DanJL

It did happen and you can still see it here 🙂 https://youtu.be/WWfIJilWvII

You've tempted me Jan - just bought a ticket! And with Northern Ballet bringing Great Gatsby to Cardiff a few weeks later, it's going to be a great late spring for catching up with the company 🙂

Nuñez and Muntagirov absolutely sensational last night! The highest standards throughout and Nuñez portraying both Odette and Odile wonderfully. The act 3 fireworks were incredible of course, but my personal highlight was the act 2 pas de deux. Not sure I've ever seen such perfect dancing from Nuñez - so confident with the steps that she adds musicality and extra layers on top to tell the story so completely with the choreography. And timing so perfect it literally felt like the music was emanating from her rather than the orchestra. A wonderful experience and fascinating as ever to see two such different portrayals on successive evenings - both fantastically enjoyable! And of course many wonderful performances from the supporting cast as well 🙂

Not my first ever Swan Lake, but my first time seeing this (or any Royal Ballet Swan Lake) production in person tonight and it was truly wonderful from start to finish! Obviously I can't compare with others but I thought O'Sullivan and Sambé were excellent in their debuts - fantastic dancing and high emotion throughout. O'Sullivan seemed to me a wonderfully shy, cautious Odette and a superbly calculating Odile. And she did so wonderfully to shake off the unfortunate mishap as if nothing had happened (her fouettés were beautiful and precise in general, just the misfortune towards the end). Unexpectedly I found the final act hit hardest - the emotion of what had happened due to the deception in Act 3 and O'Sullivan's incredibly fragile performance to the beautiful music which made it so clear that death was the only way out. For me at least the ending made perfect and clear sense after this. So many other things to enjoy - the wonderful musicality of the Act 1 choreography, the pure beauty of Act 2. The corps wonderful throughout. I was impressed with Yudes as Benno and both Gasparini and Hinkis as the sisters. A fantastic evening and looking forward to another one tomorrow!

It does seem unfortunate that Raymonda isn't going to Manchester or anywhere nearby, sorry to hear that for those living in the area. Personally though, the only place ENB ever tour to that I can visit without an overnight stay is Bristol. So I'm very glad they're visiting again after missing it out recently. The one time I saw them in Bristol was for Swan Lake, not sure if they've been back since? But at least it does make sense to bring something different to Bristol this time. Very excited that it's Raymonda!

Fantastic performance tonight - really loved the production and wonderful dancing throughout. Particularly enjoyed Alexander Yap as Espada and Beatrice Parma as one of Kitri's friends. Have to say that Nuñez and Muntagirov were out of this world. One of the single handed lifts was wonderfully executed tonight incidentally and held for a good long time. The other not quite as successful. Everything else they did was magic, both in terms of execution and the spirit and enjoyment they bring to the roles. I've seen them dance the act 3 pas de deux in galas, but tonight's rendition was on a whole other level to that and received a standing ovation of its own! But overall very many things to enjoy in this new production and I look forward to seeing much more of BRB both in this and in other ballets!

You're quite right too - getting myself confused somewhere!! Thanks for the heads up 🙂

I was excited to nab a ticket for Kaneko / Bonelli this morning as well! Inspired by their insight rehearsal, but also makes sense (for various non ballet reasons) for me to be in London overnight to watch the Nuñez / Muntagirov matinée I'd previously booked for the following day!

The first interval is possibly a little truncated, although I didn't check the time that closely. The second is removed completely however, they run straight from act 2 to act 3 with just a quick voice over from Katie Derham.

One of the things I enjoyed from all the lockdown streaming was the chance to see performances from different companies - both around the world and from within the UK. There are so many wonderful dancers and productions. One of my resolutions following this was to see more of BRB, apart from their Nutcracker which I usually see once a year. The casting announcement for Don Quixote prompted me to book a performance in Birmingham. I couldn't make dates for a couple of the dancers I was familiar with, but remember really enjoying Beatrice Parma's Clara and so decided to book for her show as Kitri on the 24th. Then when the news of Nuñez / Muntagirov guesting came out I have to confess to being intrigued. I'm one of the people who really enjoy watching them dance and I've never seen them in Don Quixote. As it happens one of their dates is the day before the one I'd already booked. So I impulse bought a ticket on the train last night! This morning I realised that between the two performances, there's a matinée on the 24th. So I thought why not see another cast, since I'll be in Birmingham anyway! So I'll be seeing the Mizutani / Monaghan cast as well. Two dancers I've never seen and being honest wouldn't otherwise have booked for. I'm sure all three performances will be fantastic and I can't wait!

Thanks Dawnstar, I'd forgotten that! Not a fair swap but maybe the start of a closer collaboration between the two companies?

Yes, this is a good point and especially given how late the casting was announced. If it was made obvious that one or two named performances would feature guests before tickets went on sale that would seem fairer. Although also making sure there were plenty of opportunities to see a full range of BRB dancers.

I like the idea of being able to see Nuñez and Muntagirov as guests - after seeing them on social media dancing around the world in different productions to those currently programmed at the ROH, it's nice to have a chance to experience them do the same in the UK. However, I completely understand the concern that this takes away chances from the BRB dancers. In an ideal world, maybe this could be a reciprocal arrangement, so that occasionally a couple of experienced BRB dancers guest at RB? This may not be the reason behind the Don Quixote casting, but it feels like it could be a mutually beneficial arrangement for both dancers and audiences.

Totally agree CCL, a really incredible performance from Melissa Hamilton this afternoon, capturing the emotion of every scene perfectly. Everything she did was great, but I found her arms in particular exceptionally expressive. And yes, boyish Romeo was just the phrase I had in mind for Hirano, who also danced wonderfully! It was my first time seeing Avis as Tybalt in person. Such a deep and different interpretation to those I've seen before - it felt like a separate story could be written about the emotions he went through. Also enjoyed Nadia Mullova-Barley's harlot. And agree that Serrano was great as Mercutio!

Add my name to the list! I'm in Covent Garden ready for the matinée and very much looking forward! I haven't seen Hamilton's Juliet before so won't have anything to compare to, but she is another dancer who's had guidance from Ferri in rehearsing the role. Will be interesting to see the result!

To be fair, mine took 7 minutes for 3 tickets. I highly recommend using a smart phone for anyone who has one. It's possible to zoom in on the seat selection grid so choosing the right seat still works fine. The only place I've had an error (and I've been back in since looking at other ticket options) is if you're looking at tickets for one date and then want to go back and look at another date, clicking on the name of the production to do this always gives an error. However, pressing back on the browser works fine. Obviously we shouldn't need to have a workaround, but at least for me this has been a much smoother option than others have experienced.

Sorry to hear of problems. My experience was smoother than I feared. I hit an error on one occasion (after having already added two of of my three tickets to the basket) but went back to home page and back through to the ticket page with no problem. This was all done on my phone, which I always use for booking tickets. I think / assume old version of the site (or is there a specific mobile site?). I was booking in familiar areas anyway so didn't require seat view. My only surprise was that I found tickets for the Ashton triple easier to get in orchestra stalls than for the modern triple.

Wow! Could this cause a continuity issue if they need to fall back on a combination of the two filmed performances for the cinema relay...?

There are still 100+ available!

Not much to add apart from to agree with the other reviews of last night's Romeo and Juliet - a really wonderful one! I usually like to write down my thoughts straight after a performance but was genuinely devastated by the drama and tragedy of it all so just went to bed in my hotel full of the emotion. I've been very lucky to see three excellent lead couples so far this season, all outstanding but in very different ways. Definitely the chemistry and depth of emotion and acting that stood out for me last night in O'Sullivan and Sambé's performances. As others have mentioned, Joonhyuk Jun and James Hay also danced brilliantly. I also really enjoyed Isabella Gasparini's harlot. From what I saw the other harlots were equally good, but I focused more on Gasparini simply because I hadn't seen her in the role before. Can't wait to see this cast at the cinema - very tempted to try and see an encore showing as well as the valentines day one!

Very much agree Rob S! Such a powerful connection between them!

My first experience was seeing the Kirov ballet (as it was called then) perform Romeo and Juliet at the Millennium Centre in Cardiff. This was in 2005, relatively soon after the Millennium Centre opened and during a phase when I was making the most of the wide range of shows programmed there. I absolutely loved it and resolved to see more ballet. Although no obvious opportunities appeared (I didn't actively seek any out in fairness) and my future partner didn't have a particular interest, so it was a decade before I took the next step! One of my long running passions is the work of Virginia Woolf. As a consequence, I was intrigued by the idea of a ballet based on her work. I went to see Woolf Works in 2015 and was completely blown away by everything I experienced - the music, the dancing and (particularly in the first and third acts) the incredible way the choreography got to the heart of Woolf's writing. I was also enormously impressed by the way Alessandra Ferri expressed emotion in her dancing - I didn't realise that was possible before. In the following few years I tried to find time to experience a little more ballet - BRB's Nutcracker (handy for me as my family are from Birmingham) and the Bolshoi's Swan (I think in 2016). Then followed by another viewing of Woolf Works when it was revived in 2017. Unfortunately from a personal point of view, I separated from my partner in December 2017. However, in looking for things to fill my extra spare time I found out about the Royal Ballet and Bolshoi cinema relays. I attended a few and loved them all. But was very disappointed that I had a work meeting scheduled in London on the day of the Winters Tale relay, which I'd been particularly looking forward to. Eventually I realised that I could take the opportunity to see it in person! Another wonderful experience and this time I was really hooked. I gradually increased the frequency of visits until I got to the point of enjoying Sleeping Beauty so much that I went back four times for different casts. If anything, the pandemic increased my desire to see more and more ballet - through both streamings and watching many dancers experiences on Instagram. Now I just need to try not to bankrupt myself with all the trips to London!

Maybe it was just a consequence of having watched the Royal Ballet DVD so many times! But it certainly felt a more thoughtful and deliberately less passionate interpretation of the music in comparison, at least to me.

While I understand that point, it was my perception that both the music and dancing were rendered differently to normal (at least in comparison to the Royal Ballet act 3 Raymonda which I'm most familiar with) in a way that reflected Raymonda's emotional anguish. It was actually this part of the ballet that impressed me most as a consequence.

It depends very much on interpretation of course, but I felt the choice she made at the end was a positive one, given the circumstances. Not happy in the fairytale sense perhaps, but it seemed like an empowered resolution.