penelopesimpson

Hmm.   The reason that Corrales was so good (and he was) is not un connected with his partner, the luminous Francesca Hayward.  

On train after a wonderful performance - but I’m going to go with James with his view of Naghdi.

i do not have enough technical knowledge to give an informed opinion so can only give my gut feel.  Ball blew me away - even better than the Sat matinee but Yasmine, IMHO opinion, never really let go.  Of course she was absolutely flawless and ther3 were moments that tugged at my heartstrings,but for me she is just too controlled.  I now understand why Hayward is my go-to choice.  Maybe she isn’t as technicallly excellent as Naghdi (I really wouldn’t know) but for me her emotional connection is unsurpassed.  Naghdi is more in the Marianela mode - fabulous but never moves me.o

Somebody said in an earlier post that Ball had developed dramatically more than Naghdi.  On tonight’s performance I would have to agree.Matthew was superb in every way.  I would love to see him with Hayward.

What a telling headline 'Time for ROH to get on the RIGHT side...'

This isn't the forum for the pro's and con's but however much in tune I might be with a protest movements objectives,  I am always turned off when people tell me it is the RIGHT way and play the moral majority card.  There are always different viewpoints and people should feel free to air these without fear or favour.

Any idea if this means Waterloo Bridge will be closed/disrupted?

I've been thinking about this whole scenario with the 'new' ROH.  I know nothing about the Chief Exec and people say he is a good egg, but somebody somewhere seems to have lost the plot.

We start with the premise that despite the fact ROH is almost always playing to full-houses and has a core supportive audience that other brands/organisations would kill for, the management has convinced itself that it needs to change.  Such change seems to be aimed at paring back anything that might be construed as glamorous or elitist because the image of 'toffs' swigging champagne, however erroneous, is harmful.  We are not told quite who this is harmful to, nor is it acknowleged that the vast majority of patrons do not fit this stereotype and are attending because they love ballet and opera.

One might think that the obvious way forward would be to concentrate on the product but no, the chiefs decide that building a massive new extension to accommodate people who may not wish to see or even learn about a performance is the way to go.  At the same time, other areas will be re-structured with the same aim.  When you write this down it seems extraordinary...but read on.

Construction, allegedly paid for by sponsors, takes four years and massively disrupts the building.  The end result is a mediocre all-purpose area with zero atmosphere and only a passing glance towards the Arts.  Astonishingly, no room can be found for the box office, surely the engine room of ROH.  Alterations to bars and restaurants are expensive follies, now committed to justifying their high cost through raised prices.  Nowhere is there any evidence of artistic flair, design excellence or architectural wonder.  In short this international Opera House has been shorn of its glamour.

And this is the punchline.  ROH promoted as a tourist destination.  People told they can now come in and share the wonders of this great international Opera House and find there is little to see.  Isn't this where we came in?

Well said.  Glamour has been entirely forgotten in what seems like a weird kind of inverted snobbery.  You don’t pay top dollar for a meal in an expensive restaurant simply for the food.

my thought too, Capybara.  They don't need another female Principal and I guess Corrales will be the next male, I hope.  But  if they are going to use Halberg a lot, that cuts out the need.

That is incredible.  She always has a loneliness about her.  Thanks for posting.

So well deserved.  Many congratulations to the truly delightful Marcelino.

13 hours ago, MAX said:

With this news they should change their plans and announce the rest of the promotions today 😀

 

But the RB press department seems to be on holidays at the moment !

.They’re busy choosing Lucy Sinclair’s leaving present.

So now the Open Up, all welcome, BYO food and drink, dump your luggage,use the necessary, have a meeting, get out of the cold, policy is what exactly?  All those new people who have been told ROH is a tourist destination are to be paid for by overcharging ticketed patrons who buy a drink.  Sounds a bit like the Titanic; First Class on the Piazza Terrace, 2nd Class in the Floral Hall, Steerage on the Ampitheatre Terrace and ticketless stowaways in the station waiting room or ducking and diving with BYO!

Funny how we regulars predict these snaffoo's with such accuracy.  One could almost think we understand how the place operates.

The Level 5 restaurant does not work as it is at present.  The only time I've seen it anywhere near capacity was for Kaufmann.  Whereas in the past nobody minded people bringing in their own sandwiches and even a discreet bottle or two (indeed I thought it was nice that ROH allowed this), now that in the choicest spaces are open to people with no intention of attending a performance, this has, predictably, become an issue.

Not for me he hasn’t.  Indeed, with the possible exception of Macrae, it is hard to think of two more different dancers.

26 minutes ago, Bruce Wall said:

Time for everyone to move on - surely.  

Yes, and no, Bruce.  I'm certainly done and as I won't be attending Polunin performances anymore, I will not be commenting.

But we are talking about possibly the greatest dancer of our generation.  This is surely an appropriate topic for a ballet forum?

1 hour ago, daisydance said:

Oh strewth! Nothing to do with the arts or culture, then?

Good heavens, no!  It's a global coffee destination with a roof terrace.  There may be something happening in the building but we won't go on about that.

1 hour ago, Fiz said:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/03/arts/dance/sergei-polunin-rasputin-london-palladium.html

Okay, I didn't go, but this critique echoes everything I had suspected.  Self-indulgence, fan worship and control disguised as great dancing from a great dancer. It wasn't and he no longer is.  That's it. 

Sad doesn't even begin to tap the edges.  If only this mega-gifted young man had had the wit to understand that creative personalities so often need a dose of practical common sense, combined with a work-horse attitude.  He could have had it all for a few years and then, perhaps, gone on to create something that truly did span the bridge between classical ballet and popular dance.  He has ended up failing on all counts and I don't say that as someone addicted to ballet in its strictest sense.  Was there no mentor who could have instilled some self-discipline?  He makes much of his need for independence but this is surely a sham.  He is delivering a watered-down version of what his dancing used to be and presenting it as 'new.'  I am sure there is a marketing term for this but the only one I can think of is fraud.

I hardly think it would be a best seller!  Anyway, in my day we were very much taught NOT to use jargon but to keep things down to earth.  So much seems to have changed - that trade piece by one of their agencies was incredible.  I cannot think of anything like that ever happening without the client approving every line.  Which leads me to believe that La Sinclair may have been on the move and wanted some puff pieces.  Similarly, I was wondering who wrote that list of what she has achieved - another first for it to come from the protagonist!

Well quite, John.  It’s adding impressive sounding jargon to common sense practices.  People buy more chicken mayo sandwiches than pilchard and onion so you up the amount of chicken and call it evidence-based Marketing.  Put the sandwich statistics on the computer and, hey presto, you have a data-led strategy.

3 hours ago, FLOSS said:

I assume that being the manager of media and audiences means that at the very least she had some sort of responsibility for agreeing that the new computer programme suited the needs of the ROH and its audience and that it was ready to be brought into use . I do so hope that she is still there when Autumn booking opens. It would be such a shame if someone else were to take the credit for the ease and efficiency of the new computer programme when it comes to using it to buy tickets next month. I accept that at Google there will be far less need for her to understand how the customers think and make decisions than there was at the ROH but I can't help wondering what she will achieve with her new employer.

Is this sarcasm, Floss?

10 hours ago, alison said:

"Lead team of 60 including Analytics and Audience Insight, Marketing Communications, Broadcast Production, Media Distribution, Creative Studios and Digital Product Management"

 

The ROH has a marketing team of 60?!

 

Would that her "data-led pricing" would leave with her ...  

That was my reaction, too Alison.  60 is unbelievable.  I was Commercial Director of the Barbican Cente and had Marketing in my remit.  Including PR and Publications we had 17 in the Marketing Department to service a Concert Hall, Theatre, three Cinemas, 7 Conference Rooms, Two Exhibition Halls, three Restaurants and Two Bars.  Her staffing is absurd.

She will be far better suited to Google where the human element is nil.

1 hour ago, Fonty said:

 

Leanne Benjamin had been principal with other companies, including Sadlers Wells RB, before joining the RB, though.  And Sarah Lamb had also been a principal too, hadn't she?  I've got a feeling Bull might have been a bit like Choe is now.  Often cast in lead roles, while remaining a first soloist?

 

Bryony Brind's casting is amazing.  She had already been in the corps for 3 years, so it makes you wonder why she hadn't been promoted further up the ranks a bit earlier.  I never saw her dance, sadly.  I am pretty certain Bussell was a principal when she did her first SL, although probably a newly promoted one.  

 

I think I met Bryon when I was doing meet and greet at The Barbican and she accompanied the Duke of Kent.  They were both delightful.

2 hours ago, JohnS said:

A train journey home and chance to catch up on posts after a draining double R&J and collect my thoughts.

 

The matinee was very much Naghdi/Ball, the first chance to see them since that fabulous debut in October 2015, my wife’s most treasured performance.  Yesterday was very fine and I am looking forward immensely to the live relay with the director selecting what we are to see.  Front row of the Orchestra Stalls has many attractions but with so much activity across the entire stage, it can be a little like watching a tennis match.  You can of course choose what to focus on and the detail is tremendous.  A couple of minor slips - Matthew Ball to me join Mercutio and Benvolio a beat too early when launching towards the front and I thought he was in danger of losing his dagger when confronting Paris in the tomb.  I agree with some of the comments about Yasmine’s rather ‘polite’ stabbing which I thought fractionally late.  But their whole journey together was wonderful to see at close quarters and it’s fabulous that their performance will be relayed.  It seems slightly odd to me that the broadcast is a full 10 days after their first performance and there are no other R&J performances since last night.  I’d like to think the reason for the gap is so that Yasmine isn’t having to cope with another deluge of bouquets although she is of course dancing Firebird etc.

 

Whilst I was transported by Romeo and Juliet, I was less impressed with some of the supporting cast.  I think we’ve had stronger Mercutios than Valentino Zucchetti and Tybalts than Gary Avis.  And it underlined for me that what made the Hayward/Corrales 2nd performance so compelling was the astonishing strength of all the principals and how well matched they were.

 

That need for consistency across the main principals also struck me in the evening’s performance.  Romeo (David Hallberg), Mercutio (James Hay) and Benvolio (Calvin Richardson) seemed rather mismatched to me - I couldn’t get ‘the unlikely lads’ out of my mind.  Yes some great dancing but not that camaraderie of some casts and not helped by height differences.  Ryoichi Hirano’s Tybalt was menacing.

 

This was a shame because last night we were treated to a truly visceral Juliet from Natalia Osipova, quite astonishing.  Rather than simply go limp/play dead when forced to dance with Paris, she demonstrated utter revulsion at the prospect, with her body desperate to get away from his holds.  Rob’s already referred to her manic dash from bedroom to Friar Laurence etc.  But there was also tangible deliberation in how she decided upon what she must do and how often in Act 3 she turned to look to Romeo’s exit from her bedroom.  Her stabbing was brutal and her death achingly beautiful in its resolution.  Despite being in the Balcony Stalls, I felt as if I were in the tomb as the slow curtain dropped.

 

It was very much Juliet’s performance last night and I couldn’t help thinking what might have had Romeo been more of a match.  David Hallberg was fine but given such a Juliet, I’d have preferred a much more spirited, energised Romeo.  I’d have loved to see Matthew Ball as Natalia Osipova’s Romeo ... but not on the same day as partnering Yasmine Naghdi.

 

And many thanks to the fabulous friends, harlots, and mandolins who add so much to the enjoyment, and to Pavel Sorokin and the Orchestra.

 

A great review John S which whets my appetite for Osipova - next time around.  I, too, had Ball in mind for her.

I share your view that what made the Hayward/Corrales performance so magnificent was the strength of the top tier of the ensemble.  I found Zucchetti rather lacking yesterday and appreciated Ball’s Tybalt more than Avis, but as Matthew can hardly fight with himself, I enjoyed the very different more thuggish character that Gary Avis gave us.  But I was there to see Naghdi and Ball and see them I did!

Lovely balanced review, JNC.  Thank you.

8 hours ago, Rob S said:

 

From tonight's performance, loved Juliet, still not keen on Romeo

Tell us more.  Would love to have seen her.

I wonder if KOH is silently cursing Cats which seems to have caused him a great deal of trouble, both directly and indirectly.