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Lizbie1

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Everything posted by Lizbie1

  1. Lizbie1
    Just out of tonight's performance and - wow! I could watch it all over again right now. Oropesa's voice and phrasing are both extraordinarily beautiful (though I'm not sure how well she'd have carried to the rear amphi); Castronovo was fabulous (so ardent and so unusually heroic of voice for this repertoire); Maltman was terrific. And it was brilliantly acted throughout - you really felt for all of them. Also, as JohnS remarked, huge credit to Mariotti in the pit - he stuck to Oropesa like glue throughout the Mad Scene (no simple task) and throughout balanced supporting his singers with keeping up the momentum while enabling the orchestra to give an outstandingly musical performance.
  2. Lizbie1
    I was there too on Saturday afternoon and, briefly: agree that Ruth Brill shows real promise; enjoyed Corder's Baiser more than MacMillan's (especially loved the designs, and without having read the cast sheet instantly recognised them as John Macfarlane's work - roll on Swan Lake!); and was completely won over by Penguin Cafe, which I came prepared to dislike - I feared it would be preachy, but it's much cleverer than that. As for performances: Brandon Lawrence was pretty magnificent (and my, doesn't he have long arms!); Hirata and Roberts were both fabulous; and if I have to single someone out in Penguin Cafe it would be Edivaldo Souza da Silva's Zebra - as charismatic in his entrance as any rock star (as he shimmied downstage, I was reminded of David Bowie), which of course makes his fate all the more shocking.
  3. Lizbie1
    This is very second hand, but I gather that Oropesa has referred publicly to adjustments to the production making it possible for her to perform in it - the way the person who told me that understood it, it was to do with her being a devout Christian rather than being physically unable. Happy to have this put right if it's not the case.
  4. Lizbie1
    Agree it was slim pickings, but I and a friend both managed to get tickets which we were content with and were within our (modest) budgets. My best advice is to be online in good time and know which cycle and which area of the theatre you want. Also remember that people do put seats in their basket which they then discard some minutes later, so don't despair if there's nothing at the off - keep trying! Good luck!
  5. Lizbie1
    Sorry if I'm stating the obvious but IE8 (as well as I think IE9 and IE10) has been out of support by Microsoft for a good 18 months now, and many (if not most) applications providers have followed suit by no longer testing on it. You should probably expect things only to get worse Not good news for those who can't upgrade, I know!
  6. Lizbie1
    Ticket now spoken for.
  7. Lizbie1
    If you mean the Saturday matinee, it's incomplete on my browser (Chrome for Desktop) too - I think it's them not us
  8. Lizbie1
    That at least would make sense - in this case she didn't like giving separate cast sheets to people who'd just bought a programme from her (this being for ENO performances, where the cast sheets usually just duplicate what's in the programme). I don't know if it had occurred to her that the cast sheet could be for another member of the party.
  9. Lizbie1
    There used to be a programme seller at the Coliseum who was quite funny about distributing cast sheets - she may still be there. I never understood it either!
  10. Lizbie1
    Thanks for the update
  11. Lizbie1
    This is still available if anyone's interested. (FWIW it's an e-ticket.)
  12. Lizbie1
    I've nothing really to add except that I'm not sure it's wise to cast James Hay in the Hothouse Rag. Leaving aside his jumping, the clarity and sharpness of his movement show the others up without his even trying.
  13. Lizbie1
    I don't remember who it was but for some reason I feel confident that it was a white dancer in the Bolshoi staging a dozen years ago Edited to add: the woman was definitely Shipulina, as I remember it being the first time I really took note of her.
  14. Lizbie1
    I've read a number of times (I think that Victoria de los Angeles was one of those who said it) that Bjorling's voice was much more beautiful in the concert hall or opera house than on record, which fairly boggles my mind. I think that Calleja has something of that about him: hearing him in person only once or twice a year, I forget in between just how gorgeous his voice is and it thrills me anew. There are other tenors I like a lot but Calleja is the only one I could imagine roaming the world to get my fix, as it were.
  15. Lizbie1
    [MacMillan performances in ROH Clore] There are a few tickets available again for Jeux, all dates.
  16. Lizbie1
    I'm sure there are a few round here who are happy to see Shklyarov return in M&A though
  17. Lizbie1
    Off topic but prompted by the inclusion of Bolle and Hallberg: Salenko seems to have fallen off the list of guest principals.
  18. Lizbie1
    Swan Lake rehearsals, I'm sure.
  19. Lizbie1
    Ooh, Hayward and Watson!
  20. Lizbie1
    Since the debate's still going on, here's my reason for giving up on the different forms. It's a fair assumption that most of any audience in this country are familiar with the word "bravo". However if someone next to a casual ballet or opera goer starts using "brava" or "bravi", that might lead them to feel that they don't belong at (for example) ROH; that there's some special code of behaviour they don't measure up to. This reinforces those stereotypes which many of us on this forum and all the ballet companies fight so hard against. My understanding of good manners has always been that, in essence, they are about putting others at their ease (unless their behaviour merits otherwise of course!). I can't claim always to have lived up to that standard, but I'd rather Punter A thought poorly of me for not knowing my Italian endings (call me arrogant, but it's enough that I know I know them) than Punter B wondered if they really fitted in at the opera because of me. On all counts, Punter B is more worthy of my consideration. (Side note: I'm not really a shouter either - if I'm really pleased with something I'll go so far as to say something like "oh, bravo".)
  21. Lizbie1
    All I can say is that she's never yet cancelled on me - unlike JK.
  22. Lizbie1
    MAB, to bring this back to Tosca while simultaneously drifting even further off topic, are you familiar with Bjorling's late Carnegie Hall E lucevan (with piano accompaniment)? Hair-raising stuff!
  23. Lizbie1
    Of today's tenors it's only Calleja who *really* does it for me, and he's the only singer I will always show up for. (The Bjorling resemblance may have something to do with it!)
  24. Lizbie1
    Really looking forward to seeing Jeffrey Cirio in this - I thought he was terrific as Hilarion.
  25. Lizbie1
    I think the game has moved on to non-gender-specific terms - I'm not sure how Italian will adapt to that.
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