bridiem

1 hour ago, capybara said:

Please would someone who has been there on opening night reveal the dancers for: Lilac Fairy, Carabosse and the Bluebirds. Many thanks.

Kaneko, McNally, Hayward, Sambe (don't know how to do an accent on my phone!). Great performance - just leaving.

All the right notes, just not in the right order?!

Sounds fascinating.

39 minutes ago, HelenLoveAppleJuice said:

 

She started conversation with fans in English very actively at least from early this year (after Don Q performance). Very warm person. Before that when I met her in stage door, she clearly understood what I was talking but hardly replied in English. 

 

---- Completely unrelated to the performance but----

 

Well I think that it is related to her real life partner Jason Kittelberger. As a non native English speaker, I have to say that best way to improve a foreign language is to have a native speaking partner or roommate:) 

Whatever the reason, I'm very glad she's now speaking to us in English! She's as vibrant in English and she is in Russian.

3 hours ago, Nogoat said:

One thing that struck me about Enigma Variations, and which may account for some of its attraction, was just how thoroughly and quintessentially English it is.

Ashton; Elgar; The Royal Ballet; the Victorian/Edwardian era staging; the eccentricity of the characters; the self-doubting, but determined Elgar; the foundational, selfless love of his wife; the supportive steadfastness (now there's an English word, if ever there was one! ) of Nimrod. And, yes, it was the 'conversation' between these three characters (to the Nimrod variation) that got my tears flowing - in particular Elgar's slow, shallow lift of his wife off the floor and to his side. Perhaps that's where the genius of this piece lies - in the little touches, the ones I will only see on repeated viewing.

Thank you for reminding me of the slow, shallow lift, Nogoat - I also found that incredibly moving and I'd never really noticed it before last night. The whole truth of love and life expressed through one simple, slow, careful, precious movement. Amazing.

9 minutes ago, cackles said:

The Odeon in Wimbledon was very empty unfortunately - I didn't do a head count!

I assumed that the Odeon would be cheaper than the Curzon, but I see it's actually more expensive. Maybe that partly explains the emptiness!

5 minutes ago, alison said:

 

The Odeon, or the Curzon?  Pleased to see it if it's the Odeon - it was always one of my fallbacks if I couldn't get in elsewhere, until the prices went almost stratospheric.

 

There were maybe a dozen or so people in my cinema, but then it's fairly new for them, so no time to build up a following.

The Curzon. (I don't know if it was on at the Odeon too.)

Just to add that if a DVD is released of this, I will buy it INSTANTANEOUSLY!!

I saw the live screening in Wimbledon - the cinema was pretty well full. What a brilliant performance of these three magnificent works! The company now on top form in all three. I loved Anna Rose O'Sullivan and James Hay in the first movement of Concerto, and Naghdi and Hirano were unbelievably beautiful in the second, with Mayara Magri bold and bright in the third movement. Seeing Enigma Variations close up was wonderful - every nuance and detail clear, and a really moving performance. Christopher Saunders was touching as Elgar, with Laura Morera intensely musical and quietly dramatic as his loving wife. Hayward was a scintillating Dorabella and Acri a thrilling George Robertson Sinclair - so fast and nimble! The general rejoicing on the receipt of the telegram, before Elgar has seen it, was so beautiful - all his friends rejoicing, dancing, rising, spinning, in the knowledge of the happiness he was about to be given - their selfless love and artless affection distilling the whole essence of the ballet. And Raymonda was absolutely brilliant, with Osipova a less mysterious but more exotic princess than Cuthbertson, and Muntagirov beyond perfect as Jean de Brienne. Dazzling all round.

So if it's Macmillan's choreography, I wonder what 'reimagined' means (apart from redesigned)??

I've received an email about Coppélia:

Our records show that you are due to attend a performance of Coppélia. We are contacting you to let you know about the following cast changes:

Thursday 28 November, 7.30pm
Wednesday 4 December, 7.30pm
Saturday 4 January, 7.00pm

Due to injury Steven McRae is replaced by Alexander Campbell as Franz.

Fascinating! I'm so sorry about your ankle, Ivy Lin.

What lovely photos and testimonials! Good for him.

4 minutes ago, capybara said:

It's interesting that the Chair of Governors mentioned a Gold Medal being given annually to someone who has made an outstanding contribution to the Royal Ballet Companies. Does anyone know who else has received this honour?

Gailene Stock was awarded it in 2016 and Jay Jolley in 2013. I remember reading about these at the time and I've just googled and can see those but can't see any others mentioned - these were both publicised by the RBS rather than the RB. It would be good if the RB publicised these awards themselves. (Or maybe they do, but if so not very effectively!).

54 minutes ago, JNC said:

 

I’m sure @penelopesimpson will clarify but I think she meant ‘vital’! 

 

I also agree that % of tickets available for the general public should be a per performance measure, rather than across the whole scope of ROH productions. 

Yes, and I think 20% should be the minimum level held back. (Even if that means I can't get all the tickets I want when I book as a Friend.)

14 hours ago, Mary said:

For me it was Concerto where in some places more precison would have been welcome: Francesca Hayward was 'perfect' but I felt Corrales, whose energy and power I much appreciated, could have been more precise and perhaps especially in the arms? but am very happy to stand corrected..it was my perception though.

 

Definitely my perception too - especially his arms and hands. (And hair!!! It was flopping rather too much, exacerbated by his tendency to give a final little flourish with his head after finishing a tricky step, a habit I don't like.)

I positively hated Marguerite and Armand, and then I saw it with Rojo and Polunin... Mind you, I still have some reservations about it. I've gone through phases with Enigma Variations; it was the first ballet I ever saw and so occupies a very special place for me, but for quite a few years thereafter it didn't really grip me (except for the music). It's only in recent years that I've really begun to appreciate it again. But yes, casting can make a huge difference, and so can the changes in one's own life and perceptions.

4 minutes ago, MJW said:

 

Well not a good start as missed Concerto due to train delays as a result of fallen trees on the line, and, despite running up 193 steps at Covent Garden, it had already started. Watching on a big screen in the Crush Bar is not quite the same thing ! Anyway despite not being in the best frame of mind, I thoroughly enjoyed Engima and Raymond - Osipova clearly having a ball. I can hopefully watch it all when I see the cinema screening on Tuesday night.

What a shame, MJW! I hope you enjoy the screening.

2 minutes ago, maryrosesatonapin said:

What an evening.  I think this qualifies as the performance during which I have shed the most tears in a whole lifetime of ballet-going.  Hirata and Morales were both superb.  In fact Hirata was better than superb; so utterly delicate throughout.  She immediately enraptured the audience with the sweet joie-de-vivre that we knew was tragically doomed.  This version is close to the original 1841 production and to me it seemed the perfect ballet in every aspect.  The music was so sensitively played, the scenery was delightful/scary, the whole thing was completely memorable.  I usually write quite long reviews but tonight I am speechless with wonder and gratitude. Well done BRB.

Just going off to find a fresh pack of tissues.....

I echo your words 100%, maryrosesatonapin. I am stunned by the beauty of this production and of the performances tonight. Perfect indeed in every aspect. Magnificent sets and costumes and Hirata and Morales were - perfect. The whole company were magnificent. Samara Downs was an icy Myrtha, with just the tiniest hint of a smile as the wilis dealt with Hilarion. Absolutely flaming terrifying. A horse. A waterfall. Flying wilis. A ruined cathedral. Marion Tait prefiguring the wilis as she gestured furiously for Albrecht to leave at the end of Act I. Albrecht's long, slow walk of shame early in Act II. A fantastic series of entrechats from Morales. Simply exquisite dancing throughout from Hirata, and every aspect of Giselle's character so clearly portrayed. Kit Holder a wonderful Hilarion. A superb peasant pas de deux from Parma and Chou. And at the end, a vision of a peaceful, loving Giselle at rest in eternal life and watching over her redeemed Albrecht.

I too am speechless with wonder and gratitude.

I'm glad you did get a reply, JNC. But at the risk of labouring the point, the problem is that it (and Alex Beard's earlier statements) are in direct opposition to what several members of this forum (and so presumably others) were told by ROH staff on several different occasions. So, either both/all the staff involved were wrong; or, the policy was rapidly changed when the controversy became clear to the ROH. Either option (and I lean towards the latter) reflects very badly on the ROH, as does the lack of transparency (to use a polite word) about what has been happening.

But, I do think/hope the ROH will now have to be a lot more careful in future about this issue, which is all to the good.

I'd never seen this partnership in Manon before last night, and I'm very glad I have now seen them. Morera's Manon is very different from the others I've seen; she does look a lot older, and more mature, and she knows (or thinks she knows) exactly what she's doing. She's not Lescaut's pawn, she's his equal partner and co-conspirator, with some of his arrogance too. At first I found that a bit difficult to absorb, but once I accepted her on her own terms it became not just acceptable but fascinating. This Manon has seen too much to allow her unexpected love for Des Grieux to derail the possibility of riches. Bonelli's Des Grieux really is an innocent - he sees the good at the heart of Manon, falls for it, and will never let it go. So whilst she plays her dangerous and ultimately fatal game, he is like her conscience - always there, reminding her, pleading with her, wanting her to turn to the light. But by the time she does, it's too late. Morera's Act 3 is somehow even more shocking than usual, because this Manon has been so confident, so elegant, so apparently in control; and now she is wrecked and broken and lost. Beautifully danced, beautifully acted, and horribly tragic.

I really liked Luca Acri's Lescaut - I found him very believable as a cocky, unprincipled but charming chancer, and he danced strongly. I was less convinced by Meaghan Grace Hinkis as his Mistress; she didn't seem to me to have the sensuality the character needs. Gary Avis was once more a distressingly evil Gaoler, and James Hay was an excellent beggar chief, the only issue being that when he and Luca Acri are near each other they look like identical twins... which was a bit distracting.

But another great performance of this great ballet.

I suspect they haven't replied because there's nothing sensible they can say. They've messed up big time, and been rumbled.

As Cilla might have said, that's a lorra lorra flowers!!

10 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

I would hope he would have a Birmingham base for during the week.

Yes, though I know from experience that that sort of set-up is not great for family life.

26 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

Bridie - I love your evocative description of A Brief Nostalgia - so much more articulate than me.  Thanks!

Thanks Jan, but I was only building on YOUR very helpful description!

9 hours ago, Tony Newcombe said:

Easy trip. I regularly travel along the Cross Country trains Routes from Bristol to Plymouth and to Birmingham and Manchester(Salford for Janet McNulty) to see BRB

That's not what I call an 'easy' trip if it's to be done (presumably) on a moreorless daily basis when the company's not on the road. David Bintley clearly found it necessary/desirable to live in Birmingham.