CCL

Thanks Dawnstar, you did well to get such good photos as the curtain calls were brief! 
I enjoyed the performance very much, and will elaborate later if time, but just wanted to say that Yu Kurihara was absolutely radiant and joyful as Aurora - I am still smiling now!

@Amanda LiuWe must have posted at the exact same minute!

I have just seen the full cast list for tonight and I think it is fair to say that I am very excited! 

That was a really interesting discussion, thank you @Roberta

‘End of Term’ is my favourite school-based book and ‘The Ready-Made Family’ my favourite non-school book. How lovely to see more Forest aficionados here! 

I do apologise for having derailed the thread, by the way.

If anyone is interested, the complete 1975 BBC version of Ballet Shoes is on YouTube. 

6 hours ago, Sophoife said:

The Cricket Term is one of my favourite books. Ever

It is absolutely wonderful, isn’t it! Nice to ‘meet’ a fellow aficionado!

58 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said:

The main thing I didn’t like was how they made Winnifred out to be a bit catty, when she was a sweet child and friend of theirs in the book

Yes! That also really annoyed me. In the book Nanna is very fond of Winifred. I agree with you about the actor playing Mr Simpson, I think it was Marc Warren. I always rather liked that actor.

Here’s a coincidence- I belong to a Facebook group that discusses the books of Antonia Forest, and there was a post today about…Ballet Shoes and the 1970s BBC version!

@OnePigeon I always felt like that too about Jeremy Brett and On The Street Where You Live - it makes me quite tearful! 

I had forgotten that Victoria Wood was Nanna - an inspired piece of casting!

To be fair, it was ‘re-imagined’ the last time a version of it was made for television. ‘Garnie’ and Theo were rivals for the love of Mr Simpson, if I remember correctly? That put me right off! 

This was a surprise - I’m sorry to see him go. Wishing him all the best for the future.

5 minutes ago, alison said:

 

Probably why they appear to be about in the £75 price range for Swan Lake?!  Or possibly £55, depending on exactly where you were sitting.

Yes, I just checked- it was C76 and 77 so that’s £55 for SL. Quite a discrepancy in price. The view was very good, I have to say- nobody was blocking it in any way - perhaps I just got lucky.

Thank you Linnzi! Yes, I agree that it’s good to be pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t that I thought I wouldn’t like DD as such, more that I thought it might be a gruelling watch. Of course, the subject matter was pretty gruelling but its power was such that I felt awed. A point further to what I said upthread- I should have mentioned the wonderful singing in Requiem. It was so good to hear it again and sung with such beauty and clarity. I feel so fortunate to have been there last night!

Sorry, I tried to correct the font size above as it’s too big, but I can’t seem to - apologies, it looks a little silly. 

 I was there last night and thought it was an absolutely excellent triple bill. Danses Concertantes was quirky and sunny; I liked the vintage feel of it. I didn’t mind the costumes in the end, having originally thought ‘headache’, as they contributed to the overall feeling of effervescence. It was pure joy! Different Drummer was, for me, extremely compelling and moving. The beauty of the music added to the desperate poignancy of what was happening on stage. The story was told with the utmost clarity and commitment: huge kudos to Marcelino Sambe, Francesca Hayward and Francisco Serrano in particular but really everyone was on top form. I felt wrung out afterwards but also thankful that I had the opportunity to see this powerful piece of art. Finally, Requiem was as utterly divine as I expected it to be. Every single piece was beautiful and moving, but I would single out the second piece, the Offertoire, as the one that had the greatest impact on me. William Bracewell was absolutely stunning in this. Incidentally, the tickets for myself and my daughter, in Row C of the amphi- quite far round but not restricted view - were £22 each. I think that is absolutely outstanding value for money. I am still on a high this morning! 

3 hours ago, alison said:

 

Didn't something similar happen with Belinda Hatley replacing Bussell mid-performance, too?

Yes, I was there that night - it was Sleeping Beauty. I was with my mum, who had come from Manchester for the performance. I can’t remember if Darcey was ill or injured, but I remember Belinda Hartley stepping in beautifully.

Fonty, I witnessed similar behaviour on Saturday afternoon from two women at the Old Vic. They kept up a running commentary and were singing along (it was the Live Aid musical, ‘Just For One Day’). I asked them to stop, my daughter also had stern words with them, and another person spoke to an usher during the interval. They reacted as though we were the problem and were spoiling their fun! 

2 hours ago, Geoff said:

Those of us with memories of the RB production may feel differently…

I didn’t see it and so I will be going with an open mind.

47 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

Do report back and let us know what you think.  I hope it matches or even exceeds your expectations.

 

I'd love to see what Shang and Lachlan make of the roles...

Thanks Jan, I will certainly report back. I was pleased when I heard there would be extra dancers from BRB!

34 minutes ago, LinMM said:

I saw a bit of rehearsal for this at the Acosta Centre on a recent trip with London Ballet Circle and it looks terrific ( much more fiery than the recent ENB version I have to say) 

So I went to look at booking this but there are hardly any seats left mostly only restricted view now 😥

Im hoping to get a return nearer the time! 

I hope you manage to get a seat! 

Looking forward to seeing this in July

6 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

Oh I do hope you get there.  The tickets are already on sale and it's on 15th February.

Thanks Jan - I’ve put it on my calendar!

6 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

So were any other forum members there on Thursday evening who would like to tell us what they thought of the performance?

Sadly no, but I would like to go next year!

I had completely forgotten about booking for RBS this morning until I saw an email from the school at 9.30. I managed to bag more or less the last half-decent amphi seat. Phew!

This is lovely news - just watched footage of the announcement on IG. Very much deserved- congratulations, Beatrice!

Oh my, the Danses Concertantes costumes are giving me a headache!

Hello @JennyTaylor I’m also a relative opera newbie and found your post very interesting. I’ve seen 9 or 10 operas over the past two years and found that listening to the music a lot beforehand made a difference for me. I agree with those posters who recommended the ROH production of Turandot - it’s excellent and I found the choral singing thrilling. My 22 year old daughter, who doesn’t really have any interest in opera, came with me to see it and really enjoyed herself. I’d also agree with the comments re Mozart operas. The Marriage of Figaro last year at ROH was gorgeous; I’ve booked to see Cosi Fan Tutte this summer.