RobR

Well, am I glad I had a ticket!

Tonight's cast were terrific and the dancing/acting of all the cast and particularly Vadim, Yasmin, Fumi and Itzi will linger long in my memory - they were all that good. 

Apart from the debutant(e)s mentioned above there were about twenty debuts including; David Donnelly, David Yudes, Teo Dubreil, Lukas BB, Nadia Mullova-Barley, Julia Roscoe and, with apologies to anyone I’ve omitted, others. 
 

They really were that good. 
 

Very much looking forward to Vadim’s debut as Rudolf tonight 

4 minutes ago, ajf said:

The Scottish ballet production of Mayerling, premiered earlier this year, is a shortened version, made with the permission of Lady Macmillan, to be suitable for touring and for a smaller company. The sets and costumes are different and the frontispiece is a black and white photograph of the hunting lodge at Mayerling which is very effective.
 

I saw three casts in Edinburgh and Glasgow earlier this year. It is 2 hours long including an interval. Both the birthday party and the hunting scene are cut but everything else is pretty much the same. 
 

It works very well but what is lost is the stultified weight of the court and all its formality that Rudolf struggles with. But if you want a pacy production, this is it. 

I had forgotten the hunting scene. I, for one, would be happy to lose it and I wouldn’t miss the birthday party either 

1 hour ago, maryrosesatonapin said:

I went to yesterday’s matinee and enjoyed the ever-youthful Sarah Lamb’s girlish interpretation of Mary Vetsera, who after all was little more than a child victim of an ambitious mother and a self-absorbed prince.  She danced very prettily to Steven Mcrae’s excellent partnering.  There was good dancing all round – Mayara Magri was a great Mitzi Caspar.  The startling originality of Macmillan’s choreography struck me afresh – it still surprises, so many decades on.  But I do think the ballet would be improved by trimming a few excesses by a total of 20-30 minutes.

So, which bits might you or anyone omit, to reduce it by “20-30 minutes”?

The bit with Katherina Schratt singing? Middleton’s silly cigar joke? Rudolf’s tortured solo while the others watch the fireworks?
 

Or the brothel scene? I recall some said that the brothel scene in ‘Frankenstein’ was unnecessary and displayed a même arguably out of date nowadays. Similarly arguable here.
 

TBH, apart from underlining Rudolf’s decline it doesn’t do much here although I would miss Casper’s dance with the four officers and Bratfisch’s solo. 

13 minutes ago, MJW said:

 

Well I was trying to think of a nice way to do so - the lady I was sitting next to (whose granddaughter was on stage as was one of them) called them prostitutes, but I think my description is nicer (!) 

😀😀

@MJW

It’s nice of you to describe the dancers as ‘courtesans’, but the cast sheet lists them as ‘whores’. 😀

29 minutes ago, MJW said:

 

43 minutes ago, Jamesrhblack said:

There were no announcements and no cast sheets. It was certainly Corrales for Sambé. Does anybody know if Emma Hawes was back?

Yes, she was and I very much enjoyed her performance 

I went on the Friday and was really impressed by the performance of the tavern waitress. I had no idea it was Laura Day. She was very good 

16 hours ago, CCL said:

Back to the dancing…Friday evening’s performance was an absolute tonic after a long, hot and tiring day at work. It was utterly joyful and I felt spoiled by how much bravura dancing was on display! Momoka Hirata was a delight and had wonderful chemistry with Matthias Dingman, who I don’t feel I’ve seen dancing enough before now. It was just wonderful to see them and the entire company so clearly enjoying every minute of being on stage. I loved it all and the rapturous audience response was hugely well deserved. Bravo BRB!

It was great fun - really enjoyable 😀

14 minutes ago, Sim said:

Rob, I am not sure what you are railing against here? I have just looked back through the thread and unless I have missed something everyone is being supportive of the company and is very happy with the promotions.  

In that case, my mistake but I thought that there was a low key ‘clamour' to recruit dancers from Russia, the Ukraine and, possibly, elsewhere 

I have to admit that I am a little surprised at some of the posts in this thread. 
 

The RB is one of the paramount ballet companies and can choose, almost without competition any dancer. 
 

The pay and conditions are good as is the ethos of the company in the support and care of it’s dancers, who all compare well with the rest of the profession. It is, unlike some other well-regarded companies, a nice place to work and has a happy reputation. 
 

The company has, I believe, always selected company members on their potential and then actively works to bring out and develop that promise. Individual dancers develop, as in any career, at different speeds. 
 

I just thought this perspective needed spelling out. 

Dear Mods,

This isn’t a critical thread.

You’re all wonderful and do a terrific job, but might it be possible to remove some of the seven 'pinned threads' that clutter the first page of the PS&GD forum (and also those on 'Dance news & information'), to make these threads marginally more streamlined?

Whenever I open the thread on my phone or tablet, I have to scroll through the seven threads which, unlike the various discussion or review threads, remain at the top of the page.

The two ‘REPORTING' threads remain current but others, particularly; '10th birthday prize draw', 'Forum fundraising 2020', 'Thanks from the Mods', and (with respect) 'John Mallinson', are, arguably, a little past their sell by date.

Thanks,

Robert

Ticket now sorted 👌

Single ticket in SCS or SC for Wednesday's performance - if anyone has anything 😀

Thanks Sophie,

But I’ll pass. 

I’ve pm'd you 

10 minutes ago, alison said:

I thought La Ballerina used to be an Indian restaurant before it became La Ballerina?

 

JohnS, having had 3 days of Thameslinks to and from Brighton cancelled, I do sympathise ...

Yes, it was. 

2 minutes ago, LinMM said:

Was the stage door nearer Bow St than it is now? 

Before the rebuilding of the ROH between 1997-1999, it was half the length it is now. The rebuilding didn’t start until long after the old fruit and veg market moved to Nine Elms.
 

A road ran behind the old building, a continuation of the alley adjacent to the RBS (and some of us remember the bar/restaurant there, ‘Les Amis du Vins') but the GLC granted the ROH planning permission to build over the road up to James Street.

The stage door was, as a consequence, much nearer to Bow Street. In the 1970s, the wife of one of the imposing red coated doormen, Mr Catlett, also worked at the solicitor's office.

1 hour ago, LinMM said:

RobR Will have to double check what the restaurant there before was then as I definitely didn’t work there in the 90’s! 
It would have been more late 70’s early 80’s. I suspect for various reasons it was in summer of 77 or 78 if had to pin point the time. 
The restaurant had a basement or downstairs area where this party sat and I remember carrying the knicker bockers down the stairs. 

From 1954 to 2002, the first floor above La Ballerina restaurant at 7-8 Bow Street was a solicitor’s office and I worked there from 1968 to 2002.
 

I’m afraid that even with that advantage, I can’t remember the name of the restaurant but I do recall that it was very pricey and that the meat served was always very rare. If you asked, as I did, for 'bien cuit', you were given a very disapproving look followed by a Gallic 'if you must' shrug 😬

20 minutes ago, LinMM said:

Yes it is. 
I have no idea if it’s the same owners as I’m talking 70’s!! 
But I did enjoy working there with moments still etched in memory of for example one lunch hour a party of about 10 people all wanting “knickerbocker glories” for dessert 😱  (they are not quick to prepare or at least La Ballerina ones weren’t!! 

I think it only opened in the 90s - it was originally a shop called ‘Morris Harris’, and Mr Harris sold paper bags wholesale for fruit and veg traders. After that it was a fairly chic French restaurant before it became La Ballerina. The statue was only erected in 1988 and the restaurant was named after it. 

And I omitted mention of the musicians, back stage staff and all the others who help bring the performances to the stage. 

And, in case members of this forum aren’t aware, dancers can’t take holidays when it suits them. 
 

The company is either dancing, rehearsing or recuperating (if injured) throughout the year.  
 

All holiday plans, visits to families abroad, are pre-planned for the summer break.

2 hours ago, Linnzi5 said:

Really? That is excellent news. Reece Clarke is most deserving as well, I think. Thank you for posting this. I don't subscribe to The Sunday Times and am not able to read! Most frustrating! 

Now, here’s a prime example. I like your post and agree with you but were I to be a William Bracewell aficionado (actually I am) I might take umbrage and post, “Why just mention Reece Clarke? Why no mention of William Bracewell? Isn’t he deserving?” 😉

The other point I really like about your earlier post is that you acknowledge that you’re “not an expert on the technical aspects of ballet”.

 I read many posts and reviews on this Forum, some critical, some glowing, some long, some short but I generally have no idea of the experience or expertise of the poster and in the context of @bangorballetboy's post, sometimes wonder as a reasonably regular visitor to the ROH, if I’ve seen the same performance as the poster.

Tonight’s cast sheet link
 

https://www.roh.org.uk/tickets-and-events/36/swan-lake-by-liam-scarlett/cast-list/49157