bridiem

Memorable, searing performance from Osipova and Hallberg tonight. Osipova was a wild, febrile Juliet; for her first entrance she ran onto the stage so fast I thought she was going to end up in the orchestra pit... And although initially child-like, she smiled with sudden delight when she realised she was on the threshold of womanhood; this was a girl ready to fall in love. And fall she did, with her tall, handsome Romeo. But the intensity of this Juliet did for me cast an early shadow - the bliss was so stratospheric that there was no possibility of a happy ending, and the agony had a kind of awful inevitability. The silent scream in the tomb was a convulsion not just of grief but of raging, bone-shaking fury. And Hallberg was magnificent too - such beautiful dancing, and a portrayal both intelligent and impassioned. The partnership was clearly one of complete mutual confidence and rare emotional and physical alignment. I assume this was Hallberg's debut in this production, and Osipova can't have danced it often, so there was sometimes a bit of raggedness in some of the partnering; that actually fitted well with the abandon with which the relationship progressed. Wonderful. Excellent supporting cast - I loved Hirano's ruthless, arrogant Tybalt, and Hay and Dyer as Mercutio and Benvolio formed a touching triumvirate with Romeo. And those three harlots really do work hard: Mendizabal, Calvert and Magri deserve medals for all the (terrific) performances they're giving in this run!

I'm hoping she will be given the opportunity to do Odette/Odile next season; she's an excellent dancer and I find her interesting dramatically, which she has rarely been given the chance to show. I hope that she will indeed be a principal, but it won't be this year.

Wow! But no, we would not...

Well with the classics, I'm in favour of quite long runs since they're the backbone of the repertoire. With other productions, there could perhaps be more selectivity as to who dances what. But, I do agree that we already have a good number of talented female principals!

Exactly!

Clearly, ballet bird = swan.

Yes, it would a completely unwelcome step! We generally get minimal casting info nowadays anyway, whenever it's announced...

I don't think they could open booking without the principal casting having been announced - I can't remember that ever happening for a full length work (apart from creations, I suppose).

Although it would be early in terms of leading roles danced, I would promote Beatriz Stix-Brunell now. I wouldn't have said that before her Juliet; but as Juliet she owned the stage like a principal. And definitely Sambé, Sissens and O'Sullivan. But injuries have caused a real problem with the men; perhaps Bracewell and Corrales will simply continue to dance leading roles for a bit longer (which will be very necessary, as far as I can see) and if all goes well there could be promotions mid-season?

In today's Links, the Sunday Times review of the RB triple bill includes a photo of Sarah Lamb and Alexander Campbell in Within the Golden Hour. The caption reads: 'Lacking bite: Natalia Osipove and Matthew Ball in Medusa'. Wrong ballet, wrong dancers, wrong spelling.

Yes - and I suppose she's playing with a doll that she can cradle as a baby, so perhaps indicating impending adulthood.

It's entirely a matter of preference. I prefer being further forward even though it means being at the sides, but I'm sure others prefer to be central even if further back.

I just checked the ROH website re packages - see http://www.roh.org.uk/help/package-faqs My head hurt by the time I'd tried to understand all the options...

It may be that by buying the lowest price in the package system (in the Amphi), but at the discounted price, it wouldn't be so much more than the tickets I buy outside the package system. I haven't actually done the sums in detail! I just remember that last time I checked I decided not to use it. But you may want to do more systematic research! Good luck with your decisions!

I'm a standard Friend, really just for the priority booking. I buy seats in the Amphi in the £12-£30 range (depending on the production) and almost always manage to get seats for the dates I want (I almost always manage to go online at 9am on the relevant date). I don't know if I'd be able to get these seats if I wasn't a Friend and just waited for Public Booking, but it's not really a risk I want to take since I can't afford more expensive tickets. (I'd be surprised if 'most' people on this forum book the expensive seats, though I know some do.) I don't use the package system because it doesn't cover the cheaper Amphi seats.