Concerto (ballet)

Last updated

Concerto
Choreographer Kenneth MacMillan
Music Dmitri Shostakovich
Premiere30 November 1966 (1966-11-30)
Deutsche Oper Berlin
Original ballet companyDeutsche Oper Ballet
DesignJürgen Rose
Genre Neoclassical ballet

Concerto is a one-act ballet in three movements created by Kenneth MacMillan in 1966 for the Deutsche Oper Ballet. The music is Dmitri Shostakovich's Second Piano Concerto (1957). The ballet premiered on 30 November 1966.

Contents

Production

External videos
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Concerto - First Movement (Anna Rose O'Sullivan, James Hay; The Royal Ballet), YouTube video
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg *Concerto – Second movement pas de deux (Marianela Nuñez , Rupert Pennefather, The Royal Ballet), YouTube video
Nuvola apps kaboodle.svg Concerto – Final movement (Kenneth MacMillan; The Royal Ballet) , YouTube video

The ballet is plotless and consists of three movements. The first was originated by Didi Carli and Falco Kapuste. The second movement is a pas de deux originated by Lynn Seymour and Rudolf Holz, and was inspired by Seymour's warm up. MacMillan had said that he "decided to incorporate the idea of the barre work into the choreography." The man acts as a "barre" for the female dancer. The third and final movement was intended for a "playful" lead couple, but the male dancer broke his foot prior to the premiere, so MacMillan turned the pas de deux to a female solo, danced by Silvia Kesselheim. [1] [2] The ballet also includes a corps de ballet, that dances in unison, originally 16 women and 8 men. [1] [2] The original design by Jürgen Rose uses a yellow backdrop, and the costumes are in orange, russet and yellow. [3]

Other companies and revivals

Concerto was added to other companies' repertoire. The American Ballet Theatre's co-founder Lucia Chase requested to acquire the ballet immediately after watching the premiere, and the company danced it for the first time in Jacksonville, Florida in 1967, staged by Georgina Parkinson and Wendy Walker. [2] [4] Frederick Ashton also sought to acquire it for Royal Ballet Touring Company (now Birmingham Royal Ballet) , and the company premiered it at the Royal Opera House in 1967. [1] [5] The Royal Ballet debuted Concerto in 1970. [6]

In the 2017, on the 25th anniversary of MacMillan's death, five ballet companies across the UK presented a mixed bill titled Kenneth MacMillan: A National Celebration at the Royal Opera House. Concerto was performed by the Birmingham Royal Ballet, with the lead roles danced by Momoko Hirata, Tzu-Chao Chou, Jenna Roberts, Tyrone Singleton and Delia Mathews. [7]

In June 2020, in the first series of performance since the Royal Opera House's closure due to the 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic, which was broadcast online, The Royal Ballet's Fumi Kaneko and Reece Clarke performed the second movement pas de deux from Concerto. [8]

Videography

A 2010 revival of Concerto danced by the Royal Ballet was filmed and released on a DVD, featuring Yuhui Choe, Steven McRae, Marianela Nuñez, Rupert Pennefather and Helen Crawford. [9] A 2019 performance was relayed in cinemas and was released on a DVD, as a part of a mixed bill. The lead roles were danced by Anna Rose O'Sullivan, James Hay, Yasmine Naghdi, Ryoichi Hirano and Mayara Magri. [10] [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natalia Makarova</span> Soviet and American ballet dancer

Natalia Romanovna Makarova is a Russian prima ballerina and choreographer. The History of Dance, published in 1981, notes that "her performances set standards of artistry and aristocracy of dance which mark her as the finest ballerina of her generation in the West."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenneth MacMillan</span> British ballet dancer and choreographer (1929–1992)

Sir Kenneth MacMillan was a British ballet dancer and choreographer who was artistic director of the Royal Ballet in London between 1970 and 1977, and its principal choreographer from 1977 until his death. Earlier he had served as director of ballet for the Deutsche Oper in Berlin. He was also associate director of the American Ballet Theatre from 1984 to 1989, and artistic associate of the Houston Ballet from 1989 to 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Altynai Asylmuratova</span> Kazakh-born Ballerina, Teacher, and Artistic Director

Altynai Abduakhimkyzy Asylmuratova is a Kazakh-born former ballerina who is artistic director of the ballet company at Astana Opera. She is a former prima ballerina with the Kirov Ballet and a guest artist all over the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carlos Acosta</span> Cuban ballet dancer

Carlos Yunior Acosta Quesada is a Cuban-British ballet director and retired dancer who is director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet. He danced with many companies including the English National Ballet, National Ballet of Cuba, Houston Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. He was a permanent member of The Royal Ballet from 1998 to 2015. In 2003, he was promoted to principal guest artist, a rank which reduced his commitment, enabling him to concentrate on a growing schedule of international guest appearances and tours. He celebrated his farewell after 17 years at The Royal Ballet, dancing his last performance in November 2015 in Carmen, which he both choreographed and starred in.

Sir Anthony James Dowell is a retired British ballet dancer and a former artistic director of the Royal Ballet. He is widely recognized as one of the great danseurs nobles of the twentieth century.

Dame Merle Park is a British ballet dancer and teacher, now retired. As a prima ballerina with the Royal Ballet during the 1960s and 1970s, she was known for "brilliance of execution and virtuoso technique" as well as for her ebullience and charm. Also admired for her dramatic abilities, she was praised as an actress who "textured her vivacity with emotional details."

The Cape Town City Ballet Company, formerly known as the CAPAB Ballet Company, is a dance company based in Cape Town, South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Élisabeth Platel</span> French prima ballerina (born 1959)

Élisabeth Platel is a French prima ballerina.

Mara Galeazzi is an Italian ballet dancer. She was a Principal Dancer of The Royal Ballet.

Choreographer Sir Kenneth MacMillan's Royal Ballet production of Sergei Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet premiered at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on 9 February 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viviana Durante</span> Italian ballet dancer

Viviana Durante is an Italian ballet dancer, considered one of the great dramatic ballerinas of recent times. She was a principal dancer of The Royal Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Teatro alla Scala and K-Ballet. She is the artistic director of English National Ballet School and of the Viviana Durante Company.

David Drew was an English ballet dancer and Principal Character Artist of The Royal Ballet.

Irek Dzhavdatovich Mukhamedov OBE, is a Soviet-born British ballet dancer of Tatar origin who has danced with the Bolshoi Ballet and the Royal Ballet. Born in Kazan, he trained at the Moscow Choreographic Institute under the guidance of Alexander Prokofiev between 1970 and 1978. Upon graduation, he joined the Classical Ballet Company, where he spent three years touring around the world. It was with this company that he first danced Romeo, a role that was to become one of his most acclaimed. In 1981 he won the Grand Prix and gold medal at the International Ballet Competition in Moscow and was immediately invited to join the Bolshoi Ballet as a principal dancer, where he not only became Grigorovich's favourite danseur but went to become the youngest man ever to dance the leading role in Spartacus.

Georgina Parkinson was an English ballet dancer and ballet mistress. She joined The Royal Ballet in 1957 and was promoted to principal dancer in 1962. Best known for dancing 20th-century works, she was a frequent collaborator of choreographer Kenneth MacMillan, and had also created roles for Frederick Ashton. In 1978, she accepted the invitation to become a ballet mistress at the American Ballet Theatre for a year, before assuming the position permanently in 1980. She also performed character roles with the American Ballet Theatre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yasmine Naghdi</span> British ballet dancer

Yasmine Naghdi, is a British ballerina, and a principal ballerina of The Royal Ballet, London. She joined The Royal Ballet's corps de ballet in April 2010 when she was still a Graduate student at The Royal Ballet School. She rapidly made her way up through all the five ranks of The Royal Ballet and reached the highest rank aged 24, when she was promoted to principal ballerina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manuel Legris</span> French ballet dancer (born 1964)

Manuel Legris is a French ballet dancer. He was an étoile of the Paris Opera Ballet for 23 years. On September 1, 2010, he began direction of the Vienna State Ballet. He was appointed artistic director of La Scala Theatre Ballet in December 2020.

Enigma Variations (My Friends Pictured Within) is a one-act ballet by Frederick Ashton, to the music of the Variations on an Original Theme (Enigma Variations), Op. 36, by Edward Elgar. The work was first given by the Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, on 25 October 1968. It has been revived in every subsequent decade.

Requiem is a one-act ballet created by Kenneth MacMillan in 1976 for the Stuttgart Ballet. The music is Gabriel Fauré's Requiem (1890). The designer was Yolanda Sonnabend, who had first collaborated with him on 1963's Symphony.

Reece Clarke is a Scottish ballet dancer. He joined the Royal Ballet in 2013, and was promoted to principal dancer in 2022.

William Bracewell is a Welsh ballet dancer. He joined the Birmingham Royal Ballet in 2010, and was named soloist in 2014. In 2017, he joined the Royal Ballet in London, and was promoted to principal dancer in 2022. He is the first Welsh person to hold the position.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Concerto". The Ballet Bag. 24 March 2010. Archived from the original on 13 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 Parry, Jann. Different Drummer: The Life of Kenneth MacMillan. p. 320. Archived from the original on 30 August 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  3. ↑ Crompton, Susan (27 October 2019). "Concerto/ Enigma Variations/ Raymonda Act III; Russell Maliphant: Silent Lines – review". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 17 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  4. ↑ "Concerto". American Ballet Theatre. Archived from the original on 13 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  5. ↑ "Concerto (1967)". Royal Opera House Collections Online. Archived from the original on 13 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  6. ↑ "Concerto (1970)". Royal Opera House Collections Online. Archived from the original on 13 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  7. ↑ Anderson, Zoë (19 October 2017). "Kenneth MacMillan: A National Celebration, Royal Opera House, London, review: This first evening was joyfully danced". The Independent. Archived from the original on 13 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  8. ↑ Parry, Jann (1 July 2020). "Royal Opera House/Royal Ballet – Live from Covent Garden: Third Concert (27 June)". DanceTabs. Archived from the original on 10 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  9. ↑ "MacMillan: Elite Syncopations / The Judas Tree / Concerto DVD (The Royal Ballet)". Archived from the original on 3 August 2020.
  10. ↑ "Concerto / Enigma Variations / Raymonda Act III (2019)". Royal Opera House. Archived from the original on 7 February 2020.
  11. ↑ "The Royal Ballet: Concerto, Enigma Variations, Raymonda Act 3 (DVD)". Archived from the original on 13 July 2020. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.