Sebastian

Tickets now spoken for

While people are thinking about Forza, might I ask about something which has been puzzling me? Tony Pappano is quoted in an interview in the Friends magazine (an old issue, the interview was pegged to the Ring and is written by Neil Fisher) as saying of the lead role in Forza: >>The soprano role is too hard A member of my family debuted in this role at the Vienna Staatsoper before the war. She always told me that the reason she started her career with Forza was that this role is relatively short (Leonara appears at the beginning and the end) and not overly taxing. Is the part being sung differently now, or was she wrong about it, or is Pappano, or did the interviewer mishear? Any clues from singers or whoever most welcome.

Apologies if I have muddled things at all by using both the terms novelty and speciality dancing. One way to look at this is as a continuum running from acrobatics and comedy at one end - even circus routines - all the way through tap to dancing of a kind one might even see on the stage of the ROH (dances intended to get a laugh or astonish with acrobatic skill alone or crossover with popular entertainment). The edges are rather blurry and the skills of the performers often overlapped with others, such as juggling, contortionism or even classical ballet dancing. And both white and black performers are featured. Sorry if I unintentionally implied anything narrower. However I rather take issue with the notion that there is (or rather was, we are not talking about present-day performers) a national divide. As I know from watching many recordings for research purposes some years ago, some now happily available on YouTube (often newsreel reports feeding off both British music hall and US vaudeville acts), such highly skilled entertainers existed on both sides of the Atlantic and both sides of the English channel. A notable example of the so-called Apache Dance - impossibly unPC now - appeared successfully in night clubs etc in various European cities and also in Hollywood (for example in a film with The Three Stooges). Indeed one online writer suggests the husband and wife team who perfected this particular act were German Jews, travelling to stay one country ahead of the Nazis. What makes these routines so special - and so interesting to those of us whose eyes have grown accustomed to the modern way of rehearsing and performing - is the sheer brilliance which comes from touring the same short act around for years, the best performers getting more and more skilled - faster, stronger, funnier, more flexible, sharper timing, whatever - as they honed what they did over literally thousands of performances.

Just bumping this up as it has been a while since I posted.

Just bumping this up as it has been a while since I posted

Owing to illness one or two tickets going for tonight’s Asphodel Meadows / The Two Pigeons: Amphi C-34 / C-35: £11 each, E-tickets so easy to send. Please PM as well as posting here.

For example, as in this discussion: http://www.balletcoforum.com/topic/13731-nicholas-brothers/ Or even (if I might quote myself): http://www.balletcoforum.com/topic/16807-princess-vanessa-ammon-and-the-nicholas-brothers/

As a seasonal treat we watched the rare film "King of Jazz" (Paul Whiteman and his band, 1930). This epic of Hollywood folly disappeared for many years and was never licenced to television. There was a much reduced and poor-quality version released on VHS back in the 1980s but in 2016, following a special screening of a restored print at MOMA in New York, the full glory of this multimillion dollar extravaganza became available again. There is now a dvd / BluRay release so, after seeing a clip in the first episode of Neil Brand's recent BBC series "The Sound of Movie Musicals", we got ourselves a copy. Here's some more about this curious film: http://www.criterionconfessions.com/2018/03/king-of-jazz-915.html My reason for posting here is a wonderful novelty dance - My Ragamuffin Romeo - which is viewable in a (very poor quality) YouTube clip. In it a ragamuffin doll is thrown about in a way which only years of the dancers performing this routine in vaudeville would make possible. A must watch, one way or another. Incidentally, the internet and the dvd booklet refer repeatedly to the dancers as Don Rose and Marion Stadler, whereas the film itself credits the girl who (seemingly) risks her neck as "Marion Stattler". What are people's favourite novelty (or speciality) dances or dancers?

Sarah, it's yours. Sending you a PM now. Best, Sebastian

Friday 15 February 2019, 12.30pm Friends Rehearsal: Don Quixote One ticket Amphi Row C - £22. E-ticket. Please PM if interested as well as posting here.

Asphodel Meadows / The Two Pigeons Two tickets for February 13 - 7.30pm Amphi Row C - £11 each. E-tickets. Please PM if interested as well as posting here.

Two tickets for February 12 Royal Ballet School - The Two Pigeons etc - 7.30pm Amphi Row C - £11 each. E-tickets. Please PM if interested as well as posting here.

Just found a nice addition to this agreeable discussion. In May 2018 Alastair Macaulay published an astute article in the New York Times comparing and contrasting Lucia and Giselle (and much else): www.nytimes.com/2018/05/10/arts/dance/giselle-lucia-and-romantic-madness.html

This comment turned up on another thread (maybe there is a backlog over the holiday period, this could have been anticipated though):

Just noticed this comment on another thread, which suggests the system may be working:

Good luck Fonty, you might like to report back on this thread: http://www.balletcoforum.com/topic/19046-a-new-system-for-complaints-concerns-and-questions-at-the-roh/?do=findComment&comment=266112

I saw it in Victoria. The final PDD was quite a thing. As was Ludmila Semenyaka turning up in the interval to be interviewed.

And here, if it’s ok to repeat my post from last Tuesday, is the German-language version:- https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/076621-000-A/marius-petipa-der-meister-des-klassischen-balletts/

Many thanks Angela! The online stream will work till February. A blogger has commented here: https://classical-iconoclast.blogspot.com/2018/12/glazunov-raymonda-petipa-gergiev.html

Ticket gone to the box office now

I have Amphi C34 for sale for the RB Triple bill tomorrow Wednesday 19 December: £11. Please PM as well as posting here if interested. Ticket goes back to the box office first thing Wednesday morning if no one wants it. Thanks!

Here are the two links: https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/076621-000-A/marius-petipa-le-maitre-francais-du-ballet-russe/ https://www.arte.tv/de/videos/076621-000-A/marius-petipa-der-meister-des-klassischen-balletts/

Tickets at Box Office now

Have sent you a PM.

(Just bumping this up for the weekend)