Geoff

A slight exaggeration Sim: disappearing is clearly the intention but that hasn't always worked. On the first night the prop got stuck so very little happened. Later in the week Alina was about halfway down when it all jammed again. I vaguely remember seeing this piece of staging before and it didn't work great then either. Lovely idea though. Might I anyway add my small voice to the loud chorus of approval for this wonderful and moving - and "softer" - production. Bought an extra ticket for tonight and so much looking forward.

So the scheduled cast for Saturday evening

Evening all. I missed the announcement but it’s clear the two principal dancers are not those scheduled for the first night tonight. So who’s dancing instead?

At a guess it feels like we have a better idea about this evening than we do about the free Friends event at the ROH. I have no special information but based my ticket purchase on: - It's a "gala", which is appealing - They say "The programme will celebrate the range and beauty of the Cecchetti work" (sounds good to me) - and "feature performances" (reassuring) - "from vocational students through to professional dancers" - good news! I see no mention of academics, but perhaps someone connected to the Society could say a bit more?

The ROH is once again wonderful in all it does. A careful examination of the marketing email sent to me this afternoon shows they have now abandoned the use of the word “purchase”. They have even put in bold that this event is free. Nothing to do with our objections of course. Still no more information but coming “soon”.

Bumping this up as although booking has opened there are still happily tickets at all prices available. Bluebird has done us a great service by helping us find out how to book (although in the Linbury the event has not been showing on the ROH calendar). Here is an attempt to publicise a direct link (if this doesn’t work, many apologies, just use the one Bluebird publicised and follow the instructions):- https://www.roh.org.uk/seatmap?emailsource=59966&performanceId=53156

Courtesy of another thread, here is a clip which was new to me (lots of fun from Laurencia): This is how pas de six was danced at Mikhailovsky Theatre with young Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghsadwIwp0U

Indeed Jan. But Eventbrite has to use the same basic form for all events, paid for or not. Whereas this is a piece of copywriting for a specific event: they could easily have done it right.

Yet now the website says >>You must be a member of ROH to purchase tickets for this event. It isn’t grammatically possible to “purchase” free tickets (but maybe I expect too much from whoever writes this stuff). In any case this is a bit of a muddle, as well as a mystery. The events will apparently be “exciting”. Any chance they are going to reinstate the showings of rare footage from their archive (which had to be cancelled because of lockdown)? That would indeed be exciting.

Many thanks MJW. They didn’t happen to mention what, er, we will be able to see?

PS Admins please delete if Friends-only discussions are unwelcome here. Or if the post belongs in News, maybe you could be so kind as to move it.

Here below is the relatively uninformative announcement I - as a Friend of ROH - got at the end of last week. Anybody know where one can find out what is going to be on offer (surely at least as important as the big news of when to book)? I suppose this paragraph counts, technically speaking, as “further details” but I found the text annoying rather than delightful. Maybe it’s my fault? We are thrilled to announce further details of our Friends’ 60th Anniversary Open Day, celebrating 60 years since the Friends of Covent Garden were founded. Join us on 16 October to get closer to the music and dance you love, with behind-the-scenes access, tours and activities, exclusively for Friends. This is a daytime event, with two available slots to book (morning and afternoon). Booking will open from 12pm on 6 September*, when you’ll be able to book up to 4 tickets online or by calling the Box Office on 020 7304 4000. We would absolutely love to see you and your family or friends for what promises to be a truly special occasion in honour of your invaluable support. Tickets are limited, so don't miss out.

It’s a disgrace. In a rational world there would be subsidies available from the Arts Council. Why should sich a fine service to an entire artistic community have be self-sustaining and commercial?

Just seen that the Hackney Empire is concluding its Ring cycle this weekend: https://hackneyempire.co.uk/whats-on/arcola-theatre-gotterdammerung/ If I was able to get to London, I would give this a try. Perhaps of interest.

Many thanks Emeralds. Just to add, some of these new £10 tickets are in the second row of the Balcony. For those thinking that these seats might be a great bargain, they are, but only in a way. There was a recent discussion on the Forum: members pointed out they are some of the worst seats in the house, because of the bar blocking your view,

What a wonderful thing the Forum is. I think I must count as a "supporter" (having been to the Coliseum a lot, though not a member): when I logged in I was able to buy seats at £10. Thank you everyone!

A few days ago the critic Mark Ronan published this short review in The Article, which makes an interesting comparison with the work of Ashton: https://www.thearticle.com/magic-matriarchy-and-mexico The same critic then went back for another performance:

In the unlikely event that there are people who haven't noticed the other thread, sadly the ROH technical problems are continuing (and there now seem to be some truly awful new issues), see for example this post and the discussion which followed:

What an interesting comment. Might you expand a little on this point?

With regard to asking ROH ushers to intervene, who then do not do anything, I had an interesting conversation with a member of ROH staff recently. Apparently the ROH is still understaffed. They lost a lot of people (Brexit followed by lockdown) and have been crewing up again recently but are not yet back to full numbers. This would seem to explain the many comments about no staff at certain entrances, tickets not being checked and so on. It could also explain the recent reports of ushers not intervening. I can imagine it is the more experienced staff who are more likely to feel confident enough to tackle those potentially belligerent ticket holders who feel entitled to eat, drink, talk, type etc etc etc (as above). A newly employed usher might understandably prefer to stay out of harm‘s way. I am sympathetic and hope staff training helps explain how best to handle these situations.

Copying an important post here to give further publicity to the ongoing problems. As I have suggested repeatedly (see above) these issues should now be raised at board level. Given the astonishing amounts of money one understands have been spent on the website so far, this is a disgrace:—- https://www.balletcoforum.com/topic/19491-new-roh-website/?do=findComment&comment=375313

Keesler

Go. The productions are excellent and Jaho is a wonder.

Glad to see you noticed that performance Lizbie1. Fiona Maddocks in her review in The Observer included Mrs Sedley in a list of those who managed “to be more than caricatures”. Not on the night I went, she wasn’t, when her strutting and gurning was straight out of amdram pantomime. I suspect the director - who overall did a wonderful job teasing good and thoughtful performances out of singers not all of whom are known for their acting ability - just couldn’t get what she wanted from that particular performer. As to wider questions about the production (which I thought was marvellous), some interestingly nuanced comments have come in a review and then a blog from the experienced music critic David Nice: https://www.theartsdesk.com/opera/peter-grimes-royal-opera-review-impressive-not-quite-devastating http://davidnice.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-greatest-grimeses.html

Might I revive this thread? Given the relentlessly awful news at the moment, here is some family entertainment with a Swan Lake theme:-