DanJL

I really enjoyed tonight - full of drama, invention, great group dances and the aforementioned meaty pdds and solos. And for me at least the way the closing scene was handled was a lovely surprise. Fantastic dancing throughout and I thought the storytelling was clear. I agree with bangorballetboy that as long as you can identify the characters, the rest falls into place very well.

Not Taylor Swift's only reference to ballet. She also had Misty Copeland and James Whiteside accompany her on stage a few years ago (see https://youtu.be/SVY8I46dkb0SVY8I46dkb0 from 8:35). Slightly more tangentially, she wrote a song about Rebekah Harkness, whose former house she now owns.

I saw this show as well - in fact it was my first ever live viewing of this production. I was blown away by O'Sullivan's dancing and characterisation throughout - far more assured than I'd expected for a debut and the storytelling was wonderful. The fouettes feel like such a very small part of an incredible four act ballet and one which is clearly open to risk no matter how experienced the dancer. They are all human after all. Sorry to hear it took away some enjoyment for you, but perhaps it's worth reflecting on how many other wonders were on display that night.

I haven't had much time to post recently, but just to say that I enjoyed two wonderful performances this week - Lamb / Hirano on Tuesday and the cinema relay last night. Both were incredible, for the fantastic yet different interpretations of the leads and the ever impressive supporting cast. Last night I found Cuthbertson's characterisation of Odette extremely moving, but found myself more impressed by Lamb's fiery Odile. Fine margins though - I thought both were amazing in the two roles. My first time seeing Bracewell in a classical role and I was very impressed - will look out for more of his performances in future. And just to echo that Gasparini and Hinkis were lovely as the sisters last night - I think the best of the four performances I've seen since March. Three of which happen to have featured Gasparini - always great to watch but she seemed to particularly excel herself last night.

I hope so, regarding the DVD. Personally speaking I'd buy a DVD of every filmed performance if it was available (and often regret wonderful filmed performances that aren't available to rewatch in some format). If it's already filmed, why not? Or at least release a downloadable version (for a price) if the distribution is too expensive. It's not necessary to buy any you don't want of course 🙂

Thank you Bluebird. I just checked my past events and the Christmas Eve Nutcracker is indeed still listed, so maybe they are still gradually working their way through the refunds.

I haven't had a recent refund, but now you mention it I don't think I did receive one for my cancelled Nutcracker on Christmas eve... I'll keep an eye on my account and let you know!

Really enjoyed watching the streamed gala this afternoon - wonderfully well done and so much to enjoy! I was sorry not to be able to make it in person, but after all the great reviews it was lovely to be able to see what I missed 🙂 And of course even better that the streaming is raising more money.

I think everything stated in that section, including the highlighted bit, is evident in next year's programme though. There are still three single act Ashton's to enjoy this spring and the act 3 Anastasia was a single act ballet before being made into a full length wasn't it? It does talk a lot about innovation and contemporary programming of course, which is perhaps the area of most contention (in terms of balance with heritage works). One thing that I don't think has been noted is that Woolf Works will be on its third run. I wonder at what point we start to think of that as heritage rather than contemporary? For what it's worth, Woolf Works was the first thing I saw at ROH and for me opened the door to ballet of all types, which has subsequently become a large part of my life.

In fact that's completely the opposite to my memory. I'm fairly sure we have exactly the same negative reaction every year and in the end people generally have a great time watching the vast majority of programmes, very much including the big classics! I'm sure a search through the forum will corroborate that.

It says this bill is celebrating 60 years of Friends of the Royal Opera House, not the Royal Ballet. The Ashton and MacMillan ballets chosen both coincide with anniversaries however.

I'm sorry that so many are displeased, but I'm also a little confused. Every season it feels like there's literally nothing Kevin O'Hare could do to keep everyone happy. He has to balance a lot of things of course - reviving classics, commissioning new works, selling enough tickets to keep the company afloat. All against a landscape where everyone has their favourites. There has been one very consistent ask over recent years that most of us thought would never happen - the revival of Cinderella. A lot of work must have taken place to make that a possibility and that alone feels like reason to celebrate. It's not possible to have everything, but in the past people have hoped for more Ashton (we got a triple bill), an alternative to Nutcracker (we got Coppelia) a winter triple bill (we got that too). Clearly balanced against all the different demands and interests of the wider audience it's not going to be possible to get everything every season. But it's still a strong programme of ballet with one very common wish coming true. And for my eyes at least plenty to look forward to overall 🙂

Maybe remembering that we still have a triple bill solely dedicated to Ashton to look forward to this season 🙂 I guess the smaller number of triple bills is a necessary consequence of the current financial position. But we do have the Diamond celebration in addition to the triple bill at the end of the season, so two mixed programmes which is the same as this year. And the full length Ashton next year. I guess no-one gets everything they want, but it does feel like some comments are being heard.

This is much more exciting than I dared hope for and seems to offer something for everyone 🙂 After all the hopes for a full length Ashton and in particular Cinderella, those wishes have finally been granted! Mayerling as expected, but also act 3 of Anastasia. Diamonds giving a taste of Balanchine. A very welcome revival of Woolf Works. Sleeping Beauty and Nutcracker covering the big classics. And a few new contemporary works, covering a nice range of choreographers.

To be fair I think opinions on the forum have covered pretty much the whole range of opinions but including plenty of enthusiasm, perhaps especially for Solo Echo, but there have been fans of the other pieces too. Very much a split decision based on what's been written here 🙂

Lovely seeing the alternate cast last night! For me, Melissa Hamilton was the star of the whole evening - as well as DGV, she was also wonderful in The Weathering. For some reason I found the sorrow aspect of The Weathering hit harder second time around - evident in the second half of the piece. I did find the penultimate section a little less interesting than the rest - not sure if it was the music or choreography. But it seems a key part of the ballet - the rest of the men exiting and leaving one alone for the emotional final solo. Maybe that penultimate part just needs a tweak and would be of benefit to those who find it overlong? Lovely to see some of the younger members of the company in Solo Echo. Whilst I agree that the first cast were a hard act to follow, there were still some fine performances. And DGV was once again a great way to finish the evening on an exciting note.

This is partly why I made my point about there being space for everything. Surely there's no need to remove Wayne McGregor - Royal Ballet has benefitted from some wonderful works and hopefully will continue to do so. The real issue is that there is no-one working with the company to regularly produce new classical works. Wouldn't it be possible to have two resident posts, with one focusing on classical?

Yes, fair enough. Hopefully that can be addressed to give more balance in future.

After The Weathering I was entertained, moved and intrigued enough to buy a ticket for the second cast. The triple bill obviously wasn't to everyone's tastes, but that doesn't mean it's without value to the people who did enjoy it 🙂 I'd love to see more new classical choreography too, but I think there's plenty of space for both.

Thanks Jan, looks like largely positive reviews in the press. I'm looking forward to watching the second cast next week 🙂

I thought this was a wonderful mixed bill - exactly the kind of contemporary works I most enjoy! The Weathering was full of beautiful yet virtuosic looking moves, all based around a moving theme of sorrow. Anna Rose O'Sullivan (who I think was in the Osipova role) and Fumi Kaneko were both incredible, as were the strong cast of male dancers. I'm ashamed to say I didn't know all of the men's names, but the highlight for me was a heartfelt, quite innovative solo from one of them - I hope someone more knowledgeable can give them the credit they deserve! I've been a big fan of the emotional beauty of Solo Echo since the performances last summer and tonight's seemed an even better performance - partially helped by much better lighting. I could see all the dancing last year, but it wasn't always easy to make out faces. Tonight all was completely clear. I particularly enjoyed Isabella Gasparini and Ashley Dean, but the whole group worked together perfectly. And to finish, my first time seeing DGV. So much to enjoy in this - great performances from the leads, especially Gina Storm-Jensen and Marianela Nuñez, who I don't think I've seen dance in such a contemporary role before - starting to feel like there's nothing she can't do! But actually many of my favourite moments from this ballet were from the corps - wonderful choreography and all danced perfectly.

ENB's La Sylphide is still available to stream (for a small fee) https://ondemand.ballet.org.uk/

A bit of a mix, all from links I clicked on in this forum's links section 🙂 I'm sure I read an earlier one that compared Naghdi/Muntagirov with Osipova/Clarke, although can't find it at the moment. But there is now Leigh Witchel's two articles doing just that as mentioned above. Broadway World reviewed O'Sullivan/Sambé. And of course the Guardian Hayward/Bracewell review.

I've seen reviews for at least 4 casts of this run of Swan Lake. However they've managed it in terms of tickets, hopefully it's a good sign for reviews of future productions too!

Ah apologies, I hadn't heard that there was a second one!