2019/20 season wish list

[Sim 13,238]

Since just about all of us have put Onegin on our wish list, I thought I would share this with you to help fill the gap.  It’s a recent and wonderful performance from Stuttgart Ballet, with the superlative cast of Vogel/Amatriain/Moore/Badenes/Reilly/Haydee.  It is beautifully filmed, and I love the way they let us enjoy all the curtain calls at the end without rushing the credits over them. I also love the emotional tributes to Marcia Haydee.  

 

You have until 28 January to enjoy it.  

 

https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/080523-000-A/oneguine/

[Richard LH 1,476]

35 minutes ago, Sim said:

 

You have until 28 January to enjoy it.  

But also now out on disc.....

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tchaikovsky-Crankos-Various-Entertainment-Blu-ray/dp/B07HN5LTVD/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1546769234&sr=1-2&keywords=onegin+ballet+cranko

[penelopesimpson 2,711]

‘Thanks, Sim.  My New Year resolution was to reduce spending but I’ve just ordered it!

[Sim 13,238]

Well worth breaking your resolution for, Penelope!  🤣

[Anna C 11,229]

Another vote for Onegin here; I’ve only seen it once and my Russian-studying daughter has never seen the RB production.  

 

Yes also to Sleeping Beauty, Fille, Coppelia, Song of the Earth, Serenade and Dances at a gathering.  I’d also love Les Patineurs back at Christmas, ideally performed with Jewels. 

[Richard LH 1,476]

1 hour ago, penelopesimpson said:

Thanks, Sim.  My New Year resolution was to reduce spending but I’ve just ordered it!

You're welcome, Penelope !

[zxDaveM 5,274]

I'd like to see Symphonic Variations, with the following cast:

Yasmine Naghdi, Francesca Hayward, Akane Takada

Vadim Muntagirov, James Hay, William Bracewell.

 

If I won the Euromillions, I'd pay a lot to see this combo put in place! 🙂

[Sharon 727]

8 hours ago, Sim said:

Since just about all of us have put Onegin on our wish list, I thought I would share this with you to help fill the gap.  It’s a recent and wonderful performance from Stuttgart Ballet, with the superlative cast of Vogel/Amatriain/Moore/Badenes/Reilly/Haydee.  It is beautifully filmed, and I love the way they let us enjoy all the curtain calls at the end without rushing the credits over them. I also love the emotional tributes to Marcia Haydee.  

 

You have until 28 January to enjoy it.  

 

https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/080523-000-A/oneguine/

Thank you So much for this Sim!

[capybara 7,898]

54 minutes ago, zxDaveM said:

I'd like to see Symphonic Variations, with the following cast:

Yasmine Naghdi, Francesca Hayward, Akane Takada

Vadim Muntagirov, James Hay, William Bracewell.

 

If I won the Euromillions, I'd pay a lot to see this combo put in place! 🙂

 

 

YESSSSSSSSSSSS, zxDaveM and, actually, variations of that combo would suit nicely for some other works as well - plus Matthew Ball in the mix too, I think.

 

 

[Fonty 3,333]

21 hours ago, zxDaveM said:

I'd like to see Symphonic Variations, with the following cast:

Yasmine Naghdi, Francesca Hayward, Akane Takada

Vadim Muntagirov, James Hay, William Bracewell.

 

If I won the Euromillions, I'd pay a lot to see this combo put in place! 🙂

 

Oh if only!  Although I would be prepared to accept Choe as one of the three.  She was pretty good when I saw her in it. 🙂

 

And now, the dream cast for Monotones 1 & 2? 

[Xandra Newman 940]

In 2015 Yasmine Naghdi, Emma Maguire and Tristan Dyer danced Monotones 1,  Marianella Nunez/Valerie Hristov/Edward Watson danced Monotones 2. I believe it was also danced in 2012/3 (?). It is a very challenging ballet requiring hyper-flexibilty in order to achieve the necessary sculptural moulding of physical shapes, combined with very firm, slow control of all the muscles. 

Not so sure about Monotones I (Takada, Magri, O'Sullivan perhaps). Since Naghdi has already danced Monotones I in 2015 (and prior to 2015 with Romany Pajdak if my memory serves me right), I'd love to see Naghdi/Muntagirov/Bracewell dance Monotones II for a change.

 

[Lizbie1 2,186]

3 minutes ago, Xandra Newman said:

Since Naghdi has already danced Monotones I in 2015 (and prior to 2015 with Romany Pajdak if my memory serves me right), I'd love to see Naghdi/Muntagirov/Bracewell dance Monotones II for a change.

 

Xandra, is there any ballet you admire which you wouldn’t like to see Yasmine Naghdi dance?

[Fonty 3,333]

23 minutes ago, Xandra Newman said:

In 2015 Yasmine Naghdi, Emma Maguire and Tristan Dyer danced Monotones 1,  Marianella Nunez/Valerie Hristov/Edward Watson danced Monotones 2. I believe it was also danced in 2012/3 (?). It is a very challenging ballet requiring hyper-flexibilty in order to achieve the necessary sculptural moulding of physical shapes, combined with very firm, slow control of all the muscles. 

 

 

Does it actually need hyper-flexibility?  Or is that something that has gradually crept in?  I remember thinking the last time I saw it, that some of the positions resembled something by Wayne McGregor.  I was left wondering  that was really how Ashton intended it to be done, or whether it was simply a case of the current dancers over extending.  

Edited January 7 by Fonty

[Xandra Newman 940]

30 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

Xandra, is there any ballet you admire which you wouldn’t like to see Yasmine Naghdi dance?

 

No Lizbie .  

Naghdi is a Principal ballerina and at the top of the company alongside the other (young) Principals Takada and Hayward whom I also very much enjoy watching (I enjoy seeing the younger ones more) but Naghdi happens to give me the greatest pleasure whenever I watch her dance and she springs to my mind easily. I adore her classical physique, her technical facilities, her musicality and intelligence she brings to her roles; Takada and Hayward have their own remarkable abilities. I also love watching Kaneko, Brunell, O'Sullivan, Magri, Gasparini etc  

[Jan McNulty 15,938]

25 minutes ago, Fonty said:

 

Does it actually need hyper-flexibility?  Or is that something that has gradually crept in?  I remember thinking the last time I saw it, that some of the positions resembled something by Wayne McGregor.  I was left wondering  that was really how Ashton intended it to be done, or whether it was simply a case of the current dancers over extending.  

 

I suspect not.  The performance of Monotones II I enjoyed most was on the tiny stage in Cheltenham a couple of years ago.  When I saw the casting - Tom Rogers, Jenna Roberts and Yasuo Atsuji - I remember thinking they would never do it as Tom and Yasuo are 2 of the tallest gentlemen in BRB and the stage really is TINY.  I was wrong - they did it and they were fabulous.

[FLOSS 4,613]

 

theI was lucky enough to see the original cast dance White Monotones and I would say that ideally they should all be on the tall side, look almost androgenous and appear to be the same height when the woman in the trio is on pointe. Monotones 2 is the celestial ballet and Green Monotones made later as its companion piece is the earthbound one whose first cast was, I think , Brian Shaw, Georgina Parkinson and Antoinette Sibley

 

Bruce Sansom once said that when dancing Monotones 2 the cast had to stop the flow of the movement imperceptibly from time to time to enable the audience to catch up with what the dancers were doing. This is completely unnecessary in modern style performances which move from pose to pose rather than creating the impression of a continuous flow of movement.I am not aware of any recording of the original cast which is readily available but there is one dating from the 1980's which seems to be floating about on the internet. It is danced by Mark Silver, Elizabeth McGorian and Dereck  Deane who is the weak link in the trio. On the plus side the dancers match as far as their height is concerned; it was recorded when Ashton was still alive and both he and Michael Somes were still involved in casting,staging and coaching Ashton's ballets and it shows you how the work used to look in performance. The point is that there seems to be no point at which everyone is completely static and the movement appears to be one continuous flow.

 

This will be considered heresy but when the ballet was last revived  I thought that Arestis gave a much better performance of the female role because she looked far more Astonian in style and did not indulge in photo opportunities throughout her performance . As far as Naghdi is concerned, much as I admire her, I would not consider her an ideal choice for White Monotones as she is the wrong physical type for the ballet and in this ballet physique matters.

Edited January 7 by FLOSS

[Fonty 3,333]

This is a clip I found on Youtube of the men you name, Floss, plus Vergie Derman.  The quality isn't great, but it is interesting to compare it with later clips of Nunez, Watson and Kish. I am a huge fan of Nunez, but when I saw her in this I didn't particularly like her.  I thought she looked too....modern?  Not sure what the problem was, but it wasn't her best role, I thought.  

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1iFPJdnFSo - 

 

Edited to add that it was created for Dowell, and Vyvyan Lorrayne.  I never got the impression Dowell was particularly tall?  And apparently Lorraine was often partnered by Nureyev, who was not a strapping six footer either!

Edited January 7 by Fonty

[Xandra Newman 940]

99.99% of the time I find myself agreeing with you Floss but based on what you said would you also say Nunez was miscast in Monotones II, as they have a rather similar physique and lyrical style? 

Edited January 7 by Xandra Newman
typo

[zxDaveM 5,274]

2 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

Xandra, is there any ballet you admire which you wouldn’t like to see Yasmine Naghdi dance?

 

There isn't any as far as I'm concerned! 🙂

[MAX 106]

Did you know Sylvie Guillem never danced Monotones because she did not want to look like a spermatozoid  ?

[Fonty 3,333]

12 minutes ago, MAX said:

Did you know Sylvie Guillem never danced Monotones because she did not want to look like a spermatozoid  ?

 

I think it is probably the first thing that comes to mind whenever I hear her name mentioned.  🙂

[Mary 3,076]

Fascinating to compare the film above with the 2014 film (Nunez, Watson, Kish) with Floss's comments in mind. I do see the point. I remember going to the 2014 cast twice, liking it a lot- in particular Watson.

But it would indeed be better if they just slightly increased the 'glide through'.

I would love to see Muntagirov in this: it has made me think of the 989th reason I admire Muntagirov's dancing so much- that he is very free from the 'pause for photo opportunity' tendency Floss identifies. I guess it is actually taught, as it is so standard now. But some dancers seem entirely absorbed in the role and unaware of us, and I do prefer that most of the time ( not in the bravura moments of Don Q though, e.g.) Interesting.

But also many others come to mind- certainly Akane Takada, and also perhaps Reece Clarke, William Bracewell. Maybe also a shorter version with 3 of the less tall dancers.....

 

 

 

[Mary 3,076]

 

On 06/01/2019 at 10:10, Richard LH said:

But also now out on disc.....

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tchaikovsky-Crankos-Various-Entertainment-Blu-ray/dp/B07HN5LTVD/ref=sr_1_2?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1546769234&sr=1-2&keywords=onegin+ballet+cranko

 

Ordered - and another resolution broken!

Perhaps we can all have a discussion of this when we've watched it..Thanks Sim and Richard.

[Darlex 798]

3 hours ago, FLOSS said:

 

 

This will be considered heresy but when the ballet was last revived  I thought that Arestis gave a much better performance of the female role because she looked far more Astonian in style and did not indulge in photo opportunities throughout her performance . As far as Naghdi is concerned, much as I admire her, I would not consider her an ideal choice for White Monotones as she is the wrong physical type for the ballet and in this ballet physique matters.

Not considered heresy by me! Arestis was far superior to Nunez in this role: she understood it better: the flow, the port de bras. She did dance it at her school performance (1995?), an advantage maybe. 

 

In the DVD version lead by Nunez, it's annoying to see her leg higher than the man's (when both are in attitude). It really spoils the continuity and connectivity of the lines of the dancers: those white costumes against the blackness of space are unforgiving. Also, in the same recording, Watson is totally on the beat, Nunez too, but Kish (whom I now greatly admire since the latest Triple Bill!) is often trailing behind musically and it ruins the whole effect of three dancing as one. 

 

It's difficult to cast. It needs a serenity, but also a kind remoteness and warmth at the same time. A total lack of ego. I wonder if Calvert or Stix-Brunell or Kaneko would look right? 

 

The two men should preferably be same height and build: fabulous partners with the most perfect flowing pirouettes! 

 

There is footage on YouTube of Ashton rehearsing the original trio of Lorrayne/Dowell/Mead in the studio: in performance with Derman/Silver/Deane  - not that I am into gymnastics, but I wish she were just a little looser: and finally Zanowsky with, I think, Watson and Marriott. 

 

 

Edited January 7 by Darlex

[FLOSS 4,613]

Sorry you are right it was Derman not McGorian in the recording. Much as I admired Yanowsky I thought that it was not really her role and the two men who danced with her in  Monotones 2 looked distinctly terrestrial probably as a result of all their bulging muscles. The dancers in both ballets should appear totally unaware of the audience almost as if they are performing a sort of ritual and in  White Monotones in particular they should appear serene, remote celestial beings. Unfortunately Nunez does not do "remote" and always seems, to me at least, totally aware of the audience and the effect that she is creating.

 

Perhaps Dowell needs to look at the early recordings in order to remind himself of the detail which has been eroded over the years. The company certainly needs to look at the early commercial recording of La Valse before that ballet is revived again. It would reveal the detail that has been lost and might turn what now looks like a vague gesture  in which the three leading female dancers stroke their arms into the three women adjusting their long  gloves. .As far as Guillem's non- involvement in Monotones is concerned all I can say is that we should all be truly grateful for it. Her limited involvement in the Ashton repertory did not enhance her reputation or that of the choreographer as she seemed tone deaf to his choreographic nuances. Her Marguerite in Marguerite and Armand was dire as she danced roughshod over its choreography and distorted everything to suit her own "artistic vision" and very modern aesthetic.

 

Edited January 8 by FLOSS

[capybara 7,898]

21 minutes ago, FLOSS said:

Her Marguerite in Marguerite and Armand was dire as she danced roughshod over its choreography and distorted everything to suit her own "artistic vision" and very modern aesthetic.

 

(Re Sylvie Guillem) I loved her in this role.

I come to each performance waiting to see the particular nuances which each artist brings to a role. That is what makes ballet special for me. If everything was the same, and everyone danced as if it were 30/50 years ago, the art that we love would be struggling to survive.

[Odyssey 985]

Perhaps we should be also be focussing on who the Royal Ballet should get to coach a revival of Symphonic, Monotones or Cinderella. My wish for the new season is that Ann Jenner  is persuaded to come over from Australia and coach Symphonic!

[capybara 7,898]

12 hours ago, Mary said:

I would love to see Muntagirov in this: it has made me think of the 989th reason I admire Muntagirov's dancing so much- that he is very free from the 'pause for photo opportunity' tendency Floss identifies.

 

Despite his spectacular technique, Muntagirov comes across to me as very free of any "look at me" tendency. Rather, it's a case, as it is with Bracewell, of "look at the role which I'm inside", whatever that might be.

[Darlex 798]

3 hours ago, Odyssey said:

Perhaps we should be also be focussing on who the Royal Ballet should get to coach a revival of Symphonic, Monotones or Cinderella. My wish for the new season is that Ann Jenner  is persuaded to come over from Australia and coach Symphonic!

Excellent choice, Odyssey! 

[Sim 13,238]

18 hours ago, zxDaveM said:

 

There isn't any as far as I'm concerned! 🙂

Nor me.  Whilst Miss Naghdi's star is shining so brightly, I am very happy to bask in its glow as often as I can.