Richard LH

5 hours ago, PeterS said:

in the present day, Marianela Nuñez and Vadim Mutagirov are lovely to watch. they put on a fantastic show, there is no denying that. they are global ambassadors for ballet and the reception they received at both performances so far this season is well-deserved.  it's a privilege to be able to see them dancing live onstage. and, when i'm watching them i wouldn't want to be anywhere else.  it's like wrapping oneself in a favourite cardigan and curling up on the sofa to watch a favourite episode of, say, Friends.  there's a familiarity in everything they do and it is done extremely well.  the downside of this is that it all seems very safe, there are no surprises. through repetition the extraordinary has become ordinary, one performance is pretty much a copy of the last and as a result, for me, compared to their first night, last night lacked a little 'soul'. at times it felt like 'ballet by numbers'. 

I understand this viewpoint as I have thought the same myself at times, however I thought last night, and on opening night, Marianela, in particular, didn't just repeat a standard "safe"(?) performance but incorporated various special moments of her own, playing around a little with the choreography and timing..I think she is so confident in the role that she can manipulate things to suit and add her own twist. Also she had a wonderful rapport with the audience, and you could see and feel her joy as she danced the role...

Still currently "78 seats" available for Fumi, Will et. al. tonight.....get them if you can, I would say! There were 2 more before, but I am afraid we just had to see them again....🙄

6 hours ago, FionaM said:

Yuhui Choe seems to have been a surprise cast for Mercedes on Monday night

Yes I enjoyed her performance very much as well....

14 minutes ago, capybara said:

Did you not notice that there some rather good men on stage too, Richard LH? This is a ballet which needs stage energy from Basilio especially and Muntagirov delivered that in spades.

 

However, tonight’s overdone antics by the Beggar Boys made me feel irritated - as they had during earlier runs. Marco Masciari is a brilliant dancer but, in this, a little less ‘disturbance’ from him in particular around the edges would be welcome. Others, not Marco (well, not yet) are the main act after all.

 

What an atmosphere there was in the auditorium again tonight!

Yes indeed...Vadim particularly fine, and I also thought the matadors were really good tonight, headed by the brilliant Hirano.

I also agree about the need for toning down some of  the background antics,😬 especially during the main Act 1 dances...I found myself momentarily distracted at times.

Yes it was lovely to be part of a really appreciative audience!

Well that was just one more fantastic performance from Nela... perhaps even better than the first night, if that is possible. With the odd minor exception that was another tremendous evening of brilliant  dancing for the whole  Company. I would mention particularly Sae Maeda again as a charming, dainty Amour, and Annette Buvoli again conquered the difficult Queen of the Dryads solo with supreme confidence. And I so love the corps dancing in Act 2...just beautiful.

This is why I love ballet!

3 hours ago, Silke H said:

I am so sorry for Steven to be injured again, and sorry for Anna Rose to miss her show.  I really hope Steven's injury is nothing too serious.  His partnership with AROS is really lovely.  I wish him a speedy recovery.

However, the alternate cast for tomorrow is such a treat!

Best wishes to both...

(Is "AROS" a thing now then)?😂

Just noticed belatedly that Viola Pantuso will be dancing as Clara in the Nutcracker with james Hay as Hans Peter....what a role, and partnership,  for her at the start of only her second full season! Unfortunately for me it's pre-Christmas, and all Nutcracker seats for that period are  currently  shown as sold out... 

31 minutes ago, Silke H said:

34 minutes ago, Silke H said:

2 taster photos, more here:

 

Facebook album

 

Instagram 14-10-23 matinee

 

Instagram 14-10-23 evening

 

Lovely to meet you yesterday @Silke H  and pleased to see the results of  your camera work, which I was watching with interest!

23 minutes ago, capybara said:

I’m afraid I didn’t ‘get’ this at all. For me, it didn’t gel with the Basilio character  Will had given us up to that point nor with the choreography of the variation which followed. Strange!

 

 

I can understand that viewpoint....but I liked how he was trying something different and, yes, showing off a bit, for which I forgive him!

Something I have not seen before...(with apologies for any inaccurate technicalities) William Bracewell opened his Act 3 solo with graceful, slow, silent move into an arabesque, before the music kicked in....very unexpected (for me at least)  eye-catching and dramatic. Followed by a superb bravura solo....  I can't really believe this was his Basilio debut!  

And I'm pretty sure Fumi did virtually all the first half of her fouettés as doubles, before finishing with singles....so very strong and  confident! 

8 hours ago, alison said:

I'm told that Sky Arts is moving, I think to channel 36?, in the middle of this week.

Useful to know...not just for dance, but for Portrait Artist of the Year etc...thanks Alison.

54 minutes ago, JennyTaylor said:

he was utterly brilliant! 

Wasn't he just.... quite literally throwing himself into the role!

1 hour ago, LinMM said:

Well that’s a relief at least!!  Just hope this new fall hasn’t caused anything else too serious. 

Fumi and Will on top form this afternoon!😍

2 hours ago, Stevie said:

Yes, they are not the quickest. My orders have normally taken about 7 days from dispatch notification, but have always turned up eventually. I think I am over 10 orders now.  Let us know their response to your email.

They have replied that it should arrive in the next day or two.

On 28/09/2023 at 18:06, Stevie said:

Here's what they say

All orders are shipped from our warehouse in Rushden, UK via Royal Mail 2nd Class. Dispatch times may vary by product, and orders usually arrive with customers within 3-5 working days of dispatch, however, if your item hasn’t arrived within 7 working days of dispatch, please feel free to contact us.

International estimated delivery times are as follow:

 

• USA: 7 to 15 working days

Not sure where the 3 disc Paris Opera package is coming from, but it has yet to arrive here, although I was advised on 03 October that  it had been shipped. I have chased them up by e-mail.

On 10/10/2023 at 10:43, capybara said:

The volume of unsold seats for the three performances of Don Q this Friday and Saturday is surely unprecedented, especially as the casts are of established stars.

I find it  strange that there are far fewer seats showing available for O'Sullivan/McRae next week, on the evening of Tuesday 17th Oct, than for their performance tomorrow evening (Friday). 

Similarly strange is that there are very few seats available for Kaneko/Bracewell on Friday evening 03 November at 7:30, yet plenty available still for their performance at this Saturday's Matinee.

Any possible explanations?   

6 hours ago, PeterS said:

The ROH has less, if any at all,  'public reductions' than elsewhere it has to be said but, the majority of sets still have bums on them 'on the night

Yes I have noticed this..... performances that have appeared to have plenty of unsold seats up until the day, have looked full by the time they took place. Some last minute discounting that isn't widely advertised, or a favoured group? Interesting to see if this will be the case again Saturday lunchtime.

I suppose the problem for the ROH with too much discounting is that it becomes a vicious circle, with people not buying tickets initially expecting a discount later, leading in itself to poor sales and the need for a further discount, fuelling more expectations of later discounts etc etc....

1 hour ago, PeterS said:

 Dancers Diary has posted a ‘best of Will & Fumi’ rehearsing Don Quixote to his IG account. From the clip it looks unmissable.

 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CyLGih8gYVw/?igshid=NzZhOTFlYzFmZQ==

Indeed...I was just  about to post the same link. I think those of us lucky enough to be going to this coming Saturday matinee are in for a treat! 

4 hours ago, oncnp said:

Having re-read the e-mails all the way to the bottom this time both offers are only for the first 3 nights

For me at least, there are currently no individual seats  showing  as available to choose from the seat plan  for the first 3 nights...the only option is to let ROH choose for you. Not a very customer friendly way to sell more seats! (Out of interest only as I don't plan to see this double bill anyway)

31 minutes ago, Sim said:

I am so sorry for Akane.  She has had such bad luck these past few years.  😢

Indeed. I really don't want to keep building up my Credit balance at the ROH for this reason.....😬 

(Meaghan Grace Hinkis sort of flagged this up a few days ago on her IG page when she referred to some big news on the way, followed by a Spanish dance emoji...)

21 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

Really upset for Akane. She is a lovely Kitri and would have been a great 'match up' for Luca.

I do hope that she recovers soon.

Oh dear...poor Akane, yet another injury. I did wonder if she was OK after she missed her last performance in  Japan this summer.☹️

2 hours ago, bangorballetboy said:

 

I think you mean Pantuso...    😇

Yes indeed...Viola Bella Pantuso.

2 hours ago, LinMM said:

I can think of a few young partners in the RB for him for the future

E.g.Viola Bella?

The most enthusiastic audience I can remember at the ROH.. matched by the enthusiasm of the whole cast. Some fantastic performances... Nela and Vadim on fire from the start, Mayara and Ryoichi brilliant, and some lovely debuts(?) e.g. from Annette Buvoli as Queen of the Dryads, Sae Maeda as Amour and Mica Bradbury as lead Fandango lady. Beautiful dancing from the Corps in the Dream sequence. Rounded off by Carlos Acosta being reluctantly dragged on stage at the end to take well deserved rapturous applause! Well worth the 2hr car journey to get there....

This is all going very well....very appreciative audience!