David Bintley has spoken a number of times about the work that continues on a ballet once it has been danced in front of an audience.
Despite its age, Far from the Madding Crowd, which Birmingham Royal Ballet dance at Birmingham Hippodrome this week, is no exception.
“I hope this revival will be a good one because Far from the Madding Crowd has had a little bit of a chequered history”, explains David. “There were things that were wrong with it in the initial presentation. We then made some changes to it during those early years, and while we fixed a lot, there were still some small elements that I was unhappy with. It’s now been ten years since we last did it, and all the time it’s been sat there I’ve still wanted to return to it again.
“It’s a piece that I’m extremely fond of. Not just because it’s the last piece that I did with Paul, but because I just really like it. I like the characters and the music is great, and I’d love to see it all really come together.
“I hope that there’s enough anticipation from audiences, especially those who saw it last time, and that there’s a good feel about the piece. I hope that in the future there will be enough public interest to earn it a wider airing. But more so, I want to get it right, and I’m hoping, this time, that I can say that the piece is finally finished!”
Birmingham Royal Ballet performs Far from the Madding Crowd at Birmingham Hippodrome, 20-23 June 2012.
Click here for booking details.
Here you can see a video of Elisha Willis and Iain Mackay in rehearsals for Far from the Madding Crowd.
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23 June 2012 at 9:41 pm
Jan Follos
Saw Far from the Madding crowd last night and was overwhelmed by it’s intensity. I want to single out Maureya Lebowitz’s Fanny Robin. What a perrformance she gave. Her dancing moved all in our party to tears. The male dancers also thrilled us all with their fabulous dance routines. First time we have seen Far from Madding Crowd and we have now put it up as one of our favourites alongside Hobson’s Choice!! Looking forward to the other extreme of Faster, Higher Stronger next week!! Many, many thanks BRB.