Balletfanp

Oh, absolutely - but it still baffles me! 🙂

Exactly. There is more than one type of charisma.

I’m not sure that some critics entirely understand the concept of charisma. You don’t have to strut and over-project to have it in spades. For me, Muntagirov does.

I think they are very happy to see the same cast! But also, where we were sitting we missed a lot going on in the back left corner and didn’t get the full effect of the Shades. So it will be good to get the cinema perspective.

Thanks Alison - I wasn’t sure! 🙂

OK, having finally made it home and had a much needed cup of tea, I now feel fortified enough to write a proper review! To be honest, I didn’t expect to love it so much. It’s years since I saw it - it was the Royal Ballet, but in Plymouth, so they must have still been touring the provinces then, and I assume it wasn’t the Makarova version. I really couldn’t remember much about it except that Fiona Chadwick danced Nikiya (I particularly wanted to see her as she went to the same ballet school as me). No idea who danced Solor or Gamzatti but I remember not being blown away with it as a ballet. So, I was delighted last night to be completely charmed by it. Yes, it’s a daft plot, yes, it’s very Victorian melodrama, but if you just go with it and accept if for what it is, it’s great fun, moving and colourful with plenty of opportunity for the Principals to shine. And shine they did. Nunez was just beautiful - her technique and control are second to none, but she also put in an intensely vulnerable and moving performance. The pas de deuxs with Muntagirov sparkled with chemistry, and her solos were miraculously fluid. What can I say about Muntagirov.... he was sublime. He was a noble, commanding, yet gentle Solor, which made his weakness when pressed to marry Gamzatti very believable. And his dancing....others can put in virtuoso performances but I have never seen anyone else with his mix of virtuosity and sheer beauty of movement and line and with so much natural grace, elegance and musicality. His solos were amazing (that sequence of double tours around the stage in Act 2 - eight in all, finishing in one of his heartbreaking arabesques - wow!). And his partnering of both his leading ladies was, of course, exemplary. I’m not one of Osipova’s greatest fans generally but her performance of Gamzatti was spot on - arrogant, selfish, yet also needy and slightly desperate in her love for Solor. And of course a fantastic dance performance. She and Nunez were a heady mix when interacting onstage together. And the corps de ballet were in absolutely top form especially in Act 2. That Shades entrance and the following sequence are real endurance tests for the dancers and must be exhausting to perform (especially for the first dancer on having to do all the arabesques - hats off to Romany Pajdak! 🙂), but they made it look so easy and it was captivating. The three main Shades were as wonderful as you would expect from three such dancers (Takada, Naghdi and Choe). I’m surprised the ROH couldn’t find a slightly more realistic looking tiger to sling from the pole at the beginning, though....😂 A rapturous audience reception, especially when Muntagirov went to the side of the stage to pull on Makarova, and it was thrilling to see her (and still very much the Prima Ballerina!). I do hope the conductor was OK - he appeared to fall backwards over Marianela’s hedge of bouquets and took rather a hard tumble, much to everyone’s consternation.... he looked rather shaken but I’m hoping he suffered nothing worse than embarrassment! The audience gave him a rousing reception when he took his solo bow, anyway! I took along my mother-in-law and two friends - none of them new to ballet but certainly not frequent attenders - so I feel I have done my bit towards bringing in a new audience whilst stubbornly remaining a regular! 🙂 They absolutely loved it and want to see it again at the cinema.

Agree with Mary. Muntagirov and Nunez just sublime. I’m not a great fan of Osipova but she was good in this. Will write more tomorrow but too tired and elated to think straight now!

Given that the bag searches I have experienced at the ROH have been cursory at best, I would highly doubt that they make a difference!

You’re quite right, Richard, I’ve just tried it - thanks. But what use is that if you want to have a good look at the casting before you book, so that you can make your decisions and go smoothly to the performances you want to book? After all, there isn’t much time to snap up the tickets you want in some cases.

I’ve now discovered that if you get as far as the casting page, but then click again on the 20th matinee, which gives you the seating plan, and below that all the production details, the performers are all listed but BOTH casts are listed on the same performance - so, two different Mashas, two Vershinins etc. - the first listed name is the one showing on the casting. Likewise, if you click on the evening performance, the only role listed is the Blue Boy, which is down as TBC - hence all the mess when you look at the casting on that day. Whoever is looking after all this needs a stiff talking to....

That is what I expected, but weirdly, it’s definitely not what I am seeing - unless I go via the calendar route. Very, very strange - and I don’t THINK I’ve taken leave of my senses - not yet, anyway 🙂. But the Two Pigeons/Asphodel Meadows listings seemed to have reverted to the expected when I looked ten minutes or so ago - albeit with the names in no logical order.

I certainly will, if their reply actually sheds any light. it is literally changing now each time I look... and none of it is logical or making any sense....

About an hour and a half ago I looked at the casting for the Patineurs/Winter Dreams/the Concert, and the casting of the matinee and the evening performances on the 20th appeared to have swapped over - very annoying as I booked specifically to see Muntagirov and Lamb in Winter Dreams. An hour later, and there is now no mention of Muntagirov in any cast! The Two Pigeons casting is a similar mess, with TBCs apparently randomly scattered all over the place. As others have said, going in via the calendar route still gives you the originally slated casts - so what to believe....? It only seems to be the multi bills that are thus affected - things like Bayadere, the Nutcracker, Don Q seem to have remained stable - so far, anyway. I have contacted ROH customer services to see if they can explain any of this, but I’m not expecting a useful answer. If I get one, I will pass it on!

It can be quite startling the first time you use them and are unprepared.... but on the whole I’m all for them! Unlike the vacuum suction loos (they don’t use water so are more eco-friendly) that someone mentioned above - I experienced them some time ago in Kings College London, and more recently in a service station, of all places. From the start they go all out to terrify plastered with instructions such as “WARNING - DO NOT FLUSH WITH LID OPEN!” which becomes clear when you press flush and it makes a deafening sound like Concorde in its death throes - I’m quite sure there is a risk of being sucked away never to be seen again should you be foolhardy enough to ignore the lid warning (or, in my case, more likely to simply forget!).

Well it was, only you couldn’t watch it! 😁

I had an email alerting me that it was up and it’s in my list of notifications - but won’t play! It almost looks as though it has been made private rather than public - but then I wouldn’t expect it to show at all. I can’t post a link as it won’t let me have one - it’s a ghost video!

Is anyone else unable to watch the RB segment now up on YouTube? Everything else is playing fine so it’s not my broadband or anything.

Cuthbertson was definitely in class so I guess we must just assume there was a change of plan.

The Royal Ballet segment is (supposedly) now up on YouTube but I’m just getting “video unavailable” when I go to it *sigh*....

No, me neither....🙁

Lost transmission again.... .....and we’re back but now no sound!

Yes, I found myself longing for the RB’s more relaxed and upbeat take on it all. And I’m enjoying it 🙂

I found the Bolshoi section rather flat and unengaging, somehow.

And we have just had the Looney Tunes theme music.... 😂 I like this pianist’s musical choices! All played beautifully too.

Sorry - it’s so frustrating when these things don’t work. it does look as if you might be able to link to the ROH live stream at 12:00 direct from their website - under News and World Ballet Day - scroll down. Still takes you to Facebook but fewer links to faff with.