JNC

Sorry for misinterpreting I think for some reason I (incorrectly) assumed glasses breaking and swearing meant a fight but from follow up reports it’s clear the individual had some issues they were dealing with. In any case I think ROH staff can’t prepare for absolutely every eventuality, so whilst I agree it’s always good to think about “lessons learned” and if anything could have been managed better, in the moment when things are unclear and it’s all very stressful it sounds like it was managed as well as it could have been to a certain extent. Or at least there was minimal (to no) disruption to the performance happening on stage, though of course it would have been disruptive to those around. Anyway, re the bill itself - I hope Requiem is revived in the future (5-10 years?) although I would like to see other works not seen in a while first like Gloria, Song of the Earth, Rite of Spring etc. I’m also intrigued by one mentioned in the programme where notations are lost but some sort of video exists so being that back to the stage through some dance detective work could be an interesting project for a choreographer (or maybe even Laura Morera?) Reading the programme notes seems she is doing an excellent job in her new role and I’m pleased ROH retained her.

At this stage just rumour (unless someone has some insider confirmations which presumably they couldn’t share on here anyway).

What on earth goes through someone’s head when they behave like this! A slow handclap for what purpose? If you really don’t like something generally you just fit through and bear it (or have a nap), it seemed he at least had the right idea when he left the first time if he really couldn’t contain himself for whatever reason but can’t imagine what possessed him to then storm back in!! Unless there are some mitigating mental health type factors to be aware of, I really don’t understand this behaviour. @RHowarth hope your evening wasn’t totally spoiled!

I think so yes but also think it’s unlikely to get this and Alice (2 full Wheeldons) in one season. I would expect it therefore maybe a following season, unless it really didn’t sell well/wasn’t well received when they might scrap it altogether or wait a bit more. Did Dante sell well at its revival? If not as well as expected perhaps it indicated it was too soon to revive so they may delay LWFC further. I’ve noticed a bit of a formula with RB seasons now - Christmas ballet (Nutcracker usually but also we’ve had Coppelia or now Cinderella - essentially something with tutus and a child friend plot) - One of the Tchaikovsky two of Swan Lake/Sleeping Beauty - one of the MacMillan three of Manon/Mayerling/Romeo and Juliet - an adult/dramatic (non comic) ballet, e.g. Giselle, Bayadere, Woolf Works, Onegin, A Winter’s Tale, Like Water for Chocolate - a contemporary triple (eg new work, Pite, Wheeldon, MacGregor, Marston etc) - another triple that’s a bit more neoclassical/heritage (eg Balanchine, Ashton, Robbins, Firebird, Raymonda, one act MacMillans etc) - a comic/child friendly ballet separate to a Christmas - eg Alice, Cinderella, Don Quixote, La Fille Ashton, MacMillan, Wheeldon, McGregor are usually always represented at least once during the year (ie a minimum of a one act somewhere). There’s also usually at least one new commission (usually McGregor but also recent works by Tanowitz, Zuchetti, Pite, Abraham, Marston etc do show some variety!), not necessarily it’s own separate category but definite as either a full length (McGregor) or a shorter piece as part of a mixed bill. Usually it’s covered/overlaps with the above already but there’s also a category of “full length McGregor” which pops up most years I’d say! Of course this is all pure guesswork on my part but that’s why I think if we have Onegin as an adult/dramatic ballet I’m not expecting to see Sylvia or Bayadere or Giselle. And why if we have Alice I wouldn’t expect to see La Fille as well (also because Ashton is already represented by Cinderella so that will either be it for him or he’ll get maybe a one act in a mixed bill and not another three act).

Oh dear sorry to hear there was a fight (!!) but glad the police arrived and sorted it reasonably quickly (?). I feel awful for those nearby in the amphi who certainly would have been at the least distracted, otherwise pretty scared and with a ruined evening. Glass smashing is scary and emphasises why glasses shouldn’t be allowed in the auditorium. That combined with the swearing, if the dancers did hear it they were totally professional and carried on, I couldn’t notice any difference in their performance. Sounds like the individual needs a lifetime ban from ROH (maybe all theatres!) and some sort of police record / fine. I couldn’t hear the fight at all from where I was down in the Stalls Circle but imagine it would have been pretty distracting and a bad atmosphere up in the amphi. I hope no one was injured. And I hope the fainter recovered quickly as well. With regard to the final lift in Requiem my respect grows further for Matthew Ball (and Sarah Lamb who has to fully trust him not to drop her!). I noticed Ball appeared to be exerting a little more effort than usual (only a tiny tiny amount that I imagine many wouldn’t have noticed) and wondered if perhaps it was meant to be Hirano and Ball lifting together and he was left to do it solo. This would still be impressive but I’m just in awe that this was done last minute under these conditions and very grateful to the dancers for remaining absolutely professional throughout these various events on/off stage to try and give the audience the best performance possible. Despite the sad/unpleasant events it was a good evening for me and I’m glad I went, mainly because Requiem was beautiful. Such a shame this set of performances had to end this way though.

Good news!

Well onto the review … DC I liked this piece but didn’t love it. It felt like MacMillan trying to do Ashton (maybe because it was) and whilst there were some really nice choreographic moments it didn’t reach the heights of Scenes de Ballet or Symphony in C or if we’re talking MacMillan Concerto for me. It was early on in his choreographic career and you can see hints of his style developing but it’s not quite there yet. There were some really lovely parts - Gaspirani in particular was lovely in this and just absolutely wonderful. The costumes were quite quirky and to be honest I’m not sure they worked for me. I thought they were ok but a revamp which isn’t a total redesign but changes elements of the patterns and the hats would be something I’d be interested to see. Alas it seems they are to be preserved in aspic due to the (deserved) reverence that Georgiadis has. Overall this is something I would happily see again as part of a triple but not something I’d go out of my way to see again. DD It’s personal preference (as always) but I just didn’t like this piece. Sambe and Hayward were brilliant in it (making me regret to have missed their Manon) and we do see MacMillan’s strengths on show with some great pas de deux, lifts and “tortured” movements. But it felt a bit too bleak for me and like too much detail to cover in one act making it a bit over complicated and overwhelming in parts. I didn’t like the sets and costumes (please explain the bathtub and the electricity line?) and despite googling the plot (as it wasn’t in the programme or on the cast sheet!) I still didn’t understand who particular characters were or what their motivations were. I’ll add that I’m not against grim/depressing ballets (eg I like Manon, or the sad Woolf Works) but I feel like trying to tackle something on this level in one act felt a bit rushed. I had similar thoughts about Anastasia Act 3, and also Creature. I wouldn’t be interested in seeing this again to be honest, though if it was the middle of a triple where I wanted to see the other two works I’d sit through it. (If it was at the end or beginning I’d be tempted to skip…) Requiem The highlight of the evening, MacMillan’s genius in full force. Just a really thoughtful piece with some sublime choreography that is quite different in tone to other works making it feel very fresh but also timeless at the same time. The music completed it perfectly (perhaps I wasn’t so strongly keen on the other two musical pieces which may have affected my overall thoughts). Sarah Lamb was so ethereal and magical in this role. The whole thing went so quickly for me as I was so engaged and just mesmerised by it all. Excellent partnering from Hirano, some really smooth lifts and turns (so sad he’s injured and I’m lucky to have seen the perfect duet with him prior to that). Ball also a tour de force with his solo - I feel it would have been easy for him to make it very masculine and almost aggressive but it was strong yet also soft. All dancers in this fantastic in the ensemble pieces, Luca Acri was also a welcome addition. I’ll state the obvious but I’d love to see this again! Overall the bill was a bit disjointed for me. I’m glad to have seen three works I’ve not seen before and 2/3 worked for me (one more than the other!). If I’m being honest I’m not sure they flowed very well together. I wonder if something like Concerto (which I’ve seen before and loved) or Song or the Earth/Rite of Spring (not seen before so perhaps way off base here) would have worked better in the middle. Or maybe it’s too similar to Requiem (I’ve not seen it so again could be way off) but perhaps Gloria in the middle? DD just felt a bit too off in tone for me in the middle to be honest. It was positive to see in the programme Kevin O’Hare talked about how he’d like to bring more MacMillan’s one acts back to the stage so I hope to see more of his works that haven’t been seen for a while revived!

This reminds me of the DVD production of Nureyev/Fonteyn which I believe is Nureyev choreography with the Vienna Opera ballet/orchestra. Lots to commend and enjoy about this performance but Nureyev at the end flinging himself up and down around a massive piece of fabric (“the lake”) I simply could not take seriously and ruined the tragic/dramatic ending. For reference I’m in agreement re: - get rid of black tights for Siegfried in Act 3 (and or improve lighting / change floor colour) - More dancing for Siegfried, particularly Act 1 (feels like Benno gets a lot more in certain parts at least, not against extra opportunities for male dancers but it’s odd Benno seems to dance more certainly in Act 1 and even in Act 3 I feel it’s equally matched?) - I don’t like the ending where Odile turns back into a human. Partially because logical me can’t suspend disbelief as I know it’s not the dancer we’ve seen as Odile due to the tutu costume change and hair obscuring the face. Also does Siegfried throw himself into the lake to get her body? Or does it wash up on shore? I prefer the ones where they both throw themselves off the rock/into the lake (this can come with or without the reunion in the afterlife). Either way I think they should both die. Siegfried left alive feels a bit similar to Giselle or La Bayadere to me. Masculine stereotype or not I expect him to fight VR and die in the process, or be overcome with grief about Odile losing and how he broke his promise to her (sort of unintentionally but still) he doesn’t see the point in living anymore (similar to Romeo/Juliet). - not other ending but I don’t enjoy the prologue as I find it unnecessary (and again the use of two obviously different people just ruins it for me). Most people know the story of swan lake anyway but Odile also explains what happened in the mime scene! Pros of this production for me do outweigh a large part of Dowell’s - which while choreographically sound (from memory and I’ve only watched the DVD and haven’t seen it live) I couldn’t take it seriously as I didn’t enjoy the sets and costumes at all. And while more authentic the use of the original Act 4 music just feels like it’s missing an element of dramatic tension in the resolution. The new sets and costumes are fantastic, I do like the Benno role addition (though he shouldn’t overshadow Siegfried!) and Act 3 is pretty much perfect for me (I’ll be honest and say I find Act 1 a bit dull, this could be solved by giving Siegfried more dancing I think).

Yes a slightly eventful evening… I was surprised when I arrived at ROH and downloaded the cast list to see Hayward and Sambe and wondered if I downloaded the wrong one or if there was an error. As already explained Clarke was unwell, and due to the intricacies of the partnering required for DD (lifts, lots of “intimate” style movements) I can see why it didn’t make sense to swap Sambe for Clarke and a full cast change was required. It’s already been said but amazing credit to Sambe and the rest of the cast for stepping in so the should could go on (and you’d never know he’d done Siegfried the night before as the performance was 110% effort). I hope Clarke recovers well because currently RB seems to be carrying a large number of injuries/illnesses… As already mentioned sadly Hirano seemed to suffer some sort of injury on stage. It was after a sublime duet with Sarah Lamb in the group piece where they were running and jumping and he seemed to get some pain somewhere and given the circumstances exited the stage rather gracefully and subtly (although he was very clearly injured as there was a limp). Initially I wondered if it was just an unlucky cramp but he didn’t reappear for the rest of the performance nor the curtain calls which indicated it was something more serious so I really do hope he is ok and recovers well. Having never seen Requiem before I’m not sure how much of a gap was left by him leaving at that point, there were a few points where I sensed a bit of an empty space but it really wasn’t that obvious and the dancers handled it incredibly well and it was so smooth, I was genuinely so impressed with how they naturally worked around it. If I hadn’t seen Hirano leave the stage when he did (which would have been rather hard, although not impossible to miss), you probably wouldn’t have necessarily known any different I imagine. The other aspect was Ashley Dean was a last minute cast change indicating some injury or illness (Kevin announced on stage at the start in addition to Clarke’s illness announcement) so that was another sub with Hinkis covering for her in DC and Gaspirani in Requiem. Have any of these performances been danced with their original casts? It seems like two distinct casts for each piece have combined and morphed into one over the performances! I wonder if the Swan Lake schedule has been particularly gruelling and is now taking its toll. Aside from lack of diversity in repertoire maybe this is why usually we don’t have such long runs of performances that require a lot from the whole company with lots of corps work…? Either that or there’s just been an unlucky spate but currently I think off the top of my head we have Hirano, O’Sullivan, McRae, Corrales, Cuthbertson out with injuries? That leaves only Bracewell, Ball, Muntagirov and Sambe (and Clarke, assuming/hoping whatever was wrong today is a short term sickness bug or something like that) as male principals which feels rather light (4-5). At least on the female side it’s looking a bit better assuming Takada is back now and O’Sullivan is recovered by the Ashton bill.

such detective work! Thanks for sharing on the forum @Blossom re the announcement date I think on another thread the 30 April was mentioned as the date but I’m not sure where this information came from and if it’s definite - I hope we’re not waiting into May! Presumably they would do the full announcement before the Friends’ Preview as even if it’s called a preview it would be more of an opportunity to deep dive into things otherwise the information is sure to leak and presumably they want it to all go through the official press release? From what’s been announced so far - well no surprises here! I’m glad to see Cinderella back but this is tinged with the disappointment that this means we’re unlikely to get La Fille or Sylvia. (or Les patineurs…) I hope with Cinderella they mix up some casting and maybe have some debuts to keep it a bit fresh. I’d love to see James Hay given a leading role and maybe O’Sullivan to debut. (I can’t remember if Takada was cast last time or if she was injured but she’d be on my list, dates permitting.) I am not surprised by R&J either and hope that Kaneko and Bracewell are cast in it together again as I’m still annoyed I missed them last time. Kevin O’Hare if you’re reading please cast them together again! So looks like so far confirmations are: Madaddam Alice R&J Cinderella Onegin (not 100% but highly likely) that leaves 3-4 slots which by previous patterns my guess would be: Sleeping Beauty Modern/contemporary mixed bill (eg Pite/Wheeldon/Marston or a new work from Abraham etc) Dare I remain hopeful for Balanchine especially given no other company are doing it in the Uk next season…in some sort of neoclassical/heritage style triple…maybe with a Robbins or even MacMillan or something like Raymonda Act 3 If Onegin is the “adult” ballet I doubt we’ll be getting Giselle either, so that remains on my wish list for next next year… If they’re doing Cinderella at Christmas it’s unlikely they’ll do Nutcracker as well (though not impossible). I could see them doing a shorter mixed bill (eg Les Patineurs or something Balanchine) alongside Nutcracker but not two fairytale type ballets requiring large casts at the same time? Maybe we’ll finally get La Fille, Giselle in 2026…I do feel Fille is likely given Paris and BRB doing it this year shows there is interest and a pattern there. Similarly if ENB are doing Giselle in January I can see why it makes sense to perhaps delay until later in 2025 or 2026 for RB. I’ve all but given up on Sylvia, La Bayadere and works like Les Sylphides now. Hopeful to be proved wrong!

Is it just as bad not in the first row? I have read views are good and unobstructed but awful leg room and gets very hot. Given I’m not a regular in Paris I’ve therefore avoided that part of the theatre and treated myself to their version of orchestra stalls, as well as the their version of the balcony (one below top tier) and I’ve also been on the stool seats at the back of a box. In fact my worst view was from the middle of the orchestra stalls as the was little rake and the seats aren’t staggered so someone’s head is right in front of you! Overall on average I do think you get better views at the ROH (although I haven’t sat in the orchestra stalls at ROH!)

thanks all for comments. From what is said I’d probably prefer the Nureyev version but DQ probably still isn’t necessarily a ballet I will ever love! I now remember I saw the Bolshoi dance this when they came to London in 2018 (or 2019?). I remember enjoying it more than Acosta’s version but still thinking it perhaps wasn’t ever going to be one of my favourite ballets or a “must see” for me. But from what I vaguely recall the “supporting” soloist type roles were “better” than Acosta’s version with classical choreography and a bit of excitement. Re lights - I have no insight but you can buy warm toned LED lights so unless there’s a reason why they can’t get them for business/industrial levels it must have been a choice to go for the cold white light?

Hope this isn’t too off topic but interested to how this compares to Acosta’s version for those who have seen both? I have to be honest and say I don’t enjoy Acosta’s version. Of course Kitri’s solo is iconic and I like the more classical parts of the Dryads and the grand pas but I find it a bit “panto” in parts (not helped by some of the sets, the windmill one in particular) and the choreography doesn’t “wow” me the way other classical ballets do. I guess I’m interested in whether I would enjoy a different version of DQ, or whether the aspects I don’t enjoy about Acosta’s are to do with his choreography?

Could this be dynamic pricing in action? If for some reason the algorithm spots seats have sold less well on a particular date it’s decided to reduce prices? I see @Emeralds has already suggested this! Personally I’m not in favour of dynamic pricing. It disadvantages people not living in London by raising the price of weekend performances if I had to guess. It could also disadvantage those who have to book in advance or are committed fans who book earlier only to find last minute discounts - this then has a knock on effect by potentially causing people to “wait and see” and not book sooner next time…? On the flip side some people can’t commit to dates months in advance so then having to pay over the odds at a later date also feels unfair. Set prices make sense and are fair for all - I accept that very last minute sales are fine as some money recouped is better than none and I don’t begrudge that too (also indicates pricing was too high to begin with so unrealistically optimistic that future pricing is mindful of this). In any case I feel dynamic pricing is a bit of a lose-lose situation and could further discourage audience members from attending!

For a “longer” run it maybe would have made sense to bring two productions? I echo the comments about why not Bayadere, particularly with RB and ENB recently I know it’s a big ballet name recognition but it may not be the safe bet they think it is for sales, Bayadere or something different may have caught interest more. Looking at their website they also seem to have a fair bit of Balanchine in the rep, as well as ballets we don’t see often in London like works by Jiri Kylian and Folkine. I feel it would have been so interesting to see those and I would be booking if it wasn’t swan lake! I probably won’t be attending myself but interested to read reviews of those that do go. I did also clock the 2h15 time and so they must be making a lot of cuts? Even without a second interval that’s anything between 15-30 minutes of music/dance? To be honest I sometimes find Act 1 drags a bit so I wouldn’t be devastated to see that trimmed!