Fonty

Ah, must have been that one I was thinking of when I mentioned it above. I don't think Von Rothbard should win, a bit surprised Nureyev would do that. However, it did give him a bit of extra stage time as he sank beneath the waves......

For me, it doesn't work having Odette sacrifice herself so that everyone else might live, and the audience seeing her dead human body at the end. I find myself thinking, "Well, that was a bit of a waste of true love." I don't mind whether they both live, or they both die, I want to see them united somehow, having triumphed over evil. I prefer it if they both die, as the soaring music at the end suggests tragedy, but I'll settle for hand holding in this life if I must. I am sure there was at least one where VR triumphs, and Odette is condemned to life as a swan forever, isn't there? I don't think Siegfried dies, though, just watches her vanish into the distance, mourning his loss.

Just been reading this thread with interest. With regard to dancers in the higher ranks performing with the corps, when I went to see ENB's Swan Lake in the round at the Albert Hall many years go, I am pretty certain that I spotted the young Tamara Rojo as one of the swans in the Corps. She must have been a principal then; didn't she join ENB as one? She was a particular favourite of mine, so that is how I spotted her. Edited to add, it was a long time ago, but I presume she would have performed the lead at a later date in that run of performances.

You can certainly say that again, @alison I couldn't see Picturehouses mentioned at all when I did a search for London. The only choices I got were the Curzon Mayfair on Sunday, or the Everyman Hampstead or Barnet on Monday. Were none of the Odeon cinemas screening it at all? Edited to add I didn't realise some of the cinemas were doing Encores on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. A bit unusual, but I see my local Picturehouse is doing one that I could get to. But it really is a horrible new page, I don't like it at all.

I adore Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake, I find it incredibly moving. But I can understand why people who were expecting a ballet might be a bit startled. I think having all male swans rather than all female ones is a terrific concept. We are so used to seeing them as beautiful and graceful. Bourne emphasises their power.

I haven't seen Swan Lake in this current run, I have a ticket for May. However, I would disagree with posts that say current dancers have stronger techniques than past dancers. I hear this time and again, and I am not sure if it is accurate. Many of today's crop dance differently, it is true, but they are not necessarily better in some areas than great dancers of the past. Certainly today's women display more athleticism that those of the past, but I am not sure if this is a good thing or not. I am not talking specifically about Fonteyn, because I think the majority of her stuff was filmed right at the end of her career. But having seen clips of dancers such as Sibley, Seymour, Nerina, and Fonteyn in her youth, I am always struck by their speed and lightness of footwork. Often they are just tantalising glimpses of what these dancers were capable of, but it makes me sad that certain qualities seem to have been lost. I am not sure if there are any clips of past Swan Lakes that would be a suitable comparison, unfortunately.

Oh dear, @LinMM I would have had the giggles too. It puts me mind of the incident in Three Men in a Boat, where one of the characters carries 2 ripe cheeses on to a train and manages to empty the entire carriage!

I occasionally save up for an expensive seat. I don't consider myself to be rich or elderly! I certainly wouldn't want to see a dress code imposed, but as I said elsewhere, Londoners do tend to be either more casual in the way they dress. Or scruffy, depending on your point of view. Christmas jumpers are all part of the seasonal fun as far as I am concerned. However, while a sweater with Rudolph on the front is acceptable, flashing antlers are not. I went to a theatre last December where a party of women were wearing these. I had to go and get a member of staff to speak to them and get them to either turn them off or remove them. What puzzled me was why they had to be told in the first place. Apart from annoying the rest of the audience, I would imagine the cast of the play would have found them very distracting too.

With regard to the costumes for Danses Concertantes, they only make sense if set in a swimming baths. The male costumes for the Spurling one have my greatest dislike as far as I can make out...bare legs. I really hate to see that on ballet dancers who have so little fat on their bodies. I don't want to play Count the Sinew as I watch. Am I the only one who really liked the Georgiadis costumes? I thought they were brilliant. Although I still don't get the head adornments.....

@art_enthusiast I didn't have a problem with any children, I was responding to the OP's comment. Sorry, forgotten who it was.

Possibly. But surely in that case the behaviour of everyone else around them should be a clue? The teenage boys might not have been aware, but the adult certainly should have been. I have to say that some of the most annoying behaviour I have experienced recently has been from older British people. Who definitely should know better. I went to the cinema recently, and half a dozen OAPs were gossiping loudly as the film progressed. I had to get out of my seat and go and speak to them to tell them to keep quiet. They showed their disapproval of me by sending two of the party out for ice creams and popcorn, with loud requests for "strawberry ice cream if they have it, otherwise vanilla". All while the film continued. No doubt they went home and complained about my behaviour for telling them off in the first place.

I would be equally annoyed by people behaving like that at the cinema. And I think that everyone is fully aware of the correct behaviour in theatres and cinemas, no matter what their nationality happens to be. Unless it is obviously one where audience participation is encouraged, such as pantomime.

@San Perregrino I appreciate the points you are making, but these were not children and would certainly not have required baby sitters. One of them was a year away from being able to vote in UK elections. And moderators, I am conscious that much of this is nothing to do with Swan Lake itself. Perhaps these posts could be moved to the Audience Behaviour thread?

Well, my first ballet was Swan Lake, which I saw at the age of about 6. This was the full length, full scale production by the RB touring compan. I sat there absolutely transfixed, and developed a life long love of ballet. To be fair, I had just started doing ballet classes, and my parents thought I might enjoy it. But why take any child to a full length production of a classical ballet if they have shown no interest in the first place? It is not as if the tickets are exactly cheap, after all.

This makes me so angry. We are not talking about toddlers here, but boys who are well old enough to know what is appropriate behaviour for a theatre. What was the father doing? Why on earth wasn't he making sure they behaved, and telling them to keep quiet when they were speaking to him? I have seen many children at the ROH over the years, nearly all much younger than these two, and I have always been impressed at how well behaved they have been. If I had been there, I think I might have given this particular father an earful when the interval came along.

I don't remember that, how could I possibly have forgotten that. Makes me curious to see it again as soon as possible. I agree that the subject matter is not to everyone's liking, but I don't find it any different to scenes in Manon or Mayerling. MacMillan seemed to like portraying women being ravished by men in various ways.

Oh, thanks. I meant to put a question mark after my statement, because I couldn't remember where it was created.

No argument from me about your likes, with the possible exception of Song of the Earth. I know it is a masterpiece, but I don't really like the music. I believe that MacMillan created Concerto for the company to make sure they maintained their classical technique, so it seems odd that it should be performed so infrequently. I've seen all 3 of your dislikes at least once, and although they wouldn't be my first choice, I wouldn't sit any of them out. I thought the first two dealt with unpleasant themes, but did so in a very dramatic way. I would far rather see those than some of the angst ridden contortions to ear splitting noise that I have endured at the hands of certain modern choreographers. There was a time when the Judas Tree was THE one act Macmillan ballet in a triple bill. I wouldn't avoid watching it, but it wouldn't bother me if I never saw it again.

I've never been to Glyndebourne, but I thought the whole idea there was to bring your own picnic. Of course, the ROH could create a picnic area somewhere I suppose, but I am astonished that people are openly bringing their own alcohol in. I cannot think of any other theatre in London that would allow that. I remember once I was going to a matinee somewhere, and then on to dinner at a friend's house afterwards. I can't remember the theatre, but they took one look at the bottle of wine in my bag and told me I couldn't take it in. I did say I had bought it as a present for later, and they made me check in my wine bag with my coat. Fair enough, I had no problem with it.

Well, there seems to have been quite a party of ballet forum people there last night. How come I never seem to find anybody? Next time I will parade up and down the floral hall holding a huge placard saying "BalletCoForum make yourselves known." Or better yet, I shall wear a sandwich board with the same message. Anyway, it gave me the chance to finish the cryptic crossword during the intervals, so I suppose that is something. I am really interested to know why people hate Different Drummer so much? I thought it was very powerful. I have sat through things that felt far worse, usually new pieces by current choreographers. Edited to add could the posts regarding the Ashton triple bill be put in a separate thread? Or in an existing one if it has already been started.

Oh, ok, thanks @Emeralds I suppose it makes sense to call her that under those circumstances. It has long been a term that grates on me, as it conveys a legal status that doesn't exist. I know many women were fooled into thinking that the longevity of their relationship meant it had attained recognition in the eyes of the law, when it actually had no such thing.

With regard to food and drink, it would never occur to me to openly consume alcohol purchased elsewhere, surely that wouldn't be allowed in any place that has a drinks licence? I have been known to sneak in my own sandwich/snack into the ROH, but I eat it discreetly. I certainly don't flaunt it, and I would be very annoyed if I saw a table of people who are clearly having a picnic with their own stuff. I have always thought it was daft when the powers that be decided to allow people into the building without a ticket while a performance is on. I often used to take people in for a drink during the day, as it is such a marvellous venue. But as I recall, you couldn't do this on matinee days, and you certainly couldn't do it in evening. You had to show your ticket at the door before you went in. Yes, I know that they think that the Opera House is now a Go To destination for people wanting to dine out in Covent Garden, but it is a theatre, not an eating arcade. Certainly the tables in the bar areas should be for people attending the performances, not for any person who fancies getting their computer out and doing a spot of work, or for gossiping groups who have no interest in opera or ballet. Talking of food and drink, I have never seen so many empty tables in the balcony restaurant in the Floral Hall as there were last night. In the old days it used to be packed. I have eaten up there myself in the old days when tickets didn't bankrupt me. The food wasn't outstanding, but the experience and the view was. I used to love it, especially as you got your table for the whole evening. Fantastic.

@Dawnstar Thanks for that great review of last night's performance. Shame I didn't realise others were there from the forum. I did have a quick look around in the main bar, but the only group near the main stairs seemed to be quaffing champagne and devouring food in large quantities. I didn't like to disturb them, especially as I didn't see anyone I recognised. The first two ballets were new to me. I loved Danses Concertantes. I might have been a bit startled by the costumes had I not seen the photos on here, but they looked so much better in real life. The marks on the male costumes didn't dominate as much as I thought they would, and the female costumes were very flattering. I loved them, I thought they were lively, fun, terrific colours, and I even liked the headdresses. I would still like to know what the different symbols are supposed to represent, assuming they have a purpose, but the fact they were there didn't bother me at all. I thought the whole ballet was witty and amusing, and more to the point the dancers seemed to be enjoying themselves as they danced it. Muntagirov seemed to have a cheeky smile on his face the whole time, as if to say "Isn't this great? I am having a ball!" I'd be very happy to see that again, and please, please don't change the costumes. Wonderful to see something different, after so many offerings recently with grey baggy costumes I must admit that after so many negative reviews on here, I was rather dreading Different Drummer. In fact, I found it intriguing, and was so involved with the action I was quite surprised when the curtain came down. I am glad that I read about the story beforehand, otherwise I might have wondered what the bath was doing there. I thought Reece Clarke was excellent, his eyes popping as he degenerated into madness, and Osipova always excels in these dramatic roles. I loved the way the Captain was depicted, barking out his orders and sending the soldiers to probably certain death, and the Doctor was one of the most repulsive characters I have seen in a ballet, with his reptillian movements. I am not saying I would want to watch multiple performances in a run, but I wouldn't sit it out if it was on another bill, and am slightly puzzled as to why so many on this forum dislike it so intensely. On thing puzzled me – why was Marie listed as a common-law wife? Surely MacMillan wouldn't have called her that, I thought that was a relatively recent expression? Wouldn't she have been called mistress, partner or girlfriend? And so on to Requiem. I have seen this several times, but strangely I couldn't remember either the stage set or the costumes. In fact, the only thing I could remember was the way in which the group show their grief when they first come on stage, a collective expression of rage and pain. Lamb is one of my favourite dancers, and I really liked Hamilton in her role. I thought the whole thing was beautifully danced. However, for some reason I didn't find it as moving as I usually do. I don't know why, perhaps it was the mood I was in, but it just didn't work for me last night. Instead, I found myself thinking that skin tight white outfits for the ladies are not flattering on everyone, no matter how slender they are. The one thing that struck me watching 3 one act ballets by MacMillan was how modern it felt. In fact, if I was a newcomer with no knowledge whatsoever, I might have thought that he had been influenced by McGregor! There were certain movements, hand gestures, lifts, that seemed taken from the modern dance hand book. Yet they flowed, were obviously balletic, and showed what a magnificent choreographer MacMillan was.

But surely one keeps one's diamonds and pearls for life, and one simply gets the maid to polish them occasionally? And if Princess Anne can go out in a couture dress that's 40 years old, then surely the rest of us can too?

Well, you get snobs and rude people everywhere, but I can honestly say I have never felt that anyone was sneering at me for what I was wearing. Generally I would say Londoners are rather a scruffy bunch. I've noticed before than when I visit friends up north, people tend to dress much more smartly for a night out. However, dress standards in general have become more and more casual. I remember in one of my first jobs, men had to wear a suit and tie, and women were not allowed to wear trousers. And I am not that ancient, either. I do tend to put on something I don't wear on a day to day basis, because I take the view that if I don't wear these clothes for such an occasion when else will I wear them? But I wouldn't call myself dressed up, exactly. Having said that, I think it is lovely to see women wearing what my mother would have called a posh frock. But they are in the minority.