Jump to content

bridiem

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    4,054

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by bridiem

  1. bridiem
    I had the interesting experience last night of seeing this bill from the Amphi but without opera glasses. I forgot them, for I think only the second time in 42 years of ballet-going!! I was rather dismayed when I realised I didn't have them, but of course it forced me to allow the bigger picture to prevail instead of spending so much time focussing (literally!) on the leads or other individuals. And it was a great experience! Especially with Symphony in C, where I was much more aware than usual of the way the shapes unfold and complement each other. What an incredible ballet it is. And in The Firebird I got the whole magnificent sweep of the drama all the time. I was even more impressed by Magri's Firebird this time, and it really projected up into the Amphi. Hayward was a brilliant Vera again in Month (those angry, stabbing kicks towards Natalia!) but seemed less secure in Symphony in C. Kaneko, Muntagirov, Lamb and Campbell all shone in Symphony and it got a great roar of approval as the curtain came down. A great evening.
  2. bridiem
    I understand what you're saying about Naghdi, HappyTurk, in that I don't think her Juliet is very MacMillan-esque. But I think there comes a point when a ballet has its own life independent of the choreographer, and R&J has long gone beyond that point. I think her style of dancing and her approach to the drama is entirely valid, effective and beautiful. She's not wild or completely abandoned, but I don't think that's necessary for the tragedy to unfold. There are all sorts of different Juliets (as there are all sorts of different people!). I did see progression in her, from a happy young girl to a distraught young woman, but she was at all times herself - capable, intelligent, loving and beautiful. I agree that Ball is more introverted as a dancer; and I sometimes feel as if he's not entirely convinced by what he's doing. But clearly others get more from him than I do! (I do think he's an excellent dancer, and a terrific partner.)
  3. bridiem
    I've never really thought about that; but maybe it's a) a bit of light relief, b) an indication that Natalia's husband is older than her and a bit absent-minded, and/or c) an indirect reference to the fact that Yslaev has lost the means of keeping things (people?) secure/confined; the fact that it is Natalia who then finds the keys has myriad possible interpretations!
  4. bridiem
    The Fonteyn element in this programme is quite small really. Or am I missing something? (It's still a great programme!).
  5. bridiem
    Thanks, Jamesrhblack - I do now have a vague memory of seeing some wedding photos! But I'd completely forgotten.
  6. bridiem
    Who is Mrs Kish?!
  7. bridiem
    But that would imply that no-one else is leaving. Is that likely to be the case?
  8. bridiem
    Well as you say, it's 'almost' everyone else, not everyone else; and please don't feel guilty! It is quite disconcerting when your reaction is very different from that of most other posters here - it's happened to me a number of times - but there's no right or wrong about it. All sorts of things affect how we react to an individual performance and/or to individual dancers, and no one person's reaction is any more or less valid than anyone else's. And your view may be shared by many forum members who don't post anything (maybe in case their views don't tally with those of the majority!).
  9. bridiem
    Just seen on Twitter (from the RB) that Nehemiah Kish is retiring from the RB at the end of this season. I'm very sad about that, because I feel as if I only started to know/appreciate him recently. It says on the ROH website that he will be embarking on a course of postgraduate study in the arts and cultural policy in the autumn at Goldsmiths, University of London.
  10. bridiem
    Yes, it was pretty dark (in Brixton). But that always seems to be the case with these screenings so I've come to expect it. (It happens in Wimbledon too.)
  11. bridiem
    I think Hirano is a great dancer AND a dramatic artist (though still developing as the latter); but he's not remotely like Edward Watson. In fact they couldn't be more unalike. Your last two sentences did make me laugh, penelopesimpson!
  12. bridiem
    I thought Yasmine Naghdi was wonderful - her dancing is so beautiful, and her acting intelligent, powerful and nuanced. Matthew Ball certainly looks the part - young, handsome, romantic - and his dancing was excellent, but I don't think his acting is in the same league as Naghdi's. But they did make a lovely couple, with she definitely the driving force. And what a stunning Tybalt from Gary Avis; this time, it was clear that he didn't mean to kill Mercutio - in fact was aghast at having done so - and that made his portrayal all the more interesting. When Gary Avis is on the stage, he dominates it. He is just magnificent. And a brilliant Lead Mandolin from Marcelino Sambé - terrific technically, and drawing all eyes to him through the sheer power of his stage presence. So exciting to see Lesley Collier rehearsing Naghdi and Ball; she was my first Juliet (with Wayne Eagling as Romeo), and she set the standard. And I loved the interview with Alessandra Ferri. (I was at a live screening, in Brixton, not at the ROH.)
  13. bridiem
    Apparently it will be at 5pm and the main performance will not be disrupted.
  14. bridiem
    Bringing 4 programmes was ambitious; and unfortunately the season has happened at a really busy ballet time in London. I only got to one programme because there has been so much else on. If they'd come a few weeks later, I wonder if audiences would have been bigger.
  15. bridiem
    Me neither, capybara! (But I was near the back of the amphi.)
  16. bridiem
    I should also have mentioned The Firebird, since this was my first viewing of Itziar Mendizabal in the role. I thought hers was a very strong performance, though perhaps a bit TOO wild for my liking (there's wild, and there's ever so slightly deranged...). Whereas I found Nehemiah Kish a little mild as the Tsarevich, but not without appeal. Christopher Saunders seemed a smaller Kostchei than usual, and more easily cowed, and Claire Calvert was a serenely lovely Tsarevna. It was an excellent way to open the evening; I will never tire of this magnificent ballet!
  17. bridiem
    Thanks for posting those amazing photos, Rob S!
  18. bridiem
    Well I must have looked as if I was struggling/getting in the way. I think you must just have had a more sensible programme seller.
  19. bridiem
    I was trying to write the changes, which were displayed at the programme selling point on the ground floor, on my cast sheet, and was getting in everyone's way. So I started fumbling to get my phone out and take a photo, but it then occurred to me to ask the seller if she had any slips, and she produced one with a flourish. Why on earth could she not have given me one, when she saw I was both a) seriously interested and b) getting in the way of other patrons??
  20. bridiem
    Oh yes, I'd forgotten about the Japan programme! I'm glad this wasn't quite a one-off.
  21. bridiem
    Yes, and unfortunately that caption stayed up for MUCH LONGER than any of the others!!
  22. bridiem
    I want to echo the thoughts of li tai po above: the amount of work and effort and time that must have gone into organising this one-off programme at such a busy time is incredible. It was thrilling seeing extracts from Ashton works I have never seen, or not seen for a very long time, and from other more familiar works, and the dancers were clearly giving of their all. No point mentioning the highlights, because they were all highlights; though I did find Apparitions a little downbeat as a final piece (I didn't at the time appreciate that it was leading in to Salut d'amour). Ending with the projection of Salut d'amour, in effect seeing Fonteyn dance it again on that stage, and then take Ashton's arm and walk off/towards us, was a stroke of genius and incredibly moving. It reduced me to tears (mainly of sorrow, because they are both gone, but also of love and gratitude).
  23. bridiem
    Thanks for posting the 1978 recording, Geoff (of a performance I may well have attended, given how often I went to ballet in 1978! I'd only discovered it the previous year and it was all-consuming). I haven't watched all of it, because I'm finding the contrast between then and now quite difficult, given how much I admire today's dancers. The dancers then were so fast, so lyrical, so light, so apparently effortless and above all so musical. They're dancing, not doing ballet.
  24. bridiem
    I'd go for it, Dawnstar! I personally think that going to the cinema alone is easier than going to the theatre alone (except ballet, which for me is no problem at all).
  25. bridiem
    That's nuts.
×
×
  • Create New...