ninamargaret

thanks for the sympathy - neither I nor my  bank balance want it to become a donation by default!

32 minutes ago, Clara_f said:

100pc agree, they're doing a stellar job given the circumstances and the sheer volume of multiple requests. 

Agree totally, but it's still a bit worrying to only receive a refund for one ticket out of ten booked in two orders! 

Very strange. Can't get my refund and they won 't  reply to my emails!  I can accept they're busy etc but.........

Has anyone had difficulty in receiving these? I applied for refunds for 10 tickets, bought as two orders, and also donated the cost of a couple. I have since had a refund for a ticket for a performance in April, but nothing else. I wonder if they are dealing with refunds in performance date in which case I'll be waiting until July!  I've emailed the box office but no response. It would just be nice to know what's happening.

Munich has been showing excellent live concerts every Monday since lock down. This week which was largely based on Schumann and Clara's letters included two solos for dancers from the State Ballet. Particularly good was the recital by Kauffman. 

1 hour ago, Lizbie1 said:

It's more or less normal these days for the Flying Dutchman to run without an interval (at somewhere north of 2 hours) and the best production of Eugene Onegin I've seen had no interval (at something like 2 and a half hours).  Is there a reason that ballet goers are considered less hardy in this respect than opera goers? Or is it for the dancers' sake?

some one act ballets have such complex sets - thinking of Dream, Enigma, that they need long intervals to allow for changes. As a veteran of several Ring cycles and Dutchman etc I've no problem with programmes without a break and certainly feel that ballets like Giselle and Fills don't need the long intervals they get. ( Bar profits come to mind). I'm sure ballet goers are no less hardy than operators but we seem to have so many ballets with complex scenery, lighting etc that I think we're stuck with half hour intervals!

while programmes consisting of one or two short ballets would be at leaders step in the right direction, it wouldn't help those who live outside London, or, being selfish and thinking of myself, who need taxi or similar help to get to the theatre. I can justify the cost for a full length ballet but would think twice about it for just 50 minutes,or so.

Cranko could, of course, come up with 'fun' ballets - Pineapple Poll is loved and missed by many of us and his Card Game which was put on by the RB with Christopher Gable as the Joker was definitely worth a watch.

1 hour ago, Jan McNulty said:

I thought Initials RBME was a total delight, I loved everything about it.

 

I don't know if it is Lockdown Syndrome but I could feel tears welling up in parts.

No, I don't think it's Lockdown Syndrome! It's such a beautiful ballet, tells us so much about love, friendship, trust, fun etc. I think the most similar is DAAG - my idea,of heaven would probably be the two shown together! Not good for the dancers maybe, but that's something we don't need to think about in our fantasy programming!

What a treat RBME is! I had some difficulty in identifying the dancers - but will definitely watch again. In some ways it reminded me of his Brandenburg Concertos, full of energy, beautiful dancing. Just two wishes - would love to have seen the original cast and would love to see the Royal do Brandenburg s. 

24 minutes ago, Don Q Fan said:

I was extremely fortunate to see the ballet for real last year in Hamburg and I absolutely love it!  I will watch again over the weekend.  I was treated to Alina Cojacaru as the Princess/Odette  - fabulous!  I thought the way Neumeier wove the story around King Ludwig's incarceration was very clever.

Very envious! I'm planning to watch it again this weekend. I would love to have watched the Neumeier documentary this evening and did see some of it but found it a bit tough without any knowledge of German. 

1 hour ago, alison said:

Concerto DSCH was even more gorgeous than I'd hoped.  I'm wondering how many times I can squeeze in watching it before it drops off tonight   I mean, I really like MacMillan's Concerto, too, but I think this tops it.

oh no it doesn't!

I have just watched and enjoyed their R and J. I thought there were some good things in it - particularly liked Tybalt wiping his sword  after killing Mercutio, and I liked the way the Nurse was shown as a woman who had probably been more responsible for Juliet's upbringing than Lady C. I also like the idea of Tybalt 's body being in the tomb - not sure why this was dropped by the RB.  The crowd scenes looked a bit cramped, I don't know if it's a particularly small stage. I still prefer Macmillan, but this was pretty good.

It's a pity that the ROH couldn't have come up with a dedicated web site for their streaming activities. All of the companies I have been following have done this, some fairly elaborate,(the MET), most quite simple (NYCB for example) . A few scrappy bits of information on Facebook is not the same. I know this is an old moan on this forum, but I think most people seeking information go to a website first.

has any major work by Numeier been seen in the UK? I've enjoyed what I've seen of his work. Maybe his work is more appreciated by other countries, as would seem to be the case with Van Manen and Kylian. 

And I do agree that Ed Watson would have been an ideal interpreter of Neumeier's works  - I thought this when I watched the DVD of Nijinsky 

having just watched Swan Lake and thoroughly enjoyed it ( though why he didn't get rid of those wretched little swans i don't know), I wonder what he'd have made of Mayerling?

7 minutes ago, alison said:

Drat, I meant to watch that one.  Have I missed it now?

You're quite safe! It's on until 9 May at 1630 and then again from 16 May at 1630 until 18 May at 163 0. Think it's my  today afternoon entertainment.

I've seen WintersTale several times on stage and have also watched the DVD quite often and find the music totally unmemorable.  I suppose the music for act 2 and the wedding dances in act3_are meant to show the difference between Leontes more formal court and the more relaxed atmosphere of Polixenes country, but even after many viewings there's nothing that I ever remember. And I love the ballet itsekf!

1 hour ago, Jan McNulty said:

saw it with a friend many years ago in Manchester and he whispered "it's all about Romeo because Nureyev created the production for himself".  You got it in one there Sharon!

Couldn't agree more! Whatever Nureyev was he wasn't a choreographer. There were some good solos for Romeo (naturally) but I'm afraid I got the giggles in a couple of parts. I enjoyed it for Cojacaru - I think she could make anything look beautiful, but I felt she was almost underused. I loved Tybalt - think it was James Tyler. Think I'll have to watch my Cuthbertson/Bonelli/ Macmillan one to recover!

Thanks for the warnings!

3 hours ago, Angela said:

That may have to do with the fact that it's a production for television and that German broadcasters ARD or SWR hold the rights for foreign countries. I thought that is the reason that I cannot see certain streams from France or Italy, but I'm not really sure. The same could happen with Death in Venice, but it's much older, so maybe they concede the rights.

If it helps: The Beethoven ballet is not Neumeier's best work.

Thanks for this -it seems a very likely explanation. Death in Venice was streamed with no problems. I wonder what will happen with Illusions? 

Disappointed not to be able to see the Neumeier Beethoven Protect from Hamburg.  If my extremely limited German is correct, it seems that it is not available for streaming to the UK.

Lovely, it managed to evoke joy, sadness, fun, beauty and was very enjoyable.

4 hours ago, alison said:

To be fair, I have just fished this out of my Junk folder, dated yesterday afternoon:

http://email.wordfly.com/view/?sid=ODBfNDg5MDJfMjkwXzcxOTU&l=a147f624-6289-ea11-bd94-e61f134a8c87&utm_source=wordfly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2020_April_Opera_Newsletter_28April&utm_content=version_A&emailsource=50252

I've not received this, it's not in my junk file and I go to opera when I can afford it! So who's it going to?

10 minutes ago, alison said:

Ninamargaret, NYCB dance the "topped and tailed" version - both the birth prologue and the ascent to Olympus are cut.  I miss both.  But you've reminded me that I was going to wonder out loud (if you see what I mean) whether not having the prologue makes a difference to the interpretation, and whether dancers feel they need to be more wobbly, for want of a better word, if the audience hasn't seen Apollo going from birth to ... wherever he is when NYCB's version starts.

yes, I felt that it started in the middle and didn't finish! I also loved The original John Craxton  designs but that's another matter, and I'm happy with the 'no designs' version. But I wonder if Balanchine authorised the ommission ?