Odyssey

I’m not sure if anyone in this thread has mentioned that the Cinderella run is a continuous one. With Swan Lake & Sleeping Beauty, the performances have been spread out through the season . From my own point of view, I am unable to be in London between the end of March and start of May so I’ll miss the whole run. 

There’s a lovely interview with Sarah Wildor on YouTube in which she talks about the Ondine photoshoot for the underwater image. It doesn’t sound at all glamorous ! 

This is my much loved poster that has travelled with me to wherever I have called home.

Well it’s definitely Seymour, but I can’t recall it. I might have to cheat!  ROH should bring out a luscious coffee table book of all these gorgeous posters. 

Geoff, what is the production of the final poster pic you posted? It’s quite mesmerising.

8 hours ago, jmhopton said:

It's not just the updating it's trying to find dancer's biographies and so much more. On the old website there was a very useful series of links at the bottom of the page so you could click on things like Dancers, cinema broadcasts etc and go straight there. 

You’ve reminded me of something else that has also been removed from the new dancer profile pages - there used to be a few links at the bottom of the page, similar to the old website , where you could access media interview /features with the dancer. Now that’s disappeared too. 

The Dancers of the Royal Ballet section on the ROH website featuring biographies of RB dancers had been unavailable for several months. Just recently, information about Principals & Principal Character Artists has appeared while the other ranks remain unavailable - presumably while they are being updated.  The new version contains just one photo of the dancer, where there used to be a lovely portfolio of pictures you could scroll through depicting most of the roles the dancer had performed in and occasionally rehearsal or portrait photos. There is no listing of current season appearances,  and roles danced and created are all together in a single paragraph. 
I would have assumed any new page design would be an improvement not the diminished, rather paltry and unimaginative result we now have in place. 

Meanwhile, there have been several first soloists who, we have noted before, have been underused. 

Balletfanp, thank you for such a lovely, detailed review. So pleased to hear that Vadim immersed himself fully in the experience of guesting with the Company, taking a public class following a performance the previous evening and his attentiveness towards his fans at the stage door, but from what I hear, it’s totally in keeping with his demeanour. How lucky we are to have him as a resident dancer in this country. 
i share your appreciation of the Theatre Royal.  I haven’t lived in the area too long, and have  discovered it is a rare artistic jewel in this area of the country. 

So sad to hear BRB is losing him in his prime, but pleased that he is going on to new challenges.

The Open Barre podcast made him a character I have felt I’ve got to know in the last couple of years. Hope he’ll continue to do this  from time to time remotely! 

Last night I had the pleasure of seeing this production in Plymouth. I can’t recall the last time I saw it in Birmingham, but I’m  old enough to recall its first run by the then, Sadler Wells Royal  Ballet, and I remember marvelling at the richness of the costumes, the beauty of the lakeside and the ‘logic’ of many choices regarding the narrative as told by Sir Peter Wright. I also had the pleasure of seeing the late, great Galina Samsova’s Odette/Odile who was responsible for many aspects of this production. Pleased to say that this is a production that, like Wright’s versions of the other major classics, continues to look magnificent. The dramatic mood created through the sombre colour palette shot through with red hues in Act 3 speaks of impending, doom and menacing evil. The lakeside acts  are beautifully realised with Wright’s arrangements for the corps, memorably  in Act 4, where in flowing movements in a wedge like formation they rise and fall,folding and unfolding their arms . Apart from just a couple of ragged moments, the corps were beautifully ‘drilled’ throughout and were deservedly cheered by a very enthusiastic audience.

As an ‘Earlybird’ booker, I’d been offered the chance to exchange seats for either of the performances which will to be danced by Vadim Muntagirov tonight & tomorrow. I won’t deny I wasn’t tempted,  but decided to stay loyal to my original booking and instead enjoyed a commendably nuanced performance by artist Beatrice Parma and the elegant, fleet-footed Tzu-Chao Chou. Both making their debut this season ( I think this was only their second performance). First to say,  aesthetically they are a beautifully matched pair . He is a very slight dancer, who at times in the first act and third acts, needed to find ways of commanding more presence amongst his courtiers. But he is a beautifully, light, and technically strong dancer who was wonderfully attentive in act 2 and by act 4 had thoroughly convinced me of his utter regret and misery for letting Odette down. Beatrice Parma definitely rose to the challenge. She has a lovely lyrical style and although also small in stature, she managed to create the illusion of length in the gorgeous shaped arabesques and epaulement. (Her exit at the end of Act2 all rippling arms was a match for anyone). She attacked the vicious fouettés of act3 with promise, but just in the final few she travelled and lost control of what would have otherwise been an impressive show. Her Odile needs more definition but as she gradually drew Siegfried in,  she had a nice menacing grin which convinced me she will steadily grow into this role. 
Elsewhere, I find the one slightly dissatisfying element of this production is tVon Rothbart. As has been noted previously, the costume is verging on the comic, but it is also ineffective because it seems to restrict movement and as such prevents  the projection of the character beyond a rather robotic , ‘baddie’ . The removal of the headdress at the end to reveal a ghostly white, faced man who bears little resemblance to the act 3 Rothbart is temporarily confusing, when our attention should be elsewhere. 
The Sinfonia played wonderfully and all in it was a great performance. 

3 minutes ago, FionaE said:

IIRC Laura was coaching Countess Larisch in the recent Mayerling run (as seen in the insight) when she was performing both that role and Mary Vetsera 

Thank you. I stand corrected. Interesting coincidence that it was also Laura who was coaching a role she was due to dance .

I strongly suggest repeated listening to the score. It has become one of my favourites, and I would definitely put it on a par with Romeo and Juliet.  The recent Insight, focussing on just two solos, emphasised the genius of Ashton in working with this score. 

11 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

 

 

I was hoping maybe Morera would do the Fairy Godmother, after seeing her coaching the role for the Insight livestream, but sadly not.

I think it unlikely that she would be coaching a role she herself would appear in, in the same season- I can’t think of any recent examples of this happening, but I know some with more extensive knowledge may put me right.  I’m also hopeful that Clare Calvert  and  Yuhi Choi will get an opportunity.

Was Merle Park also the same year?

I was looking for the Mayerling rehearsal with Ryoichi Hirano and Melissa Hamilton coached by Leanne Benjamin and Ed Watson from last year, and that’s now missing too. 

I have only just picked up this sad news. I never had the pleasure of seeing her dance but I grew up with her pictures on my bedroom wall and memorably some luscious colour portraits within my much loved PrincessTina annuals. Later I read Lynn, her autobiography, and appreciated her honesty about struggles with her weight and ‘dark times’ in her private life. Despite some uneasy times, she holds a special place in the role call of wonderful ballerinas that have been part of the Royal Ballet . A class act who inspired choreographers to produce some of their greatest work.

I echo everything Tango Dancer says. I have occasionally used the car parks. There are several large ones nearby which are signposted. I assume you’d drive from M40/ M42 - it’s a straightforward journey into the City and the Hippodrome is on the south side, so you don’t have to travel across the Centre.

My friend went to last night’s performance and took this lovely photo. She said it was a privilege to be there.

I wonder if there is any likelihood of a biography, or better still, Sir Anthony Dowell’s autobiography. Sir Peter Wright was quite advanced in years before his memoirs were published, so there’s still grounds for optimism.

7 hours ago, Tony Newcombe said:

I feel so lucky to have been at both performances and to have been at the Don Q performances I Plymouth last year when Carlos did the same for Miki and Shang. 

You’ll have to let us all know which BRB performances you’ll be attending this season   

Such an elegant dancer. A danseur noble from head to toe. Lovely to see he continues to coach the current generation of dancers in the Ashton roles that were created on him. 

That’s brilliant news. Richly deserved. I like this way of announcing new principals- wish the Royal would do the same.

I’m just drooling at the cast. So many wonderful dancers.
 

Is there an archive recording of this production - perhaps is the possession of The Aston Foundation- or has it been lost for good?