saw my other favourite Christine until now. Oh well. Hopefully she'll come back in the next few years; she definitely deserves to be principal Christine. And now; you've seen the Olivia-Soliloquy, you've seen the Layla-Meg-Soliloquy, and now it's time for…. The Lisa-Anne-Soliloquy! (Otherwise called the LAWstine-Soliloquy. Take your pick). I've tried to organise it by scene, but forgive me if it gets a bit messy or repetitive at times. It's hard to cram an entire show (and an incredibly detailed portrayal of a character that I always thought I knew back to front) into a few paragraphs.

Disclaimer: Some of Lisa-Anne's stuff is really hard to write about because it's just so detailed and so right. It just works, and it's hard to explain why. You need to see it to understand it. So forgive my poor descriptions; I'm definitely not doing Lisa-Anne's performance justice. 

I usually ignore Christine in Hannibal (because ballet), but I liked watching Lisa-Anne as I think she's got a decent amount of ballet training, so it doesn't look like she's trying to fake being a dancer (Christine can't be a sucky dancer. She just can't. Why would she be in the ballet chorus if she was?). There was a really cute moment where Christine came back on stage after missing a good deal of the dance and looked so confident in what she was doing… until she noticed Meg doing something different, realised she was wrong, and then got very confused. I liked that she stayed looking somewhat uncomfortable for the whole dance. Beautiful Think of Me; voice, acting, the right look - Lisa-Anne just has it all, and you can see it right off the bat. A very shy, unconfident start to the song, but huge amounts of growth and confidence built throughout the song. I loved that she doesn't just smile her way through it; you can see Christine's joy and she realises how wonderful she's doing. It's really lovely and joyful to watch.

Angel of Music is another song I usually ignore because of the Degas ballet happening in the background, but I do (obviously) like Lisa-Anne, so I swapped between the two rather than just watching the ballet. I'm not going to comment on Meg (see below… if you dare), so I'll just say that I thought Lisa-Anne did her best to establish the Meg/Christine relationship, though I don't think it came across very well (coughnotlisaannesfaultcough). Anyway, it was fine. Lisa-Anne has a beautiful voice and sensitive, thoughtful acting. Admittedly, I remember nothing of the Raoul/Christine Little Lotte scene. Sorry. But I can tell you that Lisa-Anne was probably wonderful; she is in everything else. Onto the Angel of Music with the Phantom; this is where I have my one nit-picky issue with Lisa-Anne. Is she hypnotised? Does she willingly go with the Phantom? If so, why? Curiosity? Don't get me wrong, she sung beautifully and the acting was nice - I just couldn't tell why she was doing what she was doing. I always think there needs to be a reason why Christine follows the Phantom into the mirror, so I'd just like to see that made a little more clear. But the other thing in the Mirror Scene - this is where I always think how much she just looks like the quintessential Christine.

(Tumblr)

Is it horrible that I can tell exactly who all of the doubles in the title song are? I think I've seen this cast too many times. Oh well. Anyway, Lisa-Anne. Great (read: not fake-looking) lip synching, interesting acting. I like that she's not too keen on being dragged around by the Phantom and resists quite a bit - she definitely doesn't seem to be in a trance like some others are, and I think her way is more interesting to watch because you wonder what's going through Christine's mind at the time. Anyway, Music of the Night. Loved. This. Seriously. Subtle acting; not trance-like in that she's definitely aware of her surroundings and what's going on. She doesn't overdo the wide-eyed thing that some Christine's do; it's just more realistic, if that makes sense. It doesn't feel contrived or over/underdone. She's really taking in what the Phantom's saying and responding to it. I loved it. This is one of those where you just need to see it to understand what I mean. There's something just very right about it. It works, but I can't really explain why.

I really don't like the new (well, I guess it's not new anymore, but still) directing in Il Muto. Olivia Brereton was the last person with the old direction (the really out there, humorous, almost obnoxious Serafimo) that I liked, so I don't want to blame Lisa-Anne for this one. But she did what she did well; I liked how she seemed rather afraid of Carlotta (so it's even better to see her standing up to Carlotta in Act 2). Not a whole lot to say about All I Ask of You; it was really good and I love all the emotion (fear -> apprehension -> calm) Lisa-Anne puts across. Gorgeous voice, interesting acting… yep! Everything's just there.

Masquerade is always nice to watch (until the mean Phantom ruins it); it's so cheerful. In all honesty, I usually watch the dancing rather than Christine/Raoul during Masquerade so I didn't catch a lot. But I love how Lisa-Anne's Christine really seems to be enjoying it; Christine has clearly relaxed into life since the Phantom disappeared and is calm, happy, and just having a fun time with Raoul at the party. So yeah, not too much to say, but fun to watch.

Another wow moment was Notes II/Twisted Every Way. I'm definitely getting really repetitive here, but I loved the emotion - she doesn't just pick one; there's a range (anger, fear, a bit of annoyance too) all happening at once. It's difficult to pick apart and I can understand that it might be a bit confusing if you haven't seen the show before (sometimes the more simplistic portrayals are easier to comprehend), but I'm all for detail and depth, and that's exactly what Lisa-Anne brings to this and every scene. My favourite part in this scene is when everyone is gathering around Christine right before "I'm sorry, I can't!", she was turning this way and that, clutching the front of her dress like she couldn't breath - you could literally see her getting more and more distressed. In the rehearsal that follows, you can tell she so does not want to be there - she looks as if she's about to have a breakdown any moment - which makes the lead-in to Wishing much more powerful.

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Lisa-Anne's performance of 'Wishing' was beyond perfect. Eons beyond it. There was just so much detail and thought put into it. I loved that through the song, you could see Christine's thought process and how her emotions develop. She wasn't just singing it; she was living it, and because of that, 'Wishing' was more powerful than I've ever seen before. This is a song where you don't typically see too much variance in blocking, and it's very hard to make it unique and not seem fake. Lisa-Anne's version is so fresh, detailed, and real (visceral is my favourite word for it). I loved it. I'm trying and failing to think of just one moment that stood out because it was all so good. But I think a good example of how detailed she made this song is the bit right before "too many years, fighting back tears";  the whole part leading up to that you can just see everything on her face - the sorrow at her father's death, how much she loved him, and the anxiety that's been built up around the events with the Phantom. None of it feels fake, and it makes the "too many years etc. etc." seem more real rather than staged. Does that make any sense? 

I do love Lisa-Anne's Point of No Return. It's very unique. Sultry, but not overly so (if that makes any sense). She does do that annoying skirt grab I hate ("Disappears into silence *grab*, silence *grab*), but she at least forgoes it on the next line, so it's forgivable. I couldn't tell exactly, but I think she was going for a slightly unsure Christine at the beginning (a few scared-looking glances into the theatre). I think this was a nice way to start it out; it doesn't make sense if Christine is all in at once, because she and everyone else knows something is going to happen. Christine definitely does get into it though, and aside from a few moments, looks like she doesn't have a clue what's happened until she feels the mask under the cloak. And this is where it gets really good; Lisa-Anne's Christine really fights the Phantom -  she doesn't just let herself get dragged around. This makes you feel so much worse for her when she can't get away (evil managers). I mentioned it in my last review, but the way she reaches up to pull back the hood and later pull off the mask is so unexpected - it looks like she's about to embrace him and she doesn't make a big dramatic deal of either thing. I loved that, it just makes it so much more exciting and interesting. 

That Final Lair. Oh. My. God. Lisa-Anne's Christine has always been on the fierce and fiery side, but this was something else entirely. What's important here is that Lisa-Anne thoroughly develops this side of Christine through the show (in the altercation with Carlotta in Notes II, for example), so it's not as if all the ferocity and anger is coming out of nowhere. It's a realistic transition. One of the most powerful moments was when she leapt in front of Raoul to protect him from the Phantom; she didn't look afraid, she didn't look like she was doing it because it was the blocking - she looked angry! And she wrapped her arms around Raoul in the most protective way. It was extremely effective. I also like that under all the fire, her Christine does still have a sensitive side. She's definitely not one of those that was in love with the Phantom (yay for that), but at the end when she was giving him the ring back, she took a second to almost comfort him - it was really sweet, and wrapped up the relationship between those two characters nicely. 

Geronimo Rauch

(Phantom Website)

A nice performance from him. He always gives consistently solid, interesting performances though. I love the faked Piangi accent in PONR, and his Music of the Night is incredibly powerful. The voice is just so there; it sounds very effortless and strong. Some of the acting touches are nice; I like how in MOTN when he sings "possess you" he has sort of an invisible rope that he pulls forward, pulling Christine with him. It makes the song have a more hypnotic effect. So yeah, all in all, I like him a lot, there's just not much to say!

Liam Tamne
Not one of my favourites, but he was alright this show. Great volume in the singing, but I hate how he reacts to Christine. There's a part in All I Ask of You where Christine is having the little freak out and holding onto him, and he's just got his arms out to the sides like "What is this thing and why is she touching me." I think his Raoul is one that liked the pretty little opera star rather than the real person, so it's a bit difficult to watch. I prefer Raoul to be much more sympathetic and loving. The one good thing is that Lisa-Anne's Christine definitely doesn't need Raoul; she's quite fiercely independent in a way. Her protecting Raoul in the final lair is more of a "Stop, you're not going to hurt anyone else!" than a "I love him!" So there's that. Anyway, good voice, bad acting choices - but at least his acting was believable and consistent, even if it wasn't the choice I would've made for the character.

Alicia Beck

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You know when it's better to just shut your mouth and say nothing at all? That's probably what I should be doing right now. But I'm not going to! So… enjoy the snark. I hadn't seen Alicia's Meg in ages, so I'd forgotten just how… difficult it is. The singing is shrill, screechy, and off-key a good deal of the time. Her acting is overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time - the ridiculous, bug-eyed faces, the constant biting air (I don't even know how to describe it, but whenever she dances, she basically looks like she's eating an invisible cookie - it's bizarre). My companion for the evening described her as wooden, which I think is fair. It's so obvious that she's trying to put on a big performance, which just doesn't work. Also, she fell out of the pirouettes through the hoops in Il Muto, which happened last time I saw her too. So… yeah, disappointing. I could've done without Meg in this show at all.

Miscellaneous 

(Phantom Program)

Another show with a full set of Ballet Girls (minus the swing). It is really interesting to see how it looks when everyone's on. In Masquerade, with all of them on, there's so much going on at once that it's hard to watch anyone. I do like the Ballet Girl Daisy Hulbert though (Blonde ballet girl, Triton Girl in Masquerade); gorgeous, effortless high kicks, beautiful developpes and penches, and some nice, realistic acting going on. And, as always, Layla Harrison is absolutely stunning. Beautiful dancing, beautiful emotion, nailing the pirouettes in Il Muto - can't wait to see her as Meg later! I'm so sad she's leaving - though I know she's off to do amazing things, it's really unfortunate as the show won't be the same without her - the BGs need someone with that grace and elegance in the front of everything.