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theorist

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  1. theorist
    I think Maddison Pritchard replaced Chisato Katsura in Danses Concertantes tonight.
  2. theorist
    The page on the ROH website for the second Ashton mixed bill is strikingly uninformative. For instance, it doesn't say who composed any of the music for the programme, except that Brahms is unavoidably mentioned as he is in the title of the piece. I'm inclined to think that a more informative "background" section on the webpage might help to sell tickets.
  3. theorist
    The ROH has just posted on Facebook that the Dante Project is a "brand new ballet". Who writes this stuff?
  4. theorist
    This conforms to my impression of last night's performance by Osipova. I was sitting closer than I usually do to the stage (Stalls Row E) and from there her performance came across at times as a sort of triumph of will. She was very evidently nervous during the Rose Adage. I was also struck later on by a larger than usual number of alterations to the choreography I am familiar with. (I'm not referring to the variations and codas, where alterations to suit individual dancers are relatively common, but to the main pas de deux.) I'm used to the fact that she's an idiosyncratic dancer, and in some roles that's what makes her so watchable. But in the classics the scope for idiosyncracy is inevitably more limited. Elsewhere on stage there was much to enjoy. I loved Olivia Cowley's facial gestures as Carabosse, although I'd be interested to know how many of them carried to the Amphi. And Mullova-Barley lit up the stage as the Lilac Fairy.
  5. theorist
    Alas, last night's showing at the Edinburgh Cameo was cancelled for technical reasons, By the time I had got my refund it was too late to get to another cinema.
  6. theorist
    I was at yesterday's matinee too. I agree with many, but not all, of the comments. I agree that the choreography in Act IV is excellent, certainly better than Scarlett's for RB. And I like that the princesses get solos in Act III (although I don't think their interactions with the Prince are well handled). I'm much less sure about Act I, which seems to me to be confused. I think that Rothbart's costume looks like something a harassed parent might cobble together for their child's dress-up-at-school day. However, I think the white make-up is rather effective: indeed I would have preferred it if he hadn't had a helmet at all.
  7. theorist
    I was at the opening night on Monday. The choreography struck me much as I remember it from the last time I saw it. There is a fair amount to enjoy, e.g. the interesting season fairy solos and the use of the corps in the ballroom scene. The step-sisters irritated me rather more than I recalled from last time, probably because (like some Widow Simones I have seen) they played it too much for pantomime-dame laughs. The new production (set, costumes, lighting, special effects) I thought mostly very disappointing. I found the season fairy soloists' costumes particularly rebarbative.
  8. theorist
    The Opera North website has an announcement of a staged production of Mozart's Requiem at the Leeds Grand next May in collaboration with Phoenix Dance Theatre...to be directed and choreographed by none other than Dane Hurst. https://www.operanorth.co.uk/whats-on/mozart-requiem/
  9. theorist
    I thought it a woefully vapid production.
  10. theorist
    Has Pajdak been injured recently? I don't think I've seen her on stage for quite some time.
  11. theorist
    The orchestra was heavily amplified throughout, which I found extremely alienating, especially as I was in the Stalls: it was very difficult to get emotionally involved in music that seemed to be coming from somewhere above my head. It wasn't at all clear to me why it was felt necessary to amplify at all. Perhaps the singer needed amplification for purposes of balance, but why the whole orchestra? If you go to West End musicals a lot, you may be inured to this, but I confess that I am not. The score also seemed in the most part very bland and repetitive to me. As others have indicated, if you've seen Act 2 of Winter's Tale, you'll know what to expect. As for the choreography, there were some superb moments, including the ending, but there were also longeurs (although perhaps for me these were more the fault of the music). I found the characters somewhat uninvolving.
  12. theorist
    I'm not suggesting that there is only one orchestral balance that's "right". Different conductors can sometimes bring refreshingly different approaches. On the other hand, my choice of the word "odd" (rather than just "different") gives you an idea of what I thought on this occasion.
  13. theorist
    I was at last Wednesday's performance, conducted by Jonathan Lo. (The pre-Christmas performances were conducted by Koen Kessels or Barry Wordsworth.) I was sitting at the back of the stalls, which I usually find is the best place for listening to the music.At many points in the performance (not just the Waltz of the Snowflakes, where current performance limitations obviously make a difference) the orchestral balance sounded very odd indeed to me. Did anyone else have the same experience, either on that occasion or another with the same conductor?
  14. theorist
    Annoying for many reasons, not least (for me) that although I'll not be out of pocket for the theatre ticket, I will for my pre-booked train ticket for tomorrow, which it is now too late to cancel. Oh well...
  15. theorist
    She is listed as Moyna on the cast sheet for the Schools Matinee, but not subsequently as far as I can see.
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