Joby Talbot (b.1971)
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – ballet (2011)
Alice – Francesca Hayward
Jack/The Knave of Hearts – William Bracewell
Lewis Carroll/The White Rabbit – James Hay
Mother/The Queen of Hearts – Lauren Cuthbertson
Magician/The Mad Hatter – Steven McRae
The Duchess – Gary Avis
Choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon
Orchestra of the Royal Opera, Covent Garden/Koen Kessels
rec. live, 17 & 24, April, 2024; Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London,
Opus Arte OABD7324D Blu-ray [127]
Joby Talbot’s ballet, inspired by Lewis Carroll’s famous fairy tale novel, will be turning 15 in 2026. Just in time for that anniversary comes this new Blu-ray from Opus Arte which was filmed at performances over a year ago. The ballet has worn very well in that it remains a colourful carnival that races through the story at a breakneck pace. The ballet just seems to be over when one notices that a full 2 hours has passed by. One entertaining vignette passes by and then is succeeded by another in this charming colourful show. Only in the scene with the caterperillar does the pace seem to flag for a while. This is partly due to the caterpillar spending too much time as a lithe Arabian dancer (A tribute to the Arabian variation from The Nutcracker?) and not enough time in the clever caterpillar costume that one sees only briefly.
Talbot’s score is a glittering tribute to wind-up mechanical motion. The music is scored with a great deal of percussion effects which gives more than a passing nod to Britten’s The Prince of the Pagodas ballet. The feeling of music that is always in motion is ever present throughout the two hours. Indeed the composer makes frequent use of a ticking watch motif which underpins much of the thematic development. In his review of the Suite of music Taken from this ballet on Signum Classics (review), Paul Corfield Godfrey felt that the music when shorn of the visual element didn’t make its full effect. I would concur with that view, luckily on a video release we don’t have to go without the wonderful visuals of this production.
The choreography by Wheeldon when combined with Bob Crowley’s stage designs are wearing their age lightly. Crowley’s artistry brings Alice (and audience) on a journey from the evocative sepia display of the Lidell’s Deanery garden, through the pastel shades of the exterior of the Duchess’ cottage, through the strong primary hues of the final Act in the Queen’s Rose Garden. The visual wonders of this production are worth mentioning once more, such as the very convincing films used to animate Alice’s journey through the rabbit hole, and even some spectacular puppetry for the Cheshire cat’s sequence.
The dancing throughout is very first rate and shows the Royal Ballet Company in top form. Francesca Hayward’s waif-like Alice is full of wide-eyed wonder and she finds a wonderful rapport in her several dances with William Bracewell’s double role of Jack/ The Knave of Hearts. Bracewell ‘s charracter is really more of a knight errant than a knave and he gains the sympathy of the viewer quite easily.
The delightful Steven McRae repeats his performances as the tap dancing Mad Hatter. Looking back on the original 2011 DVD (also from Opus Arte review) It seems to me that McRae’s earlier dancing had a more threatening edge to it than is on display now. This is perhaps a change in approach to the character. On the whole I think his performance comes off more brilliantly in the older version.
Gary Avis makes a delightfully mixed-up Duchess; this woman is a bizarre combination of dangerous and dotty in equal measure. James Hay’s impersonation of the dual role of Lewis Carroll/White Rabbit is the emotional heart of this work. His stabilizing influence among the wackiness of everyone else is crucial for the audience to remain engaged and his charmingly sensitive performance is utterly perfect.
Lauren Cuthbertson has now graduated from being the Alice in 2011 to taking on the scene stealing antics of The Queen of Hearts. One almost senses that Cuthbertson has been building her approach to the character for a long time. Her stage presence as the Queen has all of the impact of one of the great Disney villainesses. Talbot, and Wheeldon’s superb send-up of the Rose Adagio from Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty is a show stopping interlude for Cutherberson and her trio of supporting men.
On the musical side Koen Kessels is a worthy successor to Barry Wordsworth in the pit and the orchestra keep up their end of things in stellar fashion. During the curtain calls it is Kessels and the orchestra who receive the loudest ovation from the audience. The Blu-ray is technically faultless in terms of sight and sound. It also includes about 11 minutes of interviews with Cuthbertson and Wheeldon that are worth viewing.
Mike Parr
Technical details
Picture: 1080i High Definition
Audio formats: LPCM 2.0 and 5.1 DTS-HD 96kHz Master Audio surround
Region Code: All regions
Production Details
Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon
Sets and Costumes: Bob Crowley
Lighting: Natasha Katz
Projections: Jon Driscoll, Gemma Carrington
Orchestrations: Joby Talbot, Christopher Austin
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