Mummykool

13 hours ago, JohnS said:

I thought James Hay’s Bratfisch one of the most moving portrayals of grief I’ve seen.  There’s much talk (quite rightly) of Matthew Ball, Cesar Corrales, Marcelino Sambé etc but James Hay really is a fine dancer.

He certainly is John. He is also a wonderful actor and his attention detail is always meticulous. I absolutely love watching him.

The Hirano we saw last night was nothing like the Hirano we saw in opening night and who garnered such tepid reviews. It has been interesting to watch how his characterisation has grown and how the whole cast seem to have gelled together.

9 hours ago, alison said:

Three years?  Is that definite?  

There was a question and answer session afterwards with Tory Drobin. He was saying how he regarded the British audiences (and critics) as very special as we all really appreciate his company. His parting shot was that he would (hopefully) see us all again in three years' time.

The Trocks were sheer delight last night. The Millenium Centre is quite large but there was a decent sized audience. When I booked tickets they had only opened the stalls but obviously there was quite a bit of interest as the circle was also almost full.

For Les Sylphides we had Joshua Thake, Alberto Pretto, Carlos Hopuy and a very vacant Haojun Xie.

After the interval we were treated to the Harliquinade pdd superbly danced by Long Zou and Takaomi Yoshino.

The Trovatiara was the same cast we saw in London headed by Joshua Thake. 

Robert Carter once again executed his Dying Swan with panache. The audience had been pretty quiet up to this point but he really brought them to life.

Headed up by the amazing Carlos Hopuy (partnered by Giovanni Ravelo), Paquita was simply wonderful. There were a couple of slips from the soloists (on the same patch of the stage) but, being Trocks, they made a thing out of it and carried on. 

If anything the standard of dancing was even better than when we saw them in London. Needless to say we loved every minute of it. Judging by the cheers, and quite a few of the audience in the stalls standing in their applause, so did everyone else.

2021 seems a very long time to have to wait to see them again.

16 minutes ago, Mary said:

 Wasn't James Hay perfect.

 

He certainly was, Mary.

I also thought Anna Rose O'Sullivan was excellent as Princess Louise

Can't wait to see them (again) in Cardiff next week. It will prove welcome light relief after all these Mayerlings!

It's not so much the tardiness of Luke Jennings review of Monday's performance as the inaccuracies within it. According to his review, the opening of Act 1 portrays Rudolph's engagement to Sophie. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought Rudolph had just married Princess Stephanie, not got engaged to his grandmother!

It would still be branded an 'elitist' shopping mall unless they replaced the voice in the lift with this...

served.mp3

The husband managed a curtain call photo and Osipova looks happy enough to me. Shortly after this, she curtsied to Hirano and Sarah Lamb followed suit. If anyone had trouble smiling at the end, it was Hirano........ Probably overwhelmed by the whole experience. Incidentally I can't remember Osipova giving flowers to her partners...not even her beloved Hallberg.

I don't want to comment too much on the performance as I think the cast will grow together and I would rather wait until Saturday to pass comment.  I will say that the husband needed a cold shower at the end of Act 2 and that Osipova, Haywood and Lamb were outstanding! 

Have to disagree with Bruce about the orchestra though as we thought they had some pretty ropey moments and the tempo seemed quite slow at times. Still thoroughly enjoyed the evening though and very much looking forward to a double helping on Saturday.

I totally agree, Serenade. No Man's Land reduced me to tears (again) but although the husband loves the Maliphant piece, I just don't get it. Dust was as fabulous as ever. It was wonderful to be able to take our eldest son to a matinee that featured the divine Alina, Isaac Hernandez and Tamara. James Streeter and the rest of the company were all marvellous too!

If you want to catch the screening of Giselle, I've come across the following link on the ENB website: https://www.ballet.org.uk/onscreen/akram-khan-giselle/

Excited to see a screening near Bristol and have booked our tickets for November. It hasn't been well advertised so I think a lot of people may have missed it, but there are several theatres showing Giselle between now and next February. 

13 hours ago, SPD444 said:

 

One lovely incident at the curtain calls, Natalia must have thought they were over as when the lights came on again there she was sitting on the stage. The boys started laughing which she joined in with.

 

And Jason Kittelberger lifted her up and carried to the front of the stage for another curtain call!

Loved it.

Well I'll put my head above the parapet and say that we enjoyed it! The evening is quite short and there are fairly long pauses while Osipova changes costume and gets her breath back, but I think it is well worth seeing as there is probably something for everyone in the programme.

Anthony Tudor's The Leaves Are Fading opened the show so it started in a classical vein and was beautifully danced by Osipova and Hallberg. I was not at all sure about the  very modern second piece by Ivan Perez;  I hated the 'music' but the husband quite liked it. A clever solo by Kim Brandstrup for David Hallberg ended the first half.

The second half opened with a modern piece by Roy Assaf in which Osipova danced with Jason Kittelberger. This was followed by  Valse Triste choreographed for Osipova and Hallberg by Ratmansky. It was only six minutes long but very energetic and, in my opinion, worth the admission price alone. They were fabulous together. Judging by the reception it got, I was not alone in my thinking! The final piece was a beautiful solo for Osipova by Yuka Oishi set to Ave Maria. We found it very moving. 

The applause at the final curtain calls was loud and long with several people standing in the stalls.

It was entirely a bonus to be sat a couple of rows behind Alessandra  Ferri and Roberto Bolle!

I'm also wondering if Osipova's injury has anything to do with the 32 fouettes (or should I say lack of them) in London.......

A few more that instantly come to mind:

Bolshoi's Bright Stream (if you can find it in Youtube)

also their Pharaoh's Daughter

Cranko's Taming of the Shrew

Wheeldon's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Corsaire (the Anne Marie Holmes' version used by ENB and ABT)

less classical, shorter, but great fun:

Great Galloping Gottschalk and Push Comes to Shove (both on  American Ballet Theater dvds)

2 hours ago, JohnS said:

I have had a response from the Barbican:

 

"We did raise the level of the house lights after the first performance as we were also aware that the low level was causing difficulties for our audience but I am sorry this was a concern on the evening you attended.

 

The lack of a rake for the front three rows is not usually a problem in The Pit but appreciate it does have an impact with dance pieces so I thank you for bringing this to our attention.

 

 Well if it is only not raked on the front three rows, it isn't much better after that. As mentioned previously, nothing below the knee was visible from row D (which was five back) and the seating only marginally staggered.

I also didn't notice the lighting being any better on the live stream, but at least I got to see the dancers' feet!

All in all, a big thumbs up to Viviana Durante, her dancers and creative team but an even bigger thumbs down to the Barbican.

Couldn't see much below the dancers' knee level from row D.

Very impressed by the dancing but at all not impressed by the venue or the lighting and would seriously think twice about going there again.

The live stream gave a far better view and didn't involve six hours of travel!

Judging by the ecstatic and prolonged reception last night (they were standing in the balcony), one can only assume Attila was in the minority. Everyone around us were absolutely blown away by the whole company.

Fabulous, fabulous evening of acting, dance and emotion. 

7 hours ago, Sim said:

A fabulous evening.  Shklyarov's incredibly passionate performance will stay with me for a very long time.  I am in love like a school girl.   More tomorrow....sigh.  

Me too SIm!

I've read in several places that it was Shklyarov's debut in a role he has always wanted to dance, which makes the performance even more amazing and also goes to explain one poster's impression that he took time to relax into the role but also gave his character time to become part of the story. Given Osipova ALWAYS builds  new layers of depth and understanding into each and every one of her previous performances, I can't wait to see what they produce on the 13th with him (hopefully) more relaxed.

The rest of the cast were also absolutely fabulous.  Sambe, Naghdi, Avis  and Gartside gave outstanding performances; I couldn't help noticing as well Joe Sissons (again) and Tom Whitehead who had an absolute ball in the brothel. (I still prefer his totally nasty gaoler to any others, but it was an eyeopener to see someone usually classed as a villain, first excel as Widow Simone in Fille, and then produce such a naughtily behaved gentleman in Manon.) It is these beautifully observed minor and supporting roles that make The Royal ballet so great....especially as they reach to all parts of the house.

I felt it was an incredible evening. I was in tears at the end (which doesn't normally happen) but I have to admit the second Osiopva Ball Giselle moved be more emotionally. In fact, despite  Winter's Tale and the Bernstein in between, I'm still not quite sure I'm over that one. However, GIselle is all about love and redemption and Manon is really about hurt caused to others through selfish and greedy action  resulting in just desserts. They are both wonderful in very different ways and I feel privileged to have seen two such memorable performances by dancers at the peak of their game. We are very lucky to have them all.

6 hours ago, Mary said:

Thanks for the alert Alison. Hope there is a TV or DVD presentation as it has not been near enough me- such a shame.

The DVD can be pre-ordered on Amazon for £9.99.

Release date May 7th 2018

We finally made it to this triple bill at The ROH although, if we hadn't had a meeting beforehand,  may seriously thought about giving it a miss.

What a wonderful place this forum is and how I value your opinions /insights/prejudices and observations. Sometimes I agree and sometimes I don't, but I always find something of interest. Without this thread I would have missed Yugen which we absolutely loved. So fluid,  lyrical and un-McGreggor like in movement and such lovely music. Thrilled Joseph Sissons was given a prominent role as I adore watching him dance. I could watch the whole thing over and over.

Anxiety we have seen before. I enjoyed it, but lovely dancer that she is, Sarah lamb just does not have the sass Morera brought to the role. The music has grown on me and, while it will never be a favourite, I find it pefectly watchable. It certainly seemed to evoke a lot of emotion on social media so I hear what you are all saying about it benefiting from a cinema showing. It all seemed rather small and pretty remote from our amphi seat!

Prior to the performance I had downloaded the music for the Wheeldon piece and didn't like it much. I had followed all the publicity  links to the Erdem costumes and absolutely hated them. I will also willingly own up to the fact that the only Wheeldon ballets I have ever liked are Trepass and Alice and was bored to tears at Winter's Tale the other week. 

Now comes the confession and I now have to thank you all again. I read all your reviews and comments and we decided it was not worth staying over another hour for Corybantic Games and not get home until after 1am. It could have been even later as there were severe delays on the tube journey to where we park our car. We enjoyed what we saw and will probably go to the cinema encore on Sunday, but thanks for all the insights that led to a decent night's sleep!

PS we won't be leaving early for Manon!!!!!!

4 hours ago, Scheherezade said:

 

I'm with you on the orchestration/conducting, Bruce. It's all too toned-down and muted. Bring back the traditional orchestration!

and the traditional choreography please.....

I read that review and wondered where it was coming from. Having looked at a whole load of Giselle clips on YouTube I don't think the choreography, with the exception of those beautiful  turning lifts (which I've seen before and is on an Osipova/ Shkylarov clip) is very much different in the various interpretations. I know there used to be some differences in the American version when we saw it there in the 1980's, so that might explain her opinion.

I did wonder if she was at the same performance as the rest of us....

I, for one, am still not over it!

Lovely pictures Don Q fan. Thank you so much. It was such a memorable evening.

Am I right in thinking that he said in a recent interview  that he had grown up a lot? Really? Sounds to me like the rantings of the same old spoilt kid that has a long way to go.

Such a shame, he had such phenomenal potential........

3 hours ago, Geoff said:

There was an extra piece in the second half, not listed here. Does anyone know about this (it got the beginnings of boos, at least where I was sitting)? 

 

Not to my knowledge Geoff.  The programme matched what we saw and there wasn't any booing near us.

Have to say we were rather underwhelmed by the evening and were surprised by the wild cheering for some pretty much standard (and some notably sub-standard) performances. A lot looked under-rehearsed to my jaundiced eye, and Bruce has succinctly said it all regarding Kimin Kim!

Having said that, it is always a pleasure to see Maria Alexandrova's wide smile and she certainly got a deservedly warm reception. In fact, the 'Margeurite and Armand' adagio from 'Nureyev' was definitely  the highlight of our evening.