Fonty

Apologies if it has been, I couldn't remember. I've always assumed it was the other way round, and that Tatiana's feeling for Onegin was the passionate infatuation of a first love, probably never destined to last.

Everyone is commenting on Gremin being performed by younger dancers. When I have seen the ballet before, it has always been with a male dancer who is clearly much older than Onegin. I've always thought this made more sense. Does the original novel give any indication as to what age Gremin is supposed to be?

Just to say I couldn't care less if any dancer uses these devices. So what? If a supreme talent happens not to have the highest arches in the world, I cannot see if it makes one jot of difference if they use a perfectly legal device on their feet. They may even have been told to do so by teachers. Who cares?

I do appreciate that Giselle is not everyone's cup of tea. I took my brother and niece to see it last year. My brother said he found the second act boring, and while my niece didn't go that far, she said she preferred the first act "as there was more going on." Coppelia is a favourite of mine. A fantastic, sunny ballet.

Seconded. The contributions from @Irmgard have been fascinating to read, and I really have loved finding out more about this wonderful production. Can't wait to see it again.

And there is also Emerson, Lake and Palmer with their Nut Rocker. ELP seemed to like doing modern interpretations of classical. I remember having a vinyl copy of their version of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. I think the reason I wasn't quite as enthusiastic about this as I expected to be is because I still had ENB's production in my mind, which I really enjoyed. Not really a fair comparison, as the two are so different.

I actually started to write this the day after I went and then got side tracked with too many other things! So, a slightly late review, but better late than never. Christmas might be have been over for the rest of the UK, but inside the Coliseum on January 10th it was still the festive season. The theatre was adorned with Christmas decorations and trees, and a boy's choir treated us to a selection of Christmas carols. It really lifted the spirits on an extremely cold evening, and set the tone for a performance being played to a packed auditorium. After the first act, my partner, who is very difficult to please when it comes to stage shows of any sort, turned to me and said, “I didn't like that. I LOVED it.” I have to say that I also found it hugely enjoyable, which surprised me as so many on here were a bit negative about it. I really enjoyed the opening street scenes, and the subsequent party looked lively and fun. I liked the fact that the dresses being worn by the ladies reflected aspects of the sweet kingdom in the second act, giving context to Clara's dream. I think it is entirely appropriate that she kills the Rat King and rescues the Nutcracker prince. It showed her to be a feisty female who doesn't need a man to protect her. She is quite capable of determining her own destiny, and will probably be campaigning with the suffragettes in a couple of years. The snowflakes swirled wonderfully, making me feel positively chilly, and I loved the Ice Queen in her magnificent headdress. A shame that character didn't appear again, the costume was so good. With regard to the second act, I had no problems at all with the costumes or head gear. I thought they were a very colourful representation of the surfeit of rich goodies at Christmas, and I didn't find them distracting at all. I liked the amusing touches, such as the container spinning round to reveal the marzipan flutes, and the tin marked Ballet Liquorice Allsorts which spilled out tiny little dancers. With regard to the Egyptian dance, this is usually my least favourite in terms of music, it goes on for far too long for me. However, I thought the trailing scarves were clever, they really looked like swirls of hot, frothy milk. The only section that needs a complete rethink IMO is the Tanghulu. The routine had nothing oriental about it whatsoever, and the outfits were awful. I appreciate it might be difficult to get outfits to resemble Chinese candied hawthorn berries, but I think the entire audience was confused as to why two firemen were suddenly dashing about the stage doing nothing very much. Also, the pas de deux for the Sugar Plum Fairy and her cavalier was beautifully danced, but seemed strangely muted. The music builds to such wonderful crescendos, but I felt the choreography didn't reflect that. Overall, I really liked the blend of classical and more modern steps. Some of the first act reminded me a little of Crystal Pite's The Statement, with the same slightly jerky, sideways moves. I thought it worked really well, there was such life and movement on the stage. I preferred it to the second act, where the choreography was pleasant without being anything exceptional. For me there is nothing unusual in that. No matter what the production is, after a while I feel I have had a surfeit of sweets. However, I really liked the fact that children in both acts were given actual dancing. All too often younger cast members are given a lot of skipping and running about, rather than proper dance steps. In particular, the little liquorice allsorts had a wonderful routine. They couldn't have been more than 9 or 10 at the very most, and possibly younger, but how well they performed. There must have been some very proud parents in the audience. All in all, I would say this was a terrific addition to the repertoire. I didn't find the staging at all Disney-esque or garish, I thought it was great. The scenery, the projections the costumes, even the front cloth, all added up to a magical experience, and I could imagine children being particularly entranced by it. I would certainly be more than happy to see it again next Christmas, and judging by the audience reaction, everyone else felt the same.

In that case, a half full theatre is a very respectable audience indeed.

Goodness, Liverpool must be absolutely enormous! Why is there no spring tour now? Is it lack of funding? Or something else?

It does seem a pity that such a splendid production should have be less than well attended. Which makes me wonder whether it would be better if ENB did only one of those venues? Are they contractually obliged to go to both?

I also saw the matinee yesterday, and I agree with your comments, @Richard LH. Like you, I was surprised at how well the music adapted overall. The only place where I felt it didn't work at all was the music for the second act Sugar Plum Fairy pas de deux. I think this is one of the most gorgeous pieces that Tchaikovsky ever wrote, and I thought that the extremely loud, jaunty blasts of brass were awful, and destroyed the whole feel of the piece. The staging was imaginative, and I loved the driverless car that offered a very different mode of transport to the Kingdom of Sweets for Clara and her prince. I thought the second act was more successful than the first, which I felt dragged a little in places. The various sweet dances were fun and lively, and the choreography was entertaining. The SPF pas de deux and solo were really lovely and in fact I would go so far as to say the latter was one of the nicest I have seen. Laura Rodriguez danced it beautifully. The rest of the cast were full of zest and looked as though they were really enjoying themselves. Acosta said his aim was to catch the imagination of those who would not normally go to see a ballet. I would say he has been very successful with this. Speaking for myself, I wouldn't rush to see it again in the near future, but I am not the target market. The theatre in Milton Keyne is not a small one, and it appeared to be full, with the audience loudly appreciative at the end. Fingers crossed it will encourage newcomers to ballet to see more in the future.

I said exactly the same thing last year! This production is sublime, and fits the ENB like a glove. I read somewhere that it wasn't selling well in Manchester, which baffled me. I can't believe it was negative reviews, so I can only assume it was either lack of publicity or perhaps Mancunians don't like stories about vengeful women?

Yes, although why do I always feel that the reviewers were watching a totally different performance to the one I saw? I am baffled by some of the negative points, but we all see things differently.

Slightly off topic, I suppose, but it struck me that the kill count for the Wilis last night would have been pretty high. Hilarion, plus most of the men with him, presumably? At least 5, if not more. Living in that village must be like living in Midsomer with all the murders going on.

I loved it.