bridiem

8 hours ago, bangorballetboy said:

 

The “odd” prices include the booking fee, which you wouldn’t have paid as you were booking at the box office.  The tickets being sent by post is an anti-tout measure.

You'd think the box office person could have explained this to Amelia, wouldn't you?

Well it seems to be a sort of philanthropic/crowdfunding 'competition' - see https://www.fedora-platform.com/competition/prizes but it does seem strange (to me) for a potential new RB/ABT work (and some other big companies here too) to be publicly floated in this way. I wasn't aware that this was a (potential) fundraising method they would use. I haven't investigated the voting procedure yet!

32 minutes ago, Xandra Newman said:

Will Marianela Nunez now dance Tatiana on Friday evening and on Saturday evening (her scheduled show)? I have a ticket to see her on Saturday evening. 

Well she's still listed for Saturday evening, so it seems so.

Or, according to the website, she's replaced by Juliano Nunes... Should be interesting.

14 minutes ago, Irmgard said:

I have just checked the RAH seating plan for this and it is not in the round but will be performed on the stage with seating in the arena.  The ticket prices range from £33.75 for the back row of the Rausing Circle (top tier of the hall) to £92.88 for the first row.  The top price is £184.25 for the front of the arena.  Seats at the side of the stage and behind it are not being sold.

Thanks, Irmgard. That makes my decision for me! (i.e., way too expensive.)

53 minutes ago, Fonty said:

 

Florence isn't, no.  But Raymonda surely would be.

Oh, I get it! 😊

13 minutes ago, Fonty said:

While the idea of setting a ballet around the Crimean War and the nursing staff sounds intriguing, I am really struggling to see how that fits in with the original music score!  This is not a reworking, this is a completely new ballet, surely?  With a leading role featuring a woman who happens to have a rather unusual name.  In real life, I expect she would have insisted on being called Rosemary. 

?? Florence isn't (or wasn't) that unusual surely? (It was my mother's second name (and she became a nurse!)). I don't know Raymonda sufficiently to judge how this might work, but it does sound intriguing.

9 hours ago, Geoff said:

 

...whereas I, LinMM, am a sucker for them! I love the unpredictability, the often chaotic and under-rehearsed shows, the muddly programming, the unexpected surprises, the anticipated “surprises”, the one-up-personship between performers (once - no names - two people were booked who couldn't stand one another, so one appeared in the first half, the other carefully separate, after the interval, so that there was no risk of them running into each other backstage) - in short the sheer showbizzyness of it all.

 

Often one sees amazing things that are new, or novel aspects of performers or works one knows well, perhaps simply because the context is so different. In any case some of the loveliest and most moving experiences I have ever spent in theatres have been galas (just recently and just at the ROH, I remember the Hvorostovsky tribute and the Fonteyn evening, for example). But it’s always pot luck, so overpaying may well be a foolish investment.

Great post, Geoff! Apart from the Fonteyn one I haven't been to a gala for years because I got very jaded about them (too often underwhelming and overpriced); but you've now made me very glad that for some reason I decided to book for the 20th May at the ROH.

24 minutes ago, JohnS said:

What time can you join the queue as it’s clearly well before 9:00?  It seems a bit odd to me to be able to join a queue in advance of booking opening or is this normal?

If you can join a queue early that would obviously (and unbeknownst to them) disadvantage those who only log on to book at the stated opening time of booking. So I would be interested to know the answer to JohnS's question.

The ROH has tweeted: Tonight at 7.30pm - tune in to our YouTube channel to learn more about The Cellist, @CathyRMarston's first Main Stage work for The Royal Ballet The event will feature @LondonBallerina, @MarcelinoSambe, Marston and others Watch here: http://youtu.be/UfkrqEa5nls  #ROHcellistmixedpic.twitter.com/BsgFoFvbH7

36 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

Do you think you need to be a friend to log in and see it.

I don't think so - I didn't log in.

10 minutes ago, Geoff said:

Point of information: what is that faintly oriental-looking show one has been pressed to take a flyer for (for months now) when trying to leave the ROH quietly at the end of performances? The people thrusting the flyers have on occasion been so aggressive and persistent in their “handing out” of the sheets that I vaguely assumed this was not really to do with the arts, but some kind of cult, like Scientology or whatever, and they would be punished if they didn’t hit a certain target.

 

But I may be doing the show, whatever it is/was, a disservice. It would be interesting to know if anyone actually bought a ticket to whatever this is (apologies but as I haven’t kept any of the flyers, taken only to stop being harassed, so don’t know the name). And to know what it was like. 

I think that might be Shen Yun. I've been offered leaflets for them many times outside Sadler's Wells at any rate, and was offered one outside the ROH recently. I took one the first time offered but could see I would have no interest in them so I don't take them now. (And I had also assumed they were Chinese, not unreasonably I think given the name. But any negativity about such 'dancers' is clearly related to what they do, not to where they come from.)

13 minutes ago, Fonty said:

Here comes the But.  Everyone has commented on the Lilac Fairy of Storm-Jensen.  This is a tricky role, because for the majority of time it is a non dancing one.  She is a very attractive lady, and she looked wonderful in the close ups when she was simply standing and wafting her wand around.  However, as everyone has pointed out, there is one very tricky bit of dancing which she simply didn't pull off.  It wasn't just her dancing, it was the overall style. 

 

I am slightly disappointed that nobody else commented on this when I posted the two different clips of an LF from a previous generation, and one from the current batch.  Porter looked so light and ethereal; she looks as if she is about  to fly away.  I didn't time it, but it felt as though the tempo for Calvert was slightly slower..  Or it could just be the different style of dancing.  Calvert  performs the steps capably, and manages to exude a calm authority, but she seems so solid and grounded in comparison.  And this is the problem I had with Storm-Jensen.  Not only did she not manage the solo steps, which could happen to anybody, but she just looked too big and strong.  She never convinced me that she was a fairy. 

I didn't have time to watch the Calvert/Porter clips when you posted them, Fonty, but I have now done so (in fact I've watched all the 1978 fairy variations, with great pleasure). The difference between  Porter and Calvert, and between all the fairies then and now, is enormous. My eye has of course adjusted over the years, and I am full of admiration for the skill, strength and artistry of today's dancers. But they train differently, and so they look different and dance differently. It's difficult to be as physically strong as dancers are nowadays and also look ethereal. But my problem with Storm-Jensen wasn't her physique, which could have been used to great effect; it was her lack of dramatic skills.

3 hours ago, Fonty said:

I think it is pot luck with the staff at the Coliseum.  Some of them are terse to the point of rudeness;, and others couldn't be more helpful.  I splashed out on a £10 programme, and as I had no cash on me paid by card.  When I asked for a receipt, I was told very curtly by the programme seller  that "It is not the policy of the Coliseum to give receipts."  Excuse me?  I didn't think any business that allowed people to pay by card could refuse to provide them with a receipt.  I am obviously wrong. 

I don't think you are wrong. The UK Cards Association website says that 'Retailers are required to give you a receipt for card payments in a shop, and you can request a receipt for contactless payments'. (I'm sure the Coliseum would count as a shop.) (And I used to work in a library where we took card payments, and we always gave receipts for chip and PIN payments - where the receipt was generated automatically - and always offered them for contactless.)

1 minute ago, Fonty said:

When did Rojo make a speech?  Was it just Friday night?  After the photos on here, I was waiting for her to step on stage after Etudes finished at the matinee performance, but the curtains closed, the lights came up, and we all filed out.

She did on Friday night. I don't know about Saturday night. To be honest, I would have thought that she should have done this after each performance even if some of the content may have been a bit different (various 'luminaries' came on stage on Friday night who may not have been at all the performances).

8 minutes ago, Irmgard said:

Witch Boy has been notated so could be revived.  Anastasia (Act III) was done by ENB in 1989 (I think with Lynn Seymour guesting).  If it was done with Echoing, that would have been a very heavy programme! 

Anastasia Act III was in fact on a bill with Land (Christopher Bruce) in 1989 (finishing with Etudes!). (And the next week: Onegin!).

A thrilling and moving evening, constructed and delivered with real intelligence and panache. I loved the integration of the film and photos with the 'live action', and found the filmed contributions of Beryl Grey especially moving. What an achievement to have kept this company going, and going from strength to strength in often adverse circumstances, for 70 years!

23 minutes ago, Silke H said:

Claire’s toe went into a massive cramp which is why she couldn’t get in pointe.

How awful for her!

35 minutes ago, Jamesrhblack said:

Gosh that was lovely. She was absolutely superb: I was hoping for a promotion to principal epilogue. Kudos also to Bonelli who danced out of his skin, elegant and charismatic 

That was the performance not just of a principal but of a star. No wonder her prince was smitten.

I just wish they had been matched by a more credible Lilac Fairy. I did think that Gina Storm Jensen danced the variation a lot better than when I've seen her before; but in a company chock full of wonderful dramatic dancers, it is really noticeable when someone isn't expressive especially in such a crucial role. A casting decision I really don't understand.

Naghdi and Ball sensational. McNally a wonderful Carabosse. And Elizabeth McGorian the most gracious and beautiful Queen you could possibly imagine.

26 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

He did it at this past Saturday's matinee too so it must be something he does as standard. Maybe the other SB conductors could be encouraged to follow suit in future runs.

Yes, he also did it last Thursday - it worked really well.

ENB has tweeted: Casting update: due to injury, Joseph Caley is replaced by Isaac Hernández in tonight's performance of #ENBLeCorsaire at the @LondonColiseum

20 minutes ago, alison said:

I thought they said it was illness back then, that was all.  No reason it can't be both, of course, if she's exceptionally unlucky.

Yes, she's been off for weeks with illness; I think this is the first time they've said 'injury'.

ENB has tweeted this: Casting update: due to injury, Alina Cojocaru will not be performing in our 70th Anniversary Gala performances on Fri 17 Jan 7.30pm and Sat 18 Jan 7.30pm.

7 hours ago, balletfan2020 said:

congratulations to reece! longtime lurker here, but I just remembered watching this a while back: https://vimeo.com/84028653 interesting clip about the clarke family's journey to the Royal Ballet School. His parents and brothers must be so proud! 

Really interesting film! Thanks for posting it, balletfan2020.

A slightly different issue: in the magazine a new Print on Demand service was advertised for ROH posters, directing those interested to the shop on the website. I went to the shop on the website but no matter how hard I looked I couldn't find anything about it. Eventually I emailed the shop and received a (prompt) reply saying that the service had been delayed and would be available at the end of January. So there does seem to be a bit of a disconnect between advertising in the magazine and immediate availability of details/products on the website.