AnneL

38 minutes ago, alison said:

 

We certainly don't, but then all three mentioned were "one of a century" rather than "one of a generation".  It's not surprising that the RB doesn't have anyone currently as good.  (Ratmansky was mentioned: he was scheduled to be reviving/reworking "24 Preludes" last season, but had to cancel, I seem to recall due to schedule clashes.  I'm assuming that he couldn't fit it into this year's schedule).

 

 

That does, though, rather miss the point that Anastasia was originally a one-act ballet, with the preceding two acts being tacked on some years later.  I never saw it as a one-acter, and wonder if that would have worked better rather than having a (now amended) Act III excised from the full-length ballet.  As I indicated upthread, I felt it was watered down somehow, or something.

 

In fact, it's a bit of a shame we've had so little discussion of that part of the bill.  It would be nice to hear from those who have seen both as to whether anything has been lost.

Not forgetting that the 20th century also gave us Fokine, Massine, Nijinska, Petit, Tudor…. I could go on (and I am not suggesting this is an exclusive list, or that everything they did was great, but it was a pretty special century). When I was younger, my favourite contemporary choreographer was Christopher Bruce - I have fond memories of his work. There are a fewer of today’s choreographers who interest me, but perhaps it is not such a rich period? Hopefully that will change and I understand completely that things move on.

I would also love to see some of Ratmansky’s work. 

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. 

On 03/06/2023 at 07:55, Velvet said:

I watched last night. It was the most stunning production. The orchestra are superb. Staging, costumes, lighting great. But of course the most important bit, the dancing. I have never felt so drawn in and moved by ballet before. Friedemann Vogel and Sarah Erin Keaveney have tangible chemistry. Their acting ability is off the scale so they captivate you with their story telling. Friedemann at 42 is majestic and magnificent. Sarah at 22 is tiny with a light ethereal quality. I was riveted from start to finish and have never experienced a ballet fly by before like this. At the end the audience erupted out of their seats into standing ovation, many of us with tears streaming down our faces. If you want to experience beautiful dancing and story telling then I highly recommend this production. So much so I have booked to watch again on Monday. 

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. 

On 30/04/2023 at 18:40, Emeralds said:

Good thinking, Dawnstar! I also pick left for Cinderella (to see the fireplace scenes), right for Giselle (to see her cottage and her grave), right for Nutcracker if you want to see Drosselmeyer going in and out of the clock, but perhaps left if your Sugar Plum and Prince always start their variations and coda from the audience’s right!  Then again, if it’s repeat viewings, I might just go on the opposite side for a bit of a change. But we’re not aiming for the same sections/numbers though- I like to sit higher up to get a “panoramic” sort of view and use binoculars/opera glasses for close up views instead. 😊

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. 

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. 

2 hours ago, capybara said:

 

 But Fumi has already danced Kitri brilliantly (it was during the first run of the production that she injured herself on stage) so dancing Mercedes is probably unlikely.

 

 

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. 

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. 

2 hours ago, gdallas said:

We were at ROH last night 12th April. It was almost completely the same cast as for the Gala opening night but to me it seemed much more enjoyable. Everything was tighter, smoother and the orchestra was wonderful. Perhaps because I was in the stalls this time as opposed to amphitheatre but I think the production has settled down and I felt that MN had really developed the role. Dancing was superb of course! I loved it. I’m going again. One of my best evenings at the ballet. Thank you RB 

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.

On 03/04/2023 at 19:37, Missfrankiecat said:

 

What lovely excitement!  I forgot to say what a pleasure it was during the intervals and after last Saturday's matinee to see and hear so many little girls (and quite a few boys) so enthralled with the experience.  Ballet is such a wonderful vehicle for endlessly entertaining and entrancing all ages and this is a lovely production for family viewing.

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. 

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. 

Yes indeed, a lovely review. I am looking forward to seeing this when it’s on in London on my birthday. 

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!

1 hour ago, Angela said:

Zurich Ballet, where Cathy Marston takes over from Christian Spuck, has announced a very interesting next season - more works by female choreographers then by men, wow
https://www.opernhaus.ch/en/spielplan/ballett-2324/

Some tempting programmes there! 

Yes, I totally agree - on a par with R and J. 

Yes, basically the same score. I have seen many choreographic versions of it, but Ashton’s is my favourite. 

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. 

19 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

 

Does the Jester have a reasonably large role? When I stage dored after Woolf Works on Saturday one of the dancers (I guess I'd better not say who as the casting hasn't been publically announced) told me he'd been cast in that role but as I've never seen Ashton's Cinderella I have no idea what it actually involves.

 

I'm pleased to find I'll be seeing both the male & female stepsister pairings. It's interesting that all the male stepsister pairings have quite a big age discrepency between the 2 dancers. Somehow I wasn't expecting that.

 

I was hoping maybe Morera would do the Fairy Godmother, after seeing her coaching the role for the Insight livestream, but sadly not.

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. 

2 hours ago, jmhopton said:

With all this talk about Mendelssohn and Hayward/Sambe/Bracewell having performed 2 stunning Dream pas de deux recently I'm taking this as a definite omen that The Dream will be re-scheduled next season.

Hope so!

I have tickets for the 9th. I hope it will be a pleasurable evening.

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. 

The full casting for main roles is on the website for Sheffield and Leeds but not yet for Sadler’s Wells.

6 hours ago, LinMM said:

Don’t mention Rooster I really LOVE ❤️that piece ….haven’t seen it for a while and now I want to see it tomorrow!! 

Me too!!!!

On 26/11/2022 at 22:26, JennyTaylor said:

I attended the rehearsal of Tosca at the ROH purely to take advantage of my Friends’ allocation of rehearsal tickets and to give myself the opportunity to see this world famous opera. I admit total ignorance of opera though I’ve tried it a few times with little success. This proved a turning point because instead of being somewhat bored and wondering if I should stay for the 3rd act, I loved it! I didn’t know the story apart from “they all die” and I don’t know the music apart from the sections featured in the James Bond film Quantum of Solace, but it didn’t seem to matter. I was fascinated and although not familiar with any of the singers, knew and felt I was seeing something rather special. I came out on a big high, and have now downloaded all the music to listen to again. A proper opera 

presented in a traditional manner with no messing with costumes, trying to be clever etc etc. Sadly I got more from it than the recent RB Diamonds celebration bill. 
 

Talking of costumes I was totally distracted by the train on Tosca’s dress and I really think she was too, as she dragged it around the stage. Also very concerned that she would fall down the vertiginous steps at the front of the stage in Act 3, with the train. She even struggled with it in the curtain calls. Please could someone from the costume department do something before disaster strikes. 
 

I will now be seeking to book more opera rehearsals as well as ballet, but will choose carefully in terms of productions. Also still not tempted to spend eye watering amounts on seeing a proper performance. I’ve just booked all my Cinderella tickets so that is enough!

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! 

20 hours ago, JNC said:

compared to other programmes yes - there’s a decent amount of content, including photos, synopsis and usually a few articles about the production.

 

I tend to buy and keep programmes for most shows I see, but for example having gone to the Sleeping Beauty more than one season, I don’t think I need two (near identical) programmes on it. The exception is if it’s a production I really like and they have updated photos (I particularly like the rehearsal photos of those debuting) and or have new articles inside. But disappointingly it seems the current sleeping beauty programme is content-wise the same, and it’s not worth me getting for a small variety of new/different photos and layout. I also wouldn’t get two slightly different programmes for the same production but across two seasons as I find this quite sneaky from roh for those that do like to keep programmes!
 

I also don’t tend to buy/keep programmes from the performances I haven’t enjoyed. For example I didn’t get a programme for Mayerling (I know controversial but I’m not a fan!). But having said that I didn’t love Dante project but I did get a programme as it was a new production and I was interested in the aspects that go into a new creation.

 

It’s basically a personal choice and you’re not missing out not having one, but I enjoy them and they look nice on the shelf as they remain consistent in their red colours/size. I do flick back through them if I’m going to see that production again, and it’s nice to see the dancers rise through the ranks as well!
 

I would only buy them for ones I do wish to keep and wouldn’t buy a programme just to have it on the evening to then recycle. So yes as souvenirs they’re good, not necessary for synopsis as usually that should be on the cast list online. 

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. 

I am very much hoping to see this at Sadlers Wells.