alison

Okay, this isn't casting, but it is Period 2 (sorry, Winter booking period).

I was just looking at the March Saturday schedule for the Romeo & Juliets:

3rd: 12.30 matinee, followed by 7.30 opera (over 3 hours!).

10th: 1.30 matinee, 7.00 evening

24th: Alice 12.30 matinee, Romeo 7.30

31st: Alice 12.30 matinee, Romeo 7.30

That doesn't seem to make a lot of sense to me. Whatever happened to the "early evening start" Saturdays? Admittedly, the two performances on the 10th won't require a vast amount of scenery changes, but with Romeo running just under 3 hours and Alice allegedly 2 3/4 (and presumably switching between two productions will take more time, even with all the hi-tech scene-changing equipment they now have), that gives a clear 4-hour gap between performances. Not enough time to rehearse an opera, I suspect, and surely the dancers can't be expected to do 2 performances and a stage rehearsal. Or can they?!

Huh?! There are more seats available now for that matinee than when I booked about a week ago! (There *are* still a couple of handfuls of seats left for the Thursday matinee if anyone outside the Birmingham area is now keen to go). Oh well, I certainly won't mind if it's him.

And not entirely related (or unrelated, for that matter): why on earth does the Hippodrome's website show photo views from positions which are virtually symmetrical on left and right?! Surely the average theatregoer can mentally reverse the picture if they need to? It doesn't seem to be the most sensible way of doing things: the Royal Opera House, which of course has far more of a sightline problem, deliberately places them asymmetrically, which gives far better coverage.

Not entirely dance, but an interesting article on a lost version of “Eugene Onegin”: John Freedman, Moscow Times

I for one am always interested in EO, so thanks for that, Ian.

A flyer going around with one of the newspapers at the weekend pointed out that you could take a family of four for £20 upwards (2 children free with 2 adult tickets, on £10 balcony tickets). Sounds like a pretty good deal.

Fascinating to see Gomes as Oberon - about as different from McRae as it's possible to imagine. I really admired his authority and presence but thought he was a touch too human and nice.

The authority and presence I noticed the minute he stepped on stage: you'd certainly never have thought he was guesting at short notice in an unfamiliar theatre - he seemed to own the stage (am I right in thinking that ABT's production is identical to the Royal's? In that case, that would be less surprising). The story's narrative, including the pas de deux, and the mime and characterisation, felt a lot clearer to me although perhaps he was a little lacking in otherworldliness and a sense of cruelty. I'd agree with annamk that his dancing certainly wasn't the best I've seen in the role - although I wonder how viable a proposition it is for anyone to get into that role "from cold" in only a couple of days - but there was plenty there that I did like.

Incidentally, when reading the programme notes, I was very struck by David Vaughan's comment "But when Oberon and Titania come together in the final Nocturne pas de deux the choreography suddenly attains a depth of feeling that is scarcely hinted at in the play". I haven't experienced *that* much "depth of feeling" since the last time I saw the roles danced by Leanne Benjamin and Edward Watson in the previous run - you saw the reconciliation beginning and growing as they moved through the pas de deux, and by the end it became clear that it would be taken to its natural conclusion later in the privacy of Titania's bower - but in the case of Gomes and Cojocaru the development was at least clear.

I must admit, though, that on the Polunin front I am still undecided - and we may never know.

I would agree with most of the suggestions above. However what strikes me is how many of them don't need to be at ROH and may look even better on a smaller stage.

Ah, thanks. Las Hermanas.

I've said before, I'd love them to be able to take over Sadler's Wells for a week and do some of the smaller ballets that don't look right on the Covent Garden stage. But when they've got their own theatre, why would they pay to rent another one? And the schedule is so packed that I can't see how they'd fit that in - or touring to smaller venues, either.

Thanks for that, Beryl. I wonder if that goes some way to explain some of the Polyphonia casting? We'll have to see: hints are being dropped about the Scarlett casting, but nothing official yet, as far as I know.

I *do* miss the old forum's ability to branch off within individual threads (although this one has quite a few advantages too) - it would have made it far easier to add some thoughts about the first week's performances without making them follow on chronologically from the most recent ones. Nevertheless:

I love The Dream: it's one of my very favourite ballets. I also think it's one of Ashton's greatest masterpieces. Yet at the first-night performance I was struggling to believe either of those statements. The whole ballet seemed to me to be unfocussed, and lacking in clarity - almost in as much of a fog as the one which Oberon called up to confuse the pairs of lovers. Recent upheavals may of course have played a part, but the problem seemed to me to go beyond that, as if not all the cast had totally grasped the part they had to play in the ballet and how they interrelated. By the next afternoon (although barely, given the incredibly early starting time - did the ROH manage to make any decent use of the stage between this performance and the evening one to justify it, I wonder?) things seemed to have settled somewhat: McRae's dancing seemed more even than it had the previous night, and, unsurprisingly, his Oberon had better rapport with Roberta Marquez' Titania - I found myself liking her more in this role than when I had seen her previously. The whole thing seemed a lot sharper and with better dramatic logic and interactions than the night before, although still not as good as performances I'd seen in previous runs. I must also mention that I liked the Bottom of Bennet Gartside very much: he seems to have had a good year this season, despite what may have seemed a not particularly auspicious start.

To contrast with my experience with The Dream, I stood almost mesmerised through the 65 minutes of Song of the Earth on the first night: a good cast, although I was particularly struck by Lauren Cuthbertson as the fourth-song girl - she looked almost radiant through much of the proceedings. It will be interesting to see if she ultimately graduates to the Woman and, if so, what she will bring to that part. Two performances within 24 hours did however prove a little difficult to digest as far as I was concerned - or possibly I just need to be standing where my view forces me to focus on the dancing more.

(Trying again:)

My first MultiQuote! Sorry, quoted people's names don't seem to have come out.

[snip]- scandalously neglected. And Illuminations, and A Wedding Bouquet

I’ll admit that I didn’t get on well with Illuminations back in 1993, or whenever it was, but perhaps my tastes have matured since then.

It’s also far too long since we saw The Concert, and I’m really surprised the RB gave up on In the Night so quickly.

I totally agree - and have been saying so for years - and I didn’t know they’d even done it, respectively. And I want Dances at a Gathering back pronto!

Also I’d like to see Four Temeraments back on stage

(see first part of previous comment). And if we’re going for Balanchine, Prodigal Son please, too. It’s been too long …

I don’t remember seeing MacMillan’s The Invitation for a long time.

1994, if memory serves. That’s been another one I’ve been saying I wanted to see again virtually every time we’ve had a “next season wishlist” thread.

I’d like to see some of the earlier MacMillan pieces but only if they could be taken back to their original versions: Le Baiser de la Fee, Symphony...

Everyone seems to think very highly of Symphony, don’t they?

In the middle somewhat elevated

Come to that, Hermann Schmermann.

Helpmann’s Hamlet, perhaps?

Perhaps, or is it a bit too silent-movie-ish for today’s tastes? (I’ve never seen it, only the pictures)

Also, although I know the point of this discussion is to get away from Swan Lake, I wouldn’t at all mind seeing the company doing Act 2 on its own occasionally; also the Shades scene from Bayadere in the Nureyev version.

That’s an idea. It’d get rid of the drunken cadets and tutors, plus the unprincely behaviour …

Actually, I (again) wanted to add Anastasia Act III (as originally done) to that list, but suspect the timing may no longer be quite as right as it was.

Also why did they go to all the trouble and expense of renewing and reviving Danses Concertante 10 years ago and then allowing it to disappear?

Beats me

Certainly Shadowplay needs reviving

The report’s not up online yet, so I can’t check, but I think Ed Watson said at the Ballet Association last year that he’d like to have another go at that one.

Edit because I left out Fearful Symmetries - would have thought it still ought to suit the company. Oh, and Symphonic Variations - with the right cast - is always welcome. I think management should just automatically ask for tickets in camera positions to be left unsold until the last minute, then if by some miracle they do get a cast which really clicks they can just record it there and then! They missed their chance in the mid-2000s.

And when did Mr Crisp last give two 5 star reviews in a row for different casts in the same bill?

Possibly more recently than we may think: he seems to have got a lot more generous with them in recent years.

Please don't feel overwhelmed by anything you see here. If you enjoy ballet and dance, we'd be happy to hear from you - gradually at first, if you wish, but who knows where it will take you?

I was going to say much the same: the more people, the better!

And thanks to John for that bumper crop today.

As is the mailshot I received yesterday - not surprisingly, although I didn't think the change between the printed brochure and the letter was made clear enough. And did I spot a special offer on ticket prices (though still way out of my reach)?

And here I was thinking you were starting a thread about Gary Avis et al . I'd actually like to see just about anything in the RB's rep performed more frequently than Swan Lake, which must make me highly undiscriminating, but I'll come up with some more specific suggestions later.

Mind you when I looked this morning there were only a few single seats for La Fille on the opening night so on balance it was obviously worth pressing redial for 2 and a half hours (!) and obviously people were buying ballet!

I've just had an email in from Ticketmaster - they appear to have a (very) small number of seats for both Acosta performances, although it should be noted that they are *not* at the prices shown in the ROH brochure. And I imagine there will be handling charges, booking charges and heaven knows what on top of that. Still not sure why on earth ROH needs to be selling tickets through anyone indirectly ...

Not as yet, no (although various people have already been quite vocal in their preferences here, I see ). Or, for that matter, who's replacing him in Polyphonia.

I doubt that it's a reconstruction in the real sense of the word, given the amount of time that must have been put into the one the Royal Ballet showed at the beginning of the century(!) (and which I, unlike certain of the critics, actually liked).

That's a very enlightening article about Infra in the Chicago Sun-Times - perhaps more so than the programme notes, I think, although I must admit that I wasn't as aware of all the references as that. But I suspect that the reference to McGregor's next work for the RB may not in fact be the forthcoming one, because it doesn't seem to tally with what's in the Period 3 booking brochure.

Please does anyone know of a link to a review of Vadim Muntagirov's (?debut) performance as Solor in ABT's full length La Bayadere (Makarova production) in Washington DC last Saturday afternoon?

There's a brief comment on Ballet Talk, but I haven't seen anything else, Possibly the fact that it was in Washington has reduced the coverage. Or possibly someone will sum up the season later.

Yes, Bangorballetboy reported some time ago (possibly even on the old forum) that there were going to be 2 intervals and some more (dancing, I think) added.

Suite en Blanc's being done at the London Coliseum again, unless the programme's changed in the last few days. Edit: In fact, I see it has: there's no mention of the new Toer van Schayk piece, and I don't remember noticing this before: "Artistic Director Wayne Eagling reconstructs Nijinsky's Jeux with music by Debussy which sees a man and two girls flirting in a summer's garden, following a game of tennis. The performance also features the Acrobat from Nijinska's Le Train Bleu with music by Milhaud."

Yes, I meant to mention that earlier: he makes some useful points. I know there has been criticism of ABT bringing in so many guest stars recently - some people feel, at the expense of bringing on their own up-and-coming dancers - but I'd imagine that regular ABT-goers must be suffering something of a shell-shock at the moment. After all, ABT have for so long had a reputation for having so many good male dancers, and to lose - temporarily or permanently - a significant proportion of them in such a short space of time must really come as a shock to the system, especially when the realisation strikes home that really good male dancers don't just grow on trees. I just wish I could shake the feeling that rather too many ABT-watchers will end up spending the next few years bemoaning the absence of Jose/Ethan/Angel ... as Basilio/Siegfried/Romeo or whatever and not really seeing properly what their successors are making of the roles.

Anyway, sorry, this was supposed to be a thread about the Royal Ballet, wasn't it? I suppose I can understand that there might be reasons why it might be felt better to get an experienced Oberon, and a big name, to replace Polunin rather than go for someone not experienced in the role from inside the company, but it's on quite a different level from the Royal Ballet loaning Alexander Campbell back to BRB to cover for a shortage of leads in Hobson's Choice ...

Not sure how to incorporate quotes, so in response to the above posting I'm afraid half of Song of the Earth is still too long for me

As it appears to be for quite a lot of people: I've been to three performances so far, and have been disappointed/disturbed to see people leaving partway through in each of them - not always at an appropriate break, either, or very discreetly.

Anyway, that reminds me - vaguely - of something I've been meaning to ask about Song of the Earth for years: the costume colours. Sometimes I think it's just a trick of the light - and I confirmed last night that it is, partly - and at other times it definitely looks as though some dancers are wearing khaki while some are wearing grey. Has anyone ever worked this out?

Darn, I thought you were going to say casting was out (it is unusually late this time, isn't it?). I hate booking before I know who I'm booking for - I don't suppose he'll do the Thursday matinee ,,,

It's the Acosta effect, yet again . My rule of thumb is, if he's only doing 2 performances, book those first, because they'll go like hotcakes.

I've just got at it okay, so it seems to work.

I'm guessing the real 'blockage' was the opera fans getting their tickets.

That's always been my impression. I blame the Gheorghiu/Alagna Bohèmes this time around