Scheherezade

Hi Sebastian, if Saturday evening is still free I would be interested. Have also sent a PM.

Absolutely! Very much deserved. She was terrific!

She would. She has that quality of unforced spontaneity that Juliet demands.

Don’t be! 😅

I loved Cinderella last time round and it was so long since it was last scheduled I will be more than happy to see it again. I remain lukewarm about Alice, ditto the music, so would much prefer LWFC if we are to have a full length Wheeldon. It may be more dance theatre than ballet but it moves along apace, has some stand-out segments and far more enjoyable music. It looks as though Maddadam is on its way, like it or not. We shall see. if we are to have more new works can we please have Zucchetti. And/or commission Tyler Peck, Mthuthuzeli November, Arielle Smith, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa or David Dawson instead of more McGregor or Joseph Toonga. Bayadere is sadly off the menu as, it seems, is Fille and Giselle and in view of Cinderella, R&J and the current triple bill we are unlikely to get more Ashton or MacMillan. A triple bill with Ashton, Balanchine, Robbins or MacMillan, or something like the pre-lockdown Raymonda Act 3 triple, would be more than welcome. Or, if not, the old style mixed triple with a bit of something for everyone but again, sadly, unlikely. So my hopes are pinned firmly to Onegin with the remainder awaited more with trepidation than expectation.

She has been wonderful throughout

My goodness, I was SCS at last night’s performance, fairly close to the poor man who fainted - luckily he stood up immediately afterwards and seemed to be ok, unlike a similar fainting incident in the rear amphi standing places not all that long ago when the level 6 exit had to be completely closed off until the medics arrived - but had no idea about the alarming incident in the upper slips. What a relief that there were no injuries. Like Alison and Cayetana, I did notice Hirano’s earlier problems, including the hint of a limp just a little beforehand, which certainly rang alarm bells at the time. I also wondered how his absence would impact upon the rest of the performance and whether the lift at the end would have to be abandoned so kudos to Matthew Ball for stepping brilliantly, to the whole company for covering so seamlessly and best wishes to Hirano for a successful operation and quick recovery. All of which seems to have overshadowed the actual performances, which were wonderful throughout. I would have liked to see Osipova and Clarke, purely because I had already seen the first cast for Distant Drummer, but I can’t honestly imagine anyone surpassing Sambe and Hayward as Woyzek and Marie, and as others have said, what an amazing tour de force on Sambe’s part to have carried so many performances of both Distant Drummer and Swan Lake within such a short timespan. Whilst Dances Concertantes remains very much ‘of its time’, I hold by my first impressions that works of this type should not be allowed to fade from the repertoire. The performances seemed tighter overall than on opening night, with the dancers more comfortable with the choreography and I think that audience enjoyment increases with greater familiarity with what are now inevitably labelled ‘heritage works’. And Requiem was, as before, just sublime. Sarah Lamb and Lauren Cuthbertson bought very different qualities to this work. For me, Lauren, whose performance was imbued with a serene humanity, seemed more the instrument, with an other-worldly Sarah more the author, of what was happening around them. Both were exquisite. And as no one has mentioned Isobel Lubach, I thought she brought depth and integrity to her performance and held her own brilliantly.

Me too.

Reunion of their souls/spirits? Victory through and beyond death.

Risk of injury aside, that would certainly add an extra frisson to the proceedings.

For me, having Odette returned to human form in death and the massed rising of the swans against Von Rothbart makes a lot of sense. It’s just Siegfried’s total lack of agency that diminishes Act 4.

The BRB production is indeed more vibrant than the RB version but I have to say that I absolutely loved all the RB performances I saw in the last run. And it may just be that a level of comfort sets in with increased familiarity but it did seem to me that there was less of an insipid feel to the RB sets and costumes this time round. Also - and I acknowledge that I am in a minority here - I really like the Act 2 sets.

Shocking!

With everything I hear or read I think the situation can’t get worse and then something else comes along to show me how overly optimistic I was. This ongoing and sinister attack upon excellence on the basis that it is elitist is not only disingenuous but by its very nature (removing the means for most people to engage with excellence) is well on the way to ensuring that it becomes precisely that. I too am appalled. And saddened beyond belief at having to say that I am not surprised.

And on a completely superficial level, he also has a rather lovely name.