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Sebastian

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Posts posted by Sebastian

  1. 15 hours ago, Ian Macmillan said:

    Fiz:  A kind thought.  If you look at the Forum Fundraising 2020 thread in this section, you'll find that the PayPal 'Donate Here' button is still live.

     

    We've had a number of donations that must have originated from there since the last formal fundraising drive was run last year - and we're always pleased and grateful to receive such gifts.  (In case anyone doesn't know, these funds are used to pay the monthly invoice from Invision, the company that supplies our software package, and, every 3 years, to cover the fee that secures our Domain Name.)


    Done. Thank you everyone. 

    • Thanks 4
  2. Got to the Friday performance of Tosca and was most impressed all round. With two reservations. All the principals gave the impression that - having sung this two nights before, and presumably sung as strongly as they know how, given that Wednesday was the live transmission - they would have preferred another day off before doing it again. Everyone had passages that were thinner, drier, than they are capable of. But Freddie was deservedly cheered during Act I and again in Act III. One hopes he will tend to that 28-year old voice with care. Perhaps Brexit will give him enough opportunities in the UK so he doesn't wear himself out with international guesting.
     
    My other reservation is related to the conducting. The Ukraine-to-Bayreuth conductor was good, very good, illuminating the score and getting the band to do exceptionally well, although the crowd did not offer them the cheers they gave Freddie. However she did so just a little too carefully, holding back on some speeds, almost academically in several places. But Puccini tempi are tricky, as one can read here:
     
     
    A good night was had by all and Freddie seems on his way to national treasure status. On the live transmission evening Freddie took over when the billed star had to withdraw. Does anyone have a report? 
  3. 18 hours ago, Fonty said:

    That's interesting, @Jamesrhblack The article I read said that Gautier, inspired by Heinrich Heine's poem about the Willis, envisaged a story about a young girl, betrayed by her betrothed, who dies of a broken heart.  Apparently there was also another poem that influenced him about a young Spanish girl whose passion was dancing, but was in frail health, and after attending a ball catches a chill and dies.  He combined the two stories for Giselle.  

     

    Heine's original summary of the Wilis:
     

    ‘There is a tradition of nocturnal dancing known in Slav countries
    under the name of Wili. The Wilis are affianced maidens who have
    died before their wedding-day; those poor young creatures cannot
    rest peacefully in their graves. In their hearts which have ceased to

    throb, in their dead feet, there still remains that passion for
    dancing which they could not satisfy during life; and at midnight
    they rise up and gather in bands on the highway and woe betide the
    young man who meets them, for he must dance until he drops dead.

    Attired in their bridal dresses, with garlands of flowers on their
    heads. and shining rings on their fingers, the Wilis dance in the
    ‘moonlight like the Elves; their faces, although white as snow, are
    beautiful in their youthfulness. They laugh with a deceptive joy,
    they lure you so seductively, their expressions offer such sweet
    prospects, that these lifeless Bacchantes are irresistible.

     

    Thanks Fonty. Some of us tackled this in some detail back in 2017, when ENB mounted their production, see these posts and the subsequent discussion:

     

    English National Ballet: Mary Skeaping's Giselle, London Coliseum 2017 - Page 4 - Performances seen & general discussions - BalletcoForum

     

    https://www.balletcoforum.com/topic/14339-english-national-ballet-mary-skeapings-giselle-london-coliseum-2017/?do=findComment&comment=200100

     

     

     

    • Like 1
  4. Although this could be posted on the thread about the current run of Giselle I put it here as that thread has already moved on from Thursday's premiere, which saw Osipova return to one of her greatest roles. I have just received a comment from an old friend who was there and which seems worth sharing:

     

    >>My husband was on the film unit that had been quickly assembled to film the Bolshoi on their first visit to Britain in 1956.  They filmed all night at Covent Garden.  He described with awe how Ulanova, then in her late 40s?, seemed to be the 16 year old Juliet.  Thought the same about Osipova in Giselle this week.

     

    High praise indeed. 

    • Like 6
  5. Might I add a few words from the perspective of a copyright holder? My company owns the copyright in several hundred hours of archive television programming, some of which is valuable and may indeed become more valuable as the years roll on and people move from life into history:

     

    https://www.openmedia.co.uk

     

    The opinions of my colleagues on the subject of YouTube run across the spectrum, from digital anarchy ("there is no point in protecting anything, that is so 20th century") to the pragmatic ("if people steal our clips and spread them around, that's good advertising") to legalistic exactitude ("anyone who uses our IP without a licence is breaking the law").

     

    I need to strike a fair balance in a world where almost everyone is getting accustomed to finding almost everything online within a few minutes of searching. We tend to ask YouTube to take down poor quality copies of our material which end up online, as we have come across a fair few media companies who sadly try and exploit our footage without our permission (footage they rip from YouTube). Whether we like it or not, we are bound by the contracts which govern this content, much of it produced in another era.

    But we have our own YouTube channel, continue to release clips on a regular basis for free and, if someone has a particular research interest, we try and help out with copies for a small fee, subject to various legal restrictions.

     

    Hope this helps provide a little context. I don't however pretend to speak for the BBC or other such large operations.

     

    • Like 2
  6. Might I add a few words of Clement Crisp (from the wonderful new collection of his work)? Here is a short extract from his 13 August 2007 review of Don Quixote in the Financial Times:

     

    Let us not exaggerate, but six stars seem to be in order...Not since Plisetskaya and Maximova have we seen so adorable a Kitri, and never one so divinely destined to claim the role as her own. This Kitri can do no wrong. 

    • Like 13
  7. 13 hours ago, jonac said:

    The replies I received in February were very helpful and I've just looked back at them. But I do not see that they answer the question I posed this afternoon; namely, how the names presently used by the Royal came to be used, and why.


    Jonac, just to let you know that I sent you a PM (private message) on February 18. Having just checked the message box I see my note to you is marked “Not read yet”. You might like to have a look in your messages (the envelope icon on the top right of the screen).

  8. With apologies for the late notice, here are details of a talk at 12.30pm today which might be of interest.

     

    https://courtauld.ac.uk/event/online-addressing-images-niall-billings?dm_i=AHZ,77B12,ML3UKL,T6NJ7,1

    
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    What's on in The Research Forum? 

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    Addressing Images: Niall Billings

    This is a live online event. Please register for more details. The platform and log in details will be sent to attendees at least 48 hours before the event. Please note that registration closes 30 minutes before the event start time. If you have not received the log in details or have any further queries, please contact researchforum@courtauld.ac.uk.

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    Friday 15 January 2021

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    Online Event 

    In this Addressing Images we will consider representations of mythology and mysticism within the English Ballet. Some of the works we will consider will include Margot Fonteyn’s performance in ‘Horoscope’ (1938) as well as the Ballet Rambert’s production of ‘Mars and Venus (1930); of which both were choreographed by Sir Frederick Ashton. Through the lens of costume and set design we will examine how mystical, astrological, and classical themes were explored on the ballet stage, as well as considering how these themes expanded into other areas of visual culture.

     

    Niall Billings received his BA in History of Art from UCL (2014-2017) and then completed his MA at The Courtauld Institute of Art with Dr Rebecca Arnold (2017-2018). His research focuses on twentieth-century dance and its relationship to constructions of gender and psychoanalysis. His MA thesis examined constructions of queer identity within the costumes and performances of Ballet Russes’ star, Vaslav Nijinsky. His work often explores the ways in which the dancing body interacts with perceptions of physical and mental health. Currently, he is a PhD candidate supervised by Dr Arnold and is researching the development of ballet in London during the interwar period.

    Register here  

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    • Like 2
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