4th May 2019 - 31st January 2020 |
The second part of a ballet evening 'Farben der Welt' choreographed and directed by Robert North. Musical direction: Andreas Fellner ,choreography assistant: Sheri Cook , stage and costumes: Andrew Storer.
The music of 'The Annunciation' was adapted by its composer Howard Blake from a score he had originally composed for a BBC Play for Today,'Stronger than the Sun' with a script by Stephen Poliakoff and starring Francesca Annis and Tom Bell. It was an unusually 'dark' score for 6 violas, 6 violoncelli, contrabass, piano and percussion and it was played and recorded at that time by a section of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by the composer. The film told the harrowing story of a young woman who sacrificed her own life in a supreme protest at the use of nuclear arms. The film raised a considerable stir and the parallels with The Crucifixion were evident. Robert North was deeply affected by it and created this ballet to its music., Opera houses of Monnchen Gladbach and Krefeld, Lower Rheinland
FOUR ONE-ACT BALLETS DIRECTED AND CHOREOGRAPHED BY ROBERT NORTH From paintings of the Renaissance and the classical modernity Robert North draws the ideas for this opulent ballet evening, to which the Niederrheinische Sinfoniker give musical splendor. Henri Matisse caused a sensation in the 1940s with a series of paper cutouts, including many circus motifs. He was no stranger to the circles of the European avant-garde when this cycle appeared under the title Jazz - an allusion to the principle of improvisation. Robert North approaches Matisse with the eye and the imagination of the choreographer and gains exciting impulses for the dance from the colorfulness, ornamentation and clarity of the images in combination with music by Stravinsky. A popular subject in Florentine painting of the 15th century, which also Sandro Botticelli took up, is the Annunciation to Mary. Botticelli made this biblical scene so theatrically expressive that Robert North felt inspired by the painting and, in collaboration with the composer Howard Blake, freely interpreted The Annunciation as a ballet, 'Verkundigung' (Sandro Botticelli)
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4th May 2019 | Robert North Ballet Company, Monnchen Gladbach and Krefeld Opera Houses - details tba |
...a moving and impressive interpretation of the life of Christ, to a haunting score by Howard Blake, in which Patrick Harding-Irmer, crucified, recalls Grunewald's altar-piece..
Sunday Telegraph, 2/12/1979
Cathy Lewis as a poignant Mary and Patrick Harding-Irmer as Christ headed an outstanding cast. Howard Blake's sonorous score also triumphed.
Ian Woodward, Evening Standard, 29/11/1979