Bristol Hippodrome has a break in its packed schedule of musicals and plays this week with a stint from the English National Ballet. This was only my second time seeing a professional dance company and my first experience seeing a traditional ballet, so admittedly I had very little to go on from beyond what I’d seen previously in films.
Raymonda is a ballet written in the 19th century following a story centred around chivalry in the medieval world, reflective of society's interest in the Crusades (fought between 1095 and 1291). This production reimagined by Artistic Director Tamara Rojo CBE was set against the backdrop of the Crimean War from 1853 to 1856, drawing inspiration from Florence Nightingale's story for the female lead.
Speaking on the production, Ms Rojo said: "Raymonda is a beautiful ballet, with extraordinary music, exquisite and intricate original choreography, but with a female lead who I felt deserved more agency in her own story. Working with my incredible creative team I have set Raymonda in a new historical setting to bring something unique, relevant and inspiring to audiences.
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"This story is about many themes; duty, war, patriotism, culture, but at its centre are the nurse characters, inspired by Florence Nightingale’s vision, drive and passion."
The first act most the most intense narrative-wise, charting Raymonda's decision to travel from England to Crimea having been moved by reports from the frontline. The story flits between her conflict between duty and desire, caught in between John de Bryan, her fiancé and Abdur Rahman, a Prince and Agha from the Ottoman army.
It had a couple of marvellous dramatic tableaux that accurately depicted the tumult of war along with lively dances that involved almost all of the dancers. There were a few instances in the choreography that lacked synchronicity which was slightly unsettling, albeit a possible deliberate choice by the choreographer. War is certainly a disturbing thematic focus, and may not require the strict discipline of a performance like Swan Lake or The Nutcracker, for instance.
I loved some of the percussive moments in the choreography that you wouldn’t typically have in a ballet, including Turkish and Hungarian dance traditions, using stomping and clapping. The production flitted between tradition and innovation - Act I concluded with a nod to Nightingale's nickname, Lady with the Lamp along with an entrancing, elegant dream sequence. The audience then returned to a contrasting, theatrical party scene in the middle act.
Abdur's character dance was particularly unusual and entrancing, but for me, it was the women soloists who stood out throughout all three acts. The storytelling from the lead principal playing Raymonda was spellbinding, you could feel her frustration and uncertainty in her movements and the point work of Sister Clémence was phenomenal.
Raymonda is hardly ever performed in three acts and with the final act containing the most famous part of Alexander Glazunov's original score from 1898. It felt remarkable to see each act side-by-side - it's a score with a history as rich as Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake or Adam's Giselle - performed live by English National Ballet Philharmonic. The 65-piece orchestra was absolutely outstanding, flowing from the more traditional, classical pieces in the first act to the addition of castanets in the second act for the party scene.
The first performance of this production was in January of this year, but the focus on the Crimean War - whereby Russia lost the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia as its allies - is certainly more poignant today as the Russian invasion ravages Ukraine.
I was quite taken aback by this production and was surprised with how much I enjoyed it having little to no contextual understanding. It's a brave decision to change the narrative so drastically, it's been made relevant and accessible to those who haven't seen a ballet before and it has a satisfying, unexpected unending regarding Raymonda's fate.
Raymonda is at Bristol Hippodrome until November 26, 2022
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