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The Royal Ballet: Giselle, January-March 2018


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3 hours ago, alison said:

Not surprisingly, there are a number of returns for tonight's performance on the ROH website :(

 

Yes and the number is going up as the day goes on, currently 42 (and 54 for tomorrow). I had to return mine this morning as I couldn't risk not being able to get home or dragging my husband out at midnight in heavy snow (which is forecast) to pick me up. Luckily my ticket sold so at least I'll get my money back.

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I was lucky enough to get a return but very disappointed when (after a suspiciously long interval) Kevin O’Hare appeared to say that David Hallberg had sustained an injury at the start of Act 1 and could not dance Act 2.  Matthew Ball, who had been at home, came in and did a very creditable job of partnering Osipova and danced an excellent solo and the audience showed their appreciation but so devastating for Hallberg to suffer yet more injury problems.  And his Act 1 with Osipiva was dramatically thrilling.  Really hope that he is recovered in time for their second performance next week.

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Snow stranded in London and encouraged by this morning’s Times feature, I managed to pick up a return for this evening’s performance. I won’t offer any comment as such as it’ll only upset the snowflakes but record that after a long interval Kevin O’Hare announced that David Hallberg had sustained an injury and that Matthew Ball, summoned from home, would take over. I imagine there can only have been the most cursory of rehearsals and, for the record, the big lifts in Act 2 were changed, no doubt for safety reasons. Osipova was warm in her response to him as was the audience and he deserves every respect for tracking over under the most difficult of circumstances. So sad for Hallberg though....

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Tonight was simply wonderful. Terrible shame that David Hallberg was injured, but  having read comments about Ball’s debut it was simply wonderful to get the opportunity to see him. The partnership, despite the short notice was credible, incredibly emotive and I was in tears by the time the curtain came down. Osipova is just the most stunningly Giselle and I love the way she acts the scene where she discovers Albrecht is 2 timing her but ultimately I think she creates absolute magic as a wili. I was amazed at how good a fit she was with Ball given the limited preparation time. It was lovely to see her applaud him during their curtain call together. Ball is a great actor and has super expressive arms

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Hugely disappointing for Hallberg - I do hope the injury isn't serious - and of course for all the people who had booked to see him.  In a "perfect storm" of events, it of course had to be a night when public transport was severely curtailed by the bad weather and the additional delay meant that a fair few people were unable to remain and see Matthew Ball as his replacement for fear of missing last trains :(

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Poor David Hallberg :(  I feel so very sad for him, after such a hard fight to get back.  Hopeful that the injury is not severe.

 

I thought Natalia danced Giselle just as brilliantly as usual and the acting throughout the whole show by everyone was really top notch, I felt completely involved.  Matthew Ball danced very well and partnered Natalia beautifully.  I can't imagine how awful it would be to be tucked up at home and get a call asking you to go and dance second act of Albrecht!

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On ‎2‎/‎8‎/‎2018 at 18:15, Fiz said:

Matthew was loudly cheered by those of us who were there until the end of the curtain calls!

Matthew was loudly cheered by those of us who were there until the end of the curtain calls!

OOps - I did something wrong there!

Edited by cackles
My comment appeared in the wrong place.
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Huge disappointment for me as I had never seen David Hallberg dance and was really looking forward to seeing him - even more so following his interview in The Times this morning when he talked about his partnership with Osipova. But huge thanks and credit to Matthew Ball for stepping in at such short notice and on a freezing night! My heart was slightly in my mouth as the first big lift approached but it all went off extremely well - I actually thought the revised lifts were rather lovely with him turning around with her over his head and he danced beautifully in his solos. As for Osipova, I find her just in a bit of a class of her own in Giselle. I remember someone commenting during a previous discussion that her neck looked broken somehow in Act II - her whole body looks different to my eyes, she really is transformed into something other worldly.  Beautiful dancing from James Hay, as always, and I really like Olivia Cowley as Bathilde. Her face looks as though she is sucking lemons when she has to face the peasantry!

 

So all in all a memorable evening for various reasons - do hope Hallberg recovers very quickly (it must be heartbreaking for him) and that we get to see him dance with Natalia in Manon. Will equally look forward to seeing her and Matthew in Swan Lake.

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Such a shame about David Hallberg because I thought their Act 1 was sensational and was fully expecting an incredibly emotional Act 2.  I so hope we get to see it next week.  A wonderful performance from Matthew Ball in such circumstances.  His dancing and acting were of the highest calibre.  Nothing to do with the dancers, but I couldn't feel the full emotion at the end because they hadn't had the chance to build up the relationship in Act 1.  If we can't see David Hallberg next week (and I so hope we can) Matthew Ball will be a worthy replacement. He is a real jewel in the RB crown. 

 

Let's not forget Miss Osipova in all this;  she had been so looking forward to dancing with Hallberg in this ballet on this stage, and she found herself having to change partner right in the middle of it. Her disappointment didn't show at all...she turned in a stunning performance and thoroughly deserved the loud and warm applause she received.  And I loved how she pushed Ball forward to take a bow and applauded him.  Tonight she showed once again not only what a superb Giselle she is, but also her generosity of spirit and her professionalism.  Huge respect and congratulations to her. 

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I was really impressed by David Hallberg in Act 1 (having never seen him dance before) - truly aristocratic, a mature and convincing portrayal. I saw nothing to suggest an injury, which does him great credit. And the partnership with Osipova was thrilling. She is astonishing - like no other Giselle. Hypersensitive, hyper-elevated, almost febrile in her intensity. And yet - she doubts her Albrecht. At one point she stops, looks into his eyes, and fears what she sees. So when the deception is revealed, she is already only one step away from collapse. Her mad scene is genuinely frightening; she can no longer bear reality, and so she retreats completely from it. And Hallberg's shock, guilt and anger are moving to behold.

 

So I was dismayed that their tale was brought to an abrupt halt. Matthew Ball did an excellent job in Act 2, and Osipova gave him generous acknowledgement in spite of what must have been great disappointment for her. But it felt completely anticlimactic to me. She danced superbly - the most dramatic, the wildest, the most abandoned Giselle. She will save Albrecht at all costs. Tremendous turns and jumps throughout the performance. If only the drama could have continued from Act 1. But huge thanks are due to Matthew Ball for enabling the performance to continue. And I hope David Hallberg's injury is not serious.

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Amazing Matthew Ball!  how he got in, warmed up , made up, costumed etc and rehearsed in that time is incredible! One for his memoirs anyway.

How long was the interval?

I thought they used to keep 'understudies' in the theatre......

 

 

 

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9 minutes ago, Mary said:

Amazing Matthew Ball!  how he got in, warmed up , made up, costumed etc and rehearsed in that time is incredible! One for his memoirs anyway.

How long was the interval?

I thought they used to keep 'understudies' in the theatre......

 

 

 

 

Interval was about 40 minutes long

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25 minutes ago, Mary said:

Amazing Matthew Ball!  how he got in, warmed up , made up, costumed etc and rehearsed in that time is incredible! One for his memoirs anyway.

How long was the interval?

I thought they used to keep 'understudies' in the theatre......

 

 

 

I noticed that both Osipova and Hallberg left the stage during the Harvest Scene. With hindsight perhaps they needed to consult with Stage Management (a source told me that the injury happened early on) about the best way to continue....

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Of course Osipova was a masterful Giselle, but for me the real stand out performance was by Yuhui Choe. She was breathtaking in every regard.

 

I remember seeing her stand in for Osipova in Sleeping beauty March 2014 (when she was boo'd as she was announced as her replacement) and thought she shone then. She has transformed over the years and is truly stunning now. 

 

 

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I agree with others that it was a rare privilege to see Hallberg in Giselle's Act I last night - and I say that having previously had the opportunity to see Hallberg dance and not just in London.  Indeed I had once before been lucky enough to see Hallberg and Osipova dance all of Giselle.  As much as that experience was mesmeric ... and it was ... this performance - as far as my memory recalls - was on an even more elevated plane.  It felt as if destiny was impelling its way forward.  It was viscerally notable.  There was a spontaneity from both that appeared edged in a rich sense of personal discovery. 

 

This too was a very different Hallberg from the one I previously seem to recall.  As others have indicated if he was - in any way - again feeling the severe pain in any one of his exquisite feet - such as he clearly speaks about in his book as being prior to the unfortunate chain of events which were to lead to his two and a half year absence from what should have been the pinnacle of his career - then there was no trace of such personal distress here.  His focus on Albrecht's dilemna appeared total.  He lived in it.  It breathed for us.  His stunned horror at seeing the body of Osipova's Giselle on the ground - one which appeared to shudder prior to ultimately giving way - marked an end that was almost inaudible but for the coruscating horror of the howl from Hallberg's eyes.

 

Technically you could have cut glass with the knife rimmed beats of Hallberg's feet in the entrechats of his one very brief solo.  It was sad indeed that he was not able to continue in last night's historic quest but his gauntlet - a hugely noble one - had already been manfully thrust. ... Fate could not - with a more telling pride - passed this mantle on to young Matthew Ball - a dancer from the next generation.   Ball scooped it up with an opulent dignity of his own that served us all richly.  I, myself, was vastly moved by his own reaction - his awakening to our own appreciation from this fairy tale undertaking - as the ROH curtain parted for that first call.  

 

Certainly in my own mind (and I can speak for no other) Hallberg's artistry could have had no greater testament than Osipova's second act.  It was the ultimate compliment to us all.  If the blow from Hallberg's unfortunate impasse had in any way haunted her she did naught but employ such towards an ever more searing artistry.  It was acute.  Osipova cauterized our souls.  

 

Edited by Bruce Wall
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Many thanks all for your posts about last night's extraordinary Giselle.  I'd seen Luke Jennings tweets so perhaps there'll be something in the Observer and bangorballetboy has provided fabulous photos of the curtain call, including Natalia Osipova's enthusiastic applause for Matthew Ball.  Looking forward immensely to 9 March final performance.

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1 hour ago, Bruce Wall said:

This too was a very different Hallberg from the one I previously seem to recall.  As others have indicated if he was - in any way - again feeling the severe pain in any one of his exquisite feet - such as he clearly speaks about in his book as being prior to the unfortunate chain of events which were to lead to his two and a half year absence from what should have been the pinnacle of his career - then there was no trace of such personal distress here. 

 

We have no indication that that is what the problem was, though, do we?  I most certainly hope it's not a recurrence of that, for everyone's sake, but particularly, of course, his.

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3 hours ago, bangorballetboy said:

 

Interval was about 40 minutes long

 

With a slightly late start, I think they were about 15 minutes behind scheduled Act II starting time by the time it finally started.

 

2 hours ago, Jamesrhblack said:

I noticed that both Osipova and Hallberg left the stage during the Harvest Scene. With hindsight perhaps they needed to consult with Stage Management (a source told me that the injury happened early on) about the best way to continue....

 

Don't they usually do that anyway?

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32 minutes ago, alison said:

 

With a slightly late start, I think they were about 15 minutes behind scheduled Act II starting time by the time it finally started.

 

 

Don't they usually do that anyway?

Hayward and Campbell certainly didn’t ....

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1 hour ago, Bruce Wall said:

I agree with others that it was a rare privilege to see Hallberg in Giselle's Act I last night - and I say that having previously had the opportunity to see Hallberg dance and not just in London.  Indeed I had once before been lucky enough to see Hallberg and Osipova dance all of Giselle.  As much as that experience was mesmeric ... and it was ... this performance - as far as my memory recalls - was on an even more elevated plane.  It felt as if destiny was impelling its way forward.  It was viscerally notable.  There was a spontaneity from both that appeared edged in a rich sense of personal discovery. 

 

This too was a very different Hallberg from the one I previously seem to recall.  As others have indicated if he was - in any way - again feeling the severe pain in any one of his exquisite feet - such as he clearly speaks about in his book as being prior to the unfortunate chain of events which were to lead to his two and a half year absence from what should have been the pinnacle of his career - then there was no trace of such personal distress here.  His focus on Albrecht's dilemna appeared total.  He lived in it.  It breathed for us.  His stunned horror at seeing the body of Osipova's Giselle on the ground - one which appeared to shudder prior to ultimately giving way - marked an end that was almost inaudible but for the coruscating horror of the howl from Hallberg's eyes.

 

Technically you could have cut glass with the knife rimmed beats of Hallberg's feet in the entrechats of his one very brief solo.  It was sad indeed that he was not able to continue in last night's historic quest but his gauntlet - a hugely noble one - had already been manfully thrust. ... Fate could not - with a more telling pride - passed this mantle on to young Matthew Ball - a dancer from the next generation.   Ball scooped it up with an opulent dignity of his own that served us all richly.  I, myself, was vastly moved by his own reaction - his awakening to our own appreciation from this fairy tale undertaking - as the ROH curtain parted for that first call.  

 

Certainly in my own mind (and I can speak for no other) Hallberg's artistry could have had no greater testament than Osipova's second act.  It was the ultimate compliment to us all.  If the blow from Hallberg's unfortunate impasse had in any way haunted her she did naught but employ such towards an ever more searing artistry.  It was acute.  Osipova cauterized our souls.  

Bruce Wall:  I just want to thank you for your revue.  Your prose has a beauty and artistry of it's own.  You have served the artistes well.

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47 minutes ago, alison said:

 

We have no indication that that is what the problem was, though, do we?  I most certainly hope it's not a recurrence of that, for everyone's sake, but particularly, of course, his.

 

No .. and I for once certainly hope that is NOT the case like your good self.  That's why I said 'IF'.  Perhaps I should have emboldened it (i.e., the 'if') for further clarity.  

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54 minutes ago, Jamesrhblack said:

Hayward and Campbell certainly didn’t ....

 

You had your eyes on them for every second of Act I? ;)  I'm used to seeing both Giselle and Albrecht disappearing offstage at various times.

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33 minutes ago, alison said:

 

You had your eyes on them for every second of Act I? ;)  I'm used to seeing both Giselle and Albrecht disappearing offstage at various times.

 

Me too - I think they disappear off stage. 

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