AnneL

Since no one else has left a comment about Friday evening’s show, I will! Firstly, the orchestra deserves full honours, as do the dancers for keeping up with it! For me the standout among the principals was Zakharova, who not only had fabulous technique, but also was utterly convincing as Aegina. I don’t think this will ever be my favourite ballet (maybe Giselle is?) but I am very glad to see performed live at last. Our seats were front row side of the amphitheatre so we missed a little of the action in the corner of the stage, but at least the price was reasonable. I treated myself to the dvd with Carlos Acosta as Spartacus so am now watching it and finding out what happens in that corner! 

21 hours ago, bridiem said:

I think your duckling theory may be right, maryrosesatonapin, since my favourite Swan Lake is still my first, i.e. the Royal Ballet's production of the late 1970s with a beautiful Ashton Act I waltz and his choreography for Act IV. Maybe it's because that was when I was first finding dancers I loved and encountering the great ballets for the first time. Or maybe it's because it was beautiful, lyrical and traditional. The current ENB proscenium arch production is very like it, so that is my favourite current production. And I agree with all your comments about the Scarlett SL.

I agree with every word of this, except that my very first Swan Lake was an early Festival Ballet version from the days when Beryl Grey was artistic director. My second one was RB in the late 70s. But currently ENB proscenium version  is my favourite. I also have great memories of their arena version from around 2013 when I saw Muntagirov and Klimentova together. I am certainly tempted to go next year as the entrance of the swans en masse in Act II is quite a spectacle. But it really is hot on the heals of the RB one - not to mention BRB. 

I have a full set of the books (collected since childhood) and have always taken it to refer to upper school and company. In the later titles the theatre could be Covent Garden, but of course the company was still called Sadlers Wells even after the ROH became its home. 

2 minutes ago, SPD444 said:

 

Sorry AnneL but the Prince was played by Isaac Hernandez; Cirio played Benjamin - his friend.

Not yesterday (Saturday) evening- it was Cirio then. 

I saw this Cinderella done by the Dutch National Ballet at the Coliseum a few years ago and enjoyed it (although the Ashton version is still my favourite). Since then I have become better acquainted with Wheeldon’s style and I did spot similarities with Alice - and American in Paris too - this time round. I agree with a lot of Irmgard’s remarks above, but in row 7 of the stalls we actually had a pretty good view. Luckily when I booked I had a hunch that the rows nearest the arena floor would probably not have the best view, and nor did I want to be too high up. We must have been on the best side too, as could see what the little boys were doing perfectly. In fact, despite my terrible eyesight, I had a good view all evening. And while the tickets weren’t cheap, the price compared quite favourably with the Coliseum, where stalls are also quite expensive. I think the show was adapted well for the arena space.  Dancing wise, Maria Kochetkova and Jeffrey Cirio played Cinderella and the Prince and both of them were magnificent. 

On 08/06/2019 at 10:52, Jamesrhblack said:

Thanks for this. I’d even bought a programme but there was no cast change flyer with the cast list ...

I also bought a programme but the flyer wasn’t with it! I obtained it only because in the first interval I went to the stall where the programmes were sold and asked for one. The seller had none, but a lady drinking wine at a nearby table heard us and said I could have hers. I have no idea what magic she had worked to get it, but I said thank you and took it! 

On 06/06/2019 at 14:32, alison said:

Did anyone go and see programme C last night?

I saw it yesterday (Saturday) afternoon and enjoyed it very much, especially the Scarlett. The Welch was enjoyable from a choreographic point of view, and the Bach was beautifully played (excellent solo violinist), lighting was well done, but the costumes were not great. The women looked like they were in swimsuits. Scarlett’s Hummingbird was good all round, lovely Macfarlane designs, and another fantastic music soloist, this time on piano. For the Peck, the music was not much to my taste, but I did enjoy the dancing in ‘sneakers’. The company must have had some friends in the audience as there were loud cheers at the end of each piece, and we did spot some people looking suspiciously like RB dancers leaving at the end. My daughter and I hurried off to the Albert Hall then to see Cinderella! 

8 hours ago, maryrosesatonapin said:

We went to see the triple bill this afternoon and loved every minute.  Never have three hours flown by so fast.  Others have given super descriptions (thank you all!) so I’ll just add a few comments.

 

Firebird:  There is so much to love about this ballet, and Magri danced very well.  Just imagine how stunning it must have seemed when it first appeared in 1910!  The music, as well as the dancing, was magical and compelling.

 

Month in the Country:  I didn’t remember how funny this is, in spite of the underlying sadness.  There were a couple of laugh out loud moments (such as when Vera and Natalia were having a jealous spat over Beliaev).  Hallberg looked handsome enough to be a convincing lady-magnet, and came across as a bit of a bounder until the moving closing scene.  Osipova was perfect for the role IMO.  Visually the ballet was a delight, except for the butler’s coat which for some reason was an over-strident shade of blue.

Luca Acri managed to convey a childlike charm but this was belied by his large size – which spoiled my suspension of disbelief somewhat.

The pianist, Kate Shipway, deserves a mention as this beautiful music is very demanding. 

 

Symphony in C -  Fumi Kaneko’s mishap right at the beginning caused me to feel anxious for the rest of that movement (hoping she hadn’t hurt herself).    After that I relaxed and was carried away on a wave of exquisite music and movement.  This is a great showcase for the company and made me feel so proud of them.  In the third movement Alexander Campbell was admirable and I could see no affectation so maybe he reads this forum and has amended his habits   I did wish though that the female dancers weren’t of such varied heights because it distracted from the desired uniformity of some groupings.

It’s worth noting that the student Bizet was only seventeen when he composed this symphony.  Clever, eh?

 

Afterwards we got on a riverboat to see an exhibition of the work of Firebird’s designer, Natalia Goncharova, at Tate Modern – well worth a visit!
https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-modern/exhibition/natalia-goncharova

 

And the film ‘Force of Nature Natalia’ has just come out:

https://www.curzoncinemas.com/film-info/force-of-nature-natalia

Regarding Symphony in C, I had exactly the same anxiety after Kaneko’s stumble near the start. And I have to confess that I didn’t enjoy the ballet as much as when I saw it last autumn. Perhaps it wasn’t quite such a good performance, or (and this is very possible) it was a better finale after two so-so modern works, than following the Firebird and Month. Nunez, Campbell and Hayward all shone, however, and Hirano did a great job in both the works he appeared in. However, I think that if I was in charge of programming, I would have gone for a shorter 3rd work, although I realise this is one that will show off a good proportion of the company’s dancers. 

Firebird is truly one of my all-time favourites - I love the score - and Magri and the whole cast did it justice. I especially liked the lighting. I am not so familiar with Month - only the second time I have seen it - but the story was communicated well by all the dancers. Hinkis really impressed me - it was good to see her in such a featured role. 

Arestis and Hamilton were replaced as princesses- I was lucky enough to score a cast change flyer this afternoon! 

18 hours ago, LinMM said:

Thanks ....that looks like the Manon for me then as will only go once and haven't seen Hayward in this role yet.

On second thoughts could be tempted by the prospect of Bolle in the main role! In fact that whole cast looks really good. I can usually only take Manon once in a run!! It's so draining! But maybe will have to do some judicial spacing and see both these casts! 

Bolle and Nunez were tremendous together last time round. So was Hayward, but I wasn’t so convinced by her partner on that occasion. 

17 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

Hello AnneL and a belated welcome to the Forum!

Thank you!

I have now booked for evening of 8th June as I wanted to see Maria Kochetkova. I saw her Sylphide recently in Berlin. So double ballet day for me, as I will be a Sadlers Wells in the afternoon! 

I am new to the forum so this is my first post! I am looking forward to Coppelia, a welcome change from the Nutcracker, in my view (although the Ashton Cinderella would have been even better). I haven’t seen the RB Coppelia for many years, maybe not since 1969, although I have seen BRB and ENB do it more recently. But my real excitement is for the Enigma/Raymonda bill. I haven’t seen Enigma Variations since childhood- my first ever mixed programme- and it made a big impression on me, I still remember Antoinette Sibley’s performance and Derek Rencher as Elgar. I will try out the new things too. As others have said, it seems too soon to have Manon again after 2018 in the ROH and January this year for the ENB run of it in London.