Irmgard

@LinMM McWhinney is not back onstage yet. The white girls (Demi Soloists) last night were Otani, Suzuki, and Keneally and Velicu both making their debuts. It was probably Keneally, who is the tallest of the group, who caught your eye.

It was definitely commissioned by Tamara Rojo, who attended the opening night.

Yes, she's quite special.

I thoroughly recommend "Hansel and Gretel". I saw this new production before lockdown and it is slightly subversive but also utterly enchanting - and the music is gorgeous throughout. If you go to Elisir, you will realise that you recognise a lot of the music as John Lanchbery used it (and bits from Barber of Seville) when putting together the score for La Fille mal gardee 😊.

Unless I've got the wrong song (difficult to keep track as the couples interchange so much), it was Ivana Bueno and Lorenzo Trossello in the roles created by Emma Hawes and Aitor Arrieta.

Daniel McCormick

I can tell you that the first week of December is dedicated to rehearsing Mary Skeaping's "Giselle" as we only have two days to get it onstage between the end of "Nutcracker" and opening night. Such are the issues of a ballet company without its own theatre.

The petite young lady is Jennie Harrington, stalwart of the corps de ballet for many years and now Artistic Scheduling Manager for the company. I believe the flowers she is presenting to all those making their debuts are from the company as there were masses of bouquets at the stage door, at least on opening night, which were not presented onstage.

My take on it was that the Mother's grief is so overwhelming that she kills herself by throwing herself into the 'pit'. There was actually a 20-minute Q&A session with Andrea Miller, Gavin Sutherland et al after last night's performance but, as you didn't catch the opening announcement, you would not have known about it. I didn't stay for it but that certainly would have been a question for Miss Miller!

Yesterday evening saw the triumphant début of Katja Khaniukova as the ballerina in “Theme and Variations”, generously accorded a solo bow by her partner, the phenomenal Francesco Gabriele Frola, also making his début, and applauded by all her colleagues onstage. I have long admired the quiet elegance of her dancing and her exquisite footwork, qualities which were on display in abundance in Balanchine’s fiendishly difficult choreography which she made look effortless, and all with that megawatt smile of hers which outshone all the sparkling jewels on her costume and tiara. Perhaps most breathtaking was the moment when she performs a series of développés en pointe, finally turning into arabesque penchée, supported only by the ladies on each side of her, also en pointe, holding her hands in an open 5th en haut. The way she serenely and slowly unfolded her leg, reaching the final position of each développé with the last millisecond of the musical phrase was a thing of rare beauty. She absolutely nailed the solo, with her quicksilver footwork in all the tricky petite allegro steps and virtually flying across the stage in her châiné turns. This led into the ravishingly beautiful pas de deux, in which Frola partnered her to perfection, again making it look effortless. Throughout the whole ballet, there was Khaniukova’s glorious use of the upper back and the most regal of ports de bras. Frola’s début was also a triumph, especially the solo, in which the height of his jumps was astonishing, as was his impeccable series of double tours en l’air, all landing in perfect 5ths. His exceptional partnering skills were evidenced by the height which Khaniukova reached when he threw her into the air, catching her in picture-perfect positions. This was a tremendously thrilling first performance from both of them (and demonstrated yet again that Khaniukova’s promotion to principal is long overdue), and they received sterling support from everyone onstage. This being the same supporting cast as the previous evening, not to diminish that spectacular performance, they seemed to be even more at home with the choreography and its style, with the ladies vivacious in everything they did and their cavaliers, who do not appear until the last section, bringing a joyful exuberance, especially to all the jumps. Sitting closer to the stage than the previous evening, I could definitely see that there was not one forced smile. They were all smiling with genuine delight at performing this challenging piece. And what a joy it was to hear Tchaikovsky’s glorious music with no amplification! Likewise, with “Four Last Songs”, the music was allowed to float freely throughout the auditorium, as was the singer’s voice. Picking up the tempo even a fraction made such a difference to the flow of the music and, for me, to the flow of the movement, giving the many runs around the stage an extra impetus, as if leaves blown by the wind, very apt for the second song, “September”. Seeing it for a second time, I was able to marvel at how effortlessly the dancers changed partners throughout the piece, involving some very complicated lifts. I was also more struck this time by the sculpted beauty of positions in the moments of stillness. This is definitely a work in which there is something new to discover at each viewing. I am not particularly enamoured of the flesh-coloured costumes although I suppose it might be following the idea that naked we come into the world and naked we leave it, but I would have loved just a little contrasting colour for the costumes, as appears on the poster and programme cover.

Just back from this evening's performance and am happy to say that the amplification issue has been resolved - there was none, and the tempo was speeded up ever so slightly for "Four Last Songs", which helped the (non-amplified) soprano negotiate the long phrases much better.

Attending the opening night of the first programme curated by Aaron Watkin, albeit crafted around the previously commissioned “Les Noces”, there was indeed something for everyone. The highlight for me was “Theme and Variations”, not only for the very fine dancing on offer but also for the obvious enjoyment displayed by the dancers. The ladies in their exquisite, glittering tutus literally glowed! My eye was drawn several times to the petite Anna Ciriano, new to the company last season, for the infectious joy on her face, something I noticed last season, and to the glamorous, elegant style of Ivana Bueno as one of the Demi Soloists. Emma Hawes sparkled prettily in the ballerina role. The standout performance for me came from Aitor Arrieta, for his gorgeous, always elegant technique. The ease, height, beautifully pointed feet and panther-like landings of all his jumps was breathtaking. Tchaikovsky’s glorious music received a ravishing performance from the English National Ballet Philharmonic, under Maestro Gavin Sutherland, although I was puzzled by the obvious amplification in so small a theatre. Andrea Miller’s “Les Noces”, retitled “Le Noces, Ascent to Days”, received some very powerful performances and I thoroughly enjoyed her choreography, especially when it reflected the rhythmic complexities of Stravinsky’s score. I did not read the brief synopsis until after the performance so I was unaware that the first Chosen One (a tour-de-force performance by the supremely talented Breanna Foad) was actually the ghost of the previously sacrificed girl but that makes everything clearer for my further viewings of this piece. There was a very strong performance from Alice Bellini as the grief-stricken mother of the sacrificed girl, as well as from James Streeter as the father she obviously blames for it. I have long felt that Henry Dowden is one of the company’s best dramatic dancers, and he proved this again as the Priest who chooses the next victim, the beautifully vulnerable Francesca Velicu. The standout performance for me was the visceral, electrifying dancing of Rentaro Nakaaki as the Son. Bizarrely, using the full orchestra version of Stravinsky’s score made it sound more like “Rite of Spring” than “Les Noces” but I did not like it being sung in an English translation, as I missed the forward, bright sound of singing in a Slavic language and I found that the volume of the amplification of the singers at times hurt my ears, but, as with any new production, no doubt the amplification issues will be addressed and resolved. I am also not keen on the introduction of other pieces of music and lengthy silences not composed/indicated by Stravinsky. It put me in mind of his famous reply to Billy Rose, the producer of a Broadway revue for which he composed “Scènes de ballet”. Rose telegraphed him to say the music was a great success but could be sensational if he allowed Robert Russell Bennett to retouch the orchestration. Stravinsky replied “Satisfied with great success”! I remember from David Dawson’s “Million Kisses to my Skin” created for ENB under the adventurous leadership of Wayne Eagling, that he favours busy choreography and creating gorgeous shapes with the body, predominantly females while being manipulated by men. His “Four Last Songs” proved no exception. When it is as exquisitely danced as it was last night by the whole ensemble, it seems churlish to criticise but I would have liked perhaps just a little bit more variety in the lifts and in the dynamics of the partnering work. My favourite line in Strauss’s Four Last Songs comes in “Beim Schlafengehen”, just after the ethereal violin solo (beautifully played by Matthew Scrivener). Freely translated, it is “and the unfettered soul soars up into the magic circle of the night to live a thousandfold” which is the essence of all the songs, that death is transfiguring. It is perhaps not the fashion to use facial expression very often in contemporary works but I did think more expression would have actually transfigured the ballet for me. However, there was one moment when the light hit Angela Wood to reveal a radiant serenity on her face which was magical. I did feel that, choreographing to a recording of the legendary Jessye Norman has its drawbacks, as no mere mortal has her extraordinary power and breath control which made it possible for her to sing them at a speed which I would label as “La plus que lente”. Taking them at such a slow tempo, which was obviously at times uncomfortable for the soprano, also prevents her from word-painting, which is the essence of German Lied, whether accompanied by piano or full orchestra, and which would have added vocal colours to this sublime music. My small niggles aside, it was wonderful to see the whole company rising to the occasion and giving powerful, committed performances of all three pieces, and I look forward to several more visits before next Saturday.

No, this is a completely commercial venture.

You have to balance that against the female principals who have been with the company a long time: Takahashi since 1996, Oliveira since 2000 and Kase since 2009, and Hawes joined in 2018. In fact, most of ENB's female principals, even going back to its LFB days, enjoyed long careers with the company.

English National Ballet has just announced that Natascha Mair has left the company to pursue other ventures on and off stage.

Gavin probably mentioned that ENB is not using the original version of "Les Noces" for four pianos but a later version for full orchestra. I imagine the intervals before and after "Les Noces" would have to be greatly extended if the four-piano version was used, as the pit would have to be completely cleared to get them in and out and then completely reset for the vast forces needed for "Four Last Songs"! And each piano would have to be retuned after moving them into the pit. All a logistical nightmare!

As ENB's Our Voices programme opens this week, I thought I would start a thread for people to comment on the performances but also to give some further information on the casting, which Aaron Watkin has agreed I can make public, and I hope it will help those who have yet to buy their tickets to decide which performance/s to see. As always, there is the caveat that casting is subject to change. As well as the principal couples, listed on the website, and the corps de ballet, "Theme and Variations” has four demi-soloist couples. There are three casts for this. As they do not always dance with the same principal couple, I will list them by performance: Bueno, Otani, Adams, Suzuki, Snyder, Woolhouse, Jakonis, Saruhashi (21st, 22nd, 23rd eve, 28th eve, 30th eve) Wood, Kang, Evrard, Nevzorova, Martin, Nakaaki, Souza, Maievskyi (23rd mat, 26th, 28th mat, 30th mat) Velicu, Lizardi, Keneally, Choi, Maidana, Durand, Yeomans, Fuchiyama (27th, 29th). I must confess I have never seen a complete performance of this ballet but I was lucky enough to watch Victoria Simon stage it for Royal Swedish Ballet when I was in Stockholm last October and, of course, I attended her very informative masterclass for ENB recently which really whet my appetite. Having seen the stunning tutus being made in the workshop and had glimpses of them in the trailers released by ENB, I think it really will be a glittering opening to the evening! I have always considered Nijinska's "Le Noces" to be a masterpiece and so it will be interesting to see Andrea Miller's completely different take on the Stravinsky score, linking it to his earlier "Le Sacre du printemps" although not to any particular choreographic version of it. I had the privilege of seeing a model of the set a few months ago, dominated by an extraordinary staircase designed by the late Dame Phyllida Barlow. The ballet has a single cast of eight female and nine male dancers. As well as those listed on the website, this includes Emily Suzuki, Erik Woolhouse and Junor Souza. David Dawson's "Four Last Songs" has two casts of six males and six females, with Erina Takahashi, Ivana Bueno and Lorenzo Trossello appearing in both casts. For anyone who does not know Richard Strauss's song cycle (his last masterpiece, premiered posthumously here in the UK at the Royal Albert Hall in 1950), I would recommend reading a translation of the poems by Eichendorff and Hesse, which can be found at www.lieder.net, to fully appreciate the glorious soundscape Strauss created. As I always say, mixed bills are excellent value for money because they provide a chance to see almost all of a company's leading dancers in one performance, and this is certainly the case with this triple bill, which will also probably be the biggest musical feast since the days of the company’s Ballets Russes programmes. Playing works by three titans of classical music will give the English National Ballet Philharmonic a chance to shine, complementing the starry line-up onstage, and I cannot wait to experience this fascinating programme.

I drive into Covent Garden from outside London frequently and it's fine. Just be aware that the congestion charge is in operation from 12 noon until 6pm on Saturdays and Sundays, as well as weekdays, so that will add to your cost if you enter it during those times. Also best to check there are no demonstrations in the area which add time to the journey due to road closures.

From her Instagram account, it appears she is currently guesting with the Shanghai Ballet in Amsterdam and therefore has not been cast for Sadler's Wells. Posted at the same time as LACAD!

@Dawnstar. I would go for the slightly restricted First Circle seats at either end of Row A. Sadler's Wells is a relatively small theatre, and Row A does not feel that far from the stage so the restricted view price is good value.

I have sometimes sat in the first seat in row A and the view is only slightly obscured. However, sometimes if the person in the nearest slip seat leans forward too much, this can also obscure your view, but I have found most people who sit in that slip seat are quite considerate and don't obscure your view.

Like some other contributors to this thread, I do not have any ‘definitive’ performances of artists in roles but I do have some I use as benchmarks for their sublime artistry, at least one going back almost fifty years, including (artists in alphabetical order): Giselle: Evelyne Desutter, Eva Evdokimova, Natalia Makarova, Fernanda Oliveira Albrecht: Mikhail Baryshnikov, Estéban Berlanga, Cesar Corrales, Yosvani Ramos Myrtha: Manola Asensio Aurora: Jurgita Dronina, Eva Evdokimova, Karen Kain, Agnes Oaks Odette/Odile: Begoña Cao, Jurgita Dronina, Margot Fonteyn (Act II), Evelyn Hart, Karen Kain, Natalia Makarova Lise: Marianela Nuñez, Karen Paisey Tatiana: Marcia Haydée, Natalia Makarova Onegin: Richard Cragun Lensky: Mark Silver Natalia Petrovna: Natalia Makarova, Marguerite Porter, Lynn Seymour Belaiev: Anthony Dowell, Vadim Muntagirov, Mark Silver Vera: Denise Nunn, Karen Paisey Raymonda Act III (Nureyev): Elena Glurgidze Juliet: Begoña Cao, Jurgita Dronina, Alessandra Ferri Romeo: Cesar Corrales, Wayne Eagling Paris: Julian Hosking Manon: Jurgita Dronina, Alessandra Ferri, Jennifer Penney, Fernanda Oliveira Des Grieux: Wayne Eagling, Francesco Gabriele Frola Lescaut: Cesar Corrales, Stephen Jefferies, Fabian Reimair La Sylphide: Eva Evdokimova James: Mikhail Baryshnikov

Most definitely not a farewell, thank goodness!!!!

I was also at the masterclass last Thursday and I concur with everything Capybara says. It was held in the vast Holloway production studio which meant we had the privilege of seeing the set for 'Theme', specially brought in for the evening, and some of the beautiful new costumes were on display in the foyer. In fact, Aaron Watkin himself could be seen helping to display the costumes before the event. Earlier in the afternoon, I took the opportunity to ask Maestro Gavin Sutherland about the music being used for "Les Noces" at Sadler's Wells, and he confirmed it will not be the version for four pianos and percussion but will be the version for full orchestra premiered by the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 2008.

The Museum of London has a precious collection of Pavlova memorabilia, including her Dying Swan tutu. There was a special exhibition of all the items in the late 1970s/early 1980s. I am not sure, but I believe it was Victor Dandre, Pavlova's common-law husband, who donated the items to the Museum of London.