Geoff

One of the most unpleasant experiences I have ever had in an opera house was when the wonderful Jaho was trying to sing Violetta but the (formerly wonderful now well past it) Domingo insisted on making horrible sounds at the same time. Compared to that, a nice evening with Kurzak should be fine.

I fervently hope that being relieved of creating-new-ballet duty frees Scarlett up to spend more time working on revising his Swan Lake. There was enough dodgy and/or non-existent stagecraft in that show, despite gorgeous designs, to warrant taking a good hard look at the production before throwing it back on to the stage.

Indeed. However it is unclear from the outside how important cash takings at the box office are to the ROH compared to pleasing the Arts Council with its Maoist metrics. From that perspective, the two “new” people who take the seats ninamargaret does not buy may be preferable to having her sitting there again. A win for politics, if not for the immediate bottom line. At least I think that is the theory as we discovered it.

If one is a disciple of the now sadly departed ROH honcho Lucy Sinclair, one will presumably be arguing that this proves her new policy is working: the old, white middle-class “wrong” audience, who used to buy multiple tickets far too soon and thus prevented others from getting in, have now at last been frightened off. The result, so runs their argument, is lots of lovely empty seats to be bought nearer the time by Arts-Council-pleasing “new” audiences, too new to mind about “new” prices. Success: as Private Eye might say, trebles all round. However, let’s see if there is urgent discounting nearer the time, in which case the great Lucy plan might look more like cutting off your nose to spite your face. Incidentally - sorry to go on but I am still so cross about all this - I see no evidence that the brilliant Lucy and her creatures in that consultancy factored in the long-term value to ROH of older, loyal, visitors, in terms of intangible but nonetheless real support, such as, ahem, building “new” audiences (eg introducing children and grandchildren).

Yes maybe but there are other possible explanations. See other discussions on the Forum about the new “dynamic” (higher) prices: it could be that as a result fewer people are trying for tickets (or at least not trying for so many tickets) and that has reduced the pressure.

At the risk of labouring the point, consider how often we see a Petipa variation beginning with a dancer standing still on stage, nothing in their head (no "text"), just waiting for the music to get to the point when they can "start to dance". Petipa was a genius who worked in great detail with Tchaikovsky to get the music just so: he simply would not have tolerated a succession of such "meaningless" stage waits. Performances that are in touch with the original intentions of those who created the ballet flow so much better.

This is a great question JNC and one which (I would argue) happens to be of special importance to the performance of Sleeping Beauty. Yes we have discussed this before in various ways but that doesn’t mean one shouldn’t look at it again. By way of illustration, there are many reasons people might find Sleeping Beauty “boring”: a lack of pace is an easy one to check. I went through a whole lot of recordings - official and unofficial - tracing the history of RB performances over more than 50 years. Guess what: the oft-stated view that “dancers are of course so much better these days” just doesn’t stand up. The reality is that there is an excitement about the recordings from the 1940s and 1950s which slackens off as the years pass (things are still ok in 1978 but then there are increasing problems). For a while RB conductors (eg Russian guest conductors) ignored Tchaikovsky’s clear tempo markings and indulged dancers who wanted to dance with (Macmillan-inflected?) “posing” and “emoting” emphases which slow things down considerably and which go against the intention of the choreography. Add a lack of understanding of the “text” of the choreography (ie not just classical steps performed as in class) and it is no wonder the experience can end up feeling rather empty: the ballet risks becoming, literally, “meaningless”, without meaning. Those who were privileged to watch the incomparable Beryl Grey take over a Lilac Fairy rehearsal during an Insight evening - showing up not just the poor dancer but also her ballet mistress as not having the first idea of what the variation is “about” - can attest to the importance of dancing the intention as well as the steps. There is much more to say: thank you for getting me thinking.

Fish dive, there are some lovely books which will help and which are better than the one you have (Joan Lawson’s Principles of Classical Dance for basics and Ivor Guest, Cyril Beaumont and Jennifer Homans for history). Most are not in print though so best go to the library. There are also probably useful videos on YouTube so hope some recommendations might come your way from other Forum members. Sadly I can’t help re Leeds, except to point you to a wonderful opera (off topic I know). This tremendous though sadly underperformed work is about to be performed in Leeds and you are very lucky indeed to be able to have the chance to get to see it: https://www.operanorth.co.uk/whats-on/the-greek-passion/

Was this maybe the time they were with the Mikhailovsky? They visited the Coliseum with that company.

Thanks Ian. Not sure how convincing my post was however, given that (among lesser typos) I mispelled Ross Stretton’s name throughout! Apologies.

Thank you for the reminder. However the way you phrased it has made things rather confusing. To explain: * The law of libel (which you cite) is clear. It says that one cannot libel the dead. As you point out, Mr Stratton is dead and so he cannot be libelled. I am legally free to say anything I want about Ross Stratton, whether true or not, malicious or not, likely or not to cause him (or rather his posthumous reputation) serious harm. And this is the case whether or not I use a pseudonym. * If however one makes remarks about the living - such as for example some of Stratton’s colleagues or employers - there is a possibility that one may libel them, which could in turn cause problems both for the writer and for the forum which publishes them. * And then there are the separate rules of this discussion forum itself, self-imposed rules which (it can be argued) are arbitrary, inconsistent, even perhaps somewhat unnecessary. However they are the rules we accept when joining the forum and are no doubt one reason why this place is (usually) a civilised way to spend time. * For example, the diffuse and contestable values of fairness and niceness (not enshrined in any legal framework of which I am aware) are taken seriously on this forum. Hence your arguing that Mr Stratton is “in no position to defend himself” which, though a null comment when seen from the perspective of the law of libel to which you refer, is an appeal to the entirely separate values of this forum, as (usually sensibly) adjudicated by the moderators. * On the other hand, the ethic of “free speech” (within the law) is also taken seriously on this forum, so one should not hold back from (for example) calling Mr Stratton an abuser of his professional power if that is how one understands the situation to have been. * The rules of Wikipedia are different again, neither the same as the law of libel nor the rules of this forum. It’s rather complicated but broadly Wikipedia is heavily dependent on statements drawn from what its community judge to be authoritative secondary sources (eg an article in The Guardian is taken seriously by Wikipedia, whereas what some person told another person is not). * Finally, just in case my attempt at clarity might be thought to be some kind a criticism of the moderators of this forum (or of the rules of the forum itself), it isn’t. The volunteers who look after us here do a magnificent job (unpaid) which takes up a lot of their time. They are always to be thanked, even when one can’t always agree on everything.

English National Ballet School is delighted to announce that internationally celebrated Viviana Durante has been appointed as its new Director of Dance for the 2019/2020 academic year, commencing September 2019. Italian born Durante has enjoyed a distinguished career as principal dancer of The Royal Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Teatro alla Scala and K-Ballet, she has won multiple awards, danced many major roles, originated new work, and is largely considered one of the greatest ballerinas of her generation. Founded in 1988 by English National Ballet to train students for a professional career in dance, English National Ballet School now has a body of close to 100 students from 12 countries and is a peer of major ballet schools all over the world. As Director of Dance, Durante will oversee the classical and contemporary syllabus of dance and have a creative input into the student’s development throughout the 2019/2020 academic year, an exciting moment for ENBS as it celebrates its 30th anniversary and moves to brand new premises on London City Island. Viviana Durante said: I am thrilled to be taking up the role of interim Director of Dance at this pivotal point in the School’s history. ENBS has a proud tradition of excellence and achievement on which to continue building. Standards are very high, and we expect a great deal from our talented students. In turn we owe them the best possible training, pastoral care and career opportunities to enable them to realise their full potential. A dancer’s career has many challenges as well as many rewards, and it can take many paths. I am passionate about treating each student as an individual and creating a secure, positive and supportive environment in which all can flourish as intelligent artists and rounded young people. Steve Sacks, Chairman of English National Ballet School said: On behalf of the Board, I am delighted to welcome Viviana as our new Director of Dance for the 2019/2020 school year, working alongside the Executive Director Jon Singleton. Her deep knowledge of ballet and standing in the ballet world will be a tremendous addition to the School and to the students. We are excited that she will be joining us as we move to our new home in London City Island. Viviana Durante is appointed as English National Ballet School’s interim Director of Dance for the 2019/2020 academic year. Once ENBS is settled into its new home this autumn, recruitment will continue to fill the role, and others, on a more permanent basis.

Just received an email aimed at Friends. The relevant section reads: >>We’re aware that some Friends have experienced issues with buying tickets online in this priority booking period; we are sorry for the inconvenience caused and are working to resolve the issue. To give yourself the best chance of buying tickets quickly, Friends are advised to avoid refreshing the rehearsals page or attempting to buy tickets before booking opens at 9am. Simply go to the website after 9am, ensuring you are logged into your account, and then click the buy buttons without refreshing. You'll then be taken to select your seats as usual. Oh, so now we understand: ROH have spent months, maybe years, redesigning (and so they boast, testing) their new website - but then we, the paying customers, just won't use it right. Naughty us for trying to use the internet and online purchasing as works elsewhere. Definitely nothing to do with lousy design, testing, implementation, maintenance or monitoring, and certainly nothing to do with the quality of ROH staff (paid by the tax payers' purse). Is it me or does this fall into the category of blaming the customer?

I paid £24 for one this morning!

FOR THE ATTENTION OF ALL FRIENDS OF COVENT GARDEN (WE MIGHT ASK WHETHER WE WANT TO GO ON BEING FRIENDS, THE WAY THE ROH TREATS US) For those Friends who are currently trying to buy rehearsal tickets (9.15am on the morning booking opens) please note that ***yet again*** there is a warning alert that purchasing tickets has been suspended for technical reasons. This is only on (so far as I can see) one of the website pages so if you are desperately refreshing elsewhere you won't see it. How many times does this have to happen before the various teams involved are replaced with people who can commission, maintain and run online ticketing systems professionally?

How frustrating. Just because ROH people (perhaps) understand what is going on, that does not mean they have made things clear to those who actually use the system. Might I suggest you both write to CustomerServices@roh.org.uk (the more information they have about what is not working, the greater the chance that they might just do something)

Beryl, thank you: you seem to be the only person to suggest Osipova worth watching. There is something of an unbalanced impression so far - Osipova is a truly miraculous dance actress - so I would like to add my vote.

This seems a useful note for you to send to CustomerServices@roh.org.uk

Just to be clear ninamargaret, by “extreme side stalls circle”, you don’t by any chance mean the fabled seats we used to buy? The ones on the far sides of the Stalls Circle we could buy before the noise of the orchestra became an issue and a curtain (usually) is drawn over these two areas, only for those seats (sometimes, rarely) to be released shortly before - or even sometimes during - a run of a “quiet” show.

Today is the first day of Friends+ booking. As reported elsewhere on the Forum, the system crashed just before 9am. By 9.10 obscure error messages about the cache were appearing; 9.20 the ROH put up a general warning that no one can buy tickets at the moment. Half an hour in to this season’s booking period and everything has frozen. Is this in any way acceptable? Who is (finally) going to be fired or will the masons of Bow Street keep on protecting the status quo? Just asking.

I used to believe ROH staff kept an eye on what was written here. Now I am not so sure: we warned weeks ago that this particular season would place extraordinary pressure on their booking system. And what did they do?

Just to add, in case people draw wrong conclusions from this discussion, these packages can only be booked from the same dates as other ("normal") bookings. The advantages are the discounts, not any lead on booking dates.

This recent half hour interview has just popped up on YouTube (in some ways more interesting than the cinema/Sky film, in my opinion)

One highlight from a Friends email just received:-- >>the Box Office has moved back into our Ground Floor Foyer, alongside the cafe. Have not yet tried this in the new location: do they have enough room to deal with everybody and everything?

I hope I may be forgiven for posting this separately from the new dvd list as this is a rather different kind of production (I heard that copies have already turned up in the shop, can anyone confirm?)--- https://shop.roh.org.uk/products/the-enrico-cecchetti-diploma-dvd-bluray Given the importance some of us place on Cecchetti, this significant record of what was taught at White Lodge for decades is very welcome. Hope those with specialist knowledge will post about it; I for one would like to know more.