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gillm

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Everything posted by gillm

  1. Marvellous turnout in my little street in Twickenham. It was very emotional. To any NHS and frontline staff on here ...šŸ’•šŸ’•šŸ’•.
  2. 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 canā€™t 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 didnā€™t expect (thatā€™s a reflection on me, not McRae!). Iā€™ve been converted! Iā€™ve 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......
  3. Excellent, thatā€™s really good to know. Iā€™ve been checking frequently and just got lucky....ticket near the middle of the front row! Iā€™m sure it will be fascinating. šŸ˜€
  4. Managed to get one as the ROH released a few more just now. Yay!! There are still a handful if anyone else is interested.
  5. If anyone has a spare ticket for this event I would be delighted to re-home it. Thanks, Gillian
  6. Iā€™ve 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 itā€™s for filming only!
  7. Iā€™m obviously imagining things re the flowers then! Apologies for my failing memory. Really sad I canā€™t attend any more in this run. Might have to get the DVDs out šŸ˜ƒ.
  8. I didnā€™t 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 wasnā€™t 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 didnā€™t think ā€œouchā€. 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 didnā€™t see this happen last night. I hasten to add I could be wrong on both fronts. Iā€™ll 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.
  9. Hello Carol, would love D8 if it is still available. PM to follow... Gillian
  10. gillm

    CavPag ROH

    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...
  11. 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.
  12. 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!
  13. Hi Sim - I agree! Just the arrival of the DVD took me back to that magical performance. It is etched in my memory.
  14. 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.
  15. I'm just an Ordinary Friend (..I feel there should be a song in that somewhere). I can't remember being able to buy a Stalls Circle Standing on Friends' Booking Day in recent years. As I see it I being a Friend gives me two chances to get a reasonable seat in the amphi (and/or subscription to a very expensive magazine), especially as I can't always make both booking dates. If I am lucky enough to get a Stalls Circle Standing ticket at public booking then I am super thankful. There aren't that many to go round after all. If a lot of them are going to students then I personally don't have a problem with that - when I was a student the only offers I was interested in were cheap cocktails and the closest I got to culture was yogurt ....
  16. I attended a gala a few years ago in the presence of HM. She sat in the Royal Box, and if I recall correctly (which is becoming less frequent these days), during the interval the flowers were removed from the tier ledge...presumably because they were obstructing what was left of her view! Still, at least she doesn't have to queue for the ladies....
  17. Luckily I have a friend with Sky Arts so invited myself round to watch. Carlos is a very engaging interviewee and of course Parky is a great host. They talked about his background and career, also the project he is trying to get off the ground in Cuba which he is obviously very passionate about. Dancewise we had the Don Q, the Princess Stefanie pdd from Mayerling with Roberta Marquez, and some modern solo thing (Memoria)- I surprised myself by enjoying the last piece. Oh to have been in the audience!! My friend has never seen Carlos and is not into ballet however she found it fascinating. "Interesting and articulate speaker". "Makes the dancing look easy". She was quite amazed that a ballet dancer might come from a poor background. I doubt I will ever get her to the ballet but my chances of seeing more Sky Arts programmes at hers are high!!.
  18. gillm

    Room 101

    Oooh what a great thread...where to start!! Drivers who keep their fog lights on when it isn't foggy.....do they never wonder what that little light on the dashboard means???? Those who stand on the left on the Tube escalators. They should be barred from the network. People on the train who think it is OK to use a mobile in a quiet carriage if they are "talking quietly". What part of "No Mobile Phones" do they not understand... Parents letting their children run riot in public places and expecting us to be amused at the little darlings' antics....that's if they go as far as to notice of course. Those who assume that "Please" and "Thank You" belong to a bygone era. I am officially old and cranky.....
  19. Count me in to the disappointed with Act II minority. Bluebird - your comparison of the old silent movies melodrama has articulated what I felt so thank you. After a while I stopped looking at her upper body because it was making me cross. I thought she was much more convincing in Act IV so maybe it was teething troubles or nerves or something else (perhaps revised expectations). Anyway I still had a cracking evening despite not spending as much of it in tears as I like to do when watching Swan Lake! I am really interested to see what people think tonight. I am going again on the 25th and will be intrigued to see how she has developed the role in a short time. I confidently expect progress!
  20. I'm now a rare visitor to Covent Garden, living as I do in the sticks, so trips to see the RB are treasured all the more. Last night's Nunez/Acosta Fille was an absolute joy. I do normally prefer a bit of doom, death and depression but after that performance I may have to reconsider the choice of Mayerling as my desert island ballet. I have no idea if it is possible for the cast to have such fun when they are working so hard but the leads looked like they were having an absolute ball - as was the audience. Brilliant stuff. No idea whether there was anything there to upset Mr Crisp ....how fortunate I am to be a simple viewer.
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