Oh, darlings, how divine June has been! My goodness, the ballet world has been absolutely bursting with brilliance and a smattering of those little *ah, how quaint!* moments.
First off, darling, let’s have a moment for **The Royal Ballet** in London, my absolute favourite haunt. Their Swan Lake, oh darling, utterly breath-taking. I am absolutely certain you all must have rushed to see it. If you didn’t, you really did miss out. The swan queen, bless her darling soul, danced with a depth and a fluidity, so breathtaking, her pirouettes a blur of silken grace. I almost teared up with the sheer beauty of it. But let’s be honest, even the smallest of the corps de ballet - and we do have a lot of young darlings these days, but so wonderfully well-trained, oh darling! - held the stage beautifully with a captivating passion for the performance. Simply superb, it was simply superb!
From London, we’re off to the continent, my darlings, to catch the most brilliant rendition of Giselle I’ve ever seen at the **Berlin Staatsballet**. The story’s always been captivating, but the dancers’ ability to imbue the production with so much heartache, passion, and just plain beauty was a true testament to the skill of German artistry, wouldn't you agree, darlings? The sets, a masterpiece of gothic romanticism! It had me glued to my seat throughout the entire production. Oh, and I just had to swoon over the gorgeous, intricate costumes - I have a sneaking suspicion the entire audience was a little bit in love with those ethereal gowns. The lead ballerina had a poise that rivalled Dame Margot Fontaine herself. Utterly enchanting!
Speaking of poise, let's head over to Paris, my dears. **The Paris Opera Ballet’s** latest creation, a modern interpretation of Carmen, had the critics divided, of course. The costumes, darling, simply a riot of red and black. Such drama. Such daring! And the ballerina, who will she become? The choreography - well, one must give the choreographer credit, she made a valiant effort - oh, she certainly made her point, didn't she! However, the whole production left me yearning for the simplicity of traditional choreography and perhaps even the romantic tragedy of the original libretto.
Back to our favourite, darling, the Royal Ballet, because I just couldn’t ignore the *ah, how quaint!* production of *La Sylphide* in June. There was so much heart, so much sincerity. But a little bit too much, in fact! Perhaps, for me, it would have been nice to have seen a touch more precision and panache in this production - those *je ne sais quoi* elements we’ve all come to expect from the Royal Ballet. That said, I did have a rather good giggle over the mischievous little fairies who frolicked with such an adorable disregard for proper ballet posture. Oh, they had the audience, well, absolutely delighted! You simply cannot fault them for that!
Now, on to **The American Ballet Theatre**! My goodness, you know I had to make a trip over to the States. And there, darling, they took my breath away! A new interpretation of the timeless tale of *Sleeping Beauty*! It was like I'd just opened up a new, shiny, delicious, Parisian fashion magazine. I simply could not look away. The costumes - Oh! Simply ravishing! I wish I had that dress for my next summer luncheon party. I must see if I can find the name of the designer.
The young ballerina - darling, a real star, I could just tell, so graceful! It's amazing the skill, the athleticism! A whole other dimension. But there's also something that feels very real - they're pouring so much into the performance, it makes you weep, it makes you laugh, and I don’t know about you, but for me, that’s just a fantastic thing. So there, you have it, American ballet theatre - bringing the joy of ballet to the American people in a manner I cannot fault.
And of course, darling, a trip to New York is never complete without a jaunt down to Broadway! So, after my time at the American Ballet Theatre, I indulged in **Motown the Musical** at the *Lunt-Fontanne Theatre* . And darlings, don’t we all know that those old classics of music have a way of reaching deep into our hearts? I can still hear those magnificent melodies dancing around in my head. My gosh, they really make you tap your toes, don't they! I must admit, I've had a permanent skip in my step all week.
On a somewhat different note, darling, this month also brought us **Royal Opera House’s** production of *Porgy and Bess*. And my word! You do know those jazz hands! That was a delightful production. The energy on the stage was electric, darlings! Absolutely sensational!
But let's be honest, there are more ways than one to move with grace and elegance. We all know how terribly, terribly important the stage itself is to a good production! And oh darling, where shall I start?
The Grand Theater of Havana! You cannot fault the charm and grace that it has with such incredible and exciting artistry!
The Mariinsky Theatre! Oh, an architectural masterpiece of beauty. Simply magnificent.
The Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow - absolutely breathtaking, so much historical importance!
However, the *real* jewels in the crown of the world of theatre? My goodness! It simply must be **the Paris Opera House**, *darlings!* The Palais Garnier, it's utterly enchanting and magnificent! I think they're actually filming a sequel to the Phantom of the Opera down there, are they not? What drama! Anyway, let me assure you, the Parisians still love a little drama!
Well, my dears, there’s enough for one month! I have to be off to try out that brand new beauty salon on Kings Road; It’s the hottest new thing, apparently. My next column will, of course, be from the back row, at that new London Theatre on the Southbank. They tell me they’ve got a production of *Hamlet*, with the very best Shakespearean acting, and I simply mustn’t miss it. As ever, until next time my dears. And do take care!