Jump to content

Mousem40

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    42

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Mousem40

  1. Mousem40
    Of course Osipova was a masterful Giselle, but for me the real stand out performance was by Yuhui Choe. She was breathtaking in every regard. I remember seeing her stand in for Osipova in Sleeping beauty March 2014 (when she was boo'd as she was announced as her replacement) and thought she shone then. She has transformed over the years and is truly stunning now.
  2. Mousem40
    The opening and closing of a child's legs like that is one thing (which struck me initially as hard to watch). The link between that and some sort of perceived (by Anna in her emotional turmoil or otherwise) devious behaviour with Rasputin is another. The fact is MacMillan chose to have this section in ACT III. It wasn't a fleeting moment. The child was held aloft and his legs manipulated into those positions 3-4 times across maybe 2/3rds of the front of the stage. One can only surmise that this was an important message he was trying to convey. It takes time and effort to devise THAT as MacMillan's best effort to manifest whatever message he wanted to relay. If it was just a message of manipulation of the Tsarina via the child, that could have been done in a myriad other movements - so I'm not convinced by that argument. The not unnatural surmise here is that Anna perceived Rasputin as a deviant. One is shown her perception of Rasputin sharing the Tsarina with her father in the dance sequences. Anna thinks something is going on between them. On the other hand, we are also shown Rasputin helping Alexei up from a fall, and encourages him to walk freely again. How then can she think he helps the child, whereupon she then performs a volte face, presenting him to us as a man having an unnatural relationship with Alexei? I don't think that is the conclusion we can reach either. It is very nebulous. In this day and age, a child should not be made to do that. Dance is infinite in range, and audiences perceptions have changed with time. It is no longer necessary regardless of what Macmillan intended.
  3. Mousem40
    Lindsay I was aghast during that moment too. I thought it must have been some kind of artistic expression of what I don't know (and would love to be illumintated). I didn't for one moment consider your point of view on it. Oh dear!
  4. Mousem40
    Another point. A previous poster asked if it was suitable for a 10yr old to watch. I'd say no. There are several historic cinematic sequences of Russians being shot at close range and falling dead into open pits. Maybe that's ok for children these days to watch, I don't know?
  5. Mousem40
    I absolutely agree. I thought Bohuslav Martinu's music much more compelling and the orchestra were on top form tonight. I was very disappointed with the Bonelli/Nuñez PDD, he wasn't a great help when one of her assisted pirouettes stopped half way and took him way too long to recognise the situation and assist. I understand Acts I and II were written before it was fully understood that she was not in fact Anastasia,and therefore their inclusion per se was relevant back then. I also understand that these earlier sections act as an antithetical dialogue to Act III. It's just stylistically and qualitatively they jar so badly with the triumph that is Act III. They are a facile, sickly sweet Nutcrackeresque introduction to the heavyweight, emotional rollercoaster that is the denouement in act III. In my opinion their introduction in this style was a commercial decision. The 'red programme' carrying people sitting around me seemed to love the first two acts and were confused by act III - I'm sure it can be divisive as it's not your regular ballet content. Osipova - marvellous, she worked so hard tonight, gave it everything. sweat everywhere. Wonderful! I strongly recommend you watch the Osipova rehearsal video on the ROH website before you watch the performance, it really gives you a good insight as to what they were trying to achieve and the maturing movements throughout
  6. Mousem40
    Around 10:15
  7. Mousem40
    Just left tonight's performance. A quick summary ACT I: Yawn ACT II: Yawn ACT III: Absolutely sensational! Osipova was truly mesmerising. One of the most convincing standing ovations I've seen in years. I have to see her perform this again! Astonishing
  8. Mousem40
    Oops yes I meant Hay.
  9. Mousem40
    I really enjoyed last night's performance - much more so than last years , even though I also watched Osipova then. As usual there was no chemistry between Osipova/McRae last night. McRae was on technical form, but I grow tired of his performing peacock role that has little consideration for characterisation. Give me Muntagirov any day. Lise for me, is Osipova's weakest role at the RB (though her weakest is most other performers good!) Perhaps, as LinMM noted, it's the lack of a sympathetic partner that makes me feel this way? What was it with all the Bolshoi-esque applause hunting between each PDD/solos? That certainly wasn't the norm last year was it? I loved Kay and Marriott's performances, they brought all the 'sunshine' last night.
  10. Mousem40
    I didn't discuss him with an usher because he spent the whole interval talking to the nearest usher! So I thought he'd have noticed him already. I have to thank Capybara for coming to my assistance and discussing 'him' with the House Manager. Maybe they'll be able to do something as apparently he is notorious. I wouldn't want him ruining anyone else's night.
  11. Mousem40
    At the ROH tonight OS row C, sitting next to an odious little man all evening. Before he takes his seat, he peers into the pit and announces loudly 'Too much Fxxxing timpani as usual!' Gets in the seat beside me, makes a phone call to someone, loudly talking about how he's the RB junior's choreographer or something, on and on about how wonderful he is, and how awful this Bolshoi cast is compared to 10 years ago. Coughing all the time. An announcement is made, 2 dancers are being substituted. His reaction? You guessed it, a very loud 'Fxxxing hell!' First interval, lights go on, he loudly pronounces to no one in particular 'Fxxxing choreography so tight' that everyone around us turns to look. Another phone call 'I don't like the RB, but that Oskipova [sic] she's wonderful, why she has to do that modern stuff.....Oskipova she's wonderful, this lot are good, but not nearly as good' on and on cough cough. Hateful man, ruined my night.
  12. Mousem40
    My expectation of how Lucentio was supposed to be characterised was from the Bolshoi's own synopsis. I can't copy it all here but the descriptions that jarred for me the most with respect to Chudin's performance are the following:- 1) 'Well read and very charming' . Well read I don't doubt, charming he was not, he seemed like a geek, a neophyte in matters of courtship and real love. 2) 'As Juliette Greco once sang: "Let's marry them, let's marry them, I think they are very much alike"' He was very much not alike Smirnova's Bianca, they seemed like such an odd couple. It appeared to me that if in character, they were allowed to meet unscripted, he would have been but a fly in her ear and dung between her toes! http://www.bolshoi.ru/en/performances/714/libretto/
  13. Mousem40
    What a glorious night at the ROH, I didn't want it to end. Lantratov's performance was once again a revelation. He seems to pack a veritable armoire of personas he can just pick and choose at will. He transformed himself from the 'tenderness and gentleness' displayed in Monday night's Swan Lake to the 'Polunin-esque' cad required of him in this role. He exuded passion with every move, and proceeded to tame the fiery dragon that was Krysanova tonight - no mean feat. Ekaterina stormed on stage like a tornado, creating mayhem along her path. The sweat visible on her striated back, demonstrating the physical and emotional efforts involved in her superb portrayal of Katharina. The highlight for me was the scene at Petruchio's home, where he continued to subdue Katherina's feistiness. Once accomplished, the four-play and love scene ensued. Tumultuous and passionate, I was lost in the moment, awe struck. I could go on. The only disappointment for me was Chudin as Lucentio. Although technically proficient, his characterisation was more of a library assistant than anything else. He seemed out of his league courting the wonderfully coquettish Smirnova. Tonight was one of those performances I'll lock into my memory bank as a future reference point of excellence.
  14. Mousem40
    Hah I'm seeing Lantratov for the third time tonight at the Taming of the Shrew, same seats, say hello if you're there. I hope he won't think I'm stalking him
  15. Mousem40
    That poster was me, I'm glad you agree. Hopefully Muntagirov will flourish and one day exceed Lantratov's talents, as I'm sure he can. I was sitting in the middle in the row behind you (behind the mother and son) and also noticed this disconcerting lighting anomaly, it was akin to watching a 3D film in the cinema without the 3D glasses, very very odd. First time I've ever seen that.
  16. Mousem40
    Just returned from tonight's SL. I was really dissapointed for the reasons noted already (production/costumes/storyline etc) Having said that, Smirnova was beautiful, elegant, expressive and technically superb. Except she did manage to fall out of the fouettés again as Jillykins noted in a previous performance. Lopatin as the Fool did a wonderful job (and was well appreciated by the audience), and the corps were on excellent form. The orchestra were again superb, especially the First Violinist (Alexander Kalashkov) I just didn't enjoy it tonight, Grigorovich's 'dream' just doesn't make sense.
  17. Mousem40
    http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/19/arts/dance/maria-alexandrova-on-the-bolshoi-we-still-dont-know-the-truth.html?_r=0 The Bolshoi management don't have much love for her and vice versa, perhaps that's the reason?
  18. Mousem40
    Perhaps. I was seated in the middle of the second row in the OS, lots of little nuances, raised eyebrows, cheeky looks and stolen kisses. I found it more humorous than the Acosta version.
  19. Mousem40
    Just to elaborate somewhat on last night. My overall impression was of an exceptionally high standard throughout. There were only a couple of minor mistakes that I noticed (including an awkward turn short on the PDD pirouette, which Lantratov realised and corrected) Compared to Acosta's production the set was much more impressive, the costumes were so elaborate and beautifully detailed. I was especially Impressed with the 'real' windmills and the funny moment when Don Q gets caught up in one and flung away! Basilio's suicide scene was also very amusing and well acted. The only elements I missed were the giant articulated Rocinante and the live guitar playing by the gypsies (but that wasn't original anyway) Of course Masha's comeback was superb, but for me Lantratov was the star. He reminded me of Muntagirov, full of passion, joyful and proud to be performing, but had a much more confident approach and technical mastery. We need him at the RB, imagine him partnering Osipova, that would be stupendous! For me, one of the all time best Don Qs (the Mariinsky Sarafanov performance being number 1)
  20. Mousem40
    Just a quick note on my way home, notwithstanding the farcical lighting, tonight was exceptional, Lantratov was superb. 1/3 standing ovation from the OS!
  21. Mousem40
    I attended both the lecture at the Clore Studio 'Insights: Giselle Pre-performance talk' and the performance. I found the lecture to be very interesting and a lot of fun. For £5 these are a must see. A few tidbits for you (some of which have already been mentioned I'm sure) Giselle wasn't strongly promoted by the French theatre that premiered it, they doubted its success and weren't impressed by the choice of Giselle (Carlotta Grisi). It was 3.5 hours long and included a lot of miming which has now mostly been cut. It had a very successful opening night, with only one notable critic, the composer Wagner. The Wilis (pronounced Vilis) were based on Heinrich Heine's vampire girls and his original plot describes how they cursed the dance floor of a ball which made those that touched it dance until they died! The ballet was the first to have a score composed for it (as opposed to other existing and popular pieces stitched together, as was the norm up until then). The music, written by Adolphe Adam was of a 'Musique Parlant' style - which provided explanations of the actions on set (e.g pulling of the Daisy petals by Giselle, and Albrecht knocking on the door) The Arabesque features heavily in the dancing of the Wilis. The rear horizontal leg raise is supposed to symbolise how the Wilis are on one hand 'of the earth' (the area below the leg) and also 'of the heavens' (the area above the leg). The ending in the first production was very different to the ending we have now. Giselle watches Bathilde return to Albrecht and can be seen to approve before she disappears. This ending was more in keeping with the morals of the times. In the PDD in Act II, as Albrecht is seen kneeling at Giselle's grave, her instructions are to bend over and lower her hand to the same level as his heart (even though she is not beside him) , whereupon he senses her touch and finally notices her presence. There was plenty more, but nothing on whether Giselle commits suicide, has a heart attack or is heart broken. Unfortunately there was no Q&A session afterwards. The performance itself was wonderful. Osipova was sublime (perhaps marginally less so than her performance last year), and 'nella as Queen of the Wilis was astounding (I heard several gasps as she entered one scene with huge grand jetes). I really enjoyed her playful Myrtha. Two true heavyweights performing at their best tonight. I agree with Sylph and Coated's sentiments on Matthew Golding. He seemed to be working up a real sweat to get the technical aspects right at the cost of much emotional contribution.
  22. Mousem40
    I went for the second time to the ROH to see this double bill, after having loved it so much last week (Osipova/McRae & Choe being my stand out performers then) First of all McRae performed even more spectacularly this time. His jumps even bigger, such unbounded confidence. Incredible. However, I think I stand alone with my view of Cuthbertson's performance (vis a vis Choe's). It seemed as though she just walked out of a dramatisation of a Jane Austen Novel - no emotional dynamic range, it was such a muted performance (and she's usually one of my favourite dancers) In the artist's studio for example, the sections where the audience laughed along with Choe's portrayal of an impatient muse, were no longer laugh out loud funny. Cuthbertson didn't seem to be impatient at all, or in a jocular mood. Her rendition of the pidgeon dance sections were half hearted. She also didn't seem all too bothered if the gypsy girl seduced her man or not. No sense of the fury that Choe presented or the sheer joy at getting him back. If I hadn't seen Choe's outstanding performance I would have really liked Lauren's, unfortunately I had, so I didn't. On a brighter note, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Kaneko as the Gypsy girl and I'd love to see her in Don Q. And as for Vadim - I absolutely love watching him. It's as though he's won the lottery every time he dances, he radiates sheer joy at being up there and performing for us.
  23. Mousem40
    I agree. I've been waiting for Osipova's return to the ROH for months, my expectations were sky high, and they were exceeded. Not since her astonishing 27th Jan 2014 Giselle and her 16th Feb 2015 Onegin have I been so impressed. The passion and emotion she invests in each performance is almost tactile. McRae (who I'm not a big fan of with his popinjay strutting and smug smiles) traversed the territory of the everyday, and performed out of his skin. That PDD...gosh. The only problems were the lack of chemistry between them, and the ascetic orthodontic decor. By the first interval I had already logged on to the ROH website and booked another pair of tickets for their Tuesday performance. Truly spectacular. Choe was stunning in The Two pigeons. Her efforts were palpable from row 3 of the OS watching the sweat pouring off her body. She acted, she danced and gave everything she had. She was perfect in this role. Since I watched her being booed in Sleeping Beauty (27th March 2014) for daring to replace an injured Osipova, then performing beautifully, she really earned her stripes and my utmost respect tonight. Itziar Mendizabal performed wonderfully as A gypsy Girl. I look forward to seeing her more often. My main gripe is that the ROH has 'Hidddn' this fantastic Ashton double bill from us for so many years. I absolutely loved it!
  24. Mousem40
    I was there tonight OS B so got a good view of the incident. During the PDD, Lauren was knocked into by Nehemiah going in opposite directions and she seemed winded/disoriented as a result. She did well to carry on so quickly. During the Russian dance Luca(?) stood on his heels, slipped and nearly fell over. Also during the Chinese dance one of their hats fell off. Great night overall, Gary Avis, Francesca and especially Yasmine were the stand out performers for me. Kish seemed seriously out of his depth tonight.
  25. Mousem40
    I don't think the ROH bowed to any 'pressure' in deciding to release the DVD. As I was leaving the performance, I walked past the cameraman and heard several people ask him if there would be a DVD to which he responded 'Yes'.
×
×
  • Create New...