Blood Wedding

[iceydeville]

So, my high school staged "Blood Wedding" by Frederico Garcia Lorca for competition last week. I saw the play and was mesmerized. I thought to myself, "When I become a big famous choreographer, I'm gonna use the play as a libretto for a ballet."

Lo and behold, I'm too late.

My question is: Has anyone actually seen it? Whether it be the Sadler Well's version (I think they were the ones who originally did it) or ABT or whomever. I was wondering if it maybe lived up to the play itself.

That and if there's maybe a copy of the ballet on VHS or something...?

[sandik]

You can rent the Antonio Gades/Carlos Saura film (the the fabulous Christina Hoyos) on video -- it's obviously been restaged to work as a film (including setting the dance as a rehearsal) but it's a gorgeous piece of work.

[carbro]

Just because it's already been done, Iceydeville (cute name!), doesn't mean you can't do it, too. After all, how many different Romeo & Juliets (for example) are floating around out there?

[cargill]

The Cubans did the Gades version when they were here in New York a few months ago, and I thought it was one of the most thrilling and moving pieces I have seen--right up there in mood with Nijinska's Les Noces. If you ever get a chance to see them dance it, I would grab it! It was so perfectly translated into movement, without any of the "words into dance" feeling that some dances from litererary sources have.

[Petra]

Wasn't there a MacMillan ballet based on Blood Wedding - called "Three sisters", maybe????????? If there is such a ballet and I'm not making it up, then that might be what Iceydeville was referring to.

[Jane Simpson]

GWTW, I'd guess you're thinking of MacMillan's Las Hermanas (The Sisters), which is based on The House of Bernarda Alba. The Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet's Blood Wedding was by Alfred Rodrigues - I saw it several times, years ago, and I seem to remember David Howard being in it, as the Moon.