"All the world's a stage,
and all the men and women merely players:
they have their exits and their entrances;
and one man in his time plays many parts ..."
and all the men and women merely players:
they have their exits and their entrances;
and one man in his time plays many parts ..."
—As You Like It, William Shakespeare
***
“Pay
no attention to what the critics say. A statue has never been erected in honor
of a critic.”
― Jean
Sibelius (1865 –1957), was a
Finnish composer and violinist of the late Romantic and early-modern periods.
Anyone can be an art critic, all that you need is your opinion. Everyone
is already an art critic, at least privately. You are an art critic when you
listen to a song on YouTube and you decide that you either like it, or you don’t
like it. When you read a book, or watch a series on Netflix, you have an
opinion. That is a type (kind, variety, form) of criticism.
Today we are going to be ballet (pronounced ba-ley) critics. We are
going to examine one scene from the ballet Romeo and Juliet by Sergei Prokofiev
(1891-1953). Prokofiev was born in Ukraine which was once (used to be) part of
the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). He was one of the most
important composers of the 20th century.
Romeo and Juliet was
probably the most famous play written by William Shakespeare (1564-1616). The ballet was composed by Prokofiev in
September 1935. This scene from the ballet is called “The Dance of the
Knights.”
Romeo
Montague and his friends secretly enter a party of the powerful Capulet family.
Romeo meets Juliet Capulet. He falls in love with her instantly. They are
shocked to discover they are enemies because their families are at war.
The music
from this scene reflects the tension between the two families at war. It is lugubrious,
almost sad, yet very powerful and scary. A party is supposed to be a happy
place, but the music tells people that this is not a normal party. This is a
time of war and tragedy.
What do you think of the production design in general?
Do you like the costumes?
What is your opinion of the scenery/sets?
Which choreography did you enjoy the most?
Which version is traditional and which one is modern?
Vocabulary
Play – obra de teatro
Stage (performance area) – scenario
Scenery (theatre) - decorados
Costume – disfraz
Ball (dance) – baile
Ballet de l’Opéra de Paris
CompañÃa Nacional de Danza
The Royal Ballet, London