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Everything posted by Richard LH
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Yes Lizbie I was thinking the same, but wasn't sure if I was knowledgeable enough to make that judgement.
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- Royal Ballet
- Asphodel Meadows
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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!
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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
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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.
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New limit to size of uploaded images??
Richard LH replied to Richard LH's topic in Problems, queries & feedback
Yes, thanks John. -
The "new" Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
Richard LH replied to Geoff's topic in Performances seen & general discussions
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!
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New limit to size of uploaded images??
Richard LH replied to Richard LH's topic in Problems, queries & feedback
Anyone else there in Admin that could answer this one please? -
New limit to size of uploaded images??
Richard LH replied to Richard LH's topic in Problems, queries & feedback
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.
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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?
- 454 replies
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- Royal Ballet
- Asphodel Meadows
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Naghdi and Campbell danced wonderfully and weren't distracted by a couple of chair malfunctions (Yasmine's dress torn by one at the start, and her struggling a bit to get through the back of the other, at the end). She is a beautiful dancer. But in this, we thought the pair had not developed, as yet, quite the same level of rapport as Takada and Hay displayed. It was of course a debut for Naghdi; in fact, has she actually danced a principal role with Campbell before? Kaneko was a brilliant gypsy girl and with Campbell and the other gypsies, the exhilarating first part of the second act really came to life. An exceptional Ashton passage!
- 454 replies
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- Royal Ballet
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Give the lad a break! He's already dancing it on Thursday with Choe, and he's dancing Basilio in Don Q on Saturday night with Takada!
- 454 replies
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- Royal Ballet
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Great quality, yes, and I am not convinced it hasn't sold well. It was virtually full when we went. Currently there are only 25 tickets left for the last performance tomorrow, (Takada and Hay are wonderful in the 2Ps), all but 3 in the Amphi. It is the RBS/2Ps programme that seems to have fallen a bit flat in sales, for some reason. Anyway, looking forward very much to tonight's performance.
- 454 replies
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- Royal Ballet
- Asphodel Meadows
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