the times | Saturday January 1 2022 saturday review 7
Dance
Raymonda
English National Ballet director Tamara
Rojo undertakes her first full-length stag-
ing as a choreographer, giving the rarely
performed 19th-century Russian ballet
(gorgeous music by Glazunov, glorious
choreography by Marius Petipa) a new
spin. Setting Raymonda during the Crime-
an War, Rojo wants to celebrate the
courage of nurses and women who
fought for emancipation in the mid-19th
century. Coliseum, London WC2 (bal-
let.org.uk), Jan 13-23Don Quixote
Carlos Acosta adapts his Covent Garden
staging for Birmingham Royal Ballet,
bringing a splash of Spanish sunshine and
joie de vivre to a dreary British winter.
Based on Marius Petipa’s exuberant chore-
ography, with Minkus’s buoyant score and
Tim Hatley’s flamboyant designs, Acosta’s
Don Quixote (a silly love story inspired by
the Cervantes novel) is a winner. Mayflow-
er, Southampton, Feb 10-12; Birmingham
Hippodrome, Feb 18-26, then touring
(brb.org.uk)Dance Reflections Festival
In a partnership with long-time dance sup-
porters Van Cleef and Arpels, Sadler’s
Wells presents two weeks of contempo-
rary dance that throw a spotlight on some
of Europe’s leading choreographers, from
Boris Charmatz to Anne Teresa de Keers-
maeker. The highlight, though, is the lumi-
nous Dance (1979), the American Lucinda
Childs’s postmodern collaboration with
the composer Philip Glass. Sadler’s Wells,
London EC1 (sadlerswells.com), Mar 9-23The Scandal at Mayerling
Scottish Ballet’s director, Christopher
Hampson, adapts — and presumably
shortens — Mayerling, Kenneth MacMil-
lan’s lurid 1978 ballet about the depraved
heir to the Austro-Hungarian crown and
his murder-suicide pact with his 17-year-
old mistress. The music is a patchwork of
Liszt. With violent sex and drug use in the
story, it’s probably best to leave the child-
ren at home. Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Apr
13-16, then touring (scottishballet.co.uk)Like Water for Chocolate
Christopher Wheeldon, fresh from direct-
ing and choreographing the Michael Jack-
son musical on Broadway, reunites with
his favourite collaborators — the compos-
er Joby Talbot and the designer Bob Crow-
ley — for a full-length dance adaptation
of the Mexican novel by Laura Esquivel.
Like Water for Chocolate is a magical
and layered family saga about thwarted
love across the decades. Francesca Hay-
ward and Marcelino Sambé are scheduled
to lead the first night Royal Ballet cast.
Royal Opera House, London WC2
(roh.org.uk), Jun 2-17ROBBIE JACK/CORBIS VIA GETTY IMAGES; BAILLIE WALSH
to Yellow, Clocks and other modern fav-
ourites, it is the very essence of good clean
fun. Wembley Stadium, London, Aug 12-20;
Hampden Park National Stadium, Glasgow,
Aug 23-24 (coldplay.com)Reading and Leeds festivals
The two-city event in August has an-
nounced a diverse range of headliners,
including Arctic Monkeys, Bring Me the
Horizon and Rage Against the Machine,
the rappers Dave and Megan Thee Stal-
lion, and the pop singer Halsey. Further
down the bill will be Bastille, Fontaines
DC, Griff, Pale Waves and Wolf Alice.
Richfield Avenue, Reading, Aug 26-28 (read-
ingfestival.com); Bramham Park, Leeds, Aug
26-29 (leedsfestival.com)Olympic Park, London E20 (ticketmas-
ter.co.uk), from May 27Rihanna
The Bajan superstar hasn’t released
an album for six years and certainly
doesn’t need the money — she is the
richest musician in the world, worth an
estimated £1.3 billion. However, she
recently said that her next album is due
“very soon” and will be “completely dif-
ferent” from anything she has done
before. There have long been
rumours of a reggae direction,
and among the people the 33-
year-old has been working with
are Shakka, an alternative R&B
artist from London.Liam Gallagher
In 1996 Oasis mania was at
such a height that when they
did two massive concerts at
Knebworth, more than 2 per
cent of the entire population
of Britain applied for tickets.
Incredibly — and in the ab-
sence of a reconciliation with
brother Noel — the band’s old
singer is doing it all over again.
Cue nostalgic opportunities to
’ave it large, sing along to Live For-
ever, and, in the words of the man
himself, be biblical all over again.
Knebworth, Stevenage (liamgallagh-
er.com), Jun 3-4Billie Eilish
America’s voice of disaffected youthmal post-punk backing reminiscent of
Money by the Flying Lizards. Now the two
Isle of Wight women behind Wet Leg, the
most fun new band of 2022, take off on
their first national tour before the release
of their debut album. Yes, Manchester,
Jan 28; Joiners, Southampton, Jan 30; Else-
where, Margate, Feb 1; 100 Club, London
W1, Feb 2; Louisiana, Bristol, Feb 3 (wetleg-
band.com). Wet Leg by Wet Leg is out on
Domino on Apr 8
Fugees
The Fugees’ 1996 album The Score is a
hip-hop masterpiece, using myriad sam-
ples to combine the warmth of 1970s
funk and soul with hard-nosed realism. It
was a massive success, but relationships
deteriorated between the three band
members and they fell apart. Now Lauryn
Hill, Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel have
patched up their differences enough to cel-
ebrate The Score’s 25th anniversary with
one big show. The O2, London SE10 (the-
O2.co.uk), Feb 18
Abba Voyage
Finally, after 40 years, comes the much-
heralded Abba reunion — sort of. With
Agnetha and Anni-Frid in particular not
relishing the prospect of getting back on
the tour bus, the Swedish four-piece are
sending out “abbatars” in their place:
youthful versions of themselves, brought
alive via motion-capture technology.
Bold new celebration of classic pop or
phantasmagorical fob-off? We’ll have to
wait and see. But at least the singalongs
will be great. Abba Arena, Queen Elizabeth
comes to Britain for a show so delayed
that she won’t even be a teenager any more
by the time she gets here. Eilish’s second
album, Happier Than Ever, was a down-
beat, muted affair, but her gigs are still
filled with energy. Get ready to witness
her young, mostly female fans jump
about in their thousands to Bad Guy and
other favourites. The O2, London SE10 (bil-
lieeilish.com), Jun 10-12, 16, 25-26Eagles
Starting out as the commercially mind-
ed response to the late-1960s country
rock of the Byrds and the Flying Bur-
rito Brothers, the Eagles went on to
become the ultimate hippy stadium
band, with such laid-back classics as
Take It Easy and Hotel California
sounding as good now as they did
then. Don Henley, Timothy B
Schmit and Joe Walsh celebrate
50 years in the business with
more peaceful, easy feelings.
Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, Jun 20;
BT Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh,
Jun 22; Hyde Park, London W1, Jun
26 (eagles.com)Coldplay
The band’s latest album, Music of
the Spheres, may have been a cra-
ven and vacuous attempt at main-
taining pop domination, but no-
body puts on a show like Coldplay.
From audience wristbands flashing in
time with the music to Chris Martin
coming across as the Christian youth
group Mick Jagger as he tumbles aboutACarlos Acosta’s staging
of Don Quixote, heading
for Birmingham