Blossom

34 minutes ago, Xandra Newman said:

 

D*** ! Wish I had known beforehand so I could have bought a ticket. Thank you Blossom for giving us a bit of an insight into the evening.

How interesting to read Darcey Bussell was there too. She made that fascinating BBC documentary "The Magic of Swan Lake" years ago, featuring a very young Naghdi being coached by Bussell. Did Bussell and Naghdi talk about it? 

Yes Naghdi mentioned it! 

There were still a few tickets left this morning but I suppose the thing is that until arriving this evening, it was impossible to know who the panel would be. One lady turned up and when she found out Darcey Bussell would be on the panel decided she wasn’t going to stay... 

On another note I decided to watch Dowell’s Swan Lake on DVD this evening. The pdt features McRae, Choe and Morera and I know the choreography is different but they just looked more balanced both height wise and stylistically than some of the casts which have been discussed.

I also took a cast sheet for tonight on my way out and there were quite a few changes. Cowley, Katsura and Ball replaced in the waltz and polonaise by Heap and Ella with Ashley Dean. 

Cowley also replaces in Spanish dance - hope all ok there. Stock replaced by Gasparini as a cygnet and by Hannah Grennell in the Czardas. Again, hope all ok with her...

Naghdi was fascinating to listen to. She sounds like she really put everything into the role to get it just right. I wished I could tell her how fantastic she was the other night. She obviously had a close relationship with her coach for the role as she was visibly upset (and mentioned it) when she said that she had left after her debut. Lesley Collier is doing further work with the couple. She seems like a fabulous young principal, she has a lot of personality and obvious dedication. I found Kish much more awkward in terms of answering the questions asked. I very much got the impression that he saw his role as a giving partner to support Naghdi which I very much saw in the pdds but while the challenges of female virtuosity element of the act 3 solos was discussed, I would have liked to have covered whether Siegfried’s solos are equally challenging and why, to maybe understand Kish’s performance a bit better. 

What I really enjoyed about Darcey Bussell being there was the way the conversation talked about each generation of dancers passing on their expertise to the next in terms of things from an eyeline to how to absorb the character being played. She of course was coached by Fonteyn (for 2 days) which focussed very much on these sorts of details. I also loved her little anecdotes about performing with Cope and his pre-show routines. 

8 minutes ago, loveclassics said:

I loved it but being too old to be a millenial did not understand it all.  What on earth is a 'horocrux'?

 

Linda

Harry Potter reference. ‘A Horcrux is an object in which a bad wizard or witch has hidden a fragment of his or her soul for the purpose of attaining immortality’

A hilarious review.

Oh and I am 2 years to old to be considered a millenial...

12 minutes ago, Rob S said:

 

As it was a bank holiday I expect it’s more likely that fouettés had to be cancelled due to engineering work and a replacement pique service put in their place. 

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 best answer ever!

Do we assume that the pique turns were a statement of solidarity after the Copeland furore or just mixing it up a little?

12 minutes ago, Xandra Newman said:

Her (38) fouttees (yes I counted them , sorry ) were beautifully executed. 

I got well over 32 and figured I had miscounted! Thanks for your beautiful summary of Naghdi’s outstanding debut. I can’t really find the words to describe how perfect she was in this role. Lovely to see that she posted on Instagram pics which include her debut performance a a cygnet and a reference to appearing in the Darcey Bussell Swan Lake documentary when she was 14.

I've been reading everyone's comments  with anticipation ahead of my visit to the ROH today.  I really enjoyed Scarlett's storytelling, the addition of context. Loved the new designs and the costumes too.  Benjamin Ella was a superb Benno and a favourite for me, my daughter and our friends today. In terms of Siegfried's sisters, enjoyed Gasparini's dancing as always although I found something just wasn't quite right with Tierney Heap  in the pdt in act 1 although I didn't feel this again in act 3. She's very tall and regal so maybe was just a mismatch for me with the smaller and more delicate Gasparini. Maybe I just prefer Heap  in the more fiery roles - she was wonderful in the Insight rehearsal in the Spanish dance (and  today I just didn't feel that Gina Storm-Jensen gave it the same attack).

Nagdhi was the perfect Odette/Odile - so fragile in white and so devious in black.  Kish was a generous partner in their pdd's, particularly Odette scenes, but he is quite a hammy actor and his jumps were missing the fire they needed, seeming just too careful (not the same as precise, more that they seemed to intentionally lack attack), so came across pretty lacklustre in comparison to Ella.

One of my favourite things about Swan Lake is all of the character dancing in Act 3 particularly enjoyed this section.  It was clever how various holes in the story have also been filled by Scarlett - where Rothbart has come from, how Odette becomes a swan, the pressure of marriage in order for Siegfried to take the throne, how Rothbart uses Siegfried and Odette/Odile to seize the crown and the final scene where Odette is in human princess form again (albeit dead). It remains true to historical versions while tuning up the storytelling which also gives the story some modern day pace.

Thoroughly enjoyed despite what looks like endless criticism above - I really do like Tierney Heap for so many reasons but act 1 pdt was just a little awkward to watch...  Kish just not for me.  I look forward to reading what others thought. I don't usually manage to squeeze in multiple casts but am looking forward to seeing this one again at the end of the run with Osipova/Ball - felt like a must after seeing him swiftly stand in for Hallberg in Giselle a few months ago.

On 01/05/2018 at 18:53, LinMM said:

Sorry Blossom can you it sit in as well as takeaway? Sounds interesting. I'm not a real veggie or vegan but do like the food!! Especially anything with cashew nut cream.

Yes you can sit in. Also not a veggie or vegan but it caters gluten free which I do need.

I really enjoyed watching Dark Knight having such a varied 'friendship' with his works - there are some that I love and some which I frankly feel indifferent about (unlike Ashton who I love unequivocally).  It really helped to build a picture of a man I know very little about and have since picked up a copy of Jann Parry's tome - it arrived from Amazon today and I didn't expect it to be so massive! So I think it did a good job of a basic introduction for those of us who are less familiar with his work.

I also enjoyed Dancing in the Blitz although there wasn't much new information there. I'm a historian at heart and I think what was particularly interesting was how the war mobilised a nation in its love for British ballet but I think I would have liked to have understood more about the audiences and how they were converted to ballet from it being far more specialist -  over and above the balletomane who created his own newsletters. I would imagine that there are few to none left, however.

Still to watch the other programmes...

Sounds like it came across pretty well on camera, it was incredible to be in the studio. I loved Scarlett’s passion for the history, the music, the storytelling and the fact he brought his character dance teacher from school in to help with the detail there. He seems to have built an incredibly strong network to help to build something really special and I can’t wait to see the production. I also think I might be in love with a new choreographer....

I did ask about getting the livestreams all in one place and they said that they are planning to consolidate everything on youtube.

I think it’s in their interests to consolidate in one place to be as easily discoverable as possible as well as to maximise the value of investing in the production costs. Just wish they would hurry up!

SMballlet Sambe replaces James Hay tonight. I was thrilled, although feel bad that Hay didn’t get to perform. 

Loved Nunez’s interpretation of Marguerite tonight- much preferred to Ferri last season. Every head movement was calculated, every bit of her body told the story and it almost brought me to tears in the final scenes as Marguerite dies. My friend commented that she just didn’t get Vadim’s performance. I feel validated- he is not my sacred cow.... 

Wonderful to see Beatriz Stix Brunell stealing the show and a great performance from Melissa Hamilton as the lady in the big hat.

5 hours ago, Bruce Wall said:

 

It seems a request for the NUREYEV ballet has been made for the London tour - but the size of it may simply make such unfeasible.  Ref: http://tass.com/society/1002783

 

Ooh I was hoping for this, or at least for it to be available in cinemas at some point.

Lauren Cuthbertson is the cover photo on The Times today and she and Liam Scarlett on the cover of Times2. Double page spread on pages 4 and 5 about the new production. Getting excited to find out more with the Insight next week...

I really wanted to enjoy Mayerling having seen the fabulously dramatic suicide scene performed by Acosta/Morera at his final farewell. I didn’t enjoy it at all and also didn’t enjoy Song of the Earth at all so thought I had a general dislike for Macmillan until I saw Manon again after many years and just fell in love with the choreography. Wonderful that the POB version is on Sky Arts at the moment - I could just keep watching it.

If you are short on time as I often am between work and performances (generally not matinees), a new vegan fast food place has opened just down the road from the ROH. It's a 2 min walk. It's not as expensive as a proper sit down restaurant but is definitely not fast food prices!  Make sure you schedule in time to wait - it's not so fast from order to picking up at the counter but they give you a beeper so you can go and find a table while you wait.  

Menu here https://eatbychloe.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/byCHLOE_UK_TakeOut_Menu_Web_2018-R4.pdf

The address is 

Drury House
34-43 Russell Street
London WC2B 5HA

On 18/04/2018 at 23:27, penelopesimpson said:

  For me, Ferri was the weak link.  Yes, she has beautiful lines but there”sno passion and zero chemistry with Bonelli.  Mara Galeazzi or Francesca Hayward would have been a better choice.  Ferri has had a wonderful career but I humbly suggest thato the “isn’t she incredible for her age” factor is not enough to sustain performances at this level.

I thought the same during the last run but she had rave reviews. The emotion was there then but there was something about her physically which just didn’t work for me. Can’t wait to see Nunez/Muntagirov next week but after seeing the photos  and clip of Cuthbertson/Ball I wish I was seeing them too!

On ‎23‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 15:48, RuthE said:

I am a Supporting Friend of Covent Garden, which is several levels up from the bottom, and I typically find all Ballet insights are fully sold out when my level of booking priority opens - it is sometimes the case that there is availability for Opera ones.

 

But I have *never* yet failed to get a return for something I wanted.  I just bookmark the event pages in my browser, check each one a couple of times a day, and eventually I *always* find something.  Often more than one (I like to take my mother to them when I can).  There is always a 2-ticket limit, so nobody can hog more than their fair share.

 

You're more likely to find something the closer you get to the event date.

 

Of *course* the capacity is limited (hopefully when we get the Linbury back they can hold more of them in there) and if everyone who wanted a ticket was persistent in hunting one down, not everyone would get one, but my persistence hasn't failed me yet.

Followed your advice RuthE and despite missing out on the last release of tickets for the main Swan Lake Insight by what must have been a few seconds, I finally got one!  It's in my birthday week as well so maybe luck was on my side. I feel like the cat who got the cream. 

Love this quote from a review in the Independent which is a perfect description!

‘The brothel scene plays out in Hogarthian detail’

I have been reading this thread with great anticipation for my visit to the ROH tonight. A fabulous performance - Hayward went from demure to in love to a very regal mistress and then of course to her downfall. An excellent performance.  Also hugely rated Campbell as Lescaut. Knowing he is also playing Des Grieux, I wonder which he enjoys more... Being one of the nicest people in ballet (love watching when he presents Insights and World Ballet Day) I thought he did a phenomenal job of playing...a rat, for want of a better word. Particularly loved his drunken pdd with Calvert, she was also fabulous tonight. Bonnelli also danced well but I just think I preferred the dynamics of Lescaut to Des Grieux. 

Onto the much described lewdness... Actually I don’t think that there was anything inappropriate for the time which was being portrayed - and I’m quite a prude! In terms of the story of a woman’s demise being told from a man’s perspective, it’s worth remembering how women lived in those days- completely beholden to men, couldn’t vote, weren’t in charge of their own finances and effectively went from their father’s house to pretty much being the property of their husband, or to get a step up, becoming a mistress with all of the financial trappings that brings and perhaps even a little more independence. From Hayward’s portrayal at least, I don’t see this as a the story of an immoral woman but a tragic love story of a woman who made a choice perhaps to ensure herself a good life - before love won over. Her fate and fortune were very much controlled by her scheming brother - and oh what a schemer Campbell made! 

Now 40% off with code OLT40. 

25 minutes ago, Petunia said:

 

Decision making: Besides winning the lottery I'll have to start again with the Excel spreadsheets... when I know what ENB is going to do and who is coming when to Sadler's Wells etc.

And here's me thinking I am the only one with the excel spreadsheet to work out exactly which dates to go! 

I think I'm going to find it tought to do ENB Manon and Swan Lake when it's going to be my busiest season at the ROH - I will probably forego ENB as I will see those ballets at ROH this year. 

1 hour ago, HappyTurk said:

Just realized Don Quixote will have a quite long run. More debuts perhaps?

 

* Actually, it's not that long. So probably no debuts; just the usual: Nunez, Osipova, Takada, and Lamb. 

Could be a good one for Corrales?

28 minutes ago, Scheherezade said:

I'd forgotten about Corrales. I wonder what he's lined up for. And with whom.

Me too. Can’t wait!!!