Sebastian

And here is a useful recent scholarly discussion: https://www.alastairmacaulay.com/all-essays/utkeiypp64xvbxlj2pykvqm6inm2p1

What an interesting discussion. Recapturing what did (and did not) happen on stage in 1912 is difficult. There is a supposed quote by Nijinsky himself, to be found on the internet but not (so far as I can find) anywhere else so I won’t quote it. It is well-known that the editor of Le Figaro newspaper, Gaston Calmette, was scandalised by the performance so gave his front page over to an attack on the work. Here is what he published (in a translation from the 1930s):- A FAUX PAS Our readers will not find in its accustomed place under "Theatre," the criticism of my worthy collaborator Robert Brussel, upon the first performance of L'Après-midi d'un Faune, choreographic scene by Nijin-sky, directed and danced by that astonishing artist. I have eliminated that review. There is no necessity for me to judge Debussy's music, which, besides, does not of itself constitute a novelty, as it is nearly ten years old. But I am persuaded that all the readers of Figaro who were at the Châtelet yesterday will not object if I protest against the most extraordinary exhibition which they presumed to serve us as a profound production, performed with a precious art and a harmonious lyricism. Those who speak of art and poetry apropos of this spectacle make fun of us. It is neither a gracious epilogue nor a profound production. We have had a faun, incontinent, with vile movements of erotic bestiality and gestures of heavy shamelessness. That is all. And the merited boos were accorded the too-expressive pantomime of the body of an ill-made beast, hideous, from the front, and even more hideous in profile. These animal realities the true public will never accept.

Just sent you a private message on behalf of a friend, in case this comes free.

Last ticket gone now

Ticket gone back to the box office.

ROH TROVATORE 29th June - BB1 - £19 Please PM as well as posting here if interested. Many thanks.

(Bumping this up as the show is next Thursday now - one good cheap seat for Trovatore) Please PM as well as posting here if interested.

Date changed again, now to August: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Petersburg-Noverre-Marius-Petipa-Russia/dp/1839984163

Here is the view of a very experienced opera lover (I am seeing this show later in the run): >>Just back from an invigorating Trovatore. I am pretty much with The Guardian - I have reservations about Jamie Barton. It isn't that Azucena needs a Stephanie Blythe voice - Anne Mason did very well with a voice that verged on soprano territory - but it calls for a uniformity of depth through the range of the part, which she couldn't quite manage. The best bits in the second half were rivetting but there were duff passages. Hieronymus Bosch antics for the chorus and the leaping ghouls provide a refreshing way of dealing with what can be stodgy, and the blocking is superb. All cabaletta repeats and cuts elsewhere opened up. The antics did not hinder a very clear presentation of the narrative. All helped by some striking lighting. Barton reservations aside, the singing was all good, not of the highest quality (Rodvanovsky and Hvorostovsky are too fresh in the memory for that). Wonderful work from the chorus and in the pit. I am not often moved by Trovatore but I was tonight. >>We have had new productions of 3 Verdi operas in the post lockdown era. Aida and Rigoletto are problematic and neither worked for me. Adele Thomas has found an excellent mix for Trovatore and, unlike Richard Fairman in the FT, I hope to see it again in future seasons. Unlikely for a shared production. But it is a wonderful show, one of the best. I am back for Kunde's Manrico later in the month.

Many years ago I studied this opera as part of an undergraduate course. This insight into its mathematical secrets has not helped me grow close to what even those who like it find a bleak and exhaustingly demanding work, and some years back I gave up going to see it. However it is only fair to point out that some people have a completely different relationship with the work. Here is a recent personal response to this ROH production by an online writer. That anyone can be sentimental about Wozzeck amazes me but this is clearly a sincerely held view: https://boulezian.blogspot.com/2023/05/wozzeck-royal-opera-19-may-2022.html

+1

To be clear, the original source material, the Perrault story, has Aurora at 16. However when Vsevolozhsky and Petipa produced the ballet in 1890 they changed her age for her first scene to 21. I do not know a source which tells us when (and why) her age became younger again in subsequent British productions.

Returned to the box office.

Bouncing up these cheap but good tickets for this Wednesday Naghdi/Ball. If no interest I’ll give them to the box office on Monday.

Also worth remembering - as Giselle’s mother does - that the Wilis are on the look out for just such men. Some years ago we had an interesting discussion here about the Wilis and who they are. Here is my last post on that subject, maybe interesting to look back: https://www.balletcoforum.com/topic/14339-english-national-ballet-mary-skeapings-giselle-london-coliseum-2017/?do=findComment&comment=200100

Only one ticket left now - TROVATORE 29th June - BB1 £19

For clarity, Aida seat is £17, Trovatore £19.

More sold. So this is now what is available: - One ticket CC1 for Aida 20th May - One ticket BB1 for Trovatore 29th June

The dress rehearsal ticket has gone now. The Aida pair on 20 May and the Trovatore on 29 June are still available.

The 29 May ticket has gone now. The pair on 24 May are still available.

Ticket spoken for now

…including the last one in the compilation (which I nearly missed as it is separated from the others). Here is the Forum link, plenty to study here: https://www.balletcoforum.com/topic/27359-pierre-lacotte-1932-2023/?do=findComment&comment=403808

Sadly I now can’t attend this performance. Cinderella Osipova/Clarke Wednesday 3 May 7.30pm SCS D38 £12 Please PM as well as posting here if interested

Aida, 20 May, 7pm / Angel Blue, Francesco Meli, Elīna Garanča, Dimitri Platanias Amphitheatre Upper Slips, CC-1 and CC-2, £17.00 each Trovatore Rehearsal / 30 May 2023, 11.30am Amphitheatre, D-80, £25.00 Trovatore, Thursday 29 June 7.30pm / Rachel Willis-Sørensen, Gregory Kunde, Ludovic Tézier, Jamie Barton Amphitheatre Upper Slips, BB-1, £19.00 Please PM as well as posting here

Wednesday 24 May 2023, Naghdi/Ball Amphitheatre Upper Slips, AA-1 and AA-2 / £22 each Monday 29 May 2023, 7pm, Osipova/Clarke Amphitheatre Upper Slips, CC-1 / £22 Please PM as well as posting here