Timmie

Thanks for the replies folks 👍. Looks like we’ll go for our usual schedule of planning to get there an hour before kick-off which allows for any delays and gives us a chance to wind down after what’ll probably be a hot and sticky journey.

Stem ginger is my usual favourite as well but I do like the sorbets in the Summer 🙂.

I guess the time window depends where you’re sitting. We’re in the orchestra stalls, so in principle straight in the front door and into the auditorium. But we will need to make a diversion first 🙂.

A good point about the entrance though. Our tickets show the usual door for where we are seated but may not be correct with social distanced routeing.

So they are selling water then, presumably with the ice creams? I've never really noticed before if they sold bottled water or not.

Thanks, that's helpful. (Love all your photos by the way).

Do you think that 5 to 15 mins is at the entrance to the auditorium then? I interpreted the slightly vague wording as at the theatre entrance. My usual trains are not running so we’ll be walking from St Pancras, I need to stay hydrated but don’t want to be over-loaded with water bottles. Also don’t want to get too hot and fail the temperature scan…😅

Are people being admitted to the theatre building (not auditorium) before the entry time on the tickets?

A few logistics questions if you’d be so kind. This Sunday matinee will be our first socially distanced performance, the tickets have an arrival time of 5 to 15 mins before show starts, is this long enough to visit the loos and then get to ones’ seats, given the possibility of queues?

Sunday is looking like it’s going to be really hot, is drinking water available at the interval? I guess probably not.

And is it wrong that I’m really looking forward to eating my ice cream in the auditorium 😄?

On 09/05/2021 at 21:16, Saodan said:

 

And again, I am pleased to have made an impression! Crazy this is over two years old now

I haven't posted on here for so long but I had to sign in to say thanks for this 🙂. I remember the post now but had forgotten about it.

On 13/01/2019 at 12:44, Jan McNulty said:

Matthew Bourne's New Adventures don't usually tour with an orchestra.  They didn't have one at The Lowry.  The sound of the recorded score was fine there and it didn't detract from the performance.

Thanks Jan. I've watched the MB Swan Lake recording a couple of times now and I'm not sure I'd enjoy it live and was relying on at least having the music live. The problem is when I watch it and I hear the music I can't help but think of all the traditional Swan Lakes with the classical ballet and feel I wish I was watching that instead.

On 08/01/2019 at 19:37, Don Q Fan said:

...It was lovely to have a live orchestra for this run at Sadlers Wells and made a pleasant change from the usual piped music...

Can anyone comment on Don Q's comment? I'm in two minds as to whether to see this at Milton Keynes but if it's not a live orchestra I'll definitely not bother. Does anyone know what they usually do at MK for MB's Swan Lake re the orchestra? (Other ballet companies bring an orchestra to MK).

Thanks Amelia, the update is much appreciated.

And in the same vein here is Marianela Nunez and Thiago Soares giving both sides of the mime. This is the ROH guide that made me really appreciate what ballet was all about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UtQAoLVu2A

The action starts at 1:35 if you're impatient .

Amelia, do you know how long this is available for as I won't be able to watch for a few days?

Lots of great ballets for me as well this year but only two performances stood head and shoulders above the rest.

At number two is Yasmine Naghdi with her marvellous tear-inducing Odette/Odile in her Swan Lake debut.

But an easy number one is Alina Cojocaru as Aurora in ENB’s Sleeping Beauty. It was a sleepy mid-week matinee audience, in a far from full London Coliseum, that was woken up when the divine Cojocaru gave a performance that not only entranced the audience but seemed to raise the game of the whole ENB company.

2 hours ago, Two Pigeons said:

I have just ploughed through 4 weeks of Radio Times but have been unsuccessful in finding An American in Paris...

And here is a link with a long long cast list .

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bwdcvy

On 08/12/2018 at 10:51, David said:

I may be wrong but I get the impression that it is the Royal Opera that is being most hard-hit by the new ticket marketing strategies...

You may be right. I'm a potential new opera enthusiast (I went to my first two operas this year) and La Traviata is high on my to-see list but the prices are just too much to justify.

Hi Alice, I’ve got the S9 as well and I’m not too impressed with curtain call pictures either (as you say over exposure is the issue). The way I get round it is to zoom-in and this works to a certain extent but is not great.

Another way round it, which I have not yet tried for ballet pictures, but should work, is as follows. In AUTO mode if you tap the screen where your subject is then the camera adjusts the exposure for that small area (until the scene changes). Now take your picture.

Best tip I have is to hope Don Q Fan goes to the same performance as you then pinch her pictures when she posts them .

11 hours ago, Riva said:

BBC4 will be showing Swan Lake ‘from the Royal Opera House’ during their festive scheduling although can’t see a specific date yet, or which production. 

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-46346051

I posted this link on the DVD thread. Looks like the new production . Scroll down a bit to find it.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/xmas18tv/bbctwo

It does say "The Royal Ballet performs Tchaikovsky’s magnificent classical ballet in a brand-new production by young choreographer Liam Scarlett, with sumptuous and evocative designs by John Macfarlane." and "Starring the Argentinian ballerina Marianela Nuñez in the hugely challenging dual-role of Odette/Odile, with Vadim Muntagirov as Prince Siegfried".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/xmas18tv/bbctwo

Edit: since this has gone over a page break I am adding that is for a TV showing not a DVD. Don't get too excited about the DVD release yet .

6 hours ago, penelopesimpson said:

...Are there to be no special places anymore that one aspires to, dreams about, saves up for and then experiences the magic?

Milton Keynes theatre?

43 minutes ago, Timmie said:

...there’ll be more trips to Sadler’s Wells and the Coliseum and less to ROH...

Just wanted to add that the main reason for this is the disproportionate increase in the prices of my favourite seats and because matinee prices are now the same as evening prices.

I totally agree. I used to enjoy the whole ROH experience, I didn’t mind paying the slightly over the top prices in the bar and I’d buy my ballet blu rays in the ROH shop rather than the cheapest online because I felt it was a good way to waste my money. The new management are enthusiastically diminishing the ROH experience whilst openly trying to squeeze as much money from me as they can. They’ve changed the rules of the game so I’ve changed my rules to match. I’ll give the bar a miss, buy my discs online and there’ll be more trips to Sadler’s Wells and the Coliseum and less to ROH.

On the way home after last night’s triple bill I reflected on how I feel about the ROH and especially on how to put a positive spin on it. I remain very positive towards the Royal Ballet (how could I feel otherwise after the joy of Symphony in C?) but extremely disappointed with the ROH. The most damning thing I can say is that I am very happy that I’ve only got one more ROH ticket before Christmas and then nothing at Covent Garden until Don Q. Hopefully they’ll have sorted themselves out by next March.

10 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

Reputation is so important...Can someone please like this post so I can reach 1000 ?!  😉

Happy to help . And to stay on topic, how amazing was Anna Rose O'Sullivan last night? And those students livened up the place a bit 🤣.

43 minutes ago, Colman said:

It does seem a bit weird. Are you sure it's doubles (50ml) as opposed to large singles (35ml) (which would still be a sneaky change)? Though I suppose if they're technically considered as cocktails then the rules for spirit measures might not apply?...

Definitely 50ml. You can see it in their online bar menu "our standard measure is 50ml".

And as BBB says all quite legitimate. The problem is that it is a change and so could catch the unwary.

30 minutes ago, Sim said:

Does that mean you are automatically paying double, or are they giving you the amount for which they were charging previously but not giving (I.e, a lot of money for not much alcohol!)?

Paying double I'm afraid. You can get a single but you have to ask specifically for a single.

I like to get a round of sandwiches and either a cup of tea or a G&T to wash them down. Tonight it'll be Tesco Express for sarnies and a G&T in a can .

Last week I found yet another irritation with the ROH experience. The standard measure for spirits in ROH bars is now a double (50ml). So if you order ‘a gin and tonic’ you automatically get a double. This is detailed in the small print in the drinks menu but it used to be a single. The bar manager told me they’d had several complaints about this. Be warned.

I was just thinking of the mods Sim...