bridiem

Yes, they were excellent!

Yes - as I've mentioned on the forum before (apologies!), my first ever ballet performance was Enigma Variations/Symphonic Variations/Les Noces. No wonder I got hooked!

Yes, Yes and Not at all! I just don't like them being pigeonholed like that. (KOH does tend to talk about 'heritage' works as if they're something rarefied and outside the mainstream. If they were programmed regularly, they would be part of the creative present too, which is precisely where they belong.)

I want all four too, but I'd rather they weren't combined in what would no doubt be described as some sort of 'heritage' bill. They deserve to be programmed as part of the standard repertoire, not as historical curiosities.

And even more so, seeing the RBS students in Les Noces which made me ache to see it again. If Nijinska is so important and mustn't be forgotten etc, why does the RB not stage her works?? It's precisely because the RB (etc) don't stage them that she's being forgotten! (Yes, I know about cost etc in respect of Les Noces; but it's really a question of priorities and choices.) I have to hope that this Insight is an indication that at least one revival is on the way.

It wasn't you, oncnp! It was the ROH copy.

I wasn't there yesterday but I saw her previous performance. I agree with some of what you say, but I think the adoration is because her past achievements are still present in her current performances. Disregarding her technique, she was and is so special for other qualities entirely, in my view (drama, commitment, vivacity, focus, unpredictability, power). She's the nearest I've seen to Nureyev, who continued to be adored when his technique was gone. Osipova's technique has not gone, but it is declining and is most exposed in purely classical roles.

Programme/cast sheet for tomorrow: https://static.roh.org.uk/digital/cast-sheets/Insights-the-legend-of-nijinska-cast-sheet-17-11-23.pdf

It will be interesting to see what they're going to perform. I associate Jacob's Pillow mainly with contemporary and/or small-scale work. If I was seeing the RB for the first time, that's not what I'd want to see them do. But I'm sure that whatever they do they'll do it very well.

I very much hope that the cinema relays wouldn't be replaced; they presumably reach a much wider audience than those paying for the ROH Stream, and watching on a big screen is a much better experience than watching on a TV or laptop.

Was this an emergency stand-in situation? If not, it's bonkers.

I suspect there is an element of truth in this!

I really enjoyed this afternoon too. For complicated reasons, I ended up much nearer the stage than anticipated so I had a bird's eye view of much of the proceedings. Osipova is - of course - unique. There are times when she looks less like a ballerina about to start a solo than a gymnast about to perform a difficult vault. And she doesn't generally try to hide the difficulty of what she's doing - you can see the preparation and the concentration, and the relief when it's over. But in the end, none of that matters because she has such charisma, such energy, such panache, that she is just completely gripping. And I agree with all the comments above about the débuts - Clarke was excellent, and I loved Lukas BB and Annette Buvoli - both so strong and so stylish. For me, Annette Buvoli is already a real ballerina. I'm not sure exactly what I mean by that, but I just want to say it. I thought Sumina Sasaki did really well as Queen of the Dryads - very secure and really quite powerful. I look forward to seeing her in other roles. And Calvin Richardson was a very amusing Gamache. Gary Avis as Lorenzo - almost unrecognisable, but totally brilliant. Funny and completely credible, and as usual bringing immense depth of characterisation to a role that in other hands could go for not very much. What an artist he is.

So from an ROH point of view, this looks like the crucial bit: 'People are being asked to assemble at about midday at Park Lane before starting the march at 12.45pm. The route goes past Grosvenor Place and Victoria, then over Vauxhall Road and on to Nine Elms and past the US embassy. Marchers will be asked by organisers to disperse at 4pm, with the police having put a 5pm deadline on when the march must end.' I'm hoping that means that the Covent Garden area itself should be OK (but will definitely avoid Victoria including the station).

I'm sure the reaction was not to your helpful post, Jenny, but simply to the price of the tickets - a continuation of previous reactions to this issue.

According to his Instagram account he was going to have surgery recently, so I think it's the latter.

That was in June 2017.

King Charles is head of state of so many countries that I'm sure he would happily cede sovereignty of the ROH to Nunez and Muntagirov.

I do wonder if the audience starting to clap during a difficult solo sometimes causes a dancer to lose concentration which can lead to a fall (possibly what happened on Tuesday evening). I know it's very difficult not to join in if others start clapping when something brilliant is happening on stage - I've found myself doing it a few times - but I think it's both better and safer to wait until it's finished. A huge burst of applause at the end is more appropriate and adds to the drama, whereas clapping as it happens reduces it to a kind of spectacle in which the dancer is doing tricks.

Just as an aside: after the State Opening of Parliament and Don Q yesterday, I assumed that King Charles (who is nearly 75) would take things easy today. In fact, I see that he visited the Korean community in New Malden this morning, then held an investiture at Buckingham Palace (including knighting Terry Waite), and (with the Queen) is hosting a reception for humanitarians at the Palace this evening. Me? After watching Don Q at a cinema in Wimbledon last night, I (who am 63) was rather tired because of the late night and so today I just pottered around at home... I have to say: rather me than him. (AND I get to read all the posts on this forum, which I don't suppose he's had time to do yet.)

I didn't see exactly what happened and I didn't realise it was him, but there was just a trip/stumble - he didn't actually fall over so I'm sure (and hope) that he wasn't injured.

Don Q is very far from being my favourite ballet, in any production, and I do find that some of this one is a bit repetitive and choreographically uninspired. (I can only take so much olé-ing, skirt swirling and bare-chesting...). And I'm afraid I completely agree about Leticia Dias. But for me, the sheer energy, commitment and brilliance of the dancers make it work.

I didn't notice any of that either - I suppose it just didn't carry through to the broadcast. And the only other on-stage mishap I saw was a matador having a bit of a challenging time at one point...

See an item in today's Links: the guests were 'hundreds of NHS workers who had been invited to the show in recognition of their work and service, as well as teachers the Royal Opera House works with, and members of the Songs for Ukraine chorus – which invites displaced Ukrainians to come and sing at the Royal Opera House'. So, deemed to be a special performance worthy of a royal visit.

21st November, not 23rd in fact. But thanks for the reminder, Ondine. (It's a Nutcracker rehearsal.)