Ferdinand HÉROLD (1791-1833)
La fille mal gardée - ballet in two acts (1828/1960)
[90:37]
Music arranged by John Lanchbery
Choreography by Sir Frederick Ashton
Lise - Nadia Nerina
Colas - David Blair
Widow Simone - Stanley Holden
Alain - Alexander Grant
Thomas - Leslie Edwards
A notary - Franklin White
The Royal Ballet
The Covent Garden Orchestra/John Lanchbery
Produced by Margaret Dale
rec. BBC studio, London, 7-9 September 1962
Picture format: 4:3
Region code: 0
DVD format: NTSC
Sound: enhanced mono
ICA CLASSICS DVD ICAD 5088 [90:37]
“…Nadia Nerina and David Blair [are] like gods from
Olympus… as Lise and Colas, [they] have never been so good before,
or had such wonderful steps to do… His amazing corkscrew turns, her
joyous écarté, their pas de ruban in which they
wind each other into a cat’s cradle, his lifting her at one arm’s
length above him like a shining prize, her tripping runs, their tenderness
and gaiety together - these are a few memories from a triumphant evening.
- From Richard Buckle’s 31 January 1960 review of the original Royal
Ballet production, quoted in Buckle at the ballet: selected criticism by
Richard Buckle [London, 1980], pp. 141-142.
Sir Frederick Ashton’s production of La fille mal gardée
has been one of the Royal Ballet’s crown jewels ever since its premiere
on 28 January 1960. Hugely popular whenever it is scheduled, it has also proved
a worldwide success and has generally displaced rival versions of the story
that use different choreography set to music by other composers.
The importance of this BBC film, recorded for broadcast at Christmas 1962,
is that it preserves the performances of the original Covent Garden cast,
all still at their prime.
At the same time it utilises the BBC’s own considerable resources to
showcase the production to finest effect. The unnamed director and cameramen,
in particular, are obviously skilled at working on full and busy sets to achieve
the best and most inventive camera angles and to offer plenty of visual variety.
Note, for example, how the action in the farmhouse courtyard at the very opening
of the first Act is shot through an open barn door by a camera positioned
inside Widow Simone’s outhouse, rather than merely filmed unimaginatively
straight-on.
Admittedly, this film may not match the Nerina/Britton/Helpmann Coppélia
(see
here), when it comes to using cameras to whizz excitingly in and out of
the action all around the set. That continual visual energy was the right
fit for Delibes’s more consistently lively score, while the more sedate
camerawork accorded to La fille mal gardée is certainly more
appropriate to its gentler pastoral mood.
The dancing here is, as Richard Buckle observed, outstanding. Ashton choreographed
the ballet specifically to play to his principals’ strengths and characters.
Pocket spitfire Nadia Nerina is all flighty runs and cheeky grins, while David
Blair proves equally adept at both romantic ardour and, especially, communicating
a sense that he is having great fun. Needless to say, both of them display
virtually flawless technique too. It was a sad twist of fate that Nureyev’s
defection to the west in 1961 effectively derailed both their careers. Blair
was expected to replace Michael Somes as Fonteyn’s regular partner but
found himself overshadowed by the superstar Russian. Simultaneously, Ms Nerina’s
anticipated succession to Fonteyn was stymied when Dame Margot’s own
career was unexpectedly prolonged by her collaboration with Nureyev.
Two other points are worth making about the members of the cast. First, there
is some surprisingly effective acting going on, as well as the dancing. Nadia
Nerina, as was also evident in that Coppélia performance, is
very adept at conveying convincing emotions. Her interpretation of Lise -
less sugary-sweet and more of a rather naughty, spoiled brat who’s deservedly
spanked on several occasions during the course of the story - is a very compelling
one.
I also enjoyed Alexander Grant’s portrayal of Lise’s simpleton
suitor Alain. He conveys even more pathos than Jonathan Howells in the 2005
Nuñez/Acosta Royal Ballet recording that I enjoyed some years ago (see
here). Another unexpected treat was Royal Ballet stalwart Leslie Edwards’s
contribution as Alain’s father, Thomas. Watch him closely, for example,
as he sits down with Widow Simone to sign the marriage contract (73:14 - 73:59).
His body movements, facial expressions and - especially - his eyes are used
to superb effect to create, in less than a minute, a real character out of
nothing very much at all.
At the time of the premiere, Richard Buckle took issue with Stanley Holden’s
portrayal of Widow Simone, considering the interpretation too broad and pantomime
dame-ish. He suggested that the older Russian performing tradition, where
the Widow was a more sympathetic character, would work even better. Over the
past fifty years, however, Holden’s caricature Donald McGill/Les Dawson
mother-in-law template has won the day and, of that type, its originator’s
performance has yet to be bettered.
The second point worth making about the cast members is their collective
skill as a company, especially effectively demonstrated in the closing scene
where all the main characters are on stage simultaneously.A very brief
and quite delightful sequence occurs between 74:47 and 75:15. Widow Simone,
Thomas, the notary and the notary’s clerk all dance briefly to a jaunty
tune in celebration of what they imagine to be a forthcoming union between
Lise and Alain. They line up together with linked arms but each character
is expertly individually characterised by constantly changing facial expressions
- keep an eye on the widow as she is accidentally jostled by the notary -
and highly individual styles of movement. At the same time, however, they
interact to telling effect with the others. If you watch this very brief sequence
four times - concentrating each time on a different character - you will see
an impressive demonstration of the company’s strength in depth in such
character roles. Sadly, comparison with that 2005 Royal Ballet recording suggests
that the tradition has not been maintained: the later performance of that
brief episode is, by comparison, bland and under-characterised.
The corps de ballet have a great deal to do in La fille mal gardée
and, in this film, they do it very well. Assorted peasants of both sexes harvest
and deliver crops, go picnicking, dance around maypoles, run for shelter in
a thunderstorm and join in wedding celebrations, all with appropriate gusto.
John Lanchbery, who arranged the score for Ashton, directs the Covent Garden
orchestra stylishly and his musicians sound as if they are having a great
time - whether supporting Widow Simone in her famous, show-stopping clog
dance or, just once or twice, veering close to Mantovani territory during
some deliciously lush melodies for the two lovers.
The black and white film is clearly of its time - though, oddly enough, the
most striking difference in fifty years is the quality of the opening and
closing credits which were very poorly done in those days. It is, though,
certainly never less than adequate and is frequently a great deal better than
that. In any case, the content more than makes up for any occasional technical
deficiency. The “enhanced mono” sound quality is absolutely fine.
One final query ... In the last minute or so of the ballet, as a long continuous
stream of dancers exits the Widow’s house, the final few of them - the
principal characters, in fact - burst into singing the melody vigorously
(“la-la, la, la-la, la-LA!...) as they dance away through the doorway.
That certainly does not happen in the 2005 Covent Garden recording. Was it,
I wonder, a detail of the original Ashton production that has subsequently
been dropped? Was it adopted just for the TV film? Perhaps there may be someone
reading this who was in the theatre audience in 1960 and who can enlighten
us? I’d guess, after all, that if you were privileged to have possessed
a ticket all those years ago, you’d probably have retained your memories
of such a wonderful and historic occasion right up to the present day.
Thankfully, with the release of this wonderful performance on disc, the rest
of us can now sample the experience too.
Rob Maynard
A wonderful full characterised performance and an historic occasion.
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