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WoodlandGladeFairy

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About WoodlandGladeFairy

  • Birthday 25/01/1986

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  • Gender
    Female
  • Location:
    Devizes, Wiltshire
  • Interests
    Cats and Ballet

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  1. Just got back from the cinema relay of Manon with Osipova/Clarke, another wonderful evening. Natalia Osipova was absolutely devastating in Act III, got very emotional at the end, as good as when I saw her live in 2018. Reece Clarke is an incredibly handsome, tall, elegant and with lovely long lines, a dreamy Des Grieux, who wouldn't fall head over heels in love with him. Gary Avis remains the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) Character Artist, can play nice and nasty equally, his Monsieur G.M. is such a perfect sleazoid, top stuff. Also have to mention Alexander Campbell as Lescaut, just brilliant, a proper mean but charming rogue and Mayara Magri was saucy and sparkling as Lescaut's Mistress. The entire company was vibrant and full of energy as well, just fabulous to watch. Already mentioned previously how much I love the costumes and the cinema close ups really made me appericate the textures and fabrics. And the music remains as gorgeous as ever, top playing from the ROH Orchestra as usual. Yes I look forward to returning to this ballet each time it is revied, always discovering new things about it.
  2. Some further thoughts on last night's Manon I thought William Bracewell really sold the whole 'how did I get into this situation', felt so sorry for his Des Grieux having to resort to cheating at cards, the pull of Manon is just hard to resist. Luca Acri and Anna Rose O'Sullivan's drunk pas de deux was quite funny, certainly raised a chuckle or two from the audience! I don't mind the brothel scene, I love the music used in it, and well it's a brothel not a nunnery so I would expect it to be bawdy. Nicolas Georgiadis costumes are gorgeous, like an oil painting come to live and brings to mind films like Barry Lyndon or Dangerous Liaisons, grubby and glamorous 18th Century. Also from the dancing you get a sense that Yasmine Naghdi's Manon doesn't know who she is really, is she a ingénue, a passionate lover or a money chasing floozy compared to Lescaut's mistress who is honest about who and what she is, it was a interesting juxtaposition. Yasmine Naghdi's Manon was wonderful though, and I'm sure each times she comes back to the role she will discover new facets, same for William Bracewell and Anna Rose O'Sullivan, felt really special to see a triple debut as well, the Royal Ballet is so so blesse to have such a luxurious and talented group of dancers to choose.
  3. Just back from seeing Manon Absolutely wonderful performance from Yasmine Naghdi and William Bracewell, the final pas de deux was heartbreaking, I was in tears by the end, it all felt so effortless and natural, both create space in the music Each time I see Manon is a unique experience and you also start to notice the little things you haven't seen before The Royal Opera House Orchestra was in fine form as usual Just a spellbinding evening Managed to get a nice curtain call photo as well
  4. I am looking forward to seeing with my sister the triple debut on Saturday of William Bracewell, Yasmine Naghdi and Anna Rose O'Sullivan, I know they are going to be awesome! This is my third time seeing the ballet, previously I saw Muntagirov/Lamb in 2014 and Osipova/Shklyarov (Yasmine Naghdi played the Mistress, a wonderful evening with a luxury cast) in 2018 so really excited to see a new cast in one of my favourite ballets. Just counting down the days of the working week.
  5. Absolutely amazing performance of Don Quixote tonight by the Royal Ballet, am still buzzing, pure sunshine Vadim Muntagirov and Marianela Nuñez were just supernova, their dancing is pure perfection, so much joy and love, very life affirming. Also enjoyed Ryoichi Hirano as Espada, just the right amount of swagger. Annette Buvoli was delightful as the Queen of the Dryads, I love the music too and for some reason it makes me well up and I don't know why, just seems to go deep. Loved the costumes, so beautiful and sparkly. It is much needed, an escape to a sunny, happy ballet.
  6. Really happy with my experience on the Royal Opera House site, managed to book tickets to see Yasmine Naghdi and William Bracewell in Manon, will be my third time going to see it, always like revisiting it with different casts. Something to look forward to in the new year.
  7. It is lovely seeing so many reviews of the opening night of Don Quixote, my mum and I are going to see Marianela Nuñez and Vadim Muntagirov on the 19th October and this has made us very excited! I had never seen Don Quixote live before, so decided this season this was the ballet to choose. Tangentially related we recently got a new kitten, a Burmese boy and we decided to call him Vadim after Vadim Muntagirov our favourite dancer, he is just as graceful, energetic and elegant as him.
  8. Went to see Ryoichi Hirano and Melissa Hamilton in Mayerling last night, and was so very glad I did, I've been wanting to see this ballet for a very long time and it did not disappoint, the entire company were brilliant and I left the performance feeling energised. I loved the costumes and they look even more amazing live, was so pleased to of booked orchestral stalls, noticed things in the ballet I hadn't before. Ryoichi Hirano and Melissa Hamilton had plenty of chemistry and the PDDs were perfect, just wow. I was a little unsure of Gina Storm-Jensen playing Empress Elisabeth as I thought she was a little young but I was nicely surprised how well she did the role. Itziar Mendizabal was great as Countess Marie Larisch, a more brittle portrayal but conveyed the complicated relationship she had with Crown Prince Rudolf. Loved the Act II tavern scene, incredibly saucy and Claire Calvert was wonderful as Mitzi Caspar. As always Gary Avis infuses the character of Bay Middleton with lots of charm. And finally superb playing of the Liszt scores by the Royal Opera House orchestra.
  9. It's been really wonderful reading people's reviews on the different casts of Mayerling, I am booked into see Ryoichi Hirano and Melissa Hamilton on the 21st November, I am really looking forward to seeing the ballet as it's the only one of MacMillan's major full lengths works I have wanted to see, I've seen Manon and Romeo and Juliet both twice, so it will be nice to complete the trio. If I was made of money I'd love to see more casts but it's enough to read people's perspectives and memories on it. I saw the cinema live cast earlier this month with Ryoichi Hirano and it will be interesting to see his portrayal of Crown Prince Rudolf later in the run. It's one of my favourite ballets and I think it stems from watching a recording of the 1994 performance of Mayerling with Irek Mukhamedov and Viviana Durante, my memory is hazy but I believe the BBC showed it on TV, was young at the time so probably not a suitable ballet for child lol but I just loved the music and it was very striking, different to other ballets we had on VHS. I've been watching House of the Dragon and so Mayerling with its complex, violent family dynamics seem to fit in quite well!
  10. Just got back from a cinema screening of Mayerling, an electrifying performance from Ryoichi Hirano and Natalia Osipova (who gave a really unhinged interpretation, like truly lost in 'love'). Full of drama, though literally jumping the gun when the gunshot went off early, and when Nuñez's dress got caught in the chair, certainly a memorable evening. Loved the Four Hungarian Officers (Reece Clarke, Leo Dixon, Nicol Edmonds, Calvin Richardson) dances, just beautiful Royal Ballet male dancers with lovely lines. Itziar Mendizabal was superb as Empress Elisabeth and always a delight seeing Marianela Nuñez as Mitizi Caspar and great performance by Laura Morea as Countess Marie Larisch. Royal Opera House orchestra on top form as usual. In fact the entire company were on strong form tonight, just an amazing evening and it made me excited for November as I will be seeing it live at the Royal Opera House (Ryoichi Hirano, Melissa Hamilton, Itziar Mendizabal on 21st November), Its one of my favourite ballets and I have been wanting to see it live for years to complete my trifecta of MacMillan ballets. I love history, have always been fascinated with the Hapsburgs, so never had any trouble following characters etc., on DVD I have the BBC TV series Fall of Eagles and one episode is dedicated to the Mayering Incident, provides nice context.
  11. I meant to mention this on my earlier post but I also was very impressed by Yuhui Choe and Joseph Sissens in the Neapolitan PDD, been a long time since I felt the dancers got it and they did plus had a good tempo. Plus I loved how Marianela Nuñez in the Act III Black Swan PDD was so deliciously evil and even winking at the audience letting them know they are in on the deception, she is a ballerina at the peak of her power. Vadim Muntagirov was as always superb, his lines are just gorgeous and he just flies through the air, just a joy to watch him dance everytime Luca Acri was good as Benno, Prince Siegfried's wingman, not too showy but who is able to run interreference with all the courtly duties and a lighter counterpoint to Prince Siegfried's mournfulness
  12. Absolutely amazing performance of Swan Lake by Marianela Núñez and Vadim Muntagirov and the Royal Ballet last night, proper star wattage, plus top playing by Royal Opera House orchestra, Tchaikovsky's score sounded glorious! The Royal Ballet has such depth of talent and it was on display last night Loved Act III's costumes and sets so sumptuous and very sparkly, which doesn't come across as much on the Blu-ray recording So glad to finally see the new production live after it got cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic, was a truly special evening
  13. Also back from my local cinema's screening. Really, really enjoyed the performances of both Marcelino Sambé and Anna Rose O'Sullivan, intensely emotional dancing, you could feel the raw emotion. The entire cast had an energy, and James Hay was wonderful as Mercutio. Top playing from the orchestra as well, such a fantastic ballet score. Also was nice to see a different take on it from when we saw Yasmine Naghdi and Vadim Muntagirov last year, I liked both and it's good to see how much talent the Royal Ballet has now.
  14. I guess I got into ballet from doing ballet lessons when I was younger and when it was occasionally on the TV I do remember fondly that we had a few ballets on VHS - American Ballet Theatre in Don Quixote, Bolshoi Ballet in The Sleeping Beauty, Ivan the Terrible and Spartacus, Mariinsky (or what was then the Kirov) Ballet in Giselle and The Stone Flower and the Royal Ballet in Romeo and Juliet, La Fille Mal Gardee, Mayerling and Prince of the Pagodas, so they were the ballets that shaped my childhood. Living in the provinces I did not get to watch a huge amount of live ballet, you had those regional Russian companies who toured and when the Royal Ballet visited the Bristol Hippodrome back when they visited the regions. Also helped my sister and mum were super into the ballet as well, so that rubbed off on me as well.
  15. I almost forgot General Booking opened today for the Royal Ballet's Winter Season but luckily managed to get tickets for the 10th March to see Vadim Muntagirov and Marianela Nuñez in Swan Lake and for a treat went for orchestra stalls seats, was all set to see them in the ballet last year till lockdown and COVID-19 happened, so making up for lost time!
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