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Richard LH

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  1. Richard LH
    I do think continuing beyond The Shades is needed to resolve the story. Makarova's inclusion of her own Act IV, as seen in the RB production, is surely more authentic, since the wedding ceremony, and an earthquake destroying the palace, was in the original C19 Petipa ballet, but was mainly dropped in Russia from the 1920s onwards (possibly because of cost, or because of Soviet political sensibilities). Did this production also virtually "end" the ballet after Nikiya's death by having full curtain calls at that point, and then recommencing with the Shades? I found that aspect one of the more bizarre aspects of the Bolshoi version by Grigorovich in 2013.
  2. Richard LH
    Nogoat was the Coliseum itself part of the issue? I don't think it has anything like the sort of almost magical atmosphere that somehow is instilled within the ROH auditorium. Things at the Coli seem more perfunctory for some reason... as with the dearth of curtain calls or flowers at the end, which I have mentioned before - you leave feeling a bit flatter than you should (or that the dancers deserve). Would where you were sitting also have something to do with it?
  3. Richard LH
    Nor I......I have learned so much more of interest about ballet from members of this forum, than from any critic's review I have read.
  4. Richard LH
    Not entirely unexpected. I wish him well in all his future endeavours.
  5. Richard LH
    I didn't say that clarification had to be made straight away. All in good time. I think you could have responded rather more politely. Moderators usually set the tone.
  6. Richard LH
    Noted. And of course the forthcoming triple bill in May (Within the Golden Hour / New Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui / Flight Pattern) is rather less expensive, the top price being £55. So that is to be welcomed at least. However, I see that the top price for the special Fonteyn bill rises to £125! Clarification of the full Summer Season casting, and full details of Fonteyn bill, is sorely needed.....
  7. Richard LH
    This does seem a big hike in prices for a mixed bill; recent/current ones were/are priced up to £70 as I recall, including Symphony in C, with The Unknown Soldier and Infra. Now a repeat of Symphony in C, but with The Firebird and A Month in The Country instead, rises to a top price of £95. Are the Firebird and A Month in The Country considered likely to be much more popluar than The Unknown Soldier and Infra? On reflection, have I just answered my own question?
  8. Richard LH
    I didn't notice this yesterday but in the RB version he is harassed by the beggars before shuffling off. I think the mime just means "get rid of him".
  9. Richard LH
    Yes you do have a point about the background kerfuffle, Fonty. There is often a lot going on that can be distracting. There are moments where this is avoided, e.g.by having everyone else go to sleep, as in Act 1, or by freezing the baclground action, as at one point in Act II (for quite a long time- it must be hard to achieve that)!. Perhaps a few more background freezes could highlight the crucial moments in the main action.
  10. Richard LH
    We enjoyed it very much indeed - Mrs LH was particularly impressed with the two males leads, Hernandez (Des Grieux) and McCormick (Lescaut) although I thought "Artist" McCormick rather outshone "Lead Principal" Hernandez (as did Dronina, for me) - Hernandez danced very well but perhaps was not quite all there in the acting department, so I was not fully convinced of the relationship between Des Grieux and Manon. McCormick looks to be an exceptional young dancer - winner of ENB's Emerging Dancer 2018 - see his Corsaire PDD with Francesca Velicu https://www.youtube.com/watch?)v=YjkSDyX0CrI He acted well too, including a convincing and well-received drunken dance assisted by the adept Rina Kanehara. He is certainly one to watch - I could see him and Velicu as a wonderful Des Grieux and Manon in years to come. Yesterday afternoon Velicu stood out impressively as one of the two "competitive courtesans". I thought Dronina was great: lovely dancing, and her acting becoming more intense as Manon's story unfolded, and she really threw everything into the final PDD - tremendous commitment. She also gets the prize for the longest leap onto the bed, in Act 1 Scene 2, that I have seen so far! I rather liked the pared back staging, and agree that it helped us focus on the dancing although I still prefer the RB's sets and costumes overall. I was not sure why Monsieur GM had to have an extra set of eyebrows halfway up his forehead! Well deserved applause for the ENB Philharmonic, but the curtain calls (as with Swan Lake last week) were far too short and we thought this disrespectful to the wonderful performers. No flowers either! We saw Tamara Rojo in one of the boxes, and I wondered what she thought of her Company's interpretation of the work she danced so well in at the RB. She should be proud.
  11. Richard LH
    This seems to be catching... we had one descending slowly at the Coliseum yesterday afternoon just as Manon was in her final death throes! Quite a poignant touch, although an unlikely phenomenon in the swamps of Louisiana!
  12. Richard LH
    Thanks for these reviews! Looking forward to Dronina and Hernandez this afternoon.
  13. Richard LH
    I see it more as just stating the obvious; after all, what new Director could declare "I want to demolish this Company's classical traditions, limit its repertoire and restrict the audience to a certain type of person"?
  14. Richard LH
    Fair point.
  15. Richard LH
    He does make a good monster, though ! ©️ ROH/BBC
  16. Richard LH
    There are still plenty of opportunites for buying Manon tickets overall, but much fewer if you want Cojocaru /Caley, or Cao/Arrieta. Apart from the Cojocaru /Caley final performance on Sunday, it seems a lot harder to sell tickets for the matinees. It is a pretty intense run for the corps, who don't get a break from 8 performances in 5 days. Does anyone think this may put too much strain and pressure on the dancers, or is it perfectly acceptable?
  17. Richard LH
    Jan, when I saw that you had replied to my post, I correctly guessed you would be pointing out that these were both BRB lads!
  18. Richard LH
    Indeed...This is really sad for Corrales - a horrid first season at the RB for him so far. William Bracewell is rapidly becoming joint Super-Sub, alongside Alexander Campbell, and I am pleased he is so well thought of. This is a great role for developing another side of his skill set. Ideally I would have liked to have seen him play this opposite Campbell as Victor, but we can't have everything!
  19. Richard LH
    After a very long run, this evening a London stage is all set for the final dramatic face-off between a large group of children, some pretending to be brave soldiers, some acting like mice; there will be a lot of dancing around, various tricks, and much confusion. It is all about trying to crack a nutty problem, so as to reach a magical fairy land where all is lovely and full of free sweets. That’s playing out at Westminster – but more importantly there is also this season’s last performance of The Nutcracker, up the road at Covent Garden!
  20. Richard LH
    That's a very useful finagle, Saodan - thanks!
  21. Richard LH
    Thanks Alison, it would certainly make more sense to have full seat views irrespective of whether the seat is booked. I didn't know that this was previously possible.
  22. Richard LH
    Alison I may be missing your point, so forgive me if I seem to be stating the obvious below... In selecting a seat to potentially book it, you can see the view. You can't see the view from that seat once it is booked for that particular performance/date, but of course that does not prevent viewing it where it is not yet booked for another performance. I have also saved a lot of seat views on my computer for convenience and future reference.
  23. Richard LH
    They are pretty good ...we saw a Manon performance from them. Being loose you can adjust them a bit to face the stage, and being tall you are not likely to have your view blocked by anyone in rows A or B. Once seated, the view won't seem as boxed in as it looks in Saodan's photo.
  24. Richard LH
    I agree it would have been better if these particular changed pages had not been introduced. But the issue quite specific, being limited to mixed bills, to pre general booking, and to not being signed in. This issue has been pointed out to the ROH before, as I recall, who responded with a promise to sort it out. That seems to be taking longer than expected and in the meantime other pages do have the correct information even if not signed in. But no, not ideal. And last time I looked the ROH online shop was still in a mess. Otherwise, though, the ROH website remains the best event/booking facility I have ever come across.
  25. Richard LH
    Yes you are right John that is a particular quirk. But there is the other route, and as I say, these pages change back to the more sensible ones when general booking opens.
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