Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal are opening their season with MacMillan's Gloria (<a href="http://forum.criticaldance.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=13;t=000858">see press release</a>) in conjunction with a new work by Belgian choreographer Stijn Cellis. Does anyone who may have seen this work performed by the Royal Ballet have any impressions they could share?

I went to the first night of Gloria many years ago. The ballet is inspired by the tragic waste of young lives in the First World War with the dancers wearing tattered costumes and grey makeup that gives them the appearance of ghosts.

The ballet is for two male and two female principals and a small corps de ballet danced to Poulenc's setting of the Gloria, a very ironic choice of music given the ballet's theme. The dancers seem at times to be recalling an earlier happier existence before going off to face death in the trenches. The final scene has a lone male dancer, expressing his anger in a solo of great ferocity before walking to the back of the stage, raising his arms and then jumping into the abyss of death.

You may be interested to know that Canadian born Jennifer Penney created one of the leading roles in this ballet. The ballet revives well and both Jonathan Cope and more recently Edward Watson have been impressive in the leading role, though no one has ever quite matched the desperate despair of Wayne Eagling as he faced death in the final scene.

Thank you for sharing your impresions Cassandra, I'll be seeing this ballet tonight and very much appreciate your insight.