simonbfisher

Of the four ballet Insight evenings in the Spring Season 2017 there was not a single ticket for any of them when I clocked in at 9.00 this morning to try and book as a Friend +. This happens every time.....

Whoops! I have just noticed that in my email to the Staatsballett the autocorrect, instead of "the first two performances" wrote "the first two seductions".... well, given the casts maybe that is not so far adrift!

I had three very courteous and sympathetic replies from various arms of the Staatsballett to my query/plea : they boil down in essence to this : Das Recht der Besetzung hat im Falle dieser Neueinstudierung ausschließlich Yuri Grigorovich, der diese persönlich in der Woche vor der Premiere fixieren wird. Aus diesem Grund ist es uns bisher leider nicht möglich, Daten herauszugeben.Bisher ist nur weiter bestätigt, dass auch am 25. Dezember Sergei Polunin, Natalia Osipova und Osiel Gouneo tanzen werden. Weitere Termine für unsere beiden Gäste sind nicht geplant, sollten Sie auch deshalb angefragt haben. That is to say - Polunin/Osipova/Gouneo will be dancing on 25th Dec in addition to already announced (and sold out) 22nd Dec, but no further slots for the guests (i.e. Polunin/Osipova) are planned. As for the other castings, it is all in the hands of Mr Grigorovich, who will give the matter his personal attention in the week before the premiere.

Well, I have sent this off : "Guten Abend! Seit Wochen warte ich darauf, dass ich meinen Flug nach München buchen kann, denn ich will den Spartakus sehen, aber wie und wann werde ich herausfinden, wer nach den ersten beiden Verführungen mittanzt? Es ist ja frustrierend.... die Zeit vergeht… Kann mir eine® von Ihnen bitte helfen? Mit besten Grüssen von einem Ballettfan (und München-Fan) aus London, Simon Fisher." and will await developments! Thank you for your thoughts on this : it IS frustrating, because cheap flights are not easy to find, especially if it is fairly last-minute-y.

Does anyone have any knowledge or indeed confident predictions about the casting of this after the opening (sold out) and second nights? We would love to go and see Osiel Gouneo / Sergei Polunin / Natalia Osipova / et al, but after weeks of hovering over the future casting info on the Bavarian Star Ballet's site (https://www.staatsoper.de/en/staatsballett/productioninfo/spartacus.html) I am none the wiser about when/if this cast will reappear. I am hesitant about booking flights on spec...!

So glad I managed to see the previous Nutcracker - it was gorgeous!

Well, Janet McNulty (and others, but mostly you) thank you so much for persuading us that we should see this after all! Having had some iffy experiences with Mr Khan in the past, we were going to give it a miss, but we schlepped down to Bristol to see it tonight, and we were bowled over. So much to digest ... no time to unravel my thoughts in print here and now, but if anyone else is hesitating, GO! It looks beautiful, it sounds beautiful, it is intelligent, there is some cracking choreography, the dancers (Rojo, Streeter, Coralles, and Stina Q) including the corps were mesmerising, the set is great, the lighting fascinating - dark without being in the slightest raven-girly, thank heavens...... so many details to ponder on. BUT if you are driving to/ in Bristol leave plenty of time: the M32 was full of roadworks on the way in, and closed completely on the way out. It took forever to get out of the city at 10.00 pm. And around the City Centre was very clogged at 6.30 as well.

Melody, perhaps it could be fashioned into a sort of pupu ......

According to the ROH website it is approx 3 hours and 25 mins. Money's worth, alright!

Time Out has a special offer on seats for these - august 11th to 231st at the Coliseum. https://www.timeout.com/london/shop/entertainment-shanghai-ballet-opera-eno?cid=eml~GB_LON~OF~1400963044~entertainment-shanghai-ballet-opera-eno~&refid=email-1400963044-entertainment-shanghai-ballet-opera-eno~CTA~2016-08-10

There's also a normal DVD for those of us who are lagging behind a bit....

When we saw NDT2 there a few months ago, the Manager, who was conducting the Q and A post-performance said, in terms, that he was fairly new in post and was determined to bring as much dance to the Mayflower as possible. He was quite eloquent about the importance of dance to the cultural life of the country. So I hope that the Khan Giselle will be well-attended : We need more managers like him! Re seats : the stalls have a fairly good rake and front circle is also fine, but as others have said it is a very big place, and even front row stalls feels a long way from the stage across the orchestra pit!

Indeed, Aileen. But lucky Munich!

We were in the front stalls and saw waist up only .... It was indeed the apron over the orchestra pit that was in the way. Had it not been there the view would have been fine AND even with it there, if the dancers had come downstage of the proscenium arch it would also have been fine. However, everything happened way upstage. It did make us a bit more than a bit cross - it only needed someone to have spotted the problem at rehearsal and to have moved the action downstage somewhat. And as others here have remarked, the tickets were NOT marked "restricted view". We have written to ENB and to the Palladium making these points. After a two hour journey to get there we wuz robbed!

I can certainly endorse Janet's enthusiasm. Do catch them if you can. Luckily for us, they'll be in Newbury on May 10th. Very much looking forward to seeing them again.

Don't forget the syncopated hooting..... That'll keep you awake!

Have just tried leaving out the plural S - and it seems to have worked.... Three minutes so far!

And here!

Coated Rules OK !!

Alison, you're making my head hurt!!!

I have just checked five different websites and they all give the time as two hours ahead..... And apparently there had been no change to " summer time " at all since a decree in Oct 2014 .... If I knew someone in Moscow I could ring and ask what time it was. But I don't so I can't!

Thank you ... so that is 2 hours ahead of the UK (just to save anyone else looking it up!)

Sorry if this is a silly question, but is this 19.30 Russian time, or UK time?

I've just checked my booking for the San Francisco R and J for this Sunday at Cineworld Didcot, and it still seems to be in place. I've certainly not heard otherwise from the cinema. Fingers crossed!

Once seen . . . . . !