JennyTaylor

I think the crypt scene is the best I have ever seen. Sometimes I feel a bit cheated in that scene, as R&J don't actually dance together, but they both individually were so incredibly dramatic in their grief and anguish, that one was totally focussed on one and then the other. As I've said, the entire performance was played at high levels of energy and drama, led from the front by both Principals and Mercutio and Benvolio. I've read Marianela's Instagram post too - what a tribute.

Rachel Hollings has just posted some lovely photos on Instagram post performance.

OK, where to start. Marianela and Will took it by storm this evening. I think we got up to 10 curtain calls but I lost count. Utterly, utterly brilliant. Will's acting skills are on a different plane from all other Romeo's (in my opinion, of course) and we saw everything we saw in London last time round again and perhaps even more. His partnership with Marianela rose to dramatic and dancing heights and for me, this was the best Juliet I have ever seen her perform. Their passion fed off each other and her Act 3 was definitely on a different level, heightened by what had gone before. Their bedroom pdd conveyed, passion, love and total despair. Heart wrenching and glorious. Dancing and acting perfection. Will's facial expressions are constantly changing: it really is acting and dancing. He tells such a story. We had Joe Sissens and Calvin Richardson as Mercutio and Benvolio and they were phenomenal (hot!). The 3 men were totally in sync and the camaraderie between them was electric and heart warming. The audience recognised this and there was applause at the end of each of their sections together and separately (Mercutio at the ball). The fight scenes are becoming increasingly fierce: Will really went for Tybalt (Ben Gartside) with passion and anger but was then totally distraught when he had killed him, falling on the ground in utter despair. Elsewhere, as the whole cast become more settled in their roles, the other fight scenes and marketplace brawls are also becoming rougher and edgier. The balcony pdd was a dream. Beautifully executed and incredibly romantic. The final scene was heartbreaking. As Will lay dying from the poison, he made several heart wrenching attempts to reach Juliet's hand but failed. Marianela took a long time to climb over the tomb to reach him with her dying breath. It was so beautiful and heart felt. Roars of applause greeted their initial curtain call which was so beautiful because as the curtain opened, they were hugging each other, rather than just standing together. For me, this was worth coming on the tour alone. Will this partnership ever be repeated. Who knows, but I'm just so grateful I saw it.

We are loving Japan, thank you Naomi. We are quite easy to spot in the auditorium as we sit around row 22, altogether. Not there tonight sadly, but we are going to dinner with some dancers so ballet is definitely on the menu.

2 absolutely superb performances today, first from Matthew and Yasmin and then from Alex and Francesca. Beautiful, heart wrenching, emotional and just brilliant from both couples in such different ways, and I've run out of adjectives as has everyone else. 2 standing ovations and multiple curtain calls. We've all seen how well Matt and Yasmin perform this ballet together and they are such a beautiful partnership, full of romance and passion. They built on that this afternoon and I felt this show was on a totally different plane from yesterday. I'm sure some will disagree, that's just my view. Added spice was provided by Ryo's portrayal of Tybalt - pure malice. So, we enjoyed some real sparks flying and there was a lot of rough and tumble in the marketplace all round. Matt's parents were there to see him which was delightful, and Mayara Magri was also in the audience, and she took video of all the curtain calls of Matt and Yasmin at the end - lovely! You get to see these extra things on tour. When we returned for the evening performance, Matt was still outside signing autographs and doing selfies with the huge number of fans outside the stage door and queued all along the side of the building. Francesca's Juliet was a thing of beauty - her naturally fluid style lending itself to the choreography - joyous and heart breaking. Alex was a romantic and passionate Romeo and a fantastic partner. We had James Hay as Mercutio at full throttle in the dancing and acting stakes. SO much expression in those eyes and with Ben Ella as Benvolio they made a wonderful threesome - extremely well matched as dancers. The whole cast are on top form. Sadly we don't have tickets for tomorrow's show, though we are going to another stage call. We will be back on Saturday for the eye watering prospect of Will and Marianela.

I think she has, but that's from memory only, not hard fact

Apparently, this casting of For Four was particularly superb. The 4 dancers styles complemented each other perfectly.

I've just returned from the opening night of R&J in Japan. Steven McRae and Sarah Lamb were in the principal roles. I think it's fair to say that it was a great opening to R&J with the audience giving it a very enthusiastic reception. The whole company were on top form with particular mentions for James Hay as Mercutio, Calvin Richardson as Benvolio and Gary Avis as Tybalt. The audience called Steven and Sarah back for multiple curtain calls (normal in Japan I think, for high profile productions such as this). I arrived yesterday as part of the RB tour supporters' party. Others have been here longer for the initial triple bill. From what I hear, that was immensely successful too. We went to a stage /costume rehearsal yesterday (Osipova/Clark) which was also work in progress. It's so interesting to see how adjustments have to be made for scenery and props, new (local) actors and also a local orchestra. lt all worked seamlessly today. Natalia and Reece were both excellent, with Natalia giving a tour de force performance (yes, in a rehearsal) of great characterisation and depth. So many different nuances unique to her. The theatre is lovely, with excellent site lines and the Japanese fans extremely enthusiastic. There were queues waiting at the stage door for the dancers to exit this evening. It's very exciting to be here and to look forward to the mouth watering performances to come.

No, this was after the first ballet, rather than the second

Much more interesting to see how many ex RB dancers I can spot here tonight

I’m here for Laura Morera and have now endured the new McGregor twice. For me, it deserves its Untitled status as it has no structure, no story and no musicality. Apart from that the dancers are brilliant. I noticed the orchestra applauded themselves for a prolonged time, presumably for just getting through it.

Oh my goodness @Rob S what a star you are! I now need to print this so I have a cast list to which I can refer. It's appalling that these artists are not publicly recognised.

I have a big ask. I would like to know who all the other artists are in Anastasia. I am astonished that only 4 dancers are named on the cast sheet, when so many others appear. I recognised Gina SJ in the Morera cast but was very frustrated not to be able recognise the others. Any information very happily received, before I go again tomorrow.

This is my understanding too. I've been to a couple of events recently, where RB dancers were present including Laura, where this was discussed.

I'm with you. I've booked twice, purely for Laura Morera as I admire her so much and I want to see her final performances. I will endure the others and try to concentrate on my favourite dancers within them. Can't say that I a really looking forward to it though. Oh for Month in the Country

I've just watched this - and loved it. Thank you for posting the link

"Bearing in mind that Osipova was ill last week. She might still be slightly ill or tired, we as the audience aren't privy to this information. This is an extremely taxing role to perform even at optimum health." OK, as I was the person to start this particular thread, I will come clean. I was very disappointed in what I saw last night and really did wonder if Osipova was in the best of health as the performance seemed underpowered and a bit hesitant to me. I don't mind changes in choreography and that wasn't why I commented. I had expected a full throttled, energetic performance but I didn't feel I saw that. I can see that other Forum members really enjoyed it, so all down to personal taste and impression once more.

I was at tonight's performance and wondered if anyone could tell me if that was typical of a Natalia Osipova performance. I booked my ticket specifically to see Olivia Cowley's first performance of Carabosse and she was fantastic. Showered with a large number of bouquets at the end too. She was thrilled!

She's been posting her journey back from MLOA on social media. May 22nd is her first performance. I'm very happy that I have a ticket.

I spent a delightful time last night. I booked to see James Hay in particular but was also wowed by Akane's performance - absolutely beautiful. I often sit in Row A of the Orch Stalls as I have become beguiled by watching the orchestra too, and the beautiful sound which rises up and seems to engulf me. Yes, a completely new set of musicians and I was particularly taken with watching the double basses who happened to be seated directly in front of me. I was struck by the beauty of their movement as they played. They moved to the music and their arm movements in the parts where they plucked the strings was just as if they were dancing themselves. It really moved me. As posted after the Prologue, Itziar's Carabosse was exceptional and I too, loved Annette Buvoli's Lilac Fairy. So graceful, serene and elegant. I had by chance printed 2 copies of the cast sheet before I left the office and during the 2nd interval I was sat next to 3 ladies who were desperately searching the programme trying to work out who the 2 lead role dancers actually were. Of course, no such information is contained in the programme, so I gave them one of my sheets. They were hugely grateful. For me, it's now rare to have a printed cast sheet with me for a performance and I realised how much I really miss them. So nice to just refer to it rather than peer at my phone or find a displayed sheet somewhere in the building.

Itziar absolutely smashing Carabosse tonight. End of Act 1

As a total ignoramus of opera, but always keen to learn, I took advantage of my Friends membership and went to a rehearsal of Tosca before Christmas. I loved it. Yesterday I took the plunge again and went to the rehearsal of Aida. I know the very famous music excerpts of course having actually played these in my junior school orchestra many moons ago, but no idea of anything else except a few visions of pyramids. Thank goodness for subtitles, otherwise I wouldn't have had a clue, but I was taken aback to find the opera set in what appeared to be the military regime in North Korea. So, for those who complained about the costumes for Cinderella, just take a look at these! Grey, khaki, grey, dark green, dirty brown and even more grey. Poor Aida (Angel Blue) spent the entire performance looking like a cross between a cleaner and a factory worker. It didn't work for me. I gradually got used to the sets but I didn't like them. I was even more confused in that the male hero was actually played by a South Korean. Coincidence or not?/ No idea. He was excellent BTW. By the final scene, I'd "got" the scene setting which was certainly trying to make a serious point about war and we were left with an empty "tomb" of nuclear weapons as the final scene. Very powerful. As for the singing and the music, it was marvellous. The power of a full opera chorus is spine tingling and something I didn't see in Tosca. The reactions of the audience at the end told me that the principals weren't bad either. I feel privileged to have seen world class opera singers in such a setting. I was sorry that their costumes didn't add to the drama from my perspective: it was all so incredibly drab. I found the performance had an effect on me for the rest of the day. I won't be booking for any real performances, but will certainly sampling more rehearsals. I downloaded the music last night to listen to it all over again.

Thank you for the YouTube link. I've had a glorious evening watching what I should have seen with my husband when we booked at the Staines (Middx) cinema. Sadly it was cancelled when we got there due to technical difficulties. It's the only time he goes to ballet now and he particularly likes all the interviews and close ups, so really good to be able see it. I saw this cast early in the run so fascinating to compare it to later performances. After the fabulous performance last Saturday (Morera/ Ball / Richardson / Hay) I came home and announced that this Cinderella is now my favourite ballet. Can't believe I said that even now, but it has given me so much pleasure. My initial feelings at the start of the run were somewhat luke warm so what a transformation.

So lovely to meet you @Scheherezade and what an exquisite performance we’ve both just had the privilege of seeing