JohnS

I very much enjoyed last night’s Manon and found Fumi Kaneko and Vadim Muntagirov a stellar pairing. The praise heaped on them in the many posts following their first performance held out the promise of something very special and it was fabulous to experience their second performance. Quite a crowd wanting to see them afterwards and all managed very well by Stage Door staff. I was very pleased to have a few words offering congratulations: Ashton casting remains very much work in progress.

Joseph Sissens made a pretty convincing Lescaut although I think less can often be more in the drunk scene. Leticia Dias projected well but I wasn’t sure the steps were quite there. Having seen Christopher Saunders the previous evening, I’d rather adjusted my expectations. Gary Avis’s Gaoler was evil incarnate.

I think this was very much Fumi’s and Vadim’s evening. Performances of Manon work best when there is consistency across all the key roles and the corps. I think we’ve had more consistency in a number of performances so far with new casts still to see. I should make clear that the corps have provided a bedrock of excellence throughout this astonishing Manon run.

I have Stalls Circle B96 spare for Saturday’s matinee 2nd March 1:00pm, the Sarah Lamb cast. The price is £63. Please pm me and I’ll get back to you. I’ll return the ticket to the Box Office on Wednesday but wondered if anyone might be interested.

It wouldn’t surprise me when the casting is announced that we see each evening has a unique cast rather than there being alternating casts. With overlaps between the programmes and some dancers no doubt scheduled for two or more ballets, plus other commitments, retirements, injuries etc, I can imagine casting being a major headache.

I’m very pleased to have seen last night’s Manon largely for two reasons. Firstly Sarah Lamb’s finely polished, compelling Manon, a tribute to her years of experience in the role having meticulously weighed her character and motivation. It’s a performance that grips the attention throughout. Secondly James Hay’s Lescaut, again a finely detailed portrayal, complementing Sarah Lamb’s artistry, and fabulous to see him in a dancing role although I’ve loved his recent cameos.

I found Ryoichi Hirano rather tentative in his Act 1 solo but he impressed as the evening wore on and Act 3 was appropriately climactic. I didn’t think Meaghan Grace Hinkis projected as well as some Mistresses. And I’m afraid Christopher Saunders’ GM didn’t do much for me. In contrast David Donnelly’s gaoler was terrifying, the rape scene utterly shocking. Liam Boswell made the most of Chief Beggar.

I’m very much looking forward to Saturday’s matinee second performance of this cast which would be worth seeing for Sarah Lamb alone. And I’m expecting a number of dancers will find the second performance a bit more relaxing and provide opportunity for them to make the most of their roles.

And at one stage it looked as if Manon and Des Grieux might have to run rather than take the carriage.

I have Stalls Circle B21 (bench seat) spare, price £79, if anyone is interested. I’ll return the ticket to the Box Office on Wednesday. Please pm me and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can, Manon, Dutchman General Rehearsal etc permitting.

I had a similar thought @PeterS and I’ll be very interested to see how it plays tonight. I didn’t think the Hirano/Hay height difference was as pronounced as  that between Clarke/Campbell. There’s opportunity to see Richardson/Hay next week and of course Campbell/Zucchetti on 2nd & 8th.

In the interests of balance I should say I very much enjoyed my Avanti Platinum Club free 1st class trip to London. Going mid week meant I could enjoy the catering. I was offered breakfast, coffee and lunch for the journey starting at 10:00 and getting into London before 1:30, a few minutes late. I said ‘no thanks’ to the breakfast but it certainly looked ok. Coffee and lunch were very welcome. I do think the Gold and Platinum deals have been rather good, particularly because they require no effort on my part - Avanti simply tell me I’ve done sufficient journeys to get the Gold or Platinum free return journey. I’ll look forward to my return leg on Wednesday. 

Many thanks for all these posts and I’m very much looking forward to Tuesday’s second performance of the Fume Kaneko cast. Before then it’s the first performance of Sarah Lamb’s cast, including James Hay/Meaghan Grace Hinkis as Lescaut/Mistress.

I’ve been meaning to add a comment on the second Hayward/Sambe performance which I thought was outstanding. Sambe in particular was much more secure and his first solo was fabulous. Hayward was mesmerising throughout. I thought Campbell and Sambe were really well matched. Lescaut’s domination of Des Grieux at the end of Act 1 seemed much more powerful. In the cinema relay with Clarke, the height difference didn’t do Clarke any favours at all and, as others have said, I think Clarke and Hirano might have provided better balance.

6 hours ago, Emeralds said:

Does anyone know who organised the flower throws for Roberta Marquez, Zenaida Yanowsky, Thiago Soares, Federico Bonelli, Laura Morera etc etc.? 

Just wanted to thank (belatedly) whoever bought and organised Ms Marquez's flowers as the staff gave spares to any audience member exiting at the front door who was able to take them home, so I had a nice little bunch of chrysanthemums for 2 weeks to remind me of Roberta Marquez and Alexander Campbell's brilliant performance that night.  😊

I thought these were all organised by the Royal Ballet but I don’t know if individuals contribute to the costs.

Summer booking went extremely well for me on Tuesday - General Rehearsals, the Ashton triples and Sarasota programmes, Winter’s Tales, an extra Swan Lake, and the Pappano gala. I think I was finished by 9:40, my third purchase as I didn’t want to fall foul of the 30 minute checkout timer and I also decided to stay an extra night to see a couple more Sarasota performances. No waiting and no problems at all with the website.

Alex as Lescaut was at the stage door fairly quickly, perhaps a 30 minutes wait, and that may give a bit of a guide for 2nd March. I can well see it may be a fair bit longer on 8th March.

Many thanks @Lizbie1. I managed to get a ticket - my favourite Balcony seats had gone (A33 or A53) so I opted for a front row of the Amphitheatre aisle seat. I think there’s a good view of the orchestra.

Here’s a link for the seat map - I hope it works for you:

https://www.roh.org.uk/seatmap?performanceId=59419

I’d already got a ticket for the 8th but I couldn’t resist picking up a ticket for the 2nd. Alex Campbell and Francesca Hayward have given so many memorable performances in recent years and how fitting for Alex to sign off with Francesca in Manon.

Congratulations Alex Campbell and so pleased he will be dancing Des Grieux to bring the curtain down on this particular chapter with the Royal Ballet. What a special evening 8th March promises to be.

I don’t think there’s a thread as yet but I received the details the other day and I see the seat map has been published. And booking for seats other than stalls/grand tier is part of Summer booking ie starting from 20th February. Given the very high prices for some seats, I was pleasantly surprised that standing tickets are £25 and some restricted view seats are cheaper than Swan Lake (for example Stalls Circle bench seats). I’ll be interested to see what seats are available next week.

From the Stage Door I hear Ashton casting remains work in progress. I assume patrons who are already booking are having to do so blind and that may be the position next week when Friends booking begins. At least the Ashton programme lends itself to seeing double shows (including the General Rehearsals) and sometimes on successive days. But I recognise that doesn’t help if people are wanting to see particular dancers and can only make one performance.

I can’t remember when I last had a pair of slippers but having read the ‘Twinkle’ reviews, perhaps I should buy a pair?

I enjoyed New Works last night and good to see the Royal Ballet’s commitment to new choreography alongside the fabulous Nutcraker and Manon runs. ‘Twinkle’ was undoubtedly the highlight for me, a ballet which would grace many triple bills. The pathos and wit, ever changing groups of dancers, exits after the variations and entrances, all reminded me of ‘Dances at a Gathering’. And how good to see a new work so clearly steeped in ballet. Good too to see and hear Kate Shpway on stage, quite a change from the orchestra pit.

Having renewed my Friends subscription I took the opportunity to ask if Ashton casting would be published before booking opens - 20 February for me but I imagine already open for Patrons. I was told Ashton casting is still changing and that casting will be published as soon as possible. The reply continued: ‘We do not wish Patrons to book for a certain cast which will then not reflect who dances in that performance.’ I don’t know if that means it’s better not to publish anything in case it’s wrong but I think I’d prefer to see something even if it ends up not being 100% correct. Surely we accept that casting information is based on best available information and casting can change?

Many thanks for the reviews and @Rob S for the photos. Very much looking forward to tonight.

I meant to say how very much I enjoyed Sunday afternoon’s Manon encore on the massive screen at Rheged. It’s great that Osipova’s Manon has been filmed and I do hope at some point there’ll be chance to see the performance again on the streaming service. While I’m becoming more appreciative, I’m still not fully persuaded by Clarke but I think that’s in part because Ball and Bracewell have been outstanding and I’m sure there’ll be other very strong Des Grieuxs this run. Osipova and Campbell I thought made the most of their brother/sister relationship.

I agree with the praise for the ‘cello solo at the start of Act 3 scene 2. On first viewing I’d wondered if the close ups of Christopher Vanderspar were a bit intrusive but I didn’t find that on second viewing. He’s been Principal ‘cello for many years now and I fondly recall him, Vasko Vassilev and Robert Clark performing Rachmaninov’s Trio elegiaque 1894 for Sweet Violets.

Having read the various posts highlighting a preference for principals, I can’t help but recall some of the debuts of today’s principals when they were up and coming dancers: to give a couple of examples, who could forget the fabulous Naghdi/Ball double debut Romeo and Juliet in 2015; or Hayward’s stunning Manon debut back in 2014? I think Kevin O’Hare manages such a tricky balancing act pretty well although I’d still prefer to see slightly longer runs of some ballets.

2 hours ago, OnePigeon said:

Those Nunez/Ball etc dates are really unfriendly for anyone who lives and works outside London!  

Fingers crossed for the General Rehearsal?

If you look at the four March Manons, there are 126 ‘available’ seats ranging from £43 to £140. The only seats showing on the seat maps and available for general booking is one box, for the Hamilton Manon on 5 March. I appreciate that those people who have registered for the various access schemes may well be able to log on and book the seats. I don’t think it’s possible for non registered general public to glean anything about the distribution of these tickets - how many seats there are at the different prices. But I’m happy to be corrected if there is any information.

@alison had asked about £34 tickets and that might have been for the 2x Manon on 17 February where ‘availability’ lists £34 seats for both performances but they are not on the seat maps and we don’t know how many seats there are: the descriptor is ‘last few remaining’ for both performances rather than the number of seats.

When there was a lot of discussion about the access seats upstream (Swan Lake tickets were made available for general public booking around 19 January), the Box Office team were hoping there’d be greater clarity about tickets held for access and when they’d be released if they were not taken up by those who had registered for access. It doesn’t look as if there’s been any progress: for the general public not registered under the various access schemes, March Manon performances are at this point in effect ‘sold out’ until there are any returns, Friday rush, and any unused access seats are released for general booking.