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Richard LH

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  1. Richard LH
    I have only heard it once: as I said before, it might take a few hearings to judge.
  2. Richard LH
    Interesting....I thought something similar about Avis...I wonder if some performers exaggerate expressions so as to make sure they project to the far reaches of the auditorium, which then look too much for filmed close-up...
  3. Richard LH
    That would be more or less my current list - I would add Hay....also Whitehead in terms of character principals. And yes I agree about Takada....
  4. Richard LH
    Yes the music is wonderful. Each time I hear it I pick up on another lovely theme I hadn't really clocked before. Well done Martin Yates and the whole orchestra ! 🙂.
  5. Richard LH
    Yes the pre-recorded pieces were good, it was the live comments and interviews that seemed a bit below par this time IMO.
  6. Richard LH
    (Cinema viewing). Like some others, if I am reading correctly, I thought Lamb and Muntagirov progressed throughout, from a rather underwhelming Act 1, to a more convincing Act 2 and a suitably powerful and emotional Act 3, where they really gave it all they had, and a bit more. Similarly I thought Hirano looked a bit out of his comfort zone at the start but that he got back into it later. I enjoyed his drunken dance, albeit perhaps he went a bit over the top, and I also really enjoyed Mendizabel's dancing and characterisation. The camera shots did manage to lose some of the overall effect by concentrating on extreme close ups at the expense of the broader scenes. It's always going to be slightly annoying when someone else chooses what they think you should be looking at, out of (at times) a whole bunch of action across the stage. I'm not sure I needed Ore and Darcey's take on the ballet during the interval, for this production. Finally, though, I think we have a new RB star - Henry the Hoover. I was disappointed he didn't actually make it on the stage for Act 3 as there did seem to be a lot of cleaning up needed in the dock area. Surely it it's not too late to fit him in as a divertissement? - perhaps pulled around by Lescaut as part of his drunken scene.... with thanks to AO.com
  7. Richard LH
    I have only seen a DVD of Mayerling and I'm not yet quite sure what to make of it. It all seems pretty bleak and desperate from the outset, with pdds based on aggression, lust, madness, and hysteria rather than expressions of beauty, sensuality and romance. Plus I wasn't initially engaged by the score (although I know it often takes several hearings to get into unfamiliar music). I expect I will go, probably for Watson, Osipova, McNally, Lamb, Hayward, Nunez, Campbell, Saunders and Avis - how often do we get 9 principals all together in the same performance ! -but I am not expecting it to overtake Manon in my list of favourites. Re. Hayward's casting , it seems to be a choice between being thrown around by Rudolf as Princess Stephanie, and surviving, or being thrown around by Rudolf as Mary Vetsera, for a bit longer - and then getting shot.
  8. Richard LH
    I am very pleased you got a ticket for Takada/Campbell but in making my exhortation I didn't realise you were also cramming in Hayward/Bonelli twice more, as well as the cinema ! I hope you find the extra trip worth it and I will look forward very much to your review aftert the 5th.
  9. Richard LH
    Of course....sorry for the confusion !
  10. Richard LH
    I didn't see Watson in the role but to me Campbell (his replacement) looked rock steady in this solo. What I particularly liked, though, is the way he acted it. He made the solo a sort of gift of his heart to Manon (Takada) - he kept it right in the context of the story, rather than (as seems to happen in some solos) just perfoming a random presentation of skill to impress the audience.
  11. Richard LH
    From Alexander Campbell's instagram site https://www.instagram.com/acampbell_1/?hl=en
  12. Richard LH
    JohnS it would be great if you could get to see the 5th May performance. It's clearly not an easy journey for you so it would show true dedication!
  13. Richard LH
    I hadn’t seen Akane Takada in a lead role before. I knew she was a beautiful dancer, and she certainly showed that with her superb display of technique, musical interpretation and timing. What I didn’t quite expect was how accomplished she was as a character actor. Her various looks and movements combined to pinpoint, time and again, Manon’s heady, contradictory and complex mixture of innocence, sexuality, passion, vanity, vulnerability, love, cunning, greed, regret and sorrow. Her bedroom pas de deux with Campbell was so romantic and intense I wondered how she could possibly go off with another man a short time later. But seeing her entrance in Act 2 as the beautifully adorned mistress of a grand and wealthy Monsieur, when all eyes in the room became fixated on her, it somehow seemed to be understandable. She was constantly torn between romance and pleasure, and you could see which influence was pulling her at any moment. In the novel, Manon suggests to Des Grieux (after she had proposed he took another lover himself, as a substitute for her absence with Monsieur) that, in effect, she thinks it possible to square the circle by compartmentalising where one gives one’s body, and where one gives one’s heart. Alexander Campbell as Des Grieux brought the similar ferocious dynamic, speed and power to his dancing as he had to his Lescaut, but this time all concentrated on his infatuation with Manon as a lover, rather than as a sister to be exploited. His control and artistry in the early solo, where he expresses his feelings for Manon, was exemplary. He really threw himself into this role (literally at times) and made the partnership work brilliantly. At the end, his repeated gestures imploring the failing Manon to try to escape the swamp with him, to try to become again what she once was, were heartbreaking. The plaudits here for the amazingly sprightly James Hay are well deserved, along with Yuhui Choe as his elegantly mischievous mistress. And I thought Thomas Whitehead was a very impressive Monsieur (I loved his outfits). The whole cast, and the orchestra, were again on top form as the beautiful music, scenery, costumes, and dancing combined to present a wickedly decadent, yet very poignant, demonstration of ballet at its finest level. Thanks Royal Ballet for a wonderful evening.
  14. Richard LH
    JohnS so sorry to hear this. I don't suppose it will help you to hear that you missed a fantastic debut performance by Takada and Campbell - just a brilliant, fortuitous partnership. Will try to be more cogent tomorrow .....
  15. Richard LH
    Off to see Takada's Manon debut this evening, with Campbell debuting as Des Grieux. Can't wait ! It will be fascinating to see yet another interpretation of this seductive ballet....
  16. Richard LH
    My better half has just come across this October event and as she is a great fan of Acosta we have taken advantage of the long lead time for bookings. There is little information as to what it will involve but we are hoping for something very special!
  17. Richard LH
    All 3 RB principal ladies were great and I would have liked to see more of the first 2 works rather than extracts - the Takada piece in particular was annoyingly brief. I found Laiderette rather depressing. Not really taken with any of the musical accompaniments to these dances.
  18. Richard LH
    “Olga is considered the number one ballerina in the world right now" - really? and isn't she a principal, rather than a "prima ballerina" ?
  19. Richard LH
    Indeed - Nutcrackeringly eye-watering! One thing I have noticed (not just for Nuts) is that the various price selection options don't cover every seat, by any means. Some are left grey, whatever price option you select. As far as I can make out, this goes beyond the normal seats that are reserved initially for wheelchair priority (and released later for general use if still avaiable).
  20. Richard LH
    Thanks Lynette - more dance on TV is to be welcomed.
  21. Richard LH
    Katie Derham's introductory remarks that Viviana Durante has now "created her own ballet company" seems an exaggeration - as Durante acknowledges herself, "I don't have dancers in my company". I would suggest "Viviana Durante Company" is more of a production vehicle than a "ballet company", in the usually understood sense. Incidentally, isn't it rather bad form to advertise the event (on the Viviana Durante website) with reference to Thiago Soares, Lauren Cuthbertson, Francesca Hayward, Yasmine Naghdi, Meaghan Grace Hinkis, Akane Takada and Benjamin Ella without mentioning that they are all Royal Ballet dancers?
  22. Richard LH
    Yes, true ...I was just referring to the casts I would be seeing myself.
  23. Richard LH
    Or perhaps there is a live streamed performance on the 19th but no audience? (Now replying to my own posts. SAD!)
  24. Richard LH
    Wow, what a great review! Each of these 3 ladies are bringing their own superb interpretive and dancing skills to the role. Looking forward even more to seeing how others thrill us now (Takada live, and Lamb at the cinema) ....
  25. Richard LH
    It is also absent from the events calendar for the 19th on the Barbican's What's On page. https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on?dates[min]=2018-04-19&dates[max]=2018-04-19 Perhaps the performance on the 18th is being recorded and shown on the 19th (i.e. not "live" but an "encore")?
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