Geoff

What did people think of this show (which thankfully was filmed and will, it was said, going to be on YouTube in a few weeks)? From another thread, hope ok to copy across to a new thread: >>Highlights for me were Ball's Fisherman solo and the striking Hamlet with Bracewell and Hayward - looking forward to their Swan Lake.

Having now made contact I am happy to confirm that this team is very professional, including offering protection to those who feel the need to speak anonymously / confidentially / securely.

Thank you Luke. Do you have any idea as to what time frame is meant by “historical”? There is a notorious WL case which some of us worried about for years, but it relates to events several decades ago.

Given the excitement around Alessandra Ferri when she was last at ROH, I wondered why no one has commented on this show as yet (press night was last night)?

Ah yes. The old trick of blaming the consumer. This drives me crazy. What you were told may (but only may) be one possible explanation but what this really says is, don’t blame the web team: it’s not their fault for making something complicated / incompetently / wrongly, but our fault for not handling their failing system correctly. Whenever we get told there is nothing wrong with the ROH website, booking and online systems, always worth writing back to say that anyone who has been around these last few years has noticed otherwise. By the way, the ROH website collapsed yesterday and was not up again when I checked earlier today. No doubt that was our fault too, perhaps someone was trying to book tickets.

Just to say, I have only just noticed that there are lots of the better Upper Slips seats for sale for the performance of Traviata, at the relatively unusual (but potentially appealing) time of 12.30pm on Saturday 6 November 2021. I wouldn’t normally comment on a repertoire show many of us will have seen lots of times, but this cast: Oropesa!!! Christian Gerhaher!!!!! Or else this is all yet another mistake by the clunky website and the tickets aren’t really for sale. Which would be a pity.

Just to say, you presumably noticed this parallel discussion (making points perhaps relevant to your situation):

You betcha. Whether a school is privately run (as vocational schools are) or not, you can find yourself thinking you are in a dialogue with a school, when in fact what it is being said to you is based on drafting by lawyers, working with insurers. So sorry for your experience. Stay alert; keep written records (like diary notes of meetings and what eg your child tells you); keep copies of everything you send and which is sent to you; and don't let yourself be fobbed off. Not every school - whatever it says on the website - has entered the 21st century when it comes to pastoral care.

Wonderful replies, thank you all. Might I add a performance not mentioned so far, her Mary Vetsera in Mayerling with Edward Watson (2017)? I am lucky enough to have seen not only the first cast of this ballet but also, several times, the heart-stopping pairing of Durante and Mukhamedov (a favourite we know of MacMillan himself, thankfully captured on video). But what Osipova wrenched from the role left the audience shocked, breathless, in my case shaking and with, rather than a memory I can put in words, a physical sense of being there that is still with me. A once in a lifetime experience.

Anyone who gets this ticket is a very lucky person, this is a tremendous show. I would take it but already have a ticket. Contrary to what the website suggests, there are no tickets left. If no one comes forward I suggest that under these exceptional circumstances you could email the box office and say would they take the ticket without applying the now stupidly high charge.

Given a slow steady drip of less than positive comments here about the extraordinary RB dancer Osipova I thought it might be an idea to balance things out with a thread celebrating her work. Some less than world class RB talents have been gushingly praised here rather beyond their due (no names, of course, and imho only) - so this seems fair. When Osipova first appeared as a guest in London I thought the theatre might collapse, so thunderingly enthusiastic was the response of the public. So when Kevin O’Hare secured her for the company it felt like Covent Garden had achieved an international coup. But over the years since the response has been increasingly mixed. She has had some bad luck, suffering a number of injuries and seemingly having trouble finding the right partners. And not all the work built around her - Strapless, anyone? that dull documentary? - has seemed to suit her remarkable gifts. But her public has remained loyal, and by all accounts her performances over the last year have at least matched those of the past. As evidence of this I recommend the review of her recent performances in Russia, as described in an ecstatic article in The Dancing Times (April this year) by Igor Stupnikov. So perhaps this might be a nice place to honour her work - any specially good memories, anyone? - and I for one give thanks to the Royal Ballet that we still have this once in a generation phenomenon in the company.

(This request just appeared on another discussion board, maybe it is of interest) Hello,I am an independent Canadian producer/director and am making adocumentary about the dancer/choreographer/painter Christian Holderwith Christian’s co-operation and support. I am enquiring if there isany dance footage featuring Christian Holder in your archivalfiles/data base. I would very much appreciate any help you are ableto give me with this.Many thanks and best regards,Brigitte BermanProducer/DirectorBridge Film Productions Inc. bberman@ca.inter.net

Her Instagram feed suggests that in the spring she had a baby girl called Vera.

For those who use Ebay, just to say that some copies have been popping up there.

The Friends office confirmed that although the site worked fine last week, this morning it unfortunately locked “a number of people” out for about twenty minutes (ie they couldn’t start booking until 9.20am). From the other accounts above, I suspect interrelating issues triggered various problems. Wonder if the Brighton (?) company is still responsible. I am not surprised to hear there are still some problems with the website, they have only had a year or so of lockdown to fix things.

Is it in order to post a rather delayed note that ENB bookings (for example for the Coliseum Christmas Nutcracker and Raymonda) have opened? I was tipped off by a friend, as I didn't see any of the usual alerts.

I see I was unclear. Apologies everyone, the article I linked to makes it possible to watch the ballet for free.

The classical music site Slipped Disc has a short article drawing attention to a Bolshoi rarity, now available to watch: https://slippedisc.com/2021/07/ruth-leon-recommends-the-bolt-bolshoi-ballet-shostakovich/

Yes! And nice to see some ballet casting printed in the magazine (how long has it been since this was last the case?) However this may have meant them producing it in something of a rush, as there are a couple of potentially confusing omissions: p.66 - Romeo & Juliet - the last column should I assume be headed "January" (so that it begins with Osipova/Clarke dancing on January 10 and so on) p.71 - Giselle - similarly the middle column should be headed "November" (so starting with Osipova/Clarke on November 4) It is easy enough to work out what is meant (and to crosscheck online) but just a warning for people in a hurry.

And in the rain too! What is this?

+1 (can’t be said often enough that usually ROH musical standards are on par with the quality of the dancing but that has not been the case with the current pianist in that repertoire). As to Hip Hop, I fear that the views expressed here (which I agree with) will be quickly disregarded by RB/ROH management. Any such sentiments - including those in Gerald Fowler’s article - can be simply swept away as “out of touch”, “backward looking”, “stuck in the past” or whatever. The tension between tradition and innovation exists in all art forms but the ROH seems determined not to challenge the leaden Maoism promoted by the current Arts Council (who are its significant paymasters). After all it was not so long ago that both the ROH’s head of marketing and its own chairman said they supported a policy of clearing out us regulars to make room for “new audiences”. Is it time for a Campaign For Real Ballet, perhaps?

News just in:

This is a most informative and useful discussion, and I add my voice to those calling for more Ashton on stage. Might I ask of those who have experience of the RBS or other ballet schools, the extent to which current training priorities could have something to do with the apparent slackening of interest in performing Ashton? In plain English, despite us being repeatedly told how much "better" today's dancers are, maybe they are now not all quite so good at Ashton? I was prompted to ask this by Julie Cronshaw's recent film about Cecchetti, which she has made available for free on YouTube (and so I hope it is allowed to link to it):

The Times covered this but a fuller account has been published by the New York Times (also behind a paywall but not too difficult to deal with): https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/18/arts/dance/natalia-osipova-mikhailovsky-feud.html

And very interesting they are too Bluebird, many thanks! Any idea what the grey ones are? Although seats are not yet for sale, it seems these are marked as either already sold or as not to be sold? Or have I misunderstood?