penelopesimpson

Bolshoi is amazing.  This is what I tune in to World Ballet for.  Just for one day in a year I can see something that normally I would have to come to London for.  Its a terrific idea.  I just don't want it going down the usual BBC route of public participating in everything.  I know its good to make out that it is so wonderful watching amateurs but there is a time and a place.

2 minutes ago, Rob S said:

 

It’s so we can get up and put the kettle on without missing anything good 

Now you're talking!

5 minutes ago, bangorballetboy said:

 

I think seeing the Monday Moves class and understanding the difference it's making to peoples' lives is really interesting and educational.

Good for you.  I am fortunate, perhaps, that I can see this sort of thing locally.  My good deed is trying to make tickets accessible to all.

Alexander Campbell is really good but why do the Organisers think I want to watch people trying to do ballet on World Ballet Day?  I can see this at my local Village Hall.  

RE:  'such a thing could happen.'  Well, yes, it could but only if they allow it to by putting all seats on sale to Friends and not holding any back for General Booking. That would mean that all the public could choose from would be the leftovers once Friends had picked at the carcass!  Hardly satisfactory for an organisation in receipt of public subsidy.

Re declaring an interest, I can say that Cinderella (me) will be going to the ball as Friends have bought a Fidelio ticket for me.  I'm sticking this with because I think it is not the way for ROH to behave.

Did he damage hisAchilles tendon a few years ago?  Love the way he lets us into his life and his gorgeous family.
 

on a different note, I do wish Ed Watson would communicate with his fans a little more.  One hundredth of what Macrae does would do!

Good to hear, JNC. I talked to a few other people yesterday who are pursuing the matter.  I thought it was important to get ROH to admit their new policy before general booking opens because otherwise I think they will just say all the tickets sold out at 0900.  I was always suspicious of the technical hitch that mysteriously hit La Forza tickets at 0900 last time around and which cleared at 0920 to reveal all the tickets had been sold.

40 minutes ago, bridiem said:

Another Instagram update from Steven McRae about his injury:

 

'COMPLETE RUPTURE💥
Well there it is..... Interestingly I thought I had tripped over something on stage last Wednesday but that sound was actually my Achilles snapping!
I am in great hands and I will have surgery at the start of next week - Possibly setting a @guinnessworldrecords for most surgeries for a Dancer in such a short space of time 🤪
Oddly, I am excited for this next challenge, and I know that I will have the support that I need at home and at the @royaloperahouse to make this a successful journey back to the stage 💪🏻
Once again, thank you for the messages and kind words from all over the world - Let’s do this 🕺🏼'

 

What unbelievable resilience he has!

Resilience, indeed.  That is an awful injury.  He is such a all round nice bloke as well as an incredible dancer.  We are all thinking of you Steven.

Capybara, I have also on a couple of occasions received courteous responses from the people you mention.  This time around, however, it is like telephoning a black hole and you can almost hear the anxiety in the voices of the people I've spoke to.  The door is open for them to get back to me; if the policy is one they stand by, I don't understand why they dont just state it and have done with it.

I am now pursuing other avenues.

This is called the power of supper-luvvie Mark Rylance

Fabulous.  Thanks for posting that.

So agree with Sim about the lighting.  Indeed on Saturday I found myself thinking that if I should ever win the lottery, I would pay for Manon to have new stage sets, costumes and lighting.

Well, prs59  I can say you are unlikely to be disappointed by Kaufmann.  I have seen him twice now, on both occasions spending an obscene amount of money but the experience was so worth it, even with an opera like Forza which, frankly, I think is a bit of a mess.  His Othello when he made his debut in this role at ROH was really something and the tension and excitement in the house was palpable.

As for booking packages there is really not much to know.  Unless you are a Friend, they usually go on sale to the General Public a few days before General Booking opens.  They are a way of getting a little bit of money off your tickets if you are a frequent visitor.  You will see on the Packages page that there are different types - ROH recommends or Design Your Own.  I use the mix and match ballet and opera which has the least discount but is still worth having.  Until recently, we used to get champagne and programme vouchers as well, but the best I have managed this time around is a voucher for one ice cream!

I hope this was helpful.

*Remainder of post hidden by Moderators as it refers to a hidden post* - Balletcoforum Moderators

27 minutes ago, FionaE said:

personally MG didn’t work for me either, but at least he can do the lifts.  He looks great in videos elsewhere. Don’t know why ROH seemed to stifle him.  I’d like to see him do Onegin with Osipova. I can’t see that Vadim is up to doing that role yet.  Happy to be proved wrong.

 

(sorry - going off topic) 

Yes, can't fault his technicality.  I'm not sure about RB stifling him.  I think it was more that he was a mature dancer who had always performed in a certain way and that was his style.

Interested in what you say about Onegin.  I have never seen this ballet so have that treat to come and would welcome advice on casts.  Generally, it is Francesca and Ball's style that floats my boat and, of course, Osipova is always wonderful.

53 minutes ago, bridiem said:

Just to point out that (according to the Cambridge Dictionary) 'vilification' means 'the act of saying or writing unpleasant things about someone or something, in order to cause other people to have a bad opinion of them'. The only posts I have ever seen on this forum that come close to 'vilification' have been reported and deleted and the poster banned.

 

Well said, Bridiem. This website is generally not a culprit but so much of language has been distorted these days.  If you say you don't like something or someone, you become a hater.  If you make a criticism, it is bullying.  If a negative comment about a person who is not white Caucasian is made, you are a racist.  It is so tiresome and, like the little boy who cried wolf, means that people who are genuinely being any of the latter, slip under the radar.

13 minutes ago, FionaE said:

I watched the double Manon showing yesterday ... I had booked the matinee ages ago, and then stayed for the evening on a whim. 
 

I’ll start with the worst ... imagine the killing of the gaoler scene as follows:  David Hallberg as Des Grieux .. oh-shock-horror ... hand-over-mouth ... look-what-I-have-done .... in a ham acting way .... and then next moment all prissy upright dancing.  I nearly guffawed out loud it was so awful.   I noticed he (she?) altered some of the Act one bedroom pdd lifts - I assume he hasn’t the strength?  His lines are beautiful but has he lost lots of muscle tone?  The lyrical solos were not musical, no soft extending plies and too many rushed adagio movements and noisy landings.
 

Natalia Osipova was authentic to her interpretation throughout and it was convincing.  It may not be true to MacMillan’s original.  She is allowed liberties, which may be a good thing?   We don’t want to see copycat ‘acting’.  But oh for a stronger and more convincing partner for her. Bring back Matthew Golding, Vladimir Shklyarov.... Someone is going to have to tell her that David is undermining her impact. 

 

Back to the matinee. It proved to be the dream cast for me.  All four main dancers were special.  Frankie captivates throughout. Such an exceptional portrayal.  She has strong technique (not at the Nuñez level - who does?)  but boy can she send over a convincing character journey.  
 

The revelation for me was Alexander Campbell - where has he been hiding that super liquid adagio technique?  Soundless soft landings, multiple slow turns with control and ease, fully using all the music, high extensions, long lines (yes really ... has to be seen to be believed).  Wonderful musicality added to his cute young lover portrayal. Totally convinced by their partnership.  So emotional, sigh.

 

As an aside, I thought Nuñez danced a wonderful Manon last weekend too - Bolle really transports her to a better level, although his Des Grieux is beautiful but unemotional. He does try and his beauty carries us along.

 

Almost forgot to write about Cesar Corrales who was utterly brilliant ... superb comedic timing in the drunken solo and pdd and fully immersed in his cunning plans.  If I hadn’t been to the matinee I would have been thrilled with Ryo Hirano’s Lescaut.  I love his range of emotions - both comedic, conniving and scheming.  However, Cesar is technically amazing as well as grabbing one’s attention with his character that he far outshone Ryo and  Marci Sambe in this role.  
 

I loved all the Lescaut mistresses I’ve seen.  Mayara Magri at yesterday’s matinee had the edge, her accomplished technique allows her to enjoy the role and play with her interactions with the other characters.  Impressive debut.  Claire Calvert  (last night) has good comedic timing and expressions and Yuhui Choe (at Nuñez/Bolle performance) was coquettish and had gorgeous sensuous soft arms.  Bravo all.

 

Are we not blessed with the best ever character artists?   They are all brilliant.  I preferred Thomas Whitehead’s M.GM (with Frankie) and can’t chose between Bennett Gartside and Gary Avis as they gaoler.  They are so hardworking too, appearing in almost every performance as there are so many roles (the old gentleman, brothel clients) for them, Christopher Saunders, Philip Mosley and others (Erico Montes I noticed).

 

i will never forget this special matinee performance of Manon.  Wonderful.  .    

Take your point, Fiona, but the only thing Matthew Golding ever convinced me of was that I wished I had booked for someone else.  Like DH, for me his style is not RB

Great review, Maryroses.  I also have problems with Hirano and since his below par Mayerling, have stayed clear. And then up he pops in a character role and I think wow.  Then the saga starts again.  I think I have decided that for me, despite his strong technique and undoubted stage presence he isn’t a leading man.

2 hours ago, prs59 said:

I read this forum because it is for dance and ballet lovers for whom I believe it was set up? 
I am sorry that people have experienced difficulties getting tickets for non-ballet  and non-dance performances at the ROH but I don’t need to read about it here. Perhaps there is a forum for opera lovers where it would be more appropriate for them to vent their ticket frustrations?

If anyone experienced similar difficulties getting tickets for dance and ballet performances then  I suggest the discussion re-focus on this. If not, I move that the moderators end or delete this thread.
 

Err, then why read it?  It might have started about Opera but actually relates to the Friends system that operates across ballet and opera.  Shutting down topics of debate because you personally aren’t interested seems somewhat OTT 

James, absolutely delighted to hear such a positive review which gives me the impetus I needed to book for Osipova’s Swan Lake

JNC may I ask who you emailed?

50 minutes ago, Jamesrhblack said:

Apologies for double post, penelopesimpson. Dodgy roh wifi I fear. Might a moderator delete the second posting.

I thought you were just enthusiastic!

1 hour ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

It was suggested as a possible motive, not an ideal solution.

 

Genuine question: as far as I understand it, tickets for the Last Night of the Proms are allocated only to those who have attended at least five concerts in the series and have then been awarded seats in the ballot. This is stated upfront. Do you think this is a fair system? Would you approve of something similar for the most oversubscribed operas?

That’s a very good point and I can absolutely see why they do it and approve.  It might be a solution at ROH for the once in a year performances that are massively over subscribed.  I probably see 6-8 operas a year so don’t know if that would qualify.  Of course the difference with ROH is that it’s unlikely ever to be one performance - usually 4-6 for Kaufman et al.  Of course, the puzzle in all this is 
Why R O H have taken this step.  If we knew that, we might be able to suggest a solution.  But holding 20% of tickets  for General Booking doesn’t seem particularly onerous or unreasonable.

It’s not as if we’re asking them to sell them any cheaper.  Friday Rush is alsodiscrinatory as it’s no good at all if you live outside of London.

Just now, Lizbie1 said:

 

Try "unavailable" or "not released" - they're bad enough.

Lizbie they are my choice of words and I stand by them.  Tickets ARE available and HAVE been released.  

Look, I wouldn’t agree with it BUT I wouldn’t be making such a fuss we’re it not for the hypocrisy and obfuscation.  If ROH want to make some productions available only to Friends, then so be it.  Instead they seem to be trying to do it through the back door and one can only guess At reasons for their lack of honesty, probably disapproval from the funding bodies.

I struggle with your point about Friends being a better sort of customer, more dedicated and loyal.  I am guessing that even a quick look at the friends roster would reveal some pretty high net worth customers who buy opera tickets for all sorts of reasons.  If we start going down the who is most worthy route which is surely a road to perdition, I could argue that just because I donot struggle up from Dorset to see Simon Boccanegra ( and absolutely nothing will tempt me to see it again, not even Jonas),  doesn’t disqualify me from wanting to see Fidelio.  This isn’ t a loyalty scheme where you get one goodie if you see three duds!

1 hour ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

That is exactly the opposite of what I have repeatedly said, which is that it was a mistake not to cap the number of tickets Friends could buy.

 

As to the other points: I have also repeatedly said that there should have been a proportion held back for general booking; however I don't think it helps your case to use words such as "barred" and "prevented" as if non-Friends were actively banned from buying tickets.

So what would you call no tickets being available to non Friends and no plans to provide any when General Booking opens?  Bar and banned are indeed NOT nice words - but then neither is the action.