Receiving its premiere only earlier this year prior to the country going into lockdown, we are privileged to be able to watch on YouTube a filmed live performance from The Royal Opera House, of The Royal Ballet's new work, 'The Cellist' by Cathy Marston.
The ballet is based on the life of renowned cellist, Jacqueline Du Pre, and runs at just over 60 minutes without interval.
The set is dark, wooden, minimalist. It's very 1930s, as is the style of the whole ballet, including the choroegraphy. The curved wooden arc centre-piece is perhaps meant to represent the inside of a cello which if so makes a nice image. However the single curved flourescant light above I didn't understand and it distracted and drew my (unwanted) attention.
The ballet takes you through the life of Jacqueline Du Pre, from her starting out as a young school girl and first having cello lessons, and seeing her excitement and enchantment at the instrument, through her teenage years and becoming proficient, to being an adult and a celebrity. She was, just in case anyone is in any doubt, absolutely one of the greatest cellist the world has ever known! We then see her frustrations, and her struggle with MS, the disease that stopped her performing publicly at the age of 28, and her untimely death at 42.
Philip Feeney's score interweaves his own themes with those of Elgar, Beethoven, Faure, Mendelsshohn, Rachmaninov and Schubert, and obviously gives the solo cello much prominence in his scoring. The cello is played by Hetty Snell. The score is of course lyrical and Romantic.
The part of du Pre was danced here by Lauren Cuthbertson who not only had to be a great dancer, but we also needed to see her acting, her emotional turmoil and her love for both the cello and her husband, Daniel Barenbaum. We saw all of this, and we emoted. Excellent. Du Pre as a young girl was danced beautifully by Emma Lucano.
The two other dancers of great note here were the personification of - or perhaps the spirit of - the Cello, which came to life superbly by Marcelino Sambe; whilst the conductor-turned-husband, Daniel Barenbaum, was danced with style and passion by Matthew Ball.
A modern ballet which harks back to classical idioms. The style of direction, choreography and mise-en-scene was all very reminiscent of the balletic contemporary style of the 1930s. Stark, minimalist and monochrome. It was excellently conceived and beautifully done; personally though I was longing for a litte colour or a change of tempo!
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 1/6/20
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