Dawnstar

Thanks. It's useful for knowing approximately when in the season each of them will be on. Interesting to see they're reviving the new Carmen immediately, especially considering there are a lot of performance this season & the latter part of the run currently has quite a lot of the more expensive tickets still available.

2 hours ago, Rob S said:

Oooo David Donnelly as Von Rothbart this evening!!! 
 

https://www.roh.org.uk/tickets-and-events/43/swan-lake-by-liam-scarlett/cast-list/54699

Grrrr, I know I've said this before but why oh why can't the ROH give advanced casting for Von Rothbart & Benno? I would have seriously considered trying to get a ticket for this performance if I'd known Donnelly would be making his debut. As it is, I won't get to see him unless I luck in & he ends up appearing with another cast who I will be seeing. It's also almost certainly killed off my hope that he might get to do Benno, as I very much doubt anyone will get cast as Von Rothbart & Benno.

So far the new Von Rothbarts are the same as the new Gaolers so I wonder if Edmonds might do Von Rothbart too or whether his casting as Siegfried will excuse him?

@LinMM Ella Newton Severigni danced the Neopolitan in Swan Lake on 1st April, which I believe was her debut in that role. So she's starting to get featured roles. Given she looks to be one of the smaller dancers perhaps she'll get to do a Cygnet at some point in the run as well.

ETA Obviously she didn't get a cutain call for the Neopolitan but I think she is the swan in the background of this photo, if I've got my swan identification right as I do find dancers tend to look rather similar under those feathers.

1 hour ago, LinMM said:

Because I wasn’t really that drawn into Danses Concertantes …didn’t dislike but just didn’t really grab me …I started focussing on a  “guess the dancer” game. For a couple of minutes thought Caspar Lench was the one in green but then realised it wasn’t him but couldn’t get who it actually was( Zucchetti I believe)  Anyway in the interval when I got the cast list up I hadn’t got one dancer correct ….not even Gasparini who danced with such charm!!! 
It’s only 9 months since my last big optician visit but think I may need new distance glasses already🙄

For me Zuchetti looked rather like Joshua Junker when under that headdress, though I did realise who it actually was. During my first viewing of Danses Concertantes on 27th I was under the impression Nadia Mullova-Barley was Annette Buvoli until I checked the cast list again in the interval but then they are two dancers who I have a tendency to misidentify as each other on occasion even without the Danses Concertantes headdresses.

@Emeralds I did not mean that the Lead Principals should not be Lead Principals; I just find it interesting that there are currently no Principals. I'm rather surprised that Haw didn't join the company at Principal/Lead Principal level given he's dancing the lead role in everything apart from Carmen this season.

14 hours ago, Emeralds said:

English National Ballet did create a title called Lead Principal which sounds like etoile- all female Lead Principals get to dance Juliet, Odette-Odile, Aurora, Giselle, Manon and all male Lead Principals dance Siegfried, Albrecht, Florimund etc.

Though given ENB currently does not have any Principals, only Lead Principals, then it feels like their Lead Principal category is at the present time effectively the equivalent of Principal at other companies. It will be interesting to see whether the next time any First Soloists get promoted the Principal category reappears or if they will go straight to Lead Principal. (Also given there are only 2 male Lead Principals it's hardly surprising that they are dancing all the leading roles!)

14 hours ago, Roberta said:

it's a student competition though, prizes include further training / apprenticeships. Also, so young dancers can be seen. That's why the RBS doesn't enter students. It's not a professional dancer competition. 

 

Would you pay ROH prices to see the latest claimed wunderkind in their late teens with hardly any stage experience dance Siegfried?  Which female principal would be happy to partner / nursemaid? I'm not saying they won't give a credible performance or that there haven't been prodigies in the past with long careers, but it's a gamble. 

 

Too much too young isn't always the best way in the longer term.  I think Kevin O'Hare is carefully nurturing some he thinks have great potential.

Are there any high-level professional dancer competitions though? I'm not aware that there's a ballet equivalent of Cardiff Singer of the World for instance. Hence my saying I don't know of any more prestigious ballet competition than the Prix de Lausanne.

That would depend on the individual dancer. If it was someone who I'd seen in smaller roles and based on those I liked him and thought he was ready to dance leading roles then yes, I would. I can't give any RB examples because since I started following the company closely in 2018 there haven't been any dancers who have had metioric rises through the ranks to dance leading roles at a young age. However if I may give an example from another company then I was extremely impressed by Giorgi Potskishvili, graduated 2020, as Hilarion in Dutch National Ballet's recent Giselle cinecast and were the company to visit London, or were he to guest with the RB or ENB, then I would absolutely be booking to see him in any leading role he were to appear in.

14 hours ago, Emeralds said:

Marco Masciari, as Capybara said, would be an encouraging example to other competition winners - he was picked by McGregor to create a role in Dante Project at the end of his Prix de Lausanne apprentice year and another in Untitled 2023, has had featured roles as the Jester in Cinderella, Solo Echo, Nutcracker (Clara's partner, Drosselmeyer's assistant and Russian dance), Manon (Beggar Chief), and he's one of the two partners in orange in Danses Concertantes (the ballet has only 5 males so the role does stand out). He's already been promoted to First Artist amid a group of outstanding corps de ballet dancers

 

Marco probably is a phenomenon and an exception- I reckon he'd have risen equally quickly in any company.

Is it that encouraging compared to Antonio Casalhino from the following year who's already a First Soloist in Munich & Darrion Sellman from 2 years later already dancing Siegfried? The only Siegfried debutant in the RB's current SL, Sissens, is in his eight year with the company so if Masciari were to make similar progress, & the RB continue to do SL every other year, then he just might get to do Siegfried in 2 or 3 revivals time! I don't know much about the Prix de Lausanne but I gather it's one of if not the most prestigious ballet competition so I'm guessing that those winning are hoping to become Principals or similar. Is being a bigger fish in a smaller ballet company better than being a small fish in the RB? I don't know, I'm just musing out loud.

I'm rather surprised to see the company is coming to my local theatre, as it's uncommon for ballet companies to do so. Now I don't know whether to see the programme there, which will be cheaper, or to go to Sadler's Wells, which will cost more but has the inducements of a much larger stage & added Cojocaru.

I hope it's alright to ask this - if it's not I'm sure someone will tell me quickly enough. Is there really much incentive at the moment for Prix de Lausanne competition winners to choose the Royal Ballet? The likelihood of anyone getting to dance even featured solos within not only their Prix de Lausanne dancer year but, were they to continue with the company, their first 2-3 years seems to be pretty low (I can't recall this season's RB Prix de Lausanne dancer even having any featured moments in the corps let alone any sort of proper solo role). Whereas at other companies there seem to be far more opportunities to dance major roles not that long after joining.

3 hours ago, Emeralds said:

The company didn't have live music on the Italy tour, but glad to see that the versatile ENO Orchestra (who have recently been  performing ballet scores magnificently- from Giselle to Tchaikovsky pas de deux to Don Quixote pdd to Le Corsaire pdd etc - despite being primarily an opera orchestra!) will be playing for the company in August. 

Given ENO's seasons are getting ever shorter, and musicians' contracts ditto, the orchestra are probably happy to have a couple of weeks of extra work this summer.

2 hours ago, Emeralds said:

I hope Sarasota audiences know how lucky they are.....they're getting not just Ashton's R&J but also Peter Wright's traditional Giselle (the one with the brown and yellow costumes for Act 1 and actual Romantic era tutus for Act 2)! I thought that Giselle had gone forever!

Isn't the RB's Giselle also Wright's production? Or has he done more than one version?

@Lucy M I'm glad you found the view reasonable, and my description fairly accurate. Yes, unfortunately leaners are an occupational hazard on the stalls circle benches.

I meant symmetrical in terms of the overall horseshoe shape rather than all the features being symmetrical. Though I'm pretty sure the pillars that affect the row C stalls circle bench seats are symmetrical at any rate. I don't have enough experience of the other stalls circle pillars to be certain of those. One significant bit of asymmetry is the extra door on the far left side so stalls circle left benches are definitely the side to go for if you need to make a speedy exit.

@Lucy M How did you end up finding the view?

I've just checked the ROH Flickr account to see if they had posted any production pics for the new Carmen that opens tonight. They haven't but what they have posted since I last checked a few days ago is production pics for the Swan Lake so I thought I'd mention it here in case anyone wants to look at them. Unfortunately none of the photos have any casting details in the captions but the cast looks to be that of the Friends rehearsal as it's Sasaki & Sissens. https://www.flickr.com/photos/royaloperahouse/albums/72177720315894446/with/53626107437

22 hours ago, Rob S said:

they were rather good last time so you probably should look 

Having now gone through my photos, I can safely say that as expected most of them are not good, and that's after I deleted the 50% that were totally out of focus. Several of the Different Drummer ones looked like those ones ENB published of their Giselle that deliberately had massive blurring, except in my case it wasn't deliberate! Requiem was not helped by the couple next to me who kept on thinking the curtain calls were finished, got up to get ready to go, blocking my view, then realised the curtain calls were continuing & sat down again. So here are a handful that actually turned out okayish & don't duplicate your much better ones. (Moderators: I hope that's okay but if it's too much of a duplication then please feel free to delete.)

It's nice to see non-Principal dancers who don't get flowers that often getting some. I would guess it means a bit more to them than to the Principals who are used to getting bouquets at every performance.

I think someone on here, though I can't now find who, said that Sambe looked quite emotional at his curtain call & I agree. He looks more like someone who's just finished Manon or Mayerling than a one-acter.

It's at this point that I'm glad modern photos are digital & don't have to be sent off to be developed because 2 loincloth-clad chaps within 2 batches of photos might take a bit of explaining!

4 hours ago, Emeralds said:

From what I remember of it (and my VHS recording of the production till it got worn out!) the Prince does get a good amount of dancing - similar to the RB production, @Dawnstar. Don't suppose you are able to take in two performances? I think you might like this version. Sadler's Wells needs advance notice to exchange dates  - more than 24hours, plus an exchange  fee (they will waive the fee if you exchange with -and pay the excess for-  a pricier ticket though). 

Thanks for the info. No, I don't want to go to 2 performances when it would be 2 nights running. It looks like I would have to pay for a pricier ticket as the price for an equivalent front stalls ticket appear to have gone up by £10 since I booked.

2 hours ago, SheilaC said:

Sorry I got confused in my last post, saying that Yu was dancing both performances. I had originally included a reference to Miki dancing on the Thursday but then thought I'd got it wrong and changed the post. Whilst Yu is regarded by the company as their most promising female dancer, Mika is already a true ballerina, wonderful when she danced with Cesar in his last performance of Sleeping Beauty and exceptional with him in Giselle some years back.

I do hope forum members won't cancel their tickets. The BRB production is very good and very well danced at all levels- and ticket prices at the Wells are arguably better value than at the ROH!

I don't want to return my ticket, just potentially to exchange it. I don't think I've ever seen Kurihara dance though I did see Mizutani alongside Monaghan in Don Q. So it would be an easy decision if Mizutani & Monaghan were paired together this time but as it is I have to choose between a Prince I really like with an Aurora I've not seen compared to an Aurora I like with a Prince I've only seen in one or two smaller roles. Hmmm.....

My trains actually ran perfectly yesterday for once, the one home even getting in a couple of minutes early. Maybe I need them to have overtime bans more often! 😉

2 hours ago, alison said:

Disappointed to find this is the same on the left-hand side too.  As you know when I sat there (right-hand side) recently, Dawnstar, I was very disappointed with the view compared with the photo.

As the auditorium is symmetrical it's the same amount of view restriction on both sides with one exception. At the right-hand end of the pit there is often a curtain pulled over the end which goes round the outside of the pillar nearest the stage. If this curtain is in place then it makes the view from C95 & C96 worse because it sticks out a few inches in front of the pillar and you cannot look around the back of the pillar to try to see action on the near side of the stage. Other than that then the view restriction is the same from the equivalent seats on each side in terms of the amount of stage you miss, though of course given productions are rarely symmetrical then one side or the other is, at least in my opinion, preferable for various productions.

2 hours ago, Linnzi5 said:

For me, I prefer Pie Jesu to be sung by a higher-registered voice - more akin to a chorister, with less vibrato. That's just my personal preference though and it was a lovely performance by the soprano last night.

1 hour ago, Emeralds said:

Maybe In Paradisum works better with a real pipe organ at the back of a hall (like the ones at Albert Hall, Festival Hall, Barbican etc)? Like @Linnzi5 I too like Pie Jesu sung by a treble although Isabela Díaz did well too (MacMillan's ballet always has a soprano instead.

I wouldn't want an actual boy soprano, I'd just prefer a female soprano with a cooler, purer tone. Yes, as I said in my post after the 27th performance, I did find the electric organ or synthesizer or whatever it was detracted the most from the music at the start of In Paradisum.

1 hour ago, bridiem said:

Now that could be a new thread: the ballet you would least want to be stuck with for eternity! But no, that would be far too negative. (And there would be too many options in my case!!). A better idea would be: the ballet you would most want to experience for eternity.

Most want Manon, least want anything by Wayne McGregor that counts as ballet (or if dance in general is included rather than specifically ballet then pretty much anything contemporary!).

I'm disappointed to read this, as I booked primarily because I've not seen Cojocaru as Aurora & thought this might well be the last chance. I'm now wondering whether to stick to going on the Thursday or to see if Sadler's Wells would let me swap to Wednesday for Monaghan, who I like. Does anyone who knows the production have an opinion on whether it's worth trying to swap dates in order to see my preferred Prince or not, given some of the reviews have said the Prince doesn't seem to get that much to do?

@Lucy M The viewing angle is a bit better because of being further round but the pillar which severely blocks C22 is somewhat obtrusive in C23 as well. The view from the seat photos for C23 and its opposite number C90 are not entirely accurate in my opinion as they show the pillar as being less obtrusive than I have found it in reality. Sorry if I'm sounding depressing but I have seen a lot of performances from the side stalls bench seats over the years and, while I personally accept the view restrictions as a trade off for the close-up views, I think people need to have realistic expectations.

7 hours ago, Linnzi5 said:

I would agree - it certainly wouldn't have shocked me as a younger teenager. Though the content was dark (I mean, it's not a nice story, is it?) I was surprised that it wasn't shocking at all, as I expected it to be more explicitly violent and it wasn't. I also didn't find Doctor or Captain alarming - some of the photos I had seen previously, depicted them as being quite terrifying and I didn't feel that last night. In fact, I found the gaoler scene in Manon more disturbing and unsettling overall really. Then again, perhaps that's because I was emotionally invested in Manon and I wasn't during Different Drummer.

Whereas I found the Captain & Doctor far worse than the Gaoler even though, like you, I was emotionally invested in Manon but not in Different Drummer. I think it's because the Gaoler is presented as a realistic, albeit extremely unpleasant, human being whereas the Captain & Doctor come across as inhuman groteque caricatures. (I can't bear grotesques in general: for example, it's one reason why I've never got on with Dickens.)

3 hours ago, Linnzi5 said:

Yes. The soloists and chorus were beautiful, weren't they? As were the orchestra. Though Sanctus, Pie Jesu and In Paradisum are my favourites musically,

The Agnus Dei is the one that really moved me musically both last week & last night. Unfortunately I found In Paradisum didn't quite hit the heights that I was expecting it to. (this is purely in musical terms, rather than the dance aspect.)

3 hours ago, Emeralds said:

Different Drummer-  we were at last night's performance principally to see the cast of Hayward and Sambe for Different Drummer, as the cast changes meant we'd actually seen many of the same cast for Danses Concertantes and Requiem already.

 

But the real surprise of the evening was Francisco Serrano's portrayal of Drum Major. A sympathetic Andres in the Clarke/Osipova cast, he really comes into his own as Drum Major here. The first Drum Major I've seen not to drop the Drum Major's mace accidentally

Yes, the neat working out of seeing the performances on 27th March & 4th April in order to see all the casts ended up not working out. I would have have been interested in seeing someone else doing Danses Concertantes, even though I thought Gasparini did a very good job. With Requirem I am torn: usually I like to see different people in roles, being an inveterate comparer, but I thought Lamb & Hamilton were so perfect in Requiem that part of me is also glad that I saw them twice & not anyone else.

That reminds me of something I was wondering during that baton twirling scene last night & which I hope it's not too inapparopriate to ask here: is the Drum Major's baton intended to be a phallic symbol? The way he holds it in a section of choreography after the initial twirling seems awfully suggestive.

@Lucy M Yes, in future buying the new ticket before returning the old one is the safer option. Though I realise that doesn't work if you want to use the credit from the old ticket to pay for the new one. What did you go for to replace stalls circle C17?

4 hours ago, Amanda Liu said:

Also some people may need to rush to catch a train after a performance so may not have time to queue…

Yes, I never leave my coat in the ROH cloakroom because the majority of the time I have to leave pretty briskly in order to make sure I get my train. What I do it sit in my coat, with my arms slipped out of the sleeves, so it's not as if it's in anyone else's way. As for dressing up, I'm afraid my theatregoing clothes have to deal with a half an hour walk each way between train station & ROH so I have to go for practical clothes & flat shoes. (I never wear jeans to the ROH, though I do occasionally to other theatres.)