Words by Daisy Game | Playing at the Bristol Hippodrome until 26 November
Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker – and Raymonda.
It may not be quite so well known as its playmates, but Raymonda – which premiered in 1898, St Petersburg, Russia – is one of the Great Classical Ballets. Rarely performed in its entirety (companies prefer to cherry pick) no UK company had danced the story from start to finish until January 2022, when the English National Ballet brought the show to London.
The ENB’s is, however, a subtly reimagined Raymonda: directed and choreographed by Tamara Rojo, the production takes place not during the Crusades – as the original does – but rather on the frontline of the Crimean War. Raymonda herself has been given a modern makeover also, becoming a spirited young woman who – in an act of familial defiance – runs away from home to nurse wounded soldiers. It’s on the battlefield that she meets the dashing Abdur, who – considering Raymonda is already engaged to Abdur’s English ally and friend, John – proves to be a slight issue.
In terms of plot, there’s not a whole lot more to it: love is fallen in and out of, hearts are brought to breaking point and – ultimately – a choice is made. But this Raymonda is energized by the women who inspired it: Rojo’s retelling pays tribute to the pioneering nurses who supported the soldiers in Crimea – think Florence Nightingale, Mary Seacole and Sister Mary Clare Moore – and is a lesson in female spirit as well as heart.
The ENB is at the top of its game, with not a toe put out of line: Fernanda Oliveira’s Raymonda carries the titular role with confidence and grace, whilst John and Abdhur (played by Francesco Gabriele Frola and Erik Woolhouse respectively) act as solid foils to the lead performance. In the show’s excellent pas de trois (dance for three), Raymonda spins (quite literally) on the spot: pulled in one direction, pushed in another, the sequence is a wonderful expression of love and its divisive potential.
When it comes to ballet, gravity often seems to take a backbench: dancers leap up – and up, up, up, up – with seemingly no regard for Newton or his apple. Raymonda is no exception. A flick of the ankle, a wave of a hand, and the ballerinas spin their merry way across the Hippodrome stage; it’s an extraordinary thing to watch – the shapes into which the artists have trained their bodies to twist and morph not losing its novelty for a second.
Although undeniably impressive, some of the ensemble pieces are a tad less affecting than their solo counterparts. At times, it all feels a bit like a dance school roll call – with one character tip tapping his or her way center stage, pulling some very impressive moves, and then returning to the outer circle to make way for a the next (always excellent, mind) student. Where the dancers work as one, however, it’s all utterly hypnotic. In one stand out scene, a group of nurses drift about a low-lit stage in a flurry of grey tulle and soft pink slippers, lamps held aloft: it’s a visually stunning sequence, and one to be praised – but the pas de trois still has my top vote.
Raymonda wears its heart – whether it be beating or bleeding – on its sleeve, and it encourages the audience to do the same. “Get out there and feel things”, Rojo’s show wags its finger and says. Fall in love once, fall in love again: just make sure that you experience life in its messy, aching entirety.
Tickets for Raymonda (from £13) are available at atgtickets.com
Image: English National Ballet dancers in Raymonda | Credit: Johan Persson
