Thalia

47 minutes ago, Rob S said:

Was anyone else aware of strange noises during Infra? At the interval after it the usher in the right Stalls Circle  was asking if anyone heard things. Because I’ve never seen Infra before I assumed the noise was part of the show.

I noticed the usher addressing the audience in that area but I hadn’t heard anything untoward during Infra.

During Symphony in C, however, there was something that sounded like someone shouting – a wordy shriek. I thought it had come from the stage area. 

2 minutes ago, bridiem said:

 

Maybe, but they didn't look especially like dance students to me. (And if they were, I hope they'd study Symphony in C!). Or they could be learning about WW1 and the commemorations etc I suppose.

I suppose they’ll study whatever is on the curriculum. They looked like GCSE dance students to me - both tonight and Tuesday. They were certainly with teacher-type figures. 

Just now, bridiem said:

There were droves of teenagers in the amphi, both on Tuesday and tonight. I can't recall ever seeing that before.

They could be studying Infra. A bit like when a Shakespeare play on the curriculum is on at a theatre and all the school children descend upon it. 

27 minutes ago, Lindsay said:

Simply taking "death is not the end" at face value and making it the "message" for a ballet seems to me trite in the extreme.

I think the ballet is ultimately about Florence Billington and her thoughts/memories rather than a generic statement of what the public believed back then.

I am still mulling it over but I did find the ballet to be a more simplistic interpretation of the interviewee’s words than I thought it would be. I wasn’t expecting it to be so literal. 

I noticed those seats were empty but they were occupied later on during yesterday’s programme. Whether by the ticket holders for those seats, I couldn’t say. 

It’s not easy either to split them off if you want to pass one onto a friend.  

Looking for a SCS or centre Balcony standing ticket for either 22 or 26 Nov. 

13 minutes ago, Esmeralda said:

Since Sambe didn´t dance yesterday with his regular cast because he got a prize in Portugal may I ask who danced the Idol yesterday?

It was Calvin Richardson.

The ticket is now spoken for. 

Yes it is still available.  

I’ve just replied to your PM

I have a ticket going spare for 17 Nov - Cuthbertson, Ball, Magri cast. 

Amphitheatre B39 £16 

It’s a paper ticket but I’ll be there so can arrange to meet to hand the ticket over. 

I have sent you a PM. 

And sometimes they can make it disappear entirely! I think there must be a space for it behind the wall at the back. 

Just an update about this being screened at the ROH tomorrow (11/11).

It’s being shown twice and there will also be a Q&A with Francesca Hayward, Matthew Ball, Valentino Zucchetti and Alice Pennefather. 

Depending on the angle you are looking at the stage, you can sometimes see the “weave” of the scrim, which is highly annoying when it is down for such a long time as in La Bayadère. It’s like watching through a net curtain. No wait, it is watching through a net curtain! 

4 minutes ago, capybara said:

It is a disgrace that the ROH has not used the enforced closure of the Piazza entrance to sort out the revolving door, which is still stopping as it always did - and is dangerous.

I had nothing checked at any time yesterday - not my bag, not my tickets, Amazing!

We had a cursory glance into our bags by a harassed member of staff by the Piazza entrance (the door was held so you could walk straight though) and tickets were sort of checked by the door to the area where we were sitting in the afternoon. In the evening, there was no bag check but tickets were half-heartedly checked again. No tickets were checked after the intervals at any point, though, for which I was grateful. I hate having to fish about for my ticket once I’m in the building!  

I should add that Valentino Zucchetti was a total delight as the Bronze Idol in the afternoon. 

24 minutes ago, bridiem said:

I'm a huge admirer of Hirano, but I'd forgotten what a bravura role Solor is and I'm not sure I would think it a natural fit for him anyway. And of course he's had rather a lot on his plate recently... But I would still have loved to have seen this cast (unfortunately can't see them all!).

I found Hirano’s dancing to be lovely yesterday, if rather restrained. For me, he seems quite reserved so I do often struggle to get a sense of characterisation from him. It’s almost as if there’s a shyness or modesty about him. I find I enjoy him more in abstract roles. 

The connection between Solor and Nikiya was stronger for me in the evening performance. It was great to see McRae back and going for it without any trepidation after only recently returning to the stage. Takada was particularly expressive in Act I although I feel that tailed off in Act 2. I thought Naghdi was fabulous as Gamzatti; a powerful yet nuanced interpretation from her. 

I found the “experience” of going to the ROH was lessened somewhat by staff waiting all gloved up with vacuum cleaners as everyone streamed out last night. 

26 minutes ago, penelopesimpson said:

Who danced the matinee?

Solor: Hirano

Nikiya: Lamb

Gamzatti: Calvert

2 minutes ago, alison said:

Oh, you mean the caff I've been dashing through without time to stop the past three times I've been there?  No wonder I don't see it.

It wasn’t until my fourth visit this season  that I saw it and even then it was only when a friend pointed it out to me! 😂🤷‍♀️

12 minutes ago, capybara said:

Where's the screen with all this info. on it, please? I clearly need to discover it pronto as my ability to locate cast change slips has, er, 'slipped'  this ballet season.

It’s in the downstairs caff. It’s a big screen behind the counter/bar with a ticker going along a bit like on the rolling news channels. Rolling cast changes...

On 14/10/2018 at 12:27, Thalia said:

 

The “in” and “out” is now very clear but they’ve changed the former “in” door to be the “out” door in the ladies, which has the potential to cause some severe door bashing to anyone coming out of the disabled toilet. A near miss happened on Monday at the rehearsal. 

I noticed last night that the “in” and “out” doors have been changed back. Someone is listening! 

5 minutes ago, Scheherezade said:

As a matter of interest, and since access to the public areas is not patrolled in any way by ushers, what happens to latecomers? Does anyone direct them either to the big screen or to spare boxes any more?

I actually had a nightmare about this the night before last, not that it has ever happened to me but I’ve been close a couple of times – is there still a screen for latecomers to watch?