As Northern Ballet announces cuts to live music from some of its shows, what is the future for the art form? Donald Jenkins reflects.
An orchestra’s power to tell a story should never be underestimated. My recent visit to see Northern Ballet’s adaptation of Beauty and the Beast was testament to that. The epic live score helped spirit me away to a world of goblins and fairies, charming princes, and monsters in distress.
Sadly, this magic may soon be gone, as we were informed in a pre-show speech by the dance company’s Artistic Director, Federico Bonelli and Executive Director, David Collins. The figureheads warned that the future of ballet is under threat due to the cost-of-living crisis, “Increases in the prices of transporting orchestras and performance costs has meant that budget holders have had to seriously consider the feasibility of continuing to use live music in ballet.”
Unfortunately, a decision has been reached by the Leeds based company, who will be cutting live music in some of its performances from April 2024 and reducing the number of tour dates it will programme. This follows a round of redundancies to counteract the overall losses it made of £338,573 in 2021/22, when it spent £7.5m on touring.
These financial troubles are hitting the lives of its pit orchestra the hardest. In a message sent to classical music website – slippedisc.com, company violinist said, “We are out of work from January onwards. This impacts seriously on my income, my family, my home, my mental health.” She also used the opportunity to galvanise action, “We are determined to fight for LIVE MUSIC. Please join me in shouting this from the roof tops”.
This rallying cry was also heard when I visited their last performance at Newcastle’s Theatre Royal. Show staff were stood outside handing flyers to theatregoers, asking for our support to stop jobs being replaced by recorded music.
The Musician Union have been very vocal about the funding crisis for ballet and demanding a better situation for its members. In a statement on their website they said, “We urge the Arts Council and Northern Ballet to work together urgently to avert this cultural vandalism and ensure the company can keep doing what it does best: live performance.”
Considering the situation affecting the industry, I reflected on the show I personally saw. What would have been lost without the in-the-room instruments designed to lift the production’s characters and their dances? In the opening act, would the interaction between conceited handsome chap Prince Orian and his adoring friends been so flirtatious and braggadocios without the lively string plucking accompanying the dancers’ fanciful pirouettes? Would the rich, menacing Transylvanian organ that greeted us on our arrival at the Beast’s castle have made us share Beauty’s dread as much as it did, had it been removed?
As I looked around the auditorium, I was glad to see that most seats were filled. Though I’m sure savings will be be made in using an automated backing track in future performances, will audiences choose to stay home if they are deprived the full in-person experience?
The petition to keep Northern Ballet live can be found here: https://www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/northern-ballet-and-arts-council-england-keep-northern-ballet-live