Scheherezade

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.

Dynamic pricing does sound likely but if the balcony has only recently been opened up (and I’ll admit that I don’t know if that’s the case), wouldn’t it make more sense to see whether tickets there would sell at a similar price to balcony tickets on all the other dates. As they are cheaper than any other levels, logic suggests that they would be more likely to be snapped up by people who want to see the company (or the ballet) but don’t have such deep pockets.

Thanks for your thoughts San Pertegrino. That could explain why the balcony has been opened up for the first three performances and to some extent why opening night and the next day matinee have sold well but I find it odd that the same is not true for the the next day evening performance and even stranger that that selfsame evening performance is cheaper throughout the house than every other performance in the entire run.

What if you'd just popped out to the loo and she'd closed up by the time you got back ,,, Aaagh!!!

I have checked out the position on the Coliseum website. This shows that the balcony is available for booking on opening night Wed 28 August along with both the matinee and evening performances on Thurs 29 August but not, it would appear, for any of the other dates. The balcony prices on 28 Aug and the 29 Aug matinee range from £29 - £49 with very few seats left on the 28th and not all that many, particularly among the cheapest £29 seats, available for the 29th matinee. By way of contrast, balcony seats for the evening performance on the 29th are priced from £19 - £39 (£10 cheaper across the board) and there are lots still available at all prices. Prices on the 28th and the 29th matinee for the upper circle, dress circle and stalls come in at £59 - £79; £79 - £129; £89 - £129 with reduced prices for children in line with all the following dates but on the evening of the 29th the prices for all these levels follow the same pattern of £10 cheaper across the board and there are no child reductions. This all seems very strange. Does anyone know why?

There are indeed. And it will be lovely to see Cira Robinson dancing again.

What a gorgeous season. If only we could hope for something similar.

Yes, luckily I have them both to come.

And indeed they sang the selfsame plus lots and lots more very beguilingly on ABBA Night last night on the Beeb for those of us not fortunate enough to get a ticket for Marianela and Vadim. Envious? Me? 😢 …

Celine, how lovely! I do hope that I am there to see your evening gown and that you post a photo on the forum.

Oh yes it is and then some! Think the fourth ring of the ninth circle of hell on endless and merciless repeat and you’re getting close. One of the hardest things I have ever done was to sit through Creature to the very end. The performances were superlative but no power on earth could induce me to endure two such hours of unrelenting queasiness, uneasiness and soul-destroying torture ever again.

Oh, @LinMM I am so with you on this! @Linnzi5 in that case you obviously haven’t seen Creature.

I do get what you are saying @art_enthusiast but I don’t believe that the more expensive tickets should carry a greater expectation of courtesy from your neighbours. Or, for that matter, that it’s likely to come with the territory. As @BeauxArts said, the contrary is often the case since the cheap tickets are frequently taken by those who love the art form rather more than their own sense of entitlement. And @Sophoife, I would endorse every one of your examples of behaviour to despise. I’ll take your curmudgeonly and raise you cantankerous, adding people who: indulge in manspreading and glare at you with undisguised hostility if you try to reclaim even the smallest piece of your own designated space; take an eternity to move from their end of row seats at the interval while a restless queue is shifting uncomfortably, trying to get out; wear a too-cool-for-school hat and keep it on throughout the performance; drape their coats over the seat in front to the discomfort of the person sitting there; cough and sneeze repeatedly without covering their mouth; play with their hair, flicking it, pushing it up, pulling it down and endlessly twirling it round their fingers; remove their shoes, delighting their neighbours with a lovely cheesy smell for the duration of the performance; whisper during the quiet bits in the mistaken belief that the hissing sound they make can’t be heard by people sitting nearby. The worst offenders, though, must surely be the loved up couples who lean in to each other from the moment the lights go down, heads touching throughout, exchanging meaningful hugs and kisses with depressing regularity. Get a room! And I don’t mean the auditorium.

Can I join the queue please for SCS or central balcony standing for Sat 6 April Swan Lake.

You are not the only one, Fonty. The men’s headpieces apart, I loved the costumes and the set, both the designs and the colours.

That’s a no, Emeralds, and I admit I hadn’t checked the choreographer’s details so thanks to @San Perregrinofor providing Ossian Meilir’s bio. Mark Baldwin choreographed the Rambert work.

Possibly the Garsington Opera / Rambert / Sadler’s Wells pre-lockdown version?