THREE ASHTON BALLETS: SCÉNES DE BALLET / A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY / SYMPHONY: Ashton's Enduring Legacy

Sir Frederick Ashton had a life as packed with incident as one of his ballets.  Born in Ecuador to British parents, he did not move to England until he was 15 to a public school to learn a trade.  He was miserable there as he had already seen what he wanted to be his future: he had seen Anna Pavlova dance and was desperate to be a dancer but his family refused to contemplate it.  His father commited suicide when Fred was 20 and, despite his mother and sister joining him in London, he followed his dream and was accepted as a pupil by two former Ballets Russes stars Leonide Massine and later by Marie Rambert.  As well as all these influences, he had also seen the iconic Isadora Duncan dance.

By 1930 Ashton had been encouraged by Rambert to concentrate on choreography and he worked for her company Ballet Club which morphed into Ballet Rambert.  In 1935, after working with her on several production, Ashton joined another former Ballet Russes star Ninette de Valois as her company choreographer.  So Ashton was well placed when, after WWII, de Valois' company was invited to form the new ballet company at Covent Garden Opera House, the company that ten years later were granted the title The Royal Ballet.  Two years after moving to Covent Garden Ashton created SCÉNES DE BALLET (1948) to music by Igor Stravinsky.

Against a surreal background, the short piece still holds the attention with Ashton's pioneering geometric choreography, the dancers' sharp staccato movements and the arresting although slightly dated costume colours of yellow, black, purple and blue.  The lead performances by Yasmine Naghadi and Reece Clarke were fine.

De Valois stood down as director in 1963 and Ashton took over.  Although no fan of administration his tenure continued to build The Royal Ballet's fame but when the CEO David Webster stood down in 1970 he wanted a whole new creative team to take over so Ashton was forced to stand down too which was an upset to him.  Sir Fred still created the occasional ballet including his narrative masterpiece A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY (1976)

We had seen A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY in 2019 and it remains a remarkable adaptation of Turgenev's play.  Natalia Petrovna rules her country home with a charming grace, adored by her husband Ysiaev, son Kolia, her ward Vera and close friend Rakitin.  Her life is changed however when her son's new tutor arrives, handsome student Baliaev.  He returns Natalia's affections but when Vera discovers them together, she jealously alerts the whole family to their romance; Baliaev leaves and Natalia is left with her lovelorn feelings.

Peggy Ashcroft told Ashton that his version was better than the original play and at only 40 minutes it whips along. Ashton's clean, classic tone and economic story-telling shine and his choreography allows moments for the cast to stand out such as Liam Boswell's solo as Kolya.  It is a haunting cameo of a ballet, perfectly matched to a selected score by Chopin.  William Bracewell was a passionate Baliaev and Isabella Gasparini was fine as Vera.  But the heart of the ballet was the remarkable Natalia Osipova - her poise and elegance changed by sudden love ending up crushed, slowly walking towards an uncertain future.  

In 1980, Sir Fred aged 76 was invited to devise a short piece to celebrate The Queen Mother's 80th birthday and he produced RHAPSODY to music by Rachmaninoff.  As Mikhail Baryshnikov was a guest artist with The Royal Ballet, the male lead role is certanly more showier than the female partner, originally danced by Lesley Collier.  Ashton had used the music before in Vincente Minnelli's film STORY OF THREE LOVES but devised new choreography for this commission.  

Baryshnikov missed the start of rehearsals so Ashton perfected the female lead's solos and the ensemble of 6 male and 6 female dancers.  When he arrived Baryshnikov was disappointed that his movements were in the brash "Russian style" and not the more nuanced English style that Ashton had created but he threw himself into it.  Here it was a perfect fit for Steven McRae's bravura style although it was still an edge-of-seat performance as it is only 7 months since his return to the stage where he tore his tendon during a performance in MANON which took two years to heal.  Anna Rose O'Sullivan was a delightful partner but Steven's astonishing leaps and sheer panache made him the focus of attention throughout; it ended with a lovely "That's all" pose which won him cheers to the Faberge egg-style roof.

Sir Fred died eight years after RHAPSODY's creation, his place in the history of dance assured and his legacy of work lives on vibrantly in the company he helped form.

THE FIREBIRD / A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY / SYMPHONY IN C at Covent Garden - Rushin' Russian

In a recent blog I mentioned that The Royal Ballet's mixed programmes can sometimes be a tricky balancing act but no such problems with their last of their season, three ballets with a markedly Russian theme.

First we had Mikhael Fokine's 1910 sensation THE FIREBIRD which marked a number of firsts: the first ballet score by Igor Stravinsky, the first original work that Diaghilev's Ballets Russes had presented in Paris, and the first based on Russian folklore.  The Royal Ballet is using Natalia Goncharova's stage designs for the Ballets Russes 1926 revival and they add a whole unexpected level to the piece.

THE FIREBIRD made it's London debut at the Opera House in 1912 and it was also a big success.  That connection amazingly continues to this day: the original Firebird was danced by Tamara Karsavina - a role which catapulted her to the Ballets Russes top table - and she in turn coached Margot Fonteyn in 1954... who coached Monica Mason in the late 1970s... and who is now on hand to help the new generation; I think it's only in ballet that you can find connections like this.

The plot is minimal: Tsarovich Ivan captures the mythical Firebird while hunting in a hidden part of the forest but she persuades Ivan to free her in exchange for one of her feathers which will summon her should he ever be in danger.  Ivan discovers a group of princesses captured by the evil Magician Koschei and falls for the most beautiful but is quickly surrounded by Koschei's army of enslaved humans.  He waves the magic feather and The Firebird appears to confuse and confound Koschei's army who all collapse in exhaustion; the Firebird also shows Ivan where Koschei keeps a magic egg which holds his immortal soul.  Ivan smashes it and frees the enslaved people who stage a magnificent wedding ceremony for Ivan and his princess.

The tale might be trite but Stravinsky's thumping score sounded fresh and vivid and Christopher Carr's staging is an excellent showcase for Fokine's intriguing choreography and the elaborate staging of the climactic ceremonial procession where row after row of costumed extras fill the stage, it might not be ballet but it certainly is a spectacle!  It was great to see a favourite dancer Itziar Mendizabal playing the lead role of the flashing Firebird; she was imperious while always in fluttering flight.  It was just a shame that The Firebird doesn't make an appearance at the coronation.  There was a bit of a "whoops" moment when Nehemiah Kish's Ivan was brandishing the magic egg to the ensemble... and the top fell off and rolled across the stage!

The mood changed totally for the next ballet, Frederick Ashton's 1976 adaptation of the Turgenev play A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY.  As elaborate and colourful as THE FIREBIRD was, Ashton's A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY was nuanced and intimate. 

As in the play, Natalia Petrovna rules her country home with a charming grace, adored by her husband Ysiaev, her son Kolia, her ward Vera and their close friend Rakitin.  Her life is turned upside down however when her son's new tutor arrives, the handsome student Baliaev.  He returns Natalia's affections but when Vera discovers them together, she jealously alerts the whole family to their subterfuge; Baliaev and Rakitin leave the house and Natalia is left alone with her lovelorn feelings.

Dame Peggy Ashcroft told Ashton that his version of the play was better than the original play and at only 40 minutes it certainly doesn't waste time getting on with the central plotline.  It has Ashton's clean, classic tone and economic story-telling, leaving it to the dancers to interpret his characters with the depth they need, but he also provides delightful solos for others including a character dance for Natalia's son Kolya, created for Wayne Sleep and danced splendidly here by Luca Acri.

It is a haunting cameo of a ballet, perfectly matched to a selected score of music by Chopin. The cast were all fine: David Hallberg was good as the tutor Baliaev as was Meaghan Grace Hinkis as the impressionable Vera.  But the heart of the ballet was provided by the remarkable Natalia Osipova - languorous lady of the manor at the start, she slowly blossomed into a woman in love only to be left crushed and alone, slowly walking towards an uncertain future.  It is remarkable that only three weeks ago she was the vengeful and tragic Medusa.

Last was George Balanchine's stupendous SYMPHONY IN C, a celebration of classical ballet and it's dancers.  We saw this last year where it joyfully stood out in a rather dour mixed programme but here it complemented the previous two very well.  

Danced to a score by Bizet, Balanchine originally premiered it in Paris in 1947 but he re-choreographed it for New York City Ballet the following year.  Balanchine was inspired by his early years dancing first with the Russian Imperial Ballet and then his years with the Ballet Russes during the 1920s.

Four couples dance to four different movements and Balanchine provides a whirlwind of pure classical technique: it's like every classical ballet finale only in abstract - no narrative, no named characters - so you can relish the solos, pas de deux and ensemble routines.  With over 50 dancers all dancing in unison onstage as it reaches it's conclusion, it is wonderfully thrilling.

All in all, a wonderful night of ballet which helped having the cohesive Russian feel. Ironically, the Royal Ballet will be having a rest over the summer months while The Bolshoi Ballet jet in from Russia for a season, but this was an evening to savour.