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15 May 2020 (Fri), 19:00 Brilliant Classical Stanislavsky Ballet and Opera theatre (established 1887, founded by Stanislavsky) - ! PREMIERE ! Modern Ballet Patrick de Bana "ECHOES OF ETERNITY". Shanghai Ballet Company

The performance has 1 intermission

Schedule for Patrick de Bana "ECHOES OF ETERNITY". Shanghai Ballet Company 2022


Premiere of this production: July 2015, Shanghai

Inspired by Bai Juyi’s ancient Chinese poem “Song of Everlasting Sorrow” which tells the story of the doomed romance between the Lady Yang (Qi Bingxue) and the all-powerful Chinese Emperor Tang Xuanzong (Wu Husheng) from its inception to its tragic conclusion. The Shanghai Ballet have put together a very contemporary version of the story, with a libretto by Jean Francois Vazelle and a wonderfully eclectic score that includes some really powerful music from Henryk Gorecki, Armand Amar and Philip Glass.

In the framework of the XIV International Theater Festival. A.P. Chekhov (Chekhov Festival) The Shanghai Ballet will acquaint the Moscow audience with one of its best works. On the stage of Stanislavsky Theater will be shown "Echo of Eternity" ballet. The legend of the emperor's romantic and at the same time tragic love for his concubine has survived hundreds of interpretations. Now it is presented for the first time by means of modern ballet, and this innovative decision can be seen by the metropolitan public.

 

Choreographer: Patrick de Bana.

Music: Armand Amar, Ravid Goldschmidt, Kodo, Henryk Górecki & Philip, Glass.

The duration of the ballet with an interval: 135 minutes.

 

The fascinating legend about an Emperor Xuanzong and his fatal attraction to the beloved concubine Yang Guifei is one of the "eternal plots", which had hundreds of interpretations. However, the famous European choreographer Patrick de Bana for the first time presents the classics of ancient Chinese literature through modern ballet. A romantic and tragic story of love, which was sacrificed to the duty, turned into a bright dance extravaganza, real poetry in motion.

Patrick de Bana is one of the world's most cosmopolitan choreographers, with a fantastic sense of time and style. He was born in Germany, studied dance in Hamburg under the direction of John Neumeier, was a soloist of the Béjart Ballet Lausanne, the leading soloist of the National Theatre of Dance in Madrid under the direction of Nacho Duato. In 2003 he founded the “Nafas Dance Company” in Valencia. He created many choreographic compositions for artists and companies around the world.

 

Ballet as an art form more than any other draws its inspiration from literature, and Shanghai Ballet’s newest production Echoes of Eternity is no exception. Based on the eighth-century poem The Song of Everlasting Regret, the ballet tells the story of the tragic romance between Emperor Ming and his consort, Lady Yang. The curtain opened to a completely bare stage – no wings, no backdrop, no decoration of any kind – with the Lady Yang standing alone. A refreshing change; this hyper minimalistic set allowed the audience to focus solely on the dancers in the prologue of the ballet. However, there perhaps should have been some distraction, as the entrances of the Moon Fairy and Emperor Ming established an interpretive dance style that was not favoured by the audience. The Moon Fairy, in particular, was given incredibly confusing choreography. An omniscient presence, she flitted in and out of the action seemingly without purpose, sometimes channelling The Dying Swan, and at other times contorting her body as someone possessed. Her style shifted from classical to modern so often that you were left wondering whether she was a good omen, a bad one, or just a fairy floating around as she pleased.

The great romance between the Emperor and Lady Yang, the driving force of the poem, the alleged cause of the fall of the Tang Dynasty, was given surprisingly little stage time. They were given a couple of pas de deux in the first act – in which Wu Husheng and Qi Bingxue gave beautiful performances – but fifteen minutes of dancing in an hour-long act simply isn’t enough time to build a romance. The audience barely had time to form an attachment to the couple, so much so that when Lady Yang died in Act Two the scene lost most of its power (this doesn’t count as a spoiler – she died 1300 years ago). The first act was instead filled with scenes from the court and the army training for battle. The court scenes managed to fill a large amount of time with very little dancing, and their only purpose seemed to be to give stage time to the female corps de ballet. The training scenes were equally disappointing. The soldiers were supposed to be in perfect unison, however, they were so out of time that the dance felt more like a number from Disney’s Mulan than an homage to the notorious precision of the Chinese Armies.

The second act was unfortunately not much better. The first half of the act is dedicated to the battle between the Imperial army and the rebelling forces. Typically, fight scenes provide the opportunity for some incredible choreography, but this was unfortunately not the case in Echoes of Eternity. The two armies are led by Chen Xuanli (Imperial) and An Lushan (Rebel), who frequently came to blows in their own pas de deux. Wu Bin and Zhang Wenjun were given the opportunity to demonstrate their power as dancers, however choreographer Patrick de Bana decided that a chest bump would be the most effective way to portray their fight – indeed it became the favoured move in all of their fights. The armies followed suit and were given quite frankly ridiculous choreography. The epic battle between the Rebels and Imperial army was depicted by the male corps running (again out of time) from one side of the stage to the other. The armies would square up, charge through each other, and recover to repeat going the other way. The absurd choreography continued for so long that it became humorous, with many audience members smothering laughs.

The death of Lady Yang – the emotional climax of the ballet – was equally confusing. The emperor and Lady Yang share a final pas de deux where he appears to be begging her to stay with him. There were some moments of true emotion, however, with the couple taking turns to chase each other around the stage, and the Moon Fairy once again doing her own thing, the whole scene became muddled and drawn out. Lady Yang is finally given a length of tulle with which she hangs herself, and the Emperor apparently dies from grief. It wasn’t until I researched the poem after the performance that this scene made any sense. In the original story, the Emperor is forced to order the death of his beloved concubine for the sake of his Empire, and she is taken away and strangled. The ballet does, however, reach a beautiful dénouement in which the couple are reunited in death. They share a single spotlight as glitter cascades down, creating a powerful final image to the ballet, which would have been truly moving had the romance been given space to breathe.

Echoes of Eternity has one the most unique scores I have ever seen in ballet, with music from Henryk Górecki, Armand Amar, and Philip Glass, and the libretto (vocals) by Jean Francois Vazelle. The score was incredibly eclectic and felt more like the soundtrack to an epic film than to a ballet, but it was precisely this sound that created so much of the drama in the ballet. From the powerful war drums to the ethereal voice modulations, there has never been a ballet score like it. There were unfortunately many moments of deliberate silence, which felt forced and left the audience with nothing to do but listen to the squeaking of the dancers’ shoes. But, when the music was playing, it produced such a tangible atmosphere, that you felt you were about to witness something enormous.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Shanghai Ballet has some of the best dancers in the world, but Patrick de Bana’s choreography did not fully utilise their talent. The dancers did the best with what they had, but when the storytelling is lacking then it’s little more than dancers running around on a stage. This ballet had so much potential, but de Bana’s choreography simply didn’t do justice to the ancient poem.

 

Recommended age: 12+




Synopsis

Place: Kingdom of Bohemia
Time: 1648, at the end of the Thirty Years' War

Act 1

At a practice target shooting, the assistant forester Max loses to a young peasant, Kilian, who is proclaimed "King of marksmen" (Chorus: Viktoria! Der Meister soll leben—"Victory! Long live the master"). Kilian sings a good-natured song mocking him (Schaut der Herr mich an als König—"Let him gaze on me as king").

Max is in love with Agathe, daughter of the head forester Kuno, and desires to become Kuno’s successor as head forester. However, a test of skill in marksmanship is required, with the trial to be held the following day.

As Max has had ill luck for several days, he easily falls under the influence of Kaspar, who persuades Max to cast seven magic bullets to be used in the contest. Kaspar, whose soul is to be sold to the devil the following day, hopes to obtain three more years of grace by substituting Max in his place (Trio of Kuno, Kaspar, and Max; chorus: O diese Sonne—"O the sun").

Left alone, Max sinks into a deep melancholy at the thought of losing Agathe by failing the shooting contest (Aria: Durch die Wälder—"Through the woods"). Kaspar, with incantations, tries to imbue him with courage (Hier im ird'schen Jammerthal—"Here in this vale of tears").

He hands Max his gun, loaded with a magic bullet—Max kills an eagle soaring at a great height, to his own astonishment. He resolves to go with Kaspar at midnight to the terrible Wolf's Glen to cast the magic bullets, which will kill anything the shooter wishes, in order to win the prize. Kaspar, left alone, triumphs (Aria: Schweig! damit dich Niemand warnt—"Silence, let no one warn him").

Act 2

Agathe's chamber

At the moment when Max shoots the magic bullet, a picture of Agathe's ancestor hanging on the wall falls to the floor, slightly wounding her. Agathe's cousin and companion Ännchen replaces it (Duet: Schelm, halt fest!—"Rogue, hold fast!"). Agathe is still more disturbed, but Ännchen endeavours to cheer her with jests (Ännchen: Kommt ein schlanker Bursch gegangen—"Comes a pretty boy this path"). Agathe is filled with sad forebodings, singing of meeting with a hermit in the forest, who told her that in some danger which menaced her, she would be protected by her bridal wreath.

Agathe, left alone, awaits Max with the news of his success, which she interprets as a favourable omen (Recitative and aria: Wie nahte mir der Schlummer…Leise, leise—"How did slumber approach me…Low, low").

Max arrives, acknowledging that while he has not been the victor, he has killed a deer and will bring it this evening from the Wolf's Glen. Notwithstanding the prayers of Agathe and Ännchen, Max departs (Trio: Wie? Was? Entsetzen!—"How? What? Oh, horror!").

The Wolf's Glen at night

Kaspar calls upon Samiel, the Black Huntsman, for assistance in preparing the casting of the magic bullets. Max arrives and is warned by the spirit of his mother to abandon the project. Samiel conjures up the shape of Agathe, representing her as drowning herself in despair at Max's ill success, whereupon he plunges into the glen. With demoniacal noise, the casting of the bullets has begun.

Act 3

Agathe's chamber

Agathe is praying (Aria: Und ob die Wolke sie verhülle—"Through clouds obscure"), her doubts having returned owing to a dream of ill omen. Ännchen again cheers her with laughter and song. (Romance and aria, subsequently added by Weber: Einst träumte meiner sel'gen Base—"My deceased cousin had a dream"). The bridesmaids arrive with the bridal wreath (Song: Wir winden dir den Jungfern-Kranz—"We wind round thee the bridal wreath"), but Ännchen opens the box, she finds within a funeral wreath, further increasing her misgivings. She is somewhat comforted by the memory of the hermit's promise that she will be protected by her bridal wreath.

The meeting of the marksmen

Having split the seven bullets between them, Max has used two and Kaspar has used three. Max demands that Kaspar give him his last bullet to use in the final shooting contest, but Kaspar refuses. As Max leaves, Kaspar shoots a fox, thus making Max's bullet the seventh and controlled by the Evil One.

The prize shooting

Prince Ottokar awaits Max at his tent (Chorus of foresters: Was gleicht wohl auf Erden—"What excels the pleasures of the chase"). Max is now to shoot a dove, but as he takes aim, Samiel, the black huntsman, guides the bullet and causes Max to fire at Agathe, who is apparently wounded (Finale: Schaut, o schaut—"See, oh see"). Agathe falls, but her bridal wreath has deflected the bullet, which strikes Kaspar. Agathe revives from her faint and Kaspar, seeing a holy hermit by her side, realizes that he has failed. Samiel grasps him instead of Max, whereupon Kaspar expires with a curse upon his lips. Prince Ottokar orders the corpse to be thrown into the Wolf's Glen, then demands and receives an explanation from Max. In spite of pleas from Kuno, Agathe, peasants, and huntsman, the infuriated Prince pronounces the sentence of banishment. Before this can be carried out, however, the hermit enters into their midst. The Prince acknowledges the holy man, and asks for his counsel. The hermit explains that the combined effects of love for Agathe, and fear of losing her should he fail the shooting trial are what caused Max to stray from a life that was formerly without fault. The hermit goes on to condemn the trial shot, suggests a probationary year as penalty, and asks who among the assembled has looked into their own heart and would be willing to cast the first stone. If Max lives a faultless life, he will gain forgiveness and be permitted to marry Agathe. The Prince commends the hermit for his wisdom, saying a higher power speaks through him. The Prince ends his pronouncement by saying that he himself will place the hand of Agathe in that of Max when the probation is over. The opera ends with the ensemble singing prayers of thanks.





Schedule for Patrick de Bana "ECHOES OF ETERNITY". Shanghai Ballet Company 2022


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