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AnneL

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  1. AnneL
    I saw this show last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. My only reservation is that the lighting for the Dying Swan and the Ben Stevenson piece was a bit too low. it was obviously a huge treat for me to see the La Sylphide extract (we don’t get enough Bournonville in England in my opinion) and I was very happy to see Diana and Actaeon pdd for the first time ‘live’ as opposed to on video. But I particularly loved the second actwith its less familiar items: the piece to Piazzolla’s music was superbly danced by Olivia Chang Clarke and Enrique Bejarano Vidal, to just pick out one highlight. Majisimo ended the evening on a high note. Regarding seats, I booked some time ago and only got restricted view seats at the side, so we inevitably missed some of the dancing. But at £21 for the 2 seats I am not complaining. Given the enjoyment, this was a ballet bargain! I spotted some RB dancers in the audience, as well as Mr Acosta.
  2. AnneL
    I am very envious! I would love to see Vogel live, having enjoyed his Onegin on video very much, and Keaveney I imagine would be great as Manon. I enjoyed her Cinderella last year. Sounds like a great partnership.
  3. AnneL
    I understand the logic of right for Giselle, but when I first saw it my mother bought stalls circle left - not knowing the ballet - and as a result, I had an amazing view of Margot Fonteyn’s ‘mad scene’, right in front of me. Absolutely unforgettable.
  4. AnneL
    As others have said, Les Noces would be something. I saw Checkmate when BRB did it , maybe just over a decade ago, and enjoyed it a lot. I also love the work of Annabelle Lopez Ochoa - what I have seen of it, but obviously it was not done by the RB. I would go as far as to say she is one of my favourite contemporary choreographers, regardless of gender.
  5. AnneL
    I was there the afternoon of her injury! Marianela Nunez took over and virtually single-handedly made me fall back in love with the Covent Garden stage and the Royal Ballet, after a 10 year absence on my part. This has cost my bank account dearly in the decade since October 2013. (From what I remember, Fumi did well in the part of Act 1 she was in). I think there is a lot to look forward to in this new season announcement. I expect the only one I will definitely miss is Dante, although I won’t want to see more than one Manon or Swan Lake. (I will be seeing Manon in Paris this summer!) The MacMillan triple is all new to me, but seems to have some good composers. Facade will be a real treat - I only saw it once in 1970 and loved it.
  6. AnneL
    I have sat twice in the amphitheatre during this run, once in the centre and once quite far to the side and could see the entrance perfectly. The one time I was in the stalls circle I couldn’t see it at all because of the standing figures. But quite honestly I expect when I sit there I will miss some action- a trade-off for being close up. However the missed action is normally in the corner of the stage, not right in the middle! Re the last production, I saw that from the amphitheatre too, I am afraid.
  7. AnneL
    I agree entirely. I was there for the opening night and watching in my local cinema yesterday and I thought all the soloist performers seemed to have almost relaxed into their roles in comparison, albeit for a live cinema broadcast, so there must have been nerves on that account. Perhaps it was just the fact of having other performances under their belts. I also saw the two live performances on Easter Monday and I thought then that the whole company have settled into the production well - and the orchestra. we had a little scare in our cinema when in the second interval the screen was filled with a large message saying that the device (computer?) was about to shut off into standby and that another key needed to be pressed to stop this! Fortunately a member of staff was located and the proper picture restored in time for the final act.
  8. AnneL
    This is so true. I think part of the reason I looked forward to this new production so much was because I saw Ashton’s Cinderella as a child, over 50 years ago. The memory has never faded nor the excitement. I hope some of the children seeing it during this school holiday will become lifelong fans, just as I did, with years of pleasure watching dance ahead of them.
  9. AnneL
    I enjoyed Cinderella very much. I do love the music, particularly as - for me - it contains many memorable tunes, which have been buzzing round my head all day, but also some little moments which still surprise me. Good dance music should be memorable, yet there are many scores which lack that factor (not Tchaikovsky obviously). I also love most of the choreography. To be honest, I don’t go to a ballet like this to have the story of a fairytale told, I think we all know it. So I am not concerned about the absent step-mother etc etc. For me, it’s really a vehicle for the dancing, which was - to my non-technical eye - superb last night. It’s not a character driven story, although the warmth and happiness of true love was expressed at the end. In short, I don’t think it requires Shakespearean levels of dramatic art. Similarly, there are reasons in this ballet’s creation for the seemingly large amount of stage time for the stepsisters - the original cast of the choreographer himself and Helpmann. I am fortunate enough to have seen them - and Alexander Grant as the jester - in the roles they created and the memory is indelible. They are a hard act to follow, and it’s no criticism of Avis and Acri to say that in the hands of the original cast, their stage time was not a minute too long. So it is what it is, and the company has to be faithful to the choreographic text, although there could be good reasons for amendments it would be controversial to change it. In general, I liked the new costumes and sets, the lighting effects were fun. My only small criticism would be that the sisters’ dresses were so flouncy that they disguised some of the clever footwork of their characters. But I was sitting in the amphitheatre so May have missed some of it for that reason. I am looking forward to seeing two more casts, including the Hayward one.
  10. AnneL
    Yes indeed, a lovely review. I am looking forward to seeing this when it’s on in London on my birthday.
  11. AnneL
    I just want to say that I enjoyed the show very much on opening night. It was upbeat, not overlong and an entertaining showcase of virtuosity. As others have said, the music for the Forsythe piece was not to my taste, but otherwise it was a good evening and excellent value for the ticket price. And I loved the tap dancing!
  12. AnneL
    Some tempting programmes there!
  13. AnneL
    Yes, I totally agree - on a par with R and J.
  14. AnneL
    Yes, basically the same score. I have seen many choreographic versions of it, but Ashton’s is my favourite.
  15. AnneL
    By the way, I am loving the fairy godmother casting announced so far. I have already booked three performances and am seriously considering booking a couple more. That’ll help sales a bit! In any case, I love the Prokofiev score - one of the greatest 20th century ballet scores, in my opinion.
  16. AnneL
    There is a lovely film of Ashton’s Cinderella from 1969/70 recently restored and released on DVD which will give a good idea of the complete ballet, if you are interested. The cast is amazing- from Sibley and Dowell onwards. the jester is an important role with some spectacular choreography, originally made by Ashton for Alexander Grant, one of his favourite dancers. So I would imagine any current dancer would be excited to be cast in the role.
  17. AnneL
    Hope so!
  18. AnneL
    I have tickets for the 9th. I hope it will be a pleasurable evening.
  19. AnneL
    Last night I finally got to see the Royal Ballet in full performance for the first time since November after some frustrating cancellations due to rail strikes and other problems. So it was a special evening for me and the Sleeping Beauty is always extra special for me as it was the first live ballet I saw as a child. I thoroughly enjoyed the performance. The fairy ensemble at the start, to the beautiful Tchaikovsky score was lovely as ever. Magri might have been a little bit nervous in the Rose adage ( who would blame her) but it all went very well and she sparkled in the later solo. All the pas de deux in Acts II and III were perfect to my admittedly inexpert eyes. So a memorable night all round, for the best reasons.
  20. AnneL
    The full casting for main roles is on the website for Sheffield and Leeds but not yet for Sadler’s Wells.
  21. AnneL
    Me too!!!!
  22. AnneL

    ROH Tosca

    AnneL replied to JennyTaylor's topic in Opera & Music

    I agree that Tosca is a terrific opera - it has long been a favourite of mine, great story telling, music, not overlong. The current ROH production is very good and it was a treat to see Freddie de Tomasso in it last year. For the first time I really felt the emotion as I would in a tragic ballet. I am also branching out into more opera now since I became a Friend. my daughter and I went to the Barber of Seville yesterday evening and really enjoyed it. Comedy not tragedy this time!
  23. AnneL
    I have a similar strategy. I have a collection of ROH programmes going back to 1966 which are wonderful reminders of casts etc. But now I only buy them for things I have never seen before or if the content has been properly updated. I learned a lesson in the last but one run of Mayerling (2018 maybe?) when I purchased the programme and read a strangely familiar essay about the Hapsburgs. It turned out to be a reprint of the one in the original run’s programme (1978) which I already had at home! seriously though, I do think a lot of the ROH content is well-informed and worth reading.
  24. AnneL
    I am very much hoping to see this at Sadlers Wells.
  25. AnneL
    P.S. I notice the Times has now removed the offending photo.
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