standingticket

I wondered if the 'reconciliation' pas de deux in act 3 might have been expanded, but that's probably my poor memory! While I loved this wonderful action packed ballet as much as I always do, I felt that it seemed like some of the partnerings were still getting used to each other in these roles, as there were lots of substitutions for this cast. Some other scattered thoughts (one of the great things about this forum is not having to assemble these into prose!) - Isabella Gasparini really stood out the corps - I felt like Hirano portrayed Leontes as being taken over by an external force, rather than the envy coming from within, which was interesting. It was certainly a more gutteral, vengeful, desperate portrayal than others I have seen. - Loud (loudest?) cheers for Laura Morera's Paulina - Sambe and Stix Brunell are an excellent pairing. They were radiant!

I have a seat in the amphitheatre (V58) that I can't use if you are interested in that? £6

So am I correct in my understanding that this role was created on both Yanowsky and Morera, rather than on Yanowsky, with Morera also learning it? So glad to read the posts above that it was such a great performance last night, although it makes me all the sadder that I am not able to see the Morera cast.

Delayed posting, but I saw the opening night of this bill. Had never seen the Forsythe before - really enjoyed it, felt exhausted just watching by the end! Nunez and Muntagirov dance so well together, makes me lament that they weren't paired for 'Diamonds' even more. Also a great joy to watch McRae and Muntagirov dancing side by side - it seems to me that it's rare we get to watch two male principals do so, but I'm sure I'm forgetting something. Like others, I thought Sambe and Hayward were just a joy to behold in Tarantella, and I'm sure they will get even more brilliant with more performances. Strapless, for me, just doesn't work. The beginning is promising and sets up tension, which promptly falls flat during the pas de deux between Amelie and Pozzi. I'll lay a significant chunk of the blame at the door of music, which is just not 'sexy' and seems at odds with the choreography. No chemistry, for which I will not blame Bonelli and Osipova since (as the recent Mayerling run has showed) they are both exceptional actors. And it's basically downhill from there until the final unveiling and Amelie's solo. It seems to me that Wheeldon has tried to tackle this from too many perspectives - either it is about Gautreau trying to make a name for herself in society and being undone by the portrait, ultimately achieving notoriety, or it is about the inner workings of Sargent and his perspective of this society woman. As it stands, it is does not focus on either, and thus becomes an oddly emotionally detached experience as an audience member... Symphonic Dances I really loved. For the lion's share of the 40 minutes, I felt like I was watching the music, or the character of the music, which for me is a thing of true joy - when I can barely separate/distinguish the music from the movement. I thought Scarlett made such clever use of stillness, of that held moment with movement suddenly bursting forth - who knows from where next. I thought the staging was very striking (although i'm inclined to agree with other posters about the projections, thankfully mostly obscured from my amphitheatre perch!). I found the duet (for it was not really a pas de deux) between Yanowsky and Hay profoundly moving, for reasons I cannot quite articulate...the yearning beauty of Hay, the initial haughtiness/stillness softening to an almost maternal interaction (or at least that was my reading of it). As others have commented, the pas de deux with Reece Clarke was also wonderful, although for me the unconventional beauty of the first duet was the highlight. I wasn't mad keen on the ending, but I'd like to give it a second chance, since I mostly just found it rather unexpected!

I am so pleased to read so much enthusiasm for the Morera/Bonelli partnership on Twitter - I saw their debut not 14 hours after being blown away by Watson/Osipova, and it more than compared (perhaps bettered?). I think they are such a fantastic partnership - they are physically so secure dancing together that they can push themselves right to the limit without it feeling overly reckless or becoming untidy. Morera's acting ability is long established (and IMO among the best in the company), but I feel that Bonelli has really come into his own in this regard in the last two to three years

What a delightfully impossible question! Upon much reflection: I now, I then (Woolf Works pt I) Concerto Symphony in C It quite simply has to include Symphony in C, because I cannot remember a single triple bill featuring it that I've seen in which it hasn't blown all the others out of the water. All Balanchine's majestic skill in most joyful display - definitely the way to end an evening at the ballet.

The line up for tomorrow's opening night has just had me shell out more than I've ever spent on a ticket (the clue is probably in my username)...I have every confidence it will be worth every penny and am so excited!

Have to agree about Hay. Kept finding my eyes drawn to him. Makes me all the sadder I missed his Florimund! I have always struggled with Emeralds, but last night Stix-Brunell and Morera both brought such musicality and warmth, which together with a lovely pas de trois and Hay stealing the show, meant I was riveted! Something different here from the naghdi /ball/mendizibal cast last week (although Hay was also sublime in that cast) Takada and Campbell seemed more confident and zingy second time round - a joy to behold. As was Nunez, who truly is the diamond in the crown of the evening. Interestingly I missed the warmth of the partnering between muntagirov and cuthbertson, but in providing more of a 'supporting' partner I wonder if Soares actually accentuated Nunez's brilliance even more. Sad to have missed Hayward and Sambe this time round, but glad they have acquitted themselves well from reading above!

I wondered this too - I definitely saw a small slip from Sambe in his early solo, and feel sure I saw a couple of others early on. After that it seemed to stop - maybe people were being more cautious after Sarah Lamb's slip? I have to say I thought it was an excellent evening that only got better as it went on. I wasn't completely drawn in by The Human Seasons, but definitely appreciated some very beautiful moments and enjoyed the partnership of Lamb/Sambe very much. I also thought Clare Calvert was brilliant in her section with all the men. She is such a strong stage presence. I have never been treated to the Nunez/Soares PDD in After the Rain before, so to those who are feeling a bit of fatigue for this peace, just a reminder that there are plenty of people for whom this is still a new treat From overheard discussions on the way down from the amphi afterwards, plenty of people felt this was the highlight of the evening. Flight Pattern - well I was so utterly absorbed that I genuinely didn't believe it could be over when it was over. Very powerful, and amazing use of the corps to create shape, atmosphere, emotion, with little individual accents here and there - so subtle yet striking. Kristen McNally is so expressive with her whole body. What a talent. Sambe continues to astound, and great to see him in a more dramatic role here. Can't wait to see it again.

I very much enjoyed Osipova's account of Aurora, in particular her Act II and III. I love being able to be at the edge of my seat in anticipation, but at the same time completely relaxed in the knowledge of her brilliance. Her Act I was maybe just a little too bold or 'ebullient' as FLOSS say, but I suppose this is my taste. For my end, I preferred Hayward's account of Act I from last week, which I found just so light and so musical (feel very lucky I got to see her one performance) I was particularly delighted to get the opportunity to see O'Sullivan and Sambe's Bluebird/Princess Florine. They were fantastic. So much character and musicality in their performance, and perfect timing to boot. Great to hear them getting such a loud cheer at the curtain call. (Disclaimer - I'll confess to being a little biased on the basis of having done the occasional ballet class with the 9 year old Anna Rose when I was a teenager (my ballet teacher taught her privately before she went to White Lodge - she was already astoundingly good at 9), but it is so exciting to see her doing so well and I'm just waiting to see where she goes next!)

The music is also available on Spotify if you have it/haven't managed to buy the CD

I am just back from this evening's performance, which was my first time to Woolf Works since I was on the other side of the world for the whole of its premiere run. I was completely blown away. I thought that 'I now, I then' was beautiful- the section with Watson, Dyer and Takada particularly so. I'm not sure I blinked I was so drawn in. I was not familiar with the story of Mrs Dalloway, but was able to follow the emotional narrative of the piece and was quite gratified to surmise from the excerpts in the programme and from a little googling, that I was not far off. I appreciated 'Becomings', but more in the way that I generally experience McGregor, which tends to be more intrigue/wonder at the human body/slightly overwhelmed by how many people are doing different things on the stage! That said, I enjoyed the gradual morphing of all the dancers into eventually indeterminate figures. Osipova was outstanding in this though I have to say - and I thought that before I put my binoculars to my eyes and realised it was her. As for 'Tuesday' well it left me in tears, and I can safely say that no McGregor work has ever had that effect on me before. I will definitely attribute some of that to Max Richter's incredible score, but the performance of Ferri together with the poignancy of the theme, and the clever construction of this number and the use of the corps (even if it wasn't actually corps dancers) were collectively just so beautiful. What an evening. Incidentally, my relatively ballet naive friend also absolutely loved it

Unless I am mistaken, I don't think Naghdi and Hay were on stage for the company bows at the end, so could not have had a curtain call. I very much enjoyed Naghdi's performance (even if, on age alone, it felt a little implausible that she could have had an affair with the Tsar BEFORE his marriage!) I thought Morera's Act III was stunning. She has such a talent for story-telling and brought out a number details and nuances that I had not appreciated at my first two viewings (Osipova cast both times by accident rather than design!). I was very glad that she got such a loud cheer for her solo bow.

Thanks MargaretN7 and zxDaveM - I thought maybe this might have been the case. As for the slide en pointe, I thought it was there in the first act, the first time that sequence is there, but not in the subsequent reprisals of that motif. There was one in the trial scene, but I didn't see any others... However, possible I just missed them!!

I also saw the Hayward/Muntagirov performance on the 15th. It was my first time seeing Muntagirov dance, so that was a treat. I thought Hayward really brought the stubborn child to her portayal of Alice in a way that some of the others I've seen in this role over the years (Cuthbertson, Lamb, Nunez, Stix-Brunell) have not - she stubbornly shrugs off some of the more traumatising incidents (the butcher's scene for example) and gets on with it, without losing the depth in the more reflective moments (e.g. the act II (I think) solo where she dances with her sisters). I can't wait to see her dancing some more roles! I thought she and James Hay also danced very well in their scenes together. I quite like Alice, even if my initial enthusiasm for it has waned a bit with each revival (maybe because the clever effects are no longer a surprise - all those around me who were seeing it for the first time still seemed pretty entranced by them!). That said, it is now a very different production from the one I saw on it's first night a couple of years back. I think there is actually much more dance content than there was back then. For example, I'm pretty sure that Alice dances much more in the scene with the doors than in the initial version, and I'm pretty sure that several other bits have been bulked out too. Sadly though, one move that I really liked (the slide en pointe in the repeated motif that Alice and Jack dance throughout) seems to have been edited out. What I originally liked about the choreography of 'Alice' was the combination of classical and more contemporary steps...that is still true, but the contemporary steps seems to have been watered down somewhat in the two subsequent revivals. I agree with others who say that some bits could do with pruning - the trial scene for instance is just a bit chaotic for a bit too long. The caucus race no longer bothers me as much, but it is a bit 'meh'. The bit that really confused me last night was the tree painters. This pas de trois seems to have got longer, but lost its humour. I'm sure in the original version, the flowers flipped back from red to white again, and there was far less of this pointless shuffling of the trees around the stage. I really was quite bored by the end of this dance! The butcher's scene could also be shorter. However, unlike others, I would leave the Queen of Hearts well alone! This is a brilliant role! I still think this is a really wonderful overall production, with plenty going for it, but just not settled down yet. I wonder what it will be like at the next revival!

I've seen three Manons so far this run (Nunez, Hayward and Osipova) and it never ceases to amaze me how differently people can interpret the role. Nunez plays a very knowing Manon, right from the start. This can works, but how well depends (for me at least) on a very intense and heartbreaking Des Grieux, or else the tragedy of Act 3 is somehow lost. I'm not sure Bonelli quite got there...I remember seeing Pennefather and Lamb the last run of Manon and thinking that the ballet could almost be renamed Des Grieux, off the back of Pennefather's acting and performance. His Acts 2+3 were devastating! Sad I'm not seeing them this run. Hayward blew me away completely. She will only get better technically, but the characterisation was already so full and cleverly nuanced! I can't remember seeing the Act 1 pas de deux outside the pub danced that well since my very first Manon (with Guillem and Cope in 2005 - I've probably seen it at least 20 times since then!). I was particularly impressed with her musicality. Osipova - it sounds like I was lucky to have seen her second performance rather than her first, but that Act 3 will stay with me for a very long time. I remember when I watched Guillem back in 2005, willing her not to die simply so that the pas de deux would carry on - I felt exactly the same on Saturday. It looked as though she was absolutely spent but somehow managing to keep moving, and beautifully, which is of course exactly as it should be. I did think that Osipova's characterisation for the bedroom pas de deux in Act 2 needs a bit of work - she seemed to take the taunting of Des Grieux too far, and I didn't really feel her devastation when Lescaut died - which was a shame, since I thought that she and Soares had built a really detailed relationship between their two characters. However, given that was only her second performance I think I can let her off!! Very excited to see her again in the future. I've waffled on for too long already, but one more thing I noted when reading this forum was the critique of Morera's interpretation as being too simplistically naive, but with a very tragic finale. Interestingly, my memory of Guillem's interpretation of the role is that she played Manon very much like this - as the young naive who was manipulated by Lescaut and GM but was truly in love with Des Grieux. Maybe I was just too young, but that remains the best Manon I have ever seen and so I wonder whether I don't prefer that interpretation. I certainly think Osipova tended more towards that version (with a bit of mischievious enjoyment at the discovery of how beguiling she could be in Act 2) Seeing Yanowsky and Bolle next weekend and then I'm all done with Manon for this run (sadly)!

For me the standout performer of last night was Lauren Cuthbertson - she was just radiant in Serenade - so sharp and so musical. And boy did she and Thiago Soares go for it in that final pas de deux in Sweet Violets. I was a bit terrified - I have to confess I found myself thinking 'please don't break Lauren - I'm so enjoying having her dancing again!'. Before 'A Winter's Tale' this year, I don't think I had fully appreciated just how marvellous she is Sweet Violets is hard going, but very much worth it. I read a comment on twitter that said it was an hour of 'unnecessary eroticised violence towards women' (I think the person had brought their young daughter, so was perhaps understandably angry). But it made me think - while I can obviously see where that comment comes from, I think that it is sadly in the nature of the subject matter. I think Scarlett has done a very good job of not romanticising it - I almost feel quite sick watching the more violent pas de deux in places, the same reaction I had both when I went on the Jack the Ripper walking tour in East London, and when I saw The Judas Tree. He has pretty well taken the bull by the horns as far as subject matter goes. And choreographically, there are some truly wonderful (and heart-stopping) moments. The scene where Morera essentially dances a pas de deux with her bed is heart-breaking (she is just a sensational actress - I cannot wait to see her Manon again), and all of the other pas de deux were very strong, dramatic and bravely danced. There are too many disruptive scene changes though, which I remember thinking last time.. In DGV, Yanowsky was just amazing, as others have commented. However, on the whole, I thought it was a slightly below-par performance of this work, which I absolutely love usually. For me the momentum just dropped a bit when Watson and Osipova performed their section. I agree with the previous comment about Osipova's facial expressions in this- they were too showy. She had big shoes to fill in this role, which was danced so sublimely by Leanne Benjamin (and others of course, but she is the standout) for many years. While she did a more than passable job with some lovely moments, it lack sharpness at key points. There is a hallmark step in that pas de deux where she is pulled from a demi-plie (ish) forwards onto pointe over Watson's thigh (while he is also in a demi-plie) and this was just not spiky enough...so some of the musicality and momentum was lost...Maybe she would do better in one of the other couples - perhaps the fourth? Anyway, that was a rather rambly post (I had envisaged it being brief!) - a pretty great triple bill from my perspective!

I'm with bangorballetboy - it was a slip not a drop, and Nunez recovered very quickly. I didn't have any quibbles with Gartside's partnering - I thought he acted, danced and partnered very well, perhaps all the more impressively given he is covering for Soares (presumably at reasonably short notice).

Managed to see the second cast this afternoon following a last minute call to the box office. What a treat! I am not sure whether it was due to it being my second viewing, being closer to the stage (stalls circle standing) or the superlative acting skills of this group of dancers, but I was completely and utterly blown away. I was moved to tears through much of the Act III, and at times in both Acts I and II Bennet Gartside, despite dancing choreography that has Ed Watson written all over it, managed to bring such gravitas and sorrow to the role of Leontes. For example, the moment when Perdita and Florizel arrive in Act III, and he blesses their relationship, you knew that he was haunted by the destruction of his own relationship with Hermione as they joyfully danced together. He and Morera's Paulina also danced incredibly well together. Nunez too managed to bring such profound emotion into their final pas de deux, her hesitancy at the beginning making the more sweeping choreography towards the latter stages all the more moving. The reunion with Perdita did not feel so rushed today either. In fact, I would say that today Act III actually felt very well judged in terms of length, and I felt like that allowed it to be poignant but not overblown, which would be the risk of elongating it As for Acts I and II - Stix-Brunell was really lovely as Perdita - there was such joy and lightness in her steps, and a sensuous quality to her and Muntagirov's pas de deux that was perhaps lacking a little bit from McRae and Lamb's interpretation (brilliantly danced though that was). They carried the relatively slow plot movement of Act II by really drawing the audience into their relationship (indeed I heard several independent people exclaiming at the interval 'you could just tell how in love they were'). It was also my first time watching Muntagirov - what a delight! Act I - Nunez and Gartside were fantastic - they really went all out, bringing out the drama of the situation in their steps. Nunez dancing Hermione's trial solo was utterly heart-breaking. So after my second viewing, other than maybe shaving a bit off Act II, I'm really not sure I would really want anything changed. I came out of the opera house feeling elated, moved, and all the best feelings you can have after a visit to the ballet!

Here's my tuppence worth! I was there for the first night and while there are a few things I would think could do with a bit of tweaking, on the whole I thought it was really excellent and I came away buzzing. Cutherbertson and Yanowsky in particular were wonderful. Due to a gap in my Shakespeare knowledge, I had the advantage of not knowing the story beforehand, which is always the best way to watch 'story' ballets. That of course works on the proviso that the narrative is clear enough, which fortunately for me, it was - I didn't even need to read the synopsis they so kindly provided in the cast sheet. I was completely gripped by Act I, thoroughly enjoyed Act II, and was pretty moved by Act III. I agree with some of the comments above about the music in Act I not having enough momentum - I wonder whether the feeling that there was a lack of proper solos and pas de deux in this act was more to do with musical shaping not emphasising these moments sufficiently. However, I thought the juxtaposition of reality and Leonte's inner turmoil was done absolutely brilliantly. Yes maybe some of the choreography for Watson was a bit skittish (a la White Rabbit), but only in a couple places, at least in my view. Act II is packed full of lovely choreography and that tree was just gorgeous (it drew its own round of applause!) and it was a wonderful vehicle for Stephen Macrae and Sarah Lamb. The only thing I would say is that it felt like the plot just stopped for virtually the whole of this act...A bit more character development for the young couple would be good. Seeing as Act III felt rather rushed (as noted by others), I wonder if this Act (particularly the large group numbers, which felt a bit 'samey' towards the end of the act) could be pruned a little, to make a little more time for the resolution... All-in-all though - a very exciting new addition to the repertoire!

One factor that hasn't been mentioned in all the discussion of why Kevin O'Hare made the front-of-curtain announcement was that they seemed to have run out of cast change slips, and the cast sheets still read Osipova. I was fortunate enough to have seen the notice on the screens in the box office, but had I not needed to collect my ticket, without the announcement the first thing I would have known about the cast change would have been Aurora's first entrance...Indeed some sitting near me only found out about the change from O'Hare's announcement. However, to my mind at least, that doesn't excuse the heckling, or those demanding refunds. While I was of course disappointed not to see Osipova, I very much enjoyed Choe's performance. I felt a bit overcome when she got such a big cheer at the end of her Rose Adagio, given all the disquiet and heckling before the show started! She is such a musical dancer. I also liked Stix-Brunell as the Lilac Fairy - a bit more attack needed in places maybe, but it was really nice to see someone gliding through the choreography without it feeling heavy, which it can so easily.

Funny - in 2009 when she danced it she was blonde (presume also a wig). I wonder why she/they opted for the change...not important I know, but I was wrong-footed by it!

I saw Hamilton and Pennefather when they first danced this together in 2009 and deliberately booked to see them again this time around, because I thought they danced it so well together. They did not disappoint! Saw Watson and Galeazzi this time round as well, but last night takes the prize for me! They were wonderful - Pennefather in particular I thought. On a side note - for how long has Hamilton been brunette?

I saw Raven Girl on opening night, and I agree largely with the comments that have already been made regarding lighting, gimmicky projections, lack of dance content, and the sad underuse of some of the dancers. I didn’t too much mind the ‘narrative’ (or lack thereof), and that there were a few ends that were not tied off properly (e.g. the boy disappearing into the cliff) – I quite like letting the atmosphere of the dancing help me ponder over what happened. It was well performed and there were certainly some interesting bits of choreography that I really enjoyed. However, I thought one of the main problems was the lack of variation in pace/pitch both musically and choreographically throughout the piece. The only time when things really got exciting was the (rather brief) operating theatre scene (in which I thought Soares and Lamb were absolutely fantastic) and then of course there was the beautiful tranquillity of the final pdd. But I feel like the self-contained peace of that final scene would have been so much more effective if there had been more dramatic energy, more despair, more freneticism (as in the operating theatre) in the preceding scenes, to allow a sense of resolution for the Raven Girl. As it was, I was mostly just rather bored and unmoved by that point. So to me it just felt rather flat and one-dimensional, which was only enhanced by the general disconnect between the dance and the music. Something that was made all the more obvious when the joyful harmony of dance and music that is Symphony in C came bounding onto the stage after the interval!