Review: THE SLEEPING BEAUTY at Royal Albert Hall
English National Ballet end their season at the Royal Albert Hall
English National Ballet close their season, as has become tradition, at London’s glorious (but not especially well air conditioned) Royal Albert Hall. They have been touring Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s The Sleeping Beauty for the last few months and this handful of performances mark the finale.
There is some high-class dancing to be seen in this newly trimmed-down version of the classic ballet, but the production did not quite sit right in the expansive setting of the Hall. We usually see ENB productions here in-the-round, however this was the unchanged proscenium arch version, and without said arch at this venue, it was hard to focus on the key moments of storytelling on the busy stage. Additionally, Charlotte MacMillan’s projections for the set design are certainly unique and characterful but the stage is still a little bare for such a regal setting.
There has been much criticism of the various cuts made, however I found the story zipped along nicely and will certainly have been very accessible to the numerous children in the audience. The fairy guests at Aurora’s christening remained a glittering sight even without such a formal entrance. Georgia Bould was a musical and flighty Songbird fairy, while Ivana Bueno glowed with vitality as the Fairy of the Enchanted Garden, with Nicholas Georgiadis' colourful and glitzy costumes lending the scene additional splendour.
Anri Sugiura is an interesting choice of casting as Lilac Fairy, still only a First Artist, in a role more often danced by Principals or First Soloists. She copes well with its demands which are especially critical to the storytelling. All sweetness and grace, she delicately tiptoes across the stage, a truly ethereal fairy with clean lines and long limbs. She could work more on her Stage Presence, especially in a venue as vast as this, to be truly commanding and memorable in the role.
Sugiura spends much of her time alongside the more experienced James Streeter as an entertaining Carabosse. He's every inch the pantomime villain here, all thumping steps and evil laughter in a barnstorming performance with bags of charisma. No easy feat, given the many layers of ruffles and thirty-plus-degree heat.
Emma Hawes and Aitor Arrieta were on sparkling form as Princess Aurora and Prince Désiré. Hawes is an innocent and sincere Aurora, on opening night she was impeccably precise, and her opening solo fizzed across the vast stage and demonstrated strength and serenity in the Rose Adagio. She’s a dancer who knows exactly how far to push herself in all the various choreographic challenges. She also possesses a gorgeous creamy upper body, the story flowed easily through her body in an entirely assured performance.
Arrieta more than matched Hawes' technical excellence; never have I seen him looking so confident and jumping to such great heights. His performance built impressively, demonstrating fine musicality and control in the Wedding pas de deux and final solo.
Of the other cuts, I didn’t find myself missing the “knitting ladies” from Aurora’s birthday or Red Riding Hood, however our introduction to the Prince lacks context without the preceding hunting scene. Arrieta has a natural warmth and presence but he is introduced to us on an empty stage as a lonely figure which feels somewhat incoherent.
While I enjoyed Charlotte MacMillan’s whimsical set designs when the action began, I found the projections between the scenes rather repetitive and dull. The acts have lengthy musical prologues and with such a blank stage it was easy to come “out of the moment” until the story resumed.
Of course, a production like this does offer us the opportunity to see a wide range of the company dance, with cavaliers, suitors, fairies and Aurora’s friends all filling the stage. Swanice Luong was especially eye-catching in the latter role, reacting perfectly to the action and bringing boundless energy to her moments in the ensemble. A final word for Rhys Antoni as Puss in Boots who brought all the necessary sass and finesse to the divertissement but in a mask, full coat and knee-high boots his commitment never faltered in what must have been incredibly challenging conditions.
The company looks majestic dancing MacMillan’s The Sleeping Beauty, there’s fluent storytelling and handsome costuming to be enjoyed in a strong end to the season, but it would be best viewed in the setting of a traditional theatre.
The Sleeping Beauty runs at The Royal Albert Hall until June 28.
Image: ASH
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