bridiem

5 hours ago, FionaM said:

For half of planet earth, Christmas actually does happen in summer 😉

 

‘Global South’ !!!

Well, yes. But we are discussing a production to be mounted in London.

And now! From the Coliseum: 'We are sorry to announce that due to a water supply issue at the London Coliseum, today's matinee performance of English National Ballet's Nutcracker has had to be cancelled.'

The evening performance will go ahead as planned.

Tweet from ENB: Principal casting update for today's matinee performance: Sangeun Lee replaces Katja Khaniukova as Clara, Gareth Haw replaces Ken Saruhashi as Nephew, Junor Souza replaces Miguel Angel Maidana as Nutcracker, and Fabian Reimair replaces Giorgio Garrett as Drosselmeyer.

50 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

I'm pretty happy with the cast changes for the performances I'm booked for, now I just need to make sure I can actually see them. I wonder how an NHS doctor is going to respond if I tell them this evening that they have to sort out my blocked tearduct immediately because I have 2 Nutcrackers to see next week?!

They probably won't have heard that particular statement before!! You could always try explaining why it matters, maybe demonstrate a few significant moments whilst humming the music, etc. 😁

21 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

Now I just have to hope I can actually use the ticket as the reason why I was only just home by 1pm was because I spend the morning at my local A&E trying to get a painfully blocked tear duct seen to. I have to go back at 7pm this evening to go to the eye clinic so I really hope they can sort it out as at the moment I'm in too much pain to be able to enjoy a performance.

I hope you can go, Dawnstar! And that they help about your eye this evening.

25 minutes ago, Blossom said:

Friday rush - I started with a 2 minute wait which keeps yoyo-ing between 15 and 5 minutes' wait.

Surely the wait should only decrease?!

It always seems to do that. I just ignore the wait time now!

It's partly about the regularity of conducting, but more that the MD should have a great familiarity with the company, its musicians, its dancers, rep, history etc in order to really contribute to its - er - musical direction. I'm not sure that can really be attained by someone who drops in and out.

I don't think it's like dancers guesting overseas - more like being a principal dancer or director in more than one company. Having said that, Bintley managed (?) to direct BRB and the National Ballet of Japan at the same time, which I always found bizarre...

8 hours ago, jmhopton said:

Just got my Christmas double issue Radio Times and though I haven't had chance to go through it yet I see the Margot Fonteyn Magic of Dance programme which starts at 11.20pm on BBC4 as oncnp says, also has a brief introduction by Darcey at 11.10pm but is billed as the first of 6 programmes, so it looks as if they're broadcasting the entire series from 1979 which is great. About 10 years ago the BBC had a dance day at Christmas and showed one episode,  featuring Fonteyn and Nureyev dancing Marguerite and Armand so it will be interesting to see what gems the entire series contains. I think I'll have to record it.

That's wonderful! I'd thought that for various reasons it couldn't be shown again. I'll definitely record it!

A couple of themed possibilities:

- a variation on a real and brilliant ENB triple bill: No Man's Land (Scarlett), Dust (Khan), Gloria (MacMillan).

- and, a bill fit for a King that could perhaps have been performed round the time of the Coronation: The Dream (Ashton), The Firebird (Fokine), The King Dances (Bintley).

41 minutes ago, LinMM said:

As it happens though unfortunately there’ll be no Nutcrackers for me this year as am waiting for an Op. on my wrist which I broke falling down a step earlier this week 😬😥

I'm so sorry to hear that, LinMM! I hope the op happens soon as goes as well as possible.

Are there really so few talented conductors/potential music directors around?! 

I'd love to see all of these too, @MAB!

13 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

Giving birth? Very much so, I believe......

Oh dear.

2 minutes ago, DoctorDerry said:

So glad to hear others were able to enjoy a largely incident free broadcast. We went to Cineworld in High Wycombe for the first time but never again!

we were told on entry that the picture was not ‘ quite right’ and we could have a refund. Having driven a long way we thought we would try it 😂😂😠

Not quite right was hardly the description. The picture was elongated and squashed. Very like those mirrors you have in fun fairs making you look short and fat. Darcy B was as wide as she was high😠

We lasted 10 minutes then opted for a refund

Avoid this cinema at all costs for live relays

Oh dear! That must have been so disappointing. I hope you can find a better venue for the next one, DoctorDerry.

4 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

It sounds like everyone else didn't have any technical hitches? Unfortunately the cinema where I was watching lost the picture during the Waltz of the Flowers & it didn't return until near the end of the first part of the grand pas. We still had the sound, which was arguably more frustrating than if both had gone.

So sorry to hear this, Dawnstar. We just lost sound for about a second two or three times, so really not a problem.

Full house tonight at the Curzon in Wimbledon. I thought it was an excellent performance and I really enjoyed the interviews etc. (Funny seeing the beautiful snowflakes stomping off backstage in the interval! Not that they really stomp, of course; but a combination of pointe shoes and turn-out does lead to a rather amusing walking style...).

Fantasy cast, from current dancers: Sugar Plums: Nunez/Muntagirov; Clara/Hans Peter: Hayward/Campbell; Drosselmeyer: Avis; Rose Fairy: Kaneko.

I had not booked for Lamb in Manon partly because of the prices and partly because of her original partner, but reading and contributing to this thread has made me realise that I really must see her again... so I've just booked another Manon... oh dear. But I am now very much looking forward to seeing both her and Hirano!

I think that Sarah Lamb is a magnificent dancer in every way. Unfortunately I have rarely felt that about the partners with whom she is so often paired. (I do like Hirano, but I think that his acting doesn't always carry as far as the Amphi, and he is no longer at his peak technically.) Amongst the most superlative performances I have ever seen have been Lamb with Muntagirov in Romeo and Juliet, Manon and The Sleeping Beauty. How I wish they had danced together more often. But yes, I imagine that she has a good deal of input about who partners her, so the frustration must be on my part rather than hers. Either way, I feel privileged to have seen her and so grateful that she came to the RB.

26 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said:

I would be very interested in seeing him continue to partner more experienced dancers, for example Osipova. May sound random, but I think they would suit each other in terms of energy (not sure when/how that could work though). 

I think that might result in a nuclear explosion! 

I couldn't name only one perfect triple bill, but I would book without hesitation for any of these:

Concerto/The Dream/Symphony in C

Rhapsody/The Firebird/Les Noces

Enigma Variations/Symphonic Variations/Gloria

Scènes de Ballet/A Month in the Country/Requiem

Serenade/Winter Dreams/Raymonda Act III

i.e. opening with something engaging, followed by something more dramatic or thought-provoking, and ending with either joy or reflectiveness. Balancing narrative with  abstract, and sometimes with a music 'theme'.

I'm sure that the works are well known to the person/people who programmed them, so it should be possible to cast at least a few main roles in advance. Tickets are too expensive now for regular audiences to be willing to take pot luck with casting.

The ticket has now been returned to the ROH box office.

I have a ticket for this rehearsal, Amphi F76, £25. Please post here and DM me if interested.

In respect of the ROH, I do think that the announcements are far too restrained/genteel (and not even very loud). I think they need to be louder, clearer and more authoritative.

I hope you get home safely, @JohnS!