PatC

I’m impressed that they’ve renamed it Royal Ballet and Opera (RBO) - the other way round would’ve produced a great and somewhat apt ROB….

And now to sum it all up the ROH have just tweeted this … and for those in the know the stage is set for … Fille! 

So by my count that’s 

17 Opéra productions

And

8 Ballet productions - 5 full length repeated into the summer season and 3 triple/ quad bills…

Ashton? MIA…..

1 hour ago, bridiem said:

I'm very grateful to @hephaistion03 for posting this info, but astonished that the RB/ROH allows it to be known (by anyone other than those involved) before the announcement tomorrow.

 

Also, it's interesting that between us we have moreorless already predicted/guessed almost all of what will be in the new season. The only (and extremely welcome) surprise to me is the Balanchine bill (three - or three hundred! - cheers). I'm not sure it should really be quite so easy to foretell what's coming. 

 

Apart from the Balanchine bill, the only things I'm definitely looking forward to are Onegin and R&J, with a few Cinderellas thrown in before Christmas. I saw Alice when it opened, thought it was fun and spectacular but with not much choreographic content and had no wish to see it again. But I might go again once now since that's a long time ago. So, a few things about which I'm delighted, but otherwise very underwhelmed.

I’ve sent my concerns re the info being known via post to customer services. I’ve said that I feel somewhat disillusioned after 50 years of attending that the season is announced in this manner!

Well the announcement is tomorrow according to my email from Graham Boland, Customer Services Manager ROH. On that basis I thought the ROH would have some sort of notice to that effect on the website … but there’s nothing.

Paris Opéra sent emails and videos out a week ahead of their season announcement telling all time and day of release. 
 

So why on earth the secrecy from ROH?

Right - along with potential ‘known’ rep I am wishing for …

Balanchine - Jewels and / or Symphony in C. Would also like Ballo Della Regina / Theme and Variations

Ashton - Symphonic Variations / Birthday Offering (surely they have the talent to perform this by now) / Wedding Bouquet / Patineurs 

Heritage - Petrushka or Les Biches

 MacMillan - La fin du jour (with original costumes!)/  Rite of Spring / The Invitation / Orpheus

Works planned but not performed - Tombeaux / Prodigal Son 

Two wonderful triple bills - researching flights already!

Just had an email response to my enquiry as to when next season will be announced. 
 

April 30th….

Mayerling with Marchand  💥 yes please

Paquita ✅

Onegin ✅

Sylvia ✅

Now could KOH please let us in on RB season!

Cannot wait for this tonight! 

Disappointed…

Etudes deserved an outing again 

I FINALLY managed to get to a performance yesterday matinee. This was the Giselle production I started my ballet viewing with all those years ago when the company was London Festival Ballet. In those days I was front row Balcony for performance after performance of those glorious summer seasons with a plethora of mixed bills / classics and guest artists. Giselle for me during those years was Evdokimova and Terabust - Albrecht would possibly have been Schaufuss and Armand. 

Maina Gielgud did shows called Steps notes and squeaks and one of the evenings was dedicated to Giselle - Anton Dolin was coaching. From it I remember him decrying the use of lilies by Albrecht in the 2nd act - he thought it should be wild flowers picked on his way to the grave which I think is a lovely thought - so I despise the lilies - is it a Russian addition? He also instructed the Albrecht that he should not take his eyes off Giselle when they cross front stage - ‘you cannot believe your eyes so you do not look away’ - I’ve yet to see any dancer do that.

Quibbles aside, this for me is the OG version and cannot be faulted, even with the lighting issues. To see Kase and Frola yesterday afternoon was glorious.

One small query though @Irmgard I thought the Myrtha entrance yesterday was different - my memory has 2 diagonals with veil on but only one yesterday - have my memories decieved me?

Oh yes - I’ve been refreshing all afternoon - Frola tomorrow it is!

Can we have a vote on which Des Grieux will wear the hat at the start of act 1. To me it sets his character out as a man with no worldly experience. All the other men on stage appear in hats to start with - apart from the beggars etc - so he should too. It seems now that you can tuck it under your arm and stroll on. Sambe this evening declined to wear his so 1-0 so far! 

And lovely to see an excerpt of Troy Game. I remember seeing this by the Royal Ballet - looking it up only 4 performances but with a stellar cast - would love to see the current roster do this!

I’ve normally based my booking on the Giselle casting - yesterday I changed the habit and booked for the Albrecht casting for tonight - and now ……sigh

I too saw 2 performances last week.

En Sol was new to me - enjoyable and light, but I mainly  thought about Fin du Jour in its original costumes and wondered if that would ever make it back to the RB stage.

In the Night - again seen before and by RB - could that please be restaged.
 

Finally The Concert … here come the ghosts …Anthony Twiner / Lynn Seymour / Michael Coleman / Georgina Parkinson… then later casts Jennifer Penney / David Wall and incredibly Sylvie Guillem. So much fun and again why is this not cheering us up in Covent Garden!!

I’ve got to say I’ve been very intrigued by the young vociferous audience at the back of the Amphi. Even on opening night of DonQ it seemed to be an unusually exuberant area. I strongly believe the RB school are packing out areas undersold - great for them but I viewed that DonQ performance from not my usual area side Amphitheatre due to the exhorbitant pricing. 

I’m off to double shows today - both all Balanchine - cannot wait!!

17 hours ago, alison said:

I hope the colours are a bit more distinguishable than they are on the ROH website, then!

Yes they are - fewer prices so less colour!

Good news this morning - Paris Opera now have the same seatmap booking tool as ROH - you can now see easily what is available and the view. Progress!!

 Very much enjoyed Calvin Richardson this evening!

Nothing to stop my October trip to see NYCB in Balanchine then!! 👍🏻

Different Drummer… why on earth resurrect this?

Happy with Ashton, but no Balanchine / Robbins / Fokine / Nijinska etc etc 

On 21/04/2023 at 15:25, PatC said:

So this is interesting!! Mukhamedov…

 

 

I’m seeing the Bejart bill followed by Dante. If the POB interpretation is as good as the Mayerlings I saw last year with Paul Marque and Hugo Marchand then it should be a treat! 

Oh for goodness sake - the casting is now up on the POB website and I’m going to a night when Irek is not dancing …..🤦🏼‍♀️