Scheherezade

I agree with Alison, Sanj2000.

I loved the last ENB Coliseum Swan Lake but this may have been largely due to the fact that Rojo was absolutely electrifying.

I would not, however, be tempted to go to the St Petersburg Ballet Theatre production at the Coliseum this coming August, although others may have had a better experience of this company than mine.

20 hours ago, MAB said:

This just turned up on Facebook.

 ... Led by prima ballerina Irina Kolesnikova, St Petersburg #Ballet Theatre's #SwanLake is the production everyone must experience at least once in their life.

Oh no, having already experienced it once in my life, which even Rodkin's best efforts could not salvage, I have no intention of renewing the experience.

Sanj2000, you can get very cheap tickets in parts of the Coliseum balcony. For opera, the sound at the back of the balcony has always been the best in the house (although Geoff's comments seem to suggest that this may no longer be the case) and the view for ballet in the front row balcony is excellent if you don't mind the cramped legroom.

I loved the last proscenium Swan Lake that ENB performed three or four years ago at the Coliseum. The production was good, the prologue helped make sense of the story and had the added benefit of the prince's solo and Rojo was absolutely electric as Odette/Odile.

ENO generally gives better performances of Britten's works than the RO, which could explain why you enjoyed it so much. They also, historically, have a better record with highly-stylised baroque works but I really do feel that they should stick to the original tongue in pretty much everything else.

What is the current situation with their wonderful chorus? Has it been substantially reduced? Will there be any more reductions, does anyone know, and will decisions of this type depend upon box office receipts, critics' reviews, anything else? 

Just now, Bruce Wall said:

 

Would that they could have a different orchestration/conductor.  That's ultimately what does this production in for me ... but I realise I'm very much out on a limb hereabouts on this particular score.  (Pun intended.)  

I'm with you on the orchestration/conducting, Bruce. It's all too toned-down and muted. Bring back the traditional orchestration!

23 minutes ago, MAB said:

 

 An Osipova/Corrales Don Q quickens my pulse just thinking about it.

They would be perfect together. Maybe a touch of the barnstorming Osipova/Vasiliev Don Q.

26 minutes ago, MAB said:

 

I tend to agree with that, however I could make an exception in the case of one non RB dancer: Vlad Lantratov.

I'd be happy to see Lantratov in pretty much anything. Has he ever guested with the RB or, for that matter, any other companies?

I also feel saddened. Like you, Mary, and many others, I'm sure, I was really rooting for ENO. It's almost as though, as was mooted during Cressida Pollock's tenure, the decisions taken by the powers that be are designed to ensure that the company will crash.

I'd forgotten about Corrales. I wonder what he's lined up for. And with whom.

Isadora was far more tedious. And the Acosta Carmen.

3 hours ago, RuthE said:

I was there on Friday.  I enjoyed many things about the production (more than most of the critics seem to have done) but I'm afraid the casting was really misguided in two of the "big 3" roles.  It was a real shame.

And the production and concept, Ruth?

18 minutes ago, Sim said:

I would give it another chance if someone told me it had been completely re-choreographed....

Not completely, surely, Sim?Yes, i was derivative but I still found it watchable. Some reworking, trimming, more emphasis on the psychological basis for the monster's development would definitely help but I've seen far worse at the ROH.

14 hours ago, MAB said:

 

At the New Victoria Theatre opposite Victoria Station.  That was a regular venue for ballet back then and Festival Ballet performed there often.  It's the Victoria Apollo now and ballet no longer features there at all.

I recall seeing a production there from a visiting company in the early 70s. I can't remember who or what it was but can clearly recall how difficult it was not to laugh at the over-the-top make-up, plastered-on smiles and playschool-bright costumes so dazzling that sunglasses should have come as standard with the ticket price.

2 hours ago, Grand Tier Left said:

On the other hand, I was siiting near the stage at a fairly low-key matinée at the London Coliseum watching him in a mainly Balanchine programme with Zurich Ballet (c 1980) when, early into the big pas de deux, his obviously nervous ballerina could be heard to say, "I can't go on!".  He talked her through the rest of it, with lots of "Good, good" and they took their bows graciously together.  I doubt many would have noticed anything amiss, but oh, to have been a fly on the wall once the curtain went down.

How lovely to read about his caring side rather than the usual reports of his stormy nature and difficult temperament.

10 minutes ago, LinMM said:

I remember a couple of over nighters!! When the flower market was still there so somehow it felt quite safe and people took it in turns to get coffees or teas etc. And flowers to throw! It was a very exciting time. 

1 hour ago, MAB said:

Night after night I'd sleep out on the pavement in Floral Street to get a standing or a rare return.  I think we all knew how special what we were seeing was and how unlikely it would be to ever see anyone like that again.  Those as they say really were the days.

Absolutely the best times. Coffees and breakfasts from the greasy spoon in Floral Street, invitations to come up for a cup of tea from the residents in the nearby flats, the general camaraderie. Things haven't changed for the better.

2 hours ago, Sim said:

Exactly.....he knows what to do with a circle, other than have dancers running round and round in one.

You took the words out of my mouth, Sim.

Busby Berkeley was someone else who knew what to do with a circle and with far more complex geometric shapes. Not at all the same thing as running aimlessly in a circle.

I forgot to mention that my pet hate was once again evident in Corybantic Games - running round in circles. Why do choreographers continue to foist this abomination upon us? All it suggests to me is that the choreographer has run out of ideas. If this is the case, let's have fewer, and better thought out, commissions.

There were some very touching moments and some humour. I as glad to be there. I was also at the performance on 22nd November when his death was announced. It is as difficult now as then to think that we will never hear him sing live on the stage again.

13 hours ago, Jillykins said:

I was sad to see one of his last performances at the Coliseum, my Nureyev was gone despite his continued magnetism.

That magnetism never left him, though, did it? Even when he was well past his best, all he had to do was stand on the stage and nothing and no-one else seemed to matter. Totally unique and never forgotten.

4 hours ago, JohnS said:

Emperor's new clothes?

Sadly, John, this has been my response to much of the recent, new RB output.

Of the Bernstein triple, I enjoyed the McGregor most. I found it aesthetically beautiful but hadn't a clue what it was about or how it could be said to gel with the Chichester Psalms.

As with the last run, Age of Anxiety screamed musical theatre. I spent much of the time trying to figure out, unsuccessfully, whether there had been any or, indeed, many changes from last time round. Gartside injected the emotional content.

I also felt that the Wheeldon started well but before long it started to drag and I began to feel bored. I also agree about the costumes and felt that it wasn't too much of an exaggeration to say that I or, indeed, pretty much anyone with a mind to do so, could have designed something far more appropriate at a fraction of the cost.

I would say that I was disappointed but for the fact that, sadly, I hadn't expected anything better.

I don't think they did, but he didn't get a whole lot of praise either, although the point that I was trying to make was that, if I remember correctly, the Dutch National Ballet's prince had a distinct personality, which he managed to flesh out reasonably adequately for someone not known as a dramatic dancer.

16 hours ago, loveclassics said:

It also mentions a new version of Cinderella by Wheeldon.  Is this the same production recorded by the Dutch National Ballet?  I saw this on Sky Arts a few years ago starring Anna Tsygankova and Matthew Golding and liked it a lot even though it substituted four fate-like creatures clad in black for the seasonal fairies.  It's available from iTunes or you can view snippets on YouTube here:

 

Linda

I saw the Golding/Tsygankova Cinderella at the Coliseum and they were both superb. Whilst the chemistry was a given, what also struck me was how Golding's performance flew in the face of much of the criticism being levelled at him at the time.

Noooo.... And I will be out of the country from June 6th-16th!

And Teatro alla Scala Ballet Company in July.

Bachtrack 'What's On' section could possibly help. You can tailor your request geographically on a global, national or regional basis.