The Royal Ballet: Giselle, January-March 2018

[Nina G.]

2 hours ago, Don Q Fan said:

OK, so who didn't go to the matinee yesterday?! Great to see so many forum members yesterday and what a treat Giselle was.  It was a great performance and I love Naghdi and Ball together.  I think everything has been covered by others, but I 'd like to make a big shout out to the corps de ballet who were on sparkling form I thought - lovely straight lines and moving as one - Giselle as it should be done.  I also really enjoyed Kaneko as Myrtha.  I was a bit surprised to see Takada in the pas de six - anyone know why a principal was dancing this part?  This was certainly a very credible debut by both Naghdi and Ball and I look forward to their future performances together.  Some curtain call pics - including the mountain of bouquets received by Yasmine!

 

 

 

 

THANK YOU so much Don Q Fan for these lovely memorable photos!  I was sitting too far away to take photos during the curtain call. The photo with flowers was the very first batch the ushers delivered on stage, so many more followed. She clearly has many adoring fans.             I picked up the courage to go and meet Yasmine Naghdi at the Stage Door, we did not have to wait all that long, and she was still in her Giselle hairdo and in full make-up. She must have been exhausted but she spent time talking to everyone waiting at the Stage Door to meet her, she patiently posed with many who asked to have her photo taken, and signed the programmes. She is so friendly and kind, first time I met her personally and able to have a brief chat with her, and I was so moved. 

[Lizbie1]

26 minutes ago, Lindsay said:

Are you suggesting the two are not linked?

 

Publicity pushes would logically follow casting decisions, certainly, but it would be quite a serious accusation to suggest that casting at the RB is strongly influenced by the marketing/PR department.

 

And if you think they are that strongly linked, then I'd suggest your main argument isn't supported by Takada, Sambe et al having had a very significant number of plum roles allocated to them, not to mention promotions.

[LinMM]

Well I think it is best to remember that these were debut performances so a bit of slack to the dancers in this instance is quite nice. But of course "honeymoon periods" cannot last forever!! 

First Im going to start with a gripe but not at the dancers! 

PLEASE could the powers that be NOT do this again....put two debut performances SO close together!! 

Actually I really do feel genuinely annoyed about this.

I know some people can go and see lots of performances one after the other and it's no problem but unfortunately I'm not one of them.

If a performance has really got to me I want to be able to absorb that experience and certainly usually don't want or need to see the ballet again for a while ....certainly not within a week....let alone just 15 hours later!

But because I love equally both these two dancers I somehow had to go to both their debuts but would have appreciated more space.

This is particularly because I loved Friday nights performance with Hayward and Campbell so much it was very difficult even for an old hand like me to get my head and heart around going again to see Naghdi and Ball so soon after.

I thought the second Act on Friday was truely lovely .....I've never seen a dancer float through the air in the lifts quite like that so all credit to Campbell's mature  partnering for this as much as Haywards natural  loftability ..... they were as one ...and I felt at one with them too beautiful dancing.

 

In General I think Hayward was more inward with her performance ( perhaps she is naturally shyer)  she was always much more vulnerable and fragile and kept the characterisation throughout ( very mature in that way I thought for such a young dancer) perfectly at home in the spirit world and just gently imploring of Myrthe and softly loving and protective of Albrecht......my goodness did he really deserve her love! In the end you thought he did as Campbell seemed truely sorry for being such a cad and his final walk was genuinely moving for me as you felt he had lost something very valuable ...perhaps never to be had again once Giselle had finally left. 

 

Well having been put through the wringer on the Friday had to go through it all again on the Saturday.

Yasmine has a wonderfully expressive face which communicates what she is feeling so well so a more extrovert and feisty Giselle from her and I particularly loved her first act and dramatic acting. She was definitely in love with her Albrecht and would fight for him all the way in the second Act....also beautiful ...such lovely arms and very heart felt in her love ......a very strong spirit indeed...if she could have come back to life herself to be with Albrecht  she would you thought! 

i have not seen Ball dance that much but thought he made a very good debut....he definitely has a strong stage presence and his acting is believable and some fine dancing of course. I thought they looked good together but perhaps because have not seen them together before on this occasion was not overwhelmed by their connection .....not quite Sibley and Dowell yet but still very enjoyable.

 

So two very different interpretations and experiences but would definitely book particularly to see them both again ....just not on consecutive days!! 

 

I have to say something about Fumi Kaneko ......what a lovely radiant dancer! I loved her in the pas de six and she was a wonderful Myrthe   great commanding dancing but  not too bitter and twisted. Certainly with Naghdi as Giselle you did think she might be changed by the encounter with this noble little spirit!! I hope Kaneko stays injury free as I'd like to see her dance Giselle as well!!

Mayara Magri was also really good in the role too some superb dancing from her too on the Friday. You felt she was the one in control of her world in that performance but her Giselle was such a gentle little spirit.

Needless to say James Hay shone in the pas de six on Saturday but he can do no wrong at the moment for me!! The stage lit up when he came on. 

And as others have said the whole company are on such terrific form at the moment so many promising looking dancers in the corps.

All this added to such a memorable weekend of dancing .....am completely Giselled out now but Thankyou RB am extremely lucky to live so near London and many thanks to lots of people including many balletcoers who make really great long journeys to see the Company I think this all adds to the atmosphere in the theatre.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[penelopesimpson]

2 hours ago, aileen said:

I don't regard my comments as 'Ball-bashing', Scheherazade. I believe that they were respectful. If we're only allowed to express one point of view then there's really no point to this forum. I'm not interested in 'group think'. I stand by my opinion that Naghdi deserves to have the opportunity to dance with more experienced partners who will develop her artistically. 

Aileen, I don't agree with your view this time around, but absolutely like the fact that you call it exactly how you see it.  Please don't stop.  I have had a go at Darcey in the past which is not popular but I appreciate being able to express my views.  Respect to you

[penelopesimpson]

2 hours ago, Sim said:

Yesterday’s performance of Giselle was one of the most heartbreaking I’ve experienced.  This was a real love story.  This was a performance that reached down into my soul and pulled out emotions that I hadn’t felt at the ballet for a good while.  I have long extolled the special partnership that is Naghdi/Ball, and yesterday was another moment in time that confirmed this view of mine. 

I loved Yasmine’s Giselle.  She was clearly deeply in love with Albrecht.  The adoring way she looked up at him, their physical tenderness, her pride in dancing for him and with him, the way she tried so hard to stay outside with him when Mum was dragging her in, her disappointment when the flower didn’t work.  This love was manifested so touchingly and effectively in the mad scene.  I can’t ever remember seeing it done like this:  it was all about heartbreak, about the despairing tears a girl cries when she realises she has been cheated on or lied to by someone she loves.  This was grief, a deep heart-wrenching grief that drove the young girl to distraction.  Gosh, the way she stopped sometimes and just cried from sheer sadness and despair.  The way she looked at her wound and started to cry.  The way she looked at her mother, blank.   The way she made any of us who have been deeply hurt in love remember how the pain can also be physical, making you feel like your heart is literally breaking.   This wasn’t just ‘madness’, it was raw, exposing heartbreak.  It gave me shivers down my spine.  Her Act Two was simply sublime,  the gentle, Romantic personification of forgiveness and pure love.  She has beautiful lines and musicality (mentioned elsewhere on this thread) and soft, exquisite arms.  Paired with the slowness of the tempo and the deep emotion etched on her expressive face, we could absorb every movement, every nuance,  from this ethereal, benevolent creature from beyond the grave.   It was like a breeze gently blowing through fields of white flowers.  

I loved Matthew Ball’s Albrecht.  Someone said above that his characterisation never progressed from arrogant.  I can’t understand that at all.  Let’s remember that in Act 1 he has to be arrogant, otherwise his sadness and contrition in Act 2 doesn’t work, and why would Giselle annoy Myrtha and condemn herself to never rising again if he doesn’t realise the error of his ways?  I think Ball played it beautifully.  Yes, an arrogant aristo in Act 1, but not as arrogant as some.  His feelings for Giselle clearly run deeper than he would like to admit.  Little touches in his interpretation show us this:  the way he holds her hand in both of his, the look of worry and confusion on his face when she gets up immediately after having to sit down when she has her moment of physical weakness, and his devastation and fury when she dies.  In Act 2, he is humbled and feeling the ache of love that he knows he will never experience again.  He is far from arrogant.   He loads all kinds of little, telling details into what he is doing:  I love the way he stops when he walking along the back of the stage with the flowers and looks back, as if deciding whether or not he should continue.  I love the way he inhales the smell of the lilies so deeply.  I love the way he keeps touching the grave each time Giselle disappears offstage, as if begging her to come back. I love the way it seems that he is really about to collapse and die when he has finished dancing just before dawn; at Giselle’s behest he lifts his head a bit, then lets out a deep breath as if to say “no, I can’t do this.”   It is then that she holds his hand to her heart and impels him to go on and live his life.   I love the look of despair on his face towards the end, when he has been able to hold Giselle briefly and thinks he can walk off with her, then realises that she is fading fast and that he will never see her again.  The look of gratitude, relief and redemption on his face as he slowly walked downstage at the end told us that it was all worth it, and that Giselle’s love and forgiveness would forever be in his heart and go with him always.  Nothing could or would ever take that away from him.   

Mention has been made of technique.  I thought that Ball danced beautifully.  I don’t think there is much point in comparisons;  there are some male principals in the company who can never land a jump with any accuracy, there are some who can’t jump that well, there are some who can dance but who can’t put anything emotional or dramatic across, there are those who can make me weep from their interpretation but make me look in disbelief at their relative lack of technical prowess.   I have seen all of them stumble or fall over the years so there is no point in mentioning a very slight stumble from a new First Soloist making a debut on one of the world’s great stages in one of the world’s great ballets.  Under the strict coaching of Alexander Agadzhanov he has improved leaps and bounds technically over the past couple of years, and will continue to do so.  He is naturally very passionate, and a very caring and attentive partner.  He executed the two Bolshoi lifts in Act 2 just perfectly, and held Yasmine up there for a long time, long enough to make it appear that Giselle’s spirit was hovering above him.  He jumped well, his tours en l’air were perfectly landed and his sissones were impressive without being showy.  Furthermore, if Miss Osipova thinks he is good enough for her, that is good enough for me.  I hardly think she would consent to dance with someone in a new production of the world’s most famous ballet if she didn’t think he were at a good level of technique and interpretation.  They danced together before and she clearly enjoyed the experience.   For me, in this ballet, how it affects me emotionally is much more important than executing the steps to a fabulous degree.

 I think Ball has the whole package, and will prove himself as one of the very best if he continues in this upward trajectory.   Someone said that Yasmine ‘deserves a better partner.’   She doesn’t necessarily want another partner;  it is clear that she and Matthew adore dancing together and have a rapport and chemistry that is there for all to see, and feel.  This is a truly special partnership, where everything runs deep, and I hope that it is allowed to blossom evermore. 

This was the second time in a week I had seen Fumi Kaneko dance Myrtha, and I was very impressed.  Such wonderful jumps, such beautiful turns.  The pas de six was one of the best I’ve seen for a long time, because all six of the dancers were beautifully in harmony and it was a joy to finally see the two men take off and land together, and not stagger around after landing their tours en l’air as they are going around the stage.  Big kudos to David Donnelly and Teo Dubreuil for this.  James Hay was simply perfection.  Can perfection be simple?  With him it can.  A real joy to behold.  Aside from his solos, it was great to see him partnering Akane again, after their wonderful Sleeping Beauty. 

I will once again say how beautiful and superb the corps de ballet is.  I said it last run and I will say it again;  I can’t imagine a better corps of Wilis anywhere at the moment. 

The fact that there are more ‘future Giselles’ than we can shake a lily at shows what great shape the company is in right now.  There is so much talent at all levels amongst the men and the women that sometimes I don’t know where to look.    My ballet cup runneth over, and I thank each and every one of the dancers, musicians, coaches and everyone else behind the scenes for an amazing two weeks of beautiful dance, with more to come no doubt.  With Koen Kessels there to guide the orchestra in a way that is sensitive to what is happening onstage but deep and lush in its sound, this must surely be another very special era in the history of this company.  Long may it last. 

Well, Sim, with descriptive powers like yours, who needs the train!  Thank-you for bringing it to life so wonderfully.

[Scheherezade]

1 hour ago, aileen said:

How do my views deny your right to express your views, Scheherazade? You are the one who used the inflammatory term 'Ball-bashing'. 

 

What a lot of fuss over very little, particularly since I explicitly defended your right to put your views but, since you ask, Aileen, your over-reaction to my observations regarding the anti-Ball sentiment expressed on the forum can equally be read as an attempt to curtail my right to express them.

 

As to the phrase 'Ball-bashing', why do you consider this inflammatory and how else would you describe the various suggestions that Ball has been given undeserved opportunities purely due to his nationality and appearance, that he is an unworthy partner for Naghdi, has no technical or characterisation skills and is being progressed too fast?

 

For the record, anyone who holds those views is equally entitled both to hold them and to express them. And those who disagree are entitled to hold and express those conflicting views. Can we now let this drop?

 

[Sim]

Awww thanks Penelope. I am so sorry about your train disaster. May it never happen again.  😡😫😱

[Scheherezade]

I would suggest, by the way, that Ball's progression over some of his gifted contemporaries has at least something to do with the undeniable chemistry that he shares with Naghdi and that the additional PR coverage given to Hayward may have been due in part to the rapidity of her rise to principal. Takada, Hirano and Campbell were considerably more experienced.

[aileen]

Perhaps you're over-reacting, Scheherazade. And I can do without your patronising 'what a lot of fuss over very little'. 

Edited February 11, 2018 by aileen

[Scheherezade]

4 minutes ago, aileen said:

Perhaps you're over-reacting, Scheherazade.

 

Actually, Aileen, I just enjoy arguing. Or, to be more specific, playing devil's advocate. Although I do hold to my views.

Edited February 11, 2018 by Scheherezade

[aileen]

Well, it's becoming boring. My subjective opinion is no more or less valid than yours. I'm not going to comment further on the thread because it's become quite sour. 

[Lizbie1]

Maybe we're all a bit overwrought after Friday and Saturday

[jmhopton]

What else can I add to the other wonderful reviews for last weekends brilliant performances, except 'WOW! (and even that's already been said.) It's so wonderful to think that we have such amazing dancers just starting performing principal roles and think of all the years we have seeing them develop and perfect their art even more. We are so lucky in this country to have such fantastic dancers and an equally fantastic Company (the corps de ballet are so vital for ballets such as Giselle and soon for Swan lake and - hopefully next season, please?-  for Bayadere).

Francesca and Alex were really stunning together. Especially in the second act her jumps were so high and light it did bring back memories of Alina and they went together so well, as if they had been princpals together for years and not just over a year. But though they seemed so experienced they brought a freshness to the role and make you feel you were experiencing the ballet almost for the first time.

Yasmine and Matthew were also amazing. She may have been a little nervous to start with as, unlike Francesca, she hadn't done the full rehearsal to an audience or the Schools matinee (a pity perhaps she couldn't have done one then they would both have performed before their official debuts). However, you would never have known that and her innate musicality and luxurious ports de bras made her performance really special. Her mad scene too I found really touching in a way that I've found few others and I was virtually in tears when the interval came. But it was Matthew's performance that really surprised me (in the nicest possible way). I was very close to the stage and just the way he made his first entrance really got my attention; his very bearing seemed to epitomise the Romantic Hero he was meant to be and (for me at least) he just got better. He gave everything he had to his solos and pas de deux in the second act and also in the acting. I always thought Yasmine was rather ahead of him both in technique and acting and hoped she wouldn't be 'held back' by a not too experienced partner. Though she still may have a slight edge Matthew seems to be catching up and I am disappointed not to see them together in Swan Lake though (as someone has already pointed out) hopefully Osipova will develop his acting and technique even more and stand him in good stead for more future partnering with Yasmine. After the performance they both came to the stage door (Yasmine still in full make up!) and chatted and posed for photographs for quite a while which was lovely as they must have been exhausted.

I can only hope that next season will enable some of their brilliant performances to be shown at the cinema for all the world to appreciate the great and unique talent currently in performance at the Royal Ballet. As Jeffrey Taylor from the Express said 'There is something going on at the Royal Ballet; and it's very good'.

[Don Q Fan]

1 hour ago, Nina G. said:

 

THANK YOU so much Don Q Fan for these lovely memorable photos!  I was sitting too far away to take photos during the curtain call. The photo with flowers was the very first batch the ushers delivered on stage, so many more followed. She clearly has many adoring fans.             I picked up the courage to go and meet Yasmine Naghdi at the Stage Door, we did not have to wait all that long, and she was still in her Giselle hairdo and in full make-up. She must have been exhausted but she spent time talking to everyone waiting at the Stage Door to meet her, she patiently posed with many who asked to have her photo taken, and signed the programmes. She is so friendly and kind, first time I met her personally and able to have a brief chat with her, and I was so moved. 

You're welcome, glad you like. So pleased you met Yasmine after she's lovely with fans. Sadly I didn't wait at the door yesterday as I dashed over to the V&A. 

[LinMM]

Yes many thanks for the piccies Don Q always very much appreciated and nice to have a brief chat sorry couldn't have been for longer. 

[Odyssey]

5 minutes ago, jmhopton said:

What else can I add to the other wonderful reviews for last weekends brilliant performances, except 'WOW! (and even that's already been said.) It's so wonderful to think that we have such amazing dancers just starting performing principal roles and think of all the years we have seeing them develop and perfect their art even more. We are so lucky in this country to have such fantastic dancers and an equally fantastic Company (the corps de ballet are so vital for ballets such as Giselle and soon for Swan lake and - hopefully next season, .

As Jeffrey Taylor from the Express said 'There is something going on at the Royal Ballet; and it's very good'.

This final quote would make a good new thread for conversation - just why is the Royal Ballet blessed with so much new talent at all levels, how likely is it that will these young principals and soloists will go on to achieve 'great things' and how difficult will it be for Kevin O'Hare keep so much talent content? Not sure what the thread should be called though!

[bangorballetboy]

I’m a little perturbed that Lindsay believes Ball to have been cast over Sambé, given that Sambé was originally cast to dance alongside Hayward, but was unable to do so due to a longer recovery time from his injury than was hoped.

[bangorballetboy]

19 minutes ago, Don Q Fan said:

You're welcome, glad you like. So pleased you met Yasmine after she's lovely with fans. Sadly I didn't wait at the door yesterday as I dashed over to the V&A. 

 

Funny, we also rushed off to the V&A (Winnie the Pooh)!

[Nina G.]

28 minutes ago, jmhopton said:

Yasmine and Matthew were also amazing. She may have been a little nervous to start with as, unlike Francesca, she hadn't done the full rehearsal to an audience or the Schools matinee (a pity perhaps she couldn't have done one then they would both have performed before their official debuts). However, you would never have known that and her innate musicality and luxurious ports de bras made her performance really special. Her mad scene too I found really touching in a way that I've found few others and I was virtually in tears when the interval came

 

That's correct, Yasmine told me at Stage Door when I asked her,  that she and Matthew Ball had only had the Pre-General closed rehearsal leading up to their debut. I didn't detect any nerves from her, maybe it took her a moment to really get into the role after a three week gap.

[penelopesimpson]

3 hours ago, Lindsay said:

Like Aileen, I believe I am entitled to an opinion.  I was simply wondering why, when there are several other upcoming male dancers available whose classical technique appears to me clearly superior to Ball’s (and I’m not talking about stumbles here - the very best dancers stumble or trip) and who have put in excellent performances in full length classics (James Hay in SB was extraordinary and Sambe in Fille was a revelation) this particular dancer is being given so much exposure.  My surmise is that the company likes to promote upcoming British principals in an attempt to replicate the ‘Darcy’ effect. Why, for example, did Hayward receive so much publicity when Takada, Hirano and Campbell were promoted at the same time? All four are excellent dancers but obviously her ‘story’ is considered most likely to resonate with the British public; it certainly does not hurt a dancer’s profile if they have an attractive face and the PR department has their job to do. 

 

This is not an attack on anyone - just a statement of an opinion which i believe is reasonable and based on many years of watching ballet.  I have very much enjoyed Matthew Ball’s performances in McGregor’s work.   But, having now seen him in several full lengths, I do not think he is the company’s best available choice for a classical lead.

I think a little bit of perspective might be useful. 

 

Matthew Ball has been given one performance of Giselle in a partnership that clearly thrilled the audience last time around.  Hardly massive exposure; surely just an obvious development step, the sort young soloists are usually given.

 

The Sambe question is moot; he was cast but is injured.  He will doubtless be cast again as, I expect, will James Hay.

 

Only in Britain could it seem odd that home-grown talent attracts high-profile attention.  It would be the same in any country, but that is a far cry from thinking that KOH gives priority to British dancers when clearly he does not.  He buys in, promotes and develops according to the talents at his disposal.  His thinking is in line with the audience for ballet who, IMHO, care not a jot what nationality the dancer before them is.  If it were otherwise, how would we account for the legions of fans of Rojo, Cojocaru, Acosta, Nunez, Osipova and many more?  In contrast, Cuthbertson is a wonderful British dancer and I mean no disrespect when I say that she does not seem to have had the sort of following/publicity that non-British dancers have enjoyed.

 

As for publicity, you will find that the PR department uses what it has to generate interest in ballet at ROH.  There is no deliberate decision to promote dancers from this country but, If it is a story of new young Principals who are home-grown, then they are pushing at an open door.  The media will  always gravitate towards a story that has local or national interest and in the case of Hayward and Naghdi, both were relatively young when promoted which added to their interest.  Akane Takada and Hirano and Campbell were all much more experienced dancers and therefore the obvious publicity hooks just weren't there.  That said, Mr. Campbell has done very well for column inches lately.  

 

RB is composed of dancers of so many nationalities and long may it remain so.  Please don't lets start seeing reds under the bed when clearly there aren't any.

[Jan McNulty]

Sorry to be a bit off topic but various people have been mentioning the breadth of talent currently in the RB.  

 

I agree with this but would also say that looking around the other big UK companies the breadth of talent within them at the moment is also remarkable.  It seems to me that ballet-watchers are enjoying a golden period for ballet and long may it continue!

[alison]

14 hours ago, Richard LH said:

This  Telegraph reviewer agrees (and gives suitably effusive praise for Francesca along the way) ! 

 

Does he ever not?

 

11 hours ago, Jamesrhblack said:

and the choreographic and musical text seems to be about as good as it is likely to be, although I do miss the more extended version of Myrthe’s solo and the fugue for the Villis that can still be experienced in the ENB / Skeaping version.

 

 

Not to mention the Ashton girl's solo: I now feel the ballerina is a bit short-changed, especially when a principal is dancing it.

 

Quote

Whether its Borg / McEnroe, Callas / Tebaldi, or indeed Hayward / Naghdi, people will seek to set one over the other, and yet was it not Martina Navratilova who said that if Chris Evert hadn’t been around at the same time, each might have won more titles but been a less good player.

 

Very true.  (And carrying on the tennis analogy, Nadal and Federer have said the same).

 

10 hours ago, capybara said:

Oh, Kevin O'Hare, why did you schedule two debut shows within 24 hours?

 

2 hours ago, LinMM said:

First Im going to start with a gripe but not at the dancers! 

PLEASE could the powers that be NOT do this again....put two debut performances SO close together!! 

Actually I really do feel genuinely annoyed about this.

I know some people can go and see lots of performances one after the other and it's no problem but unfortunately I'm not one of them.

If a performance has really got to me I want to be able to absorb that experience and certainly usually don't want or need to see the ballet again for a while ....certainly not within a week....let alone just 15 hours later!

But because I love equally both these two dancers I somehow had to go to both their debuts but would have appreciated more space.

This is particularly because I loved Friday nights performance with Hayward and Campbell so much it was very difficult even for an old hand like me to get my head and heart around going again to see Naghdi and Ball so soon after.

 

 

I'm giving KOH the benefit of the doubt on this one and assuming that he thought that, since both performances were likely to be of great interest to ballet fans, he'd save those who had to travel long distances the trouble and expense of making 2 trips.  But yes, I agree - I didn't feel I'd "digested" the Hayward/Campbell performance before the other one was on us!  I'd originally thought that I wouldn't be able to manage the two in such close proximity, and was wondering which one I would had to sacrifice, but thankfully that all worked out.

 

6 hours ago, RuthE said:

I can only speculate that it may not be possible to do something about it surgically without risking her career. 

 

I think I've seen indications that bunion surgery tends to be pretty much a last resort.

 

5 hours ago, Sim said:

Alina Cojocaru always had a huge bunion on her foot but this sure never affected my awe and appreciation of her artistry and her performances!

 

Me neither, although I'll admit I did try not to spend too much time looking at her feet.

 

4 hours ago, Sim said:

Yasmine danced with Matthew and with Alexander Campbell in the pas de six this run.  I guess they just enjoy doing it....or they're a good lead for the other two girls?  

 

Don't forget as well, once dancers get to Principal level there tends to be a sudden decrease in stage time, so possibly they appreciate the extra chance to get on stage.

 

3 hours ago, RuthE said:

 

And you will see elsewhere on this thread that you are not alone in your opinion - specifically, post #150 from jamesrhblack.

 

Totally digressing here, Ruth, but how did you get hold of the post number?  It's one of the things I find really frustrating about the new forum software, that posts no longer have numbers, so you have to refer to them by poster name and time/date.

[aliceinwoolfland]

Just wanted to add that Francesca Hayward and Alexander Campbell were both lovely and spent lots of time at the stage door talking to fans I got pictures with both of them, and they both signed my programme (alongside Kevin Emerton and Mayara Magri).

 

 

[alison]

6 hours ago, Sim said:

I loved Matthew Ball’s Albrecht.  Someone said above that his characterisation never progressed from arrogant.  I can’t understand that at all.  Let’s remember that in Act 1 he has to be arrogant, otherwise his sadness and contrition in Act 2 doesn’t work, and why would Giselle annoy Myrtha and condemn herself to never rising again if he doesn’t realise the error of his ways?

 

It's known as forgiveness - given wholeheartedly, regardless of whether or not the subject "merits" it   And does Albrecht have to be arrogant?  I've seen plenty of them who are just plain in love with Giselle - deluded, possibly, in thinking that anything could come of a relationship between a peasant and an aristocrat in that society, but not arrogant.  And surely the last thing Giselle is doing is condemning herself to never rising again.  The Wilis are the unquiet spirits of jilted girls who have died - whether through suicide, "broken heart" or maybe even pregnancy-related causes? - who take their revenge on any man they come across during the witching hours by forcing him to dance to his death.  That is the opportunity Myrtha offers Giselle, and one she roundly rejects in favour of forgiving Albrecht and protecting him from the Wilis, thus saving his life.  As a result, her spirit is quiet and can return to its grave, rather than being condemned to Wili-hood and to wander the forest at night in search of men to prey on.

 

 

3 hours ago, Scheherezade said:

As to the phrase 'Ball-bashing', why do you consider this inflammatory and how else would you describe the various suggestions that Ball has been given undeserved opportunities purely due to his nationality and appearance, that he is an unworthy partner for Naghdi, has no technical or characterisation skills and is being progressed too fast?

 

I think that's a bit of an overstatement of what people were saying.

[Sim]

Well, our perceptions are different, Alison.  😀

[LinMM]

That's a lovely picture Aliceinwoolfland! 

I don't go to the stage door these days but wish now that in the days that I did it was considered just natural to have a piccie taken too not just an autograph! I'd be able to cherish pictures of me with some very famous dancers like Nureyev and Dowell and Fonteyn Sibley , Lynn Seymour Lesley Colliier  Wayne Eagling  Natalia Makarova, Barishnikov...and so on and so on!! 

So make the most of it!! 

[RuthE]

49 minutes ago, alison said:

Totally digressing here, Ruth, but how did you get hold of the post number?  It's one of the things I find really frustrating about the new forum software, that posts no longer have numbers, so you have to refer to them by poster name and time/date.

 

I hadn’t noticed that the number no longer appears until you said that; I just knew it was the last post on page 5 of the thread, and my forum settings are to show 30 posts per page!

[Jam Dancer]

8 hours ago, alison said:

Quote

Whether its Borg / McEnroe, Callas / Tebaldi, or indeed Hayward / Naghdi, people will seek to set one over the other, and yet was it not Martina Navratilova who said that if Chris Evert hadn’t been around at the same time, each might have won more titles but been a less good player.

 

Very true.  (And carrying on the tennis analogy, Nadal and Federer have said the same).

 

True ! Their prerogative I guess but I won’t ever cease to find it tiresome and boring... 

[Richard LH]

7 hours ago, aliceinwoolfland said:

Just wanted to add that Francesca Hayward and Alexander Campbell were both lovely and spent lots of time at the stage door talking to fans I got pictures with both of them, and they both signed my programme (alongside Kevin Emerton and Mayara Magri).

That's great to hear. Well done ! 

[Jan McNulty]

8 hours ago, alison said:

 

It's known as forgiveness - given wholeheartedly, regardless of whether or not the subject "merits" it   And does Albrecht have to be arrogant?  I've seen plenty of them who are just plain in love with Giselle - deluded, possibly, in thinking that anything could come of a relationship between a peasant and an aristocrat in that society, but not arrogant.  And surely the last thing Giselle is doing is condemning herself to never rising again.  The Wilis are the unquiet spirits of jilted girls who have died - whether through suicide, "broken heart" or maybe even pregnancy-related causes? - who take their revenge on any man they come across during the witching hours by forcing him to dance to his death.  That is the opportunity Myrtha offers Giselle, and one she roundly rejects in favour of forgiving Albrecht and protecting him from the Wilis, thus saving his life.  As a result, her spirit is quiet and can return to its grave, rather than being condemned to Wili-hood and to wander the forest at night in search of men to prey on.

 

 

 

I think that's a bit of an overstatement of what people were saying.

 

My preference is to see the arrogance of youth and aristocracy that crumbles as Giselle loses her mind and he realises what he has done.  It has to come through strongly when Albrecht faces down Hilarion.  Both Alex and Matthew achieved that beautifully for me.  (Just as an aside, Wolfgang Stollwitzer, sent shivers down my spine when I saw him do that.  Matthew Lawrence looked older on stage and he played Albrecht as an ageing roué which was very effective too.  Both BRB).

 

There is much to admire in Sir Peter's production.  I particularly like the very clear mime from Berthe in Act 1.

[Ian Macmillan]

Miss Hayward and some very forbidding Wilis top the News photostream in today's Times:

 

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/news-in-pictures-82jp0mknl?shareToken=92eb471bd7ea54c475d234513c865b89

 

 

[Fonty]

I remember seeing Kobborg with Rojo, and I would say he played it as a bit of a roué as well.  I can still remember the rather obnoxious leer he gave behind Rojo's back when she was doing the "loves me, loves me not" bit.  Sticks in my mind to this day, that this Albrecht obviously thought the old droit du seigneur was perfectly acceptable.  

Edited February 12, 2018 by Fonty

[Richard LH]

15 minutes ago, Ian Macmillan said:

Miss Hayward and some very forbidding Wilis top the News photostream in today's Times:

 

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/news-in-pictures-82jp0mknl?shareToken=92eb471bd7ea54c475d234513c865b89

 

 

Another 5 star review .... https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2018/feb/12/giselle-review-francesca-hayward-ballerina-royal-opera-house-london-choreography

Deserved praise in here as well for Mayara Magri's fantastic Myrtha.