LPO Ravel's Daphnis et Chloé

CONCERT REVIEW

Circa & London Philharmonic Orchestra

Daphnis et Chloé

at Royal Festival Hall, London

as part of Multitudes Festival

“Not much can upstage the LPO in full flow. But these people can!”

When watching a world premiere performance, one is always filled with a heady mix of trepidation and excitement. The lights dim and out walks Principal Conductor Edward Gardner. The London Philharmonic Orchestra pauses then the beautiful music begins. You breathe a sigh of relief.

Along the front of the stage is a long black area and suddenly it’s filled with people, bizarrely wearing black lace. But the doubts about this soon disperse as they begin to move, to writhe, to climb and swing. They dance. And you get slightly tense again… in good way.

Maurice Ravel’s 1912 choreographic symphony Daphnis et Chloé is in effect a ballet, but is rarely performed with dancers because the rhythms do not flow organically that lead to natural formulaic dancing. The story recounts the romance between the goatherd Daphnis and the shepherdess Chloé. The piece roughly lasts an hour and stands out because, apart from the usual orchestra, there are also two harps, a wind machine and a wordless chorus. The BBC Singers provide the latter, in spine-tingling fashion.

But the performers… not much can upstage the LPO in full flow. But these people can! Circa provides 11 acrobats with such wonderful skills and athleticism that it genuinely causes the audience to gasp, hold its breath, stare wide-eyed in astonishment.

Daphnis et Chloé was followed by La Valse - a short 10-minute in length. Unlike the former’s storytelling and romance, this piece is hectic and raucous, at times vicious and crude. The standing ovation from the packed auditorium was certainly genuine. But the LPO and Circa then had less than an hour to prepare for a second performance. Amazing.

All this is part of the first Multitudes Festival, taking place at the Southbank Centre for the next week or so. It’s all about fusion, mixing art forms with full orchestras. And if this performance is anything to go by, the Festival will not only be a hit but is bound to be back next year!!

Photography Pete Woodhead

Music London Philharmonic Orchestra

Conductor Edward Gardner

Chorus BBC Singers

Performers Circa

Director / Designer Yaron Lifschitz

Costume Designer Libby McDonnell

Festival Dates until Saturday 3rd May 2025

Website https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/events/multitudes/