Ballet thread!

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Ballet thread!

Asher Anderson

Ballet thread!

Romeo and Juliet has been extra popular in the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 seasons, so I'll start with that.

January 31, 2018 - 03:14

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Liam Roberts

Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet is usually considered the most beloved of his ballet compositions, with a luscious, sweeping score which hits the narrative beats of Shakespeare's play so clearly and beautifully that pretty much no other attempt to score the ballet has taken off.

But the origins of the Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet are tragic and rather bloody.

In 1935, Prokofiev accepted a commission to create an original ballet for the Bolshoi Ballet in Russia. Prokofiev was living in France at the time, but Stalin authorized the commission as part of his attempt to get well known Russian artists back in the country.

The original synopsis that Prokofiev worked out with fellow artists (Sergei Radlov and Adrian Piotrovsky primarily) was something you might expect out of Soviet Russia: the ancient, noble-based rivalry between the two houses was reduced to subtext, replaced by a struggle between the old order (the parents and older men, like Tybalt and Paris) and the new age (Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio). Prokokiev also composed a somewhat unusual score, which contained more modernist tempos and rhythms rather than the melodic repetitions popular in classical ballet at the time, and especially did not contain the usual repetitions which are so beloved for divertisements and soloists, and...

Piotrovsky and Prokofiev decided to forego the double-suicide ending in favor of happy one. Romeo discovers Juliet's supposedly dead body in the tomb, but before he can down his poison, Friar Lawrence appears and explains the sleeping potion to him. Juliet awakens, and she and Romeo ignore everyone around them to dance--as Prokofiev wrote it--"somewhere else," where the feuds and rules the past were forgotten. Prokofiev's official explanation as for why they changed the ending: "Living people can dance, the dead cannot."

The director of the Bolshoi Ballet approved their version and it was all set to premiere in 1936.

January 31, 2018 - 03:16

Jacob Garcia

But the Great Purge happened before the ballet could be staged. The Soviet government created the "Committee on Arts Affairs" to oversee everything to make sure everything written and performed fit within Soviet standards. And one of the Committee's first acts was to liquidate the administration of the Bolshoi Ballet and Opera, who were rounded up and executed between 1936-1937. The bureaucrat who authorized the commission of the ballet, Piotrovsky who helped develop the story along with Prokofiev, the director that approved it, along with thousands of others in the theater/art/dance community were killed.

Romeo and Juliet was shelved due to its association with "enemies." In 1940, things had cooled off some, and Prokokiev was invited to stage the ballet at the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad. The problem? The Committee on Arts Affairs demanded that he make some radical changes to the ballet in order to make it Soviet-approved. He had to remove the happy ending and not allow for any ambiguity about the fate of the two lovers. He was also forced into rewriting his music, changing tempos, and adding in the typical repeated themes, repeated motifs, as well as showcase solos and corps dancers. His modernist music was turned into the slower, thick, classical score we know today.

This original Kirov production, choreographed by Leonid Lavrovsky, was internationally acclaimed, despite the changes which Prokofiev abhorred. The ballet did not premiere at the Bolshoi until 1946, 10 years after it was supposed to have graced the stage.

In 1948, Prokofiev was finally declared an enemy for his subversive, modernist music. Some of his works were officially banned, but they may as well as banned all of them since ballet companies pulled his works from their rosters. His wife was then sent to a gulag for almost a decade. Prokofiev himself died on March 5th, 1953... the same day as Stalin.

January 31, 2018 - 03:20

David Barnes

Since its Soviet premiere, Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet score has enjoyed a long, healthy life on the stage. It is internationally beloved, so much so that any other composer's attempts to score the ballet have not been able to gain traction.

Let's talk notable productions..

The original 1940 Lavrovsky production was internationally acclaimed, and in 1955 it was restaged with the original Juliet (Galina Ulanova) and filmed for international release. The film was critically acclaimed and won festival awards. The production was then taken on an unprecedented international tour. The Bolshoi ballet performed in London for the first time in 1956 with their production of Romeo and Juliet.

January 31, 2018 - 03:23

Hudson Garcia

The first non-Russian production which utilized Prokofiev's score was choreographed by Frederick Ashton for the Royal Danish ballet in 1955. Ashton choreographed his version without seeing the Lavrosky production, so it is quite unique in that--unlike pretty much every other version of the ballet--it did not incorporate the "Russian" elements into the piece. Ashton's production is staged now and then today (mostly recently by the L.A Ballet, pic related), although not very commonly as it is a very focused, stylized version which does not always lend itself well to modern companies.

January 31, 2018 - 03:27

Julian Gomez

In 1958, John Cranko staged a version for La Scala before revising it for his own company (Stuttgart Ballet) in 1962. Cranko's staging focuses heavily on the corps dances which "set the scene" throughout the ballet, rather than focusing entirely on Romeo and Juliet. Cranko's version is still popular and is performed today by companies throughout the world, including the Australian Ballet, several American companies, and prior to 2011 the National Ballet of Canada.

January 31, 2018 - 03:31

John Martin

In 1965, Kenneth MacMillan choreographed his own version for the Royal Ballet. He had been looking to stage a production after seeing both the Lavrosky and Cranko productions, but decided to choreograph his own version when the Sovet Union refused to allow him to stage his own take on the Lavrovsky production in London. MacMillan's production introduced many elements which were adopted in many future productions and are, for some, considered "standard" parts of Romeo and Juliet in ballet: Juliet running down the staircase, the balcony pas de deux, the "scream" in the death scene (which at the time was not a requirement but is now). MacMillan also restored the ending which depicts the feuding families coming together to reconcile, which was (and sometimes still is) cut.

The opening production starred Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev--though they weren't MacMillan's first choice--and was a smashing success. There were 43 curtain calls on opening night, until finally theater owners brought down the safety curtain to signal that the audience had to leave. This production was also filmed. Today, Macmillan's version is a staple for the UK's Royal Ballet, the American Ballet Theatre, and many others..

January 31, 2018 - 03:33

Logan Brooks

In 1977, Nureyev created his own version of Romeo and Juliet for what would eventually become the English National Ballet. The Nureyev version is still performed by the ENB today, and is also one of the staples of the Paris Opera Ballet. The 1995 production, performed by the POB, was filmed.

Nureyev's version stuck very closely to the Shakespeare play and was stylistically inspired by the Franco Zeffirelli film. His adaptations of the characters are more grounded compared to other ballet productions; Tybalt, for instance, is portrayed as being protective over his younger cousin when he sees a strange man hovering around her rather than just being an asshole.

His version includes almost every element of the play, including Rosaline, who is very rarely depicted in any R&J ballet productions. Nureyev also included many stylistic touches which were completely new at the time, including having Juliet (rather than Lord and Lady Capulet) come to the square to see Tybalt's dead body; Juliet seeing the ghosts of Tybalt and Mercutio while she contemplates stabbing herself or taking Friar Lawrence's potion; and so on.

January 31, 2018 - 03:41

Evan White

In 1979, Yuri Grigorovich was commissioned by the Bolshoi to create a new Romeo and Juliet. Grigorovich introduced more psychological narratives rather than direct, storytelling narrative (For instance he includes Juliet's ladies dress in ghastly grey, haunting her as she makes her decision whether or not to take the potion) while re-introducing some of the 1940-era cuts to Prokofiev's score. Grigorovich also eliminated all mime in the ballet in favor of more extended dance sequences, a move which made the ballet get mixed reception outside of Russia. The Grigorivch version is considered the "standard" Bolshoi production today, and has been consistently performed by the Bolshoi since the 80s.

January 31, 2018 - 03:43

Isaiah Campbell

In 2008, a music historian called Simon Morrison staged a production which restored Prokofiev's original music and the original pre-Great Purge concepts for the ballet. Morrison was given exclusive access to previously unknown material from Prokofiev's family and the Russian archives, including lost music and the original synopsis. Although the company was not a classical ballet company, the production was received positively for its historical value and they toured the production internationally for a year.

January 31, 2018 - 03:45

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