HappyTurk

Will there be a DVD for the last Don Quixote cinema showing with Takada and Campbell?

I could watch Raymonda ACT III on a perpetual loop and it would never grow tiresome. The music, choreography, and the very Slavic essence of the ballet -- ahh, I get chills thinking about it! A Month in a Country would be a fine yearly choice for me too. I suppose I could also add Giselle which I love dearly. But I feel that would kind of ruin the spark for me if it were to make a yearly appearance. The one ballet I would absolutely detest seeing every year or every 2 years would be Swan Lake. 

6 hours ago, Springbourne3 said:

I mean how glorious is this? Personally I see Hayward or Stix-Brunell in this - sorry to deviate but I couldn’t resist...

I wish! But if there is a live relay/dvd for the next staging, I guarantee they won't have it. Nunez will probably be given it considering she has danced the role before. Cuthbertson has danced it too before (I think?)...but we know Nunez will be picked over her. Anyways, sorry to direct us off the main topic! Just had to add my two cents while I'm perusing the forum updates. Ha! 

Is Nunez the only one who has danced Coppelia amongst those who were cast? I'm thinking that's why she was given the relay, although I do think Hayward would have been a fine (better) choice. She is great in these kind of roles. 

Okay, finally got around to seeing the screening and I have to say I have very mixed feelings about the performances -- enthralled yet dissapointed. So, first let's start with the positives! Aside from the stupendous (!!!) Gary Avis (who I could not praise enough), the stand-out performers were surprisingly Nicol Edmonds, Benjamin Ella, and Beatriz Stix-Brunnel (even though they had "limited" roles)! My goodness, charisma just oozes out of these three so readily! Nicol Edmonds was so perfectly aloof yet dangerously charming; Benjamin Ella has such a grandiose presence that I felt myself constantly peering at him in the first act in captivation. I need to see him as Romeo and Albrecht asap! He would be so compelling. And last but not least, the wonderful Beatriz Stix-Brunnel who I may have underestimated at times. In short, she had so much captivating allure (which was aided by her temptous eyes and smile) that it truly showed what a deeply committed (and versatile) actress she is and could become. In fact, I was desperately hoping she would have been cast as Juliet as the minutes progressed! I can definitely see why many in here were smitten by her performance as Juliet -- such charisma! KOH must cast all three of these dancers in more principal roles asap! 

Okay, now onto the negatives of which will mostly be directed at Yasmine Naghdi (apologies to her as I admire her discipline as a dancer). Now perhaps because I was already smitten by the grandiose charisma/presence of the aforementioned dancers and had very high expectations of her Juliet because of those who raved about her Juliet in the past, I was quite disappointed by her overall performance. At times I felt she was aware of the audience (understandably first-time nerves!), and never fully engrossed herself into the character to the point where it felt like I was watching a very tragic, borderline ugly/gritty love story. There was no sheer abandonment and I felt she never acted through her body but rather her face (which I feel is not how MacMillan's choreography is intended to be danced as). Too many plastique poses and restrained, cautious dancing especially in the bedroom pas de deux; and I felt her interpretation of Juliet rarely changed as the ballet progressed (it was quite static) -- which made it impossible for me to experience a whirlwind catharsis of emotions. And as a result, this undercutted the rapture between Ball and herself (from my perspective). Ball, however, was a great Romeo. He is clearly a more introverted person and thus takes a more introspective approach but I thought his portrayal was very compelling and got more gritty as the ballet progressed. 

Okay! Cue the pitch-forks now! 😀  And apologies for my liberal use of exclamation points. Clearly, I was excited about some of these performances 

On 11/06/2019 at 17:29, capybara said:

 

 In which case, you didn't see his jaw dropping appearances with ENB: his  Hilarion in Khan's Giselle, his Albrecht in Skeaping's Giselle; his Birbanto in Le Corsaire; his Young Man in Le Jeune Homme - all amazing and completely different from his Solor and his Romeo with the RB. And the fact that his Romeo was so completely different from anything else he has done served to show what an artist Cesar is.

Well, we will just have to agree to disagree. Certainly, I believe he will be a principal at the Royal Ballet in the near future (perhaps it will take two years?) But I do think he has room to develop his presence (which isn't a surprise considering he is quite young). 

I personally see Bracewell being promoted first. I'm not yet sold on Corrales' artistic presence. So I think he needs a bit more time developing it. 

Perhaps for the RB but certainly not for the ballet in general (although in terms of the three recordings, Asylmuratova is superior to both Rojo and Nunez combined). 

9 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

 Why have we moved onto Swan Lake casting in such forensic detail? We were rightly itching for the autumn leads but let's wait until Swan Lake is due.

BTW, I do think that Francesca Hayward will be cast as Odette/Odile this season. Why ever not?

Well, we were discussing Swan Lake because of Stix-Brunnel's lack of a debut role in the major roles this Autumn which then lended itself to a discussion on whether that is because she will be debuting in other major roles later on. And as with O'Sullivan, Hayward seems (to me) to be a dancer who is a great fit for Sleeping Beauty, Nutcracker, Coppelia, and Giselle -- but most certainly not Swan Lake or even La Bayadere and Don Quixote. I could go more into detail but I feel like my comments may spark an argument and this isn't the appropriate thread for this topic anyways. So, I'll stop here! 

10 minutes ago, bangorballetboy said:

A little reminder that KOH said at the Patrons’ and Premium Friends’ Season Preview that there would be new principal castings in Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake.

I suppose then we'll have to sit tight and wait for the promotion news!

46 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

I make it Nunez 5, Osipova 4, Takada 5, Lamb 6, and Naghdi 4, the last three named picking up 4 extras between them due to Cuthbertson pulling out.

Oh wow. Well, if this run mirrors that, I'm afraid there will be little room for many debuts which will be a bummer. 

5 hours ago, Xandra Newman said:

Bridiem:

"Swan Lake has 25 performances including the welcome performance and students' matinee, but I recall the 2018 run having nearly that many shows and the 6 Odette/Odiles were all principals.  However, it is possible with a revival, there could be some debuts this time around particularly with so many performances.  Certainly there are many soloist/first soloist ballerinas (not just Stix) who are worthy."  

 

Assuming the current 6 Odette/Odiles (Nunez, Osipova, Naghdi, Takada, Lamb, Cuthbertson) each get 3 performances, add to this the likelihood Hayward will make her debut and dancing 2 or 3 performances: this takes up 20 or 21 performances thus leaving 4 or 5 performances to share between two other debutantes (Kaneko hopefully! Stix-Brunell? or Calvert?or..?).

Swan Lake is a mammoth of a ballet not only requiring a very high level of technical skill but also enormous stamina to get through this full-length ballet.

Didn't each principal get 4 shows the last run? Maybe they'll do the same again (especially considering Lamb, Cuthbertson, and Osipova were all left out from Coppelia. And then since Nunez and Takada also had 4 shows last time, I imagine they'll do the same. Naghdi might be given 3 like last time which leaves 2 shows left)? For some reason, I don't think Hayward will be making a debut (I've already stated my reasons why in the past). But I'm certain Kaneko will (perhaps that can explain why she only got 1 Aurora). I doubt Calvert will based on how she has been cast lately. 

18 minutes ago, MRR said:

Stix-Brunell is not cast as Aurora.  Presumably she will dance Lilac as she has done so before. 

 

Onegin only has 12 shows and Tatiana is typically cast on experienced principal ballerinas, so I would expect her to dance Olga.   Swan Lake has 25 performances including the welcome performance and students' matinee, but I recall the 2018 run having nearly that many shows and the 6 Odette/Odiles were all principals.  However, it is possible with a revival, there could be some debuts this time around particularly with so many performances.  Certainly there are many soloist/first soloist ballerinas (not just Stix) who are worthy.  

I suppose then that if the 2018 run had a similar number of shows, I imagine the only debut this run might be Kaneko. 

Stix Brunell could be making a debut in Swan Lake or perhaps also performing one of the prominent leads in Onegin. Maybe that can explain the lack of a debut in Coppelia? Is she performing Aurora? 

15 minutes ago, penelopesimpson said:

He may be exhausted!  He  has had a very taxing, although hopefully exhilarating, season.

Yes he has! Hopefully now he won't be so overlooked. I do think he should be publicized more by the RB. He is a very regal and elegant dancer. 

1 minute ago, LinMM said:

I wonder if people who may be retiring at the end of a season have to wait till all the promotions and leavers and joiners etc are announced....though won't this be soon presumably before they go off to Japan?

But he may not be retiring in the full sense. Just not involved with every production and towards the ends of careers dancers often go off and get involved with projects of their choice but still remain connected to their main Company for some performances. 

 

Seeing that Soares is now a guest artist, will he continue to be so after his performance of Onegin (which very well could be his send off performance)? Or is he now a guest artist merely for that performance? 

On another note, is there a reason Hirano isn't being cast as some of the main leads this Autumn? *Edit* For a second I thought I only saw his name for SB but he has a main lead in Concerto. Never mind! I need my eyes checked.

5 minutes ago, penelopesimpson said:

I agree, Happyturk. I don’t find the Nunez/Muntagirov, combination, lovely though it is, remotely equal.  Nunez is always so confident, so supreme and Muntagirov so giving, that, inevitably, he is overshadowed and becomes simply a partner in the dance sense.  I can’t remember who he was dancing with the last time I saw him but I remember remarking how much more he projected with someone other than Nunez.  Think it would be good for his development to have other partners.  Surely both Hirano and Ball are tall enough for Nunez?

I too have never seen the great chemistry that others believe them to have. He has a rather reserved (less extroverted) spirit that I think he would do better with others. Nunez has very extroverted dancing, on the other hand, which is great for sunny characters (although I admit she isn't my favorite dancer because of her port de bras).   

7 minutes ago, Shade said:

According to Osipova’s interview in the Standard this week some dancers prefer not to dance with her. I agree the she has had brilliant performances with Watson and McRae but I also enjoyed her Kitri and Nikyia with Muntagirov, Juliet with Acosta etc.

 

i see she is not down for Coppelia - I wonder if she is elsewhere for that. I am disappointed as I never saw her perform that live with the Bolshoi, only in the cinema. 

 

Still looking forward to the new season.

 

I imagine she was referring to dancers at the Bolshoi as she has discussed many times how the harsh dancing atmosphere and politics at the Bolshoi is what drove her to come to the RB. 

11 minutes ago, JNC said:

 

Curious as to why this is? Is it a height thing, or is it simply because the dancers like working together and KOH (and possibly the audience) etc like to have set pairings? Or a combination of all of the above?

I would say a combination of things. For one, I think Mcrae has often been paired up with Takada for height reasons as I don't think they have chemistry at all. Ball does have chemistry with Naghdi as does Nunez and Muntagirov (although the former is much more prominent to me). The problem is just that it seems as though there isn't very much flexibility/diversity when it comes to casting in the classics especially for Nunez and Muntagirov. I would love him to be paired with other ballerinas much more frequently in the classics as he is 99 percent of the time paired up with Nunez in those. Yes, he does often pair up with Lamb in the MacMillan repertoire but rarely the classics. I think that is the issue I have. 

29 minutes ago, serenade said:

Yes actually I forgot about McRae- really liked them together in La Fille but good point re availability 

I remember many thought they had great chemistry in Rubies too. I'm crossing my fingers that they'll be paired together for the next run! 

10 minutes ago, penelopesimpson said:

You are one brave Turk!

 

Me, neither although I have hitherto held off saying so.  Don't get me wrong, I can absolutely understand why others eulogise about him.  His technique, his confidence, his amazing physique and, also, his sheer niceness, mean that I am always delighted to see him in the cast.  I always feel that he is not only a wonderful dancer but an unselfish one in that his partnering is so secure yet never showy.  However, all that said, he and I have never clicked emotionally.

Yes you can tell he is a very selfless dancer! But to be frank, I've always preferred the "unique" dancers that go against the grain (which others might be put off by) i.e. Sylvie Guillem, Seymour, Watson, Osipova, McRae etc. But that goes for the arts in general! I'm not one for normality. Haha. I would even add Morera in this catgeory at times as well as Yanowsky (hence why the only female principal dancers I like at the RB are the ones I've mentioned just now including Cuthbertson who isn't in my "unique" category but is nevertheless a fabulous dance actress). 

6 minutes ago, penelopesimpson said:

I just don't see why they cant be honest about things.  I and many others have followed him for years and I think we deserve some communication. 

 

Also, you are right about the lack of comment on this forum. Criticise Hallberg for a less than stellar performance and the wrath of god descends on your head.  Muntagirov has been granted sainthood and as for Marianela..... Yet Ed who has given so many years of fantastic development in his many roles, is almost ignored.  Maybe people are 'in the know' or maybe he just wasn't that popular.  Weird. 

 

I always think that Macrae doesn't get the plaudits he deserves either.  He is a very different dancer to Watson and therefore not as high up my list, but he is still absolutely fantastic but has never attracted the adulation that Muntagirov gets.

I personally adore Muntagirov's stellar technique but I might be in the minority that has always preferred McRae's projection and charisma. I don't know why but for some reason Muntagirov has never "clicked" for me on an artistic level. But perhaps he will in the future! He is still quite young and has room to grow. 

I think Ball and Muntagirov and even McRae have great chemistry with Osipova. The only issue is that all three are on the reserve for Naghdi, Nunez, and Takada respectively. So the issue is availability.

And quite personally, I have never understood the McRae/Takada pairing.  

4 minutes ago, JNC said:

Thanks for sharing Richard LH! 

 

I'm sad to be missing Hayward in Manon (I'm off on holiday!) but will see Lamb instead as I've not seen her before, and her Manon seemed to get good reviews. 

 

Excited for Hayward/Naghdi in SB. Also looking forward to Hayward in Coppelia, would loved to have seen Anna Rose as well as I think she'd be perfect for the role, but unfortunately as it's the Christmas period I'll likely be out of London - but will try and see Morera instead (another dancer I haven't seen before!). Interesting that Osipova hasn't been cast for Coppelia as wasn't it one of her well known roles at the Bolshoi; and I think she'd be great in it actually (the dramatic and 'exaggerated' side of Swanilda?). 

 

I wonder why if casting is finalised to this level that they can't release it to the website? Perhaps it's supposed to be a perk of being a friend that you know casting earlier but this isn't mentioned as a benefit in their membership options. 

 

As someone else has already said, it's also odd that they can release this level of casting detail (e.g. for Manon Lescaut's Mistress and G.M.) whereas on the website it's usually just Manon/De Grieux/Lescaut. Perhaps this is a poor example though as Manon is first up so they likely have more detailed casting available for this one! It'll be interesting to see if once it does go up on the website, if they'll list the same detail! 

 

Overall I'm pretty pleased with the Autumn's offering, lots of role debuts! 

I figured she wasn't cast because she isn't available due to her projects.