bridiem

3 minutes ago, Sim said:

I would hardly call Louise Levene’s casual mention of Miss Naghdi’s name coverage. And in the Daily Express, Will and Yasmine’s performances were summed up by one word.  No mention anywhere of Anna-Rose. That’s it. Not my idea of coverage.  If I have missed anything else, please let me know.  I do read the Links as well as posting them.  

Not quite the same, but I half heard an item on the Today programme on R4 yesterday, about San Francisco Ballet's new AI-related ballet. Honestly; the media are so shallow and impressionable. They ignore all sorts of artistically interesting happenings, but mention AI and they're all over it even if it's a company in San Francisco.

2 minutes ago, Mary said:

I might be remembering incorrectly, but did Acosta say when he took over that he would not stage 'heritage' works- or am I confusing that with some other company?

 

I once chatted to someone from BRB who had worked there for a long time, who politely asked me what was my favourite ballet. I said Fille would certainly be one of them, although to choose one was obviously rather absurd as I liked a large range, etc..The response was a loud snort and the person said 'Oh, you're one of THEM'.

I was very much disconcerted.

It was Acosta. And how awful, both that someone should say that and that they should be so rude.

The press release does I think run the risk of giving the impression to those not in the know that Acosta will be dancing Colas. (Because it says he 'is' one of the great interpreters of the role, rather than 'was'.)

4 minutes ago, Roberta said:

Of course. And Santa bring us all presents at Christmas, otherwise how would our stockings be filled? 

Yes - Santa or St Nicholas, aka Love.

Speaking personally, I do believe that Giselle flies.

8 hours ago, FionaM said:

An alternative view from Matt Paluch 

 

https://www.gramilano.com/2024/01/giselle-we-have-a-problem/?fbclid=IwAR1KxZn8zXDgdhFV3DCU4l0UEoizgNtKSMYe30XeqTbMFsl9b5e11igCh6k_aem_AQ0T5GYNOI1rqL-ROuPRGp0eO9lhtb1GRpJcfSR6-wU-U4VrwNbPxemzMx5C-oCmEV4

 

discuss!

He seems to be criticising both the production and the dancers; I think what he wants is something like the more naturalistic acting of the RB production and dancers. And I think it's true that that production is easier to respond to emotionally, because it's more in keeping with modern sensibilities and expectations. The challenge with the Skeaping production is to watch it with different eyes and a different heart, and with a degree of curiosity; the rewards for doing so are great. But if you come expecting a 'modern' production and being unwilling to adjust, you may struggle a bit.

10 minutes ago, PeterS said:

i don’t know the ballets included in the MacMillan triple bill.

perhaps, in the grand scheme of things compared say, to one of his narrative ballets where titular roles can make or break an evening**, the casting for the MacMillan triple bill is relatively unimportant?

** that said, with the RB, I can’t remember ever having left the ROH being disappointed when circumstances have resulted in cast changes. 

In some roles the casting does matter (at least to people like us!), but also for those booking more than one performance the aim is (probably!) to see different casts rather than finding you've booked the same cast twice.

3 minutes ago, Scheherezade said:

Ah, but the irresistible lure of sin has always been a big part of Catholicism - the bigger the no no the greater the appeal. 

I'd be more inclined to say that it's always been a big part of human nature.

This should have been a separate press release from BRB! Or at least given equal prominence.

3 minutes ago, Sim said:

I have heard that there were bouquets of flowers backstage, but that no ushers were around to distribute then onstage.  So, no debut photos for Will, Yasmine and Anna-Rose surrounded by bouquets.  That's why the stage manager had to dash in front of the curtain to give Yasmine one of her bouquets.  For a triple debut night, I think it is very, very poor not to have had anyone at all able to take some bouquets onto the stage.  

That's ridiculous. Surely anyone could have done it!

3 minutes ago, Linnzi5 said:

What a beautiful review! It brought tears to my eyes - thank you. I don't think there's any point me writing a review now 🤣 I agree with your thoughts.

Thank you, @Linnzi5, but there would be every point in you writing your thoughts so please do!

What a terrific performance! For me, Bracewell's Des Grieux was at the centre of this tragedy. From the moment he saw Manon in Act 1, he loved her completely - eros, agape, the lot. All expressed in the most beautiful, lyrical, yearning solo. Whereas for Naghdi's Manon, there was excitement, curiosity, pleasure, and love of a kind; but only in Act 3 does she understand real love, and feel real love, and by then it's too late. The kind of arc that anyone's life could take - the tragedy of realising too late that you've taken the wrong path, with disastrous and sometimes fatal consequences. In Acts 1 and 2 she and her brother are really exercising their power, including over Des Grieux; by Act 3, Lescaut is dead and she's lost everything. Bracewell was absolutely mesmerising; aghast at Manon's behaviour with Monsieur G.M., overflowing with love for her in the various pas de deux, desperate to put things right. But he's betrayed by Manon as surely as Giselle is betrayed by Albrecht. And in the last act here, it's Manon who is filled with regret and horror, and Des Grieux who supports her and loves her to the end. So in spite of the tragedy, there is still love at the end, which is the only possible redemption.

Luca Acri was a marvellous Lescaut - ruthless and amoral. Anna Rose O'Sullivan danced superbly as his Mistress, but I do find that role quite unsatisfactory - no real character arc, and fairly repetitive choreography. And this time I found the drunk pas de deux, although brilliantly done, jarring in this context. Gary Avis was a loathsome Gaoler, bringing to mind Amon Goeth in Schindler's List. He didn't want Manon for herself but because he saw that she had a protector; he was asserting his power over not just her but also over Des Grieux. And in the end, the only way DG could fight back was by doing literally that - fighting back and killing him.

The end of Act 3 was magnificent, from both Naghdi and Bracewell. Complete abandon, as if in a world of their own; except that we were privileged enough to be witnesses. Superb. 

2 minutes ago, JohnS said:

     hopefully there’ll be greater clarity about ticket availability on the website.

Yes, this is the real point. Whatever they do or don't do about access tickets, the booking information/availability on the website should be clear and unambiguous for all bookers. 

34 minutes ago, oncnp said:

Good point. But why release access so far in advance of the performance? 

Quite. No doubt access seats are offered not just out of the kindness of the ROH's heart but to fulfill funding requirements etc, which would surely be breached by releasing them so far ahead.

18 minutes ago, alison said:

 

I've refreshed it several times, and mine is still saying Saruhashi.

ENB have tweeted this cast change, so it's definitely Frola.

2 minutes ago, PeterS said:

My point is that they are available for online booking to some people but not to everyone. in this instance it would appear to be access scheme members. Another example is when the Amphi is only available to YROH members. The ‘seats available’ numbers include these seats but if you proceed to the seating plan they are ‘greyed out’ and not available. 

But if access scheme members can book online they must have to log in separately if they are able to see the seats that are available only to them; so surely the number of seats available could also be visible only to them. 

5 minutes ago, PeterS said:

all the ROH website needs is a message similar to the one in the Donmar Warehouse website:

“If the performance you are looking for says it has limited availability but appears sold out, this will indicate that seats are not available for the general public.”

Perhaps; but if they're not available for online booking, surely it should be possible to remove them entirely from the online booking function? (At the moment they leave them in when citing the number of tickets left but then remove them when you get to the seat plan. Doesn't make sense.)

3 minutes ago, alison said:

I guess you don't sit in the amphitheatre?  

I sit in the Amphi and I'm tall and I find the legroom OK compared to many other theatres.

Whatever the reason/s are, this is clearly not how it should work. 

5 minutes ago, LinMM said:

Yes lengthy discussion there about this and I rang up yesterday ….re the same performance! 
Apparently when tickets showing as available aren’t showing on the seat map they are probably “access” tickets and you have to be registered for this scheme to “see” the tickets. 
Seems a bit clumsy to me but that’s what I was told by Box Office. 
There’s no guarantee though that the Box Office staff helpful as they are know all the ins and outs of the ROH computer system! 

To be honest, that doesn't make sense to me. If you're not registered as an 'access' person (whoever that might be), why does it show any tickets being available to you at any stage? The system should be consistent from one stage of booking to the next, and it clearly isn't.

10 minutes ago, Occasional audience member said:

So as per my user name I am only able to attend occasionally. I am hoping to see Swan Lake and have been looking for tickets (I’m not a Friend so just public ones}. But I can’t make the booking site work. I click on a performance, a message pops up to tell me that, say, there are 27 seats available for that performance, so I click on the seat map and not a single available seat is showing. Is this a known problem or am I doing something daft?? I will be reduced to just ringing up I think. 

Thanks for any advice.

Edit to say I have most recently experienced this for the 7 March performance.

If you go to the thread 'ROH Spring 2024 Booking' in the News forum, the last few posts cover this same query/problem...

13 minutes ago, FionaM said:

and this is a dance forum! 

I think MAB's meaning was that it could only apply when it is his production rather than a different one that is being danced.

10 minutes ago, LinMM said:

I rang today and was told some tickets are held back for Friday Rush! Well I’d hope more than 31! 
But also some of them could be access tickets so unless you are registered under that scheme you wouldn’t see which seats were available. 
Still March 7th is a way off yet will keep an eye out for returns. It’s a bit too early to advertise on Forum I think. 

In that case they should not be included in the number of tickets left, because they're not actually available.

Tweet from BRB about a Facebook event:

Join @BRB  and our alumna @DarceyOfficial  for a livestream from the studio on 24 January at 19.00  She’ll be coaching company dancers including alumni Gabriel Anderson and Haoliang Feng in the iconic Rose Adage from The Sleeping Beauty.

36 minutes ago, FionaM said:

Sharing this awesome clip of 20+ years ago (apologies for the poor quality.  Technology has moved on quite a bit!)

 

Alina Cojocaru and Johan Kobborg shortly before their MANON debut (from Johan’s Instagram)

 

Hold on to your hats 😉

 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CoYVWnqjTGk/?igsh=MXdiMmJmNzN2bGFqYQ==

Yikes!