Dawnstar

Thanks for the replies to my query. The reason I went for Nunez/Muntagirov first, before Kaneko/Muntagirov, is that the former have already danced together in 3 runs of this production while the latter haven't done this production together (I don't know whether or not they've ever done SL together in full abroad), hence the former seem the safer bet. Actually based on the performances I saw in the last run of SL I can think of at least one Odette/Odile whose performance I didn't think was technically up to scratch. I did it that way round when he asked for advice on Nutcracker casting as he could only make a handful of the dates, so he'll be seeing Lamb & Hirano in that next month. However for SL he can make one of the Nunez/Muntagirov dates so that won't be a problem, at least as long as it doesn't sell out of reasonably-priced tickets (if any SL tickets can be considered reasonably-priced!) before public booking opens.

A friend of mine, who sees a lot of theatre but ballet only occasionally, is thinking of seeing SL & has asked my opinion on which cast to go for. I suggested Nunez/Muntagirov as the safest bet, with Kaneko/Muntagirov, Naghdi/Ball & Lamb/Hirano as other possible options. I thought, for my own interest, I'd try asking on here if more experienced ballet viewers agree with my suggestions or not?

I'm not attending but I've just had a look at the cast sheets for the first few performances & I notice with interest that Max Maslen is doing Drosselmeyer as well as the Prince later in the run. Is this casting in both roles usual for BRB's production? I've only seen it twice in nealy 30 years so I don't know the usual casting patterns.

I thought that too for a second! Re-reading the cast sheet I see it actually says on there that it's Osipova's 10th anniversary but earlier I skipped past the blurb & just read the actual cast list so missed it. I suppose Osipova probably won't make it to a 20th anniversary, let alone a 25th, so they decided to do something for her 10th. She did look very touched & slightly teary. PS I loved it when Avis picked up a flower from the stage & handed it to Richardson when they did their red run. No hard feelings between Lorenzo & Gamache!

There was a pre-curtain announcement that the cast sheet was wrong & it is going to be Sumina Sasaki as Queen of the Dryads. Having Clarke & Brandesrod in the same cast really is spoiling the female audience! I think this is the most I've liked Osipova, or at least joint with Laurencia - maybe I should only see her in Spanish roles!

I know when Sancho Panza was changed from Masciari to Ikarashi the other week there was no indication on the cast sheet. Maybe the error has arisen from Mariko Sasaki being listed further up the cast sheet as one of Kitri's Friends & someone's done a copy & paste without thinking it through. Hopefully it'll get fixed, as it's not fair on either dancer.

I too was surprised to see the "wrong" Sasaki listed but in terms of a replacement being noted on the cast sheet isn't that only done for roles that have been announced in advance, i.e. in Don Q only for Kitri & Basilio?

The ROH seems to have got itself confused as to which upcoming performances I have booked for. I've had an email informing me of a cast change for Cav & Pag even though I haven't booked for it. (I do intend to try to get a rush ticket but the ROH can't know that.) Meanwhile I'm still awaiting a cast change email for the Nutcracker performance that I do already have a ticket for!

I'm relieved I haven't booked Cav & Pag yet, since 2 of the 7 performances are now out for me with the strikes.

I feel like the Mistress & Monsieur GM casting was on the website until recently but has now vanished - unless I'm going mad from too much time spent checking for cast changes for the last few weeks, which is quite possible!

The other McRae-related cast change just up. This one I was not expecting: Hirano making his Des Grieux debut at 40!

The anticipated Nutcracker cast change is now on the ROH website. (Yes, I have been checking every day since McRae's injury, as I'm going to this performance!) I was expecting it would probably be Hirano & sure enough it is.

Unfortunately the cinema I've just seen an encore at evidently didn't get the memo because we saw the fall.

Having failed to make it very far into the 28th December evening performance, yesterday I made a second attempt at seeing the Hinkis/Acri cast. This time I took my mother with me, both for emotional support & because I didn't feel I could abandon her on her birthday in favour of going to the ROH for the 2nd year in a row! (Last year the unmissable attraction was Muntagirov's 2nd Rudolf.) It was fortunate I did as I don't think I'd have even got as far as the ROH otherwise as the trains were so stressful - we got to our local station only to find the train was cancelled so as the next train wasn't for an hour we had to dash home, get the car & drive into Cambridge - I spent the first half hour of the journey fighting having another panic attack. The trains this autumn have just been one nightmare after another. Fortunately by the time we got to the ROH I'd calmed down so I made it through the performance with merely lower level anxiety. I know Hinkis doesn't seem to be very popular on here but I like her, particularly from an acting point of view, so I'm very pleased I managed to see her in a leading role, especially as who knows if she'll get to dance it again given she wasn't originally cast. I thought she gave a very good performance, considering it was only her 2nd go at the role, especially in terms of acting. Unfortunately she did have to stop & re-start in the fouttes but better that than risk a fall or injury if something's not right (I don't have the technical knowledge to be able to tell what caused the stop). So far this run I've only seen the taller type of dancer as Basilio - Ball x 2, Muntagirov & Bracewell - so I found it interesting to see Acri as a representative of the shorter type of dancer. I find it amazing how different some choreography can look on the 2 different types. I thought he was excellent, both in terms of dancing and acting/stage presence. He was also a very useful "carrot" in getting my mother to accompany me, as he's one of her favourite RB dancers! I thought Gasparini & Ella were fine but that I've seen better performances in both roles. I'm not sure she's ideally suited to Mercedes in terms of stage personality, though I realise that as she's now a First Soloist & in her 30s she can't keep on just doing Clara & suchlike "nice" roles for the rest of her career. I absolutely loved Richardson as Gamache. Just the way he walked was hysterical! Such a contrast from his Espada. I do really enjoy getting to see the same dancers in very different types of roles & Don Q certainly gives lots of opportunities for the men in particular. Avis was again hilarious as Lorenzo; I prefer him in that role to the title one. I was pleased to get to see Julia Roscoe as Queen of the Dryads. She first really came to my attention 2 years ago being coached my Monica Mason as Myrthe in a Giselle Insight livestream but unfortunately she wasn't in any of the Giselle casts I saw & likewise I didn't see her Lilac Fairy last season so this was the first big solo role I've seen her do. Unfortunately something must have gone significantly wrong in the big throw lift at the end of the gypsys' dance because it basically didn't happen but at least both dancers stayed upright. I'm currently sitting on the fence as to whether to brave another trip to London on 17th for the final Don Q (if I do I'll probably be the only person in the audience not there to see Osipova) but first to see the cinema encore tomorrow, which is mercifully near enough that no trains are required!

@FionaM Oh yes. I still couldn't place everyone though. Some dancers do look so different moving in colour to still in black & white headshots!

Thank you. Now as long as I don't bump into masses of demonstrators dispersing in the direction of Liverpool Street....!

Does anyone know from experience in previous years whether the City area is likely to get back to normal fairly quickly once roads open following the Lord Mayor's Show or whether it takes a long time for crowds to disperse? According to the website roads should re-open at 4-5pm. I'm due to be getting a train that arrives at Liverpool Street at 5.45pm. So I'm wondering if walking to the ROH as I normally do will be possible or if I'd be fighting my way through big crowds the whole way? (Fortunately the other events look to be some distance from my route so I'm hoping they won't be a problem.)

@Scheherezade Oh yes, I've heard that those NT front stalls tickets are extremely popular.

Three according to @Saodan's website (the ROH performance database not having got that far yet). Two she was scheduled for plus one replacing Takada.

@alison I don't know what a BSOD is but it doesn't sound good. I think if my computer declined to work just at the time of Friday rush then it'd find itself being thrown out of the nearest window! @Scheherezade Were there any tickets left after 3 hours of queuing? I think the only theatre website I've had to queue for that long on was the RAH for Proms bookings some years ago.

I'm very sorry that my comment yesterday came over as rude. I too have been checking the website for tickets on a number of occasions recently & it is depressing to me when the only ones that appear are way out of my price range. It means I have just had to tackle a stressful Friday rush where, while I have managed to get tickets, they're not exactly in the particular position that I was after. I don't know how other people find Friday rush but I find it so stressful that I feel anxious for hours beforehand & am now shaking with adreneline in the aftermath. Hence I really wish I could afford to buy any available tickets rather than be confined to only a handful!

Unfortunately there's a large financial gulf between wanting to go & being able to afford to go at £150 a ticket!

She had 2 performances as Kitri in 2019, as well as dancing Mercedes, Queen of the Dryads & Fandago lead over a number of other performances. So the cinema performance would have been her 6th Kitri, at least at the ROH, I don't know if she's danced it anywhere else. She managed to stay upright alright for her debut performance in 2019, although Clarke as Espada did get injured in Act I (not in an obvious to the audience way) & had to be replaced by Edmonds for Act III. Don Q does seem to be a bit of an injury-prone production all round!

I've started catching up on the ROH's stream. Despite my best efforts to improve my recognition of the dancers in the lower ranks, there were still several in the class who I couldn't identify (mostly girls). If only they'd all followed Sissens's example & worn jackets with their surnames on the back!

He fell over too? Oh dear, it sounds like they would have been better broadcasting the performance on 28th, when I don't recall anyone falling over, than last night's! I hope he wasn't injured, given his Espada debut is due shortly. I agree he seems to be getting increasing numbers of bigger roles, though I have yet to see him do anything with a big classical solo. I wonder if he could be in line for Benno later in the season or if he'd be considered the wrong type? There were a couple of taller Bennos, Richardson & Jun, in the last run.