gillm
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Marvellous turnout in my little street in Twickenham. It was very emotional. To any NHS and frontline staff on here ...ššš.
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The Royal Ballet: Mayerling, Autumn 2018
gillm replied to penelopesimpson's topic in Performances seen & general discussions
northstar - I for one am very glad that you have resurrected the thread. I adore Mayerling and have DVDs of both of the performances that Alison mentioned. For reasons I canāt put my finger on I have never warmed to Steven McRae, so tuned in without high expectations - however it was a bit of a revelation and I thoroughly enjoyed his performance. There were lots of subtleties and nuances that I just didnāt expect (thatās a reflection on me, not McRae!). Iāve been converted! Iāve dipped into iplayer on and off since to re-watch....and will doubtless keep doing that in the coming weeks. Although I will likely have to alternate between Mayerling and La Fille Mal Gardee to maintain some balance......- 649 replies
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Wanted: Acosta Danza Insight Feb 11th.
gillm replied to gillm's topic in Ticket Exchange & Special Offers
Excellent, thatās really good to know. Iāve been checking frequently and just got lucky....ticket near the middle of the front row! Iām sure it will be fascinating. š -
Wanted: Acosta Danza Insight Feb 11th.
gillm replied to gillm's topic in Ticket Exchange & Special Offers
Managed to get one as the ROH released a few more just now. Yay!! There are still a handful if anyone else is interested. -
If anyone has a spare ticket for this event I would be delighted to re-home it. Thanks, Gillian
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The Royal Ballet: Mayerling, Autumn 2018
gillm replied to penelopesimpson's topic in Performances seen & general discussions
Iāve been fretting about my memory issues (again) so dug out my Giselle Osipova / Acosta DVD ( any excuse). She does present him with a stem from the bouquet- maybe itās for filming only!- 649 replies
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The Royal Ballet: Mayerling, Autumn 2018
gillm replied to penelopesimpson's topic in Performances seen & general discussions
Iām obviously imagining things re the flowers then! Apologies for my failing memory. Really sad I canāt attend any more in this run. Might have to get the DVDs out š.- 649 replies
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The Royal Ballet: Mayerling, Autumn 2018
gillm replied to penelopesimpson's topic in Performances seen & general discussions
I didnāt pick up on anything at the curtain call, which to be honest means nothing! For me, it was my favourite Mayerling (yes I have seen Watson). It wasnāt perfect - there was the odd fumble, and if I recall correctly Osipova did collide with the chair in the final PDD. It looked gentle to me and I didnāt think āouchā. I imagine the role of Mary can be a bit of a bruiser... On reflection I think I have seen Osipova present partners with a stem from her bouquet in the past, but I didnāt see this happen last night. I hasten to add I could be wrong on both fronts. Iāll leave the proper critique to others, but to state the obvious (one of my fortes) - what a prospect that must be to have to dance such demanding PDDs with different ladies with presumably less than ideal preparation- especially when you have an audience where many were hoping to see Watson. A highlight for me was the first act PDD with Hayward. I was in tears during the final PDD - a first. A lot of that may be because I have had an emotional week - was well up for a Mayerling.- 649 replies
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RB Mayerling: Monday 8th Oct, SCS D9, D8 at Ā£9 each
gillm replied to Carol's topic in Ticket Exchange & Special Offers
Hello Carol, would love D8 if it is still available. PM to follow... Gillian -
A cracking evening! Thoroughly enjoyed it. I was standing and usually flag after an hour but it just flew by. I am no expert, just a casual viewer. Thought it was cleverly done though a small mean part of me was disappointed there was nothing controversial. I particularly enjoyed the chorus. I have been playing my Cav CD to death recently and it was terrific to hear it live... And remembered not to sing along...
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The Royal Ballet: Swan Lake, February 2015
gillm replied to zxDaveM's topic in Performances seen & general discussions
I am not going to attempt a review but I will indulge in a little reminiscing. Like ElleC the RB Swan Lake does hold a special place in my heart as it started an unexpected interest in ballet, an art form I had previously derided in my foolish (and now very distant) youth. 3rd January 2005 - a duty visit to Covent Garden. The prospect of the meal in the Floral Hall was promising but the thought of having to break off in between courses to endure a bit of prancing around was quite frankly unappealing. Still, political correctness prevailed and I took my seat for the performance (sans wine glass too!!) featuring Rojo / Acosta (who?? Seriously - I had never heard of him. Her name rang a bell but maybe from Spanish class, colour section) and prepared myself for a dull hour. Well how wrong was I ?? Acosta strode on to the stage, a buzz went around the auditorium, I looked up from my lap, thought "ooh hello" ..things were definitely looking up. As soon as he (eventually) managed some dancing I was hooked - and I hadn't even clapped eyes on a swan at that stage (still waiting for the lake...). I remember feeling somewhat miffed that he didn't dance a bit more in Act 1 but decided against proferring my suggestions to the management. Then Ms Rojo rocked up and the whole evening just got better and better. Afterwards I bored everyone rigid with how wonderful it had been...fair to say most people were confused: "but you don't like ballet....". Anyway I got on to the ROH website and booked myself to see La Fille mal Gardee with Acosta / Nunez - snapping up the remaining ticket in the Orchestra Stalls. My mother told me it would be funny which I didn't believe on two counts - ballet being funny and my mother finding anything funny. Wrong again... Naturally I fell in love with Nunez as I had with Rojo and Acosta. Nunez and Acosta became my favourite partnership and much as I like Sarah Lamb I can't pretend to be disappointed by her stand-in on the opening night of Swan Lake last week. What fabulous fouettes! And the speed of Acosta's spins! I was dizzy watching it all. Out of interest I attempted a fouette in the sanctuary of my living room. I have never done ballet (apart from a brief performance as a chicken, aged 4) and can I just say it's actually quite tricky even though Ms Nunez makes it look as easy as falling off a log (which is the effect I ended up with). The ROH need to issue a warning - don't try this at home. I was in tears for large parts of Act 2 - I found it all rather emotional - and more bizarrely during parts of Act 3 (perhaps the sets are getting to me). I was quite wiped out by Act 4. I found the curtain call very touching. It is great to see the obvious rapport between the leads and a bit of informal hugging. There were times last week when I felt some of the same excitement that I had during my first viewing ten years ago - no mean feat after repeated viewings in the interim. Sure there are things in the production that aren't perfect - like in any long term relationship -and those have been touched on elsewhere. So - roll on Thursday when I hope to see Ms Lamb, and roll on April for the final (I presume) Nunez / Acosta Fille. Welling up already... If you are still reading, congratulations. I have enjoyed the indulgence.- 381 replies
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- Royal Ballet
- Swan Lake
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Part of me doesn't want to watch it again so I can preserve the memory of being there if that makes any sense. Playing it on a computer won't cut it for me - Maybe I am just a dinosaur (or strange!) but I personally don't enjoy it. So until I sort my DVD player I am more than happy with my new ornament!
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Hi Sim - I agree! Just the arrival of the DVD took me back to that magical performance. It is etched in my memory.
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How exciting... My copy has arrived, beautifully wrapped in ROH tissue paper- now all I need is a DVD player. I really should think these things through.