EM12

Just noticed that David Hallberg is being replaced by Vladimir Shaklyarov in Manon

This ticket is still available.

Sorry the confusion - the matinee performance is tomorrow, 10th Feb, not today!

I have the following ticket available for the 12:30pm matinee performance of Giselle tomorrow at the Royal Opera House. Balcony Standing C65 £8

Really loved the Forsythe and Balanchine. Marianela and Vadim were fabulous but my eye also caught Akane Takada (I didn't recognise her first and had a job remembering whose names were on the cast sheet). I didn't dislike Strapless as much as last time but it's certainly no masterpiece but I feel as though the talent of the dancers is a bit wasted. Symphonic Dances didn't do anything for me I'm afraid. Lots of running around and swooshing of men in skirts. Found it rather dull and nearly fell asleep. With my ticket only costing £6, I'd go again just to watch the first act.

The Friday Rush was rather manic and unfortunately I didn't manage to get anything. If anyone has a SCS going spare please let me know as I am still looking

Hello Alison and John - Thank you for your replies. I'm going to hold out and see if something a bit closer to the stage comes up as there is still a week to go but thank you all the same.

Preferably a SCS and/or anything decent in the Amphitheatre up to around £30ish would be greatly appreciated!

I think i'm also a disappointed. The Winter's Tale doesn't do much for me and it was only recently done during a cinema relay. The same with Alice. Will definitely be giving Untouchable and Age of Anxiety a miss. I'm also rather apprehensive about the new Swan Lake seeing that Scarlett will be doing some additional choreography. On the upside, I am hoping for some exciting casting/debuts for Sylvia/Manon/Giselle/Swan Lake.

I must say, I have never seen an Aurora quite like Osipova's ... nor do I ever expect to again. As said above, it was certainly extraordinary and will divide opinion. It was rather spectacular to have a more feisty/energetic Aurora than what I'm used to. Her Act 1 was full of all the energy and excitement of a young girl on her birthday. Her Act 2 Vision Scene was more regal, calm and dream-like and in Act 3 she seemed to be even more of a grown up Princess. I'm not sure I've ever seen this transformation in other dancers before. At first I thought it might all be too much but I'll have to admit that I was converted and thought it was amazing. Seriously, though, does Osipova ever run out of energy?! She seems to defy gravity. Anna Rose O'Sullivan was a stand out fairy for me and liked Reece Clark as the Lilac Fairy Cavalier (shame I won't be seeing his Prince Florimund performances). I did feel that the tempo of the whole performance felt rather slow last night. I've been watching the 1955 Fonteyn/Somes/Grey recording recently so perhaps after watching that that's why last night felt a bit like it was in slow motion.

When i went to the half term matinee with Francesca Hayward, there were many young children in the auditorium including a very young girl behind me (I had forgotten it would be half term when i booked..) . She was incredibly well behaved. In fact, it was the two ladies who were with her who were chatting throughout and even turned around to talk to people on different rows during the 'Marche' between Act 2 and Act 3.

Last night's performance was wonderful. Francesca Hayward is very graceful and has a beautiful expressive back. Marcelino Sambe I thought shows future principal potential. He seems to hover in the air when he jumps before landing. I particuarly like how it's not all about high legs with Francesca Hayward (i hate very high legs in ballet...), she doesn't show off high extensions at every opportunity like some dancers seem to do and i find this very refreshing. I certainly hope that we can look forward to a DVD of this cast in the future.

Has the wonderful recording of Lynn Seymour and Anthony Dowell in Month In The Country ever been released on DVD or video / ever likely to be released? At the moment i just have to make do with the ballet being split on youtube and I would just love to watch the whole ballet uninterrupted. p.s Sorry if this is slightly off topic. I wasn't sure where else to post this.

On my list would have to be: Altynai Asylmuratova Lynn Seymour Viviana Durante Margot Fonteyn Natalia Osipova Unfortunately the only one I've been able to see live is Osipova as the others were all before my time.

Hopefully no Raven Girl either! I have my fingers crossed for Mayerling and more classics/plenty of Ashton. If it's a Wayne McGregor year then I'm not very hopeful. In general I'm not very keen on many of the new works.