JohnS

Very pleased to see The Dante Project Friday evening with the Ed Watson cast and Saturday’s matinee with Federico Bonelli’s cast. In seeing it twice I am more impressed with the unity of the piece. On Friday night I found Act 1 a tour de force; this afternoon I found Acts 2 and 3 more compelling. I hadn’t particularly liked the chanting in Act 2 on Friday but it seemed much more evocative second time round. Similarly the creative team had set a very high bar for expectations for Act 3 but on first viewing, I found the boxed film above the set distracting (as bridiem has said). This afternoon I thought the film better although at times the lighting for the stage seems at odds with the colours in the film. It works better where stage lighting and film are complementary and I think when that happens it is very effective. I thought the ending second time really does build and I can appreciate the comparison with the closing pages of Parsifal. I’m not sure if Nogoat might have mixed the ending of Act 1 with that of Act 3 from the Insight. Act 1 has the upward pointing arrow leading to the mountains, interesting in heralding Act 2 but not the bold, impressive moment Nogoat was expecting. I’m quite sure the creative team were extolling the ending of Act 3 and the effect it had on the orchestra/Dante team when first rehearsed. As regards the dancers, I thought the Ed Watson cast stupendous but Olivia Crowley made for a truly malevolent Devil. Fumi Kaneko doesn’t project that festering evil but I must say was wonderful as Beatrice. I liked McGreggor’s use of the three Dantes/Beatrices which gave Act 2 a welcome narrative. There’s only so much penitential dirge that I want to see/hear, particularly when the dirge is recorded and I think too removed from musical key. As I said I found Act 1 on Friday scintillating but I was not as taken with it this afternoon, in part because I had a better appreciation of the other Acts. But I’m not sure that McGregor’s hell is as gruesome as Dante’s - dancers for ever trapped dancing might be some people’s idea of paradise. And the Devil has the best tunes. I do agree with the comments about some of the lighting, particular in Acts 1 and 3. I was in Orchestral Stalls side H but it was really only at the curtain calls that I could be sure who was dancing. Having seen a couple of performances and found The Dante Project growing on me the second time, I’ll be very keen to see the live stream and am really pleased to have a ticket for Ed Watson’s final performance.

Good to see that there’s some naming of characters/dancers on the Cast Sheet, much better than for Woolf Works. I assume this is a one off Cast Sheet as there’s a lot of material about First Night Celebration donors. I hope that tomorrow and for other performances there’s a brief synopsis. I’m looking forward very much to Friday evening/Saturday matinee. The Insight and pre-performance publicity have certainly whetted my appetite. High expectations indeed if Paradiso is to evoke comparisons with the closing pages of Parsifal.

Again many thanks all for the posts and RobS for his fabulous photos. With so many casts I’ve chosen to see a later Naghdi/Ball performance as their matinee debut, some years ago now, was so memorable. As a postscript to mask wearing, when completing my Romeo & Juliet feedback, I mentioned the poor compliance with what I thought were well judged announcements and the example set by ROH staff and the orchestra. I received a very full reply from Customer Services which included the following: “We have now strengthened our messaging on this even further with recorded requests from Maestro Pappano from the Royal Opera Company and Kevin O’Hare from The Royal Ballet for our audience to keep wearing masks when attending.” Here’s hoping Tony Pappano and Kevin O’Hare achieve significant improvements in compliance. I should say that I don’t know if these are auditorium announcements just before lights out at the start of each act or more general announcements before audiences take their seats. I hope it’s the former as on reflection I rather think I may have heard something when in the foyer before the opening night performance but wasn’t paying much attention.

Many thanks Richard and apologies if I’ve got people’s hopes up. I thought I’d seen a reference to cameras being at the General Rehearsal as well as today’s performance so assumed the cameras were actually filming.

Many thanks all for the reports and photos. I’d meant to say how good it is seeing flowers once again presented on stage. I can’t recall if there’s been an explanation for cameras filming the performance - is it Japanese television? Looking forward even more so to 23 October and double Romeo & Juliet - this cast and the first night’s cast.

I see from Instagram Joseph Sissens has tonsillitis. I do hope he recovers quickly and look forward immensely to seeing this cast on 23 October.

Apologies - I wouldn’t want my initial comment on mask wearing to detract from the performance content of the R&J thread. I was simply very taken aback at the pretty low compliance with ROH requests compared to the Jenufa rehearsal I’d last attended. That said I think hilaryanne reported Monday’s Magic Flute as being poor as regards mask wearing so perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised by last night. No doubt mask wearing (or not mask wearing) will be a continuing concern for many different performances so perhaps Mods might wish to have a separate thread for such discussions and transfer the specific mask wearing comments to that thread?

Fabulous to be back in the theatre to see this performance, a full house, and such an appreciative audience. A tremendous cast and really well matched. I think I was marginally more impressed by the 2019 performance when the Romeo/Tybalt fight scene seemed even more manic and I’m sure those Act 2 Romeo/Mercutio/Benvolio and three harlots jete-ing across the stage were more in unison. So I think there’ll be even more from this cast next performance and I’’m delighted to have a ticket. I’m afraid mask wearing seemed very much an exception rather than the norm. My sympathies are with the ROH who do all they can to encourage mask wearing. But Government in England washes its hands, presents itself in Parliament and at party conference as non mask wearing, and isn’t prepared to make mask wearing a requirement (although it remains part of plan B if necessary). In these circumstances there’s very little the ROH, or travel companies, can do. I find it worrying, if not sufficiently so for me not to attend performances I’ve booked, but I may rethink my plans for Swan Lake tickets.

What a fabulous cast and very pleased to see Olivia Cowley. https://www.roh.org.uk/tickets-and-events/romeo-and-juliet-by-kenneth-macmillan/cast-list/48934

For General Rehearsals of new productions there’s also the request not to spoil the surprise element for first night - I’m sure this was highlighted in Swan Lake.

Selecting Romeo & Juliet partners must be a difficult decision. The Hayward/Corrales cast last time were fabulous but I think since then we’ve seen the Hayward/Bracewell film and I’d be delighted to see them in a full performance. Strikes me we’re spoiled for choice with so many scintillating casts.

Interesting to see the Multiverse/Carbon Life comparisons. I must say I found Carbon Life decidedly grim and doubt very much if I’d see it again. Fortunately when I saw Multiverse the volume had been turned down. I still recall the Multiverse Insight, with Steven McRae and Paul Kay astonishing in the ‘It’s Gonna Rain’ section. The Insight is on You Tube and I think well worth seeing. At least in looking at that section via You Tube, you can control the volume. It’s at 1:07 once Wayne McGregor finds the right track. I doubt if it will pull in many viewers but just to say it’s Steve Reich’s birthday today - born in 1936.

Steven Berkoff’s Salome which I think was a National Theatre production transferred to a London theatre. We’d have left before the first interval but were in the middle of a row. It was as if speech, particularly Berkoff’s Herod, were slowed down from 78 to 33. [Having thought more about this and as Salome probably doesn't have an interval, we must have had to wait until those in neighbouring seats had also decided to leave - it was a long time ago.] Not so much walking out but I recall Lizbie1’s Mitridate and the hawk brought on stage being decidedly unhappy. Many audience members were calling for the handler to take the hawk off stage. But Il viaggio a Reims provoked more audience opprobrium as I think Montserrat Caballé was addressing asides in character to the conductor Carlo Rizzi which very few people could hear. A number of people started shouting ‘Speak up/Can’t hear’ but the asides continued and audience tempers were certainly frayed.

I should say the Insight starts at c3:30 on the YouTube link above.

I’m still able to access the Insight but I didn’t hear any official announcement that it would be available for a month. It’s well worth a look with rehearsals of two PDDs (Sarah Lamb/Ed Watson and Francesca Hayward/Matthew Ball). Fascinating to see the PDDs walked through, taken apart by Wayne McGregor, and then danced, with very impressive piano accompaniment. Between the two dance rehearsals there were discussions with Wayne McGregor, Tacita Dean (designer), and Koen Kessels. It would have been good to have heard from Thomas Adès but sadly not on this occasion. Sarah Crompton hosted. I must say the Insight has raised expectations to a very high level and I’m very much looking forward to seeing Dante in the theatre.

Not sure if this has been flagged but on soon.

Yes - there are a number of places where the cast sheet is displayed on a large screen, for example on the right hand side of the main foyer.

That’s why I think it would be good if when accessing my ‘past events’, there’s a working link to the cast sheet. The link is shown but isn’t working. If it’s a temporary error, hopefully it will be fixed. But if it’s not going to work (and I can appreciate that the ROH has many other demands on its website and will no doubt prioritise current activity/bookings), it would be better to remove the link and make clear to those wanting to access past performances that they should make other arrangements (for example by saving their own downloads or printing paper copies).

I appreciate that paper cast sheets can be very useful when attending a performance. With no paper copies there are screen displays of the cast sheet at various points as well as the download scanning options. So long as the cast sheets are readily accessible after performances then I’m happy. I looked at my recent events and clicked on the ‘cast sheet’ option but unfortunately that wasn’t working - possibly because the recent events I’ve attended have been rehearsals but I hope that’s not the reason why cast sheets were not available as it would be great if in looking at my past events I could immediately access the cast sheet. But I could readily access cast sheets for public performances.

Many thanks Lizbie1 and of course Anja Silja isn’t in the current run. I must say I’ve never attended a rehearsal where the applause has been so rapturous and I’m very much looking forward to the streaming. Astonishingly good musically although I’m still mulling over some of the production.

Yes - Anja not Anna! And very good to see the early reviews from yesterday’s opening night.

I can readily make an 11:30 matinee travelling from Penrith midweek and Saturdays but Sunday travel as Jan suggests is hopeless - earliest arrival in Euston is 2:15.

I’m not sure if Dan is referring to the policy operated by the ROH or the train company or the Government or all three. But I think it would be very difficult for the ROH to do any more given the absence of any requirement to wear masks indoors in public places in England. If the Government ends up implementing its ‘Plan B’ at some point in the Autumn/Winter, then things would be very different. The contrasts with Wales and Scotland are again telling. I too do wonder about my future trips already booked but think I’m likely to go ahead. However, I may be more cautious about Swan Lake bookings.

Having seen Saturday’s dress rehearsal, I wanted to highlight ROH’s free web streaming of Jenufa from 15 October although I’m sure donations will be very much appreciated. I last saw Jenufa in 2001 with Karita Matilla as Jenufa and Anna Silva as Kostelnicka, Bernard Haitink conducting, one of the most memorable evenings at the ROH. This time Karita Matilla sings Kostelnicka and Asmik Grigorian Jenufa in a new production (so best not to comment as this was the dress rehearsal).

I meant to say this was repeated on BBC4 on 26 September so it’s available for another 3 weeks or so. Well worth seeing - or seeing again! https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000n1jp