A ballet for all seasons: The Winter’s Tale returns

By Mark Pullinger, 14 February 2018

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“Hirano... handles Lauren Cuthbertson’s noble Hermione like porcelain in their tender Act 3 pas”

Reviewed at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 13 February 2018

The Winter's Tale (Christopher Wheeldon)

The Royal Ballet

Alondra de la Parra, Conductor

Bob Crowley, Set Designer

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden

Lauren Cuthbertson, Dancer

Ryoichi Hirano, Dancer

Sarah Lamb, Dancer

Vadim Muntagirov, Dancer

Laura Morera, Dancer

Matthew Ball, Dancer

NYCB: Ratmansky’s The Naked King is not satire, but good fun

Ivy Lin, 7th February

New York City Ballet presents a very entertaining quadruple bill which includes Alexei Ratmansky’s latest work, The Naked King, showing off the company’s comic talents.

****1

The Royal Ballet’s Like Water for Chocolate is sumptuous but complex

Amanda Jennings, 1st October

The Royal Ballet’s season opener, Christopher Wheeldon’s Like Water for Chocolate, is visually tremendous, very well danced but the many principal and soloist characters are difficult to keep up with.

****1

Ballet Nights makes an impressive and unforgettable Scottish debut

Kathy Elgin, 4th July

Ballet Nights is more than an evening of party pieces: it showcases emerging talent alongside older favourites and, in the case of this first Scottish outing, has an eye to local tradition.

****1

ABT in Wheeldon’s The Winter’s Tale: CliffsNotes Shakespeare

Ivy Lin, 2nd July

Christopher Wheeldon’s The Winter’s Tale is a sumptuous looking production but on this occasion, it didn’t come to life emotionally.

***11

Wheeldon’s Alice: The Royal Ballet shines in a vehicle of excellence

Amanda Jennings, 13th June

Christopher Wheeldon's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland shows off The Royal Ballet's roster of supreme dance actors in every version of technical wizardry and comic incarnation.

****1

Wheeldon's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland dazzles again in Tokyo

Naomi Mori, 12th June

Christopher Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland returned to the National Ballet of Japan, a marvelous production that amply displays the many talents of the company.

****1

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Mark Pullinger

Mark has been a Bachtrack editor since 2014. He is also an experienced critic, writing hundreds of reviews for the site, as well as a freelancer writing for other magazines and newspapers. He also writes programme notes and blogs on Substack. Mark has a particular passion for the operas of Verdi as well as Russian and French repertoire. Outside the concert hall and opera house, Mark enjoys cooking and travel and is probably at his happiest let loose in a French patisserie or a Viennese coffee house.

A ballet for all seasons: Wheeldon’s The Winter’s Tale returns to Covent Garden