LinMM Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Well it was certainly extremely difficult making a choice of which Bayadere to go to way back whenever and I really love Muntagirov but had to choose just one performance so have gone for Corrales this time ......as I think Solor could be a particularly great role for him.....it's still Osipova and Nunez in the other main roles ...but not sure which way round they will perform the leads.... At least if yesterday's cast is for a cinema broadcast might be able to catch this again at some point as hate missing the lovely M Also loved your review Bridiem but great to read what al have to say ....I've got to wait till Monday ...and feel like a child who is looking forward to a treat but worried something might go wrong!! Am already coming up the day before so hopefully at least the trains can't be a problem!! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyTaylor Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 This was just a stunning performance: the quality of dancing from everyone was sublime - go see it at the cinema if you can't get a live ticket!! Sometimes Marianela just seems to float through the air into Vadim's arms and his solos were utterly sublime. I had the joy of meeting him afterwards and he is just so unassuming and totally delightful. It will also be very interesting to see what happens when the 2 ballerinas switch roles with Cesar Corrales as Solor. How will the dynamics change. I loved them both in their current roles - what a challenge to switch. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmhopton Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Reading all these wonderful reviews and dreaming of my Baydere's still to come my only regret is that Hayward has not been given a chance to make her mark on this most beautiful of classical ballets. I would have loved a Hayward/Ball/Naghdi cast which I'm sure would have been amazing. Also a disappointment she's not getting a Don Q. My ideal casts for Don Q would include a Hayward/Sambe and Naghdi/Ball casts but I suppose we have to leave some treats for the future. As it is can't wait to see last nights cast next Thursday and at the cinema (possibly twice) and also Yasmine's debut a week tomorrow and Osipova with Coralles whom I don't think I've ever seen. We are so lucky with the RB at the moment. So many amazing dancers to see and one of the best (if not the best) corps de ballet in the world. We are indeed in ballet heaven (if only it wasn't so expensive!) 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliceinwoolfland Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 I imagine Hayward wasn't cast because of her role in Cats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 I'm not usually one these days to go back stage etc after performances but after the Russian Icons Gala nearly two years ago now I was going to the bus stop and walking round the back of the Coli when sort of bumped into him on his way home!! Because so close I couldn't resist saying how much I enjoyed his dancing and he was just so sweet and thanked me for enjoying his dancing and he said he was really pleased I did etc ( gulp!) and gave a beaming smile. I would have quite liked to have taken him home with me!! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmhopton Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 11 minutes ago, aliceinwoolfland said: I imagine Hayward wasn't cast because of her role in Cats. I've only just seen the Cats posting. This would explain a lot. I did wonder if her lack of featuring in the major ballets was due to other commitments. Am relieved to find this is true and not just that she is not being selected for major roles. Also looking forward to seeing her in Cats which I've never seen. However, hope she's back to do 2 Pigeons as I booked it specifically to see her as there didn't seem to be many other opportunities and now we know why. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmhopton Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 8 minutes ago, LinMM said: I would have quite liked to have taken him home with me!! Yes I always feel like this whenever I see Vadim at the stage door. He is so charming and modest; every compliment seems to take him by surprise (you wonder why after all this time!) and has a smile that could light up London. Also he's usually out fairly quick so you don't have to wait for ages. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graemew Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 I wonder what there was about the fame and fortune promised by a major film role that attracted Frankie? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xandra Newman Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 48 minutes ago, jmhopton said: and also Yasmine's debut a week tomorrow and Osipova with Coralles whom I don't think I've ever seen. We are so lucky with the RB at the moment. So many amazing dancers to see and one of the best (if not the best) corps de ballet in the world. We are indeed in ballet heaven (if only it wasn't so expensive!) Jmhopton, Yasmine Naghdi's debut dancing Gamzatti is tomorrow evening. She'll dance the role again on Tuesday 6th and on Saturday 10th Matinee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Newcombe Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 2 hours ago, Xandra Newman said: I am looking forward to seeing this cast in the cinema. With this cast we get two highly experienced, older female principals plus the glorious Muntagirov plus two young female Principals and a First Soloist as Solo Shades. I am very much looking forward to seeing the two younger principals' take on Nikiya and Gamzatti. Add to that 4 First Soloists, 2 Soloists and 2 very good corps members in the pas de action. Luxury casting all round 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 21 minutes ago, Tony Newcombe said: ........ and 2 very good corps members in the pas de action. Luxury casting all round One of those corps members (Letitia Dias) initially had a contract with BRB. Nice to see her getting an opportunity - although it might have been because Anna-Rose O'Sullivan is now dancing Tarantella in New York. [ I know, I know - speculation is naughty; but we shall see on this one...........!!! ] 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Letitia Dias was another one who did a Blog when she attended the Prix de Lausanne and won it!! It may have been the same year as Caesar ( 2013) or the following year....before they started live streaming it anyway. I used to quite like the blogs anyway. She was very good and still so young back then so it is good to see her perhaps getting more chances she seemed like someone who would at the very least make a main soloist in a Company. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 I am always drawn to Letitia when she is on the stage. My daughter and I were saying after the show last night that she has real presence, and some light behind the eyes and in her smile. She exudes the feeling that she loves what she is doing. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nogoat Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 It was slightly surreal to go to the Opera House last night to see a ballet about an arranged royal marriage in a patriarchal society, competing love interests, intrigue, drugs and murder, but then find La Bayadere printed across the top of the cast sheet instead of Mayerling! But beyond the irresistible temptation to superimpose Franz Josef's clothes on those of Thomas Whitehead's Rajah (he did a similar, and wonderful, job as both!) La Bayadere managed the non-trivial task of shifting the focus of my attention. And wow! If the quality of last night's performance is where they start the run, where on earth are they going to end it? Putting Nunez and Osipova on stage together in antagonistic roles is like throwing sodium into water - it pops and fizzes in a mightily powerful way! The last time I saw them playing off each other (Anastasia doesn't count as they don't interact) was in Giselle, with Nunez as Myrtha: having two equally powerful, but opposite, forces competing for Matthew Golding's life and soul produced a spectacular dynamic. This also applied last night; Vadim was being torn apart by two competing forms of love - the pure, innocent, reciprocated love of Nunez's Nikiya and the more pragmatic, 'entitled' (but no less intense) love that was Osipova's Gamzatti. The three of them locked together on stage to form a tripod that elevated the whole performance to a different level. And just what is it that gives them their star quality/stage presence? Nunez radiates Nunez - which explains everything and nothing about her. Last night she focussed those energies firmly on transmuting herself into Nikiya, and I thought the result was sublime. And the smile she gave us in the curtain calls! She's got it. I've seen Muntagirov outside the stage door; he looks like thousands of other young men on the streets of London; he doesn't stand out - he's not particularly tall for a start. So how on earth does he transform himself onstage into a seven foot tall epitome of grace, authority and grandeur? He's got it. I once spotted Osipova in central London, from what seemed about 50 yards away; she's got it, even off stage. And on stage she has it in spades. I never thought I'd be in the position of having to choose between watching the wonderful D'Jampee dancers and watching Gamzatti play chess - but I had to last night, and the chess won out much of the time! Osipova turned a straightforward chess board (which others hardly engage with) from a stage prop into an exposition of her character; the intense, hungry stares she gave Muntagirov, and her reaches toward him spoke volumes of her burning desire (if anyone looked at me that way I think I'd either drop dead or run away, but there again I'm not a noble warrior); her immersion in the game and him, to the virtual exclusion of others, told us of her intention to play to win him. That was sheer class. She is also superb at imbuing small movements with meaning; her slow, fixated advance across stage towards Vadim at the end of Act 2 was that of a lioness (admittedly one clothed in military-grade bling) closing in confidently and irresistibly on its target - there is incredible power implied in slow, controlled movement. And her Act 3 solo was simply sublime - the fluidity, musicality and expression were spot on (and the audience knew it and reacted accordingly). And how about Isabella Gasparini? Admittedly she was on the front row of the corps once they'd come down the ramp, but she just stood out without doing anything to draw attention to herself; she was 'just' a cog in that well-oiled machine, but she couldn't hide her natural stage presence. A few other points and pluses... Boris Gruzin did great things with pacing the orchestra to the on-stage action. The audience seemed very receptive and appreciative, and rightly gave Makarova a fabulous ovation when she was fetched on-stage by Muntagirov. And it was lovely to see Osipova clapping when Vadim and Marianela took their bow at the curtain call. The relationship between the three protagonists has been subtly tweaked and clarified, at least compared to the Acosta/Rojo DVD. For the death of Nikiya at the end of Act 1, Solor and Gamzatti leave the stage, Nikiya drops the bottle of antidote, falls to the ground, and the High Brahmin rushes over to her lifeless body. Last night, Solor paused at the wings as Gamzatti left on her own; he looked back at Nikiya as if to say 'I have to do this', she dropped to the floor and it was Solor who rushed back to cradle her body (very Giselle-like, said my partner). Also, in Act 3, Muntagirov's gesture to Gamzatti (after the booby-trapped flowers have been given to her and discarded) was a pointed finger at the end of a pointing arm - very clearly accusatory. All very positive so far, but there were a few things that caused me to take note... Given how brilliant Marianela is at classical, 'tutu' work, I did end up wondering if her Act 2 performance was a tiny (emphasis on the tiny, folks!!) bit below par - though that might reflect unrealistic expectations on my part, having just seen a fabulous Act 1 (and writing this now, having seen a brilliant Act 3). I know this will be controversial in some quarters, but I was unimpressed by Campbell's Bronze Idol - for me there was a general lack of sharpness and elevation. My partner suggested this morning that I look on YouTube at other performances such as Kumakawa's or Sambe's (Ballet Evolved Insight Evening) and, yes, I stand by what I thought at the time. I can understand (just about) the use of a scrim screen to give an aura of otherworldliness to Act 2, but why on earth is it still there in Act 3? Why try to make it more difficult to see 'real' things happening on stage? Heaven knows it's difficult enough to make out detail on the stage from the Amphi at the best of times, so why make it even more so? I don't deliberately smear my glasses with Vaseline to lend a bit of atmosphere to my perception of daily life, so why bother here? The dancers, choreography, lighting and music are perfectly capable of doing that, thank you. And if that means trading in a few projected rocks falling down (or not, as was the case last night) at the end for a better view throughout, then that's fine by me. I know there's no relationship between the size of a poisonous creature and how deadly its venom is, but can we please have a decent-sized snake for the booby-trapped flower-basket scene? And maybe one a bit less drab - as poisonous things often advertise themselves with colour. That it didn't even uncoil last night to reveal its usual, majestic (one foot?) length meant it didn't even look like a snake; for all I know, it could have been a small hoopla ring being thrown around. 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 (edited) Yes that's definitely the impression she gave when dancing in the Prix. One of those dancers who sort of lights up and transforms once on that stage! In reply to Sim's post! Edited November 2, 2018 by LinMM 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beryl H Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 I saw the Giselle Act 2 with Marianela Nunez and Natalia Osipova, agree it was out of this world, so I'm looking forward to the cinema relay, but really disappointed that the scrim is still being used, it ruins the view, at least from the amphi, since it doesn't seem to be on the Rojo/Acosta Blu-Ray I hope it will be discarded for this filmed performance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 My daughter and I were also bemoaning the scrim last night. When you look through binocs from the amphi, it is a real struggle to get a clear picture. The only reason it's used in both acts is for video projections. Last night we had to have a scrim and then the projections didn't work anyway (in Act 3). And I agree with Nogoat, I would rather do without the falling rocks and have a scrim-free final act. I know I said the rocks make it clearer to those who don't know the ballet very well, but there could be another way to convey this. The same with the opium-induced fog and clouds in Solor's drug-addled mind; there must be another way to do this without needing a video projection. I deeply dislike scrims so unless there is a very good reason for their use (and I can't think of many), ban them I say!! We were also saying what a pity it is that Makarova cut part of Nikiya's final solo.....towards the end the music gets fast and she goes with the pace, seemingly becoming mad with grief, when she is then bitten and put out of her misery. I guess they had to ensure they could fit in Act 3..... 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Newcombe Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 With regard to Sim’s posting above, that part of the solo was danced by Asylmuratova when she guested in the early nineties. The suspicion is that Makarova did not like dancing that particular bit of the solo. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 39 minutes ago, Beryl H said: I saw the Giselle Act 2 with Marianela Nunez and Natalia Osipova, agree it was out of this world, so I'm looking forward to the cinema relay, but really disappointed that the scrim is still being used, it ruins the view, at least from the amphi, since it doesn't seem to be on the Rojo/Acosta Blu-Ray I hope it will be discarded for this filmed performance! yes, its ghastly isn't it. As I recall, in order to let the cameras film properly, they did away with the scrim for that performance only. Best one I've seen! No amount of persuading, begging, or whatever, can get Makarova to change it by all accounts, so we are stuck with it 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 10 minutes ago, zxDaveM said: No amount of persuading, begging, or whatever, can get Makarova to change it by all accounts, so we are stuck with it More's the pity. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 You don't mean that solo where the Dance suddenly gets to a breakneck speed.....I hope that is not cut I really love that bit!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMC Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 I was 'only' at the rehearsal so know I shouldn't comment but what a treat for £4 to see Muntagirov, Nunez and Osipiva - and all the others too numerous to mention - at the top of their game. Luxury casting indeed. Despite sitting quite high in the amphi, I don't think I will forget in quite a while some of the looks Natalia gave Marienela. Her 'for goodness sake get on with it' during the dance with the basket of flowers was priceless, as was her nod to Muntagirov as they went off at the end of that scene as though to say 'good boy, you're doing the right thing being with me'. It will be SO interesting to see the role switch on Monday night (assuming I've got my dates and casts right!). 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naomi M Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 12 hours ago, Jam Dancer said: 😫😢☹️😱😡😔😖 - sorry-just despair and resignation here as won’t get to any of the performances but loving the reviews! Slinking off to figure out when cinema performance likely to land in Tokyo. La Bayadere will be screened in Japan from January 18th. (Mayerling from December 7th, currently I am working on the subtitles for the intermission talk) http://tohotowa.co.jp/roh/ 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPa1vut1fF8&feature=share Is this the solo that has been cut? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mummykool Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 2 minutes ago, LinMM said: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPa1vut1fF8&feature=share Is this the solo that has been cut? From 4.05 onwards is no longer performed. It was cut in the last run of Bayadere also. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nogoat Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 1 hour ago, Sim said: I deeply dislike scrims so unless there is a very good reason for their use (and I can't think of many), ban them I say!! On the DVD of Frankenstein, the scene where Victor is at his mother's grave and is joined by Elizabeth happens behind a scrim. Unfortunately, there is a small repair patch on it that, in some closeups, sits between Bonelli's face and the camera. It could almost be mistaken for an insect crawling around on him. I'd have thought they might have fixed that in post-production... The trouble is - like the darning on Mary Vetsera's negligee - once you've seen it it's hard to avoid noticing it next time, and the time after that, etc. So, apologies for pointing it out... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 If only there was some way of lowering it when it's actually needed 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Oh that is a shame it is very fast but so exciting....I loved Makarova as a dancer but I guess she always did take things on the slow side come to think of it........though can't imagine that she couldn't nevertheless have performed the ending of this solo in her hey day.....I wonder if there is another reason eg: was it added on at some point in the past and she was going back to some original version? Would be a bit naughty of her to cut choreography completely because she didn't like doing it so nobody else gets to do it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 The gauze is not the only long-running ‘issue’ with Makarova. Word has it that some Solors have sought to ditch the turban. I wish they’d succeeded! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 34 minutes ago, Mummykool said: From 4.05 onwards is no longer performed. It was cut in the last run of Bayadere also. I don't think it's ever been performed in the RB production - well, not officially, anyway, regardless of what Asylmuratova may have done? I think Makarova said something about why she left it out recently - maybe at the Ballet Association? If so, we'll have to wait for the report and see if it's made the cut or not 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard LH Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 2 minutes ago, alison said: I don't think it's ever been performed in the RB production - well, not officially, anyway, regardless of what Asylmuratova may have done? I think Makarova said something about why she left it out recently - maybe at the Ballet Association? If so, we'll have to wait for the report and see if it's made the cut or not Funnily enough I watched that Bolshoi version the other day and thought at the time how the sudden speed up in this solo was jarring and inappropriate to the narrative...mind you I found a lot of other things wrong with that performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmhopton Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Looking at the ROH casting for Bayadere for Sat 3rd Nov they have got Takada, McRae, Naghdi which is what I thought it should be. However for Tues 6th and Saturday 10th Nov they have got McRae, Naghdi, Takada which seems to indicate Yasmine is dancing Nikya. I take it this is a mistake? I thought Yasmine was only supposed to be dancing Gamzatti and not alternating roles like Nunez and Osipova. Looking further down the casting the Ball/Cuthbertson/Magri casting appears to show Magri is dancing Nikya which must be incorrect. You think the ROH could ensure their wonderful new website doesn't make such elementary errors. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 47 minutes ago, jmhopton said: Looking at the ROH casting for Bayadere for Sat 3rd Nov they have got Takada, McRae, Naghdi which is what I thought it should be. However for Tues 6th and Saturday 10th Nov they have got McRae, Naghdi, Takada which seems to indicate Yasmine is dancing Nikya. I take it this is a mistake? I thought Yasmine was only supposed to be dancing Gamzatti and not alternating roles like Nunez and Osipova. Looking further down the casting the Ball/Cuthbertson/Magri casting appears to show Magri is dancing Nikya which must be incorrect. You think the ROH could ensure their wonderful new website doesn't make such elementary errors. Yes the order is a little mixed up for various dates on the summary page, however if you click on the date it confirms that it's not Yasmine that dances Nikiya but Boris Gruzin 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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