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penelopesimpson

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Everything posted by penelopesimpson

  1. penelopesimpson
    You're not the only one, NinaMargaret. It was Mayerling that made me really get into Liszt
  2. penelopesimpson
    I dear, I meant to say WITHOUT the technical knowlege to back it up! So sorry. I come on hear to learn as well as express views but I am still very much an amateur.
  3. penelopesimpson
    You are definitely NOT over-reacting. I have written to ROH Press Office as well, copying in the offending reviews, all of which take potshots at the patrons. I have suggested that they have a duty of care to their customers and that Ms Winter's presence is incompatible with that duty. It is sad in today's world that there are writers who do not recognise that they have responsibilities as well as rights. It is impossible to determine quite why this woman seems to hate people who go to ROH, (seemingly oblivious to the irony that she is also a patron), but her attitude to people who upset her by virtue of their presence is juvenile, offensive and irresponsible. Their 'crime' seems to be that they have paid for their seats and are not in the first flush of youth. The comment about liver spots is extraordinary and I am amazed it got past the sub-editor. What particularly annoys me is that her attitude is so last century. I have had the privilege to take young guests to the ballet this year who had never been before. They were all amazed to see so many young people in the audience and what outstanding value the tickets are when you consider what you get, including the pleasures of a magnificent building. None of them had any idea that you could get tickets for less than £50 which is more than you can say for a rock concert. As Ms. Winter is clearly unable to ignore the terrible chip she carries around on her shoulder, perhaps it would be better for her to stay away from ROH or, next time, ask the Press Office to ensure that she gets a Standing Ticket.
  4. penelopesimpson
    Interesting. I saw both those casts and felt Tierney had the edge - but then I see with the technical knowledge to back it up
  5. penelopesimpson
    You sum me up, Margaret. I'm widowed, on the wrong side of fifty-five and have vertigo. Two darling dogs and a demanding garden pretty much rule holidays out so I spend my cash on good seats at ROH, sometimes treat myself to a meal and a glass or two and then wend my way home. Occasionally, I buy something new to wear. I imagine the tumbrils will be coming for us any minute! (And then there's the brown spots on the backs of my hands - does Ms Winter imagine that these only inflict themselves on 'toffs?')
  6. penelopesimpson
    I am also pretty sure that these so-called conversations are made-up. I go to ROH pretty often and choose to spend my money on high value seats when I can. My choice which I don't need to defend in any way. However, I have sat next to people from all walks of life and I have NEVER heard conversations even remotely resembling what this reporters says she heard. What a remarkable coincidence that each of her last three visits coincided with overheard fodder for her column. On my last visit I met a confused lady who was a little sharp with the cloakroom attendants and at Woolf Works I overheard an American man comment that 'he hadn't paid all this money to watch two blokes dancing together!' And that's the extent of it over fifteen years regular patronage. I note that Ms Winter says her ticket was complimentary. I think the Press Office should withdraw this courtesy. Performances are legitimate targets for critics, the audience is not.
  7. penelopesimpson
    Me, neither. I commented that their reviewer seemed to have a problem with ROH as her last three reviews from there have all cast aspersions on the patrons. I asked if they would prefer to see ROH empty and subsequently closed and why those who choose to spend their money on cultural pursuits are considered a legitimate target for derision in a way that others are not. I closed by offering to review a football or darts match or take a trip dog racing, using similar techniques to Anna Winter and insulting those who choose such leisure events. I think it is safe to say that I will not be commissioned! More seriously, I think the ROH Press Office should think twice about extending journalistic courtesies to this so-called critic.
  8. penelopesimpson
    Done the same, Janet. Looked at previous reviews from this lady and every time she visits ROH, the audience gets bashed. I wonder who it is she thinks supports ballet and opera - a fairy godmother. As someone else has said upthread, anyone using their money to enjoy a cultural pursuit is considered 'posh' and therefore a target to be ridiculed and insulted. Suppose I were to go to a football match or the dog track and write unkind things about the patrons, would that be okay?
  9. penelopesimpson
    Thanks for the info, Geoff. Absolutely fascinating.
  10. penelopesimpson
    Thanks for the detailed reply, Lindsay. I would just say that this, of course, is NOT Modern Theatre, and, more pertinently, it is depicting life in an earlier century. I see nothing wrong with the tillitation (the actual moves are rather amusing) and provide light relief amidst all the intensity. Importantly, the whores blatant exposition of sex provides an excellent contrast with the upright straightjacketed Austrian court. i do get tired of this business of singling women our for special treatment under the so-called stereotyping argument. Whores were and are female. You might just as well argue that men are always fighting in ballet and opera and that seeing them do so or even picking up a sword is stereotyping the male!
  11. penelopesimpson
    I am interested in your phrase 'because of what it says about women in ballet.' I can't see that it says anything other than that great dancers show enormous versatility. As I said before, I detect that you have strong feelings about prostitution which is fine. I feel equally strongly about other issues in life. But you can't surely start retrospectively bring political correctness into either history or fantasy? This is a trend which seems to have started, oddly, in our Universities and is something I deplore. The current controversy around the re-naming of the Colston Hall in Bristol is just one example. How do you cope with Manon?
  12. penelopesimpson
    Lindsay you haven't upset me and yes, I absolutely love the discussions - whether I agree or not is absolutely of no consequence. I was only going into detail because you seemed to have such a problem with this scene. There are many reasons why I like it - change of pace, less intensity amidst all that passion, vulgarity contrasted with the stifling correctness of the Austrian court and, above all, a rare chance in this ballet for the corps to shine. I think there is a distinct difference between what we like and flaws. I don't enjoy the dances I referred to in Sleeping Beauty but I regard that as personal preference rather than a flaw.
  13. penelopesimpson
    Me, too. Can hardly bear it. I was thinking of flowers on May 11th. If I take them in earlier, does anybody know if they will get to him (I know the men don't get them on stage)?
  14. penelopesimpson
    Thank you for posting that. I think she sums it up well: lavish, intense, brooding. Absolutely.
  15. penelopesimpson
    I don't wish to offend but Lindsay I wonder why you go to see a ballet that contains whores/prostitutes/ladies of the night, whatever you wish to call them, when clearly they upset you. Mayerling is a story woven around actual events. Very possibly it contains dramatisations that were not part of the real tragedy but it is just that, a dramatic fantasy. Inevitably much-loved ballets sometimes include elements that some of us might prefer were either removed or changed in concept. I find some of the character dances in Sleeping Beauty utterly banal, but I accept them for what they are, part of the whole. However, I don't book for this ballet unless there are very particular attractions (Naghdi and Ball) because I find it unsatisfying. Macmillan developed Mayerling as a dark work that allowed him to create extraordinary choreography. It never fails to move me and I am blown away that this country has as its resident ballet company a team of dancers capable of fielding four excellent casts, which include some absolutely astonishing performances. I find the tavern scene utterly appropriate and the three different companions who have shared the experience with me have been enthralled from beginning to end. And none of them are ballet phobes. To try to start taking pieces out of the ballet as if it were some sort of pick and mix seems to me to miss entirely the point of this hugely emotional unleashing of passion through dance.
  16. penelopesimpson
    But the whores are meant to be tasteless, that's surely the point! Oh dear, I feel I am watching scabs being picked off a much loved friend.
  17. penelopesimpson
    First performance of Anna Karenina is nearly sold out
  18. penelopesimpson
    Whilst this is a discussion forum, I think there's a danger in picking the whole thing to bits and then applying today's' thinking. Yes, I am biased because I absolutely adore Mayerling, but I think it works as a whole rather than a series of vignettes. There is so much passion in the underlying theme that the audience needs some light-hearted moments so that we don't drown and can better appreciate the highs and lows. The whores work for me. I enjoy the bare bones salaciousness and love the dancing - certainly the audience did last night. I don't really care whether they are true to the time -as another poster has said, this is not Visit Vienna but a story woven around some real-life events.
  19. penelopesimpson
    That is really unforgivable from a critic
  20. penelopesimpson
    Yes, but as I couldn't choose between them, I thought I'd put them together!
  21. penelopesimpson
    Tonight Osipova was Magnificent
  22. penelopesimpson
    I agree with Lindsay, two dancers who are completely unalike in almost every way. I enjoy them both but veer towards preferring Watson because I love his particular style. Any opinions to who is most like him in the ranks?
  23. penelopesimpson
    Bennet Gartside standing in for Mayerling and producing a stonking performance
  24. penelopesimpson
    Exactly the point I was making Janet re. tickets to pop bands. Thing is, theatre tickets have caught up. Friend was astounded at the price of seats for Lion King which were way up in the gods. I think both ballet and opera at ROH are just about the best value going.
  25. penelopesimpson
    I didn't mean it as a negative about Macrae. I was simply expressing the opinion that not all dancers should be expected to do everything. Watson makes no secret of the fact that the 'princely' roles are not for him. I cannot, for instance, imagine Matthew Golding doing Rudolf, however technically gifted he may be. By the way, is he still injured?
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