Ballet Nacional de Espana 27.10.2012

To date, I’ve been disappointed by Spanish theatre. I think the problem is that, if you’re accustomed to seeing plays or ballet in London, you may not have realised it at the time, but you’re being treated to some of the highest quality productions in the world. Looking back at my theatre outings in the UK, generally the acting, sets, costumes, production, and so on would always be top notch, and having never experienced anything else, I didn’t think anything of it (how’s that for privilege?)

So when it came to Spanish theatre, while I had no pre-conceptions about its quality, the difference was obvious. To be frank, there’s a lot less money here for these things. This is most obvious in the fact, while in London a ballet would always, always be accompanied by an orchestra, here in Madrid they’re not. I’ve seen productions of Carmen and Swan Lake that played recorded music over the action, and the life it takes from the performance, the extent to which it renders proceedings staid, is striking. Elsewhere, I saw an interesting flamenco production of Don Quixote not long ago, which was great except for the fact that, instead of actual sets, they’d built CGI versions of sets and projected them onto the background (worse yet, the CGI quality was circa 1995.) Gah! This isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy these productions but, yes, they felt cheap.

I mention all this because last night I saw the Ballet Nacional de Espana and, well, compared to the productions I’d seen to date, the difference was breathtaking. There was a full orchestra, the costumes (though traditional) were lavish and beautiful to look at, and the performances, well, you could see these were people at the height of their profession. I don’t mean to sound snobbish, but this really was a matter of money. This production had it. I mean, if you’re producing a ballet or opera, these are sumptuous, splendid forms of art. They’re not soap operas or Hollywood movies, but should be rich and enriching. You need great costumes and sets (at least, if you’re attempting a straightforward production, and not something novel) because otherwise, it’s like baking a chocolate cake without the icing. It’s recognisably a chocolate cake, and you might enjoy eating the sponge, but damnit, it’s not the same thing.

What point am I making? Well, I don’t especially think I have one. I’m just recording my impressions. It’s not as though, for instance, the comparable lack of money for theatre in Madrid is going to stop me seeing more productions in future, or that I might choose just to see national productions, being the cream of the crop. It’s not that I haven’t enjoyed what I’ve seen either. But there is less money here, and it does tell. Well. When I get a chance, I’ll write about what I thought about the actual dancing at the ballet yesterday (flamenco is really interesting.) In the meantime, it’s the Ballet Nacional de Espana at the Teatro Zarzuela. Go see it if you have the chance!