© Roy Smiljanic BRB 'Petrushka' reviews 'Petrushka' reviews BRB 'Baiser de la Fee' reviews 'Baiser de la Fee' reviews Vallo in reviews Campbell in reviews recent BRB reviews more Lynette Halewood reviews Discuss this review (Open for at least 6 months)

These are substantial pieces and it makes for a long evening in the theatre. As often at Sadler’s the scheduled time for the intervals was exceeded and we did not leave the theatre till nearly 11pm. As a result in the final work there was a good deal of scurrying for the exits from those with trains to catch – a pity to miss one of the loveliest closing scenes of any ballet. I am torn between gratitude that the Royal Ballet Sinfonia seems happy to play after 10:30pm (unlike the orchestra at Covent Garden) and frustration at the ultimate result.

Petrushka is not a work seen very often, and its last production by a UK company in London may have been for Mukhamedov at the Royal sometime in the 1990s. It demands a large cast and a big stage to show the crowds at the fair in St Petersburg in the 19th century. The Sadler’s stage did look a bit congested at times and one couldn’t help but be aware that this is a rather young company portraying a wide range of ages. The gusto and verve of youth is evident in the corps if not always perfect finish.

Much of the success of the work however hangs on its central characters, the toy dolls of the Moor, the Ballerina and Petrushka who the showman brings to life to dance for the crowd. We need to engage with floppy limbed Petrushka and his hopeless adoration of the hard hearted Ballerina. Alexander Campbell did a very fine job in the title role with a wholly credible yearning and vulnerability. Ambra Vallo was suitably blank and doll like. Sinister things, puppets.

Corder’s new Baiser de la Fee contained some very promising ingredients without ever coming together as an involving or moving work. I might have liked it more if it did not seem so similar in concept and designs to his Snow Queen for ENB – another folk tale where a malign fairy come to sprit away a hapless human. Both productions have very lovely costumes and share some common motifs like the stern fairy lifted and carried by two of her attendants. And like Snow Queen, there is plenty of flowing steps but very little in them to make you care for the fate of the characters,

The Young Man kissed by the fairy as a child with disastrous results is danced by Alexander Campbell. It is perplexing that he could be so touching and communicate so clearly through layers of costume and makeup in Petrushka yet remain relatively uninvolving in this. The fault I think lies with Corder. The steps are pretty (and cleanly executed) but there so little in them to show any conflict in the young man, so we never really feel any anguish, any tug between the love for the bride and the demands of the fairy.

Perhaps some of this is down to the Stravinsky score which has been attempted by many choreographers before without resounding success. There seems to be a lot of music here (38 minutes) for a small amount of story. So we have lots of decorative dances for villagers and bridesmaids but they do feel a bit like padding, however elegant. Natasha Oughtred looked pretty as the Bride but the choreography didn’t ask her to do much more than that. Gaylene Cummerfield looked to be relishing her opportunities as the Fairy.

BRB brought their production of The Firebird to Sadler’s in 2006, with the same cast as for the opening night this year. Chi Cao has gained in authority as time has gone on. He is a Tsarevich utterly sure of his destiny. Nao Sakuma is all quivering energy as the Firebird, distraught at her capture. She takes such glee later when casting her spell over Kostchei’s court and ensuring his destruction that you can’t help but wonder if there was some history there that we don’t know. The enchanted princesses were charming and much batter at throwing and catching apples than the Royal. The company look to have got much more under the skin of this work now and present it with care and commitment.

It’s a wonderful score and a grandly colourful closing scene. All three works were highly appealing visually. It’s a long evening but ultimately a rewarding one.