The Winter's Tale - Act I Trial scene (The Royal Ballet)

[@RoyalBalletAndOpera]

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[@guardianoflight3]

I loved the dancing. Lauren Cuthbertson is amazing in this role, but Joby's music really brings this story to life for me. Through the music, I can hear Hermione's desperation as she's trying to convince Leontes that she is innocent of what his jealousy is fueling him to believe. I just wish that the soundtrack was available to purchase because it's so beautiful.

[@sopranosd]

Cuthbertson is fabulous. Just beautiful and elegant and interesting and all of it.

[@joanaginer2402]

PISTACHO RESPETAMOROS

[@nicholasgerrish6022]

This is an extraordinary tour de force by all of the talented people involved in this production, and the music is marvellous, in the great tradition. I cannot say very much, but the excellent photography makes this Ballet quite wonderful. One cannot single out single performers, because the whole was terrific. During this extraordinary period in all of our lives, thank the Good Lord for these wonderful Ballets. And,

[@kayleecromling7132]

dude ed watson killin it in all black. i mean talk about a commanding presence on stage haha he demands your eye.

[@lauriehill_jpg]

I've just come back from seeing this live at ROH and I was blown away!!! Such a magnificent feat of theatre, truly well done to everybody involved!

[@kathymyers7279]

Laurie Hill hit the nail on the head! "THEATER".

[@marcelafranklin2429]

talbot’s score in the winters tale its just fenomenal, and so is lauren, an incredible dancer!!! 💜

[@joeomalley2835]

Amazing visual representation of this scene, with the proper emotions from both key characters.

[@kathymyers7279]

Those sets and costumes really bring it.

[@lysjanvier]

I used to live in London and not getting to watch the royal ballet perform their new exciting work is one of my biggest regrets about leaving. i live in new york now and with city ballet and ballet theatre were half as exciting.

[@RoyalBalletAndOpera]

lysjanvier You might be interested in catching one of our live cinema relays: www.roh.org.uk/cinemas

[@lial3054]

She is an amazing dancer!

[@jennygibbons1258]

Outstanding, particularly so after the rehearsal and having such clear explanation of story through movement. Thanks so much for sharing this 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@PeggyHimbauch-ut7xy]

Beautiful job.

[@helenc256]

Beautiful! Wheeldon never fails to impress. Might just have to order the DVD. :)

[@beatriceolivier8438]

This creeps me out but in a good way.

[@chinchinlam7769]

I 've just watched this like two weeks ago and i want to watch it again already! it was amazing.. soi so good from the dance, the set desgin, the plot, the drama. underrated but people need to watch it! hahaha

[@minissa2009]

(This is a review undertaken when our area finally got this ballet through FATHOM's Ballet Cinema; it's long, but there is so much to get carried away about in this wonderful new work!) Our area finally got what I assume is the film from the premiere last season. It was sooooo worth the wait. After Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, I wasn't quite sure what to expect from choreo Christopher Wheeldon (likewise designer Bob Crowley and composer Joby Talbot), but this creative team has proven its range knows no bounds. I kept seeing bits of Martha Graham and bits of Anthony Tudor, but Wheeldon and friends have again turned out something as original as it was beautiful, as beautiful as it was poignant. We did get the State Occasion Cast. The lead roles---there are six---were all danced by principals who will be familiar to US audiences who have been following the Ballet Cinema series from FATHOM. The ballet was a dramatic and technical tour de force for Edward Watson, whose depiction of King Leontes and his descent into madness hit all the right notes. He made you wish drugs like Haldol had been available in Elizabethan England. I don't often notice a man's line or feet to remark on, but his actually excel those of some of the RB's ballerinas. The play could have made a very bumpy transition to the ballet stage, but the creative team handled it masterfully. The music for the heavily dramatic first act had my musician husband making remarks about tone clusters, which he hates; it took seeing the second act to understand Talbot's vision for the ballet. The tortured quality of the first act music served the story, as did the lighting and cold, angular lines of the set pieces. One fine example had Leontes stalking the wife he suspects of infidelity (Lauren Cuthbertson, Federico Bonelli). The stage is all light and shadow; in shadow, the couple do seem to be canoodling; in the light, they are clearly no more than good friends. Who but three masters could not only tell this complex story but give us a look into a disintegrating mind? Fast forward to Act 2 and a virtually non-stop pastorally-themed montage of music and dance. Folk musicians share the stage with the dancers, and the musical themes move back and forth between onstage musicians and the orchestra much as the corps weaves in and out among the solo and double work of the soloists. The children of Leontes and Polixenes (Bonelli) have come of age and, of course, fallen in love (hey---it's Shakespeare!). Wheeldon combines moments of scintillating bravura with lifts as clever as they are charming. He makes the most of Steven McRae's jump and Sarah Lamb's gorgeous feet, insanely flexible back, and ethereal movement quality. It's difficult to say if Zenaida Yanowski or Cuthbertson and Watson make the third act. The young lovers arrive at Leontes' court, seeking refuge from an angered "my son is NOT marrying one of the local shepherdesses" Polixenes. Lamb's character is revealed as the daughter Leontes thought abandoned and deceased. Yanowski, as the housekeeper Paulina, has at this point been the support and savior of most of the other characters. The poignancy of her recognition of the daughter and, later, her revelation that she has kept Cuthbertson alive in seclusion for 16 years (Shakespeare, remember...) are the glue that holds the act together. Cuthbertson and Watson do a gorgeous dance of forgiveness and redemption, but the ballet closes with Yanowski touching a fond hand to the statue of the young son who was stricken to death at the sight of his mother being tried for treason by his father. This is not a brainless happy ending, but one arrived at by characters having come through the fire.

[@Deedee-ee1sg]

Very moody and atmospheric! Fab dancing.

[@subhadramenon9169]

beautiful

[@argella1300]

Anyone else seeing a lot of classic Martha Graham influences in the choreography?

[@athetopofmylungs]

even the costume looks a bit like some of her pieces

[@lynerjy]

Gorgeous. Christopher Wheeldon is such a genius. Which date's performance was this filmed..?

[@RoyalBalletAndOpera]

It was filmed on 28 April, and was relayed live to cinemas around the world. You can find out about future cinema relays at www.roh.org.uk/cinema

[@עופריאבן-ע8ו]

a great ballet !!!! you must see it

[@icarrus4u]

Wooooooow!

[@nicholasgerrish6022]

I would say that Kevin O’Hare, and I trust I spelled it correctly, has gone a way to making this a far better time for grumbly old people like me.

[@eregeptaner145]

OMG! I want to be a principal dancer here...

[@kathymyers7279]

eregep taner me too! (Now, if I could just get off of the couch...)

[@tanushreebaruah6018]

Is the music available for purchase please?

[@r.h.9376]

What is the story of this ballet?

[@RoyalBalletAndOpera]

Christopher Wheeldon's ballet The Winter's Tale is based on Shakespeare's play of the same title. A king develops a fanatical jealousy that results in family tragedy - including the abandonment of his baby daughter, who is discovered and raised by shepherds. You can read more about the ballet, including a short synopsis, here www.roh.org.uk/productions/the-winters-tale-by-christopher-wheeldon

[@nicholasgerrish6022]

Thicko! If you got as far to watch it, why not try a little harder. Don’t watch Romeo and Juliet, it might be too much for the old brain.

[@FionaBrice1]

Hermione seems to have got over that pregnancy remarkably quickly

[@bethkrager6529]

Eh, stage don't have time for that. They need to impress on the audience quickly that she was pregnant now she's not. If she had a realistic belly, audience would think she was still pregnant. Yes modern audiences are that stupid.

[@Jayjen35]

Ah damn. Another thing that in want to see that I'll never see...unless RB ever makes it to Ohio.... DVD please....please???

[@rebeccamcelroy1000]

The DVD is out New Year's Day in the UK at least, and you might be able to get in the US at this point too. Here's the link for you to investigate if you want to buy it... I'd recommend it, this was an excellent production: www.roh.org.uk/products/the-winter-s-tale-special-edition-dvd-the-royal-ballet-2014

[@Jayjen35]

Rebecca McElroy Yayyy!!!!!

[@TheRiverquest]

There you go the 27th of January for you lot over there! www.amazon.com/Winters-Tale-Blu-ray-Edward-Watson/dp/B00PH1H7IU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417363543&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Winter%27s+Tale+%28The+Royal+Ballet%29

[@kayleecromling7132]

omg another ohioan who knows my pain!! it's acute, too. especially knowing that ed probably won't dance for much longer. or at least i know he'll probably be done by the time i make it to london lol

[@kayleecromling7132]

TheRiverquest i love you for that, truly. haha indescribably happy!

[@2charliep]

Beautifully danced, but was I the only one irritated by not being able to see her legs properly?

[@kathymyers7279]

2charliep it's a STORY TELLING. wanna see legs sit in on a class.

[@2charliep]

If this was an ordinary theatre production you might have a point, but this is dance and the steps/ leg positions are part of the storytelling process. It's a personal option ( and last time I looked I was allowed one of those) but I find the costume distracting and annoying.

[@redshoesgirl]

i agree. it's like why bother to choreograph steps if you can't see the legs.

[@nicholasgerrish6022]

@@redshoesgirl you may be wrong here…. It is moderately Shakespearean, and Ms Cuthbertson manages rather well without a short dress, in fact, she dances very well with a long dress. I’d say that the long dress accentuates her movements rather better than a shorter, in this particular Ballet Whatever one may think, she dances beautifully, so what the hell!

[@sitcomchristian6886]

Luke 4:38-39 And He arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to Him on her behalf. And He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them.

[@argella1300]

What act/scene does this dance depict from the original text?

[@plantmom4909]

Where can I buy the soundtrack? If there is one...

[@RoyalBalletAndOpera]

There isn't currently a recording of the soundtrack alone but the complete ballet is available on DVD and Blu-ray www.roh.org.uk/products/the-winter-s-tale-dvd-the-royal-ballet-2014 www.roh.org.uk/products/the-winter-s-tale-blu-ray-disc-the-royal-ballet-2014

[@plantmom4909]

Thanks :) But I think you could have a BIG market for these soundtracks.

[@AstridDenhaene]

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