JohnS

I think Fumi Kaneko is only dancing Beatrice this time - not sure which cast. I’m hoping Olivia Cowley will reprise her spine-chilling Devil.

Thanks @LinMM. It’s very much the other roles where as @capybara says there’s been so little information. I guess we could all put together our preferred support cast list for the cinema relay.

Good to see the news for tomorrow evening’s Don Q but do we know who’s dancing in the matinee and I presume for the cinema relay?

Hi Carol - just to say I’ve sent you a pm in case you have a spare ticket. Many thanks.

Goodness me - Spring prices are a curate’s egg. Here’s a summary table: Production Top Price Balcony Central Block Restricted (eg A33) Stalls Circle Sides Bench Seats (eg B26) Amphitheatre Sides (Row E) Slips (max) Standing (max) Opera Dutchman/Lucia £210 £128 £93 £75 £93 £75 £47 £47 £23 %age of top price 61% 44% to 36% 44% to 22% 22% 11% Butterfly/ Carmen £245 £132 £97 £78 £97 £78 £49 £49 £25 %age of top price 54% 40% to 32% 40% to 20% 20% 10% Ballet Triple Bill £110 £67 £50 £50 £39 £29 £22 £16 £16 £9 %age of top price 61% 45% 45% to 15% 15% 8% Swan Lake £175 £118 £118 £96 £75 £55 £35 £23 £14 %age of top price 67% 67% 55% to 20% 13% 8% The good news for ballet - undoubtedly the inclusion of more price categories for front Amphitheatre Sides where a small number of seats are much more reasonably priced. This is very welcome and I’d like to think shows the ROH responding to concerns expressed by a number of people. Standing places are also reasonably priced - I thought there’d be pressure to increase standing place prices for Swan Lake but they are kept at £14. But there’s some very poor news regarding Stalls Circle bench seats, particularly for Swan Lake. Charging £118 for any bench seat is utterly wrong. This is the same price as the Balcony restricted view seats in the central block - excellent, comfy seats with a modestly restricted view, and fabulous sound. For the opera the maximum price for a Stalls Circle bench seat in the Spring is £97. And for opera there are two price categories for bench seats. For ballet there’s only one price category so all bench seats for Swan Lake are £118 - quite appalling. When Winter prices were announced and there were two price categories for the Manon bench seats, both below the Balcony restricted view price, I was hoping that the ROH had taken on board just how poor these seats are relative to the Balcony restricted view sears. But it seems that lesson has not yet been learned. At least the Triple Bill bench seats are less than the Balcony restricted view seats but there’s still just the one price category - £50 for all bench seats when ideally the ones nearest the stage would be a lower price category. The Triple Bill prices, similar to Anemoi/The Cellist, I think look reasonable but underscore just how expensive the current double bill is and the difficulties experienced in selling tickets at full price. There seems to be more stability about prices for opera than the ever changing patterns we see for ballet. I don’t know why there’s been such flux for ballet prices. With three lots of prices now published for 2023-24, I’d have thought ‘experimental pricing’ patterns should have stabilised. But I’m afraid it’s back to making the case for more reasonable pricing for the Stalls Circle bench seats … and ensuring that the better news for front Amphitheatre Sides seats doesn’t prove to be a ‘one off’.

Now the seat maps are published, I’ll take a good look at Spring prices and post some thoughts. I’m hoping there’ll be further evidence of lessons learned.

I saw Saturday afternoon’s preview with Hannah Rudd and Jacob Wye. I’m afraid I rather struggled with the acoustics as I found it at times very difficult to hear what was said despite the amplification (or possibly because of the amplification as I’m sure the piano, violin, cello and percussion all became part of the sound mix). I was in the middle of the upper circle so I was a bit surprised to find difficulties in hearing. The performances were though very engaging and there’s much to admire. I do hope there’s a bit more of a formal curtain call and proper acknowledgement to the musicians who surely should take a bow. But I think I’ll wait until I see Francesca Hayward and Alex Campbell next Friday before saying much more. I also think I’ll have to catch up on the Insights etc as I don’t really grasp when the word limit comes into play as the production is significantly more wordy than I expected.

I very much enjoyed Saturday evening’s performance, the second cast’s first public performance having impressed in the General Rehearsal. I’m rather taking to Anemoi but yet again it’s not helped by the absence of any detail in the cast sheet. I’d bought a programme in the afternoon and found Valentino Zucchetti eloquently engaging in explaining how his ideas for Anemoi, the ancient Greek gods of the wind, came out of all the bottled up energy we had during the lockdown, an energy that finds its expression in the drive and restlessness of the wind. From the initial pose that references ancient Greek statues, the dance is like a whirlwind. Because the wind is invisible we need to look at its impact on objects blown by the wind, such as grasses or sails. Zucchetti explains that his two lead couples represent cold and warm winds and at the end the warm winds prevail, taking over in the summer. Zucchetti says Anemoi has been tweaked and polished but I don’t see any explicit reference to any cuts (which might explain the shorter running time). The programme also gives the detail of the three Rachmaninov pieces. I’m afraid the Cast Sheet is very much another missed opportunity to include a few sentences that might be of interest to some audience members. I thought the two couples well matched: Hannah Park and David Donnelly; and Sumina Sasaki and Daichi Ikarashi (he always impresses) and found the performance very pleasing. The Cellist was hugely impressive and I thought Mayara Magri, Calvin Richardson, and Lukas B. Braendsrod made for a fabulous lead trio. And I do agree with @FionaM that Annette Buvoli made a most sympathetic mother, a lovely performance from her. The performance is so contingent on Hetty Snell, and of course Koen Kessels and orchestral colleagues, and it really is wonderful to hear her and see how the dancers respond to her playing. I’ve booked the final performance but I’m very tempted to see if I can fit in another performance of this cast.

I very much enjoyed the double bill although I thought the previous Dances at a Gathering/The Cellist worked better, DAAG an all time favourite performed by two fabulous casts and The Cellist which grew on me with each viewing. I thought it made for a great double bill last time. I didn’t get a programme this time but thought Anemoi when last performed was timed at 30 minutes. This run it’s 25 minutes. Does anyone know if there’s been an edit? The fact that I can’t recall what might have been cut doesn't reflect well on me (I think I only saw the General Rehearsal last time) but I wonder if it might say something about the ballet’s overall impact? It’s certainly an accomplished piece, with Valentino Zucchetti drawing on his classical training, handling different combinations of his 16 dancers to good effect, and with two pairs of impressive soloists: Mariko Sasaki and Lukas B Braendsrod; and Leticia Duas and Taisuke Nakao. Mariko Sasaki is really impressing this season and I like Taisuke Nakao’s bravura part. The second cast is also strong and I’ll look forward to seeing them tonight although I can’t say I find Anemoi distinctly memorable. I find The Cellist an impressive piece and I’m delighted it has another run. I do like the set. I was in the stalls circle for the General Rehearsal and in the Balcony for the opening night. From the stalls circle, you get more of the light shining through the f hole illuminating the inside of the cello. From the balcony it’s not quite as effective as you’re looking on top of the f hole and perhaps not as drawn into the unfolding action. The staging with the cast becoming furniture, lights, record players, the orchestra etc to me all works well. And I love the score with Hetty Snell’s solo cello making such a telling contribution throughout. As before Lauren Cuthbertson, Marci Sambe and Matt Ball were fully committed and I thought they portrayed Jacqueline du Pre’s highs and lows admirably: I find the ending deeply affecting. I’ll be very pleased to see the second cast tonight and have also booked for the final performance.

Apologies - I hadn’t twigged there was a difference (top price £40 for preview v £45 for performance). @Silke H’s point that preview and performance tickets are all on sale to the general public is strong and as there are still tickets available, and many for the second cast, hopefully some comment might help sales?

I too am looking forward to tomorrow afternoon and then next weekend for Hayward/Campbell. I don’t think there’s any price difference between previews and performances and I can’t see any reason not to post comments about the previews. Given the truly depressing threads on pricing, discounting, marketing, abandonment of standards to attract new audiences etc, I’d welcome early views on The Limit.

I’ve been meaning to ask how Don Q makes clear in this ‘vision’ scene that he believes Kitri to be his Dulcinea which helps make sense of Kitri dancing Dulcinea in the Act 2 Dream. But I’m not sure how explicit this is and what else the various Don Qs do to convey the message. Or is it simply Don Q dancing the Gavotte with Kitri, then Dulcinea, then kissing Kitri’s hand? The current Cast Sheet synopsis doesn’t include the point but an old programme and printed cast sheet both have a helpful fuller synopsis: ‘Watching Kitri dancing with Basilio, Don Q becomes entranced by her beauty and believes that she is Dulcinea.’

Rather than post this on the Don Q thread which focuses on the fabulous performances, I thought it might be if interest to post an exchange of emails I’ve had with Alex Beard about the discounting that took place at the weekend and which has attracted much comment. In reply Alex Beard sets out the ROH’s general approach to discounting. I think a number of people may also be in correspondence with Alex Beard. My email to Alex Beard on Saturday: I’m writing to you because I think there’s likely to be a pretty strong reaction to the discounts offered to help fill the house for Friday evening and the Saturday matinee. I’m not sure if similar measures will be taken for Saturday evening. Having chatted to audience members, I understand that tickets were made available at £12 via ROH staff to their friends etc, less than the price of a standing ticket (£14). Stalls seats were £150. That’s an astonishing discount. I’m unaware of any attempt to offer more modest discounts (as you’re doing for The Cellist) to ROH Friends, other audience members, or the general public. For my part I’m not concerned that some seats are discounted (although if you have to offer discounts it does bring into question the original full pricing decisions). I like to see full houses and enthusiastic, appreciative audiences: the artists deserve to be performing in such circumstances where there’s a real buzz. I’m more than happy to pay full price on the day of booking for the certainty of a favourite seat. But I do worry that the ROH may be foregoing significant box office income when discounting tickets to £12 without first having offered more modest discounts to other groups. I hear suggestions that 100s of tickets were sold at £12. I have no idea if that is true: certainly 100s of tickets hadn’t been sold a day or two before the performances and I‘d like to think that many were sold at full price. But I’m sure you’ll appreciate that such discounting will not be well received by many regular audience members who would love to go to more performances if ticket prices were more affordable. I do hope you’ll look at what happened to ensure there were full houses this weekend and whether other steps could have been taken which would have secured full houses and generated more income. Alex Beard’s reply received today: We have a number of methods at our disposal to ensure that the house is as full as possible while sustaining our long-term financial viability. On occasion we extend particular offers through our NHS and learning networks, diversity partners and, on occasion, offers to our staff and artists. This sits alongside the ongoing work we do to extend benefits including a growing Friends’ Events programme to our much-valued Friends and Patrons, without whom we simply would not survive. Our focus is to strike the right balance to ensure that we can continue bringing the ballet and opera to diverse audiences now and long into the future. Comment: I doubt if Alex Beard will be any more forthcoming about the detail and how many heavily discounted tickets were sold although others may be more successful. But I hope it’s helpful to keep asking about pricing policy and highlighting those decisions which look questionable.

Back home from a fabulous Don Q weekend to find the ROH’s Spring magazine. It seems very apt to have Yasmine Naghdi on the cover given her Saturday night’s Kitri and then a lovely article heralding Swan Lake, focusing on Yasmine: ‘A swan is born.’ But I wanted to highlight the news in bold in the covering letter: ‘We haven’t including pricing in this magazine’ followed by ‘It will be sent out before booking opens.’ I think it’s reassuring that we’ll at least see prices before booking opens (29 November for Premium 2 Friends and so a little in advance of that for Patrons). It would certainly be novel but worrying if we were invited to book without knowing the prices. I hope the delay in publishing prices is very much because the ROH is taking a critical look at its pricing decisions so far this season and reviewing what has happened as regards ticket sales and discounting. I’ll look with great interest at what emerges although I’m not confident that the news will be good.

In weighing the certainty of a favourite seat or standing place when booking opens against the possibility of a later discount, my preference is certainty. I also love the buzz of a full house and a hugely enthusiastic audience (as we had last night) and discounting can help bring this about. I’d prefer discounts to be widely available and relatively modest. But if there’s a need for significant discounting (number of tickets and percentage discounted), then it’s incumbent on the ROH to look again at the original pricing decisions.

I’ve emailed Alex Beard asking if he’ll look at what happened to ensure there were full houses this weekend and whether other steps could have been taken (such as the discounting for The Cellist) which might have helped secure full houses and generate more income.

Anna-Rose and Marci made for a great show with nil/minimal rehearsal. They came across as a winning pair, particularly well matched. Unsurprisingly not everything came off as well as they would have liked but Anna-Rose held one fabulous balance for an age, quite extraordinary, and the solos were sparkling. A great shame about Steven’s injury as I thought we were heading for a truly memorable evening. I managed a brief word with Anna-Rose at the Stage Door as I’d ordered some flowers. It must be incredibly difficult to carry on a performance when your partner with whom you’ve been rehearsing for weeks has had to retire part way through a show. And then face well wishers in Floral Street. Anna-Rose is a true professional but it must have been very tough. I do hope there’s some good news for next week. Picking up an earlier topic, from chatting to neighbours in the theatre, the heavily discounted Stalls tickets in the last 24 hours were a little cheaper than a standing ticket. For my part, I’m pleased the house was pretty full but I do wonder if more modest discounts made available to Friends, audience members etc might have generated additional income. I should add I have no idea how many tickets were sold at less than the price of a standing ticket.

Kevin O’Hare emphasised that Steven had been advised not to continue as a precaution. Marci was in the wings. A fabulous dream sequence.

Very sad - the performance was everything I was hoping for up to that point. All good wishes to Steven.

I’d love to see data showing what ticket sales were actually achieved alongside what sales would have been if all tickets were sold at the published price.

Having seen all the fabulous posts about Wednesday’s Nagdhi/Ball public performance and the Kaneko/Bracewell clips, I’m hugely looking forward to Saturday. And I think Friday evening will also be another treat given last Saturday’s O’Sullivan/McRae matinee. Before seeing the General Rehearsal and Opening Night, I had thought perhaps I was rather overdoing Don Q but with so many ‘must see’ casts and the Royal Ballet in such good form, I’m very pleased with my bookings. And the Royal Ballet’s weekend scheduling certainly helps make the most of overnight stays. I do though wonder why the cinema relay is so late in the run - just three performances after the relay with two of those pretty much sold out. I’d assumed cinema relays helped generate sales so having the relay early in the run would be better. But I’ve never seen any data on this.

We don’t yet have the casting for Dante (other than Dante - Bracewell/Hirano) and I’m very much hoping Sarah Lamb will be in one of the casts.

I don’t think there were any changes to The Cellist casting when it reappeared. Delighted to see Hetty Snell is again the solo cellist for the full run.

The casting is now back up for The Cellist.

Many thanks @oncnp. I thought some people had suggested the code was working for other dates (there was certainly a code accepted message) but I don’t think that led to a discounted price that could be selected before checking out.