Duck

An exhibition with the title "American choreographers at the Paris Opera" runs at Palais Garnier until 25 September, showing costumes and pictures (and videos?), and tracing developments since 1947. Quite a bit of information on the web site as well https://www.operadeparis.fr/en/visits/exhibitions for those who won't be in Paris over the summer.

Events at the Theatre des Champs Elysees next year http://2017.theatrechampselysees.fr/en/the-season/dance - Rome Opera Ballet with Roland Petit's La chauve souris, Saint Petersburg Ballet Theatre with Swan Lake and with Giselle, Norwegian National Ballet with Alexander Ekman's Swan Lake, Le Ballet du Capitole de Toulouse with Kader Belarbi's Le Corsaire, et al.

The Millepied/ Parreno bill that was planned for towards the end of the 2016/17 season was cancelled as, I recall, Millepied felt unable to combine the work involved with his role at his dance company in L.A. Dance critics on social media and in the press reported on the cancellation of the Millepied/ Tudor evening already last Friday, it's a surprise that it has taken the Opera de Paris a week to publish the new bill on their web site and inform the subscribers (and the bill did feature on the web site until Monday). I've read somewhere that the rehearsals for Millepied's ballet had already started. In relation to the Tudor piece, an article in Le Figaro last Friday stated that the dancers "hardly like" the repetiteurs ("Il faut dire que les danseurs de l'Opéra de Paris n'apprécient guère les répétiteurs d'Antony Tudor.") http://www.lefigaro.fr/culture/2016/06/03/03004-20160603ARTFIG00303-opera-de-paris-benjamin-millepied-annule-encore.php. This looks like some events behind the scenes to me. Tudor sometimes is mentioned on this forum so I really would have liked to see this ballet, and a ballet to French songs did sound very interesting. Replacing the Millepied/ Tudor bill with Kylian at least frees up a weekend for me.

I don't think the annual Concours as a means to promote dancers helps either. What the Concours does, surely, is to give those dancers who are not cast as much as they like the opportunity to present themselves. However presenting to a jury two short pieces (one set by the jury, the other the dancer's choice) does not require the stamina of a full season (or even of a full evening), the emotional involvement of a larger acting role, the partnering skills, the dancing in unison with fellow dancers. This may not be as important for a promotion to Coryphee however will start with Sujet, and surely applies to Premier Danseur. Instead, the specific form on the day of the Concours is decisive. I am not saying that all those who have been promoted have gained promotion for the wrong reasons as I've seen wonderful Sujets and Premier Danseurs on stage in Paris however the possibility will surely exist. If then casting decisions are made based on seniority, this can prevent more junior dancers from gaining additional experience in larger roles. I think this is where Millepied brought in change as he was casting more of the more junior ranks (which was heavily criticised and will have contributed to his departure), and I hope that those dancers will not be left disappointed after the end of this season.

The different casts for Giselle received a mix of reviews. Focussing on the two leads - the first night had been scheduled for Laëtitia Pujol and Mathieu Ganio, and when Laëtitia Pujol became unavailable, this changed to Myriam Ould-Braham and Mathieu Ganio. Then also Myriam Ould-Braham became unavailable (she is however still scheduled for her performances with Mathias Heymann), and the cast for the opening night thus changed to another cast, Amandine Albisson and Stéphane Bullion. This cast received very mixed reviews, both artistically and technically. There was quite some discussion on French social media about Stéphane Bullion replacing entrechats with another step. Performances by Dorothée Gilbert* and Mathieu Ganio were lauded as was the one performance by the only cast of lead dancers that are not Etoiles, and the latter triggered comments on social media about more support for young talents. *see however capybara's comments about Dorothée Gilbert's dancing on June 7, and it would thus be really useful to also see the other casts with "RB eyes". Looking at Giselle, it does seem to be very much depend on who is cast. When I saw POB in February and April, I often enjoyed the younger dancers more (e.g., Leonore Baulac, Germain Louvet, Marc Moreau, Sebastien Bertaud), usually Premier Danseurs or Sujets (Sujets are still in the corps de ballet), one of the reasons why the planned casts for Giselle didn't entice me sufficiently initially to see Giselle. A number of Etoiles are in their mid to late 30s. With a retirement age of 42, I would personally start to reflect this situation by casting more younger dancers in lead roles.

Three more opportunities over the coming days to see them fledge

The first of the four peregrine chicks at Norwich cathedral fledged this morning. The article in the link http://hawkandowl.org/norwich-cathedral-peregrines-update-first-chick-fledge-expect/ includes a beautiful video of the moment she takes to the air ... and of the reaction of her three sisters.

Koen Kessels was scheduled to conduct the performances of Giselle, and the programme notes show that he has also done this in 2009. The programme actually lists him as conductor for a series of ballets at Paris Opera Ballet between 2005 and 2014. I hadn't realised that he's been there so often! I've been to Paris only a few times and to Nice just once so I've got rather limited experience, and I am sure others on this forum will have more information From what I've seen, last night the applause at the end was weaker than for Romeo & Juliet in April, or for Millepied's La nuit s'acheve in February. Applause mid-performance in Paris has been stronger than what I've seen in London (F.Alu last night during the peasant PDD, V.Muntagirov during the series of entrechats). Curtain calls at the ROH seem to come with a set number of curtains whereas in Paris/ Nice, this seemed more based on the intensity of the applause, maybe this has an influence? If the audience is really enthusiastic about a performance, the applause turns into rhythmic clapping (I haven't figured out yet how the audience members, from one moment to the next, are able to align the rhythm of their clapping!) rather than a standing ovation or stamping. I've seen rhythmic clapping both in Paris (most prominently when Benjamin Pech retired in February, also at Romeo & Juliet, and briefly last night), and equally in Nice. So maybe appreciation is shown differently? On the other side, I've haven't seen any booing of ballets at the ROH yet whereas this did happen from some audience members after Tombe.

I had never been to any of the performances of Giselle at the Royal Opera House in the past, thinking that the choreography would be too classical for me. Then, back in February, Jérôme Bel’s Tombe hit me with all its power and emotion. So I went to the cinema broadcast of Giselle in April and saw Giselle Reimagined, and however enjoyed the latter much more than the former. I thus concluded that I would not go and see POB’s version of Giselle unless it would be with a specific cast. This remained valid … until a week ago, when I listened to the Giselle podcast on the Opéra de Paris web site. There was the music that had been used in Tombe, taken from the PDD in Act 2 when Albrecht brings flowers to Giselle’s grave! Enthralled, I went with a return ticket that became available early the next day, and this happened to be for last night. Vadim Muntagirov and Dorothée Gilbert were a wonderful lead couple, and I fully believed in their story. Albrecht is besotted with Giselle; he is free, happy and relaxed in his interactions with the peasants, in stark contrast to the stifling atmosphere of the court and his engagement with Bathilde. His lips tremble when he is asked to kiss Bathilde’s hand as a sign of honour and commitment. All this makes his devastation at Giselle’s death so truly believable. Equally, Giselle’s emotional journey from in love to desolate to protective of him is immensely convincing – just because Albrecht is so down to earth and likeable. The superbly realistic acting was coupled with excellent dancing from both - on their own and together. The POB version has a peasant PDD rather than a Pas de Six in Act 1. François Alu danced his variations with incredibly high elevations in his jumps (triple cabrioles if I saw this correctly) and received a huge ovation on the spot. While his elasticity is really impressive, thinking about it today, this was in some contrast to the much more lyrical style of his partner, and so I was missing some connection between them yesterday. One of the aspects that impressed me most in the cinema broadcast in April was Myrtha’s fierce stare and dominant body language throughout, emphasising her menacing presence and the real threat for Albrecht. I didn’t see much of this last night – I didn’t find Myrtha threatening or dominant. I don’t know whether this is intended to be softer in the POB version and/ or whether other Myrtha’s in the current run show more of it however it left me unconvinced last night. There was immense applause at the curtain calls for Vadim Muntagirov and Dorothée Gilbert and also for Koen Kessels, however much more polite for everyone else. Following the performance, it was wonderful to meet capybara & spouse at the stage door! Coming back to how it all started - it was a joy to see the backcloths and the scenery again that had been used in Tombe. What was so much more though - I was able to see how very closely the middle section of Tombe had been choreographed for Sébastien Bertaud and Sandra Escudé based on the PDD in act 2 of Giselle – Albrecht running across the stage carrying flowers, wearing a cape, the ground covered in fog; Giselle appearing and disappearing (in Tombe, rolling across the stage in a wheelchair); Albrecht pursuing Giselle; Albrecht dancing with Giselle (in Tombe, Albrecht holding Giselle’s hand while running across the stage in a small circle and pulling Giselle in her wheelchair in a larger circle all around him), Albrecht lifting Giselle (in Tombe, the overhead lift from Giselle is translated into a lift upside down) – all with the same steps for Albrecht and translated for Giselle in her wheelchair, with the same music, at the same locations on stage. If there are some aspects of last night’s performance that I am less convinced of, what it has achieved, taken all three parts of Tombe together, is illustrating how extraordinary I believe Jérôme Bel’s achievement is. --- edited to tidy up as I had clicked on "save" to early

Reading the article, it seems that Ms Lejeune is angry about repeatedly being unable to meet him and the criticism that, when she finally was able to meet him, he has provided about the number of dancers and the number of performances ("Als das Treffen dann zustande kam, habe Zelensky sich negativ über das Bayerische Staatsballett geäußert, die Anzahl der Tänzer und Vorstellungen kritisiert"). A similar article in the Sueddeutsche Zeitung http://www.sueddeutsche.de/muenchen/nationaltheater-bayerisches-staatsballett-verliert-grosssponsorin-1.3021945 also refers to criticism that Zelensky provided at an annual press conference by the Bavarian State Opera (the paragraph that starts with "Als es doch ...").

Northern Ballet's 1984 has won the dance category; the full list of winners in the link here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-36456201

At Ballet Nice Méditerranée, the new production of The Firebird has been removed from the triple ballet scheduled for October; the programme in October is now instead Vu-An's version of Raymonda, Gnawa by Duato, and Petit's L'Arlésienne. http://www.opera-nice.org/fr/saison-ballets

I went to the matinee today planning to return my ticket for 11 June for resale, and left the ROH taking the ticket back home with me as I found the triple bill this afternoon a lot more enjoyable than on the opening night. The benefits of a second viewing. Last week, I simply liked the movements and the overall atmosphere in Obsidian Tear. Various reviews in newspapers then wrote about the dancer in red being the outsider, and I wondered what they had seen that I hadn’t. Today the situation of the outsider and his treatment by the group was so much clearer to me (a better view from my seat today compared to last week did certainly help). My eyes were constantly drawn to Lukas Bjørneboe Brændsrød, and I am glad to see him cast in Carbon Life next season, too. David Donnelly playing the cousin in The Invitation was the first time that I’ve seen him in a major acting role, and I enjoyed his portrait of the cousin very much. He and Yasmine Naghdi don’t have such a difference in height as the girl and the cousin in the first cast, and so they looked a lot more like having the same age to me, which made the innocent teenage interaction with hugs and kisses between them a lot more credible for me. Fabulous acting today just as on the first cast on the opening night, and very impressed by Yasmine Naghdi and Olivia Cowley in particular. While the subject matter of The Invitation is sadly so relevant also nowadays, I am still struggling with the concept of remorse (or “misunderstanding” as the programme notes describe it) as the husband makes his intentions so clear right from the start. I also still think the children's dances could be shortened, and I am not clear about the purpose of the entertainers. In the Golden Hours a treat to close off the afternoon. Smiling dancers on stage, which makes me think that they enjoy the piece just as the audience does. And suddenly today the 3rd PDD looked like a love story to me. Both Benjamin Ella and David Donnelly were in all three pieces this afternoon, kudos to them for their energy and their stamina. ------ edited for typo

I've just found information on the chosen music in a file by that has been produced the "Young audiences department" at the Opera du Rhin http://www.operanationaldurhin.eu/medias/File/DPeda16-17/DP_LeRougeetleNoir_OnR.pdf?PHPSESSID=620e2262b29935e870b17bd3d8ab329c. So no Symphonie Fantastique for Scarlet and Black, and instead a number of extracts from other pieces (Scholz did however use Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique for another ballet, bearing the name of the symphony). The said department produces such a file for all performances, respect! It provides a summary of the ballet and background information on the book and its author, neoclassical dance, various biographies, and recommendations for further study for teachers. I'd been thinking about reading the book and then realised that it has more than 600 pages, maybe I'll just go with the study guide. ---------- edited for typo

I've been checking their web site frequently recently, thank you for sharing the date

Tempted by Dawson in Toulouse and excited about Sinfonietta, Firebird and Scarlett in Nice. I can't find much about Scarlett's Vespertine on the web, has anyone seen it and/ or any reviews of it? ---------- edited for typo

A collation of announcements of the forthcoming 2016/17 season at various companies in France. Please feel free to add others to the list. Théâtre du Capitole (Toulouse) http://www.theatreducapitole.fr/1/saison-2016-2017/saison-2016-2017-2093.html?lang=fr A million kisses to my skin by David Dawson. Kader Belarbi’s version of Don Quixote. Etc. Ballet Nice Méditerranée http://www.opera-nice.org/fr/calendrier# Jiri Kylian’s Sinfonietta. Liam Scarlett’s Vespertine, created for Norwegian Ballet. A new Firebird. Eric Vu-An’s version of Don Quixote. Etc. Opéra National du Rhin (Strasbourg, Colmar, Mulhouse) http://www.operanationaldurhin.eu/en--dance.html A full-length narrative ballet by Uwe Scholz that was created for Zuerich Ballet. A number of modern creations. Opéra de Lyon http://www.opera-lyon.com/spectacles/danse Various ballets by Jiri Kylian, et al. Paris Opera Ballet – this link was shared and discussed previously as part of another thread and has been added here for ease of reference https://www.operadeparis.fr/en/season-16-17/ballet

and enthusiastic comments about their performance last night, too.

I haven’t read the book or seen any previous work by Cathy Marston, and it was the recent BBC Radio 4 broadcast of Jane Eyre that led me to last night’s performance. A fabulous performance, both in dancing and acting, on a relatively small stage. I like the way Cathy Marston portrays emotions through dance in Jane Eyre. I was blown away by Dreda Blow and Javier Torres as the two leads and equally by how the caring atmosphere between the Young Jane and her friend Helen at Lowood School is shown. The otherwise oppressive atmosphere at Lowood School was illustrated very clearly through a series of repetitive movements by the dancers who portrayed the orphaned children, and who were also all wearing the same dress. It all culminated in a very moving final solo by Rochester after he has lost his eyesight in the fire of Thornfield Hall and the subsequent final PDD when Jane returns to Thornfield Hall, she realising that Rochester is blind, he being fearful of the unknown person near him, her moving around him, gently teasing him in doing so it seemed, until he finally recognises her. The sets were lean and effective. Moving panels allowed for quick scene changes, and a podium at the back provided a second stage. If anyone is attending the performance tonight and is looking to catch a specific train afterwards – the Northern Ballet web site states a duration of twice 50 minutes plus a 20-minute break. Last night the performance finished more around 9.30/9.35 pm.

The first reviews are being published https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/may/29/royal-ballet-mixed-bill-review-wayne-McGregor - 4 stars http://www.telegraph.co.uk/dance/what-to-see/royal-ballet-the-invitation-obsidian-tear-within-the-golden-hour/ - 4 stars http://www.markronan.com/2016/05/royal-ballet-triple-obsidian-tear-the-invitation-within-the-golden-hour-roh-covent-garden-may-2016/

What I find "beyond imagining" is certainly not the theme of The Invitation. Apologies if my wording can be read in this way. It is the fact that the husband, having shown his interest and intention from the start, once he has raped the girl, changes into remorse.

I really enjoyed Obsidian Tear last night. Emotions through physical contortions and the seamless intertwining of movements by individual dancers with those of small groups, and of contemporary with more classical movements. Calvin Richardson in stand-out red and with a magnificent performance. Once on stage, most dancers didn’t leave the stage until just before the end of the piece (respect for the stamina required!) and several dancers walked along the perimeter of the stage when they didn’t dance, providing an atmosphere of an enclosed space with no way out. I also liked the costumes (with the exception of the tunic for Edward Watson) – individual, inventive, giving an impression of “make do” within an isolated tribal community. Superb acting in The Invitation by the four leads, and by Francesca Hayward and Gary Avis in particular. And the shock that, at the end, the women picks up her husband and ignores the girl. However I struggled with the overall story. Lots of scene setting at the beginning with children’s dances, the governess intervening, guests arriving and being greeted by the married couple, then the three entertainers. I guess this will be necessary to show the contrast between the superficial idyll and the stark reality behind the scenes however it went on for too long for me (the scene setting and corps dances in act 1 of Frankenstein didn’t bother me half as much). The husband eyes the girl as soon as he arrives at the couple’s house, she rejects his advances, he rapes her and then feels sorry for what he has done? This goes beyond the imaginable for me I am afraid. Within the Golden Hour was a joyful ending to the evening, with the delight of dancing this piece visible on a number of dancer’s faces. I most enjoyed the duet by Luca Acri and Marcelino Sambe, dancing in perfect unison. On another note, given the content of The Invitation, I was surprised to see a number of children, certainly below the age of 10, in the audience last night.

Standing ovation for most of the stalls also on Tuesday

Good news - a number of tickets are currently available for various performances of Giselle on the main ticket site https://www.operadeparis.fr/en/ticketing/29-Giselle (not for 2 or 7 June at the moment though)

No worries and sorry we haven't been able to help you complete the process yet. Are you able to share screenshots of what you see? Maybe this will help find a solution. A note on the ONP ticket site for Giselle https://www.operadeparis.fr/en/ticketing/29-giselle - as and when tickets become available on the main ticket site, just to see where the ticket is within a price group, you will need to log in. This log in is separate to the log in on the ticket exchange forum. I would recommend testing the process for another ballet/ opera this season so you are all set up by the time a ticket does come up.