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The Royal Ballet, Onegin, January 2015


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That's very interesting, Angela, thank you.  I can't say the RB corps has ever struck me as "cold and condescending" in Act III, even if they're not smiling joyously.

 

Floss, yes, I found I was missing characterisation from various of the main characters, but wasn't sure whether it was actually missing or whether I was just not picking it up from the amphitheatre.  I'm hoping that will come in time.

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I saw the evening performance of this on Saturday.

 

I haven't seen Onegin for some years so was looking forward to it especially as although Ive seen them separately on many occasions Ive never seen Nunez dance with Soares before .......and I wasn't disappointed!!

 

Muntagirov was Lensky and Akada was Olga. I thought Akada did well here as the slightly feistier and flirtier sister while Nunez kept Tatiana almost self contained......the girl with her head always in a book ...her naïveté and restraint making Onegin when he came along seem even more disreputable and manipulative as a character if that is possible!! The corps were all excellent in the ballroom scene making those sets of split jetes across the stage from each diagonal very exciting. Muntagirov had just about the right level of impetuousness to make the duel seem a feasible outcome between himself and Onegin.....and his solo before the duel was very impressive and he managed to convince me that he was truly sorry and much regretting he had got himself into this situation......however as soon as the sisters came along with their empassioned pleas to try to dissuade him from his course of action his "poor me I am doomed" quickly reverted to his hot headed youthfulness and he gave them short shrift for being there.....no place for women here.....no- one to come between a man and his pride(well boys will be boys)

 

This whole scene was brilliantly danced absolutely riveting ......you even felt for Onegin and Soares somehow did manage to make this character almost sympathetic .......was it his fault that he hadn't found true love yet?

Where this ballet really came into its own on Saturday eve though was in the last act.

 

When You see Onegin turn up again after Tatiana' s marriage I felt like shouting "get thee hence man" ......a bad penny if ever there was!

 

But from the point Tatiana finishes reading Onegins letter we felt her disturbance .....first showing on her extra clinging to her husband .....wonderfully played by Hirano ......what a fine actor he is becoming.....here getting just the exact degree of tenderness... showing is love for Tatiana.....and his strength of a man devoted to the duty of his work......a man sure of what he wants in Life......the exact opposite of Onegin almost. We felt Tatiana s love and honour for her husband but when Onegin finally shows up she is truly torn between what might have been ......and still there is that "something" ....and her duty. It takes all her will to resist Onegin.

 

A truly memorable performance and tour de force between these two dancers. All my real sympathy was for Tatiana of course but a remarkable performance from Soares to make me feel even an ounce of sympathy for the man!

Nevertheless the moment Tatiana tears up that letter I had a strong feeling of "yes" ....true karma for Onegin! but this was held back even then by Tatiana's pain. I felt so relieved when Onegin inevitably left but that meant the end of the ballet and I didn't want it to end!

Such a wonderful evening.

 

And for those who unfortunately had to leave before the curtain calls ....to catch trains etc....there was more to miss!

On one of the calls Nunez and Soares(having recovered a little from looking completely wrung out) joined together in quite a passionate kiss much to the approval of those still clapping. Great stuff!!

 

I don't know if this cast is dancing again but I recommend to try and see them if you can if they are.

Edited by LinMM
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They are dancing again tomorrow night and I will be there.  Really looking forward to it!  Thanks for that lovely review LinMM, and everyone else who has posted up their feelings of what they have seen so far.

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Just wanted to add a touch of backstage to LinMM's wonderful review.  She mentioned the grand jete diagonals - we had white lines painted on the floor on both sides of the stage and everyone knew not to stand in the wings or at least to keep well away from those lines when the diagonals were starting.  The dancers not only move at speed in the jetes across the stage, but they also have to literally run from the bottom to top wing in order to be in time for them - they actually made a breeze they ran so fast, the girls clinging on to the guy's hand, so they wouldn't slip in their pointe shoes. They come off stage, run in the wings, jete across, run in the wings and jete across. It's an incredibly exciting thing to see and has to be done with split second timing !

Edited by Dance*is*life
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Well, I haven't booked at all (Onegin's not my favourite ballet) but judging by the comments on this thread, I now wish I booked for every single cast!

And John, I'm one with you in advising Sim to see the Lamb/Hristov combination - Lamb may not be the RB's best actress, nor Hristov its male dancer with the strongest technique, but the former's beautiful dancing and latter's melting looks.......where's the 'phone - they may be doing another performance....

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Lamb isn't a dancer I see that often, however, after seeing her as Manon I think she proved to everyone how good an actress and dancer she is! Would love to see her Tatiana but not sure about Hristov in the role as Onegin. He isn't broody enough for me! 

 

On a different note, does anyone know why Marquez isn't dancing Tatiana in this run? Is she injured? Or is it not in her repertoire? 

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Lamb's performance as Tatiana is exquisite; it's full of detail and precision, technically strong and emotional without over-doing it.  I'd love to see her dancing with a stronger partner than Hristov (who last night came across somewhat cartoonish - may be better from further back though, as I was in the front row - and sometimes underpowered to the extent of not quite making the steps).  Hristov (and the corps) certainly not helped by some very dodgy tempi from Dominic Grier, who seemed to have a complete disregard for the dancers.

 

Sim, I agree that you should see Lamb's performance but there are only two left, both matinées.

 

The corps' run jeté lines were mentioned above.  Last night it was impossible for the dancers to complete these in time to the music as it was too fast.  It's a shame, as these lines have been very, very good so far this run and are one of the highlights of the ballet for me.

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To be honest I have seen Hristov in this before and was singularly underwhelmed which is why I didn't buy tickets for this cast.  It is a shame because I would have loved to have seen Sarah in the role, but this is one of those ballets where the lead male role is just as important (if not more so) than the female one, and I need a strong Onegin for it to work for me.

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Sim - I do so agree about the importance of having an Onegin who can match his Tatiana.  That is why, to be honest, I am dreading Golding with Osipova!  I wanted to see her enough to risk him.  And while we are mentioning great former Tatianas, I must put in a word for Natalia Makarova - who made me cry every time I saw her.

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Well, really it helps if you have a completely convincing quartet, too :)  I know Olga and Lensky are effectively gone by Act III, but they are catalysts for everything else, so need to be regarded as principal rather than secondary roles.  

 

BBB says that Lamb's performance is full of detail: can anyone tell me whether that detail reaches as far as the amphitheatre?

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BBB says that Lamb's performance is full of detail: can anyone tell me whether that detail reaches as far as the amphitheatre?

 

Reaches the back of the Stalls Circle for sure. I'm biased I know, but I thought her performance intelligent, thoughtful, and beautifully danced.

 

Matthew Golding was fine in the dress rehearsal - I find him an elegant dancer. His pleading to his partner in Act 3 was darn good if you ask me.

 

Valeri Hristov is almost too elegant for this role - his dancing nuanced and flowing, perhaps needing a bit more aggression and 'snap', so to speak. The pdds with Sarah are lovely to watch i thought.

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Sim - I do so agree about the importance of having an Onegin who can match his Tatiana.  That is why, to be honest, I am dreading Golding with Osipova!  I wanted to see her enough to risk him.  And while we are mentioning great former Tatianas, I must put in a word for Natalia Makarova - who made me cry every time I saw her.

 

I too was a bit concerned whether Matthew would be completely swamped by Natalia's power but at the rehearsal he more than held is own and I was impressed.

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I've yet to see Golding in the role but I loved him in Manon and I'm sure he will do very well. I wonder if a partnership is beginning to form with him and Osipova or whether O'Hare is testing the waters. I like her partnered with Acosta but once he retires I wonder if she will form something special with someone else. 

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That is an interesting point, ToThePointe (pardon pun!).  At the moment there is a real lack of an established, central partnership at the RB (such as Fonteyn/Nureyev, Sibley/Dowell, Seymour/Wall and, in recent times, Cojocaru/Kobborg).  I must say I do miss the excitement of seeing a couple dance together who have been dancing together for years and really, really understand each other both technically, dramatically and emotionally.  Maybe something will develop....who knows!

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 I wonder if a partnership is beginning to form with him and Osipova or whether O'Hare is testing the waters. 

 

Osipova and Golding were cast together last year in Sleeping Beauty but her injury got in the way. [Can't remember whether they did The Dream together or not!!!!] They managed a small portion of their Don Q partnership before injury intervened again. Now they are cast together in Onegin and will be again in Swan Lake. Despite Osipova also being paired with Acosta and McRae, all this feels to me more than simply "testing the waters" but I would like to see her dancing something with Muntagirov - except that K O'H might not want to have two such major stars (have you seen the reviews for Vadim's Lensky?) on the same programme.

 

By the way, I agree that  there is no reason to worry about Golding's Onegin.

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Despite Osipova also being paired with Acosta and McRae, all this feels to me more than simply "testing the waters" but I would like to see her dancing something with Muntagirov - except that K O'H might not want to have two such major stars (have you seen the reviews for Vadim's Lensky?) on the same programme.

 

 

 

This is true maybe a partnership between the two is forming. I too would like to see her with Muntagirov but I fear you are right about O'Hare. I also wonder how they would be though, for me, Osipova is quite classical and old fashioned with her acting (not a criticism) where as I find Muntagirov very naturalistic and real (after seeing him in Manon)...I would be interested to see if the two meshed well together purely on an acting level. In terms of technique, both are wonderful of course. 

 

(Very excited to see his Lensky!!)

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I attended last Saturday' s 2 performances and while I enjoyed the afternoon performance it didn't really move me like I expect to be moved by Onegin; the evening's performance was something else entirely! I've seen Marianella perform  it before in it's last run and I thought she was brilliant then as she was this time. Thiago's performance was a revelation. I've never seen such a compelling Onegin (except possibly Adam Cooper in the first Royal Ballet run). His stage presence, dancing and acting were the best I've ever seen from him. He was a really compelling figure. Vadim was wonderful too; such line, elegance and style; really poetic; very suitable for a poet! I too would love to see him partnering Natalia sometime. It would be fascinating to see them together and see if they could forge a real partnership, not to mention saving on expense as I now have to pay 2 lots of transport, accommodation and tickets if I want to see them both. However, I expect that's what the ROH want!

 

The lack of a proper dvd recording is very frustrating. I can't understand the ruling as 2 early recordings were made; the (presumably original) cast featuring Marcia Haydee was I think recorded for tv though I don't think it was ever transferred to video. Then there was the video of the National Ballet of Canada with Frank Augustyn released in 1976 but never transferred to dvd. Someone must have allowed these recordings to take place so why not more modern casts, especially given the wonderful interpretations by brilliant casts since then (I think Cooper/Rojo/Cojacaru/Putrov is possibly my favourite but there have been many more including last Saturday's). if there is a problem with foreign companies surely Stuttgart themselves could supervise a recording. it would be fabulous to see it at the cinema which surely would have happened by now if it was permitted as it's been performed by the Royal at least twice since the cinema broadcasts began.

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This evening's performance didn't do it for me although it improved as it went on. It didn't feel like an ensemble piece. The first act felt a bit 'off' for me. Even the mirror pdd didn't really soar. Things hotted up when Olga started flirting with Onegin. Soares looks the part and does brooding well but I found his characterisation a bit monochrome. He danced well and partnered Nunez very well but I feel that she is a bit tall or too leggy for him? I felt that Takada and Muntagirov were not well matched in this ballet stylistically or height-wise (the height difference seemed to matter more). Muntagirov had a rather tentative start but came into his own in the solo before the duel. I do see why some of the critics are a bit sniffy about this ballet. A lot of the corps dancing is dull and the music is unmemorable and has a feeling of generic romantic film music. Last time I saw this (with Nunez/Soares) I enjoyed it more. Perhaps it was because I was sitting much lower down. Perhaps it's because I hadn't seen as much ballet last time and wasn't as picky. Perhaps it's because the performance last time was actually better. I just don't know.

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I don't know much about music, but even I could tell that this was way off kilter. This was especially apparent in the mirror pdd: where was the climactic build up? Where was the excitement as Tatiana's dream leaves her spent on the floor at the end of it? That whole scene was way too slow and monotonous....and one should never be able to say that about the mirror pdd.

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