Carl Davis - ALADDIN – New National Theatre Tokyo, National Ballet of Japan

Conductor - Paul Murphy Choreographer - Sir David Bintley Created by David Bintley for the National Ballet of Japan in 2008, this production has been a favourite with Japanese audiences (this is the fourth revival), while also winning a place in the repertoire of Birmingham Royal Ballet and Houston Ballet. Bintley succeeds in presenting a familiar story with great clarity, whilst finding rich allusions to the nineteenth century classical form. It was Carl Davis’s score that convinced Bintley – listening on a single car journey – to make this ballet. The music captivates throughout, detailed in its description of the scènes d’action and lusciously romantic for the pas de deux. While it is widely recognized as an Arabian story, the tale of Aladdin in Arabian Nights is set in China. This production depicts him as a Chinese descendant in Old Arabia and beautifully incorporates Chinese elements including Lion and Dragon dances with settings inspired by the Arabian world. The stage designs by Dick Bird are magnificent, starting in a lively Arabian town square complete with fortune-tellers and merchants. Bintley, Bird and costume designer Sue Blane are much influenced by Chinese design, seen in the dragon and the palace interior. Aladdin and his mother’s clothes show that they are also Chinese, which helps to set the story at a cultural crossroads. With a magic carpet ride before the happy ending, David Bintley’s Aladdin is a spectacle for whole-family viewing.