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northstar

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  1. northstar
    Just further to my post on the RSBS Swan Lake, (and while I remember) the main divertissement I'd not seen before (or seen so long ago I've forgotten I saw it) was the Russian Bride solo in the 'black act'. The last ~ 10 years Swan Lakes I have seen have been English National Ballets or Birmingham Royal Ballet and don't have this divertissement . Also while I remember must praise the RSB Orchestra, in the small Buxton Opera House you could hear the individual string and woodwind solos accompanying the dancers really clearly and beautifully.
  2. northstar
    Thanks Jane S and those above on this discussion of Fille music! The relation between the Fille music from Herold, Hertel and Lanchberry can all be found on google, youtube, wikipedia, but much more fun to discuss it, and be educated, here on this forum!
  3. northstar
    I also attended the Russian State Ballet & Orchestra of Siberia performance of Swan Lake at Buxton Opera House on today (Sat) matinee. Anna Fedosova was Odile/Odette and Daniil Kostylev was Siegfried. I really enjoyed it. Not much time to add much detail but it was a punchy, entertaining, well-danced Swan Lake with some beautiful moments. I have just seen the exquisite English National Ballet version and it must be said that when placed next to that, this production/performance seemed - to but it bluntly - unsubtle, gauche, melodramatic. But I love a bit of melodrama! And the sense of a company really 'delivering' a show without too much artistic angst. Sorry I realise that sounds like damning with faint praise, or make it sound like I'm describing a panto, but I had a great time at this Swan Lake and left Buxton smiling. To add more detail: some great dancing and new variations/divertissments/music I'd never seen/heard before. LOVED the Spanish dance with the continual exaggerated backbends. A stunning set of black swans in the final act. All the swans including Odette doing the entrechats at the climax of Act II. Fedosova's fantastic fast fouettes (all 32 if you're interested, I don't count but she finished when the music finished). Loads of treats, I'll maybe post more of what I remember and look forward to hearing what other people think of it.
  4. northstar
    Thank you toursenlair and jmhopton for the info. Apologies I was posting rather lazily 'on the go' without adding too much detail The programme I bought does indeed indicate that Lanchbery, (conductor of the Royal Opera House) was commissioned by Ashton to supply music for his version of Fille. For this verision of Fille by Russian State Ballet of Siberia, the programme contains a whole page on Hertel, and says that he was colleague of Paul Taglioni who created a new version of Fille in 1864 in Berlin. And says 'Hertel must be credited with composing the only truly orignal score [for Fille]'. And the cast sheet says 'Music by Peter Ludwig Hertel'. Apologies for those of you who already know this by heart. Nonetheless, I am sure I heard on a couple of occasions, snippets of the undeveloped famous clog dance theme in this Hertel version I saw on Friday - maybe I was imagining things! If anyone else goes to see it (Rob S in Swindon?) let me know if I am! Although the music to me seeemed similar in mood (joyous, sunny, dance-y) to the Ashton/Herold/Lanchberry score I heard a couple of months ago, I found it still markedly different in many other ways.
  5. northstar
    Yes to me the music seemed v different to the Ashton version and indeed my programme says this version is based mainly around Hertel's music rather than Herold. I could hear the clog motif occasionally but during the actual clog dance the music was not the most famous tune we are familiar with.
  6. northstar
    Actually in the performance I saw there was a brief ribbon section between Lise and Colas including some 'cat's cradle' (but much less intricate than the BRB/Ashton) - and actually I tell a lie - there was a sort of ribbon promenade, but it was Colas who was promenaded by Lise! Alison was the thread you mention this one? Also a thread from their most recent previous tour with lots of discussion and info, including link to detailed review of this production of Fille on dancetabs.com by Jann Parry. Good old balletco forum, lots of different impressions and thoughts and info in these threads, great stuff!
  7. northstar
    The Russian State Ballet & Orchestra of Siberia are performing a collection of works across the UK at the moment including La Fille Mal Gardee, Swan Lake, Nutcracker, Giselle, Cinderella, Snow Maiden. I went to see La Fille Mal Gardee at Buxton Opera House tonight and was very satisfied and enjoyed the performance very much. Lise, Colas, and Widow Simone were Elena Svinko, Marcello Pelizzoni, and Pavel Kirchev. It was almost incomparable to the Birmingham Royal Ballet production (Ashton) I saw (for the first time) a couple of months ago at the Lowry Salford. No famous clog dance music, no ribbon promenade, no maypole. However it was full of great top quality dancing and wonderfully played music and had it's own set of highlights. The Widow Simone was extremely good, having more solo work than the the BRB version, Colas and Lise had more 'showy' pas de deux and solo work particularly in Act II and performed them with aplomb. The Esmeralda solo with tambourine is inserted into Lisa's solos in Act I. Then Act II ramped up the effects and bravura from the leads and the corps (coupe jetes, fouettes etc) so the stage and theatre fairly buzzed with lively, joyous, action. Some very nice umbrella work from the corps in the thunderstorm scene. My first trip to Buxton and being in the upper circle I could not see the strange rake of the stage that has been mentioned on this forum. I did think the stage small and saw one of the corps rather flinch and duck when Colas was doing his grand manege, and Lise almost fell into the orchestra pit at the end of a diagonal in one of her solos! Really have to compliment the orchestra they were terrific and got my feet tapping to the spirited music - something I hardly ever do. Yes overall it's not the quite at the level of the major UK companies, but I'd highly recommend this company based on this performance.
  8. northstar
    I'm so grateful to Balletco forum. The breadth and depth of experience and knowledge about this art form here often surpasses that in the major UK media organisations. Since discovering the forum, I would not rely on crtics' reviews in those outlets to learn about current and past ballet performances - I trust the information here more, and it's often better quality IMHO. It's wonderful that the mods give so much time to maintaining the forum - I do find it mind boggling the detailed daily links that are provided. I am happy to help in any way to keep this forum thriving. On New Year's day, I am raising a glass to all who contribute. Cheers!
  9. northstar
    Thanks Janet for starting this topic, a great one for the holidays. The Nutcracker was the first live ballet I saw and was Derek Deane's version for English National Ballet and I saw it in 1998 at the Coliseum London so it has a special place in my heart. Only a few images remain in my memory apart from the general feeling of rapture - a 'moonwalking' Michael Jackson Doll, Clara Bourree-ing backwards at great speed diagonally across the stage, and the Sugar Plum Fairy's gargouillades (I didn't know the name of the step then but I remember the effect). I'm not sure it's considered a great version, but special for me. I paid 2 quid 50 pence for a seat in the balcony. I also agree with Janet that Sir Peter Wright's version for Birmingham Royal Ballet is the main benchmark. I first saw it only 4 years ago and remember clearly the curtain going up on the wonderful xmas tableau of the Stahlbaum's house and Mrs Stahlbaum in her gorgeous red dress, making final decorations to the tree. The glamour and wonder of xmas crystallsed perfectly. The only time I saw the fabulous Elisha Willis dance the Sugar Plum Fairy. Since then the only thing that would compeete is the Nutcracker I have just seen in Germany - the Staatsballet Nutcracker by Burlaka & Medvedeva. I've mentioned this on a couple of other threads but the sense of an enchanted magical Tale of Hoffman was very strong - a real discovery for me. I've seen the UK Royal Ballet version only in the cinema relay and YouTube and have to say I don't love it, but must reserve judgement until I've seen it live. And Eagling's version for ENB really should be superceded now in my opinion, but I have to say some fantastic dancers and of course the wonderful ENB sinfonia have provided some cherished memories for me from the times I have seen it.
  10. northstar
    I thought this programme presented by Tom Service was fabulous intelligent, informative, entertaining rich insight into the music, themes, symbolism and history of the Nutcracker - really high quality. BBC at it's best in my opinion. Loads of stuff I'd didn't know about. I loved the description of the music of the Sugar Plum Fairy; 'ethereal minor key tintinnabulation of the bells of the celeste and the earthy lurking of the bass clarinet'.
  11. northstar

    Happy Xmas

    northstar replied to aisha's topic in Not Dance

    Happy Christmas to all, and just wanted to voice my appreciation of the forum. I often whinge about modern life and the 'tyranny' of the internet. But it's also a blessing and this forum is a fabulous vehicle to share appreciation of ballet and connect to others often across the globe. This year has particularly shown this to me - I went to ballet in Berlin, posted about it on the forum, mentioned that I didn't get a cast sheet and lo and behold another person on the forum (don't want to embarrass them but they've posted in this thread!) had been to the same performance and scanned and posted images of the cast sheets . This would have been inconceivable even ~20 years ago when the internet was starting to take off. I've also met new people through the forum. It has been, and I hope continues to be, an enriching avenue for me and many others. Thanks to all who contribute and particulary those who administrate it, may it go from strength to strength! Best wishes to you all for 2019.
  12. northstar
    A great topic to discuss over the holidays, thanks for all the highlights mentioned so far. Must preface my contribution by saying I've not seen any Royal Ballet performances (in fact I've never been to Covent Garden, I must put that right). -I'm going to echo the praise of the incomparable Alina Cojocaru in her return from maternity leave, but also Joseph Caley in this new partnership at English National Ballet. I saw them lead Sleeping Beauty at the London Coliseum in June, and in Manon this October at the Manchester Opera House. The performances were so exquisite, so magical, so special. Cojocaru's virtuosity and artistry in solo work was something to behold. Caley's combination of sensitivity and technique is quite extraordinary. Their partnership is one I feel privileged to have witnessed. -Max Maslen and Tyrone Singleton in Birmingham Royal Ballet's the King Dances. The performance I saw in autumn at the Birmingham Hippodrome had an intense, magical, dramatic atmosphere that I treasure the memory of. -The wonderful array of Auroras (I saw in order, Delia Mathews, Maureya Lebowitz, Celine Gittens) in the superlative Sir Peter Wright Sleeping Beauty of Birmingham Royal Ballet (seen at the Lowry Salford and Millenium Centre Cardiff) -The Staatsballet Berlin Nutcracker for it's perfect Hoffman-esque creation and sheer quaility of every aspect (Berlin Deutsche Oper, December). And a performance which stands out in my mind is Gregor Glocke who in the Arabian dance seemed to show a flexibility which matched that of Sylvie Guillem! As capybara said what a cracking 2018. Probably my best ever year of ballet, but maybe I say that every year!
  13. northstar
    Celine Gittens from Birmingham Royal Ballet on BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour this week, talking about the role of Sugar Plum Fairy in the Nutcracker (and other things). https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0001p64 Haven't seen this noted on the forum so thought I would post it, apologies if it is a duplicate of information already posted somewhere else.
  14. northstar
    Thank you now voygager for this, indeed I was just posting my thoughts/memories of information rather sloppily without checking carefully. I freely admit I'm not a well-versed in ballet production history. A quick google search leads to Guardian article which confirms what you say. Indeed, probably other threads on this forum discussing the Ratmansky Sleeping Beauty would also confirm it. Thanks for your correction! However 'authentic' the Staatsballet Nutcracker version is, I cannot judge - but I did think the colourful nature of the design extremely effective. So I was just musing about why I didn't find the colour in the Ratmansky Sleeping Beauty worked quite so well, even though I felt there were some similarites to the Staatsballet Nutcracker I saw. It could just be me of course. Just to add some information about the Nutcracker production in addition to what Sabine0308 wrote about the costumes, from the Staatsballet website: "Vasily Medvedev and Yuri Burlaka, two Russian choreographers and connoisseurs of the ballet tradition, have created a version for the Staatsballett Berlin based on the scenery and choreography used at its world premiere in 1892"
  15. northstar
    Thanks so much Sabine0308 for these cast sheet images, you have made my day. Thanks also for your thoughts on this Nutcracker, and praise of the leads which I completely agree with. Also very interesting to hear the information on the production. Actually, something reminded me of the recent Ratmansky ABT Sleeping Beauty (I saw it in 2015) in the brilliance and colour of the costumes. I understand he made a similar effort to find the original costume designs. The Nutracker costumes were also so vivid and colourful. But I must say I had reservations about the Ratmansky staging/costumes as somewhat over-the-top, whereas the Staatsballet Nutcrackler it all just seemed to work perfectly. Perhaps this is unfair, and undoubtedly very subjective, and I know many others have praised Ratmansky's design highly. It's great to have the cast sheet to add to my ballet scrapbook. Yes in UK, at least in the theatres I go to, you can get a cast sheet for free. Actually Don Q Fan indicated above that at the Staatsballet you could get a cast sheet for a few eurocents. I didn't see any when I was there and I was too pathetic to ask. So thank you again.
  16. northstar
    Thanks for these reviews everyone. I've seen this production 3-4 times and am aware of the mixed reaction audiences and critics have had to it. I believe the production is about 7-8 years old now and I must admit I am sort of anticipating Tamara Rojo to commission a new version any year now (purely my own speculation of course). Also very interesting to hear Rojo is dancing Clara, I hadn't seen her cast to dance many of the big classics recently and wondered if she had basically retired from the Petipa canon. I've only seen her perform since she has lead ENB, but have greatly admired and loved her dancing whenever I've seen her. I've never seen her as the Sugar Plum Fairy, so if anyone would like to share their thoughts on her performance would love to hear them.
  17. northstar
    Hello to you too Sabine0308! Thank you so much for the information, I am most grateful to you. I am still savouring the memory of the Staatsballet Nutcracker performance. I am based in the northwest of England where I see some fabulous touring companies, and have never been to the UK Royal Ballet at Covent Garden, I've only seen cinema relays of performances. What was so special in the Staatsballet Nutcracker I saw was the outstanding quality and commitment in every aspect of the performance, everyone giving everything with such flair and beauty. And as I mentioned the distinctive flavour, atmosphere, style evoking a tale of Hoffman so strongly. The Nutcracker was what made me obsessed with ballet 20 years ago (English National Ballet at the Coliseum, London), but I would say after seeing more than 10 Nutcracker performances since then, and maybe 4-5 different productions, it was the performance I saw in Berlin on 3rd December that stands out more than any other (even the Royal Ballet version which I admit I've not seen live-in-theatre). There's an old quote from a ballet critic Richard Buckle - 'We are one Nutcracker nearer death' which to me implies the stale, jaded reaction to the ballet as we grow older and dutifully attend this masterpiece, hoping to recreate the thrill we first felt, but sometimes not achieving it. The thrill the Staatsballet Nutcracker gave me was a complete surprise and awakened all those fresh original feelings that have made me love ballet. An image of the cast sheet would be great Sabine0308. It does seem rather tricky to post images on this forum, I struggled trying to use photobucket which eventually seemed to work. I think what might be easier, for sharing cast sheet scans, is the ImgBB.com website. ImgBB.com allows you to upload images and share them without having to sign up for an account. Welcome to the forum Sabine0308 and please feel free to discuss Staatsballet performances on here, if you would like to.
  18. northstar
    Thanks Sophoife for the information, looks like I missed the chance to get a programme, I should have asked one of the ushers. Just to describe the performance if anyone is interested, it was the sheer quality that ultimately impressed me. It was a production and performance that was sumptuous and exquisite. For me, only Birmingham Royal Ballet's Sir Peter Wright productions have been similar to this. The main memories are the incredibly beautiful snowflake ensemble, with headdresses like snowy peacock fans; the stunning and sudden illumination of the kingdom of the sweets; the lead male dancer in the arabian dance with arabesques and developees as graceful as any prima ballerina; the perfection and verve of the leads' pdds and solos. And also the whole thing seemed to capture the gothic Hoffman-esque atmosphere of the Nutcracker more than any other production I've seen. Maybe this is just me investing my experience with this, having seen it in Berlin. Not cheap, but worth every Euro-cent.
  19. northstar
    That does sound amazing Esmeralda I didn't know they performed on Christmas day. Does anyone know how to find out the full cast for Staatsballet performances? I didn't see any programmes/cast sheet at the Deutsche Oper.
  20. northstar
    Yuria Isaka and Daniil Simkin were the leads, there didn't seem to be cast sheets and the web page casting only gives the leads, will try to find out somehow because there were so many brilliant dancers.
  21. northstar
    Went to a very special Nutcracker last night in Berlin. It was really quite exceptional. Yuria Isaka and Daniil Simkin were the leads. Desperately trying to workout how to embed images in posts and failing miserably. Oh, think I finally suceeded. #
  22. northstar
    Thanks Terpsichore for your thoughts on this evening in Liverpool, I really enjoyed reading your blog, and it made me extra glad I'd seen this performance with Kanehara's debut. Janet shame you were not able to see more performances sounds like there was a lot ENB had in the bag for this Swan Lake run. Thanks to others for their thoughts on the continuing run in Bristol. Cojocaru did not dance in Liverpool, would have loved to see her again, I remember seeing her four years ago when she was in Liverpool and the thing that is most prominent in my memory is her brilliant virtuosic Odile.
  23. northstar
    Just back from the Friday eve performance lead by Rina Kanehara and Ken Saruhashi. Wasn't sure if I would make it, but I think Don Q Fan's wonderful pics made me want more of those fabulous swans! And very glad I went too. As on opening night, a superb and magical ensemble of ethereal creatures. Similar to Sharon (who also saw opening night), I found myself more satisfied and pleased by my second performance. There could be many reasons for this (friday feeling, maybe!) and I don't want to say that this performance was 'superior' to opening night. But I felt the special 'glow' on more occasions tonight - that feeling when you start to get caught up in the magic. Kanehara and Sarahashi gave convincing, beautiful performances. Although I have to say, when you've seen a few Swan Lakes, it's kind of disappointing when it's NOT convincing and beautiful. I was glad to have caught Kanehara on her debut in this production according to the cast sheet, and I was particularly impressed by her Black Swan solo where she seemed to give a few personal and original touches which I thought were fabulous. (For those interested, she delivered a good set of fouettes too). Sarahashi was an extremely elegant Siegfried. But once more I must voice my appreciation of the swan ensemble. In Act II the first ensemble number, when the swans pose in rows like crucifixes, bourree, rotate, bouree again - just so effective and breath-taking. That moment got one of the biggest responses from the crowd of the whole evening - nevermind the 32 fouettes. Forgot to praise the orchestra last time. I could listen to the score, played so superbly, without any dancing and still get shivers. As part of the visual sensation of ballet and this production, it's status as masterpiece was again very clear to me this week. Look forward to hear what other forum users think of the coming performances.
  24. northstar
    Thanks Don Q fan for those splendid photos. I was there too on opening night (nice to meet you Don Q Fan and chat to Janet and Sharon too). Those pictures do indeed represent how good the production is and what a high quality Swan ensemble there was, as you mentioned. I usually like the 'Black' act the best but on this night I must day it was the White acts which most impressed me. Jurgita Dronina's Odette/Odile debut with ENB and so fascinating and memorable for that. I had always thought, (from seeing her you tube videos) that with her strength in technique she would be a perfect Odile, but I must say her sensitivity and emotion as Odette was far more impressive to me. Having seen this production before with Rojo and Cojocaru dancing the leads (in Liverpool again, 2014), I felt that this wasn't quite, as a whole, at the same level as those performances. Maybe this is unfair, incorrect, rose-tinted glasses etc. But I felt that the technical strengths of the leads and solos didn't quite match those in 2014 in memory. I agree that the large crowd was a bit distracting (talking during quiet bits, rustling, coats thrown over chair backs getting in the viewline) , plus a fairly hyperactive usher (who to be fair was probably only trying to to their job well). So maybe these issues rather affected my appreciation. It was good to see a good turnout and great response from the audience. I may see another performance before the run ends, depending if I have enough time.
  25. northstar
    Looking forward to seeing the cast of Jurgita Dronina and Isaac Hernandez in the opening night at Liverpool tonight, I've not seen either of them in the lead roles for Swan Lake. Slightly off topic but if anyone else is going tonight and would like to say hello, please send me a message. Was nice to bump into a forum member at a performance recently.
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