Richard LH

Yes I know Xandra, sorry I didn't post this in response to your request...instead I was going to respond to that by linking to the Guardian pics of Yasmine and Marcelino, but Bluebird got there first!

Back to Don Quixote, here is a link to the Live Cinema cast list for tomorrow night.... http://static.roh.org.uk/showings/don-quixote-live-2019/en.pdf?_ga=2.162395900.1172474542.1550503105-1008816553.1550503105

Possibly not! Spring Season casting...

Yes Lizbie I was thinking the same, but wasn't sure if I was knowledgeable enough to make that judgement.

The last four were in the Friday cast. Was anyone else there last night?

Yes, the role does demand a fair bit of fairly strenuous technical and fast dancing, along with the pantomime skills ( I was really feeling for Yudes' foot after the countless times Don Q seemingly stamps it with his "lance"!) Welcome to the party, Floss !

Really, really enjoyed Don Q last night: you would think there would be a risk of ennui or let-down after such a brilliant opening only the night before, but for me this ballet only improves on viewing. When I first saw the disc version, to use the current parlance of the young folk "I was like “ isn't it over yet"?” (especially during Act 1), but seeing it live, the time seems to fly by and "I was like “is it over already”?" You wouldn’t expect Takada and Nunez to play Kitri in quite the same way, and they don’t - and that is one of the reasons that seeing different casts can be so rewarding. Nunez is all expressive joy, exhilarating throughout, indeed perhaps enjoying and sharing her love of dancing back and forth with her rapturous audience even more than with her partner. Takada employs rather more subtlety and is naturally more nuanced and more contained within her ballet character - the young girl finding herself literally pulled various ways in the midst of a comical love-fest. She is the Queen of balance and grace, in my view - not only in the technical, physical sense (she has such breathtaking control, for example, when on pointe on one leg, and in her fouettés!) but also in her lovely characterisation. In this she is so well assisted in her rapport with Alexander Campbell- what he may lack by way of the uber-dazzling leaping skills displayed by Muntagirov, he more than makes up for in his partnership technique and his acting. In the first Act, you feel he could hold Akane up in the air with one hand for ever, whilst by the opening of the second Act PDD they have become a wholly believable, tender loving couple. And all the while there is such wonderful support from the rest of the main cast and the corps! Although no standing ovations, or extra-prolonged curtain calls, this time, Akane and Alexander deserved, and received (by normal standards), a great response from the Saturday night audience, at least from everyone who stayed to the end, rather having to rush out for trains etc. a tad prematurely. Bring on Tuesday, along with the live streaming!

And on the basis of tonight's amazing performance from the former, that looks like a good call!

Further cast info. for tonight.... Don Q. Saunders Sancho Panza....Yudes Lorenzo....Avis Gamache....Whitehead Kitri's friends...Choe, Stix-Brunell 2 Matadors...Edmonds, Ella Gypsy couple...Mendizabal, Mock Queen of Dryads....Kaneko Amour....O'Sullivan Dulcinea...Turk Fandango Couple.....Storm-Jensen, Edmonds

She doesn't exactly say she was ill during the performance itself...but fever or not, she was certainly on fire!

Just a word on the staging, and the titular character. I found this ballet so much more colourful, bright and cleverly designed seen "live" than seen on the disc. Beautiful costumes, and (mobile) scenery...the tired old horse appears slightly rough round the edges, but that rather adds to its poignancy. Indeed the poignancy of Don Q's romantic, chivalrous, yet deluded quest, adds rather a subtle layer to the ballet above and beyond the otherwise "thin/silly" plot. And for me Christopher Saunders perfectly captures the spirit of the character....every gesture and expression conveying meaning, including plenty of suitably yearning, moving "far away looks", capybara! Credit to Saunders also for pushing David Yudes to the fore at the curtain call, at his own expense.

Agree about Anna Rose, Bruce. Also much admiration in the House for Morera and Hirano. But what sublime exemplars of joyful, virtuoso dancing from Nunez and Muntagirov! The most applause during, and following, a performance I have yet to see at the ROH.

On a happier note, social media indicates that Kirti's "purple" girl friends tonight will again be the inimitable Beatriz Stix-Brunell and Yuhui Choe. Also that the Dress Rehearsal (about to start) will be the Naghdi / Sambe cast with Stix-Brunell as Mercedes and Ball as Espada.

Oh dear... he must be suspect now for his Creature in Frankenstein on 5th and 11th March, if not his later appearances on 20th and 23rd March.

Yes, thanks John.

Keeping in character....

Now yesterday's 2Ps/vixen ...I wonder how many empty seats there were in the end? For the last performance, tomorrow's matinee, most of the "slack" now seems to have been taken up.

To all ballet Lovers... Here is an appropriate link!

But I thought you weren't remotely interested, Alison! 🤔

Anyone else getting excited about DON Q? Opening night tomorrow, live cinema Tuesday..... Here is a brief taster for the latter https://www.facebook.com/royaloperahouse/videos/996152430579101/

Anyone else there in Admin that could answer this one please?

Thanks Jan. What is the overall limit? Is it time-related, or once reached does it mean you can never post another image?

The upload limit for images is currently set at only .02MB (20kb). Wasn't it something like 140kb previously? Indeed only yesterday an image of 88kb was successfully uploaded.

In Bahrain... presumably just a PDD for the Gala? Another gala piece. So it seems last night's 2Ps was their first full-length principal roles together?