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maryrosesatonapin

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Everything posted by maryrosesatonapin

  1. maryrosesatonapin
    I have been fascinated by Elizabeth since seeing Winterhalter's portrait of her when I was a child. Although Winterhalter flattered his subjects she really was beautiful as photographs show, and took extreme care to remain so. I thought Annette Buvoli as Elizabeth looked suitably special.
  2. maryrosesatonapin
    I also spent some time looking into the further lives of some of the women portrayed in the ballet. I felt particularly sorry for Princess Stephanie and wondered if she had caught syphilis from Rudolph and died young, but no, she remarried after his death and lived a long and hopefully peaceful life.
  3. maryrosesatonapin
    There was very realistic, and atmospheric, rainfall onto the preliminary funeral scene at yesterday's matinee. But during the reiteration at the end, the rain failed to fall until the very last minute although the raincoats did look wet. So it seems the weather is quite changeable in Mayerling....
  4. maryrosesatonapin
    I would really like to see that version.
  5. maryrosesatonapin
    Much as I liked Bratfisch's solo, it seemed a bit odd and went on for ages, and I feel half as long would be effective. The tavern scene could be cut whilst maintaining Mitzi's part. The hunting scene, although historically accurate, seemed unnecessary. It would only take trimming five minutes here and there to make it tighter IMO.
  6. maryrosesatonapin
    I went to yesterday’s matinee and enjoyed the ever-youthful Sarah Lamb’s girlish interpretation of Mary Vetsera, who after all was little more than a child victim of an ambitious mother and a self-absorbed prince. She danced very prettily to Steven Mcrae’s excellent partnering. There was good dancing all round – Mayara Magri was a great Mitzi Caspar. The startling originality of Macmillan’s choreography struck me afresh – it still surprises, so many decades on. But I do think the ballet would be improved by trimming a few excesses by a total of 20-30 minutes.
  7. maryrosesatonapin
    It has struck me sometimes that dancers such as Mayara Magri and Gina Storm-Jensen, both in superb physical shape, must actually weigh quite a lot as they are fairly tall and well-muscled (and absolutely beautiful, but maybe not for their dance partners).
  8. maryrosesatonapin
    Unless Osipova's size has changed dramatically in the two months since I last saw her dance, I am surprised you make these comments given there are many ballerinas who are much larger than she!
  9. maryrosesatonapin
    I know he's still dancing - didn't mean to suggest he had retired!
  10. maryrosesatonapin
    Oh, thank you for pointing this out, @oncnp. It is beautiful. Zucchetti is a very good dancer who is disappointed he didn't get promoted to the top rank (but there was so much competition); I hope we see a lot more of his choreography in future, and that he gains immense satisfaction from a second career. I always love his choice of music. This was a harmonious and moving marriage of dance and piano.
  11. maryrosesatonapin
    I think this is very poor value. Marquee and Medici are a similar price but with a much wider offering. I wish we could pay-per-view just the things we wanted (as I have seen or own most of this already).
  12. maryrosesatonapin
    I found her dancing very disappointing at the Nureyev Gala - in spite of being partnered by wonderful Muntagirov.
  13. maryrosesatonapin
    Ah, that must be why then. I declined for the first time because I was doing lots of separate bookings. Irritating!
  14. maryrosesatonapin
    I had no problems at all but did book all my tickets separately because I wanted to feel safe that I'd got the seats I wanted. I really liked the 'seat view' that now automatically comes up, too. But I did get a new 'invitation to donate' screen which suddenly popped up asking for payment for hard hats for backstage crew - not seen that before - anyone else had that?
  15. maryrosesatonapin
    I so agree. Also the advertising on the exterior of SW theatre was about another show, and it wasn't easy to see that SB were currently performing The Crucible, which if it had been clearer might have attracted more people passing by that busy area. It was such a wonderful production it really did deserve to be sold out.
  16. maryrosesatonapin
    I get loads of ROH ads on my Facebook timeline - mostly for opera - at least one every time I look (once or twice per day). I suppose I must fit the algorhithms, either because of what I have listed as my interests on my profile, or from posts after I have been to a performance. I assume you haven't included this information and therefore don't get the ads?
  17. maryrosesatonapin
    I quite enjoyed Frankenstein. OK, it wasn't perfect by any means, but it was considerably more enjoyable than Khan's Giselle. I just don't understand the popularity of the latter... and as for the 'score'!!
  18. maryrosesatonapin
    There was a decent performance of Les Sylphides at Cadogan Hall in the autumn of 2019 by the London School of Classical Ballet. I really enjoyed that evening - sometimes these small events are worth seeking out.
  19. maryrosesatonapin
    We went to last night's moving performance. Cojocaru and Trusch had a great on stage partnership and both were delightful. Alina danced like a teenager in the first act and in the second, demonstrated such utter control and sincere acting (as she always does) as well as appearing so ethereal. I did find Kovalenko's Myrthe pretty rather than commanding and menacing. I loved that some of the dancers' kids could appear on stage - something they will remember for the rest of their lives. The peasant dances in the first act seemed particularly well-rehearsed and enjoyable to watch. I wasn't keen on the ending where it seemed Albert was running straight from mourning Giselle into the arms of Bathilde - it made him seem a bit shallow - although the selflessness of Giselle was believable. The orchestra were gorgeous-sounding and the audience were very warm in their appreciation. I got sore hands from clapping and damp cheeks that became positive rivulets during the Ukrainian anthem. I do hope they raised a decent amount to support this worthy cause.
  20. maryrosesatonapin
    Could be - I was fooled by 'gli eventi' which looks like performances....
  21. maryrosesatonapin
    They're from Naples.
  22. maryrosesatonapin
    Same here. You are in for a treat seeing Cojocaru as Giselle! She seems to still be in top form - I remember seeing her dance with her real-life partner Kobborg in Giselle many years ago (she looked like a child but danced like an angel). Unforgettable. We are so lucky to get the opportunity to see her in this role again. It isn't just her exquisite technique but the depth of her personality that shines through. If there was one ballet dancer I could choose to be personal friends with it would be Alina.
  23. maryrosesatonapin
    There was one comment (by Charlotte Kasner) which I rather enjoyed: ... Ralph Fiennes opening the evening with a speech that could have come straight out of a Cold War film script. He also seemed to be at pains to stress that he isn’t interested in ballet.
  24. maryrosesatonapin
    Pritchard's comments are disgusting and he should be taken to task for it. I completely agree with what you say here, Sim.
  25. maryrosesatonapin
    I'm no expert, but have seen a number of Bournonville works danced by the Royal Danish Ballet over the years. It is a very particular style that needs special coaching (the expert living in England is Alina Cojocaru's husband, Johan Kobborg and I do wonder if he did any coaching for this performance as it looked pretty good to me). I just love the style. It is in some ways understated, refined, with complex footwork and altogether I gather it is more difficult to dance that it looks. When watching Ashton's choreography I am sometimes reminded of the spirit of Bournonville. (I might be completely off the mark in that as I've never heard anyone else say so!) But in answer to your question, Dawnstar, on Monday I thought that Ida Praetorius was exemplary - classic Bournonville - and Frola, although an absolute delight, was at times not quite how I have seen the Danes dance Bournonville pieces. He was somehow more flashy. But that's just my opinion. Whatever the case - I do wish the RB would do some Bournonville ballets, and utilise Kobborg's expertise while he is still in London.
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