In the excitement leading up to the Royal Ballet's visit, don't forget the other "Royal Ballet", writes Matthew Lawrence.
The Royal is coming to Australia! The Royal Ballet (RB), that is, not the Royals themselves, although Her Majesty, the Queen is patron of the company, and His Royal Highness, Prince of Wales is the company’s president. Let me introduce you to my view of the RB from behind-the-scenes – though from down the road a bit with another Royal.
First some facts. The RB is royalty, heritage and stars all wrapped inside the five-star Royal Opera House package. Most alluring. At $249 for a premium vantage point at Queensland’s Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), where it will be performing in Australia, it is also quite expensive. It is testament to the RB’s deluxe brand that its 12 Brisbane shows, June 29 to July 9, are expected to sell out. Audiences would most likely not even have heard of, or seen the two newly choreographed full-length ballets: Christopher Wheeldon’s The Winter’s Tale and Wayne McGregor’s Olivier Award-winning Woolf Works. Yet it matters little. The Royal’s brand will guarantee an outstanding product … we hope. (How rare and fortunate that a ballet company can afford such creative risks.)
The Royal Opera House (ROH) at Covent Garden, or “The House”, which accommodates the ballet and opera (and accompanying orchestras), is a successful brand as well. Its appeal even extends over the Atlantic Ocean, enjoying support from the American Friends of Covent Garden, a popular US-based philanthropic fund. Outrageous! Its physical location, at the heart of London’s theatre district, makes it an accessible tourist attraction. An evening spent at the ROH promises an opulent, classy and sophisticated night out. After extensive renovations in the 1990’s – costing squillions – the building’s classical exterior, horse-shoe auditorium, champagne-centred foyer and back-stage spaces are a complementary mix of traditional and modernist architecture. This in many ways represents the RB’s own artistic offerings, a successful merge of old and new.
There was a time I fancied a stint as a dancer with the Royal. Earn some serious pounds, celebrity profile, 90 shows a year (of which the “stars” perform in around 11). I partly blame my Dad for this aspiration. As a Londoner and balletomane, he would often (and still does) reminisce of the RB performances at Covent Garden in the 1950s and 60s. He would wax lyrical about watching ballet royalty -- Margot Fonteyn, Michael Somes and Antoinette Sibley. Covent Garden’s theatre -- which to the young me sounded like a garden where nuns hung out -- became a pinnacle. I nursed an ambition to dance on its sacred stage. . .
This is an excerpt from an article by Matthew Lawrence in the April/May issue of Dance Australia. For the full article, buy the new issue at your favourite magazine retailer or subscribe here, or purchase an online copy via the Dance Australia app.
Also keep an eye out for the June/July issue of Dance Australia - Karen van Ulzen has written all about the two works that the Royal Ballet will be bringing to Australia, illustrated with gorgeous photos!