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Royal Ballet - Don Quixote - Spring 2019


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9 minutes ago, thewinelake said:

We were also there. Wonderful, but wasn't Lorenzo played by Jonathan Howells? I agree that Gartside was tremendous as Gamache! Unless the cast list is wrong, of course - not sure I'd be able to tell the difference!

 

There were a number of cast changes. Jonathan Howells was Sancho Panza, Bennet Gartside was Lorenzo and Thomas Whitehead was Gamache. 

 

Romany Pajdak stood in for Itziar Mendizabal as one of the gypsy couple and Nicol Edmonds stood in for Reece Clarke in the fandango. 

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7 hours ago, Sim said:

An absolutely superlative performance tonight from the whole cast. Naghdi and Sambe were stunning, Stix-Brunell  (what a beautiful debut as Mercedes!) and Ball dynamite together, Avis a resolute Don, O'Sullivan her usual lovely Amour and Gartside a revelation as Lorenzo....he brought the character to life like no-one else has.  Huge applause and standing ovation at the end, and I can't remember a company performance of this ballet that deserved it more.  I am still reeling from the buzz of that Act 3 pdd.....wow!  A truly special night.  Huge thanks to all those wonderful artists for bringing me such a feeling of pure joy!  

 

 

what Sim says!

I thought Yasmine and Marcelino were great in their first show (over a month ago!) but last night was raised up at least 2 notches. The grande pas in act 3 was stupendous: he brought a level of almost cheeky panache mixed with grace that was amongst the best I've seen this run; she was grace and charm personified. I almost choked on the lump in my throat 🙂  The long one-arm hold in act 1 looked like it could still have been there now, and both danced the whole of that act (and the pdd in start of act 2) as if they owned it. Marvellous!

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29 minutes ago, capybara said:

Wednesday 4th April....... another one of those shows when it was a real privilege to be there. Yasmine Naghdi - stunning; Marcelino Sambe - stunning. WOW!

 

 

 

 

Adding Matthew Ball's facial expressions and interaction with others to the list!

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47 minutes ago, capybara said:

Wednesday 4th April....... another one of those shows when it was a real privilege to be there. Yasmine Naghdi - stunning; Marcelino Sambe - stunning. WOW!

 

 

 

3rd April!!  😄

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34 minutes ago, Sim said:

3rd April!!  😄

 

Whooooooooooooops! At least I got the day of the week right!

 

33 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

Hopefully 4th will be good too!

 

Of course, it will be. Would love to be there but it's the opening night of ENB's programme at Sadlers Wells.

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1 hour ago, Saodan said:

Can anybody hazard a guess as to why Two Matadors are no longer listed on the cast sheet? It's seems odd that this should change in the middle of a run.

 

Yes, who was it last night?

 

I noticed on Saturday night's sheet that the Two Matadors had been sacrificed in favour of the Earth Hour (is that what it's called?) notification.  Perhaps they haven't been reinstated since?

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Due to eternal train problems I only saw the first 2 acts last night, glad to hear that Act 3 was so good though, Yasmine Naghdi was so beautiful, a natural Kitri, as Marcelino Sambe was a natural Basilio. As Dave says, the first one hand lift was held for a very long time indeed, brilliant!

 

Lots of cast changes, some I recognised, there was no pre-performance announcement last night.

 

I noticed a charming young man both times I went, I'm sure someone will know his name, near the start of Act 1 he plays a guitar whilst Kitri is dancing?

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8 minutes ago, Beryl H said:

I noticed a charming young man both times I went, I'm sure someone will know his name, near the start of Act 1 he plays a guitar whilst Kitri is dancing?

 

http://www.roh.org.uk/people/stanislaw-wegrzyn 

 

Noticed he had a new pair of trousers (these were chocolate brown) last night ...

 

Thoroughly enjoyed the enchanting performances of all.  Such a special occasion - from the top down.  

 

Edited by Bruce Wall
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Last night was one of those nights I am truly happy to have been there and to have witnessed the new partnership between Yasmine Naghdi and Marcelino Sambe, and what a gorgeous partnership it was! 

Yasmine Naghdi has really matured into a graceful, very elegant ballerina, is in complete control of her superlative technique and in full possession of all the necessary skills to deliver a magnificent performance. Marcelino Sambe's impeccable partnering (very much improved since the Insight!), combined with his great talent, makes me want to see more of these two dancing together. They were both absolutely wonderful, not only as individual dancers but also as a stage couple. The first one handed lift, well goodness me, I have never witnessed a longer one. And Naghdi's manege in Act 2 was at such a breakneck speed I wondered if the orchestra would be able to keep up with her. 

Naghdi/Sambe's Act III solos/pd2 were simply breathtaking. Anna Rose O'Sullivan, Fumi Kaneko, Matthew Ball, Lukas Bjorneboe Braendsrod/Romany Pajdak (Gypsy couple), Bennet Gartside (Gamache) and Gary Avis (DQ) all deserve my praise too. I thought the whole company was on great form (although I was less impressed by two female dancers). It was a very responsive audience, lots of cheers, and I could see several parts of the Orchestra Stalls giving Naghdi/Sambe a standing ovation. What a great show and what a superlative performance to end this run of Don Quixote (last one tonight).

Edited by Xandra Newman
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4 hours ago, Saodan said:

Can anybody hazard a guess as to why Two Matadors are no longer listed on the cast sheet? It's seems odd that this should change in the middle of a run.

Perhaps someone realised it was odd to name the two matadors in Act 1 when it is a different two in Act 3?

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3 hours ago, Xandra Newman said:

The first one handed lift, well goodness me, I have never witnessed a longer one. 

 

I must admit, I've seen one which seemed almost as long, earlier in the run.  I'm not sure that all the Basilios are comfortable musically (as opposed to technically) with extending it that long, but I could be mistaken.

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Those one-handed lifts...! About 12 years ago Ethan Stiefel guested with Australian Ballet as Basilio, partnering Rachel Rawlins (whom some may remember from her stint with the Royal Ballet). The first lift was long. The second was longer, and his free hand was flapping at the audience, encouraging them to clap more!

 

At the dress rehearsal in 2013, Ivan Vasiliev not only held Natalia Osipova up for an eternity, he rose into arabesque on demi-pointe while doing so. She started laughing and the entire company on stage applauded him (as did we!). The conductor then plaintively asked if the orchestra could please continue from where they'd had to stop.

 

We've got the cinemacast on Sunday to which I am looking forward, will be only my second view of this production (Acosta/Nuñez recording from the première season), and it's Alex Campbell (yay).

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I'm sat in the Floral Hall in the 1st interval and I'm thinking - how can anyone not love this ballet. It's pure joy from start to finish and so many marvellous performances to enjoy. Tonight it's Alex and Mayara and they are throwing themselves at it.  I've never seen Mayara so expressive.  We've got Gary Avis, Bennet Gartside and Tom Whitehead in the character roles and at times, I 'm struggling to know where to look, there's so much going on.  I've got a great big grin on my face and there are 2 acts still to enjoy.  Loving Meaghan Hinkins and Anna Rose O'Sullivan as Kitri's  2 friends plus Nicol Edmonds and the rest of the matadors AND Itziar Mendizabal as Mercedes.  Joy.

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Lorenzo has clearly been watching Crimewatch, he had his money bag so well hidden Basilio couldn’t find it to steal it!!! Mr Campbell just had to do another begging motion instead 😂

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