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balletyas

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    Royal Ballet 2019/20 Autumn Season Casting

    in Ballet / Dance news & information

    Posted

    56 minutes ago, Xandra Newman said:

     

    It's Opening Night/Cinema relay in reverse (R&J and SB):  Cuthbertson/Ball got Opening Night R&J, Naghdi/Ball get the R&J cinema relay, Sleeping Beauty Opening Night is given to Naghdi/Ball and cinema relay to Cuthbertson/Bonelli. 

     

    59 minutes ago, alison said:

     

    Didn't someone say he was supposed to be featuring in the new McGregor next year? :( 

    I dont think I heard that but I suppose it’s possible - I hope you’re right! 

    Royal Ballet 2019/20 Autumn Season Casting

    in Ballet / Dance news & information

    Posted

    1 hour ago, penelopesimpson said:

    Devastated.  

     

    Why do do we need Hallberg?

     

    1 hour ago, penelopesimpson said:

    Devastated.  

     

    Why do do we need Hallberg?

    I don’t know and having not seen him can’t judge but so disappointed re Ed. Autumn season so very NOT his bag other than Des Grieux so not really surprising but i would have thought they’d schedule in one of his smaller roles - such a shame Macmillan anniversary has passed and perhaps he himself opted out of DG... 😢

    The Royal Ballet: New Swan Lake Production, Summer 2018

    in Performances seen & general discussions

    Posted

    2 minutes ago, Blossom said:

    Naghdi was fascinating to listen to. She sounds like she really put everything into the role to get it just right. I wished I could tell her how fantastic she was the other night. She obviously had a close relationship with her coach for the role as she was visibly upset (and mentioned it) when she said that she had left after her debut. Lesley Collier is doing further work with the couple. She seems like a fabulous young principal, she has a lot of personality and obvious dedication. I found Kish much more awkward in terms of answering the questions asked. I very much got the impression that he saw his role as a giving partner to support Naghdi which I very much saw in the pdds but while the challenges of female virtuosity element of the act 3 solos was discussed, I would have liked to have covered whether Siegfried’s solos are equally challenging and why, to maybe understand Kish’s performance a bit better. 

     

    What I really enjoyed about Darcey Bussell being there was the way the conversation talked about each generation of dancers passing on their expertise to the next in terms of things from an eyeline to how to absorb the character being played. She of course was coached by Fonteyn (for 2 days) which focussed very much on these sorts of details. I also loved her little anecdotes about performing with Cope and his pre-show routines. 

     

     

    Gosh how fabulous - so wish I’d been there... I love Nagdhi and can’t wait to see her in this role...and so much prefer DB talking about her dancing instead of ‘presenting’ ... 

    • Like 2

    The Royal Ballet: New Swan Lake Production, Summer 2018

    in Performances seen & general discussions

    Posted

    On 29/05/2018 at 17:09, penelopesimpson said:

    I haven't seen Kish as Siegfried so unable to comment.  However, he is not a dancer that I necessarily equate with I expect from RB Principals.  I don't consider myself qualified to comment much on technique but must assume he is well qualified.  Where I haven't warmed to him is because he simply never puts himself across in the lyrical and emotional way that I expect.  I also wonder if he has perceived as having the versatility that RB Principals are expected to have - for the simple reason that he dances infrequently.

     

    Yes, there are bravura dancers like Macrae and Corrales who thrill us and dazzle with their technique and stage presence.  Then there are the beautiful classicists like Muntagirov and then there's Ed Watson who doesn't really fit into any pigeon hole but for me hits the spot every time.  (incidentally, this is the same spot that I had hoped Matthew Ball would find yesterday!).  Emotion, drama and beauty.

     

    I agree that although there is clearly a wealth of burgeoning talent at RB, male Principals are looking a little ragged.  Watson and Macrae each being out for so many months has left a hole as well as putting pressure on the others.  Campbell and Bonelli have been spread thin, possibly also Muntagirov.  Soares has disappeared and Hirano may not yet have all the repertoire.  Presumably KOH was taking all these factors into consideration when he acquired Bracewell and Corrales.

    I do so agree re Watson - his prolonged absence has been so frustrating and it does seem as if he is the only man in the company with that combination of intensity and charisma! 

    The Royal Ballet: New Swan Lake Production, Summer 2018

    in Performances seen & general discussions

    Posted

    6 minutes ago, penelopesimpson said:

    Well, this was a strange one.  I had a great night out and I really think this new production is a 'tremendous show.'  It feels fresh and smart and the sets and costumes are absolutely terrific.  Some wonderful dancing and a stunning performance from Osipova and thrilling dance from Mr. Campbell who just seems to get better and better, but...

     

    I am not a fan of Swan Lake and have probably only seen it a handful of times.  I think this production is a keeper but I have reservations.  Coming home on the train last night I was trying to work out what it was that wasn't gelling for me and my immediate focus was on Matthew Ball whom I felt was barely there.  He was clearly nervous at the beginning but settled down once Osipova came on but I just got nothing from him.  For me Matthew is one of those dancers who usually conveys emotion in every line of his body so it my reaction was a surprise.  Part of it was because Osipova is such a blazing presence that he is totally overshadowed and I didn't get any connection between them.  It was almost as if a sophisticated woman was having a brief flirtation with a toy-boy rather than any great love affair.

     

    Not the least of Osipova's astonishing attributes is her ability to make the audience feel they are in safe hands.  I never doubted for a moment that she would pull off all her twists and turns whereas with Matthew I was constantly on edge.

     

    Then I read Ballet Forum comments and realised that so much of what I was thinking was because of the way the role of Siegfried has been written.  The prince now seems to me to be a side act to Benno and a lot of his dancing is little more than standing and gesturing.   Whether a stronger presence like Macrae could have injected more personality into the role, I don't know.  From what others have said, Muntagirov seems to have been sublime, so what is it about his performance that elevates the bland Siegfried?  I am also going to go out on a limb here and say I really don't think the Osipova/Ball partnership is anything special.

     

    Stix-Brunell was excellent but I didn't think Itziar Mendizabal was at her best.  Like others, I also found the height differences in some of the set pieces totally distracting.  There is one young lady who really seems exceptionally tiny, but don't know who it is.  I noticed her in Mayerling last year when she was one of Princess Stephanie's attendants.  Makes the line look ragged.

     

    So, a lovely night out and lots to love but room for improvement.

    So well put re Matthew Ball - he was dwarfed by Osipova - she is just way too experienced for him. Much better that he had been cast with Nagdhi with whom he assumes a stronger more protective quality. In Giselle, perhaps because her role is so fragile the Osi/ball combo worked but here, perhaps because of the Odile grandstanding he didn’t stand a chance. 

    • Like 4

    The Royal Ballet: Manon, London, March-May 2018

    in Performances seen & general discussions

    Posted

    On 29/04/2018 at 23:08, alison said:

     

    I first noticed him in a School performance in the Linbury, doing little more than just standing still on stage, and asked friends who he was on that basis!

     

     

    I thought, based on reports of her Mary Vetsera, which I was unable to see, that Manon ought to suit her.  Unfortunately, I couldn't see last night's performance because I was working, but am looking forward to next Saturday!

     

    Once again, I seem to be in a minority about Thursday's performance, though: I thought it was a distinctly mixed bag.  From where I was sitting, in line with his diagonal, I thought Muntagirov seemed "off" during his first solo, at least judging by the extremely high standards I would usually expect from him, and I didn't feel any chemistry between him and Lamb in the first act.  It felt as though the souped-up orchestration was trying to generate the passion which I should have been seeing on stage - actually, it seemed rather slow to me, which may not have helped in the "bedroom" pas de deux.  And I felt from Lamb's portrayal that Des Grieux didn't stand a chance once Monsieur G.M. and his furs and jewellery appeared (perhaps that was what she intended, but if so, it didn't entirely tally with her behaviour in the later part of the "brothel" scene for me).  For the third time this run, I was considering whether I wanted to bother staying for the final act, or get an early night.  I thought the "drunk" pas de deux in the second act was horribly overplayed - and it must have been an unfortunate coincidence of costume, messy hair and makeup that made me think "Michael Jackson" every time I looked at Lescaut in that scene, which probably didn't help!  At slower points in the proceedings, I found myself fantasy casting the live relay based on the best performances I'd actually seen, which of course Kevin O'Hare didn't have the luxury of doing.  James Hay's Beggar King would certainly have made it through, but I'm not sure about many of the other major(ish) roles.  However, I am very glad I didn't go with my initial inclination to skip Act III, because that was quite a few notches above the first act, and pretty powerful stuff, with Muntagirov in particular really cutting loose, and Lamb being quite heartbreaking.  I only wish members of the audience wouldn't start clapping the minute the curtain starts to descend: it takes a long time to come down, and I'd have thought (equally with Marguerite and Armand) that it must be quite disconcerting for the male lead to be kneeling there acting his heart out and mourning his dead love while there's thunderous applause going on, and waiting for the curtain to close!  Not to mention that it breaks the spell for the rest of the audience, too.  It's another case where a moment or two's silence first would be more appropriate, IMO.

     

    Anyway, that was last Thursday's performance.  The live cinema relay is this coming Thursday (and as I've said elsewhere, look out for Encore performances possibly not being at their usual times in the UK because of the bank holiday), and I would trust that, now the cast has had one run-through in the ballet, any deficiencies will be made good, and performances tuned up or toned down as appropriate by then :)

    I’ve just come away from Hayward/Bonelli and was so struck by the audience’s crass clapping while Bonelli was still in agony over Hayward’s unresponsive body. It is awful and I don’t understand It. Also very struck by how few curtain calls there were. Anyone else notice this? Hayward in particular was sublime but am too tired to go further than that right now! 

     

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