Jan McNulty Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 On Thursday evening Erina Takahashi was glorious as Giselle. In Act 1 she seemed more vulnerable than Tamara Rojo. Isaac Hernandez gave a very good account of Albrecht; for me he is becoming a more rounded artist. Stina Quagebeur was again magnificent is Myrthe. Oscar Chacon completely dominated Act 1 as Hilarion, what a shame his magnificent performance was not the one committed to film. I really do get swept away by the scope and relevance of this production. Again, most of the stalls were on their feet cheering at the end. Saturday evening was a repeat of the first night and, if anything, was even better. James Streeter has made the role of Albrecht his own! Again a huge standing ovation in the stalls at the end. I think it was genius on the part of Tamara Rojo and the Board of ENB to commission this magnificent and relevant re-telling of Giselle. It is a masterpiece and I hope it is soon back in the rep. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 (edited) On Saturday I was really struck by the bleakness of the ending with that monumental wall shutting Albrect out from his landlord community. The migrants have gone too and so he ends up completely alone. You are left wondering what will happen to him as you don't see him being able to go back to either community. The wall is almost a character on its own. Edited October 31, 2017 by aileen Edited to correct grammar 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Q Fan Posted October 31, 2017 Share Posted October 31, 2017 (edited) I agree with Janet such a shame Chacon was not filmed as Hilarion, saw him last year and he was great far more menacing than Cirio. Edited October 31, 2017 by Don Q Fan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 Not sure if this link was picked up http://www.oxonianreview.org/wp/a-love-story-nevertheless/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnS Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 Apologies if there's a more relevant link but I just wanted to say how impressed I was with last night's screening. So many details clearly presented - Giselle's pregnancy, her refusal to bow to anybody, her sewing (of no doubt the finest clothes), Albrecht's unambiguous love for Giselle in Act 1, Hilarion's Machiavellian role as fixer, the other worldly cold contempt shown by Myrtha and her Wilis, and so much more yet not interrupting the flow of the drama. A fabulous piece of theatre. I just wish there were an encore performance. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strawberyy Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 I watched last nights screening too. I enjoyed it more than the live one I saw in Manchester. It seemed more menacing than the live version. I thought the quality of the film wasn't great but that didn't detract from the fabulous cast. So glad I went because the live one I saw didn't blow me away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 I'd forgotten all about it, but then I was at the ROH anyway. I'm hoping to be able to catch up with it somewhere else on another date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 The press release with details of cinema showings is here: I've added "cinema" to the list of tags for this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted April 26, 2018 Author Share Posted April 26, 2018 Well, I swapped my ROH ticket in order to be able to catch the screening of Khan's Giselle as its programming appeared concentrated on last night (25th). I have seen this ballet many times from various parts of several theatres and with different casts. I have been totally wrapped up in it in the live context to the point of not being able to get enough of it; but not so last night. I agree with JohnS that the detail of the story was brought out very clearly but, at least in the cinema where I saw it, it felt as if someone had turned up the brightness too much on the group scenes and some of the drama was lost as a result. Also, I have a feeling that the camera didn't let us follow Hilarion's story sufficiently to experience his emotions and duplicity. Interestingly, when I have been to RB relays or replays, it has always been noticeable how much members of the audience move away chatting about what they have just seen. That didn't happen last night. The talk was of other things entirely. Why was that, I wonder? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 Apart from the usual cinema niggles (annoying audience, latecomers, overly-bright "Exit" sign), I loved last night's broadcast. I'm very glad it wasn't my first viewing because I think something small was lost in the transition from 3D to 2D, but at the same time, the close-ups were fantastic. I too felt they made certain things much clearer which improved my understanding of the story. Terrific cast too; the chemistry between Rojo and Streeter was beautiful and their PDDs so moving. Jeffrey Cirio was excellent (if lacking some menace) and Stina Quagebeur again made an incredible Myrtha - outstanding acting by her and she too benefits from the close ups. I was blown away at my first viewing but more moved last night. Watching James Streeter did prompt me to wonder why on earth he has never been promoted to Principal. I do hope a DVD or Blu Ray is forthcoming. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daisydance Posted April 26, 2018 Share Posted April 26, 2018 11 hours ago, capybara said: Well, I swapped my ROH ticket in order to be able to catch the screening of Khan's Giselle as its programming appeared concentrated on last night (25th). I have seen this ballet many times from various parts of several theatres and with different casts. I have been totally wrapped up in it in the live context to the point of not being able to get enough of it; but not so last night. I agree with JohnS that the detail of the story was brought out very clearly but, at least in the cinema where I saw it, it felt as if someone had turned up the brightness too much on the group scenes and some of the drama was lost as a result. Also, I have a feeling that the camera didn't let us follow Hilarion's story sufficiently to experience his emotions and duplicity. Interestingly, when I have been to RB relays or replays, it has always been noticeable how much members of the audience move away chatting about what they have just seen. That didn't happen last night. The talk was of other things entirely. Why was that, I wonder? At the screening we went to (in Devon) I feared beforehand that many of the audience would hate it – I overheard things like "I don't think this will be my cup of tea" – but they were all completely gripped and applauded at the end, and that's all they were talking about on the way out. In our tiny venue it went down really well. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petunia Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 I'm so sad it wasn't shown here. I very much hope now for a dvd...! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 18 minutes ago, Petunia said: I'm so sad it wasn't shown here. I very much hope now for a dvd...! (And, of course, you were at the filmed performance!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petunia Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 Hehe, yes, I was. I hope the audience wasn't filmed...! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted April 27, 2018 Author Share Posted April 27, 2018 37 minutes ago, Petunia said: Hehe, yes, I was. I hope the audience wasn't filmed...! A little bit at the end. Hehehe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petunia Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 So If you see an overwhelmed lady with fogged up glasses, that's me. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted April 18, 2019 Share Posted April 18, 2019 From this week's Links, a long discussion of the production by Jennifer Homans: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/04/22/akram-khan-remakes-giselle 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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