Painter meets Musician

In the post titled "Ovation for over 15 minutes" (click HERE to read it) I had mentioned about the encouragement given by the audience to the performers in a ballet show at Opera De Bastille in Paris, France on 13th July, 2008.  The ballet was titled "Signes" in French, meaning "Signs" in English.  It was a delightful show and the Director and artistes won the hearts of the audience.  The show itself  was wonderful in concept, design and on-stage execution.  The director and artistes who performed on the stage received standing ovation for over 15 minutes by an appreciative full house audience.

In a music concert, each performer uses a different instrument that has its own characteristics and special features.  A number of instruments, say five violins or trumpets, may also be used to provide enhanced sound effects.  There may be moments in the duration of the concert when the individual  brilliance of an artiste may be savoured by the viewers or listeners, but the emphasis is on the overall impact of the blend of the output of various instruments as planned and executed.  Likewise, when there is a confluence of two or more forms of fine arts, their collective impact gives out an exhilarating experience.  A layman would certainly derive some pleasure out of such concerts, but a trained mind would be able to appreciate the finer aspects even better.

Literature and forms of Performing and Fine Arts like Music, Dance, Painting and Sculpture have their own intertwined relationship, though each one of them have their own domains and individuality.  There are innumerable instances where a piece of literature has inspired a host of artistes like dancers and painters to convert words into visual form of expression.  This enables the content of the literary piece to reach a far wider audience who may not know the original language of the literature or may even be illiterate.  A combination of two performing artistes in different disciplines has often enthralled the audience by their expertise in the fields chosen by them.  One such attempt called "Geeta-Chitra" is very popular in our part of the world.  In such an exercise, as a poet recites his poem, an artiste starts painting the theme of the poem on a canvas in full view of the audience.  Just as the poet completes a poem in five to six minutes, the painting bringing out the essence of the poem is also ready!  Similar attempts are also made in other parts of the world.  The versatility of such artistes often leave us dumbfound.  A standing ovation is probably the only possible way in which we can appreciate their talents.

As we entered the Opera de Bastille auditorium for the ballet titled "Signes" and collected the tickets booked earlier through internet, we were given a booklet with each ticket.  The booklet contained all the information about the show and included details about the artistes and the director.  We were led into the auditorium five minutes before the show to allow us sufficient time to find our seats and settle down.  The  2,703 seat acoustically consistent hall is a magnificent sight.  When we go to concerts and shows, we often pray that a short man or woman should occupy the seat in front of us to save us from the prospect of moving our heads in the alternate directions every time the person in front of us moves his head for his convenience!  There is no such problem in Opera de Bastille.  Even if all the seats are occupied by Amitabh Bachans, there is no need to squirm in our seats since all spectators have a clear view of the entire stage.  The entrance doors were closed one minute before the show began and there was no disturbance from late entrants.  There were no announcements and the show started on schedule, continued and ended as planned.  Not a soul stirred and coughed during the entire period of 90 minutes   

The ballet "Signes" is the result of the efforts of three artistes, musician Rene Aubrey who designed the music, choreographer Carolyn Carlson and painter Oliver Debre who designed the sets and costumes. The effect of the paintings was transformed into visual and audio treat to the viewers.  The ballet is divided into seven paintings on the theme of smile, as under:

1. The sign of smile
2. Loire am
3. Guilin Mountains
4. Monks of the Baltic
5. The Spirit of the blue
6. Colors of Madurai
7. Victory Signs

The unique stage facilities of Opera de Bastille were fully exploited to provide a product of exceptional quality.  The 45 meter high and 30 meter wide stage with its 25 meter depth and the scenery turntable were used to provide continuity without break as well as breathtaking viewing of change in scenes with least disturbance.  The 9 elevators used in creation of several levels in the show and the three main elevators fetched the required scenery up from below stage to provide the sequence. The effortless movement of the hundreds of artistes was like movement of hundreds of parts of a complex machine; each doing only its part by own rotation and yet providing the ultimate effect for which the machine is designed.  The orchestra pit that accommodated as many as 130 musicians gave a wonderful audio support to the great show on the stage.  The circling and floating artistes and their many complex movements was a visual treat.  The sixth painting titled "Colors of Madurai" was a bonus for us and India's contribution to the ballet made us proud.

The combined effect on the audience was reflected in "Standing Ovation" for over fifteen minutes and was indeed well deserved.

Visit to historic Bastille site, view of the Bastille building and sitting through the Ballet "Signes" was a memorable experience and is still fresh in our minds, even after five years.   

Nutcracker - The Ballet

Pacific Northwest Ballet (PNB) is considered as one of the largest and most highly regarded ballet companies in the United States.   The Company of nearly fifty dancers presents more than 100 performances each year of full-length and mixed repertory ballets at Marion Oliver McCaw Hall in Seattle and on tour. The Company has toured to Europe, Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Canada, and throughout the United States, with celebrated appearances at many important cities in the United States.  Founded in 1972 as Pacific Northwest Dance Association under the aegis of Seattle Opera Association, the Company became an independent organization in September 1977 and was renamed Pacific Northwest Ballet in 1978.   It's first Dancer transition program "Beyond Dance" was established and presently second stage dancers offer a variety of assistance that include continuing education grants, mentoring,  and an in-house program of university courses in cooperation with Seattle University.

PNB School has over 900 students and offers four types programs.  Children division trains kids from 2 years to 7 years age group.  Students Division enrolls students from 8 years age onwards and the  Professional Division offers training at a higher level with advanced instruction for those students planning a professional dance career. Students invited to the two-year Professional Division program concentrate on perfecting technique and developing artistry through intensive full-day instructions.  There is also a Open Program for 13 years and above.  Students are provided opportunity to participate in the public programs  at Marion Oliver McCaw Hall in Seattle.

The Marion Oliver McCaw Hall stands on the land donated in 1889 by Seattle pioneers David and Louisa Denny for "Public Use Forever".  A Civil Auditorium was built on this land in 1928 and was transformed into Seattle Opera House in 1962 for the World Fair and the "Seattle Space Needle" has come up close to the Hall.  The 1927 and 1962 buildings were stripped and 70% of the old construction was replaced by new construction in 2003 at a cost of 127 million dollars.  The building now consists of 295000 square foot hall with two auditoriums, 2900 seat main auditorium and 400 seat lecture hall, lobbies, backstage, orchestra pit, cafe and gift shop.  The orchestra pit can seat 90 performers and can be raised to stage level through a spiral lift,  if necessary.  The building is owned by the City of Seattle and has now become a key center for cultural activities.

"Nutcracker" is a ballet based on E. T.  A. Hoffman's "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King".  This performance during November-December this year has provided opportunity for over 200 children to perform alongside professional dancers and live music, literally at their feet as over 50 musicians perform live for the ballet sitting and standing just below the stage.

"Nutcracker" is set in the German town of Nuremberg and is a dream of a young girl Clara Stalbaum.  The story unfolds in two acts and five scenes.  The story being the dream of a young girl, there is adequate scope for imagination and fantasy.  The whole program had a family touch with half the viewers being children of various ages, mostly below 10 years.  When we arrived at the entrance of the theater we were welcome by beautifully dressed pretty girls with small baskets of candy in hands and thanking every visitor for coming to the event.  Almost every parent carried a additional seat cushion for seating the kids in the auditorium to enable them to have a clear view of the ballet.  There were giant Mannequins of Nutcracker, Mouse King and Clara's Godfather and a key role in the ballet, Herr Drosselmeir, displayed in the lobby.  Children were excited by the presence of these huge dolls and had their photos taken standing before them.  We were equally excited and had our photos also taken with the Nutcracker!

The auditorium was full and filled with the excited cries of joy of the children when we went to the show on Sunday, 27th November 2011.  All of us were provided with a book giving details of PNB, story of Nutcracker and the list of performers and write up about key persons behind the show.  It was very touching to see each mother or father accompanying the child read out and explain the story to the child in the few minutes before the beginning of the show.  The sets and costumes were fantastic and matching the dream and fantasy of a young girl.  The performance was a collective effort of over 100 dancers, from four year old children to adults, and the music support was admirable.  The sets and screen designs were of an excellent level and all the children as well as adult viewers enjoyed the show.  A scene in which the grown up Clara and the Prince sailing on a golden boat in the sea through vision of a magical land to an exotic port was the center piece of the whole show.  The view of fish jumping in the sea water was especially well received by the children as well as elders alike.  The movements were quick, orderly and well timed.  The scene in which the Master of Ceremonies in the island brings on one group of dancers after another to entertain his guests was a feast to the eyes.  The dance scenes of Moorish couple, a brilliant peacock in a golden cage, a Chinese tiger and his attendants, whirling daredevils, four tiny couples were performed with ease and precision.  The show provided a mix of performance of children being initiated to ballet as well as veteran performers.  All the performers received well deserved standing ovation at the end of the show.

We were privileged to see the dream of a German girl from Nuremberg in a city on the Pacific Coast.  The memory of viewing the ballet is sweeter than the candy bars given to us at the end of the show.