Riva

Repeating myself from the R&J thread but heard that the recent ROH cinema broadcast will be issued on dvd next year, great news! 

Just heard from ROH shop that the dvd will be out next year. So thrilled to have this performance to keep and watch again!

Wanted - Firebird/ Month in the Country/ Symphony in C for Thursday 13th June 7.30pm at Royal Opera House. Ideally stalls circle standing but stalls/ circle/ balcony all considered. 

Or if anyone due to time/train constraints etc has to leave after Firebird I would happily buy the ticket off you to use for MITC & SIC. 

Thank you, Rachel 

Ticket now spoken for 

Stalls Circle Standing D52 £11 

Saturday 1st June 1.30pm

Naghdi/Ball cast 

Paper ticket - I’ll be there to hand over in person or can post in advance, please send me a PM to arrange. 

I have Stalls Circle Standing D5 available for today’s matinee as my friend cant make it any longer - Stix Brunell/Hirano cast at Royal Opera House.

Paper ticket, £11, I’ll be there to hand over. 

Hi Eva 

Sending you a PM re tomorrow’s 7pm.

Thank you

Rachel

Tickets now spoken for. 

I have Stalls Circle Standing D51 & D52 available for the Monday 13th May 7.30pm performance of Romeo and Juliet at Royal Opera House - cast is Beatriz Stix-Brunell and Ryoichi Hirano making their debuts. £11 per ticket. 

Ticket still available 

I have a spare balcony standing ticket available for Cuthbertson/Ball performance of Don Quixote on Monday evening (1st April) - £10. 

Please get in touch if you’d like it. 

1 hour ago, RuthE said:

I assume the harlots are listed in order of orange dress/red dress/yellow dress?

Yes they are, or Romeo/Benvolio/Mercutio to their associated ‘fella’. 

General rehearsal cast, if helpful: 

Juliet - Akane Takada

Romeo - Ryoichi Hirano

Mercutio - James Hay

Tybalt - Bennet Gartside

Benvolio - Tristan Dyer

Paris - Tomas Mock

Lord & Lady Capulet - Thomas Whitehead & Kristen McNally

Escalus - Alastair Marriott

Rosaline - Claire Calvert

Nurse - Romany Padjak 

Friar Laurence - Philip Mosley

Lord & Lady Montague - Philip Mosley & Lara Turk

Harlots - Yuhui Choe, Olivia Cowley, Meaghan Grace Hinkis

Received this in the friends monthly update email, from memory in previous years I think there has been an announcement online prior to the guide being posted out, but perhaps not this year: 

Details for next Season will be announced in mid-May, when you will receive the 2019/20 season guide alongside your autumn magazine.

Does anyone know if the insight tonight was filmed/streamed? Just had mention of it from a friend who attended, but I don’t think I’ve seen anything from ROH/RB news page or social media, so assume it was not broadcast. 

The staff didn’t seem sure, I’ll try to keep an eye out. I’d be happy watching a repeat. I’ve got written in my diary that the encore screenings are this Sunday but I’ve already booked for the Ashton Foundation event so that will have to take precedence, however enticing Akane and Alexander are. I’d hoped that I wouldn’t have to make a choice but these things happen. Fire alarm during the general rehearsal and now this!! 

I’ll very much look forward to hearing everyone else’s thoughts on the screening tonight though. 

Unfortunately I got to my local cinema this evening only to find that the Don Quixote screening had been cancelled at the last minute due to ‘technical issues’. Gutted to be missing Akane Takada and Alexander Campbell but hope everyone else is able to enjoy. 

I enjoyed The Cunning Little Vixen more on a second viewing today, but still felt the narrative quite rushed - there was almost too much story to get through to allow any time for it to breathe and develop. I thought the video ‘scenery’ worked well, as it was mostly static I didn’t find it distracting. I didn’t think the choreography Scarlett’s finest, but this does not detract from an undoubtedly fantastic achievement for the young performers. 

James Hay on top form again in The Two Pigeons this afternoon, honestly that eye roll and sigh he gives just makes me grin from ear to ear. I also really enjoyed Yuhui Choe and Alexander Campbell’s performance on Thursday - I don’t think anyone does righteous indignation quite like Yuhui, I was glad to be sitting so close to the front to get the full experience of her wonderful facial expressions particularly during Act I. I think I always consider Yuhui to be my top choice for light hearted roles, and yet she also demonstrated a really heart-rending performance of yearning, loss and forgiveness throughout the evening. She is a beautiful dancer. 

Found my eye drawn to Leticia Dias and Nadia Mullova-Barley in the gypsy encampment scene -  I felt they were really embodying the sultry, sassy haughtiness of the gypsy girls on another level. David Yudes a brilliant Gypsy Boy - what a change from Sancho Panza last night! 

Already disappointed that the run of The Two Pigeons has come to an end, it manages to balance emotion, humour, elegance and boisterousness all wrapped up in some gorgeous choreography, music and designs. Despite a couple of examples of wayward poultry, I’ve not failed to have a lump in my throat when that final pigeon flies across the stage in the closing moments. 

Well I think that was the biggest round of spontaneous applause I’ve ever seen at ROH. Vadim Muntagirov rightly recognised for an outstanding solo during the grand pas de deux. Marianela Nunez looked like she was genuinely enjoying her performance - her enthusiasm (and smile!) was infectious. Electric atmosphere this evening, with a very welcoming audience - I think almost every patron in the stalls gave a standing ovation at the end. 

I know it’s not to everyone’s taste but I had a thoroughly enjoyable evening and my mum loved it. Quick note re the general rehearsal today - Matthew Ball looked incredible as Espada, lovely Spanish shaping. Such a shame not to see his act iii!

@Thalia I was looking out for you this afternoon, sorry not to have seen you!

Very sorry for William Bracewell - having been present for Ballet Studio Live and the Ashton Foundation Le Rossignol rehearsals I’ve been forming the opinion that he shows incredible promise as an interpreter of the Ashton choreography and was relishing the chance to see him in a principal Ashton role on stage... A Month In The Country it will have to be. I do hope he recovers quickly and is able to get back on stage soon. 

7 hours ago, LinMM said:

Was the restriction in view because it's not raked enough eg: heads etc in the way?

Otherwise as it was central stalls you wouldn't expect any view restriction .....though I rarely sit in the stalls.

Yes LinMM heads right in the way blocking fairly chunky parts of the stage. I now know that the rake doesn’t start until further back (I think I heard somewhere around K) but that being the case, why are the ‘unraked’ seats charged at top price when you have a fairly high chance of not being able to see large swathes of the stage? 

SUCH a joy to have James Hay back on stage last night, he really was superb at conveying the frustrations and emotions of the young man. The expression on his face during the pas de deux in act 1 just after the pigeons have flown by was absolutely priceless - it conveyed so much. Elegant line and a passionate conviction of storytelling through his movement. 

I love The Two Pigeons. The music, the choreography, the story, the designs, it all works for me. Yesterday evening benefitted from a great cast - I was really pleased to see David Yudes cast as the gypsy boy - what a brilliant dancer he is. Another strong performance from Mayara Magri and I am enjoying seeing Akane Takada perform so well and in such varied roles over the last year or so.

Unfortunately my view from row D of the central stalls was severely restricted - I have no idea why these seats are placed in the higher price category, I have hugely regretted choosing them as a treat this booking period! Visibility seemed much worse during Asphodel Meadows, so I don’t feel I can pass significant comment on it. I really enjoyed the music, and thought the supporting artists were brilliant. What I could see of the choreography I enjoyed - felt that the second movement pas de deux performed by Mayara Magri and Tristan Dyer felt a little more polished and synchronised than the others. 

Really looking forward to seeing Yuhui Choe/Alexander Campbell and Yasmine Naghdi/William Bracewell (hoping he is fully recovered) in The Two Pigeons - as another poster said above, I could happily book for this every other year. 

I sat in rows a and b of the floor/stage area during the January events and found the view from row b mostly fine (with the exception of a patron in the front row who was repeatedly leaning right over to the side obscuring my view).

Sitting on the balcony would potentially be more advantageous during the class, but I wouldn’t say it’s a necessity. 

In my feedback forms I suggested that the seating on floor level could be staggered for future events to improve sight lines - hopefully this will be implemented!

There was a microphone for the presenter and teacher so hope it should be possible to hear from all parts of the hall. 

Thiago Soares has announced on social media that this is to be his final season with The Royal Ballet, but has been invited to return as Guest Principal next season. He will be performing New Work New Music at The Linbury next month, and on tour with the company in Los Angeles in summer, and moves on ‘to develop in different projects’. 

It was a Nunez/Soares Swan Lake many years ago that marked my first visit to ROH and got me hooked, and their Onegin will forever be seared into my memory. Thank you, Thiago. 

Well I haven’t been able to concentrate at work all morning because I’m still in raptures about last night’s performance. I was quite nervous as I’ve not seen New Adventures before and I’m more of a classical fan, but I really enjoy the dark and dramatic RB rep particularly Onegin and the MacMillan, so was keen to try something new, and Matthew Ball was the lure to get me to take the plunge. It was my birthday-eve treat and I’d been building up to it all weekend (and indeed since booking... and RB Swan Lake and then the apprehension of Matthew’s injury and if he would be healthy enough to perform again). What if after all that excitement I felt nothing for it? 

I needn’t have worried. The orchestra struck the first chords of the prologue, the curtain was raised and in the opening minutes the Swan appeared, haunting the dreams of the Prince, with undulating body, a fantastic, beautiful, terrifying vision. I’m a huge admirer of Matthew Ball as an artist and it was brilliant to see him in such a different role, he truly inhabited the character and brought the piece to life. 

Interesting to see familiar music utilised in  such contrasting choreography. I liked the alternative narrative, and humour, and thought Dominic North did a good job of expressing the Prince’s despair, and desire for freedom. Now how I wish a recording could have been made of Matthew Ball in the role, his performance was so special that it deserves to be remembered and cherished. 

One thing to note - the programme doesn’t include a synopsis so definitely worth a quick read of the Wikipedia entry if you like to be prepped for the action.