Geoff

Does anyone happen to have any casting information for this afternoon's R&J, I can't find it? (Apologies for posting twice but it seems there are two similar threads at the moment)

Does anyone happen to have any casting information for this afternoon's R&J, I can't find it?

For those who aren't Friends, the ROH has now published a version of the article online: http://www.roh.org.uk/news/how-choreographer-liam-scarlett-is-reimagining-swan-lake

And she did the General with them today

Apropos my earlier point about seating critics in certain places, see the first story in tonight's Londoner's Diary: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/londoners-diary/londoners-diary-email-drama-stabs-critics-of-new-caesar-a3744571.html

What interesting comments. They have triggered a (not entirely relevant) memory of my time in New York in the 1970s, when I went to the Met all the time but could only afford to stand. Every single performance somebody or other, on their way to a seat in the stalls, asked me to join them as they didn't want their second seat to go to waste. US hospitality and egalitarianism, certainly. And also perhaps a reflection of whatever the rules covering the reselling of subscription tickets were in those days.

I can help answer that, I think, Lizbie1. Critics (tend to) sit in free seats issued by the venue. Needless to say managements always try and allocate the best seats to the most important critics. And for such a specific space and production as this show in the Roundhouse, there may well be (a few) seats which, to be polite, accentuate the positive and, perhaps, subtly downplay some of the weaknesses. The production team and management will be more than aware where such seats are. In other words if there are a small number of seats from which one can see and hear (without amplification) the star Roderick Williams very well, as well as not be too distracted by the band, and which are close enough to experience any movement as dramatic, well that is where I would put critics (as a friend of a number of producers and theatre managers, no names sorry, I speak from a little experience in these matters). Last night I was however sitting in a seat from which one saw - and heard - this production as the majority of the audience would have done. Incidentally there are natural biases created by critics who exhibit favouritism of one kind or another. This does not have to be corrupt or otherwise out of order. I have, for example, some sympathy for the lobby which would tend to want to praise any show by Monteverdi, for fear that bad reviews and poor attendance might mean less of that sort of thing gets put on. Rather more dubious - and this is mainly but not exclusively a problem with films rather than opera - is the pressure critics are under to praise the "local team": in other words, a British film might be overpraised by British critics (just as a French film might be overpraised in France). In music, it is sometimes obvious when a singer is being given an easy time by the critics because they are local. This makes sense for a number of reasons: showbusiness rides to an extent on the impact of reviews, and reviewers are not unaware of their power to help products on their way around the world. Enough. This show is still, as the widow of the late Alan Clark might say, ess aitch one tee.

I am broadly in favour of encouraging people to see things. But I will make an exception for this show: just don't go. And if you already have tickets, try to dispose of them as quickly as possible. Despite Roderick Williams (who, like everyone, is hard to hear) the evening is a stinker. IMHO. Here is a slightly expanded version of the comment I have just tried to leave on the ROH website... Another failed production by the untalented Fulljames. Read the Bachtrack review, that gets this right: https://bachtrack.com/review-monteverdi-ulysses-fulljames-royal-opera-roundhouse-january-2018 We left early.

One ticket available in the Balcony Tuesday evening 16th January: D28: £13.50 Please PM me asap.

Perhaps this has already been discussed in Audience Behaviour but what are people's experiences / opinions of changing seats after a performance begins? I was in the Upper Circle of the Coliseum on Saturday (Song/Sylphide) and in the first interval - ie after Song had finished - I saw a couple go into an empty box, from where they were evicted a short time later by an usher, presumably as they had moved there from other seats. Full disclosure: when standing at ROH I have often slipped into empty seats, and indeed have been encouraged to do so by nearby staff, so it seems this is a crime sometimes but not at others. Are there theatre policies which change from theatre to theatre or is it down to individual staff discretion? At the opera in Vienna the staff policing the stalls all carry plans of the auditorium so they can note empty seats at the start of the performance: anyone moving into one of those seats is immediately identified and told to go back to their paid for seat.

Recently rewatched Tony Palmer's long and remarkable film about Margot Fonteyn. One point repeatedly stressed was her work load, from as soon as she was first a principal. Those speaking in the film say her work ethic variously (i) "carried" the company, (ii) impacted her health (iii) held back other qualified dancers for a generation. In any case this does rather suggest that Fonteyn's (at least) was a rather different work load to those elsewhere in the company.

I am away from my copy of Sondheim's book Fonty so can't answer the question about the interval. But I did see this, from the online gossip site Popbitch, this week:- >>The National Theatre's production of Follies closed last week, after getting incredible reviews. Those who caught it towards the end of the run may have noticed a slight change in the casting of one particular scene though. >>There's a scene which sees Buddy chasing two women around the stage in a fevered little fantasy as he sings the God-Why-Don't-You-Love-Me Blues. In a little British twist though, the 'women' were actually men dressed and styled as panto dames. >>It seems Stephen Sondheim saw the live cast and wasn’t impressed by the inclusion of the dames, so told the director to change it. Lawyers were even mentioned. Needless to say, the change got made.

Fonty, I am so pleased you posted: I have to admit I have been looking forward to your thoughts! Most interesting. My offhand remark on the wonderful Imelda Staunton was not important: as someone who worked with showgirls in the US for a while, it was her height I was commenting on, sorry I hadn't made that clear (her character would have been disqualified from being cast all those years ago, whatever the rights and wrongs, as those shows were - and still are - "heightist").

Many thanks. And in which case, maybe an admin could change the heading to "end of January" or such like?

Hi Michelle, just about to send you a PM!

SheilaC, might you clarify the exact Twitter link? The clickable one goes to an account which has been dormant for nearly ten years - and adding str doesn't help much. I understand that there won't be a YouTube link until the night but surely the Twitter link should work now: what am I doing wrong?

I hope the moderators forgive this repost: as it seems the link only works in Austria, it seems to make sense to post this here.

Oh, what a shame. Maybe SwissBalletFan can work his technical magic...

No idea if this link will work outside German-speaking countries - hope it does - but I post it anyway as there are only a few hours left to watch the Viennese ballet do two numbers in this year's New Year concert: http://tvthek.orf.at/profile/Neujahrskonzert-der-Wiener-Philharmoniker-2018/13886723/Neujahrskonzert-der-Wiener-Philharmoniker-2018/13958145 The sections begin at 21 and 59 minutes into this second half respectively, and are, depending on your point of view, either lovely, hilarious, camp or some uniquely Viennese mixture. My main reaction is amazement: I remember the televised New Year concerts from Vienna having ballet sections exactly like this over 40 years ago (but *exactly* like this, which is what one might call tradition). The only difference is that 40 years ago they couldn't dance very well, for reasons I have discussed in other posts. In any case it is great to see Muti conducting (how long is it since he last came to Covent Garden?) Enjoy this while it lasts, if you can make the link work that is. Everyone involved is credited at the end.

Thank you! And did you spot the misprint Bluebird? Knowing you, I bet you have!

Indeed. And some of those posting on the ballet page write about opera, and some of those posting on the equivalent opera page write about ballet! It is a little worrying when one hears how much importance Covent Garden management place on the comments. As to live screenings, this is, if I may be so bold as to suggest, an even greater problem with opera screenings, where the public can actually be misled (a voice that is not quite the thing when heard live can sound wonderful miked up, particularly if accompanied by a compelling "close up" onscreen acting performance) and I added a comment to the relevant page to make this point. I would be interested to know if people feel the same is possible with ballet, ie great onscreen but not so hot if you were in the theatre? (PS Just checked back and found to my great embarrassment that on the ballet page I wrote Diamonds when I meant Emeralds. Pity Covent Garden doesn't allow for comment editing as such a senior moment gives quite a different impression of the point I wanted to make about the corps. Well, as my old form teacher used to say, must try harder. Sorry.)

Not sure what you are saying Alison. If you might like actually to look at the relevant webpages, rather than just relying on your (faulty) memory, they both clearly say Sadlers Wells but the same pages also say, respectively: * Venue Royal Albert Hall, London * Veranstaltungsort, Royal Albert Hall, London This confusion was pointed out by Yumiko a day ago and, just because you haven't looked at the pages carefully enough yourself, does not mean there is not a muddle. As I wrote, I suspect you will turn out to be right, in that the shows will probably be at Sadlers Wells, but Yumiko was also not wrong in her original observation that the website is confusing. All clear now?

Others have been confused by it also saying the Albert Hall...on the same pages (bottom right)!

Well, given the dodgy quality of the Semperoper website (see my previous posts above) I think this could be a mistake and actually they may be going to Sadler's Wells after all. Nothing on the Wells or the Albert Hall websites at present, so this is just a (totally uninformed) guess!

But for whatever reason that link doesn't work now. Try this one: https://www.semperoper.de/spielplan/stuecke/stid/gastpiel-london/61190.html#a_26195