Conductor: Edward Gardner
In a bold and breathtaking collaboration, Circa and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Edward Gardner, deliver an evening of extraordinary sensory and emotional power at the Royal Festival Hall. The programme pairs Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloé with La Valse, performed in a one-act, interval-free 70-minute performance that marries music, movement and myth with striking imagination.
Circa’s performers, directed by Yaron Lifschitz, bring a sculptural, kinetic intensity to the stage to a piece of music once notoriously difficult to choreograph. Twisting, tumbling, and soaring across the space, they embody the sweeping romance of Daphnis and Chloé with physical precision and poetic force. From tender and intimate moments of stillness through to explosive ensemble choreography, their movement feels intrinsically bound to the music’s ebb and surge. The score’s vastness – enhanced by the BBC Singers – is deftly handled by Gardner, who guides the LPO through Ravel’s shimmering textures and ever-changing dynamics with nuance and control.
The opening sunrise sequence of Part III is especially sublime, the orchestration glowing with sensual warmth, mirrored by Circa’s displays. The final ‘Bacchanale’ erupts with feverish joy, culminating in a dazzling close.
The final piece, La Valse, is more shadow than light – a sharp contrast in tone and spirit. Where Daphnis and Chloé celebrates youthful love and the natural world, La Valse spirals into chaos and collapse. Here, Circa’s movement is at times jagged, frantic, even grotesque, evoking a society on the brink. Ravel’s score – rich, ironic, and increasingly unhinged – is delivered flawlessly.
This is a triumph of collaborative performance that is far more than just a concert. It is a conversation between sound and body, a meditation on love and ruin.
Commissioned by the Southbank Centre and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, this production leaves no doubt of the enduring potency of Ravel’s music – and the possibilities of classical music performances that dare to push boundaries.
A standing ovation well-deserved.
Reviewed on 23 April 2025
The Reviews Hub Score
Daring and dazzling
