Morgane

2 minutes ago, Scheherezade said:

To deliver the unforgettable, the performer has to be prepared to throw caution to the wind, with the inevitable, accompanying, inbuilt risk. 

Absolutely agree.

5 minutes ago, Scheherezade said:

I am absolutely on the same page. Art - performance art in particular- is all about communication and although I can objectively admire technical perfection, what stays with me is what touches my heart and soul rather than my critical faculties and my mind.

And I so agree with you about Callas, one of the few artists that I truly wish I could have seen on stage although, paradoxically, I would also place Jussi Bjorling - not someone ever feted for his dramatic heft - high on my “wish I had seen” list. The sheer beauty of his voice frequently brings me close to tears. 

I want both  - technical perfection and being moved to tears.

Let’s be clear though that technical perfection doesn’t mean zero mistakes (but rather a certain class overall)- I’ve seen world famous principals fall on stage seemingly because they got carried away by the peformance…

10 minutes ago, emmarose said:

 

Funily enough, I think the opening night really set the bar exceptionally high. So much so that I had tickets for last night (I really wanted to see Natalia)  and the person I took to opening night said they didn't want to go as nothing could really be as good again, they thought they would be picking fault for not living up to it.

 

I myself couldn't go yesterday as I was having a bad pain flare up.

That may be what this is; my two previous Kitris were Osipova and Nunez (setting a very high benchmark).

Any other favourite dancers (not necessarily at ROH) for the Kitri part?
(Emmarose, sorry to hear you could not be there yesterday).

We very much enjoyed yesterday evening’s performance, and there was such great energy in the House- both from the dancers and spectators! That being said, there were a few underwhelming moments for us. The Kitri Act I variation was not quite what Osipova or Nunez do (oh, just look at their splits..), a couple of lifts were wobbly and Magri could not quite hold certain positions with the same precision. I note that the feedback on Magri’s dancing is very positive so far - are we being unreasonably picky or is anyone else in the same boat?

But again, a fabulous evening and congratulations to both Sambe and Magri on making their characters come alive!

Romeo & Juliet with Osipova/ Hallberg on 1 June at 7 pm; two tickets in the grand tier box 64 (our friends can’t make it); £100 each instead of £124 if you take the second row of the box.