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Lizbie1

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Everything posted by Lizbie1

  1. Lizbie1
    Seems strange that Nunez/Muntagirov get an extra show at the expense of Naghdi/Kish.
  2. Lizbie1
    Is a white wedding dress specified in either libretto, or in the Bride of Lammermoor, or whatever the source was for I Puritani? We're forever being told that Queen Victoria popularised the white wedding dress at her own wedding, but that wasn't until 1840.
  3. Lizbie1
    You sentimental old thing!
  4. Lizbie1
    My beef with some opera/classical reviewers is usually when they display blatant ignorance of vocal technique; when they praise a singer when it should be clear to anyone with a few lessons under their belt that what they're doing is fundamentally wrong or unhealthy. They're really not difficult to spot: there are some singers, often principally active in the recording studio (always a warning sign for me!), who it's almost physically painful to listen to because they're in such a mess, but certain critics still praise their singing. I'll make some allowances if they're exceptional dramatically but these aren't the singers or reviews I'm talking about here. Of course, as the saying goes, you don't have to be a carpenter to criticise a table, but there are enough knowledgeable people in most opera audiences that it's insulting to them for a critic not to understand some fundamentals.
  5. Lizbie1
    Am I misreading Angela's post, or does it only relate the new productions, and not revivals?
  6. Lizbie1
    It's had mostly good reviews all round, I think. I do sometimes wonder about reviewers, but I haven't seen this show so can't offer anything beyond my possibly narrow view that if (other than in the case of large open air venues, which aren't my cup of tea anyway) a production relies on amplification then it has failed.
  7. Lizbie1
    The few times I've moved seats it's been because I know I might have to make a quick/discreet exit to catch a train, and it's generally been a downgrade rather than an upgrade. I often wonder whether people who grab better seats consider whether they might be obstructing someone's view by doing so. (This is one of the things that holds me back.)
  8. Lizbie1
    Did Takada, Stix-Brunell and Hamilton all appear in October as well?
  9. Lizbie1
    To return to this: I've just noticed that Naghdi isn't listed for Elite Syncopations in May either, despite her very fine turn in October. Case closed, I'd say!
  10. Lizbie1
    Out of interest, how do you normally get wind of ROH offers?
  11. Lizbie1
    Sure, but I guess what I was trying to say was that an absence of empty seats doesn't always tell the whole story.
  12. Lizbie1
    I've no idea whether he's right in this case - he often isn't! - but his exact words on Twitter (I just looked) were that "there was definitely a much higher percentage of 'press' in the stalls than is usual on a first night - people who aren't normally considered eligible." The Amphi is usually sold out, probably because that's where the affordable seats are concentrated.
  13. Lizbie1
    Dronina and Hernandez unless I'm much mistaken
  14. Lizbie1
    Off topic, and I don't doubt they'll sell out for Swan Lake, but Rupert Christiansen's review of Salome today has an interesting final paragraph on the subject: he suggests they may have had to paper the house. I think I've heard that the ROH is a lot cannier and more discreet about doing this than certain other companies.
  15. Lizbie1
    I imagine that there are very few Odiles out there who have never feared falling out of those fouettés: I never claimed that Plisetskaya preferred not do do them "artistic reasons" - my point was rather that she amply demonstrated that she could do them if required, therefore her preference not to (for whatever reason) has a different cast to when this decision is made by those dancers who are more likely to fail than succeed.
  16. Lizbie1
    Isn't the story that she did them to annoy Nureyev, who'd been up to some entrechat showboating of his own? It must have been quite something, I wonder if it's ever been achieved since.
  17. Lizbie1
  18. Lizbie1
    IIRC Grigorovich has since insisted that it was meant as an act of (covert) subversion. You could say that he would of course claim that, but it does work as a reading.
  19. Lizbie1
    But presumably that falls under the category of "couldn't"? Though for me, the more interesting bit is how Odile chooses to end the coda - my strong preference is for echappés, so much more glamorous than hopping backwards in arabesque.
  20. Lizbie1
    I don't fetishise fouettes, but I'd argue that, in this day and age, there's a difference between choosing not to do them (e.g. Plisetskaya) and being unable to do them (I'm not going to name names).
  21. Lizbie1
    Completely agree, and you're often at the mercy of whoever's in the front row. These seats now look quite pricey for the view afforded - I wonder if whoever decided to reclassify them has sat there in "real life" conditions.
  22. Lizbie1
    Absolutely adore Spartacus because of, not despite, what others foolishly consider its faults but can't imagine it being done justice on a stage smaller than the Bolshoi's. (I don't mean to sound such a snob!) Or can someone who has seen it there and elsewhere reassure me? Apart from watermelons (yes, really!) it's the thing I miss most about Moscow, but I haven't been able to bring myself to see it elsewhere.
  23. Lizbie1
    While I agree with your general point, in my experience you're more likely to be sitting next to a regular than not in Amphi B-E sides and Upper Slips front row, and these are as far as I can discern the areas with the steepest hikes. (I always chat to the unfortunate next to me!)
  24. Lizbie1
    I can't be certain of prices going back more than a couple of years ago, but you're right, they're normally the same price as most of the other Upper Slips tickets. I was going to make more than one trip to Swan Lake but I doubt I shall now. While I can afford the uplift (though not readily - my opera and ballet budget is very strictly managed, and I employ every trick in the book to see as much as I do), I'm very unhappy with how this has been sneaked in under the guise of "improvements" and "slight" variations, and that the worst of the price increases will be borne by those who can least afford them.
  25. Lizbie1
    If you're a friend, it's now online via the main page of the Account area accessed by clicking on your name - if you aren't, the range is £7 to £133 for evening performances and £5 to £105 for matinees: without the seat map any more detailed pricing is pretty meaningless as it doesn't conform to previous plans. Suffice it to say though that the cheaper seats are far fewer in number than previously (I haven't counted but possibly by as much as half or even more).
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