JNC

@zxDaveM same, I’ve now really cut back on buying programmes for bills I don’t love (eg most contemporary at ROH) and shows I’ve already seen (as there don’t appear to be any substantial updates on articles/photos).

ENB’s usual programmes are £6 so to double the prices is a lot! Was it the same format as their regular programmes (quite light on content compared to RBO?) or did they do a deluxe one.

I was shocked at a recent west end venue charging £15 for a programme! Other than the use of heavy stock matte paper, it wasn’t worth it to be honest. It was most photos of the cast (1 page per person for the main ones with 3-4 different cast varieties!) and no real insightful articles or even lots of decent pics. It’s a nice memory but if I had known it was going to be that pricey I would have flipped through before - I got to the till and asked for one and then was shocked at the price that came up on the contactless machine. I rarely go to the west end anymore though so a lesson for next time. 
 

Before the £15 shocker the most expensive programme purchased was a 12 euro Paris opera ballet one (maybe about £11?). They’re expensive but are wonderfully produced with lots of good content and photos (more articles and a combination of rehearsal and on stage photos, more than RBO) so even though I can’t read French for me they’re worth it. So whilst expensive they’re my favourite programmes! 
 

I have to say the reviews do tempt me to book - I wondered about whether to swap seeing the Ashton short works bill with this but the tickets remaining are still about £60 for a restricted view! Something I’ll probably look to book for next time though as you’ve all tempted me. I imagine it’s not something I’d want to see again and again but I do feel like I should see it once! 

Thanks for the review @Emeralds - I think the diverts programme was less well reviewed so interesting to read more thoughts on those. 

1 hour ago, San Perregrino said:

Thanks for this. Bewildering why, if something isn’t broken, there was a need to mess with it. Especially as there is so much else to attend to. 

There may be a behind the scenes reason why things need to be updated (cyber security springs to mind) but I agree if it isn’t broke don’t fix it…

And commonly if there are going to be big changes a mass email could be sent notifying of the period of upgrades and reassuring that ticket history (for example) will return after a period of migration etc. 

Thanks for the thoughts! I don’t live in London so can’t make it this time round but it’s definitely become a more likely prospect I’ll see it next time. I don’t mind sitting higher up for a cheaper seat as I do actually like seeing all the patterns! 

I certainly won’t go this year but every time I see this I’m tempted. @Dawnstar your pics are great and sway me towards going a future year!

things that put me off it though are the (proportionally) high(er) ticket prices - although now ROH prices have increased a lot maybe not, but I sense I’d be sat very very far away in a possibly restricted view. The other things are the audience and also the fact there seems to be a lot going on at once which I sometimes find a bit distracting. My priority for travel tends to lean towards the RB and their programming, it’s a shame ENB aren’t doing this next year actually as there’s nothing in RB’s Summer 2025 season that tempts me so I would have been tempted to make a trip for this instead.

for those that went, how did you find the views compared to ROH factoring in ticket prices? 
 

The spectacle of 60 swans sound incredible but I’d be worried the main pas de deux would look tiny and get lost in the action, is this an unfair assumption on my part? (Or alternatively you have two figures on a large empty bare stage?) 

Hmm ok let’s give them the benefit of the doubt on this one until @oncnp receives a reply then!

I think I’ve done approximately 80 visits to ROH now, I was looking forward and wondering when I might reach 100 visits! At the rate which my visits have declined it might be another 3-4 years! 

Luckily I’ve kept a record of most of my ROH visits but if I hadn’t I would be quite upset to have lost it all with no warning.

I imagine it is costing them to host everyone’s past data so I can sort of understand it from that perspective but an email and allowing a period of time for people to copy over the records in that case certainly should have occurred! Even in this case I think most venues show past events for the past 1-2 years rather than wiping them completely immediately after the fact. 
 

I only have one upcoming event so can’t comment on order but reverse chronological for upcoming events is absolutely bizarre.

how disappointing all round. 

@bridiem is correct, if you can afford to not sit in the balcony the value for money  is much better at the Coli than ROH I’d wager (not having sat anywhere other than the amphi this is a guess though). 
 

In a weird way I’m glad the amphi at ROH is so good with such a steep rake and therefore pretty much guaranteed unobstructed views, given that’s all I can afford! 

Can we not see previous tickets anymore, not sure if it’s just because I’m on my mobile but it appears to only show future events? 
 

If they removed it it’s a shame - it’s always a handy reference point for previous seats (and also to see how much prices have increased!). 

On 12/06/2024 at 13:02, MildConcern said:

I was at the London Coliseum recently and shocked by the sightlines there. I was central in one of the balconies and yet couldn't see most of the front of the stage. It actually made me grateful for the ROH sight lines, which I have also found to be better than the Opera Garnier and some other older houses!

I definitely agree with this. I haven’t sat anywhere but the amphi at ROH where distance can be a problem but I’m never at risk of someone’s head in the way no matter how tall they are due to the rake. (Unless you have someone leaning forward). 
 

I was surprised that at the most expensive seats in the Garnier (their version of orchestra stalls) I had a head blocking my view due to lack of rake of seats and no staggering so you sit sort of between shoulders of the people in front. 
 

I also find the Coliseum a bit risky with their bars in their balcony section (equivalent to ROH amphi). I agree seeing the front of the stage can be a challenge! 

2 hours ago, OnePigeon said:

I’ve never seen Muntagirov and Naghdi paired together and have often wondered why not as they are both such strong classical dancers.  I’ll be very interested to see them and hope they have enough time to get comfortable with the roles together.

I first saw them for a le Corsaire grand pas for the Fonteyn gala - great!

then I saw them in Romeo and Juliet and…I’m sorry to say they have zero chemistry in my opinion. 

I also saw them in swan lake (they weren’t meant to be paired but Nunez was ill) and it didn’t work for me as an emotional partnership at all, even though as you say both are technically excellent and classical dancers.

I think I’d be happy to see them in something like Tchaikovsky pas de deux together (although to be honest even then I think they’d work better with other partners) but I wouldn’t book to seem them as a pair in a full length together. Given they’ve not really been cast together again since maybe Kevin O’Hare agrees…(but maybe not if they did Mayerling together, which I didn’t see).

I’ll stop taking off topic after this post but I went back and looked at my programme from the 2022 Ashton mixed bill. Each piece had two articles (so 6 total), unlike the current programme with only 2 articles. 
 

It’s quite surprising they haven’t even bothered to reprint the two articles on Rhapsody from 2022! 
 

I know programming of the actual works and the quality of dancing/music etc is far more important than a programme but it feels a real shame and missed opportunity that people can’t find out more about these works to enhance their viewing through the programme! 

A few quick thoughts on tonight’s Gala

I enjoyed Valses again but it still doesn’t wow me. Glad to have seen it and it’s nice enough but wouldn’t rush to see it again.

Disappointed not to see Vadim in Blessed Spirits. I think Sissens did a fine job but I admit I wasn’t blown away by it. I think to be honest these very short pieces (like the Isadora Duncan one on the main stage) I can appreciate but don’t really work for me - it feels a bit too slow and difficult to build engagement when you know it will be over soon and you’re almost counting down to that.

Varri Capricci was a delight. Beautiful costumes, lovely dancing. Very jazz age south of France Fitzgerald atmosphere. Very stylistic and some nice dancing, thought this was the piece of all I’ve seen that suited Sarasota ballet the best. Whilst I enjoyed it a lot, I don’t think it’s necessarily something worth reviving for the Royal Ballet and the main stage, but I’m glad to have caught the only (?) performance of this and it made the gala evening premium price worthwhile!

Facade was very fun, but also very much of its time. I really enjoyed the choreography in the Scotch dance and Sierra Abelardo was a standout (I also noticed her in Sinfonettia the other evening). I found the milkmaid section a bit odd to be honest but think the dancers did the best they could with it. Macarena Gimez was lovely in the Polka, very quirky. The foxtrot was also charming (again great costumes with the spherical earrings). The Valse was nice enough, and the barber shop duo (aka popular quartet) had very straight faces for some sort of reason I assume (must consult programme). And then a real treat to see Cuthbertson and Avis in the tango, Avis always elevating with a dramatic flair for characterisation. The sets and costumes were very well done I thought and it felt Sarasota dancers have certainly eased into things and are feeling very at home in the Linbury. This was another piece though that whilst I’m glad to have seen it, I don’t have a particular urge to see it again.

Overall though what a fabulous programme and kudos to everyone involved for making this happen. Of the Sarasota programme, choreographically Sinfonettia was the clear standout and something that I would love to see on the main stage with RB dancers. Everything else felt like a bit of a special treat given these works are no longer performed by the Royal (but I can see why that it is), which added to the special feeling to these performances. 
 

Also for VIP spotting Monica Mason, O’Hare and Anthony Dowell were in the audience tonight. No speeches though! 
 

(Please forgive if some things are spelt incorrectly my autocorrect is having a bit of field day at the moment!)

28 minutes ago, Jane S said:

One review mentions that Baryshnikov and Collier took a call at the end of Rhapsody - did that really happen?

Not for the two performances I’ve seen so far! Unless I’ve had my memory deleted or I’m totally unaware…

re programmes I think it would be so nice to have interviews with dancers (past and present), more history about the production including costume evolution and set designs exactly as @Fonty says. And we don’t get a yearbook or year in photos anymore either…

9 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

 

Oh dear, I've been waiting for the Ashton triple bills to buy my annual RB programme so this sounds a bit disappointing. May I ask if there a single programme for both the Ashton bills or do they have separate ones?

It’s not a bad programme! But there’s only two articles (usually you get at least three) and given there’s so many works to cover it felt a bit light on content for me. 
 

I add that generally I do think the standard of programme is very high compared to say ENB which has hardly any content in the way of much shorter articles for example. But comparing to the 2022 Ashton triple and the Sarasota programme this one is a bit lacking in content for me! 
 

I’d still recommend it for some nice rehearsal photos @Dawnstar so please don’t let me put you off! I still bought one and it will join many other red spines on my bookshelf…

51 minutes ago, Jamesrhblack said:

was I influenced by Julie Kavanagh’s dismissal of it as “not distinguished

Was this the comment in the programme? I read something a bit negative and it felt a bit odd it was included to me - by all means be critical but when each piece only gets one paragraph it sort of questions why it was selected in the first place!

Not to become known for being obsessed with programmes but I was a bit disappointed with this one. Given the breadth of works, the new costumes/stagings and fact these works aren’t rarely seen to have only two articles covering them all with scant information was quite disappointing. I would have loved to have seen some sketches of Conrad’s designs (or some costume close ups for either this or the Dream which might be the most beautiful one act ballet?) and a bit more of an exploration of the different works. Certainly compared to the excellently produced Sarasota programme where every single piece had information on choreography, set/costume design and music with a photo it felt quite light on substance.

As someone who is still new to ballet in the grand scheme of things I find the programmes really helpful to find out more to deepen my understanding and viewing experience (oh and yes I do love the beautiful photos of dancers, particularly the rehearsal ones of course!) 

I can see why the Les Rendevous bill is selling better to be honest, I have to admit I much preferred that to the “short works” which I found a bit mixed and a slightly odd selection for an Ashton celebration (perhaps I am not so well versed in why these pieces are so important?).

I wasn’t so wowed with the Dream last night, Muntagirov was a bit panto for my liking and oddly for him he didn’t seem to nail the choreography as confidently as I would have expected given his incredible talent. After Hayward’s lovely Titania I found Cuthbertson to be a little cold and reserved and I didn’t feel the charm of the piece overall. Credit to Liam Boswell as a fantastic Puck though and whilst I still marvelled in Ashton’s choreography and the wonderful music, it just didn’t reach the highs of the opening night performance.

Osipova danced excellent in the Duncan piece, but I found the rest of the second part a bit odd and didn’t work for me individually or as a group of works. Paradise Garden had some lovely bits but for me it felt a bit spoiled by the somewhat dour/dated costumes and the very bizarre figure at the end (no idea what it was about and detracted from the piece). It was interesting to see some MacMillan style partnering though and I thought the Sarasota dancers performed very well. Unfortunately I didn’t really get Hamlet and Ophelia at all. Of course Hayward and Bracewell danced fantastically but choregraphically and musically it didn’t really work for me.

Having said that, I much preferred last night’s Rhapsody as an overall piece. Interestingly I found Ikarashi handled the role more to my preference than Nakao (when he does the big spinning leaps at the end my heart actually stopped for a bit as I thought he’d overdone it and was going to fall and injure himself, I had similar adrenaline when watching Sambe in 2022) and I felt that for Rhapsody the casting is so important as you really need dancers that will just elevate and bring that level of drama. I agree that it probably does require more senior/experienced dancers (first soloist and principals) to be honest. Whilst I found Ikarashi and Maeda good, it wasn’t really on the levels that I’ve seen from all the principals cast in the 2022 run. All for giving dancers opportunities but I also think it’s important to cast properly and give the audience a certain level of consistent experience. I found the casting seemed to work better overall for Rhapsody last night and it ended the evening on a high (contrasting with the first night where I felt Rhapsody let the side down a bit). 
 

i actually have another ticket for the short works bill but im debating returning it as I’m not bothered about seeing any of the “short works” again to be honest. But Osipova/Bracewell in the dream and acri/Magri in rhapsody are enticing me, and it’s a bit of a “last hurrah” in the sense I’m not really planning to see any ballet in the Autumn given my preferences so otherwise it’s 6 months or so until Cinderella! 
 

I am quite disappointed (again) that Muntagirov and Kaneko aren’t doing the Saturday Les rendezvous matinee as I think I would have certainly go out of my way to see that again. As it stands I can’t really justify seeing it again with Nunez and Clarke as much as I adored it so I will just have to hope it gets revived soon(ish). But I can see why Les rendezvous is selling much better and I hope O’Hare takes note! 
 

I can only echo all the positive comments above.

Les Rendevous was a real delight. Wonderful costumes and sets (reminded me of Onegin and a bit Giselle with the flower headbands/accessories) and Nunez absolutely sparkled with the lovely Ashton turning back and arm movement emphasised by the beautiful flowing skirt. Jasper Conran should be well commended for this redesign it’s gorgeous - the grey skirts having the odd sparkle, it was so chic and elegant. The choreography was wonderful and like others I echo this must be revived soon (particularly if they’ve invested in these new costumes that’s as hopeful sign?). Gaspirani was also lovely and whilst I’m not a technical expert I felt the Ashton style was danced well by everyone (although I admit was a little underwhelmed by Clarke who usually wows me and I was again sad I can’t make it to see Muntagirov and Kaneko). Nunez and Gaspirani’s styles really lit up the stage it was so effortless and perfectly timed. 
 

I also really enjoyed the Dream, Hayward really is a lovely dancer in this style and was the perfect character, Sambe also playing haughty very well. Ikarashi was a fantastic sprightly Puck. Pajdak and Cowley really stole their scenes and the acting was spot on by Edmonds and Dixon too, the audience were really engaged and loving the drama with plenty of laughs and they really projected their characters to the amphi. I was also so impressed with Junker as bottom - a male en pointe and I found the donkey head actually quite cute and so it was almost less of a shock that Titania fell for him! The music was dreamy and you can really see why Ashton is such a great choreographer - the movement and music just aligned perfectly and created a wonderful story and atmosphere. Sets and costumes were also beautiful. 
 

I enjoyed Rhapsody but I have to admit it was the weakest of the three for me last night. I loved it in the 2022 run and was so excited to see it again but after the highs of LR and the Dream it just felt a bit too soon and over the top(?). O’Sullivan danced beautifully but I was a bit underwhelmed by Nakao who I felt was a bit underpowered and lacking in panache compared to Sambe, Corrales and McRae who I saw in 2022. The role needs an element of bravura and sheer power and perhaps if I hadn’t seen it in 2022 I’d have felt differently but he didn’t really do it for me. Is there a reason why Muntagirov hasn’t done this role before - is it a height thing? I don’t know if he has done it previously but I also thought Campbell would have been a good fit, brining that cheeky attitude. Maybe it was too soon to bring Rhapsody back, I’d rather have seen Symphonic Variations (that I haven’t seen yet!) 

Overall probably the highlight of my 2023/2024 ROH ballet season. What a lovely bill and I’m looking forward to more casts for the Dream, and for Rendevous to be revived (maybe with a main stage Sinfonettia?) in the not too distant future. A beautiful evening all round. 

20 minutes ago, Mary said:

I have seen Sinfonietta before in this country..but where and when? racking brains.

I certainly hope to see it coming to a RB triple bill near me soon!

wholeheartedly agree of the three pieces it’s certainly one I think has a lot of choreographic merit and would look fantastic on the current company (and would work on the main stage no problem). 

I don’t mind so much as it seems a bit unnecessary, if they’re trying to save paper by not doing cast sheets. It’s £2 so I’m not complaining but it doesn’t add anything to the Sarasota produced programme. It’s a very minor point but I’d like to see RBO taking note and producing better programmes for Linbury works - aside from the Merce Cunningham bill pre pandemic which did have a better programme (not as comprehensive as main stage or Sarasota but still), the ones I’ve seen are all folded paper sheets with scant information. To be fair maybe the market isn’t there given the smaller numbers in the Linbury but it just made me think. 

The overall takeaway though is I’m very pleased O’Hare invited Sarasota ballet and I’m very glad to have seen these works live. I’d like to be proved wrong but it’s probably unlikely I shall see them again (with the exception of Valses later in this run!). I do think they would work on a larger stage to be honest, Valses felt a little boxed in on the Linbury with the set and you could space out Sinfonettia without it looking gappy I think, and or concentrate things into the centre of the main stage. Overall a very nice evening! I’m just imaging the casting for Sinfonettia with the current Royal Ballet would really be something, and Valses as well I could see Naghdi being perfect for the lead lady in that, or Kaneko or Nunez. 

I’m very glad it wasn’t just a first night gesture! I am a bit confused as to why ROH are bothering to sell their paper programme though?
 

And why it’s handed out at the end - I suppose a nice surprise? Or maybe to ensure only those who have actually got tickets to the show get one as if they were freely available in the Linbury foyer before you couldn’t guarantee that. I’m very pleased, ideally it would have been nice to have it before so I could have read about the works before seeing them but it’s probably the best freebie I’ve received in a very long time so a big thank you to Sarasota ballet! It is actually very informative with lots of nice photos, very nicely produced. 

It might not have been such a star studded evening tonight as far as the audience were concerned, but I had stars in my eyes (sorry) this evening.

To be honest I didn’t enjoy Dante Sonata. The piece felt over wrought to me and a bit too heavy on symbolism. 
 

valses started off a bit slow for me but I really started to appreciate the choreography and patterns and it’s certainly something I’d appreciate seeing again (lucky me I have another performance). If I’m being a bit harsh I thought some of the dancers looked a bit under polished in this (although there was one girl, not the principal role who really stood out with a really curved Ashton back!) but I still very much liked this piece. 
 

Sinfonettia was my standout by far. Very quirky, a bit Balanchine/Robbins-esque in the first and third sections with some lovely sparkling pairing. The middle movement felt like a totally different ballet (I can’t see the link at all, I’ll read more to find out) and very montones and moon / space landing atmosphere. Not sure how I felt about the “skull caps” but I loved the lifts and turns and it felt very smooth and well executed. Would love to see this again but sadly for me this was my only performance. I hope the Royal Ballet would consider staging this, or failing that bringing back Monotones which was due a main stage outing cancelled by Covid. (I saw Monotones I in the Linbury and liked it!) 

Oh and yes - free lovely programmes at the end. This looked to be a purely Sarasota ballet endeavour from a quick glance through, and it was much appreciated. (Why I spent £2 on essentially a folded A2 sheet sold by ROH as the programme I don’t know but I suppose it was only £2 and I didn’t know if the other, much better programme would be forthcoming, I suppose it’s my donation to say thank you for them running this programme and inviting such a brilliant company).

So my tip is - don’t buy the £2 paper programme and wait for the lovely informative glossy free programme handed out at the end! 

Lovely reviews, very excited to see this tonight. I do hope the programme isn’t just a first night thing…I’d happily pay for one! 
 

I was hoping to watch this insight but then saw the comments here after I couldn’t find it. 
 

Are we certain it will definitely make an appearance on YouTube at some point?

just because it was live if it didn’t capture the sound in the first instance then surely unless someone re-recorded something that sound is lost? (Unless they did record the sound but some technical thing meant it couldn’t be added to the live stream? I’m not very technical…as you can probably tell!) 

Just bumping this - if no takers I will return to box office on Friday.