RuthE

Any sense of loss I may feel when the current RB run of Onegin is over will definitely be offset by the benefit of no longer having the main pas de deux music going through my head almost constantly for the past month!

Hmmm.  Let me see if my inbox is full and needs clearing out...

OK - try again now!

Hi anas,

I'll post on Twitter (to my 4000+ mostly opera-loving followers) with a link to this thread, to see if I can find them a home.

Could you pm me your email address or mobile number, so that I can then get anyone interested to contact you directly?

Thanks

7 minutes ago, Sim said:

Well I have been seeing ballet for so many decades that I can't remember not knowing a story, but I can safely say that if I were seeing Onegin, Manon, Mayerling and various other narrative pieces for the first time I would be very clear about the story.  There might be a few characters who are confusing (especially in Mayerling) but the narrative would be very clear to me.  To each, his/her own, I guess!

Indeed - sorry if this is off topic, but one of the best pieces of advice I've ever had before seeing a ballet for the first time - thanks @Carol - was to read up on the opening scene of Mayerling in advance, so that by the end of that scene I would be able to put a character name to each face.

1 hour ago, alison said:

I'd totally forgotten about this until someone mentioned it last night, so thought I'd bump it.

It keeps popping up as a promoted item on my Facebook.

3 minutes ago, Peanut68 said:

So does anyone know of the Nunez/Bolle pairing will occur again??? 

In this run? It seems highly unlikely, given that that was the last scheduled Osipova/Clarke performance, and we have no reason (that I know of) to believe that any other scheduled Onegin or Tatyana is ill or injured.

5 minutes ago, ninamargaret said:

So Onegin gives us the flavour of the story, and the customs and behaviour of the time in which Pushkin  was writing.

That said, one thing that bothers me is the lack of "seconds" at the duel...

I am reminded of my comment on the very first page of this thread, over six months ago:

On ‎29‎/‎07‎/‎2019 at 14:34, RuthE said:

Interesting to note that a rumour I had heard about Onegin - regarding the appearance of a guest male lead - has not come to fruition.

That rumour was Nunez/Bolle.  Apparently I spoke too soon...

45 minutes ago, Anna C said:

 

Apparently it’s not in the poem - the green card tables are brought out after dinner, those who wish to partake play eight rounds of whist, changing places with each round.  Nothing specific.  Does it happen in the opera? 

No, though there would be no reason why a director couldn't include it.

12 minutes ago, alison said:

I don't have the libretto easily accessible, but I thought Onegin at one point early on sings about how dull it is in the country, waiting for his uncle to die?  And quite likely there may be some reference to Gremin and Tatiana's children later on.  RuthE will probably know.

You're right about the first part, though it's in the past tense; Onegin has been bored stiff by sitting at his uncle's deathbed, but the uncle is now dead.  There's no later reference in the opera to Tatyana and Gremin's children; Gremin simply tells Onegin that they have been married two years.

34 minutes ago, alison said:

JohnS - the fact that the ballet closely follows the plot of the opera rather than of the novel is certainly indicative.

Indeed.  With the exception of the absence of the opera's Act 1, Scene 3 (when Onegin rejects Tatyana), the scenes of the ballet cover the same material in the same order.  Even the opera's dance set pieces are closely mirrored in the structure of the ballet.

On ‎07‎/‎02‎/‎2020 at 21:56, Darlex said:

Wanted to ask the same question. Where should I avoid sitting? 

In general I believe one should avoid the sides of the upper tiers, and the back row of the side stalls.

5 minutes ago, ENBlover said:

Hi Ruth - sorry, both tickets are now sold...

That's OK - I've now got the ticket Carol had previously!

It would be helpful if you gave the seat number, the sightlines in the Linbury being what they are.

Looks like I'm sorted for this now.

Do you need both of them, Carol? Only I posted an hour ago looking for one...

The cast change has increased my interest in this performance - do let me know if you've got a suitable ticket needing a good home!

3 hours ago, Geoff said:

My sense is he's been getting worse recently (even quicker off the mark, even less discriminating in choosing when to offer his comments)...

And he attends both ballet and opera... and seems to like the same singers I do

If this is somebody new this season, as Geoff suggests, then it isn't the individual who's been doing similar for years (who is very distinctive in appearance and I would be happy to point out to Geoff sometime!)

Looks like you're having that formatting problem again, Jan...

1 hour ago, jmhopton said:

This is exciting news though a shame its only for one night. I haven't seen ballet at the Albert Hall since the Bolshoi brought their series of ballet suites there in the 1990s. Frankly the sight line problems we had then put me off seeing ballet at the Albert Hall ever again. Does anyone have advice, please, either on reccommended seats or seats definitely to avoid?

If it's in the round, I personally wouldn't sit anywhere in the Rausing Circle except for the first row where it would be possible to lean forward and get a good view of the whole arena.

Personally, having seen a number of ENB performances there, I am most put off ballet at the Royal Albert Hall because of the audiences I have experienced there.  Talking loudly, openly filming, and taking flash photos even when explicitly told it is a danger to the dancers.

To clarify, it sounds as though it may have opened a couple of minutes early this morning. Usually it’s dead on the specified time - I know, because I’ll have been pressing refresh repeatedly for the previous few minutes in case it comes on early!

I forgot all about the gala until I saw this thread, but I can't muster any enthusiasm for it until there's some hint of repertoire, so it's a moot point!

The current version of the ROH website doesn't activate the queue until the moment booking opens, or (as you suggest) a minute or two sooner.  I presume that anyone refreshing their browser at that time then gets a random allocation - yes, you do have to refresh once the queue is live in order to be in it - and all who join from that time onwards take their place sequentially

Certain other institutions have software where being in the queue early pays off. 

Hasn't it historically been the case that the standing tickets aren't put on sale for galas?

There are no SCS or Balcony standing places available (unless they have just sold out), but Lower Slips Standing tickets are available...