# The Winter's Tale



## Speranza

I watched The Winter's Tale which I recorded on BBC4 over Christmas it was choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, with a score by Joby Talbot based on Shakespeare. Apparently it premiered early last year so quite new which was exciting. I thought the music for the most part was really good the dancing was pretty good too, though on occasion a bit too modern and didn't seem to fit with score, but the highlight was definitly the music it had a lovely romantic sweep to it. Sets were a bit minimalist in the 1st act but had improved by act 2. I was wondering if anyone else had seen it? I would love to hear peoples thoughts.

Here are some extracts not great examples of romantic sweep I was talking about but it is there in the second half of the clips


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## jegreenwood

I saw it this spring at the Royal Opera House. Overall, I'm not a huge Wheeldon fan - I was disappointed in his "American in Paris" on Broadway, which I saw earlier this week - but I thought "Winter's Tale" was quite good. I especially liked the dancing in the second half. The music did not leave much of an impact on me.

I tend to prefer abstract ballet to story ballet, and Shakespeare's play (which I have seen) is a strange one. But this ballet worked for me.


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## Marsilius

There are a couple of detailed reviews here:

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2015/Apr/Talbot_winter_OA1159D.htm


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## jegreenwood

A review from last week's New Yorker.


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## Pugg

I do hope Sepranza will see this.


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## SONNET CLV

I didn't see this ballet, but Shakespeare's _The Winter's Tale _has long proved a favorite of mine, high on my list of favorite Shakespeare plays, certainly, and of plays in general. I've had opportunities to see the play staged but, oddly, never worked directly on a production, either as a designer or director. And I never acted in this one.

But I did participate in a production, in a round about way. I actually composed music for the songs in the play, and that music was featured in a production at my undergraduate college. Somewhat surreptitiously, I might add.

What happened is this: as a sophomore I enrolled in a Theatre course with a genius of an instructor who assigned us all to prepare research and a paper on one of the Bard's plays. Having an interest in music, and being a somewhat guitarist, I decided to research music for this most musical play with the end purpose of producing my own music for the songs. Which I did.

I recall the instructor showed little enthusiasm for my project, and I recall receiving a -- gasp! -- "B" for the paper. And that was that, sophomore year in college. Though I did gain a love for the play, _The Winter's Tale_.

Some years later, I'm not certain how many from my failing memory, but enough so that I was well graduated and through my first graduate degree and working as a teacher and doing some writing and theatre work ... that I had an opportunity to return to my undergrad college at a time when the Theatre Dept. was performing Shakespeare, _The Winter's Tale_. So I went to the theatre one evening to see a production, which was directed by my old professor from Theatre class sophomore year.

Imagine my surprise when I saw my name in the program for "Music to the Songs". Yes, the director had chosen to use the music I had written for _The Winter's Tales_ songs. From that -- gasp! -- "B" paper of several years past.

Of course I was surprised. Maybe even shocked. But I was also pleased. I did put some effort into researching Elizabethan era music and in composing those songs. In fact, _I_ thought I had put "A" level effort into the project.

I've always wondered what grade I might have received had I written that paper several years later, round about the time the director was planning his _Winter's Tale _play.

In any case, I chalk that one up to a mistake in judgment made by the professor at the time. Ahem! We all make mistakes. I even made a few along the way. Though not, I suspected, on my songs for _The Winter's Tale_.

By the way, I maintained a great friendship with that professor/director for many years until his death. He was a mentor and inspiration, not just for me, but for so many who passed through his classroom or through his theatre. I had the pleasure of seeing him direct several of my own dramatic works, and I was always greatly appreciative of his productions which were never less than artistically stunning. But never had I a similar experience of surprise as I did encountering my name in the program of _The Winter's Tale_ for "Music to the Songs."

Did I mention the -- gasp! -- "B" I received?


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