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The Royal Ballet: Les Patineurs, Winter Dreams, The Concert, December 2018


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A small impression from Friends rehearsal earlier. It's a terrific triple, I enjoyed all three ballets enormously. Have to mention Muntagirov just blew me away in Winter Dreams. He was simply outstanding, dancing of extraordinary beauty, acting of great intensity and passion. 

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Just now, annamk said:

A small impression from Friends rehearsal earlier. It's a terrific triple, I enjoyed all three ballets enormously. Have to mention Muntagirov just blew me away in Winter Dreams. He was simply outstanding, dancing of extraordinary beauty, acting of great intensity and passion. 

 

Thanks for this, he was the main reason I booked to see this cast!

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16 minutes ago, annamk said:

A small impression from Friends rehearsal earlier. It's a terrific triple, I enjoyed all three ballets enormously. Have to mention Muntagirov just blew me away in Winter Dreams. He was simply outstanding, dancing of extraordinary beauty, acting of great intensity and passion. 

 

Agree. It's sooooooooo frustrating when one sees a rehearsal like this (especially from Muntagirov) but saying too much on here is, quite rightly, taboo!

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1 hour ago, annamk said:

A small impression from Friends rehearsal earlier. It's a terrific triple, I enjoyed all three ballets enormously. Have to mention Muntagirov just blew me away in Winter Dreams. He was simply outstanding, dancing of extraordinary beauty, acting of great intensity and passion. 

I’m sorry I’m going to

misd this...I really would be pleased to have him find his “special” MacMillan role. I liked him as the boy in the Invitation and as Romeo too, sadly didn’t see his Des Grieux, but I feel Winter Dreams could be perfect for him.

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Whilst I wait for my friend to arrive... First night casting (as advertised - no changes according to programme seller) if useful for fellow ballet co’ers: 

 

Les Patineurs 

 

Pas des Patineurs

Annette Buvoli, Leticia Dias, Julia Roscoe, Gina Storm-Jensen, David Donnelly, Teo Dubreuil, Kevin Emerson, Joseph Sissens

 

Entree

Yuhui Choe, Anna Rose O’Sullivan

 

Variation

Marcelino Sambe

 

Pas de deux

Fumi Kaneko, William Bracewell 

 

Pas de deux filles

Mayara Magri, Beatriz Stix-Brunell 

 

Winter Dreams 

 

Olga - Itziar Mendizabal

Masha - Marianela Nunez

Irina - Yasmine Naghdi

Andrey Prozorov - Valentino Zuchetti

Natasha - Lara Turk

Kulygin - Bennet Gartside 

Lt Col Vershinin - Thiago Soares

Lt Baron Tusenbach - William Bracewell 

Captain Solyony - Nicol Edmonds

Dr Chebutykin - Christopher Saunders 

Anfisa - Kristen McNally 

Maid - Hannah Grennell 

Soldiers - Leo Dixon, David Donnelly, Kevin Emerton, Erico Montes 

 

The Concert 

 

Lauren Cuthbertson, Bennet Gartside, Laura Morera, Tristan Dyer, Nicol Edmonds, Kristen McNally, Meaghan Grace Hingis, Beatriz Stix-Brunel, Mica Bradbury, Ashley Dean, Leticia Dias, Isabella Gasparini, Romany Padjak, Leo Dixon, David Donnelly, Teo Deubreuil, Kevin Emerton, Tomas Mock, Erico Montes, Giacomo Rovero, Joseph Sissens 

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Yes unfortunately when I politely asked if there were any cast changes I was given a very firm ‘no’ but clearly the news hadn’t made it that far. Bennett Gartside was replaced by Gary Avis in Winter Dreams, and Nehemiah Kish in The Concert.

 

I do hope Mr Gartside recovers from his injury quickly. 

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33 minutes ago, Riva said:

Yes unfortunately when I politely asked if there were any cast changes I was given a very firm ‘no’ but clearly the news hadn’t made it that far.

 

Strange how information that's in the public domain apparently isn't known at the ROH. :angry:  Or perhaps someone just thought they were unimportant roles. Who knows.

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I fantastic evening. I thought the whole thing was magnificent and wonderfully put together. It is a bit of a relief because apart from Infra I haven't much liked anything recently.

 

Sambé was memorable in Patineur. Nunez and Soares passionate and longing in winter Dreams and the Concert was just a dream. 

 

I truly enjoyed it and so did everyone around me. So well done for the Christmas alternative. 

 

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Apologies if this has already been posted elsewhere, but there's a lovely picture of Beatriz Stix-Brunell and Mayara Magri in Tuesday's Times: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/news-in-pictures-tuesday-december-18-2018-62768tgpz?shareToken=0cbc133cbda0c987fde6c5cd1dae2cff

 

(Scroll down; I hope the sharing link works.)

Edited by Lizbie1
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15 minutes ago, bridiem said:

 

Strange how information that's in the public domain apparently isn't known at the ROH. :angry:  Or perhaps someone just thought they were unimportant roles. Who knows.

I'm sure that this was very frustrating, but what did you think of the Triple bill?

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22 minutes ago, bridiem said:

 

Strange how information that's in the public domain apparently isn't known at the ROH. :angry:  Or perhaps someone just thought they were unimportant roles. Who knows.

I also saw it on Twitter first. There was no mention when I bought my programme at 6:30ish. I went back and out of devilment asked for a cast change slip (7:15). I was told they didn't do them and there was a display board - well you really had to look carefully to find it. I was astonished they didn't announce it in the theatre at curtain up. These were 2 major cast changes. Really bad

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This Triple Bill is a refreshing change from the Nutcracker and I loved all three ballets. I thought Marianella Nunez (Masha) and Yasmine Naghdi (Irina) were totally outstanding in the individual portrayal of their character as well as their dancing. Nunez and Naghdi made watching Winter Dreams worthwhile!  Very unimpressed with Soares :(.  William Bracewell was wonderful too and his duet with Yasmine Naghdi very moving. Looking forward to seeing tomorrow's Lamb/Muntagirov/Naghdi cast.

Sambe was superb (no surprise) as the Blue Boy in Patineurs, Cuthberson and Morera fabulous in The Concert. 

Edited by Xandra Newman
typo
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Best Triple Bill in a while and,  as we have come to expect, all beautifully danced. Adored Patineurs and The Concert. Winter Dreams feels much too long, even if it is trying to transmit the boredom and sense of being trapped that some of the characters are experiencing. In the first interval, I overheard a little girl say how the first ballet only felt five minutes long. 

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A glorious triple bill. Would that they were all like this!  Certainly not tempted to sit out any ballet in the programme tonight. Les Patineurs a total delight with Marcelino Sambe nailing those quick turns right at the end as the curtain comes down. It's just so pretty and aesthetically pleasing. 

Then Winter Dreams where we had the delight of Marianela, Thiago and Gary Avis. I think some of the audience found this ballet a little hard going to start and you definitely need to know the story beforehand. The dancing was impeccable and apart from the aforesaid 3, I particularly enjoyed Will Bracewell as  Lt Baron Tusenbach (in love with Yasmin Naghdi) who brought a lot of pathos to the role - a stark contrast to his smiling, happy skating in Les Patineurs, half an hour previously.  He is one of my favourites since I was blown away by his Siegfreid.  Roll on the 2 Pigeons and Romeo.

The Concert was a delight from start to finish. Every member of the cast played their part superbly with Lauren a delight, Laura Morera nearly stealing the show, and the ballerina dance where they all go wrong absolutely priceless. A joy.

 

Go see if you can  

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Agree with the above comments.  I have never much liked Winter Dreams, but when it is danced as well as it was tonight it makes it easier for me to sit through. Patineurs and Concert were a delight.  A triple bill danced to a standard that more than does justice to three 20th century choreographic giants.

 

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46 minutes ago, JennyTaylor said:

I also saw it on Twitter first. There was no mention when I bought my programme at 6:30ish. I went back and out of devilment asked for a cast change slip (7:15). I was told they didn't do them and there was a display board - well you really had to look carefully to find it. I was astonished they didn't announce it in the theatre at curtain up. These were 2 major cast changes. Really bad

 

I managed to pick up a cast sheet in the foyer without noticing the presence of a cast change notification: it was only because someone mentioned it that I knew anyone was injured.

 

I *really* hope they're going to produce slips to cover all the changes over Christmas: it's one thing to put up a notification just for one or two dancers, but when it's a whole handful, as it's likely to be over Christmas when the cast sheets are printed rather further in advance, that's a bit different.

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I agree, Sim and felt the same regarding Winter Dreams. 

 

I would also like to echo the praise for Bracewell''s performances tonight and in general. And I would also like to add praise for Morera in particular,  and Cuthbertson. Kish was making his debut in the role tonight, I believe (not that the programme would let you know). 

 

I loved the trio of Sambe, Choe and O'Sullivan in Patineurs.

 

 

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Hello everyone this is my first crack at sharing a few thoughts from my phone on a performance on this forum, have been lurking and reading all your contributions with great interest thus far! 

 

The Concert is utterly effervescent and feels so timeless even though created in the 50s, and makes me wish we could get to see more Robbins in London. So many wonderful moments captured through Robbins' eyes:

 

- The temperamental nature of the piano player dusting off his piano before launching into a dreamy recital
- the gentle poking fun at the audience, transported by the chopin concert and irritated by any distraction such as a rustle or a bang (that was certainly us when phones went off twice during winter dreams!)
- the role of the men in ballet as female mannequin transporters
- the references to what seemed to me to be the ballet classics such as swan Lake with Cuthbertson as odette, les sylphide gone wrong, and giselle- my favourite being morera as the Queen of the Willis chasing her adulterous flighty husband down with her Willi butterflies
- the flightiness and flirtations of human interaction illustrated by the butterflies
- the piano player having enough of all of this flighty nonsense and chasing the cornucopia of butterflies in an absurd finale with his net. Just brilliant! 

 

Laura Morera and Lauren Cuthbertson have such fabulous comic timing, and Kish was a great replacement. 

 

On les patineurs, it feels like all there is to do is kick back and enjoy the joy of movement and the inventiveness of capturing the feeling of skating and enjoyment of simple wintry pleasures through ballet. Hats off to an elegant Fumi Kaneko and William Bracewell as the couple in white (I found their white flouncy hats terribly distracting though) and to Marcelino Sambe as the cheeky blue boy who wowed to the end with his spins and leaps, along with his two ladies in blue yuhui Choe and Anna rose Osullivan.

 

I like the story of the three sisters and winter dreams as a ballet. Nunez, mendizabal and Naghdi were dreamy as the three sisters, all so different in nature and yet bonded as one living in their shadowy wintry world where time seems to stand still in an almost magic realist marquez way  (while soares and nunez had great chemistry from where I was sat at the front of the Amphi, I can't help but feel slight envy at those who will be seeing muntagirov later this week). My friend commented at the end that WD didn't feel right sandwiched between les patineurs and the Concert as it didn't feel very cohesive as an evening, though as I love the story i was quite happy, but I see her point in terms of the energy of the evening. 

 

All in all, a fabulous triple which I greatly enjoyed. 

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Can't wait.

 

Is the casting currently as shown on the ROH website? I have looked before at the big screen behind the bar in the 'coffee bar' but never seen any cast changes up there...is that where to look?

The photos on the ROH website reminded me that Jonathan Cope was in Winter Dreams in 2010-  Is he coaching for this bill I wonder.

 

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1 minute ago, Mary said:

 

Is the casting currently as shown on the ROH website?

 

 

It appears to be.

 

2 minutes ago, Mary said:

I have looked before at the big screen behind the bar in the 'coffee bar' but never seen any cast changes up there...is that where to look?

 

 

Yes, the cast changes are shown on a ticker at the bottom of the screen (and this was the case yesterday evening).  There will also be cast change notices at the programme sales points.

 

2 minutes ago, Mary said:

 

The photos on the ROH website reminded me that Jonathan Cope was in Winter Dreams in 2010-  Is he coaching for this bill I wonder.

 

 

I don't think so.  The principal coaching has been by Darcey Bussell and Irek Mukhamedov.

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Loved Patineurs, an all round fabulous cast led by Sambe. His BlueBoy has it all: great elevation, super fast spins and unaffected joy - he truly lit up the stage and lifted the ballet ! 

 

The change in mood to Winter Dreams is err quite extreme and although it was warmly received, it was a slightly lukewarm reception - my daughter saw it for the first time and didn't like it at all. The cast was excellent with one caveat in that whilst Soares acted convincingly IMO it's not enough in a role which requires a significant amount of dancing.  I'm sorry to say that Soares execution of the steps was fudged at best and that really takes something meaningful away from the role. 

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,There were no change of casts slips, no notice as far as I saw, except for a small one in the amphitheatre corridor. I thought it was very rude to the dancers that no announcement was made either.

I agree with many of the above comments but would like to add that it was good to see Gary Avis in a dancing role again!

Edited by cackles
comma omitted!
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I wouldn't have known about the cast changes if I hadn't met BBB and Mrs BBB in the Floral  Hall and they mentioned it.  I got my cast sheet from an usher at the entrance to the auditorium, so I wouldn't have seen the cast change board on the sales desk.  If they aren't going to bother with cast change sheets anymore, the least they should be doing is announcing it over the tannoy just before curtain up.  It is so disrespectful to the dancers and the audience not to do this.  I heard a couple of ladies behind me saying 'that Bennet Gartside is so good as the husband, isn't he?"  I turned around and put them right, and they too had had no  idea about the changes.   Many people just dash into the auditorium and grab a cast sheet.  The ROH should not assume that everyone sees the A4 boards (especially when the desk is crowded), or walk past the screen in the downstairs canteen.  This was Gary Avis's debut in the role, and it would have been really nice if they had bothered to announce that it was him dancing.    Nehemiah Kish also gave a great performance in The Concert, and many people didn't even know it was him.  By making an announcement that takes less than one minute, they ensure that the whole audience is aware of the changes.    

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14 minutes ago, cackles said:

There were no change of casts slips, no notice as far as I saw, except for a small one in the amphitheatre corridor.

 

I arrived at the ROH about 7.05 (having been to the stage door and learned of the cast changes there, but's that's another story).  There were cast change notices at the programme points by the cloakroom and the main "red" foyer and the cast changes were on the ticker on the screens in the "new" foyer above the Linbury.

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7 minutes ago, bangorballetboy said:

 

I arrived at the ROH about 7.05 (having been to the stage door and learned of the cast changes there, but's that's another story).  There were cast change notices at the programme points by the cloakroom and the main "red" foyer and the cast changes were on the ticker on the screens in the "new" foyer above the Linbury.

 

Do you think that means there are notices at all the programme sale points? I don't go to the cafe area before performances so don't want to have to rely on that.

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