bridiem

I see that it says on the website that 'Part of this insight event will be livestreamed on our Youtube channel from 12noon – 2pm. It will also be available to watch on Royal Opera House Stream.' So the whole event won't be on YouTube.

ROH ticketing is really like a magical mystery ride nowadays.

I had misread the details and thought that Sasaki/Sissens was only a Schools' matinée! Very excited to see otherwise.

14 minutes ago, capybara said:

Thanks @Ondine Yes, that is what's on the website.

However, I don't recall Tonga's move from being Emerging Choreographer (for 2 years) to Choreographer in Residence actually being announced. And the way in which the position was mentioned by Alexander Campbell made it sound as if it was something relatively new.

Yes, it did. But I see from a press release from Toonga's PR company in May 2022 about a tour of his new work 'Born to Exist', he was described as the Royal Ballet's 'Emerging Choreographer in Residence'. So maybe these various terms are interchangeable. Or maybe there has been a change. Who knows.

8 minutes ago, Mary said:

Lots of organisations I support have raffles like this, and I often - usually,  come to think of it - don't want the prize. That does not affect my support for the organisation.

I can't see a problem in this case. Support it or not - nobody is being forced to, and if it raises money- good, they need it.

I have no problem with them doing it either, even though I probably wouldn't have bought a ticket even if I'd known about it. (I've often bought tickets for raffles where I wouldn't want the prize/s, but this one is a bit too expensive.)

On 28/10/2023 at 18:13, Fonty said:

I've just received the latest offer from the ROH.  

We are offering two lucky winners four top-price stalls tickets to The Nutcracker on either Wednesday 6 December, 7.30pm or Saturday 23 December, 12.30pm, alongside a host of festive treats – it's the ultimate Royal Opera House festive experience! 

Draw tickets are £10 each and all proceeds will support the Royal Opera House. The maximum number of tickets you can purchase for this draw is 800.

I wonder if anyone here will attempt to purchase the maximum number of tickets!  You do get a meal for 4 as well.  And an ice cream voucher.  

I haven't received this offer/email. Maybe it only went to non-Friends? Or to people who hadn't yet booked for Nutcracker? If it's for fundraising, why would it not go to all on their databases? (Not that I would actually want this particular prize; but they don't know that.)

Thank you, @Dawnstar! Wonderful photos.

9 hours ago, oncnp said:

Jessica Lang said, “I feel really confident that my work aligns very well with the expectations of The Sarasota Ballet audiences. The success my first creation, Shades of Spring, had with the Company's tour to New York City and its Sarasota premiere just scratched the surface of creative possibilities. The value I can provide, and my global experience as a director and choreographer, will be exciting for the community. I hope they feel a sense of pride that the Company has selected me to be the Artist in Residence. It is a significant achievement for all of us, and I can't wait to begin.”

She does rather make it sound as if all the benefit will be on the side of the company and community who will be fortunate to have her... nevertheless, I hope it is indeed a good collaboration for the company.

25 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

Thanks everyone for the kind replies. I do have a lot of problems with anxiety but usually I can manage to control it when theatregoing. Sadly not this time. I'm on a rail replacement bus approaching Cambridge so nearly home. (Also apologies for cluttering up this thread with my travel & mental health woes but I had said to a couple of people at the matinee I'd let them know what I thought of the evening cast so I wanted to explain why I now can't.)

And I'm deeply impressed that you still pay attention to a closing bracket in time of stress! Good for you. I hope you're home now/soon and feeling much better.

4 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

I'm both glad & frustrated to hear that. I started having a panic attack just as Mercedes & the matadors entered & after about 10 mins fighting it I had to leave. I'm absolutely livid with myself for missing most of the performance. (Currently on a train fighting to try to control waves of anxiety.)

I'm so sorry, Dawnstar, but don't be livid with yourself! It just happened, and you've done the right thing by going homewards. I hope it will pass soon.

Just now, LinMM said:

Well I don’t know of course! I’m assuming that’s what all the number quoting was about!! Either the number of words had used already that day or the number they had left to use  …I’m just guessing! 
Or have I missed a deeper meaning in these numbers 🤔

Your guess sounds plausible! I was just baffled. (A not infrequent occurrence with me.)

7 minutes ago, Rob S said:

Oh is THAT what it was!!??😄🤦‍♂️

Revelation to me too!

7 minutes ago, zxDaveM said:

 

They seem to happen all the time at ROH these days (as many a curtain call ruined with heads and raised clapping hands attest)

I haven't been to the main auditorium yet this season (too expensive) so I was speaking from past experience.

8 hours ago, capybara said:

Interestingly tonight, there appeared to be a lot of patrons in the newly sold off areas who were unfamiliar with the building and they seemed to make up the bulk of those who stood  to applaud at the end (good for them on that score).

Well - I did wonder when I read about a standing ovation for The Cellist, since standing ovations hardly ever happen at the RB unless it's a farewell performance for a beloved dancer or some such. So (no offence intended to The Cellist, or to the individuals involved) I suspected that those those standing may have been more used to other types of shows where a standing ovation is the norm, or that they were especially pleased and excited to be in the theatre for the first time and to have got excellent seats at very low prices. That is very touching, but not a genuine standing ovation and is is precisely the sort of distortion that will happen if the audience is not there by informed choice and (frankly) know nothing about what they are seeing. Of course it's excellent when someone comes to ballet, or to the ROH, for the first time, but if that's only achieved by giving them a one-off massive discount they're presumably not going to be able to come again and learn more about ballet so all it achieves is giving them a nice night out. Good for them, but it doesn't do anything for the RB or for ballet as an art form. And if standing ovations become the norm no matter what's happened on the stage, it cheapens everything. (I already get annoyed at Sadler's Wells, where almost everything gets great whoops and cheers as if it's the best thing ever staged, even when it's been complete rubbish.)

OK, got that off my chest.

8 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

The lowest priced side orchestra stalls, the pairs along the outside edges, were £115 in 2020, £123 in 2022 and will be £159 in 2024. So if they weren't selling before I cannot imagine that the latest price will encourage sales one bit!

Gosh! But from what I saw, the whole side sections were not selling, not just the outside edges.

I would be very keen on earlier start times, especially because I now live in the suburbs rather than on the tube and given the vagaries of train times a 10.30pm-ish end can mean getting home at 12.15am. (I know some people have much longer journeys! But it's very late to be walking from the station, especially when it's cold.) However a 6.30pm start would take some getting used to! (And I wouldn't want a start time that caused any problems for the dancers, obviously.)

50 minutes ago, HelenHelen said:

Phew, "my" front side amphitheatre seat is £35 for Swan Lake when it was £29 for the 2022 run. A relief after the prices for Don Quixote (£52) and Manon (£49). I can't understand the logic. Is that because they have noticed a difference in sales for those affected zones or because they know Swan Lake will sell out and make its money without requiring discounts, who knows.

I think/hope that this may well be in response to the very poor sales in particular sections (especially) for recent programmes. e.g. front/side Amphi and side orchestra stalls were very obviously not selling at the higher prices. (Though I haven't checked the SL prices for side orchestra stalls, and I wouldn't know how they compared to previous prices anyway.) I hope that the persuasive info sent to Alex Beard by @JohnS has actually been absorbed too, so many thanks to him for all his work/analysis.

4 hours ago, oncnp said:

Seat map for Swan Lake and Danses concertantes mixed. A few seats not priced but better than last time. 

 

To add: if you click on the un-color-coded seats some will show a price 

 

Select your own seat (roh.org.uk) (Swan Lake)

 

Select your own seat (roh.org.uk)  (Danses concertantes mixed)

I can't believe that I'm actually relieved that 'my' Amphi tickets for Swan Lake are £55!!! (Manon = £63, so beyond the pale and I'm sitting further back and have booked fewer performances than I would have.) But will still have to restrict how many I book at that price (NOTE TO SELF...). 

1 hour ago, Bruce Wall said:

 

@FLOSS I think your definition is a tad out of frame with the current times - certainly in light of the clear defines of the current Director for the Royal in terms of its foreseeable future prospects.   I fear mightily that you may always be disappointed under this regime.  Certainly I would have been suffering alongside you had I not made certain provisions for my own cultural 'balletic' needs / investments.  We can - as I've said elsewhere - only EVER live in the time that we do.  I have learned to celebrate the Royal Company for what it IS NOW.  I would find it hard to honestly criticise something or someone for not doing that which they never really intended to do/honour in the first place.  

 

When he was appointed director in 2011, KOH was quoted as saying: "I plan to bring together the most talented artists of the 21st Century to collaborate on the same stage - world-class dancers, choreographers, designers, and musicians," and "I will aim to use all the traditional and new platforms now available to engage our audiences in our classic repertoire, and The Royal Ballet's unique heritage." So he clearly did intend not just to look to new creators but also to honour the company's classic repertoire AND its 'unique heritage'.

Interesting!

12 minutes ago, PeterS said:

I know of one offer of 25% discount on top 5 price bands for the first 3 performances of Anemoi/The Cellist that went to people who had previously booked a ballet at the ROH.

I didn't receive this offer, so it wasn't sent to everyone who had booked before (or even to all Friends - I'm a Friend). 

16 minutes ago, JohnS said:

I saw Saturday afternoon’s preview with Hannah Rudd and Jacob Wye. I’m afraid I rather struggled with the acoustics as I found it at times very difficult to hear what was said despite the amplification (or possibly because of the amplification as I’m sure the piano, violin, cello and percussion all became part of the sound mix). I was in the middle of the upper circle so I was a bit surprised to find difficulties in hearing. The performances were though very engaging and there’s much to admire. I do hope there’s a bit more of a formal curtain call and proper acknowledgement to the musicians who surely should take a bow.

 

But I think I’ll wait until I see Francesca Hayward and Alex Campbell next Friday before saying much more. I also think I’ll have to catch up on the Insights etc as I don’t really grasp when the word limit comes into play as the production is significantly more wordy than I expected.

On Friday evening, Hayward and Campbell did take bows and also acknowledged the musicians. There were a few times when the music was loud and/or they were both speaking together or very quickly when I couldn't hear what was being said, but most of the time it was audible. And yes, I didn't fully understand the 'Limit' thing given that they were almost always speaking in truncated ways right from the start, before the limit was introduced. I thought in the end that this was probably meant to convey that even when we can communicate freely, we often don't. But I'm not sure it was really very effective. (Unlike the performances, the choreography and the music, which were all superb.)

4 minutes ago, alison said:

 

Not really that early on, not in Ashton's careers.  Wasn't it a 1960s work?

1950. But still, not that early.

A great footballer and a great man. It feels like the loss of much more than just him. May he rest in peace.

16 minutes ago, Henry said:

Personally, I welcome some shorter programmes being scheduled.  Of course, it's nice if that is reflected in the ticket price.  

 

Many will remember the long, successful run of the play "Art".  Part of its success was attributed to it being 90 minutes with no interval.  People could have a Tuesday evening at the theatre and still be home by 10pm.  For people, who need to get up for work the next morning, that was appreciated!  

 

The lack of principals gave some of the younger talent a chance to shine. However, the design of Anemoi needs to be rethought.  The costumes and lighting are too bland.   Not sure why shirts/tops were being added/removed.  

I think that if a work/programme is short, it needs to be remarkable, or just a smaller-scale enterprise to start with. So The Limit in the Linbury at 1 hour 10 mins was fine on both grounds (and I was indeed very glad to get home earlier than usual!). But this bill, for me, doesn't meet either of those criteria. (I'm aware that for others, it might well do so.)