Buru

Academic scholars - oh, I’d love that. There was a young (as far as I know) guy on a forum I used to spend a lot of time on. His insights and explanations of various nuances and history of various ballet productions were priceless!

Apologies, I didn’t mean to be disrespectful. You are right that I meant that the cygnets were not bouncy enough, which is all about technique, not the weight. By “disaster” I meant that the big swans were not in sync and their jumps were very slow; and that emotionally this was a low point of the afternoon for me personally. I stated at the beginning of my post that I actually enjoyed the performance and found it interesting to compare with my previous experience of other productions. It was not perfect or the best I have seen, but it had many nice moments. By no means I purport to claim that I have seen as much as late Clement Crisp or have any similar expertise. Ballet is my passion and there were times when I went to see Swan Lake three times a week and cried in Act II as it was so perfect it hurt. But I do appreciate that it cannot happen often and still go and try to find new nuances and look for smaller details I like. I clearly identified that in yesterday’s performance these were the dialogue between Odette and Siegfried and Jo Jun as Benno. I see that most posts on the forum are written in superlatives which is fine but makes it a bit one sided. Though I appreciate that as Sim said, for each their own. Will keep it to myself going forward.

Well, not exactly that. I meant real solo dances, in which each bride gets to shine and showcase her talents. Again, I didn’t mind this interpretation and each culture was well presented in Act III dances, which is what counts.

Thanks Sim. This is a sensible explanation, and I acknowledge that my perspective may be biased. I was brought up with a different story and saw it so many times, that it grew on me. I guess both versions can be justified as long as danced well. I saw Vadim two weeks ago and must have missed this moment, as it didn’t strike me as unusual then.

Sim, so this is intentional? In other productions Siegfried swears in Act II and breaks his oath in Act III; and it’s this betrayal that leads to Odette’s death (or near death as in some productions Rothbart is killed and she is ultimately saved). If there is no raised hand in Act II, then what’s all the fuss is about? He didn’t promise anything, and Odette can wait for the next guy to try her luck. The way I have always interpreted it, is that one oath is not enough, he should actually marry her (echoes La Bayadere story sort of).

In my humble opinion, Swan Lake this afternoon was a meritorious performance but would not rank it as particularly exceptional. I mostly enjoyed Yasmin, although still prefer Marianela’s Odile. Their Odettes are equally good but missing the sheer perfection of swan-like lines. Yasmine’s dialogue with Siegfried in the white acts was something that was particularly interesting to watch- there was a true duet. Yasmine’s solo left me puzzled however about the message she was trying to convey. I would also like her Odette to have a deeper arch in her back and more precise posing, but admit it may be a matter of taste. Unfortunately, after a very strong first act with a fantastic Jo Jun as Benno and decent (albeit with visible challenges in jumps) Siegfried’s sisters, followed by a touching first meet and adagio of the prince and Odette, the final part of the second act fell apart for me. The cygnets danced in sync but felt heavy, the two swans were a disaster, Odette’s solo not convincing. And I’m not sure I saw Matthew rising two fingers as a sign of love vow in this act. I may have missed it but my companion didn’t see it either. In the third act, the pas de deux was simply sublime. There was not a single chance for Siegfried to resist this Odile (interestingly, in other productions I saw, foreign brides have their own dancing parts which makes the choice harder). Odile and Rothbart orchestrated the performance flawlessly, playing off each other. The Queen's plight in the finale was particularly poignant. While undeniably the main cause of Siegfried's troubles, she hardly deserved such a de-crowning. The story finale is always interesting to see done differently in different productions, but I would echo some of the previous discussions that it is a bit underwhelming here compared to the first three acts. All in all, another enjoyable afternoon in ROH and I found for myself another ballerina to follow, which is always exciting. Will try to see her in other productions in due course.

Just wanted to take a moment and say thank you for all your posts. I was asking who to see after Marianela and now have tickets for Yasmine’s Swan tomorrow. Really looking forward to it. If her calculated perfection is anywhere near Lopatkina or Zakharova (the two most perfect Odettes in my years of watching ballet), I am all for it! Cannot wait.

I didn’t notice Hirano’s injury, was completely mesmerized with the whole Requiem piece, a true jewel of the evening. Wish him a speedy recovery. Felt a bit cheated they didn’t even mention that Natasha Osipova was being replaced. I still remember her in her prime at Bolshoi and although try to avoid her in classics these days, I was hoping to see her in DD. Francesca Hayward did a great job however - to the extent possible in this indeed the most disturbing piece of the evening.

Good evening all. Would be grateful to find three tickets (a good view) for 4 May, evening (Swan Lake, Muntagirov/Kaneko)

Thank you so much. I had a look at Fumi and Yasmine and somehow feel that Fumi’s lines may be more swan like. And then again, there is the phenomenal Vadim who is my absolute favorite in the company now. I just wished he had more solos. Classical ballets are really prejudiced on the female side) Will try to get tickets for Fumi and Vadim. I couldn’t find resales on Forum, unfortunately. Can you please help me to look for them?

Today’s night was very memorable, always so happy to see Vadim and Marianela dancing together. Unfortunately, I was able to get just one ticket and need to take my special someone to see another Swan Lake this season. Is there another O-O worth seeing at ROH? Maybe our next Marianela or Sylvia) I am extremely biased and normally go to see Marianela and Vadim when I get a chance, but who would you say is strong 2nd?) One other question re tickets. Is there any other place to look for them except ROH website? I was monitoring tickets for today’s performance for a good couple of months but no luck to find more than one ticket.

I felt the same way on Sunday. Was almost ready to “sing” along. There was a bit of extra music in Act 1, I believe. Thanks to the forum for all these helpful details!

I totally agree and grateful to the forum for all the comments and explanations, it did help to soften my impression of the performance. Of course, we’re always grateful to the artists who step in at a difficult hour but apart from the gratitude for doing so, I wish I (and, more importantly, my young guests who saw Giselle for the first time) had actually enjoyed it a bit more. This is the ballet that made me cry and ‘fly’ more than once, so I know that it can elicit very deep emotions when performed right.

Thank you for the very interesting and lively discussion and a few insights into this production. I saw Giselle probably at least 30 times over the years but this was my first time at ENO. A few points mentioned on the nature of the production do make sense and I did notice some resemblance in terms of the approach with the Ratmansky production. My preferences are on the side of “crowd-pleasing” versions but I was lucky to see the greatest Giselles of the last couple of decades including Cojocaru, Osipova and Vishneva at their prime. However Giselle is one of those near perfect ballets which rarely disappoints. My only true regret of today was the replacement of Giselle for E Takahashi in Act II. Neither I nor my guests who saw Giselle for the first time enjoyed her interpretation or dancing, sorry to be so direct about it. Very unfortunate that Oliveira was unable to finish the performance. I thought their connection with Albrecht in Act 1 had its special moments and was keen to see the development. Was surprised to see that it was Frolo’s debut in this role. His dance was quite impressive at times and I enjoyed seeing his Albrecht quite a bit on stage, more than in some other productions where the first act involves more dancing by corps de ballet and Giselle’s friends.

I also consider myself sufficiently familiar with these, but the cast sheet… I even asked the lady by the door who helps people to seats and she told me it wasn’t Marianela 🤦‍♀️ which is why I decided to check on the forum, was hard not to believe your eyes but what’s written on paper