loveclassics

It happens all too often. When the ROH re-opened in late 1999 the first scheduled performance (excluding the galas) was Manon with Durante and Mukhamedov but he went 'off' with injury in the morning and Jonathan Cope had to take over at a few hours notice (with noticeable success according to the critics) despite the couple never having danced this piece together before. And Adam Cooper practically made a career out of stepping in at the last minute, so much so in fact that he earned the nickname of 'Super Cooper'. As an afterthought, maybe this is the real difference between a guest star and a company principal. A company principal dances all the major roles with many different partners over the years and can step into practically any role at short notice (much as Debbie Bull describes when she noticed that one of the fairies wasn't ready in the wings in SB. She simply stripped off her costume and waited for someone to bring her that of the missing fairy then went straight on stage without hesitation). Guest stars may bring in the punters but it's the long-service, dedicated dancers who are really the core of a company. Edited to add afterthought.

Yes, many times with guest stars like Zelensky & Bolle. However, I do remember Clement Crisp saying she was too much of a 'good girl' to be entirely convincing in that role. Have to say I think that she was at her best in roles like Aurora or in more abstract pieces like Balanchine. Linda

That hardly fits with her three marriages to men who loved her. But is it any better than the off-stated assertion that she had learned some bizarre oriental sex practices while living in the East and this was how she ensnared Edward? It's appalling what some biographers will write with absolute conviction and on the basis of zero evidence, simply to sell their books. What's really sad is that some people (literally) buy it. Every time I see some fresh 'expose' on a famous dead celebrity (usually on Channel 4 or one of the satellite documentary channels) I find myself chanting "and where's the evidence? What are the sources? And are there any contradictory ones?" but they only present one, highly biased, POV. Sooo depressing! Linda

It's particularly good if you remember the craze for 'realistic' novels set in the unromantic countryside. Precious Bane is the leader in this field - all slashing rain and steaming manure but much of Thomas Hardy is perilously close. Cold Comfort Farm is a genuine classic though and equally funny even if you never suffered through the originals. There have been at least 2 adaptations for TV, the last including Joanna Lumley & Kate Beckinsale in the cast, and both are well worth watching if you come across them on DVD or a satellite channel.

There's something odd about this thread. At the top I can clearly see that there are 25 replies (26 with this one) but on its parent thread (News & Information) it appears to have zero views and no replies!

I saw it and yes, the old clips were interesting. What wasn't, was watching Bussell's attempt to emulate Astaire's extraordinary performances after a mere few weeks rehearsal. Are we expected to applaud her 'jolly hockey sticks' attitude in gamely trying and failing? It's painful to watch IMHO. What is this compulsion by TV producers to take people who are brilliant in their own field and make them try to be equally successful doing something else? What I want to see is excellence, not well-meant but ultimately unsatisfying second-rate imitations. Astaire spent a lifetime perfecting his skills and artistry and after watching this programme all I wanted to do was dig out the box set and watch some of his films again. Similarly, I would rather remember Bussell for her many superb ballet performances, not this embarrassing charade. Linda

Tamara Rojo was also the subject of a South Bank show programme which I saw for the first time last week though I suspect this was not its first transmission. She is such an intelligent and interesting interviewee, I do hope we will see more of her on TV. I can understand why the BBC chooses Darcey Bussell but she doesn't really bring anything interesting to her programmes. It's nice to see the ballet clips of course, but I miss Deborah Bull's insight. Her series on the Dancer's Body should be repeated as it still largely relevant.

Despite always having my nose in a book I only scored 43! Though having seen so many of the filmed versions I never read the original books because I knew I wouldn't enjoy them. Very surprised there was no Raymond Chandler on the list - I still re-read all of his along with Scott Fitzgerald's works. And no Henry James or Edith Wharton either - most surprising. Glad that others are also enjoying Sharon Penman's novels, so much historical fiction is dismissed as being trivial but her characters illuminate events so vividly and confirm, as Shakespeare said, 'the fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars but ourselves'. In other words: character forms destiny. I never really understood civil wars before but her depiction of King Stephen as a basically decent chap whose flaw was wanting to please everyone, makes what happened next perfectly logical. Currently enjoying 'Longbourne' too along with Spillover by David Quammen, about zoonotic diseases (those that cross the species barrier such as Bird Flu, Ebola & West Nile fever). I've also just discovered Ford Maddox Ford's The Good Solder, same era as James but a bit easier going. But for light relief I like Jill Paton Walsh's Peter Whimsey novels, carrying on from the great Dorothy L Sayers and my guilty pleasures are P G Wodehouse and Dodie Smith. Thanks for the Healthy Planet books for free info. Now I can happily recycle all my old books and replace them with uniform editions from the Book People. Pity we can't organise a similar scheme for all forum readers as we seem to have remarkably similar tastes in literature!

Yes I did plus a list of recommendations 'specially for you' which included opera which I don't want, never go to (at the ROH) and can't afford! Have to say the ROH's Marketing Dept is up there with its booking website designers. Linda (very tempted to sign myself as 'Irritated of East London').

I received a letter from the ROH today telling me that "booking for single tickets opens on April 8th". This is actually for opera which is odd as I have never bought a ticket for opera at the ROH. But I usually buy single tickets for the ballet and no doubt their marketing system picked this up. But I wonder if this is a new way of assigning booking 'windows' and reducing the pressure on the booking system. Does anyone know if booking for the RB is also going to be broken down for people buying single or multiple tickets? Linda

Like synchronised swimming or pairs diving, you mean? Sounds fascinating.

Yes, she was frequently described by fans and critics as being a perfect Aurora. I think this is because the role fits her naturally sunny disposition (on stage, that is). But I don't think it changed her career as she had already been a great hit in The Prince of the Pagodas and promoted to principal after the first performance. Pagodas was MacMillan's tribute to Sleeping Beauty so presumably he too thought her a potentially great Aurora. Linda

I haven't seen the BRB's version so I don't know. What I particularly liked about the Swedish production (which I saw on TV) was the opening sequence showing the funeral of Siegfried's father. It established the situation at the royal court and made clear the pressure on the Prince to marry. Another nice detail was using the national dances in the ballroom scene to introduce the different princesses. I always thought it quite strange to have all of them in identical dresses, hairstyles etc. as in the RB version. How on earth could anyone choose one of them when they were virtually interchangeable? Does the current BRB production have these details or are there any other 'traditional' versions which are like this? Linda

So right, Dave. Peter Wright did a wonderful version of Lake for Swedish Ballet and I would love to see him let loose on the RB's current version. It's not that dreadful (which is why it sells so well) but needs some of the fussiness in acting (a drunken tutor at an Imperial Court AND a Crown Prince hitting people's bottoms with his sword?!), costumes and lighting generally streamlined, cleaned-up and made more coherent. (But please no more leading men in black tights and stygian darkness). I'd also like another opportunity to see Symphonic Variations, Scenes de Ballet and other Ashton shorter pieces from the past. As previously mentioned, there's a huge back catalogue of his work which hasn't been seen in the last decade or longer. Linda

I think that some state companies such as POB and the Bolshoi do have a set age for retirement and it is usually after 40.

I am trying to upload an old B&W photo as I can't identify the ballet and thought someone on the website might be able to help me. But when I tried it on the Test thread I received the message "cannot upload this extension' though I can see it when I paste it into the reply box. What type of graphic file is acceptable? I don't use Flickr or any other online photo archive and I'm not sure I should put this photo into something like that as there might be a copyright issue. It's an old photo, not sure where I originally saw it as I only discovered it on an zip drive disk. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks, Linda

Are you clairvoyant, Sim? We must have been typing at exactly the same time! Linda

For this production, Christopher Wheeldon was asked to choreograph the Garland Dance. Linda

I was once told that the curtain has to come down at 10:30 because going on later would trigger very expensive payments to the members of the orchestra (I think it's an urban myth that the musicians must be allowed to get to the pub before last orders) but when an opera runs for longer than 3 hours, the curtain goes up sooner. Some Wagner performances even start as early as 5. So why not give us a chance to see a complete Beauty occasionally? Uncut versions of Hamlet are frequently staged and I would like to see a complete ballet if only as a point of comparison with the 'edited' versions. Re the longuers in certain Macmillan ballets I suspect it's the content, not the time they take, that makes some scenes a bit tedious. For instance, I don't see how the Keystone Cops routine does anything for Mayerling. I'm a bit curious about the jailor's mistress in Manon, though. What part did she play in the story and did she have any interesting solos? Linda

No criticism intended, Janet. it was just that I thought the 'story' (if it is one and not just a bit of mischief-making like some other articles the Telegraph is publishing lately) should/would probably appear in the links thread. I'm glad you enjoyed the BRB performances. Linda

According to the Sports Minister, Helen Grant, ballet is a sport. In a interview with the Daily Telegraph she states: "There are some wonderful sports which you can do and perform to a very high level...................... such as ballet, gymnastics, cheerleading and even roller-skating" I'm not sure how much of her remark I can post online for copyright reasons, but the gist of it is that women should do 'feminine sports'. A highly contentious issue which is already causing a storm on social networks. Would anyone like to comment? I can't see today's Dance Links but perhaps the link to the interview will be posted there and it is also on the Huffington Post UK website. Linda

From next week's Radio Times & the Sky Arts website: Dance on Sky Arts 2 Saturday 15th February 08:00 George Balanchine Forever Barbara Horgan (assistant to Balanchine) discusses his work with dancers from the Paris Opera Ballet. 09:20 Roland Petit’s L’Arlesienne, Paris Opera Ballet Monday 17th February 06:00 Jewels, Paris Opera Ballet Tuesday 18th February 11:00 George Balanchine Forever 12:15 Nuages (Kylian), Paris Opera Ballet Wednesday 19th February 20:00 Bella Figura (Kylian) 20:35 Symphony in D (Kylian), Nederlands Dance Theatre 21:10 Men Y Men "Male dancers from the English National Ballet perform the famous prelude to Giselle - a ballet written for female roles. Modern interpretation choreographed by Wayne Eagling". Thursday 20th February 01:40 Roland Petit’s Carmen, Paris Opera Ballet 11:00 Symphony in D (Kylian), Nederlands Dance Theatre 11:35 Roland Petit’s Carmen, Paris Opera Ballet 20:00 Amelia, La La Human Steps Friday 21st February 02:45 Nuages (Kylian), Paris Opera Ballet 03:00 Amelia, La La Human Steps 14:00 Amelia, La La Human Steps I'll try to keep this list updated but online information is not available very far in advance and the listings in the Radio Times are subject to change. Linda

Thank you Meunier for this. Lovely but not the production I was thinking of (with Durante). Oh well, back to the reference books, at least that might cure my insomnia! Linda

March 2005.

Are there any visual records of these earlier designs? I thought I saw a photo online somewhere of Viviane Durante in that production but have lost the link. Does anyone remember what they were like? Linda