The Royal Ballet: Romeo and Juliet, Spring 2019

[bangorballetboy]

14 minutes ago, Scheherezade said:

 

As they do (or did) at the Coliseum at the first sight of a phone.

 

 

Last time I was at the Coliseum (admittedly for opera), there was a message on the surtitle screen encouraging the filming of curtain calls.

[Lizbie1]

7 minutes ago, Rob S said:

 

Most of the dancers post videos of the curtain calls on Instagram taken by audience members. 

 

Personally I use a camera with a screen which folds back on itself and an electronic viewfinder that I hold to my face so it’s not emitting any light or sound, I don’t video it but take short bursts of photos between my moments of applause and I remain seated. 

 

That’s why I worded my comment as I did. I meant that by having a rule against it which is not generally enforced, they have reserved the right to stop people from encroaching on others’ view or enjoyment of the curtain calls.

[Scheherezade]

I didn’t see anything at the recent Akhenaten performances although, admittedly, I was probably too busy applauding to check the surtitle screen. 

[Scheherezade]

7 minutes ago, bangorballetboy said:

 

Last time I was at the Coliseum (admittedly for opera), there was a message on the surtitle screen encouraging the filming of curtain calls.

 

Sorry, my earlier comment was replying to BBB’s above post. 

Edited March 28, 2019 by Scheherezade

[RuthE]

I think it is *before* the opera that ENO are now putting up the "please feel free to film the curtain calls" message - I've been there twice this month (for The Magic Flute and The Merry Widow).

[Anna C]

Before I forget, here is the whole of Tuesday’s cast for those also seeing Cuthbertson and Ball (and, I assume, the Naghdi and Ball cinema relay?):

 

Juliet: Lauren Cuthbertson

Romeo:  Matthew Ball

Mercutio:  Valentino Zucchetti

Tybalt:  Gary Avis

Benvolio:  James Hay

Paris:  Ryoichi Hirano

Lord Capulet:  Christopher Saunders

Lady Capulet:  Elizabeth McGorian

Escalus: Bennet Gartside

Rosaline:  Christina Arestis

Nurse:  Kristen McNally

Friar Laurence (sans wig) and Lord Montague:  Alastair Marriott

Lady Montague:  Olivia Cowley

Juliet’s Friends:  Ashley Dean, Leticia Dias, Isabella Gasparini, Meaghan Grace Hinkis, Anna Rose O’Sullivan, Romany Pajdak

Three Harlots:  Itziar Mendizabal, Claire Calvert, Mayara Magri

Mandolin Dance:  Marcelino Sambé plus Luca Acri, Tristan Dyer, Benjamin Ella, Paul Kay, Calvin Richardson.

 

”Ballroom guests and Townspeople”, listed as usual as “Artists of the Royal Ballet” included Reece Clarke. 

[AnneMarriott]

2 hours ago, Anna C said:

 

 

 

 

My only gripe was that even more people than usual scuttled out of the stalls the instant the curtains closed.  The performance hadn’t overrun and it seems SO disrespectful to the performers to just up and walk out as if we were at the cinema.  I can’t imagine that all those people had pre-booked trains. 🤔

 

 

It's not just booked trains that count!  I was not there so am innocent, but this is a long programme and our last train leaves Waterloo just before 11 pm - fine if a taxi happens to pass at just the right time but tight for a walk across Waterloo Bridge so I would have been amongst the scuttlers, but only if I were at the end of a row.  In the past I have swapped places with someone standing so I can get out in time for the train without pushing past other audience members.  

[Anna C]

That is tight, timing-wise, so fair point.  Lots of the scuttlers were mid-row though, which must have been annoying for the others in their row as well as the row behind. 

 

Out of interest, would you applaud while making an exit?  

[AnneMarriott]

4 minutes ago, Anna C said:

That is tight, timing-wise, so fair point.  Lots of the scuttlers were mid-row though, which must have been annoying for the others in their row as well as the row behind. 

 

Out of interest, would you applaud while making an exit?  

Always!

[alison]

Absolutely - and sometimes when I'm in the amphi I even stick my head in at Stalls Circle level on the way down and give them a bit more applause if circumstances permit.

[Lizbie1]

And even if it’s not the last train, very often at that time of night there are only two trains or fewer an hour - and if I’m working the next morning (and in the shires and provinces we generally start work earlier than Londoners) that makes a real difference.

 

One other thing: I can’t speak for this week but there has been overnight engineering work on some lines from Waterloo recently, which for me has meant journey times more than doubling after about 10.40.

 

(I applaud as long as I can when exiting and often poke my head into the Grand Tier on my way down to get another burst in.)

[Anna C]

I knew you all would. 👏😍 

 

Sadly, a good number of people on Tuesday did not.  You’d think they were at the cinema.

 

Not that I was judging and inwardly tutting, of course.*

 

 

* I was.

[alison]

Yes, I think sometimes people who rely on the Tube and other frequent services don't realise how difficult it can be for people who have to use trains to get home.  At Don Q on Monday night I was standing there applauding and thinking how glad I was that I didn't have to travel from Charing Cross at the moment, because I wouldn't have made the next train and would have had to wait 30 minutes for the one after that.

[ninamargaret]

I still think a slightly earlier start time would help everyone, especially those with last/late trains to get. If the performance is delayed for any reason the 2230 finish can make even staying for the end of the performance impossible.

[RuthE]

I agree; it's routine for longer operas to have earlier start times, and indeed for shorter ones to start later (not that I particularly like that practice), so why does it apparently never happen with ballet?

 

(Am sensing the imminent approach of a mod moving these lasts few posts elsewhere, so we can start talking about R&J again...)

[FLOSS]

The problem about an early weekday start is that for some people a regular 7 pm start for three act ballets would make it almost impossible for them to attend performances as they have to come from work. For many of those working outside London a standard 7:30 pm start makes it possible to attend performances without having to take time off to do so. If you live outside London the very occasional early start for an opera can be accommodated by taking time off to attend it but a regular early start for long ballets would make it impossible to attend all but a few performances in any one season.The Charing Cross service that I used to use when I lived outside London was only a half hourly service at peak times and after 10:30 pm the service thinned out with a last train at about midnight. If it was an opera performance I often used to have to use the last train which was a stopping service which took at least an hour and a half to complete a journey which at peak times took less than an hour. I was just grateful that the standard 7:30pm starting times at both the ROH and ENO enabled me to experience a wide range of the opera and ballet repertory and that I was able to get home even if it might mean that I would not get to bed until nearly 2 am. The truth is there is no ideal starting time that will meet everyone's needs.

Edited March 28, 2019 by FLOSS

[Guest]

3 hours ago, Anna C said:

Before I forget, here is the whole of Tuesday’s cast for those also seeing Cuthbertson and Ball (and, I assume, the Naghdi and Ball cinema relay?):

 

Juliet: Lauren Cuthbertson

Romeo:  Matthew Ball

Mercutio:  Valentino Zucchetti

Tybalt:  Gary Avis

Benvolio:  James Hay

Paris:  Ryoichi Hirano

Lord Capulet:  Christopher Saunders

Lady Capulet:  Elizabeth McGorian

Escalus: Bennet Gartside

Rosaline:  Christina Arestis

Nurse:  Kristen McNally

Friar Laurence (sans wig) and Lord Montague:  Alastair Marriott

Lady Montague:  Olivia Cowley

Juliet’s Friends:  Ashley Dean, Leticia Dias, Isabella Gasparini, Meaghan Grace Hinkis, Anna Rose O’Sullivan, Romany Pajdak

Three Harlots:  Itziar Mendizabal, Claire Calvert, Mayara Magri

Mandolin Dance:  Marcelino Sambé plus Luca Acri, Tristan Dyer, Benjamin Ella, Paul Kay, Calvin Richardson.

 

”Ballroom guests and Townspeople”, listed as usual as “Artists of the Royal Ballet” included Reece Clarke. 

Hooray! Arestis is back! I have missed her! 

[Lizbie1]

I live and work well outside London and welcome earlier starts. Given that for many outside London the working day might start at 8 and finish at 4 or so, it’s perfectly possible, for example, to get to London from Bristol for a 7pm start, even allowing for getting across Town from Paddington and without making arrangements to leave work early. The same applies for e.g. Salisbury and Winchester.

 

What gives me pause, rather, is the prospect of not getting home until well after midnight.

[Richard LH]

1 hour ago, RuthE said:

(Am sensing the imminent approach of a mod moving these lasts few posts elsewhere, so we can start talking about R&J again...)

 

Good idea! 

I would like to send best wishes to Akane Takada on her debut as Juliet tonight.

(picture presumably from the General Rehearsal,  with acknowledgements to artoftheroyalballet on Instagram)

[Sim]

34 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

 

Good idea! 

I would like to send best wishes to Akane Takada on her debut as Juliet tonight.

(picture presumably from the General Rehearsal,  with acknowledgements to artoftheroyalballet on Instagram)

Really looking forward to it!

[RuthE]

1 hour ago, FLOSS said:

If you live outside London the very occasional early start for an opera can be accommodated by taking time off to attend it but a regular early start for long ballets would make it impossible to attend all but a few performances in any one season.

 

It's not "very occasional" at the Royal Opera, it's a regular occurrence.  Looking only at recent shows, Traviata was a 7pm start, Forza is 6:30, and I didn't book for Cosi fan tutte but I know it's quite long so I'm sure it would have been a 7pm start at the latest.  Katya Kabanova was an exception by starting late at 8pm, and in that case they had originally intended to do it without an interval so it would have had an early finish. Had it originally been planned with an interval that might have been the only Royal Opera show since Christmas(?) with a 7:30 start.

 

Some of us here do attend at least as much opera as ballet.  Occasional it is not.

[bangorballetboy]

It should be remembered that the dancers have a full day of rehearsal and need a period of rest before a show.  A start that is earlier than 7.30 will mean a similar reduction in rehearsal time each show day.

[Shade]

However they could shave some time off the generous intervals without inconveniencing customers.

[bangorballetboy]

1 minute ago, Shade said:

However they could shave some time off the generous intervals without inconveniencing customers.

 

Not in R&J they couldn't.

[Lizbie1]

But they could start on time.

[RuthE]

2 hours ago, bangorballetboy said:

It should be remembered that the dancers have a full day of rehearsal and need a period of rest before a show.  A start that is earlier than 7.30 will mean a similar reduction in rehearsal time each show day.

 

Point taken and agreed with. However my own post was referring rather to the implication that opera audiences should expect some irregular start times while ballet audiences shouldn’t. And that these are inherently harder to plan one’s life around.

[Lizbie1]

3 hours ago, bangorballetboy said:

It should be remembered that the dancers have a full day of rehearsal and need a period of rest before a show.  A start that is earlier than 7.30 will mean a similar reduction in rehearsal time each show day.

 

I'm curious: is there a reason why their working days can't simply start earlier on those days?

[capybara]

45 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

I'm curious: is there a reason why their working days can't simply start earlier on those days?

 

So, even with an earlier start, the show doesn't end until 10.00pm, after which the dancers have to get changed, get home (sometimes not until after midnight), eat, get to bed and try to sleep, even though the adrenalin will still be flowing. And, then, you are suggesting that they should be in class earlier than 10.15am (having had breakfast, travelled back to the ROH, done their own exercises and warm-ups beforehand)? You're a very hard taskmaster Lizbie ☺️

[Lizbie1]

9 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

So, even with an earlier start, the show doesn't end until 10.00pm, after which the dancers have to get changed, get home (sometimes not until after midnight), eat, get to bed and try to sleep, even though the adrenalin will still be flowing. And, then, you are suggesting that they should be in class earlier than 10.15am (having had breakfast, travelled back to the ROH, done their own exercises and warm-ups beforehand)? You're a very hard taskmaster Lizbie ☺️

 

But...doesn't it work out as the same number of hours between (10 till 10.15 vs 10.30 till 10.45)? I'm confused!

[Richard LH]

What a brilliant evening of dramatic ballet we have just enjoyed!🤗

And all done by 10:25...😉

Edited March 28, 2019 by Richard LH

[SeokDoesPilates]

Please keep the reviews coming. I am off to work this morning and waiting with bated breath to know what you think. Thank you in (impatient) anticipation one and all. 

[Sophoife]

3 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

But they could start on time.

New strictness for Aus Ballet as of this season of Cinderella: they are locking out anyone not seated by 7:28pm (or 6:28 or 1:28) and starting dead on the half hour. Latecomers are then admitted "at a suitable time" which if you ask me is MORE disturbing!!

[Sim]

Omg Akane gave a tour de force as Juliet tonight.  Her Act 3 was stunning, heartbreaking and achingly real. Took my breath away.  She was in tears, and we all cried with her.  More tomorrow ;  I now need a glass of wine to recover!