Geoff

This free event might be of interest to someone:-

 

https://www.list.co.uk/event/698351-katie-mitchell-visiting-professor-of-opera-acting-handel-how-to-bring-the-da-capo-aria-to-life/

Those entrechats: of course there is the question of authenticity, if only to the intentions of this production. But if you do them as well as Corrales delivered last night, I found that they actually make some kind of narrative sense (ie not showing off but somehow expressive of the dance-till-you-die, what-am-I-going-to-do-I-love-her-but-shes-dead, they-all-want-to-kill-me crisis Albrecht is in at the end) Never felt that before, so perhaps this is an example of the power of dance. Imho.

For those in the UK who have not yet watched this film, I see there is now just a week left to catch it on the Iplayer-

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b086tw3n

Other choice Coli episodes this week

Balcony specials last night included a particularly loud and persistent crackly sweet (?) bag, which I managed to stare down in Act 1 but which had a noisy encore in Act 2 (why can't people work out that going REALLY SLOWLY into a cellophane bag, trying oh so hard not to make any sound, just prolongs the sound over a much longer period and isn't any quieter?)

 

Then there was a woman in Row C? who had a bottle of water in her handbag. Unzip the bag, unscrew the bottle, gulp water, screw top back on, put back in bag, wait a couple of minutes and then repeat. And repeat and repeat, including in the very last two minutes of the ballet. Until that point I was trying hard to be charitable (maybe suffering from terrible tickle in the throat or whatever, see posts passim) but her behaviour at the end revealed it was just a nervous habit. V distracting for those around, if you happen to be reading this by the way, somehow surprised no one snatched your comfort nipple away.

 

There is a theory, proposed to me by the leader of an internationally famous string quartet (who tells me the distraction produced by thoughtless members of the public is far worse for performers than for the audience). He believes that performances arose unconscious resentment in members of the public, who then assert their own presence in unconstructive ways ("I am here too, you know", sort of thing). Well, it's a theory.

I just noticed, some tickets for this sold out Insight evening have come free. Hope that is useful to someone.

I was invited to give a talk at Liverpool Hope a year ago and met some staff several times over a period of a month or so. It used to be a Catholic teacher training establishment and has been trying to make the transition to more general higher education. For how well it is succeeding at this, you might like to check league tables etc. You need have no fears about a non-religious son feeling like a fish out of water.

 

Hope that helps. I will send you a PM with more information.

I certainly didn't get any impression of the programme makers trying to establish a rivalry of any sort.

Fonty, that is not actually what I wrote (which I tried to word quite carefully but that seems to have failed) If you reread my comment you will see the word "careers" at the centre of the suggestion, in other words a view formed after the two of them had careers (therefore retrospectively, with hindsight). It was not an observation about what the numerous people involved in the film may have thought they were doing at the time, rather a comment about what some have felt were the longer term consequences.

 

I shouldn't say any more, partly as the overall subject seems rather to have exhausted itself, partly as I am relying on private information which I don't want to go into detail about, and partly as what I write seems all too easily misunderstood.

Thanks to everyone who added comments to my enquiry from months ago. This week I finally saw a three-act Raymonda, in Vienna, a Nureyev production from the 1980s:

 

https://www.wiener-staatsoper.at/en/season-tickets/detail/event/965108779-raymonda/

 

I much enjoyed it all: unlike those who felt the best bits are in the last act, this version seemed to spread the treats out across the whole evening. But this Vienna version dates from 1985, which is over twenty years since Nureyev first did a production of Raymonda (in Spoleto) so no doubt there were changes over the years.

 

All in all I loved the ballet, though found myself, and not just out of patriotic loyalty, often wishing I was watching (say) the RB or the ENB. My summary would be: everyone did well but most could have done better.

 

I had the benefit of sharing a stage box with a local regular (easy to recognise as she arrived armed with a flower throw) and during the evening she shared her experience. Konovalova was clearly having an off night as well as suffering from some bad luck: I was informed she is usually far better. An undignified fall in the first act was followed by various wobbles and stumbles (and scarf issues), as well as her being the victim of some weak partnering.

 

All the other roles were well taken, the Italian Alice Firenze (playing one of Raymonda’s two girlfriends) particularly catching the eye with neat, focussed and musical dancing. I am happy to report that local boy, James Stephens, exRBS, did just fine.

 

Three acts went by fast enough, I didn’t sense it dragging as some had warned: I loved the gorgeous costumes (Nicholas Georgiadis) but unlike the recent Anastasia did not find myself looking at the costumes rather than the dancing. The sets were nothing special, rather tired and old-fashioned, so for those imaging a UK transfer, maybe a black box staging using those costumes and some good lighting. There might still be a problem these days though: the “baddy”, the Saracen prince Abderachman, could trigger a fair amount of discussion, as he is clearly presented as a Muslim (his court carry crescent moon banners) and is undoubtedly a wicked character, only brought on to be defeated by the crusader forces of good. Not so politically correct these days, perhaps, though in an odd way topical.

 

The wonderful score was beautifully and skilfully played by the Vienna Philharmonic, fresh from New Years’ concerts. In describing their luxurious sound (which I yearned for during much of the recent ROH Rosenkavalier) I wanted to single out the luminous and powerful string sound; then found myself wanting to draw attention to the fabulous brass sound; then the perfect woodwind, not forgetting brilliant solo playing: you get the picture, this is a very classy band, ably conducted by American guest Kevin Rhodes (why not invite him to the RB, on this week’s showing I think he would be a great asset and much appreciated by both dancers and an audience that wants to hear music played a tempo?)

 

The auditorium thinned out a bit after each interval (perhaps the house was full of tourists only in for a quick look see or perhaps the plot encourages early departure?) but the crowd at the end was enthusiastic. The Moldavian Mihail Sosnovschi, dancing the Saracen for the first time, received an exceptional flower throw and we left happy.

 

For those who might like to compare, here – as already posted elsewhere – is a link to a complete recording of this company dancing Corsaire last year (they look better than on the Raymonda evening I experienced):

 

http://www.arte.tv/guide/fr/065868-000-A/le-corsaire

some feel Yasmine has not been given a fair share of the limelight. And there may be some who think both FH and YN have received more than their fair share compared with their contemporaries.

I have tried to stay out of this discussion but it strikes me that a comment from my professional experience might possibly add something. Without knowing anything about the actual circumstances behind the making of the Nutcracker documentary (which seems to be where this discussion originated) I can say with some confidence that every single member of the company - and at RBS - will have been given a formal, legal opportunity to "opt out". Not everyone wants to be featured in a documentary, for any number of reasons, and the company management will have had to process paperwork for each and every person who appears and who doesn't appear.

 

This says nothing about subsequent decisions taken in the filming and then the cutting room with regard to who receives how much screen time, but one should not assume that everyone involved has been pushing to appear for as much as possible.

 

Moving to a historical comparison, who remembers the South Bank Show which featured both Darcey Bussell and Viviana Durante at the RBS (this film was itself not a straightforward production, in fact there were two directors credited, usually a sign of trouble of one kind or another)? There are those that say this film set those two dancers careers up in opposition - "rivalry"? - and that this narrative barely changed from then on.

Well, it seems a correction is in order. I took the cast list from Arte's own website, yet several dancers didn't seem to be right so I just spun to the end credits and the cast is indeed mostly different to the list I posted (I have taken a screen shot of the closing roller but can't figure out how to paste it here, sorry).

No idea which countries the link works in, nor how long this will stay up, but I have just watched some of this 2016 recording of The Corsaire (with a pretty fab cast) and all seems ok at the moment:-

 

Liudmila Konovalova (Médora)

Vadim Muntagirov (Conrad)

Natascha Mair (Gulnare)

Francesco Costa (Lanquedem)

Davide Dato (Birbanto)

Alice Firenze (Zulméa)

Mihail Sosnovschi (Seyd Pascha)

 

Click here: http://www.arte.tv/guide/fr/065868-000-A/le-corsaire

Bit disappointed not to see any reviews of this documentary so just searched online. Google has thrown up this interesting piece, published yesterday, notable for a number of stills from the archive used in the film:-

 

http://www.illuminationsmedia.co.uk/the-wright-stuff/

 

Apparently The Ballet Master can still be watched on IPlayer for another couple of weeks.

(By the way, having worked for 20 years as a Film Editor, using archive material that had to be paid for by the second if it wasn't the property of the BBC, it might help explain why there are so many shots of presenters walking, etc.

 

I did notice on the credits for the Peter Wright documentary there was an Intellectual Property Lawyer listed. It is the first time I have seen this on a ballet film, but with so many different clips it is not surprising.

Cavycapers is indeed correct: the cost of showing a few seconds archive film on network television can be prohibitive. This has led to the expansion of what is variously called Fair Use or Fair Dealing, which essentially relies on the legal right to quote from copyright works for eg the purposes of review. A lawyer checks that the commentary supports the fair use of the clip, and also that the length of the (in such a case) free clip is not excessive.

 

Many contemporary documentaries - including some of those shown over Christmas and discussed on the Forum - rely heavily on Fair Use, indeed otherwise they would probably not have been made, or at least not in the form we have been able to enjoy. Sometimes a few seconds of archive will be all that is possible, but better than nothing I suppose.

(As already posted on the ROH page)

 

Runner up: Yoncheva in Norma (despite the weaknesses of the production). Winner: Jaho in Suor Angelica (despite a revival). Turkey of the year: L'Étoile (even worse than Lucia, which is saying something).

I feel for you standing Alison (isn't Rosenkavalier actually longer than Loyengrin?) And very sad to hear you had some bored patches at your first Rosenkavalier, the piece (when it works) should knock one out the first time one sees it. But given my own reactions, I am not entirely surprised. Here are a couple of thoughts.

 

First, contrasting critics (if only to make the point that people have had very different responses):-

 

http://www.theartsdesk.com/opera/der-rosenkavalier-royal-opera-0

 

http://boulezian.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/der-rosenkavalier-royal-opera-17.html

 

What about me? Well, whisper who dares I am decreasingly interested in Renee Fleming, so when the only date I could manage was the second cast, I didn't mind (although Nr 2 Marschallin did not impress at the Insight evening) As luck would have it I found myself sitting next to an occasional writer on opera and his wife, who had seen the other cast, so they could compare and contrast with authority.

 

I thought that musically it was good in parts, rather than overwhelming (which is a pity, as when it works, Rosenkavalier is overwhelming). Overall the orchestra delivered a better third act then either of the other two, very odd this. In Vienna, where I could see Rosenkavalier a lot, and very cheaply, I sometimes left before Act 3, indeed once even before Act 2, not because the performances weren't good but because I didn't need more than the masterpiece that is Act 1. But at ROH Acts 1 and 2 both had problems whereas Act 3 sounded wonderful, as well as most illuminating: Nelsons (who gave us a magnificent Elektra not long ago) found the Beethovian flourish in Act 3 repeatedly interesting, which was actually fine; delivered a truly symphonic opening (the opening of Act 3 is often actually rather dull); and, perhaps most intriguing, discovered some Mahlerian yiddling around the Marschallin's dismissal of Ochs.

 

As to the singers, Matthew Rose did really very well indeed, although the Sophie was perhaps the most finished of the cast (surprising really as I don't think of Bevan in the top world league but she sounded like she is now, in fact I have rarely heard that thankless part better sung). B Marschallin was better than I feared after the Insight evening (but not overwhelming); the Octavian distractingly small in height (rather like Tom Cruise doing it, why would a socially powerful 35-year old choose a sixth former half her size as her lover?) who sang, so said my neighbours, better than Alice Coote. Overall I am not with Mark Berry on the diction: perhaps my hearing is going (there are other indications) but I found most of the cast indistinct, a pity given this most literate of libretti (the surtitles were remarkably good, though, a delight to read as well as accurate).

 

The amphitheatre audience coughed like uninterested hicks, as if they were barely listening, but everyone cheered at the end as if it had been a great event (it was better than the A cast, my neighbours said). Yet somehow it didn't leave me with the feeling one should have. That overwhelming thing again. Perhaps the piece really does need a commanding Marschallin rather than the lead from a US tv drama. I might go back this month, just to listen.

WORST

Wheeldon's - Strapless

Acosta - Carmen

That's funny, seems I am not the only one unable to forget the awful Carmen. It was actually in 2015 but flashbacks kept popping up, like memories of a bad dream, during 2016. So, yes, somehow it was one of the worst of 2016 too.

I hope you get the chance to see a traditional production as well Alison (or perhaps just a DVD of one). Rosenkavalier is such a subtle, well thought through and modern piece it just needs putting on to work: Strauss knew what he was doing by only granting the rights to companies which undertook to reproduce the original designs, for example.

 

Carsen's show is intelligent but imho not always usefully so (I also have some problems on the musical front but you didn't ask about that). Carsen doesn't kill the work but his ideas don't for me add as much as they distract. But maybe they work well for a first timer, what did you think?

For those who have yet to see this competition (and the already submitted comments):-

 

http://www.roh.org.uk/news/what-is-your-royal-opera-highlight-of-2016

For those who haven't already seen the competition (and the already submitted comments):-

 

http://www.roh.org.uk/news/what-is-your-royal-ballet-highlight-of-2016

Really object to the inference that they are antisocial,

Apologies for any misunderstanding: obviously hearing aids are not antisocial. But the making of loud, persistent and high-pitched whistling sounds during someone's performance is surely fairly described as antisocial, and that is what I meant, sorry if this wasn't clear. In any case many thanks for the technical information, very useful.

I am getting to the stage in life when a hearing aid might become necessary. As someone who has suffered from sitting in audiences trying to listen to music while a hearing aid goes on and on and on, might I enquire what the options are? Can they always be adjusted so they don't disturb other people or is it more a matter of on or off?

 

For those who don't know, there was a notable event at the Wigmore Hall just before Christmas (this venue is something of a holy of holys when it comes to listening to music, while at the same time attracting an audience tilted, shall we say, to the hearing aid generation). The heavenly pianist Pietmontesi was playing an all Mozart programme. I report via a friend who attended (but the circumstances were such that the hearing aid was mentioned by reviewers).

 

The rogue hearing aid made such a fierce and sustained racket during the first half that everything had to stop. The Director of the Wigmore Hall himself came on to the stage to try and identify the source of the noise. To no avail. The stubborn sound could not be located and the faulty (?) apparatus could not be fixed. And so the poor pianist simply could not go on playing and the concert was halted. After an early interval - the talk was all about hearing aids, of course - the recital restarted, thankfully peacefully. Perhaps the machinery was fixed/adjusted or perhaps the wearer left.

 

It would be most interesting to hear from those with practical knowledge of how hearing aids work, as this seems an extremely antisocial piece of equipment. Thinking back over a lifetime of piano recitals, some players would not just have stopped playing but might not have returned to the platform.

During my time working - in Sir John Tooley's long and illustrious era - at the Royal Opera House I was taken aside by an older and more experienced member of staff, who explained that as I was not a Freemason I would have to reconcile myself to never getting serious promotion "at the House". I am not suggesting such factors played any part in the non-appointment of Sir Peter Wright but it was a good lesson for me as a young man to learn that not all advancement in life is due to merit alone.

 

As to Sir Peter I believe the Royal Ballet board at the time were influenced by some less than wholly relevant considerations. Pity. Maybe one day a serious historian will be given access to the relevant board minutes or other contemporaneous records.

For those who haven't heard, Meyer has been fired (despite a near 100% box office). There are some interesting comments following this Lebrecht editorial:-

 

http://slippedisc.com/2016/12/slipped-disc-editorial-viennas-catastrophic-error/

Begona's name has been taken from the casting.

Do you mean dropped / withdrawn or something else?

Here is the trailer (which says the cast are "actors"?):-