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Royal Ballet - Don Quixote - Spring 2019


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21 hours ago, Richard LH said:

After attending the Linbury screening of "Yuli" last night (which incidentally featured various Don Q snippets)  is there any chance Carlos Acosta will take applause on stage tonight at the end of this successful run? 

 

No appearance I am afraid, so his production and choreography has to be acknowledged  "in absentia".

 

The  audience on this last night were particularly appreciative, with  much enthusiasm and warmth, and indeed a partial standing ovation,  for everyone on stage, after another brilliant performance at the end of a brilliant run.

 

I was so impressed again by the commitment and skill of these dancers, many of whom had to perform multiple roles- Tomas Mock had three (a matador, the gypsy leader, and the lead fandango gentleman), and I noticed Dulcinea (Lara Turk) making an appearance again at the end as a fandango lady - something Don Q clearly missed ! And the wonderful Itziar Mendizabal  was both Mercedes and the lead gypsy. 

 

Injury seems to be robbing us of male first soloists at the moment, but Nicol Edmonds, for Valentino Zucchetti, was a particularly striking Espada - I think he has a great future ahead. 

 

I believe I noticed a new face among the corps of ladies - presumably a student from the RBS?  What a great experience for her...

 

I loved Claire Calvert's sophisticated Queen of the Dryads....and  as for lumps in the throat, I don't even need movement - just  the gorgeous tableau of Dryads revealed by Amour at the start of Don Q's dream...virtually worthy of the  ticket price in itself! And then they dance...The elegant classicism in Act 2 is superb. 

 

Mayara Magri put in a very assured  and confident performance in what I believe was only her second time out in a full length "principal" role (what amazing  fouettés !) , assisted by Alexander Campbell as her  ever-attentive partner, and delighting us  again in his own strong,  character-full performance. 

 

My only criticism was with the casting of the "characters"  this time out. I preferred the earlier  castings for Sancho Panza to Jonathan Howells' rather timid version. And I love Gary Avis normally, but he over-played Don Q as a rather doddery old duffer, and  I missed the dreamy poignancy of Christopher Saunders' romantic knight-errant. In fact  after a while I tended not to notice Don Q at all last night. Gary Avis was much better as Lorenzo. In turn Bennet Gartside (Lorenzo last night) much better when he played  Gamache - I suppose purse-gate  (see Rob S above) didn't help although Campbell improvised very cleverly at that point.  But Thomas Whitehead's Gamache was, again, a tour-de-force! 

 

We sat next to two ladies for whom this was their first ballet - what a good choice!  As newbies they were understandably astonished  that we had already seen this 5 times 🤭 (multiple viewings have failed to dim, for us, the pure joy of this ballet!) - perhaps they were less surprised by  the end, as they were absolutely thrilled with it, and hopefully have caught the ballet bug....!

 

 

 

Edited by Richard LH
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32 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

Mayara Magri put in a very assured  and confident performance in what I believe was only her second time out in a full length "principal" role (what amazing  fouettés !) , assisted by Alexander Campbell as her  ever-attentive partner, and delighting us  again in his own strong,  character-full performance. 

 

Yes, I thought they were both excellent, and so characterful! As for the fouettés, she did travel forwards quite a bit, but remained dead centre and looked as though she could have carried on forever (though she might have ended up in the orchestra pit...) 

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3 hours ago, Richard LH said:

And I love Gary Avis normally, but he over-played Don Q as a rather doddery old duffer,

 

I didn't dare to say this earlier but I found the wonderful Gary Avis miscast as the Don. He seemed far too 'busy' all the time.

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14 hours ago, capybara said:

I'm not sure about those extended lifts (especially when the Basilios wave encouragement to the audience). Call me an old Scrooge but it's not a circus.

 

13 hours ago, alison said:

Quite.  Nor is the Royal Ballet the Bolshoi.

Well, it was a Sydney Easter Saturday with an auditorium not quite three-quarters full, and I guess Mr Stiefel felt those who were there needed some encouragement...and Mr Vasiliev was playing up at a dress rehearsal, I did see the performance "proper" and he didn't do it. Too many tricks do make a circus, but Miss Osipova's blazingly fast turn sequences live long in the memory.

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27 minutes ago, Sophoife said:

 

Well, it was a Sydney Easter Saturday with an auditorium not quite three-quarters full, and I guess Mr Stiefel felt those who were there needed some encouragement...and Mr Vasiliev was playing up at a dress rehearsal, I did see the performance "proper" and he didn't do it.

 

I saw a performance when Ivan Vasiliev's Basilio dropped out of character to 'gurn'/wave encouragement to the audience several times. It didn't work for me.

Several RB Basilio performances  (notably those from Marcelino Sambe and Vadim Muntagirov) have had the audience gasping and cheering at the sheer brilliance of their dancing without any need for prompting.

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40 minutes ago, Mary said:

It's funny- I wasn't much looking forward to it or very enthusiastic at all- as many others I believe- but now am hoping it comes back in a couple of years' time!

 

Come up to Birmingham in June 2020!

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Why was it that the 2019 run of Don Quixote was such and out and out success, whereas the original and the Christmas 2014/15 showings did not catch fire?

 

To me, it seemed as if the RB Company embraced the production so much more completely than before, the music seemed far 'perkier' and there has been one stellar performance after another from the leads and many supporting dancers. Every audience seems to have been swept along on a tide of joy and that has generated a very special feeling in the House.

 

What do others think? There's certainly been a distinct change of heart on here in the course of this thread 😃 

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I quite agree, capybara.  I'm still by no means in love with it, but certainly have found it more entertaining than in the previous runs.  (And I don't think it had anything to do with it being scheduled after Frankenstein!)

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2 hours ago, capybara said:

 

I saw a performance when Ivan Vasiliev's Basilio dropped out of character to 'gurn'/wave encouragement to the audience several times. It didn't work for me.

Several RB Basilio performances  (notably those from Marcelino Sambe and Vadim Muntagirov) have had the audience gasping and cheering at the sheer brilliance of their dancing without any need for prompting.

I can't stand the former and wish I'd seen the latter.

 

Interestingly enough, I've only ever seen anyone do the former in Don Q, not any other ballet. And it wasn't Mr Vasiliev! 😉

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1 hour ago, Mary said:

I will Janet, especially if you can lay on Brandon Lawrence for me!

I look forward to seeing what they do with the set. It might actually be better for some down-sizing.................

 

1 hour ago, jmhopton said:

Me too for Brandon Lawrence!! Any chance of it coming to the Lowry or does that complicated set make it too expensive to tour?

 

As the company operates at the moment what is seen in the June season sometimes tours in the Autumn (and sometimes doesn't).

 

My 4 dream Basilios would be Brandon, Tyrone, Max and Lachlan with Mathias Dingman and Cesar Morales in the mix as well.  Kitris - Momoko, Celine, Karla, Samara, Miki, Qian

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8 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

My 4 dream Basilios would be Brandon, Tyrone, Max and Lachlan with Mathias Dingman and Cesar Morales in the mix as well.  Kitris - Momoko, Celine, Karla, Samara, Miki, Qian

 

I'm sure these dancers will be terrific, Jan,  but I'm not familiar with all of the names 😉

 

 

 

 

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5 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

I'm sure these dancers will be terrific, Jan,  but I'm not familiar with all of the names 😉

 

 

 

 

 

Just testing you!  😀

 

Brandon Lawrence, Tyrone Singleton, Max Maslen, Lachlan Monaghan, Momoko Hirata, Celine Gittens, Karla Doorbar, Samara Downs, Miki Mizutani, Yaoqian Shang.

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8 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

Just testing you!  😀

 

Brandon Lawrence, Tyrone Singleton, Max Maslen, Lachlan Monaghan, Momoko Hirata, Celine Gittens, Karla Doorbar, Samara Downs, Miki Mizutani, Yaoqian Shang.

 

Tzu-Chao Chou could absolutely nail it - I've seen him do a cut-down touring version of Australian Ballet's Nureyev production and wow...

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On 05/04/2019 at 09:47, RuthE said:

As for the fouettés, she did travel forwards quite a bit, but remained dead centre and looked as though she could have carried on forever (though she might have ended up in the orchestra pit...

I am never sure if travelling forward is intentional or not..or why it particularly matters if it occurs? It seems quite an effective movement to come towards the audience like this...provided the pit is avoided!

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54 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

I am never sure if travelling forward is intentional or not..or why it particularly matters if it occurs? It seems quite an effective movement to come towards the audience like this...provided the pit is avoided!

 

Exactly, I noticed it too and felt it looked a reasonable addition to the look she was creating. It’s not like she was trying to do them on the table top or cart where travel would probably result in the need of an ambulance 

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On 04/04/2019 at 19:55, Sophoife said:

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).

 

Did you enjoy it Sophoife?

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I do like the production, the musical arrangements, the live guitarists in the gypsy camp, the sets, costumes and all-round excellence of the company as a whole. And Rocinante.

 

I'm not a great fan of Miss Takada as Kitri based on this film, but very much enjoyed the performances of Messrs Campbell, Zucchetti, Edmonds, Saunders and Mosley, also Mesdemoiselles O'Sullivan, Kaneko and Magri. And don't get me wrong, Miss Takada danced beautifully, I just didn't feel her as Kitri.

 

The Campbell-Takada partnership was good despite my Kitri reservations. I did find myself wondering what Mr Campbell and Miss Magri would look like as a couple - compared with Miss Takada, Miss Magri is practically a giantess!

 

Felt the usually-wonderful Mr Avis was not quite right as Lorenzo, and Mr Whitehead was an underwhelming Gamache. Kitri's Girlfriends in matching lilac seemed almost irrelevant. Gypsies Miss Mendizabal and Mr Mock were great!

 

Loved the clever set for the town that gave different viewpoints, the presenters were a good team (Miss McNally brilliant, far more fluent at autocue reading than Dame D who does, I know, have a very good reason for not being so), and really liked the featurettes on the music and the set and costume designer.

 

Did not like the director's penchant for showing only one half of a couple dancing together, or only one part of the stage, or not the complete stage in a wide shot (this one leading to Espada and Mercedes being spotlit in action yet off-screen downstage left,  while the corps was dancing centre stage).

 

Did feel however that there was so much set that at times the company looked cramped on stage.

 

Wanted to smack the woman in front of me who declared loudly and more than once that the girl in the veil was clearly the Japanese girl dancing the lead "because everybody knows the Kitri is always the Dulcinea". Did personally wonder that as Miss Turk and Miss Takada not exactly identical twins, is woman in front stupid as well as blind?

 

Still cannot understand why no ballet students or teachers in my area are not attending these showings. Youngest viewer present approx 45.

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I think the issue is the cost, at around £20 a ticket (no child reduction) it’s a very expensive cinema trip for a family!  Many of the live touring productions are the same price or cheaper. I’m not totally sure why the live cinema events are so expensive?

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I think that must vary hugely according to cinema chain.  One of my locals is convinced that people will be willing to pay nearly £25 a ticket for the Flight Pattern mixed bill, with only a slight reduction for children.  A different chain has child prices less than half adult ones.

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12 hours ago, Sophoife said:

The Campbell-Takada partnership was good despite my Kitri reservations. I did find myself wondering what Mr Campbell and Miss Magri would look like as a couple - compared with Miss Takada, Miss Magri is practically a giantess!

 

Thanks for your review Sophoife. I admit to being such a current fan of Ms Takada that her particular interpretation of any role, including Kitri, is likely to be the definitive one for me ! Blind devotion, perhaps, although I did try to explain it more rationally earlier in this thread. 

The Campbell-Magri partnership also worked very well and had a great audience response in the theatre on the last night. He managed perfectly  with all the lifts and his usual attentive partnering skills were much to the fore. 

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11 hours ago, Moomin said:

I think the issue is the cost, at around £20 a ticket (no child reduction) it’s a very expensive cinema trip for a family!  Many of the live touring productions are the same price or cheaper. I’m not totally sure why the live cinema events are so expensive?

Sorry @Moomin was that referring to my comment at the end about average ages in my disjointed review? 😉 Obviously at those prices, yes it's exorbitant. 

 

My local area, just to explain, is country NSW, Australia, where adult prices for these Royal Ballet/Opera cinema showings are AUD$20, and children/seniors/students AUD$18.

 

This compares favourably with André Rieu cinemacast concerts at AUD$42 with no concessions, and also with regular films which are AUD$18.50 adults, AUD$14.50 children, AUD$12.50 seniors and AUD$16.50 students.

 

AUD$20 is roughly £10.90. 

 

Live tours (low-grade Russian companies, the Australian Ballet's regional tours) average around AUD$90-100 per adult, children 60% of those prices. Queensland Ballet's regional tours are about AUD$70 for adults, half that for children.

 

So here, the live shows are way more expensive than cinemas and at least in the cinema we have world-class dancers, I just don't understand why ballet teachers in regional areas aren't encouraging their pupils to experience world-class dance, and worse, why they aren't enjoying it themselves!!!

 

OK rant over...😊

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I think we've touched on this - possibly in Doing Dance - before: there does seem to be a bit of a disconnect between dance pupils loving their lessons and dancing, and making a connection between that and performance, which of course is the ultimate goal.  I know I've seen several now-high-ranking dancers saying something to the effect that it wasn't until they actually attended a ballet that they realised what all their training was for!  Also, as far as the Royal Ballet is concerned, at least, all their broadcasts are evening ones, which may not be ideal for younger pupils, so unless there's some sort of afternoon Encore performance they may not be able to get to watch.

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23 hours ago, alison said:

I think we've touched on this - possibly in Doing Dance - before: there does seem to be a bit of a disconnect between dance pupils loving their lessons and dancing, and making a connection between that and performance, which of course is the ultimate goal.  I know I've seen several now-high-ranking dancers saying something to the effect that it wasn't until they actually attended a ballet that they realised what all their training was for!  Also, as far as the Royal Ballet is concerned, at least, all their broadcasts are evening ones, which may not be ideal for younger pupils, so unless there's some sort of afternoon Encore performance they may not be able to get to watch.

 

I take my daughter to the cinema screenings as often as I can and she lowers the average age of the attendees by about 40 years. Also the timing isn’t ideal for children, we’re often running in at the last minute after her own ballet class and then she’s falling asleep by the time the final act is wrapping up! 

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