Scheherezade

How was Andreas Scholl, Mab? I had hoped to be there but couldn't make it. And was the Barbican a suitable venue or would somewhere more intimate have been preferable?

I want to know if Brexit will mean a return to pounds and ounces, feet and inches, Fahrenheit, and light bulbs that neither buzz or leave you in perpetual gloom. 

Not to mention the return of those wonderfully intimate ROH seats by the side of the stage. I was informed that their removal was due to EU regulations about sound. It would be lovely to be able to sit there again (particularly for opera) for performances other than the annual summer visits of the Russian companies.

Loved the film, loved the show, and Robert Fairchild is an out and out star of the very first order, couldn't take my eyes off him! And sorry Ruth E but if his character, Jerry, *had* taken no for an answer we wouldn't have a show.

A very engaging performance by Leanne Cope, who embodied Lise's ingenue qualities - part Lesley Caron, part Audrey Hepburn - and she really seemed to be enjoy herself, which was lovely to see.

Haydn Oakley as Henri and David Seadon-Young as Adam both tugged at the heartstrings, as did Zoe Rainey's Milo Davenport, who was so gorgeous she almost made me wonder how Jerry could leave her for Lise.

After the earlier reviews, I was expecting act 1 to drag far more than it did. Perhaps because my expectations were lowered, I wasn't bored at all. Yes, it was bitty in parts but it all hung together, moved the story seamlessly forward and the mobile sets were very effectively used. Oh,  and I absolutely want Milo Davenport's wardrobe!

So, great leads, a convincing and enjoyable ensemble cast and, as SPD444 said earlier, singing, acting and dancing of a high order, what's not to love?

There is a fabulous youtube clip of Soloviev dancing Sylphides with Makarova

What a gorgeous clip, Mary. And Makarova, how privileged we were to have seen so much of her: surely the most beautiful arms ever!

Probably looking for a name more likely than others to bring in the punters.

Just goes to show how parochial we all are. Not to mention partisan.

Yes, a dancer who stands out and is absolutely wonderful in everything is an outstanding dancer, and fully deserves principal status.  But it is exceptionally rare that someone is truly sublime in everything.  If you look at the current crop of principals in the RB, how many of those would be your first choice for something by a particular choreographer, if you were being completely honest?

 

It would a crying shame if someone who is absolutely fantastic in tutu roles, and one of the best performers of Ashton, should be denied promotion because they don't have the extreme flexibility required for a McGregor work, or perhaps are not quite so suited to conveying the dark dramatics of MacMillan's work.    

 

It seems an old fashioned idea now, that a dancer in the higher categories should be a specialist in certain areas, but it makes perfect sense to me.  

Witness the breathtaking-in-some-things-but-less-so-in-others Ed Watson.

Well, that's a list with at least two surprising items. Cost was awful, and as for Renée Fleming, I can imagine some kind of lifetime achievement award in the role but surely not for this last run.

Agreed. Cost as well as Cosi.

I'd go for Akhnaten and Mark Wigglesworth but if the awards follow the Oscars' model it will be 4.48 Psychosis and Renee Fleming.

 I can only hope that we get more of Mr Kessels and far less of the specialist Russian ballet conductors in the future.

 

I think most of us would agree.

Mr Kessels certainly breathed new life into this Beauty. If not by a kiss, by the energising tempi that transformed the whole production.

The fact that you quote Nureyev is interesting, because for me Nureyev perfectly summarizes all the reasons why Polunin will be remembered: 

Not for me, Lilian88. Nureyev was obsessively committed to ballet and an out and out workhorse, neither of which epithet can remotely be applied to Polunin.

Nureyev's wider appeal, outside of dance, was exoticism, generously fed, I will admit, by his extraordinary looks, intoxicating arrogance and the danger and glamour of his defection, added to which, few people in the West had ever seen anyone dance as he did.

Whilst Polunin's talent cannot be denied, his commitment to nurturing that talent certainly can and if what is written about him is correct (and I am the first to admit that I have no means of knowing whether or not it is), he would seem to lack any sort of concerted work ethic beyond the belief that his natural ability (admittedly extraordinary) is all that is required.

Whatever the position worldwide, I would be surprised if, balletomanes excluded, the UK public could name a single living dancer apart from Darcey Bussell (and just possibly Carlos Acosta amongst the better informed). A number of my son's friends have been wowed by the 'Take me to the Church' video. Not one has the faintest idea of the identity of the dancer, nor any interest in discovering whom he might be. 

My goodness, what a lot of prickly reactions to Ms Osipova from both sides.

I didn't see her Aurora so I can't comment. I have deliberately avoided booking to see her in anything strictly classical since her first Odette/Odile, both of which which disappointed me, although I have adored her Giselle since her first, stunning interpretation with the Bolshoi and I have also enjoyed her Lise and Natalia Petrovna (despite not being able to take my eyes off Frankie Hayward's Vera) and I think that it is an absolute tragedy that she and McRae are not repeating their dazzling Rubies performance.

From my perspective, I can understand why the Bolshoi chose not to cast her in classical roles but find it a restriction too far to limited her castings to soubrette roles when she has so much to bring by way of both technique and interpretation. 

I would say that, on balance, I would expect more people on the forum to dislike Osipova's classical interpretations than to like them, although those in the 'like' camp are likely to be extremely fierce in their defence.

I second those who find the scope for disagreement on the forum a natural and healthy response to any given performance.

Great for NBT and its audiences, but almost identical to the last all MacMillan triple performed in London.

And I'd love to see it again.

Surely - and this is not meant as a criticism but as a fact - many young people show something of a herd mentality, possibly because they are not yet sufficiently comfortable in their own skins to risk the opprobrium of being different. Added to this, most have not been exposed to what is often described as 'the high arts' and many fear being categorised as 'elitist'. As a result, the majority would not even consider attending these art forms and those who do will generally only attend something that is recommended by their peer group. 

Royal ballet's Eric Underwood in the latest Hackett advert:

 

Love this! And he has just the right attitude.

A generation back it was considered bad manners even to eat on the street. To eat anywhere in public, and to eat anything at all, even something as insignificant as a square of chocolate, was considered a sign of a bad upbringing.

It is never easy to decide whether to push a child to fulfil their talent. Is such a decision in the child's best interests or does it fulfil the parent's need for vicarious glory?

My son was a gifted athlete. He was approached by one trainer who said that he could take him to the Olympics. A schoolfriend's father, himself an international sportsman, said something similar and went on to say that in his own family his brother had been the more talented but was less successful since he lacked the necessary temperament and commitment. Interestingly, he felt that my son did have the temperament. In the event, my son did not wish to commit to the all-encompassing training schedule and since I did not want him to be unhappy I let things be.

It is easy to make that decision from the relative prosperity of the West. I cannot say whether I would have made the same choice if burdened by poverty. Whatever decision a parent makes, he or she can never be sure that they made the right choice.

Jonas Kaufman is too baritonal for my taste.  I would have thought Juan Diego Flores might be the main man these days though I'll admit his repertoire is a bit limited.

Definitely baritonal. Fabulous on stage as he is a consummate performer but less so in recording although I do currently enjoy listening to his voice more than I did a few years back..

JDF, as you say, has a limited repertoire (and there have been murmurs that his voice hasn't been sounding at its best of late) but a big personality.

Personally, I'm looking forward to Michael Spyres' up and coming Mitridate. Loved his Benvenuto Cellini at the ENO and his La Monnaie Mitridate was much acclaimed.

What a wonderful programme. 

Isn't it just!

One of my most amusing experiences was listening to an American mother trying to explain what British pantomime was about to her young offspring at a performance of Stephen Fry's Cinderella around ten years ago at the Old Vic. Quite clearly the combination of the Old Vic and Stephen Fry had led her to believe that the experience would be mind-improving. I have seldom seen anyone so much at sea although she did eventually join in the booing.

(re: Floss, on 27 Feb 2017 - 3:26 PM: Anyone writing about the lack of adequate coaching for dancers who need it is touching on something about which I suspect the company management is  pretty sensitive....Any letter would have to be carefully constructed with lots of strategically placed "sugaring of the pill* to ensure that the important elements of it were read .It is the equivalent of one of those exercises that were reputedly given to high fliers in the Foreign Office in which they were required to write to the wife of a dictator to explain why it was impossible for the police to shoot the demonstrators who had disrupted her visit to this country.)

 

 

I find this idea deeply depressing.  The very thought that any company management would have to be sweet talked into "allowing" their current employees to receive coaching is terrible.  I am sure there are plenty of ex dancers around who would be delighted to pass on their knowledge, and are probably scratching their heads wondering why they have never been asked to do so.  And I don't believe they would ask so much money, that the RB coffers couldn't afford it.  

As do I (find it depressing), along with the fact that those who feel the lack of adequate coaching most keenly, and have the expertise to criticise and the nous and imagination to offer a remedy, feel that they have to pussyfoot around the matter out of consideration for the fragile egos of those who can implement improvement. Perhaps what is needed is the equivalent of the much lamented Brian Walden interview technique.

I'd be surprised if anyone other than Kaufmann qualifies as a 'hot ticket' these days. Don Carlo, which used to sell out very promptly, still has plenty of tickets for its up and coming run and tickets are still available for the Butterfly 2nd cast (until recently even for the Jaho 1st cast) and this would surely be described as a 'banker'.

I don't know that I'd describe Alagna as a draw any more although I would still book to see him. I must say that I did enjoy one observer's comments that the most likely reason for his withdrawal from Trovatore was because he must have seen the production. And as Kurzak is cast as Liu, I'd imagine that he is more likely to turn up for this one.

I agree, by the way, Alison, with your views on the lead characters.

That is shocking!  I think I might have been tempted to ask her if she wanted to try the expensive seats in the stalls. Without going down the stairs. 

I love this idea, Fonty. A temptation I shall find increasingly hard to resist in future.

Have I discovered a new problem? Last night I was sitting in the ROH near several people with Apple smart watches (no idea what they are called, but they are big squarish watches which appear to be able to operate like smartphones as well as watches, ie deliver email etc) At least one of them found his "watch" far more interesting than Osipova, and so lit up the amphitheatre with the technology on his wrist while the performance was going on.

 

The most exciting thing for him seemed to be reading emails, which he did until his neighbour finally told him to stop it.

Just the flash from those watches is enough to raise my blood pressure! Even when the wearer ignores them, the illumination goes on.

Coaching deficiencies. Has anyone written to Kevin O'Hare with their concerns or suggestions?