loveclassics

Yes, and the Evening Standard has a paragraph about her too - mainly that's she the first English principal for a while. Linda

I was given a load of back issues of Dancers & Dancing by the widow of an eminent dance critic and many of them date back to the 60s. I've been meaning to catalogue them for ages so I'll have a look over the next week and see if I have the issue referred to above. Linda

I was advised the other day (by someone much more knowledgeable than myself) that dancers no longer get promoted to principal character artistes but stay at the same rank with the word 'character' appended. This may have something to do with Equity rules, I suppose. Linda

What about Mark Morris' company? It's a few years ago now but I remember his version of the Nutcracker (The Hard Nut, I think, was the title) which featured several male dancers in female roles, dancing en pointe throughout the ballet. I was very impressed, particularly since they seemed so at ease dancing this way. Linda

I've been searching my rapidly failing memory for a production which featured Acosta with Zen. I can imagine them together in the Prodigal Son but I don't think the RB has staged that for at least 15 years. Can anyone help? Linda

Never mind - there will be the encores at the cinema on June 11th & 13th in London. I may go slightly mad and see it even though I'm seeing it on Saturday too. Linda

Did anyone manage to take some photos of the curtain calls? Were they included in the livestream? Linda

I've only just seen this post but I recorded it too - luckily with more success so I can burn it to DVD for my collection. Much as I admire Colin Firth's interpretation I still think Olivier's resolutely charmless Darcy is brilliantly successful. Though it's a pity the costumes are of the Victorian era, rather than the more appropriate Regency. I've noticed that the dear old Beeb has been showing a lot of classics lately and they tend to be uncut and, of course, without those dratted ads. But if you want to buy commercial DVDs of 20th Century classics you can find them in all sorts of odd places. The Edinburgh Wool Factory shop, for example, found in many Wyevale garden centres, always has a very good selection of these lovely old movies and all for a few pounds. Linda Incidentally I'm happy to help anyone who would appreciate access to my old movies collection.

Thanks so much for flagging this, Alison. Have now snapped up a good seat and so I get to see another cast. I don't usually go to more than one performance of each bill but this is irresistible! Linda

I was sitting a bit further right than usual and I thought the transformation far too obvious - I'm sure it was better disguised in the past. I could clearly see Bottom actively helping Puck which was most distracting. Also the steps up the side of the tree were clearly visible. Yes, we all know there must be steps but couldn't they be better hidden? Incidentally, did I read on another thread that this bill is being made into a DVD or did I just dream it? Linda

Actually the Arts Council subsidy only amounts to 10% of the cost of mounting productions. At one Insight Evening a couple of years ago, Monica Mason said that the subsidy barely covered the royalities payable on each ballet and the remainder of the cost had to be met by the ticket prices and individual contributions. Linda

Today's Telegraph quotes an airline industry consultant talking about the current situation at Heathrow: "Customers and from the airline's point of view - manpower, dealing with the backlog of aircraft out of position, parking spaces for the aircraft - it's a challenge and a choreographic nightmare." Now there's a good plot for a ballet! Linda

Thanks very much Lee. Sorry Dave but I can't sit that high.

I'm interested but I'm assuming this is Stalls U55 and not Amphi? Will p.m. you.

Last chance - 2 for the price of 1 anyone? I can meet near the theatre to hand both tickets over. Linda

Due to an accident, my friend is unable to use her ticket for tonight's performance of An American in Paris. It's a good stalls ticket, face value £69.50 but would anyone like to make a reasonable offer for it? If you'd rather take a friend yourself I will sell both seats. Linda

Yes, it was. In the film Anne Bancroft was the career girl and Shirley MacLaine the one who retired after having her daughter. Said daughter (Leslie Browne, if my memory is right) then became a dancer with Anne Bancroft as her mentor and Baryshnikov, no less, as the bad boy she falls for. Directed with his usual gloss by Herbert Ross, it wasn't a bad film as ballet films go. A little OTT but great performances from the two stars and guest dancers Bujones, Cragun, Haydee, Sibley, Aldous, Farrell & Martins plus members of American Ballet Theatre and a cameo from Danilova. Well worth an hour or two of your time if it comes up on TV again. Linda

He certainly was popular with the ladies who apparently loved his straight-speaking manner, verging on the downright rude at times. But there's no evidence that he and Elizabeth were lovers. She went riding with him alone, sometimes for an entire day and this caused considerable gossip and disapproval but he mostly stayed in England and Ireland, taking care of her extensive stables. He only paid one visit to her on the continent but that was to her mansion at Godollo, in Hungary, where he got into trouble at a local brothel and was consequently arrested. Instead of slinking home, though, he made a great joke of it and Elizabeth saw the funny side of it too. Even after he married, the Empress continued to correspond with him and was on reasonably good terms with his wife. But within 2 years of the wedding, he broke his neck racing and all of her letters were destroyed by his widow. Linda

I have just finished 'The Reluctant Empress' by Brigitte Hamann and can highly recommend it. I bought it on Amazon, second-hand but a good clean copy, at an incredibly low price . I also bought 'A Hapsburg Tragedy' by Judith Listowel, a biography of Rudolf which is good but not so well-written. However, the author's grandfather actually knew Rudolf and this has helped the author in her researches, giving her access to sources not mentioned in many other biographies. The problem I'm finding is that every book I read about the subject (and I've read quite a few now) lists others as sources. The amount of literature on Mayerling is amazing and a lot of it is contradictory. Ms Listowel refers to 'The Facts Behind the Legend' by Dr. Fritz Judtmann so I suppose I shall be looking for that one next! Incidentally, if anyone would like the Brigitte Hamann book, I would be happy to pass it on as I live in a flat too small for my vast library. I'm not selling it - just giving it away to anyone who would like it - so p.m. me if interested. Hapsburg Tragedy will be next, when I've finished it. Linda P.S. I have also just finished a biography of Edward VIIth who knew and admired Rudolf. In fact he attended a memorial mass in Rudolf's honour at the church in Farm Street, Mayfair, one year after Rudolf's death. Edward was still Prince of Wales then and he sympathised with his fellow Crown Prince over his position - wanting to get involved in the issues affecting his country but held back by an over-controlling parent and ruler.

Good point. Think of those dedicated folk who happily sit through 19 hours of the Ring Cycle on the dreadfully hard seating at Bayreuth! I'd join them if I could but I understand you have to apply years in advance? Linda

I couldn't agree with you more, Sim. "plummy pronouncements and fur coats"?? WTF indeed. Whoever this person is, she is obviously inhabiting an alternative universe from the rest of us. Such offensive tosh would not be published by any serious publication but one that describes itself literally as a 'mass exit from stage' seems oddly appropriate! Linda

My admittedly frivolous choice: Ashton's Dream to make us smile The Kingdom of the Shades for the pure beauty of classical ballet Jewels for the sheer fun of it. A Month in the Country for the hopeless romance Another long evening but wouldn't it be wonderful? I'd add Elite Syncopations or possibly The Concert to send everyone home on a high but the Musicians Union wouldn't wear it! Linda P.S. Does anyone else remember such marathon performances in the theatre as Nicholas Nickleby or Brook's Mahabharata? The latter was 12 hours long and usually shown over 3 nights but was occasionally shown in one continuous performance. I know I watched the 9 hour TV broadcast almost non-stop!

I have read a number of books on the history of this particular section of the Hapsberg history and I'm not sure it helps. On the one hand we have the accepted view of Rudolf, drug and sex addicted with a catastrophic family background which is what Macmillan shows us. On the other hand, there are several well-researched books that show a completely different view. Much of the Crown Prince's personal documents are still in the Vienna State Archives - including his tender love letters to his wife and his passionate political writings about the need for a more liberal government and the evils of anti-Semitism (very prevalent at the time). I've just finished 'The Reluctant Empress' about his mother, which reveals a very sad woman who hated all forms of human intimacy and was only happy alone and far away from Austria. The author maintains she was forced into marriage too young, had no lovers and only admired Bay Middleton for his skill as a horseman. She also cared nothing for her first daughter or Rudolf. The Emperor, in contrast, was capable of rape until his 60s, possibly because his wife gave him so little physical affection. But the Empress definitely encouraged his relationship with Katherine Schratt as it made it easier for her to escape for long periods. As a portrait of a dysfunctional family it could hardly be bettered. I'm just starting 'A Hapsberg Tragedy' which focuses more on Rudolf himself but I have mixed feelings about reading too much before I see the ballet. Another book I read last year: 'The Road to Mayerling' suggested that much of the lurid stories we read about Rudolf are disinformation put about by the secret police of the time who were afraid of Rudolf's liberal ideas. (There are even suggestions that he was murdered by the state but I don't want to get into the wilder fringes of conspiracy theory). The author of that book suggested that Rudolf was driven to suicide by despair over the political situation and his remote chance of changing this for the better. A repressive upbringing and no family support added to his lack of confidence and led to his ultimate suicide but even then he needed a willing accomplice to help him on his way. It's all so sad and my overriding feeling at the end of the ballet is usually relief that it's finally over! But I'm going to see Soares and Cuthbertson tomorrow in the hope the amazing pdds will make it all worth it. Linda Would like to add that I too find Macmillan's too-frequent use of prostiitutes a little tiresome but it's the Keystone Cops that really annoy me!

Watson danced Remanso with Cope & Bolle. But I think there was a certain amount of 'mix and match' with Acosta & Urlezaga. Bill Cooper's book of RB photos (published around 2003/4) has pictures of all of them in various combinations. Linda

At an Insight evening years ago, I watched Donald McLeary coaching Nunez and Pennefather in the last act pdd from Sylvia. It was fascinating and McLeary was so informative about the details that make this pdd such a moving one. Rupert was much more interested in the spectacular fish dives but McLeary taught him not just the best way to support and help his partner but how the little gestures such as the position of his hands on her face demonstrated the emotional bond between the characters. He also coached Jonathan Cope all through his long career and Muntagirov has now been coached by Cope in roles such as Des Grieux in Manon. It's wonderful to see the tradition of great partnering being continued in this way. Personally I hate male dancers who treat the pdd as a mere warm-up for their flashy solo afterwards. To me, the pdd is the heart and climax of the classical ballet and it only works if both dancers dance in a true partnership. Guillem was notoriously picky about who she danced with, demanding that her partner had 'heart and soul' as well as great technique. I love the fact that she referred to Cope as 'my Rolls Royce'.