Antony and Cleopatra review — Shakespeare meets Hollywood at the Met
Over the years, his collaborations with the director Peter Sellars have taken on pressing political issues, from the Cold War diplomacy of Nixon in China to Oppenheimer's bomb in Doctor Atomic. Antony and Cleopatra is Adams's first opera without Sellars, and shorn of Sellars' eccentrically brilliant way with text and stage, runs the risk of becoming a conventional grand opera.
A co-commission from Met, San Francisco, and Barcelona, it has been tightened up dramatically since its premiere in 2022. Yet much
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Times
2 hours ago
- Times
London City Ballet review — a witty and wonderful programme
The resurrection of London City Ballet nearly 30 years after the company's closure was one of the success stories of 2024. Relaunched last summer by the erstwhile dancer Christopher Marney, this international touring company is clearly on a roll in its mission to honour the past while looking to the future. Momentum, the umbrella title for LCB's second programme of revivals of rarely seen dances alongside new commissions, is hearteningly apt. The tour, which I caught at the Theatre Royal in Bath, stretches into November and encompasses Birmingham, Oxford and York, two separate visits to London (at Sadler's Wells and the Royal Opera House, respectively) as well as trips to France and Spain. • Read more dance reviews, guides and interviews You couldn't ask for a better curtain-raiser than George Balanchine's Haieff Divertimento. Named after Alexei Haieff, to whose lyrical and lively music it's set, this brief 'black and white' ballet dates from 1947 and was for decades deemed to have been lost. Incredibly, this is its UK premiere. Divided into five scenes marked by the kind of courtly yet stylish quirkiness that was key to Balanchine's art, the work is an excellent company showcase. All ten dancers have a chance to shine, but none more so than the sparklingly saucy Jimin Kim, most ably partnered by Alejandro Virelles. Balanchine's beautiful bauble is followed by a pair of darker chamber ballets, each of which focuses on duets. Premiered at the Royal Ballet in 2009 and set to Liszt, Consolations and Liebestraum was an early sign of the considerable talent of the choreographer Liam Scarlett. Charting the deterioration of a relationship through the interactions of three couples, his dance possesses great emotional intelligence. The shift from playful serenity to troubled melancholy is impressively modulated, leading to a lump-in-throat finale for the guest star Alina Cojocaru and Joseph Taylor. Joseph Taylor and Alina Cojocaru performed Consolations and Liebestraum ASH Soft Shore is by Florent Melac, premier danseur at the Paris Opera Ballet. Created for two couples, one of which is same-sex, and set to Beethoven, this new work suffers a bit by its tonal similarity to the Scarlett. Overloaded with steps and movement, it sometimes seems more like a strenuously physical exercise than the deep expression of human feeling it was meant to be. It is, however, very capably danced. The bill culminates with Alexei Ratmansky's vibrant take on Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. Ten wonderfully deadpan dancers, Cojocaru among them, romp their way through a series of breakneck scenes that capture the music's grandeur and drive via a deft balance of drama, melodrama and humour. The digital backdrop of geometric watercolours by Kandinsky is neatly echoed in Adeline André's costumes. The overall effect is witty and, like London City Ballet itself, more than a little dazzling.★★★★☆ 105min Touring to Nov 22, Follow @timesculture to read the latest reviews
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Emotional moment Lucy Bronze consoles close friend and Spain star Ona Batlle following Euros final - after inseparable pair holidayed together before tournament
This is the emotional moment Lucy Bronze consoled her close friend Ona Batlle after England came from behind to beat Spain and retain their Women's Euros crown. Bronze started every game of the tournament but was forced off in extra-time before the Lionesses went on to win 3-1 in a nerve-shredding penalty shootout. At 33 years, eight months and 30 days, Bronze was her side's oldest player at the tournament and she was again front and centre of a record-setting triumph. Chloe Kelly proved herself the hero for her country again by slotting home the winning spot-kick after Mariona Caldentey and Aitana Bonmati saw their efforts saved by goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, while Salma Paralluelo skewed off target. Jubilant celebrations saw Kelly's team-mates flood onto the pitch to begin the party, but Bronze took a moment to escape the hubbub and made a beeline for Batlle. Inseparable on and off the pitch, the two friends high-fived before sitting down on the pitch, seemingly discussing the pulsating showdown that had played out in Basel. Once the madness had died down, Bronze, kitted out with her gold winner's medal around her neck, took a stroll with Batlle, who had changed into her tracksuit. The roles were reversed back in 2023 after Spain got the better of England in the World Cup final, when Batlle consoled a tearful Bronze after full-time. The duo were all-conquering team-mates in the 2023-24 season when they were at Barcelona, and they struck up a blossoming friendship, too. They also won the Champions League, Liga F, the Spanish Cup and Spanish Super Cup together. Bronze then completed a move back to England with Chelsea last summer. Bronze, 33, and Batlle, 26, enjoyed a holiday together ahead of Euro 2025 in Switzerland, sharing photos of the trip across their social media profiles. It appeared the duo were celebrating Batlle's birthday, with the Spaniard's caption on Instagram reading: 'Bday week.' One photo shared online showed them enjoying an ice cream in the sun, while another saw them relaxing on a lilo together in the sea. Bronze and Batlle also took a boat trip on their vacation and spent time together in a private pool. Their holiday this summer was by no means their first. Last Christmas, Batlle posted snaps of the two at Disneyland Paris, with the caption: 'What a magical place'. Bronze tends to keep her personal life very private. Hailing from Berwick-upon-Tweed in Northumberland, she was brought up bilingual thanks to her Portuguese father and was exposed to football from a very early age by her older brother, Jorge. Incredibly, she revealed she had played all of Euro 2025 with a fractured tibia. 'I've actually played the whole tournament with a fractured tibia but no one knew,' she said after the game. 'Then I've just hurt my knee today on the other leg. 'I think that's why I got a lot of praise from the girls after the Sweden game because I've been in a lot of pain, but that's what it takes to play for England. 'That's what I'll do. They know that, I think we inspire each other by playing through things like that, and they got us to the end of them in the end. It was very painful but I'm gonna party and gonna enjoy it, that's it.' Head coach Sarina Wiegman paid tribute to Bronze, saying: 'Her mentality, the whole team has an incredible mentality, but she has a crazy mentality, it's unbelievable.'
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Sydney Sweeney sparks 'woke' backlash over new campaign accused of celebrating whiteness
A new American Eagle ad campaign centered around stunning star Sydney Sweeney has garnered controversy over what one critic called 'one of the loudest and most obvious racialized dog whistles we've seen and heard in a while.' The Euphoria actress, 27, is the face of the label's autumn advertising rollout, which has the tagline, 'Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans.' In a series of images, the Spokane, Washington-born beauty - who is set to play boxer Christy Martin in an upcoming biopic - is seen modeling a variety of denim-based ensembles. The choice of phrasing for the advertisements featuring the Emmy-nominated actress - which have also been placed on billboards in New York City and Las Vegas - garnered criticism for problematic elements. The phrase 'great genes' is 'historically used to celebrate whiteness, thinness and attractiveness,' which it said made 'this campaign seem to be a tone-deaf marketing move,' a Salon report on the backlash read. Daily Mail has reached out to reps for Sweeney and American Eagle for further comment on the story. An TikTok user named Angie under the handle @vital_media_marketing reviewed the ad and pointed out what she felt were problematic elements with the message sent in the ad campaign. 'As it's paining up her body and on her face and her features, she's literally talking about her family tree and the genetics that have been handed down to her, her blonde hair and her blue eyes, and how great they are. Angie said that 'praising Sydney Sweeney for her great genes in the context of her white blonde hair, blue eye appearance' makes for 'one of the loudest and most obvious racialized dog whistles we've seen and heard in a while.' Many people panned the tone of the ad campaign on American Eagle's Instagram page, as one user quipped, It's giving "Subtle 1930's Germany."' Another person said the promotion 'is what happens when you have no [people] of color in a room ... particularly in a time like this. 'This ad campaign got so caught up in this 'clever' play on words and this stunt the ppl in the room missed what was so blatantly obvious to anyone not White. I'd expect this from Abercrombie… but not yall.' One user wrote of the promotion featuring the surging star, 'This is such a f****d up campaign' while another called it 'weird as hell.'
