Black Sabbath Ballet

You could scarcely have imagined the above headline in previous decades. Heavy rock/metal however has been firmly established globally for over half a century. Perhaps the permeation of older and - dare I say - more high-brow art forms was inevitable. I have been a huge fan of this musical style since I was 12 years old. I'm also no stranger to the ballet. Nicole and I have twice seen full productions (with orchestra) in Glasgow and also two Russian touring shows - one in Glenrothes and the other in Schwedt, Germany - where the dancers performed to a pre-recorded soundtrack. Sabbath meets Swan Lake? I was up for that! I purchased a ticket for the Saturday matinee show, selecting a seat in the front row of the upper circle. The website advised that views may be restricted due to the presence of a safety rail. But I took the chance. I'm over six feet tall and I reckoned I would cope.

I took the train over to Edinburgh and made my way to the Festival Theatre, my first ever visit to the grand old venue, which has a chequered history stretching back to 1892. Now seating just short of 2000 patrons, and hosting mainly opera, ballet and musicals, the theatre - as the name suggests - is a key player during the annual arts extravaganza in the capital city. I had walked past the striking glass frontage on Nicolson Street many times and I was eager to see the interior. Four levels of wide concourses contain bars and seating areas, with views of Arthur's Seat (a landmark hill) opening up as I reached the third floor. This extension to the old Empire Theatre building was completed in 1994 and the main stage was increased in size to accommodate large international touring productions. The backstage facilities were also brought up to modern standards. Once the doors to the historic auditorium opened, I went straight inside to have a look of the retained 1928 interior. Many of the seats are original and the refurbishment programme deliberately chose a colour and decoration schemes that would make the venue appear attractively aged. The safety rail sat below my eyeline and I had a fantastic view of the stage and orchestra pit. The crowds gradually filed in and the place seemed more or less full by the time the action started. The melding of two creative categories introduced a few novel aspects to the proceedings, the most obvious being the presence of live guitarist Marc Hayward among the troupe. Premiered in 2023 by the Birmingham Royal Ballet in their (and Sabbath's) home city, the production toured the UK two years later, taking in Plymouth, London, Salford and Edinburgh, with further shows added in Brum. The schedule followed the farewell performance of Black Sabbath (the actual band) at Villa Park, a 10-hour charity event billed as Back to the Beginning, featuring 14 supporting acts and crowned by the final live appearances of Sabbath and also frontman Ozzy Osbourne in a solo capacity. Millions watched the live stream (myself included) and the 45000 attendees were treated to a heavy metal version of Live Aid. Not a frivolous comparison, as Back to the Beginning ultimately raised £140 million, divided equally between Acorns Children's Hospice, Birmingham Children's Hospital and Cure Parkinson's (the disease which afflicted Osbourne). Tragically he would pass away just two weeks after the triumphant concert on the band's home turf. All four original members were from the Aston district of Birmingham. Formed in 1968, the Sabs are generally regarded as the founding fathers of heavy metal. Their fist six albums are regarded as classics of the genre. Eschewing a straightforward run-through of the band's history, the three-act show took a looser inspiration. Dance routines were set to re-orchestrations of the best-known Sabbath tracks, such as Paranoid, War Pigs and Iron Man - the latter featuring two dancers holding a kiss position for the duration of the song, which must have been challenging to choreograph.

The middle portion featured archive voice-overs from the founding band members - John "Ozzy" Osbourne (vocals), Tony Iommi (guitar), Terry "Geezer" Butler (bass) and Bill Ward (drums). One tale related the traumatic industrial injury sustained by a young Iommi, losing the tips of his fingers, on his fretting hand no less! It was his last shift in the factory before being due to throw his lot in with a professional covers outfit. Now it appeared his career was over before it had even started. Amazingly, he continued to play, using home-made synthetic replacements for the missing digit parts. Charting the ups and downs of Sabbath's lengthy career is beyond the scope of this article. Osbourne left in 1979 and varying degrees of success were found with other frontmen. Musicians came and went, with Iommi being the sole constant. By the time the 90s rolled around, Sabbath's legendary status was cemented and the original guys reunited for reunion tours around the world. The band (minus Ward) finally released a new album in 2013 (entitled simply 13), to considerable acclaim. Osbourne meanwhile had become a major solo star in the 1980s, particularly in America. He also became a global TV star after the turn of the century, when The Osbournes reality series - depicting chaotic family life - became a smash hit over several seasons. Ozzy transcended the band that launched him and many thousands lined the streets of Birmingham for his funeral procession. I found it fascinating to watch the orchestra at work while the dancers graced the stage. The backdrop for the final act contained a silver full-sized car with the band’s iconic winged devil logo on top. Overall the project must be classed as a success. Cuban-born director Carlos Acosta collaborated extensively with Tony Iommi and the company has delivered an absorbing piece, reflecting a major cultural export from Britain's second biggest city.