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bridiem

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Everything posted by bridiem

  1. bridiem
    So have I, until the last few visits.
  2. bridiem
    I suppose there's always a potential mismatch between security and customer service, if you employ staff who specialise in these two very different areas. I wouldn't object to a (literally) serious security focus, if that's what was happening (though of course that wouldn't really tally with Open Up); but there's no point having unsmiling and unfriendly security staff who then don't do a proper bag search (which is what happened yesterday - also at the Piazza entrance). So I think the ROH needs to decide what it's actually doing here.
  3. bridiem
    Maybe some people can no longer tell the difference between real life and social media.
  4. bridiem
    Couldn't agree more, Sim! They were both brilliant but she was just sensational. She had everything - technique, characterisation, stage presence, projection. She positively glowed. At one stage I seriously wondered if she had springs hidden in her legs. She bounced and she flew. Amazing. I half hoped that Kevin O'Hare would announce her promotion after the performance because she owned the role and the stage so completely.
  5. bridiem
    And the greatest Widow Simone I've ever seen.
  6. bridiem
    At last! I'd moreorless given up hope. So well deserved and I'm absolutely delighted for him.
  7. bridiem
    Why should she resist? Well, because she is uniquely talented as a ballerina, and still growing both technically and artistically. Cats will have been an interesting and rewarding challenge for her in terms of mechanics of making a film, but (apart from the song, I suppose) will not have challenged her at all in terms of either technique or acting. I hope she realises this and doesn't assume that a career of instant stardom would await her in the very competitive (and often very superficial) world of musical theatre/film. She still has so much to give (and to learn) in the field in which she has trained and specialised. After ballet - who knows? But for now, I hope she continues to use her talent to its utmost (whilst enjoying some of the perks of having a higher profile!).
  8. bridiem
    On which day is this, Janite? I can't find it in my listings.
  9. bridiem
    I think Veronica was a lead character in the Wells books (which for some reason I never read/discovered). And I only read and enjoyed the Drina books later - maybe I was in my twenties. But you're right - bits from books do stay with you for ever, though sometimes the source/s might get confused. What matters is the power of the effect. I loved the two Ballet Family books by Mabel Esther Allan (Jean Estoril) and they influenced me very strongly - about ballet yes, but also about all sorts of other things including London and Paris.
  10. bridiem
    Happy Birthday to the forum! And so many congratulations and thanks to Sim and all the moderators who do such a terrific job in running it. A very happy Christmas to all members of the forum.
  11. bridiem
    There seem to be quite a lot on AbeBooks: https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/SearchResults?sts=t&cm_sp=SearchF-_-home-_-Results&an=estoril&tn=&kn=drina&isbn=
  12. bridiem
    I'm so glad you're finding homes for the mags and books, Ballet448!
  13. bridiem
    Well it did only open yesterday, and it is a rather busy time of year. If I go it won't be until January, but I still want to know how it's being received.
  14. bridiem
    Well, to be honest I think that that description of his work could be applied to a huge amount of popular music if you wanted to be cynical about it. But on the whole people seem to like tunes, and lyrics that they find meaningful, and that's what ALW often provides. (As opposed to most classical composers now, who would rather die than write anything that could be called a 'tune' and would be appalled to be described as 'popular'.) I actually thought ALW's early musicals were terrific (musically rather than in respect of the stagings I saw, which apart from Cats were pretty awful), but I haven't seen anything of his for decades because I don't in fact generally like musicals much (with a few honourable exceptions on film). So I don't know what his later work is like.
  15. bridiem
    That's an observation about their complexity, not their quality. Most popular music is easy to sing. Hymns are (usually!) easy to sing. And there is excellent popular music and there are excellent hymns. Sometimes simplicity is a virtue especially if you are actually seeking to reach a wide audience rather than a sophisticated few. (I'm also thinking of, for example, the poetry of Carol Ann Duffy.) And although I understand that you might want to offer something more 'difficult' at an audition, frankly I would have thought that most students of musical theatre would be exceptionally fortunate if they ended up in a good professional production of an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical.
  16. bridiem
    Now look what you've made me do, Pulcinella. I was already seeing the first cast of Dances at a Gathering (at the live screening in Brixton), but I hadn't booked another performance of the bill... except that having seen the second cast, I now have. Tut tut.
  17. bridiem
    Of the reviews I've read, I thought that this one and the Vanity Fair one were the most illuminating in their comments.
  18. bridiem

    Room 101

    bridiem replied to taxi4ballet's topic in Not Dance

    How extremely rude of these people.
  19. bridiem
    What a prejudiced and patronising thing to say.
  20. bridiem
    What an awful journey, LinMM! But I'm so glad you saw almost all of the bill and enjoyed it so much.
  21. bridiem
    That is surprising. I know they did it in 2012-2013 (I went in Jan 2013) so I assume that was the last time. Not sure about previous years.
  22. bridiem
    ENB has tweeted: Cast change: due to illness, Fernanda Oliveira will replace Alina Cojocaru for the Sunday 22 December 2.30pm performance of #ENBNutcracker at the London Coliseum.
  23. bridiem
    I agree about the balance/programming. I personally have found that I haven't wanted to revisit the (wonderful) triple bill because I feel that I've 'done' that - I've moved on. You need a certain level of concentration to really enjoy works and allow them their true value, and my focus has moved away from the triple bill. I feel as if I don't quite know where to look in terms of what's on and it all feels very disjointed. (Notwithstanding the quality of the works/performances.)
  24. bridiem
    I wasn't there, but I do feel as if the company have been doing a huge amount of serious full-on DANCING in recent months; i.e. Concerto, Raymonda, Beauty and Coppélia, and all at moreorless the same time. (As well as other works too of course, that may be demanding but may not require quite the technical precision and stamina that these do.) I wouldn't be surprised if it's put even more strain on them than usual.
  25. bridiem
    Now if you'd been an opera-goer you would have turned round and punched him... Seriously though that sounds awful! Poor you and what a selfish man.
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