maryrosesatonapin

5 hours ago, Rina said:

Are many works being created today - in the semi-dark, to ugly, industrialised sound, with manic and extreme movements - actually more "dated" than Ashton's works of the thirties and forties?

 

 

My answer to this question is a resounding yes!

2 hours ago, FionaE said:

I was at RAH and also at other performances in the last 6 months.  He is at a super level at the moment.  
these luminaries of ballet are my guide.  

In my judgement, Polunin is at the level he was in for the 'Take me to Church' video (which I love) and in fact some of the choreography at the beginning was quite similar to that.  I don't think his dancing shows the refinement that he had in his early days at RB but then Kobborg gave him different choreography that demands different skills.  I don't think we will see 'early Polunin' again (and I very much loved his dancing circa 12 years ago).  I think he is still exceptional though.   Alina is one of my favourites and IMO one of the greatest ballerinas I have ever been privileged to watch.

2 hours ago, FionaE said:

@prs59 regarding sound quality… I’ve now been told it was really good from the Rausing Circle.  Vagaries of the RAH

I think the RAH acoustics are terrible, in spite of its being home to the Proms.  The only time I have ever seen the Buena Vista Social Club live the experience was ruined for me by the echoey-ness and distortion in spite of their brilliant musicianship.  Since then I've avoided it whenever possible.

My favourite Sugar Plum, with what I think is the prettiest choreography, is Nina Kaptsova: 

31 minutes ago, Angela Essex said:

Yes TSR! I’m so glad you mentioned those things. I’m new to ballet, but I noticed the timing issues with Osipova too. I’m familiar with the music having played it in Orchestras. There was a pas de deux in which she wasn’t in time as well as dance of the SPF and yes, the sparkle wasn’t there for me either. Agree about the Corps too spacing was off at times. 

I think if an untrained eye such as myself can see these things then yes it’s not the most ideal performance. It was magical but not perfect - having said that idk why we even expect perfection as people are just human beings doing their best and I was transported to another world for 2 hours so 🤷‍♀️
Also agree about Reece Clark I was looking for his biography in the Principals section of the programme and I thought they’d accidentally left him out of it. I was quite shocked to find he was a first soloist as he literally was stand out amazing for me.
In my humble opinion Olivia Cowley should be promoted too her Arabian Princess was breathtaking. 

I haven't seen Nutcracker yet but agree that Reece Clarke is stunning.  I was surprised to see that Joonhyuk Jun is so low in the ranks as his dancing really stood out too.

4 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said:

Oh OK, I must be thinking of Reece then, didn't see Federico. Also thought Vadim might have done more?

I'm sure Muntagirov COULD have done more but he was adhering to his interpretation of the story.  My reading is that Reece, having his debut, wanted to make a stunning impression (in which he succeeded).  And then Bonelli thought 'I'll show those youngsters that there's life in the old dog yet' and did even better.  This isn't a criticism, just a bit of fun on my part - I loved all of the Albrechts that I saw during this season.  And I find Bonelli's continued virtuosity, coupled with his deeply thoughtful and emotional interpretation and his outstanding partnering, quite breathtaking.  But he clearly also has a sense of fun, as indicated by his little 'applause' jump.

I honestly can't remember. I saw his production in the 1980s but that part of my brain has seized up unfortunately!

I took one of Laura looking delighted with her medal....
https://maryrosedouglasuk.wixsite.com/ballet

I didn't notice in advance about the presentation, but by happy coincidence had ordered flowers for Laura with a note thanking her for all the happy hours she had provided for us.  I don't often send flowers but also arranged for Fede to have some for the same reason!  I'm so glad I did.  They were richly deserved.

I suppose the story of Romeo and Juliet is so well known it doesn't need a lot of on-stage exposition.  At least, we had it drummed into us when I was at school but that was a very long time ago.  However if someone didn't know what was happening, I think the most puzzling part would be where Juliet is given the vial of a substance that enables her to appear dead.  One thing I thought the Kobborg choreography did very well was to have, in the background whilst Juliet was having this explained to her, a vision of what would happen appeared lit up in the background.  What an original idea!

I was lucky with my seating and found the lighting one of the best parts of the production.  I didn't think the stage seemed small but now @FionaE has described the Verona set-up I wish there had been more room.

2 hours ago, LinMM said:

And why not may “younger future audiences”  like both! Why do they have to prefer one or the other!! 
Different Companies could fulfil the different needs of both the dancers and their audiences. 

I've been thinking about this.  Nowadays there is so much competition for younger audiences, and the attention span seems quite short for many.  I thought Kobborg seemed aware of this and purposely aimed at a shorter, sharper ballet with less 'old-fashioned' costumes.  I actually love the longer MacMillan version but then I'm an oldie.

20 minutes ago, JennyTaylor said:

The tempi seemed to have increased this evening, so much so, I looked to see if it was the same conductor (it was). 

 

I did exactly the same, Jenny!  It sounded so much better.

LIke the other forumites above, I was deeply touched by tonight's memorable performance from Laura Morera and Federico Bonelli.  I loved watching them together. Laura always oozes personality on stage and Fede is such a gentleman. I tend to think of him as a reliable stalwart, but in fact he is so much more than that.   During the adagio pas de deux in Act II his slow, tender lifts of his Giselle were extraordinarily moving.  The whole performance was a delight, and ended with an air of festivity as flowers were thrown onto the stage as Laura received her 25 year medal of which you can see a photo here: https://maryrosedouglasuk.wixsite.com/ballet

So the 2021 run of Giselle comes to an end.  I went to the first and the last performances and several in between.  Standouts for me were Osipova's fast, exciting and original performance with the excellent Reece Clarke; Francesca Hayward's exquisite second Act ethereality; and tonight's very special combination of two of my favourite dancers.  

I saw a lot of Mayara Magri as Myrthe and she just seemed to get better and better.  I had hoped to see Marianela but she wasn't in any of the performances we went to, although when I bemoaned the fact, my partner reminded me that we had in fact seen her dance the role ages ago - maybe 15 or 20 years even?  And of course she can be seen on the streamed performance, I hope.  

So that was my last ballet of 2021 and one to savour and remember for a long while to come.  Thank you, Royal Ballet, for a fabulous autumn.


 

1 hour ago, emmarose said:

 

I think we're all better than this, no?

For one, some of the cheapest seats/standing places do offer those exact things, and for another, let's not shame people who love ballet and can only manage to afford those. We're all on here because we love the art form and to see it live when we can is a real treat, let's not belittle those who love it just as much as you do but may not have as much disposable income, it's a bit of a cheap shot. 

I totally agree with you @emmarose and indeed have spent many a happy evening in the standing area of the stalls before becoming too decrepit!  I was being snarky because I was so annoyed with @prs59's statement that the production was so poor it was only worthy of a village hall for £10 (NOT the ROH note, but any old village hall).  That was so blatantly untrue and unfair that I became overly snippy.  I apologise

13 minutes ago, prs59 said:

As it happens, I regard Covent Garden as being my local village hall and world-class ballet is available there at every performance for a tenner or less 🩰🩰🩰

Consider yourself alerted 😉

I prefer not to sit in seats so removed from the action that I cannot make an accurate judgement of the techniical capabilities of the dancers, their acting ability, mutual chemistry etc.  But I am sure the ROH would be delighted to be considered your local village hall   Or not.

6 hours ago, prs59 said:

this production was what I might have expected to see in a village hall for £10.

That would indeed be a bargain!  If you could alert us next time you see the equivalent of this world-class, memorable ballet at a village hall for a tenner please let us know.  😄😄😄

10 hours ago, Ian Macmillan said:

So these tokens are non-fungible - but if I wanted to funge one, how might I do so?  My 1970s OED is silent on the matter of the verb from which one might presume the word descends.  (Its definition of 'fungible' is, I would say, so technically explained as to be vague in the extreme.)  Have we any fungers on the Forum?  Is there a training course at a reputable institution for which we might apply?  One likes to know these things.

Ha ha, it sounds like something from Lewis Carroll, doesn't it!

'Twas brillig, and the slithy tove

Did funge and gimble in the wabe;

All mimsy were the borogroves,

And the tutus outgrabe.

After two covid delays, Johan Kobborg's Romeo and Juliet finally took place tonight.  The ballet is classically based but with some fresh updated touches and completely different from McMillan’s version.  It lasted about 80 minutes with no interval.

The opening was the same as the closing scene – Romeo and Juliet lying dead on a bier.  This brought to mind classic Greek tragedy where the end of the story is inevitable and all events lead to the final calamity. Once the bier was removed (with a bit of creaking and pushing) Polunin swaggered onto the stage, resplendent in white tights and looking very handsome.  Kobborg had provided showcase choreography to make Polunin immediately stride right to the front of the stage and dazzle with his trademark huge leaps and rapid spins of the kind that his audience seem to expect.  He also included a cheeky mime about Romeo’s flirtatious habits with the girls! 

The scenery was a massive, many-staired structure that appeared to be made of grey concrete.  This was manipulated to give different views for each scene – eg tall archways for the Capulet ball, a vertiginous staircase leading to a platform to serve as Juliet’s balcony.  It seemed to be a dramatic and effective combination of the brutalist architecture of Denys Lasdun and the impossible staircases drawn by Maurits Escher.

When Alina Cojocaru appeared she was the epitome of a pretty, spirited teenage girl.  Her dancing, as always, was exquisite and her acting was such that by the end, when she awoke from the sleeping potion full of the joy of anticipation of being with her Romeo, and then had that joy crushed by the discovery of his body, it was absolutely heartrending.  I noticed grown men around me weeping.

The overall feel of the piece was somewhat timeless – the costumes attractive but anonymous; it is after all a tale that could be repeated to some degree in any time and country.  Apart from the principals, there was great dancing from Daichi Ikarashi as Mercutio and Nikolas Gaifullin as Tybalt. Some very promising young dancers have been hand-picked by Polunin Ink to give them the opportunity they might not have in a traditional company, and at the same time to utilise their special talents.

It was lovely to see Alina bring her Johan on to the stage to receive some of the rapturous applause.  I fondly remembered enjoying seeing them dance together many years ago when they were both in the Royal Ballet – beautiful dancers individually but utterly enthralling when they were together on stage.  But I digress.  Tonight was a different experience, merging the old with the new.  The (sold-out) audience were not typical of those at the Royal Opera House – they were mostly a lot younger, and extremely enthusiastic as the lengthy standing ovation showed.  I believe it is Kobborg’s aim to keep ballet alive and also to keep it fresh, and in this he has succeeded. I enjoyed the evening very much and found it a distilled and different version of Romeo and Juliet which is both spectacular and moving.

https://maryrosedouglasuk.wixsite.com/ballet

Incidentally, POB have some Ashton programmed currently: https://www.operadeparis.fr/en/season-21-22/ballet/ashton-eyal-nijinski

5 hours ago, CCL said:

Fonty, Giselle comes up through a trap door in this production 

I meant to have a quick watch of the trap door part and found myself watching the whole of the second act.  How magnificent Zakharova and Polunin are!  I adore Polunin's spellbinding combination of athleticism and elegance.  And Zakharova is utterly beautiful, as always.  Re the trap door - the way it's filmed it looks quite spooky, but I imagine in a live production it might look a trifle clunky.  I think they should add just a little dry ice at the moment of Giselle's emergence from the tomb.

And now I must go to bed, much later than intended! 

Last night I went to the ROH expecting great things.  I always enjoy watching Francesca Hayward, but I found her first act strangely muted although she danced very prettily.  Alex Campbell performed well as always but had too much of a ‘boy next door’ look with very little of the aristocrat about him.  Maybe I had been spoiled by the Osipova/Clarke performance which was still fresh in my mind – both were so stunning. Kevin Emerton’s Hilarion was pedestrian but Joonhyuk Jun stood out in the pas de six.
 

However in the second act I was completely bewitched by Hayward.  She was unbelievably ethereal, tender and moving, her technique exquisite and her every nuance laden with feeling. (Yes, there were tears from both myself and my companion.)  The whole second act was enthralling in fact – the corps better than I have ever seen them before, Magri whom I have admired as Myrthe before now surpassing even her own high standards, Campbell faultless in his dancing and touching in his expression of tragedy.
 

But it is Hayward whose Giselle will haunt me for a long time to come.  What a dancer she is.

On 24/11/2021 at 20:44, Dawnstar said:

I found this interesting & enjoyable to watch, though due to the relative brevity I'm glad I didn't try to attend the event itself. My main take-away thoughts were 1) some of Ashton's choreography is more modern than I realised & 2) based on the Hamlet piece, the next time the RB does Mayerling they really need to cast Bracewell as Prince Rudolf!

I immediately thought of Edward Watson when I saw the Hamlet choreography.  Maybe Bracewell can be our new Watson.

I'm glad you got home safely, Jan - that is dedication.

@Rina I agree with every word you say, and you expressed it far more beautifully than I could have done.

5 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

I remember the interview with SPW where he talks about objecting at first to being made to stage Giselle because she's a "silly girl, with her silly hopping around" (or something like that) and there are times when I have a lot of sympathy for that view!

Nooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

1 hour ago, Richard LH said:

She didn't penché here at all as far as I could see, or turn on it  - certainly just a sort of bourrée at the ending of that section. But I don't want any over-analysis to detract from appreciation of her overall performance, and I recognise (as  posted above) that there can be different views of what is  felt to be appropriate e.g. for how long (if at all)  to hold an arabesque.

I haven't seen Hayward's 'Giselle' this season yet (am looking forward to doing so on Saturday).  However my thoughts on her, borne out by seeing her in various roles and hearing her in conversation, are that she might not be the most technically strong of all the RB principals, but she has a certain magic that more than makes up for that.  She says that she never does a perfect performance, but she doesn't suffer from stage fright and if she does the best SHE can do she is satisfied.  What I love about her dancing is that she is so fluid, not performing a series of steps as some of the principals sometimes seem to do, but actually becoming the character she is performing.  I remember a couple of her partners teasing in the 'Boys at the Barre' film that in 'romantic' roles she always looks right AT them, not through them, and she seemed a little embarrassed because yes, she is completely 'in the moment' and that, to me, is why she is so moving to watch.

10 hours ago, FionaE said:

Thank you for this wonderful thread … I am now wishing I can get a late return for the next Hayward/Campbell performance having been quite disappointed with Cesar Corrales’ interpretation.  
 

I feel the believability of this ballet relies on Albrecht’s journey.  Cesar’s shock and distress at Giselle’s death came from nowhere … 

I wanted to see Takada but was put off by her partner so didn't book.  I think Corrales is a great dancer in certain roles but this is an example where somehow RB doesn't always seem to match roles to dancers.  Having said that, he is so young that I am sure his depth of characterisation will grow as the years progress.