The National Ballet of Canada/The Winter’s Tale choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, original score composed by Joby Talbot, Four Seasons Centre, closes Nov. 21; tickets here.
This revival of Christopher Wheeldon’s 2014 ballet The Winter’s Tale absolutely proves that this choreographer belongs in the pantheon of English master storytellers of dance along with Sir Fredrick Ashton and Sir Kenneth MacMillan.
For those who like to categorize Shakespeare’s plays, The Winter’s Tale belongs with the romances which contain a deus ex machina or something miraculous.
To be truthful, when the ballet was first announced I really had my doubts about the play’s transformation to dance, but Wheeldon, working with composer Joby Talbot, found the perfect entrée to the ballet through structure, character delineation, and sense of place.
Architecture
Shakespeare’s storyline gave Wheeldon and Talbot their spine for the ballet which they divide into a prologue and three acts.
The prologue allows them to establish the friendship between the Kings of Sicilia (Leontes) and Bohemia (Polixenes) and the subsequent friendship between Polixenes and Leontes’ wife Hermione and son Maxmillius.
The first act establishes the jealousy of Leontes and the horrors that follow. The second act takes place in Bohemia where Perdita, the abandoned child of Leontes, falls in love with Florizel, the son of Polixenes, which takes us back to the third act and Sicilia, where Perdita and Florizel flee to Leontes for sanctuary.
I do, however, still have the same complaint as the first time round.
As pretty as the second act is with all the dancing and on-stage folk instrument banda, it is still too much time spent in Bohemia.
Movement
The structure also allows Wheeldon to show his choreographic chops in devising different kinds of movement.
In the formality of the Sicilian court the dance is very stylized, upright stiffened, while among the young people in Bohemia, there is youthful vigour with lots of jumps and turns and spins, a lively ensemble spirit with a folk element as opposed to the restraint of the court.
The choreographic difference between sophisticated Sicilia and rural Bohemia is quite remarkable whether individually or in the group.
Because of the complicated relationships resulting from Leontes’ jealousy and his belief in his wife’s infidelity with Polixenes, the first act movement between the principals is best described as tortured, bent, angled.
In contrast, the pas de deux between Perdita and Florizel seems much more traditional, as does the Bohemian dancing in general.
One of Wheeldon’s most inspired moments of choreography occurs in the first act among a group of large statues where Hermione and Polixenes are casually walking together while Leontes follows them in hiding.
The jealous Leontes does not see this innocence. The lighting radically changes and he sees his wife and friend in lurid sexual embraces.
In this ballet, Wheeldon really proves himself a master craftsman in depicting not just character, but inner emotional trauma.
His Leontes is probably one of the deepest portraits ever painted through movement — the body contortions, hand gestures, facial expressions and leg out thrusts — the way they are all timed together to create a complete mental breakdown is a choreographic masterpiece.
As a whole, the company is looking very strong.
Wheeldon created this work on both the Royal Ballet and the National as a co-commission and clearly, he knew the strengths of both companies to draw from each to enrich his choreography.
The Cast
Ben Rudisin gives the performance of a lifetime as Leontes.
He eats up the stage with his jealous rage while performing Wheeldon’s very complicated choreography, and then manages to actually elicit sympathy with his utterly broken spirit when he sees the damage he has caused. It is simply a magnificent performance by an acting dancer, or a dancing actor, whichever you prefer.
Isabella Kinch as Hermione is clearly a rising star in the company. (Just look how prominently she figured in Procession.) The ballerina manages to express grace, dignity, bewilderment, heartbreak and love all at the same time while dancing beautifully. It is an exquisite performance.
Donald Thom as Polixenes goes through the most changes in the course of the evening.
In Sicilia he is charming and courtly, then mystified, then angry at the accusations thrown at him. In Bohemia, he becomes a mini Leontes with rage when he thinks his son is romancing a peasant girl, and Thom pulls off all these changes with acute precision. His anger is downright scary.
Tirion Law as Perdita, delicate and lyrical, is the ingenue of ingenues in the company, and her sweet partnership with the charming Noaya Ebe as Florizel anchors the Bohemian act. She is all grace and perfection, while he can toss off all the exciting tricks. They make a wonderful partnership.
Peng-Fei Jiang gives a sympathetic performance as Antigonus, head of Leontes’ household, showing just enough worry at the demise of his master while still maintaining his stately demeanour.
Ah, Heather Ogden.
The role of Paulina, head of Hermione’s household, was made for Ogden, with its gravitas, ruthless determination, and revenge. When she leads the broken Leontes to the statue of his dead wife and child, you can sense the triumph beneath the grim exterior. Ogden’s performance runs deep.
In the twilight of her career, this senior ballerina is dancing with consummate finesse and detailed articulation.
In Bohemia, we should mention the fine contributions of King Polixenes’ harried Steward (Trygve Cumpston), Perdita’s loving Father Shepherd who raised her (Jack Bertinshaw), and the vibrant dancing from her Brother Clown (Albjon Gjorliaku) and his lively Shepherdess (Erica Lall).
A very young Lyon Kilpatrick as Leontes and Hermione’s son Mamillius is surprisingly given a great deal to do in the ballet, and holds his own against the adult dancers, giving an accomplished performance. His precise timing down the long staircase to his death was remarkable.
Final Thoughts
With Joby Talbot’s magnificent original score and Bob Crowley’s imaginative designs leading the creative team, everything about The Winters Tale is a class act.
This revival confirms the greatness of this ballet within the repertoire at large.
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