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The Royal Ballet: Giselle, January-March 2018


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8 hours ago, alison said:

Those who were there tonight, do tell: when it came to the overhead lifts in Act II, did Nunez do the "swallow lift" pose as normal, or the lift in arabesque as with Muntagirov the other night?  Just curious.

 

They did the "Swallow Lift".

 

It was a wonderful performance.

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To those who want to know ....it's black trousers my black and purple elephant design top BUT with my American apparel ( the ones which stretch a bit with each wash unfortunately) brownish orange jumper on top which may not come off if it's too cold in the ROH.

However my main distinguishing feature is the Henry V th haircut which seems to cling closer to my head ( no body at all) with each passing year. 

Im going this evening as well but will be wearing the same top clothes as the matinee is at 12.30 tomorrow and want to travel light up to London. 

Hope to see some of you tomorrow afternoon at any rate

linda 

 

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14 minutes ago, Odyssey said:

I am interested to know more... is the swallow lift or lift in arabesque the one traditionally performed?

 

The Swallow in Britain, the arabesque in Russia, but it may be open to choice.

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4 minutes ago, alison said:

I like the swallow - it seems more ... different ... somehow, indicating her change in nature.  An arabesque seems a bit Classical to me.

Agree with this. Last night it was made very clear that Giselle in Act 2 was an ethereal being; Albrecht's futile attempts to catch her became,very clear and the 'Swallow' lift seems to emphasise this. 

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Thanks for the picture of the swallow lift.  What a gorgeous photo.  I tried Googling it, but couldn't seem to find anything other than a firm called Swallow that manufactured lift shafts!

 

I am curious as to why Nunez would do a different lift with a different partner.  

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31 minutes ago, Fonty said:

Thanks for the picture of the swallow lift.  What a gorgeous photo.  I tried Googling it, but couldn't seem to find anything other than a firm called Swallow that manufactured lift shafts!

 

I am curious as to why Nunez would do a different lift with a different partner.  

I thought on the night of her 20th anniversary that she might have decided to do the arabesque lift because it's easier, and perhaps didn't want to risk a lift going wrong on such an important night?  She had done the swallow lift with Muntagirov previously, so I can only think that might be a reason?  Unless he wasn't 100% recovered from his illness yet....although if that were the case you would never know from his performance that night!!  :)

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It may be heresy, but I'm afraid I really don't like that video on fb. The long balance in arabesque on pointe, a few seconds in, is more circus than ballet. Nunez appears determined to stay on pointe but seesaws badly with the extended leg going up and down. It destroys all illusion of other worldliness. 

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Not wanting to divert this thread too much from the excitement of the two debut performances ahead,  but I' an fascinated by the image posted earlier of Fonteyn and Nureyev. I wonder if Margot always performed the swallow lift or if Nureyev persuaded her to try the Russian version.

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Wonderful performance by Francesca and Alexander tonight.  I think we all knew they had star quality as a couple, but tonight they wrapped it up in a gift box, tied it with a neat bow and presented it on a silver tray to the audience, who responded accordingly. Stunning!

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1 hour ago, ChrisG said:

Wonderful performance by Francesca and Alexander tonight.  I think we all knew they had star quality as a couple, but tonight they wrapped it up in a gift box, tied it with a neat bow and presented it on a silver tray to the audience, who responded accordingly. Stunning!

 

Seconded! A brilliant performance, the only problem being trying to watch every move and gesture of both Giselle and Albrecht at the same time… I thought that they both danced beautifully, and in Act 1 Hayward really was a Giselle who LOVED dancing – she luxuriated in her movement and filled it with joy. Campbell was an interesting, unusual Albrecht – I got the sense of someone discontented with his ‘real’ life and finding relief in the delightful peasant girl with the laughing eyes; when he realised his duplicity was going to be revealed, he was initially more concerned to protect himself than Giselle, and only when she died did the realisation of what he had done hit him. Hayward moved inexorably from happy flirtatiousness to bewilderment, disbelief and finally desperation and death.

 

I found Act 2 really moving, because I felt that not just Albrecht but also Giselle had changed. She was no longer the blithe young girl of Act 1, or the anguished, betrayed lover; she had grown and matured so that all her focus was on helping Albrecht, on forgiving him, on stepping outside her past pain and (literally) reaching out to him. And he in his turn begged forgiveness, was overcome with the shame and guilt, and knew that in his grief he had found his true self, no longer selfish and discontented but brave and agonisingly clear-sighted. Hayward’s dancing in Act 2 was so light, so quick, so high; and she and Campbell were so well matched physically, technically and in terms of their musical responses.

 

I though Mayara Magri was excellent as Myrtha – strong, powerful and implacable. I loved Fumi Kaneko in the pas de six – such beautiful and expressive dancing. I hope that she gets more and more opportunities. And in Isabella Gasparini I wondered if we were watching a future Giselle.

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Forgive me if I gush, but I thought tonight was just sublime. I saw so much Alina in Frankie’s interpretation, when she was flirting with Albrecht in Act one, leaving her hand trailing so he could catch her was just Alina and her tenderness towards Alexander was heartbreaking. Wonderful partnering by Alexander, fabulous Myrtha by Mayara Magri and a brilliant corps of Wilis topped, of course, by Frankie. Words fail me so I hope some our more lucid forum members will help me out. Thought her interpretation of the “mad” scene was perfect and Alexander’s walk down the stage at the end was heartbreaking........ and it’s Yasmine at lunchtime tomorrow, I need to lie down.

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31 minutes ago, bridiem said:

 

Seconded! A brilliant performance, the only problem being trying to watch every move and gesture of both Giselle and Albrecht at the same time… I thought that they both danced beautifully, and in Act 1 Hayward really was a Giselle who LOVED dancing – she luxuriated in her movement and filled it with joy. Campbell was an interesting, unusual Albrecht – I got the sense of someone discontented with his ‘real’ life and finding relief in the delightful peasant girl with the laughing eyes; when he realised his duplicity was going to be revealed, he was initially more concerned to protect himself than Giselle, and only when she died did the realisation of what he had done hit him. Hayward moved inexorably from happy flirtatiousness to bewilderment, disbelief and finally desperation and death.

 

I found Act 2 really moving, because I felt that not just Albrecht but also Giselle had changed. She was no longer the blithe young girl of Act 1, or the anguished, betrayed lover; she had grown and matured so that all her focus was on helping Albrecht, on forgiving him, on stepping outside her past pain and (literally) reaching out to him. And he in his turn begged forgiveness, was overcome with the shame and guilt, and knew that in his grief he had found his true self, no longer selfish and discontented but brave and agonisingly clear-sighted. Hayward’s dancing in Act 2 was so light, so quick, so high; and she and Campbell were so well matched physically, technically and in terms of their musical responses.

 

I though Mayara Magri was excellent as Myrtha – strong, powerful and implacable. I loved Fumi Kaneko in the pas de six – such beautiful and expressive dancing. I hope that she gets more and more opportunities. And in Isabella Gasparini I wondered if we were watching a future Giselle.

How true about trying to watch them both at the same time. I wanted to catch every nuance. I was blown away by their Sleeping Beauty which was on such a different plane in terms of emotional range as well as the dancing.I've been looking forward to this with such anticipation as they are my favourite partnership and it still went beyond expectations. I was lucky enough to be in Row C of the Orch Stalls tonight so able to see all their expressions.   Such little things as Alexander's expression change when the 2nd horn echoed in Act 1, and how he managed to go through the range of emotions when his duplicity is discovered which leads to the death of Giselle. As for Francesca, her range is phenomenal for one so relatively inexperienced, both in dance and acting.  She floated across the stage in Act 2, her movement and fluidity is so beautiful.  We are seeing something really special. I feel privileged.    

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