JohnS

A truly memorable weekend with Swan Lake and International Draft Works before the final MacMillan Triple Bill albeit not all for the best reasons with Ryoichi Hirano’s injury, other cast illnesses, and the audience problems. For the final Triple Bill performance I was delighted to be sitting in a favourite seat (Stalls H4) above the gangway so unrestricted views of the stage. I’m very sorry Reece Clarke was poorly necessitating the cast change for the lead dancers but it was a privilege to have seen Marcelino Sambe and Francesca Hayward from such a fabulous seat. Saturday’s Different Drummer was unbearably raw, utterly draining, and Sambe, Hayward and Serrano gave an astonishing performance which will live long in the memory. The audience problems with shouting up in the slips were clearly audible in the stalls but for me they didn't detract from the spellbinding performance on stage. Requiem was proving the perfect complement but Ryoichi Hirano pulled up suddenly (though as others have said he hadn’t looked entirely comfortable before) and left the stage part way through Libera Me. It left rather a gap as Luca Acri didn’t have anyone doing the ‘heavy lifting’ so the improvisation was rather earthbound. For In Paradisum enormous congratulations to Matthew Ball who held Sarah Lamb in a high one legged lift albeit not standing on his shoulder - not even Ball could lift Lamb and place her to stand on his shoulder. He then walked backwards to the back of the stage with Sarah Lamb, transcendent, facing the audience looking to the beyond. I guess many of the audience wouldn’t have known things had gone awry. I saw Kevin O’Hare at the Stage Door so could offer congratulations and many thanks to him for devising such a tremendous Triple Bill. I said I hoped there’d be another challenging Triple Bill next year. As regards the dancers, I spoke to Teo Dubreuil who was the Different Drummer Christ figure and in Requiem. He hadn’t heard the audience shouting so perhaps other dancers hadn’t as the disturbance was news to him. Isabella Gasperini was also in Requiem after her sixth Danses Concertantes lead so it was very good to congratulate her. Luca Acri was pleased they’d managed to improvise after Ryo’s injury. Matthew Ball was with Mayara Magri. They’d danced in International Draft Works in the Linbury that afternoon which I’d seen and I thought Matt’s ‘To & Fro’ one of the best - very polished and certainly made me smile. I hadn’t gone to the Stage Door the previous evening so it was good to chat to Mayara and I’m certainly looking forward to her and Marcelino Sambe’s next Swan Lake when I’m sure I’ll be more Swan Lake centred. Matthew Ball impresses me more and more and with ‘To & Fro’ and the remarkable Requiem improvisation, quite a day for him. Ryoichi Hirano came out on crutches and wearing a protective boot. He was very happy to chat to all and have photos/sign programmes etc. Sarah Lamb was last out - I was about to go as the other well wishers had just gone and I’m very pleased I had chance to have a few words. She brings a very special quality to ballet and I’ve been very taken with the serene aura she projects in Requiem. On the way home on Sunday, I called in Rheged for the cinema encore and was hugely impressed. I’m delighted we have such a good recording of Different Drummer and Requiem although I think I have a marginal preference for Matthew Ball rather than Will Bracewell in the role. I found the cinema encore of Requiem particularly moving despite my third viewing, I guess in part because the previous evening’s performance had been affected by Ryoichi Hirano’s injury and it was so good to see such a wonderfully strong, collective performance. I do very much hope we won’t have to wait as long as we did this time before having chance to see these ballets in the theatre again. Hopefully we’ll have a stream or DVD recording but there’s nothing to beat live performance in the theatre for such intense ballets.

A hugely enjoyable evening and many congratulations to Yasmine Naghdi, Matthew Ball, and the corps. I thought their performance irresistible and with a bit more precision in some supporting roles, I think we’re in for a cinema relay treat. It was very good to see Yasmine and Matt at the stage door and with dancers ever striving for perfection there was talk of further polishing/refinement from them. For my part, I’d happily settle for a repeat performance. What really impressed me was that they both seemed absolutely in time with the music and convincing in the roles. I know there’s been a fair bit of criticism of Siegfried’s role in Act 4 but I wonder if there’s a bit of exaggeration? Siegfried is knocked out by Von Rothbart at exactly the same time as Odette’s fatal leap so it’s too late for him to save Odette. But he has resisted Von Rothbart up to the time of Odette’s sacrifice. I accept it’s very much Swan power that overcomes Von Rothbart but I’m more than happy with that. And I’ve always been touched by Odette’s spirit offering protection/solace to Siegfried in the closing moments: even if Siegfried isn’t conscious of Odette’s spirit, the audience (albeit those who can see Odette’s spirit) can think that in time Siegfried will appreciate and ultimately accept Odette’s blessing.

I enjoyed today’s General Rehearsal despite a false alarm going off during Act 1 and a ten minute delay with the audience remaining in the theatre. Some hugely impressive singing, I noticed some changes to the production which I rather liked, and fabulous flute playing. I’m certainly looking forward to a full performance on 10th May so can say more then.

I should say just the closing lines.

A memorable cinema relay despite the sound problems in the first part of Danses Concertantes. I managed to see the live relay in Keswick and Rheged’s delayed ‘live’ relay on Thursday evening. Unsurprisingly the two sound glitches were still there and Rheged were pretty sure they’d also be there for the encore. At least knowing the glitches are relatively short and are only in Danses Concertantes might help those going to the encore. Hopefully something will be done before the Triple Bill is streamed or released on DVD. I’ve been very taken with Danses Concertantes and congratulations to Isabella Gasperini for leading all performances. And I thought all 14 dancers had that sparky, joie de vivre which makes Danses Concertantes so infectious, a testament to all of them and I’m sure Laura Morera’s staging. I found Different Drummer hugely impressive and it was very good to see the detail, for example Marie’s intoxication with the Drum Major. Marcelino Sambe and Francesca Hayward were mesmerising and so well supported by all the cast. Francisco Serrano made for a swaggering, confident Drum Major, more assured than on opening night. I still think there are tensions between the ballet and the music. Schoenberg’s Verklarte Nacht and Richard Dehmel's poem which Schoenberg so wonderfully evokes, are forgiving and uplifting: the man accepts his lover’s child as his own: "Do not let the child you have conceived be a burden on your soul. Look, how brightly the universe shines! Splendour falls on everything around, you are voyaging with me on a cold sea, but there is the glow of an inner warmth from you in me, from me in you. That warmth will transfigure the stranger's child, and you bear it me, begot by me. You have transfused me with splendour, you have made a child of me. He puts an arm about her strong hips. Their breath embraces in the air. Two people walk on through the high, bright night" That seems in marked contrast to the bleakness of Buchner’s play and Berg’s opera. At the end of Different Drummer Woyzeck has murdered Marie after bringing her down with that crunching slide. Sambe immediately shows the most anguished remorse where for him suicide, drowning in the bath rather than Buchner’s or Berg’s lake, is the only option. That remorse and the appalling treatment Woyzeck has received from the Captain, Doctor and Drum Major, can elicit some sympathy but its poles apart from Verklarte Nacht. MacMillan’s revised ending I think is even bleaker with Woyzeck’s spirit stumbling along the railway track to goodness knows where and I do wonder if his initial intention of having Marie and Woyzeck transfigured together would work better. It would certainly be more in keeping with the music. Requiem provides extraordinary solace. A fabulous cast with Sarah Lamb serenity embodied. I thought the close ups didn't quite work for Will Bracewell where in his solo, any movements in those held positions were magnified. In the theatre Matthew Ball to me appeared statuesque having taken his positions. But I’d certainly treasure a recording at some point, particularly for Sarah Lamb’s radiance, but all the soloist and cast have made for a memorable performance. I noted the criticisms above about the supporting information and cinema relay extras and I do agree that these came across as too vacuous: insufficient as regards content with no explanation of the Woyzeck narrative; and too much ‘isn’t this wonderful’ and how brilliantly MacMillan chose and used the music, all asserted rather than argued. As regards the lack of synopses, it was only in going to the cinema relays that I saw just how much blank space there was on the cast sheet - two thirds of the second page was empty. I can’t understand why the Royal Ballet won’t make an effort to provide simple synopses which in the Triple Bill would help audiences unfamiliar with Woyzeck: for example explaining that Woyzeck is subjecting himself to the Doctor’s experiments for the extra money to support Marie and their child; and that Woyzeck drowns himself having killed Marie. And surely some discussion on how well MacMillan used music, perhaps contrasting Requiem and Verklarte Nacht, would have been a great deal more informative. There were also some throw away remarks about how all dancers in Requiem had their own ways of expressing their grief but I haven’t seen this as I’ve been more taken with the collective reactions - Introit’s fist shaking rage and the serenity of In Paradisum. It seems Benesch notation includes a great deal of written annotation which would be fascinating to read and significantly more helpful than the presenters’ comments that the meaning being conveyed is obvious. Looking forward to tonight’s final performance and catching the Cinema encore on the way home tomorrow if all goes well. I can’t wait for Kevin O’Hare’s next MacMillan Triple but I guess it won’t be next season.

I very much enjoyed last night’s Swan Lake with Mayara Magri and Marcelino Sambe in great form and I found them well matched. Very impressed with the debuts: Taisuke Nakao’s Benno - fabulous jumps with the softest of landings; David Donnelly’s Von Rothbart - great stage presence and well danced. I liked Sae Maeda and Ashley Dean’s sisters although I found some of the tempi a bit slow (not just for the pd3 but also some of Act 2). I very much liked Madison Bailey’s and Liam Boswell’s Neopolitan dance. Fabulous Big Swans, Cygnets and corps. The slight ’but’ for me is that I’m still so very much MacMillan Triple Bill dominated. It astonishes me that Sambe can dance Siegfried so convincingly after Tuesday’s Woyzeck (and for me Thursday’s delayed ‘live’ screening), a testament to his professionalism and that of the Royal Ballet. What I can say is that I’m really looking forward to seeing this cast on 27 April when I’ll be much more Swan Lake orientated.

I’m not sure when the new Season will be announced but today I received an invitation to the Friends' 2024/25 Season Preview (8 May 2024 in the Linbury Theatre). I can’t recall how close this event has been to Season announcements in recent years but we may have to wait a few more weeks for the full details.

I do sympathise @Vanartus. I know it’s not the same but hopefully at some point there’ll be a recording on the ROH Stream and/or a DVD.

There’s always the cinema relay where I’m rather spoiled: Keswick screen tomorrow’s live relay; Rheged, with it’s enormous screen, shows the ‘live’ relay on Thursday; and both offer the Sunday afternoon matinee. I’m going to Saturday’s final performance so if the train plus the bus replacement from Oxenholme run to time on Sunday, I could make Rheged’s encore. Having not seen the Triple Bill since opening night, I’m delighted to have chance to catch two performances and possibly repeats of the cinema relay.

If it’s not going to cause you too much grief, I think it would be very good to let Customer Services know what happened. As @Sim says, they will be able to identify who bought the tickets behind you. Other people may also have complained, either about last night’s experiences or at other times. My understanding is that the ROH have on occasions taken action to exclude audience members. And there may be some useful lessons for Front of House staff.

An awful experience @emmarose which must have massively impacted on what should have been a fabulous evening. You may well have complained to Front of House staff but I’d be inclined to contact the ROH and set out what happened. I’m sure Customer Services would investigate and take appropriate action. The email is: customerservices@roh.org.uk

And quite a contrast with Wozzeck where last year’s programme has a very clear synopsis - well presented in large print over three pages, each Act on one page and separate paragraphs for the five scenes in each Act.

Whilst there’s no stand alone synopsis, I do think the paragraphs on Different Drummer in the first three programme articles by Jann Parry, Jonathan Gray and Gavin Plumley are informative and give helpful insight to the drama and music. I also rather liked having Requiem printed in full in Latin and English. The cast sheet doesn’t have anything by way of synopses, other than a reference to Requiem being dedicated to John Cranko. A shame as there’s masses of white space on page 2 so it would have been relatively easy to include a sentence on Danses Concertantes and Requiem, and perhaps a short paragraph on Different Drummer within the two pages.

Many thanks @Dawnstar. I think it well worthwhile getting the programme - helpful articles, including two by Jann Parry; some historic photos, including from the last 2011 Requiem with Lauren Cuthbertson reprising her role this run; and many photos of the dancers in rehearsal albeit Anna Rose O’Sullivan, in a full page photo with Vadim Muntagirov, sadly didn’t make the actual performances.

Just to flag up Friday Rush this week is tomorrow, Maundy Thursday 28 March 2024. https://www.roh.org.uk/ticket-deals/friday-rush

I was very taken with the Marie/Mary Magdalene references in Different Drummer and Marie’s washing of the soldier/Christ figure’s feet and drying with her hair. In Wozzeck Marie sings about Mary Magdalene including: ‘Saviour, I should like to anoint your feet. Saviour, you had mercy on her; have mercy on me too.’ But in opera productions I’ve seen, I don’t recall the washing of feet etc being acted out. However, the washing of feet does take place in Parsifal where Kundry is also a Mary Magdalene figure. In 1979 the ROH put on a new production with Solti conducting a stellar cast, Peter Hofmann and Yvonne Minton as Parsifal and Kundry, and I recall a touching washing of the feet. As the Parsifal production was just a few years before Different Drummer, I was wondering if MacMillan had seen it (or other Parsifals). I’m afraid the index in Jann Parry’s ‘Different Drummer’ biography doesn’t help - no references to Wagner, Parsifal and Kundry and just one reference to Solti but unrelated to Parsifal. I know the Mary Magdalene story is well known and there are dozens of images in the arts but I’d be fascinated to know if MacMillan saw the Solti Parsifal and if so what he made of it. Does anybody know?

A few more thoughts on this astonishing Triple Bill if I may. I found the contrasts between the ballets made for a hugely satisfying programme so was a little taken aback by the negative reaction to Different Drummer and how it had diminished enjoyment of Requiem. For future performances some posters were going to sit out the ballet or even return tickets. I fully accept that Different Drummer is the strongest of game meat and is harrowingly bleak. But I think that makes Requiem even more transcendental. And I found Different Drummer utterly compelling in presenting the drama, certainly as regards Woyzeck and Marie who are so vividly brought to life by MacMillan, with Sambe and Hayward excelling. I’ll be keen to see David Donnelly’s Drum Major on the final night as he impressed me in the General Rehearsal. I liked the treatment of the minor parts: deliberately two dimensional where the Captain, Doctor and soldiers could have come straight out of an Otto Dix painting at his most savage. I was pleased to see the soldiers all holding their rifles in exactly the same way when crossing the stage at speed en masse as there’d been some untidiness at the General Rehearsal which I’m quite sure the Captain wouldn’t have tolerated. I do though find the ending of Different Drummer a bit problematic. The music closes serenely, mirroring the resolution found by the couple in Richard Dehmel’s Transfigured Night poem, and I can quite see why MacMillan originally hinted at atonement for Woyzeck and Marie. But that doesn’t fit the bleakness of the play so we see Woyzeck stumbling along the railway track at the back of the stage to whatever horrors await at the end of the line. That desolation doesn’t seem right to me: it doesn’t fit the music; and what has happened to Marie? I don’t think the music at that point is Marie’s and that she might take her place in Requiem. Cutting the last few bars of the music might be one brutal solution but not one I’d welcome, particularly as MacMillan had very deliberately selected the music and given how well the Webern and Schoenberg were played. I wonder if it might have been more effective to cut Woyzeck’s rail track stumbling and simply let the music play with the light fading. In that way audiences could decide for themselves whether Woyzeck and Marie could both take their places in Requiem’s In Paradisum. I’ve deliberately made references to Requiem as I think there are similarities between the two ballets and not just because of the presence of a Christ/John the Baptist figure in both. They both deal with death and provide remarkable contrasts: the awful anguish and bitterness of regret where life has been so brutalised for Woyzeck and Marie; or the quiet contentment of those at peace so miraculously captured in Requiem. For me having both ballets in the programme has been immensely rewarding and, combined with Danses Concertantes, with its wit and inventiveness, show the genius of MacMillan. I should add I rather like the original costumes, a reminder that the ballet is almost 70 years old yet remarkably fresh. I’m very much looking forward to the cinema relay and the final performance in the ROH.

I thought the Triple Bill worked extraordinarily well, enormous variety and contrasts, and huge congratulations to all involved. Danses Concertantes had real panache and wit, a testament to all the dancers, both last night and in the General Rehearsal, and I’m sure also to Laura Morera for her input in staging this ballet. You could almost sense the precision and wit Morera brought to the stage but now delivered by the casts she’d rehearsed. I thought Different Drummer gripping and utterly traumatic. First time for me and something I’ve wanted to see for a long time. I very much admire Berg’s Wozzeck and there was a terrific production last season (although I had reservations about the goings on in the on stage urinals as the audience took their seats) so I had the advantage of knowing something of the drama. Hayward and Sambe I found brutally convincing, both delivering fully committed performances. It was great to see Sambe perform the full role following the recent Insight. I liked Serrano’s Drum Major but couldn’t help but think what Campbell might have made of the role. The Captain and Doctor have no redeeming features at all and Whitehead and Hay made them suitably venomous. I’d like to think a bit more about Dubreuil’s Soldier as I don’t recognise such a role in Wozzeck. I’d been hugely impressed by Requiem in the General Rehearsal and was delighted to see the same cast were dancing the opening night, particularly the five leads Cuthbertson, Braendsrod, Ball, Hamilton, and Sissens. I very much appreciated seeing Requiem from the Balcony rather than Stalls Circle where I was for the General Rehearsal. The lighting effects I think are much more pronounced from higher up. A truly wonderful, transcendent ballet. I thought the orchestra, soloists and choir excellent so many thanks to Koen Kessels and William Spaulding. The music itself would make for an engaging concert and I thought the Webern and Schoenberg fabulously played. The Programme too is good. Kevin O’Hare talks about Gloria, The Invitation and La Fin du jour (not referenced as a possible Triple Bill) and also mentions Valley of Shadows and a duet MacMillan made for a gala in support of people with AIDS. Looking forward very much to the cinema relay - it’s the General Rehearsal cast for Danses Concertantes and Bracewell takes the Ball role in Requiem.

Tonight’s cast sheet: https://static.roh.org.uk/digital/cast-sheets/MacMillan-Celebrated/MacMillan-Celebrated-Cast-Sheet-20-03-24.pdf Very much looking to opening night after the General Rehearsal this morning .

Danses concertantes / Different Drummer / Requiem open on our Main Stage on 20 March – watch the Insight tonight at 7:30pm: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrcXGuiYYi0

I’d seen the apology @Scheherezade and thought that’s very unfortunate. Mistakes do happen and it’s good when they’re corrected so hopefully no one turned up yesterday. It was the run of ENO clangers that rather worried me and with the awful news on redundancy letters, compounded by being distributed part way through a performance, resignations etc, it’s been a very grim time at ENO.

I’m pretty sure the water in Dutchman is contained on stage - I certainly hope so for the orchestra as well as those nearest the stage. Definitely no audience participation, special glasses, moving chairs so ‘immersive’ may be overstated. But the production is extraordinarily absorbing, ‘immersive’ in a more traditional sense. I find that’s also very much the case with Lucia, Jenufa and the new Rheingold so I’m very much looking forward to further Ring instalments. I wouldn’t be too critical of ROH’s marketing tweets, certainly not compared to ENO where apparently their marketing people have warned Jenufa and Duke Bluebeard’s Castle may be too difficult for new opera goers so suggest Magic Flute and Barber of Seville instead. And I now read ENO have said that Johann Strauss was Richard Strauss’s father and Benjamin Britten composed the music for Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet film. I thought all this must be a spoof and from a quick look I haven’t managed to find references on the ENO’s website/social media but the ENO pages quoted on various social media posts look genuine.

I found Dutchman pretty engaging, for the main characters and the fabulous chorus. I’d have liked to see a performance as well as the General Rehearsal but dates didn’t work so I’ll catch the 2015 performance when it’s on the Stream. I wonder if ‘immersive’ is also a reference to the water at the front of the stage which is used very effectively for a model ship and the sailors’ party?

Apologies - I’m very late to the recent posts. I wonder if some more ambitious productions might be worth considering? I’d been unimpressed with recent Toscas, Bohemes, Turandots etc having been spoiled by so many great performances in the 1970s to 2000s before moving to Cumbria. But my faith in opera was restored when I saw Lucia di Lammermoor and then Jenufa, engaging;/challenging productions and wonderfully sang. Lucia is coming up in April and I’ll be going to the General Rehearsal (a handful of £9 tickets) and a performance (plenty of tickets, all prices). There’s not much Lucia on the Stream but there may be an Insight coming up - on 11 April Katie Mitchell and Oliver Mears are discussing the director’s role in taking a production from the rehearsal room to the stage which may include some discussion of Lucia but I don’t know if it will be relayed/on the Stream. Jenufa is on the Stream - it’s a production I find gripping where I am genuinely concerned as to what happens to all the characters. I enjoyed the recent Flying Dutchman General Rehearsal and a 2015 performance will shortly be on the Stream. There are a couple of performances left this run - 2 hours 30 minutes and no intervals but for me the time simply flew by.

A truly memorable evening on Friday and fabulous to see all the tributes, footage of the curtain calls and speeches, and the stunning performance footage from the wings. Thank you all for the posts here. I do sympathise with the comments about Alex being so underused but I thought his speech an eloquent and incredibly measured response. I’ve also been looking again at his ‘Spotlight on …’ series on the ROH Stream which seems remarkably prescient. It was great to see Alex, Claire, Francesca and others at the Stage Door, with Alex generously finding time to have more than a few words with everyone as he’s always been so willing to do. In writing a note for Alex I realised I’ve now been coming to the ROH for 50 years and Alex and Francesca have certainly provided me with some of the absolute highlights. I’d pick their Giselle (Act 1 of the first performance and Act 2 of their second performance) and last Saturday’s Manon as the ones I’ll most treasure but there are of course so many more which will stay with me. Hugely fitting for Alex and Francesca to be dancing Manon to bring the curtain down on this Royal Ballet chapter of Alex’s career and let’s see if there’ll be another chapter at some point. Meanwhile huge congratulations, many thanks, and all good wishes to Alex as he takes up his RAD role, a great opportunity where I’m sure he’ll excel.