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Lizbie1

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  1. Lizbie1
    Has Open Up increased running costs, though? (Genuine question!) And if it has, to what degree has this been offset by increased revenue from catering etc?
  2. Lizbie1
    I suppose it's because the ROH orchestra (unusually) has more than one leader - and maybe that's why their title is concert master? Still, though I can understand listing them when there are significant violin solos, such as with Swan Lake, I expect very few people book on the basis of who'll be playing them.
  3. Lizbie1
    I've found the whole site a little glitchy in the last few days. Nothing major, just occasional error messages which are resolved if I come back five minutes later.
  4. Lizbie1
    I find the charge against Scarlett of being derivative of MacMillan interesting: from what I've seen (Swan Lake, Asphodel Meadows, Symphonic Variations, No Man's Land), I'd put the influence of Ashton higher, specifically in the emphasis on epaulement and (recently) deep bends. (Cunning Little Vixen I'd class separately as he was working within the constraints of providing choreography for student dancers.)
  5. Lizbie1
    Wow - maybe they had made some rather silly assumptions about ballet-going women. (I am amazed at some of the business conversations I overhear on the train: when you consider how certain industries cluster geographically, there can easily be a competitor listening in.)
  6. Lizbie1
    TBH it’s what I’d have done had I been able to go today. I didn’t dislike Cunning Little Vixen but there wasn’t anything to draw me back. Two Pigeons on the other hand...
  7. Lizbie1
    Many thanks to toursenlair for alerting me to this super little exhibition: I was in the area today and managed to catch it. As the Michelin guide would put it, it’s well worth a detour. It’s not a big exhibition (about a roomful all told) but what there is is delightful and of good quality, and spans the range of the Ballets Russes’ famous designers. The information plates are particularly good, not bombarding is with information but giving just enough to explain while letting us seek more information if we’re intrigued. There’s also a 2 hour film from 2005 playing, featuring the then-surviving dancers: I wish I’d had time to watch it properly as the snatches I caught were lovely (and, my God, how handsome was George Zoritch?). There are a few original costumes on display as well as a gorgeous outfit of Markova’s. A couple of the men’s costumes were accompanied by a terrific quote from Anton Dolin explaining male dancers’ ‘support’: “It’s three handkerchiefs for Coppelia, and five for Swan Lake, and for Scheherazade, which was very sexy, we just didn’t bother.” Do go if you’re nearby: it’s on until 27th April, it’s free and there’s no indication that the Ballets Russes part of the exhibition will tour (the collector is local).
  8. Lizbie1
    Please excuse ignorance, but what is PAMTGG?
  9. Lizbie1
    But some great NB, BRB, ENB and SF Ballet action coming up at Sadler’s Wells, even if you’re not tempted by the Bolshoi!
  10. Lizbie1
    It’ll be my longest break from opera and ballet since I started keeping track properly a few years ago (off season excluded). I’ll be catching Osipova/Muntagirov near the end of the run though.
  11. Lizbie1
    I don’t know - subsidies offer medium term security, whereas audiences can be fickle...especially when your people give out quotes effectively saying they’re trying to discourage repeat custom. I think they’ve managed to convince themselves that they can have their cake and eat it: that first-timers will pay higher prices and that way they can meet ACE targets and increase ticket revenue. That may work in good times and when Swan Lake and starry operas are on, but IMO we’re beginning to see signs of that strategy fraying.
  12. Lizbie1
    ...at which point I think someone should start questioning what the subsidy is for, especially if they continue with their policy of increased ticket prices in what used to be the cheaper seats.
  13. Lizbie1
    I thought Naghdi took a while to find her way too, but reckoned she got it about half way into the first scene, about when the gypsies turned up and the “niceness” finally gave way.
  14. Lizbie1
    Gorgeous Two Pigeons tonight: a convincingly annoying then despondent Naghdi and a convincing furious then remorseful Campbell really made the story work. Beautifully danced and perfectly partnered: I might have to dip into my emergency ballet fund and go once more. I don’t think I can get enough of this ballet!
  15. Lizbie1
    EXACTLY, Blossom. I’ve never been in Marketing but have worked in Digital Development, and a lot of the sales pitch is about being able to track results (and thereby impress your bosses). Interestingly, though, a lot of the latest research shows that targeted advertising doesn’t work as well as people hoped, and general brand awareness is what really makes the difference.
  16. Lizbie1
    At least with posters there’s a lead time involved - no such excuse with digital ads.
  17. Lizbie1
    Good to know - but why haven’t Tosca and Billy Budd been taken out of rotation already?
  18. Lizbie1
    This is not a scientific study, but when reading the New Yorker article about New York City Ballet posted in today’s links, I was struck that the three adverts scattered through the piece were all from ROH but none for the ballet. The three operas were Katya Kabanova (on now, selling slowly - fair enough that they’re pushing it), Billy Budd (on in April/May and as good as sold out already) and Tosca (on in May/June and only two dates left with 100+ tickets remaining). Why are Tosca and Billy Budd being pushed in an article *about ballet* when RBS/Two Pigeons isn’t? (I can see a tenuous argument that Tosca can be a way to lure people to the website, but that doesn’t explain Billy Budd. And if it’s a question of RB marketing funds not having been allocated, why isn’t Andrea Chenier, which needs the help, being prioritised?)
  19. Lizbie1
    I don't know for sure, but the most obvious explanation is that it's a continuation of the random trial discussed in the thread I linked to above.
  20. Lizbie1
    Sleeping Beauty last year was similarly priced.
  21. Lizbie1
    Isn’t this the reason?
  22. Lizbie1
    ...and those of us with desk jobs would very likely be booking from our work PCs, given that booking opens at 9am. I really struggle to see what purpose the new homepage serves: it's just an obstacle in my view. Even if you think to scroll down it (and there's nothing to entice you to do so) the content is more concerned with popping in for a coffee than seeing a performance or learning about ballet and opera.
  23. Lizbie1
    A lot of (not all) web design now seems to start from the assumption that people are viewing websites on a tablet and really, really like scrolling. While I imagine that there is sound research behind the first - though I think they underestimate how much viewing is done by people at work on their desktops - any figures to back up the second are IMO because people are given no choice in the matter: designers create websites which require endless scrolling, so people scroll more than they used to, then researchers see people scrolling more, so designers respond to this research by... it's a circular process. So please give feedback - it's the best way of breaking through the designers' bubble.
  24. Lizbie1
    I don’t get that view - it may be that you’ve been randomly chosen to try out a new version. If you scroll right down to the foot of the page are you able to see a link for 2018/19 then Summer Season? If they’ve taken that away that will be a pain!
  25. Lizbie1
    Great review! I love Camarena - agree he’s not flawless but the top is extraordinary, and with squillo to burn. You always get the feeling, too, that he just loves singing and had he not been blessed with the voice he has would be happy to sing for nothing in village halls.
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