David Nixon... Madame Butterfly Diary
	diary 2,     diary 3,     diary 4,     diary 5 About David Nixon Competition for free tickets to Sadler's Wells opening Madam Butterfly story notes David Nixon and Madam Butterfly (some notes on the original 1996 production) NBT Performances recent NBT reviews NBT web site   David Nixon is Northern Ballet Theatre's new Artistic Director and Madame Butterfly is his first production for the company. David is keeping an diary for us in the run-up to the premiere on the 15th February in Leeds and then after as the company tour to Edinburgh, Nottingham and arrive at Sadler's Wells on the 13th March. There is much to do and the diary will necessarily be add-hoc and deal with the practical realities of getting a show 'on'. We hope you enjoy it... Diary 1, 7 February 2002 As we get nearer the final days before the premier of Madame Butterfly we have begun the process of 'work through' which involve stops and then towards the end of this week 'run throughs'... which we go through without stops. The object at this point is no longer choreographic but to make the dancers familiar with the work as a whole. How it feels to connect the scenes stringing the emotional threads and the character development. The final objective is to obtain an understanding of how to spread one's energies across the whole performance and to have enough stamina to be comfortable about each section. It is always fascinating to watch the company at this point as they gain confidence, loose confidence and finally begin to enjoy the work. The most challenging part for the Butterfly is of course the second act in which she must not only command the stage and develop her character but also maintaining enough strength to get through the flower dance. David Nixon in the reheasal studio Oddly what is proving most challenging for each cast is getting dressed into the various Kimonos on stage. Not only are these difficult garments to put on but the dancers must do it gracefully and in time with the music. Today we will see all the costumes for the first time and do our first run through with them on. This is always really exciting as I get to see all the pieces coming together. The costumes are so important as they must not only look right but complement the movement. There will of course be some necessary adjustments and I am hoping that Butterfly will make it out of her palanquin without loosing her head piece. It should prove to be a very interesting day.... David Diary 2, 8 February 2002 We had two very good work throughs of the ballet yesterday. The dancers showed a great deal of development to their roles and each cast brought different strengths and points of interpretation to the roles. The first rehearsal in the costumes was both nerve racking and exciting. The colours and fabrics appear to work very well and Hiro Takahashi looked particularly stunning in his Bonze costume. The maker, Julie Anderson, and our wardrobe have really done an exceptional job. One of our challenges now is actually the very tiny and very sweet little boys who are playing the role of the child Trouble. I wanted them to be as small as possible and these three and four year olds look perfect. It is however a challenge for them to last through the second act without crying or refusing to go on. We will have two at each performance just in case one gets nervous and refuses to go on stage! We continue rehearsals today constantly trying to refine things as much as possible. Everyone has the weekend to rest and recover in preparation for the final days. David Diary 3, 12 February 2002 Yesterday, Monday, was the start of a new week and the count down to opening night (on Friday! Ed). The dancers having had two days off had slipped into hibernation mode which took a little tugging to get them awake. David Nixon in the reheasal studio The set has moved into the theatre and so the studio felt bare. Chiaki Nagao, Friday night's Butterfly, was however totally concentrated on being relaxed and released in her movements which resulted in her best second act rehearsal to date. Today we will have two final runs before going to the theatre tomorrow. I will go over this morning to see how the set looks and how our new sprung floor feels. This is an exciting moment for me as the production really starts to come to life. Tomorrow morning I will start doing lighting with Peter Mumford. The lighting is the very last thing to be done but in many ways the most important. The lights create and complement the atmosphere, set and costumes. It can in some ways make or break the moment. The poor lighting designer has the least amount of time to do the job as compared with the other elements of the work. So off to work, David Diary 4, 15 February 2002 Yesterday was our second technical rehearsal and our first rehearsal with orchestra. My most worrying time really came in the afternoon as I was having trouble believing that the final scene was working. Although striking, it was difficult to see if my attempt to engulf Butterfly in a ritual world of her own could/would work. The largest problem seemed to be the fact that we had not seen Act 2 run without stopping, so the flavour and theatrical tension was missing. In the evening at the first orchestra rehearsal, with audience, I made the choice to let the piece run so that I could see if the end would work. The Orchestra, music orchestrated by John Longstaff, brought the hoped for dynamic and emotional framework. The dancers, having become accustomed to the raked stage, appeared more at ease and at the end of the rehearsal I saw the piece starting to come together. Today the final rehearsal and opening. What will the audience think? The critics? (Press night is Monday 18th. Ed). Oh well, in the words of Scarlett O'Hara "Tomorrow is another day" David Diary 5, 20 February 2002 Well it is Wednesday a week since the first technical rehearsal. We have had the opening night, our press night, five performances from two casts and a dress rehearsal for the last cast to go on. I have been very pleased with the audiences as they tend to be sincerely involved with the performance. The reviews have begun to appear and I am pleasantly surprised with some of them and not surprised with some of the others. The real interest for me however is how the show itself is progressing. The crew has done a great job making the scene changes smooth and seamless, improving the relationship between the light and set changes. The dancers are relaxing into their roles and dancing with greater confidence. We are now able to ask them to go further on all levels. I am extremely pleased that each cast has many strengths and are giving valid interpretations. They are also starting to play with the music that beautifully rises out of the pit. All things considered I am very pleased with the company and now look forward to enjoying the performances and putting aside my fears and nerves. Next week is our first tour date so new territory to report on.... David
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