Oh Lord


Sometimes you are just glad that you made the effort with something unknown.
The Royal Ballet's Dances at a Gathering proved to be a pared down and joyous Jerome Robbins journey into Chopin, with a bare stage allowing the dancers to show their skill and their personalities
Stars Marianela Nuñez, Francesca Hayward and Alexander Campbell were real standouts and after an hour of watching them literally open mouthed We then had the fortune to sit through a brand new ballet, Cathy Marston's The Cellist.
Being " back" at the Royal Opera House was always going to be a moving experience for me  but I am so glad I was able to see something of so much depth and quality
The ballet centres around the aclaimed Cellist Jacqueline Du Prè and through a series of set pieces we see how Jacqueline fell in love with the instrument which catapulted her to stardom.
The cello is played with sublime skill by Marcelino Sambè who initially and magically becomes the instrument she obviously bonded with as a girl.
The two have a love affair on stage which is incredibly moving to watch and the humans in her life, her parents, sister and husband Daniel Barenboim sort of play a supporting role as multiple sclerosis starts to limit her abilities to perform.
I have never been so moved at the end of a ballet as I was at the end of The Cellist 
Unable to move on her own, we see the dying DuPré positioned around the stage by a series of grey figures as she says her goodbyes to her loved ones and as she melts into inactivity into an armchair her cello spins , almost out of control across the stage, playing frantically.
Lauren Cuthbertson literally broke my heart in the lead role.


23 comments:

  1. An emotional return to one of my most favourite places x

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  2. I regularly hear Jacqueline Du Pre' on the radio and last year watched her on tv.You could see her and the cello become one x

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  3. I read a biography of Jacqueline Du Prè, and it was simply heart-breaking. I hope the dread disease is never as unkind to me as it was to her. Which is a selfish way to feel, particularly as I am without her talent.

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  4. Barbara Anne1:00 am

    Amazing and completely awesome in the not overused and threadbare sense of that word. How wonderful that you were there to see it. What quiet joy.

    Hugs!

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  5. What an interesting idea to have the instrument played by a person, the first picture captures that perfectly.

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  6. A wonderful experience!

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  7. You should send them a card with your review in it. I am sure they would be touched.

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  8. Sounds wonderful, I last saw live dance, with Dr. Spo in Phoenix, I need to do that again.

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  9. The cello can be so beautiful. Glad you weren’t all leaped out and enjoyed yourself.

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  10. I would so love to see this performance - I'm a huge Jacqueline du Pré fan. . . . . . whom we lost much too soon.
    Glad you had such an enjoyable and memorable evening.

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  11. Glad you enjoyed it so much John. Beautiful instrument, du Pre was a wonderful player so good to remember her too and brilliant dancers - surely a night to remember.

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  12. What an interesting way to present the cello's part! Glad you had a good time out.

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  13. It sounds magnificent.

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  14. You were so lucky!! It sounds so wonderful. I'd love to see Lauren C dance; she's a mighty force!

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  15. That sounds like a wonderful presentation must keep my eye open for the Cellist.

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  16. I recently read the biography of Jacqueline Du Pre’, and it was simply heart breaking. I pray that the dreaded disease is never unkind to anyone. I watched her last year on TV, I am just a fan of her. Miss such a wonderful person!!! Glad, you had a good time, you are lucky enough.

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  18. I could feel the dance moves in my mind as I read through your article. It is a lovely write up and could gather the passion for this art. It is a nice effort. Loved the story and I am looking forward to more such articles.

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