maryrosesatonapin

3 hours ago, Emeralds said:

(Elisabeth) wasn’t a staid stuffy old queen but a queen who at the time was like a mixture of Princess Diana and Gwyneth Paltrow rolled into one and a huge celebrity in Austria/Austro-Hungary

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.

30 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

 

Because you've clearly seen far, far more Mayerlings than I have so I think your reaction is far more valid than mine.

 

Yesterday I spent some time looking up most of the Mayerling historical personalities. While I had assumed that MacMillan had taken some artistic licence with reality, I didn't realise he'd taken quite so much artistic licence! Finding out Archduchess Sophie had actually died nearly a decade before Prince Rudolf's marriage was certainly a surprise.

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.

24 minutes ago, capybara said:

Another difference in that scene is that the men used to have umbrellas which were greased to make them look wet - now they are dry. And am I imagining that here was projected rain in the past as well?

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....

59 minutes ago, ajf said:

The Scottish ballet production of Mayerling, premiered earlier this year, is a shortened version, made with the permission of Lady Macmillan, to be suitable for touring and for a smaller company. The sets and costumes are different and the frontispiece is a black and white photograph of the hunting lodge at Mayerling which is very effective.
 

I saw three casts in Edinburgh and Glasgow earlier this year. It is 2 hours long including an interval. Both the birthday party and the hunting scene are cut but everything else is pretty much the same. 
 

It works very well but what is lost is the stultified weight of the court and all its formality that Rudolf struggles with. But if you want a pacy production, this is it. 

I would really like to see that version.

56 minutes ago, RobR said:

So, which bits might you or anyone omit, to reduce it by “20-30 minutes”?

 

The bit with Katherina Schratt singing? Middleton’s silly cigar joke? Rudolf’s tortured solo while the others watch the fireworks?
 

Or the brothel scene? I recall some said that the brothel scene in ‘Frankenstein’ was unnecessary and displayed a même arguably out of date nowadays. Similarly arguable here.
 

TBH, apart from underlining Rudolf’s decline it doesn’t do much here although I would miss Casper’s dance with the four officers and Bratfisch’s solo. 

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.

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.

12 minutes ago, bridiem said:

 

That's interesting; I know nothing of such things, having neither muscle nor stamina... but it has occurred to me in recent years that female dancers are much more muscly (or at least look so) nowadays and are therefore presumably heavier than in the past (even when tiny by any normal standards), and that must have consequences in terms of partnering requirements. I do worry for the men (and, of course, for the women! Especially in pdd like those in Mayerling).

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).

On 08/10/2022 at 09:10, capybara said:

Hirano, in common with Clarke, has the height and strength necessary for the kind of lifting which must breed confidence in someone of Osipova's build.

And earlier:
Osipova, who is (let me phrase this carefully 😉) of more mature build has always been Mary.

 

 

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!

22 hours ago, PeterS said:

As far as I’m aware Zucchetti is also still a dancer and has been on a long recovery from injury. At present he is cast in The Nutcracker both as Hans Peter and Sugar Plum Prince. I know I would love to see him dancing again as well as choreographing.

I know he's still dancing - didn't mean to suggest he had retired!

5 hours ago, oncnp said:

The ROH hasn't abandoned You Tube. A new short film with choreography from Valentino Zucchetti today

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtmYc3PkGW4

 

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.

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).

2 hours ago, northstar said:

 Did anyone see Sat Eve with Natascha Mair leading? I've been intrigued by this new recruit to ENB, but decided not to go on Sat for various reasons. 

I found her dancing very disappointing at the Nureyev Gala - in spite of being partnered by wonderful Muntagirov.

4 minutes ago, oncnp said:

I have gotten it every time I decline the 3GBP "suggested" donation 

Ah, that must be why then.  I declined for the first time because I was doing lots of separate bookings.  Irritating!

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?

11 hours ago, Emeralds said:

Sadler’s Wells, oddly, has this habit now of posting only once about an upcoming show and unless it’s one of their themes that they are campaigning about, won’t get any other mention. For example, when Scottish Ballet were performing there, they posted daily about another event that wasn’t due for weeks, but only posted once about SB about a month before their visit. Not a single thread about SB while they were actually performing there, which definitely had an adverse effect on their ticket sales.

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.

On 26/09/2022 at 09:12, Fonty said:

.... The only form of social media I use on a regular basis is Facebook, and I don't think I have ever seen anything about performances at the Royal Opera House on my link ....

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?

9 hours ago, PeterS said:

... there was much to enjoy in Frankenstein. 

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'!! 

1 hour ago, Emeralds said:

I too have been desperately awaiting a performance of Les Sylphides! Or Chopiniana. I don’t mind the name, as long as we get the ballet. If we don’t count the Mariinsky version that Xander Parish danced in 2011 on one of their summer tours to ROH and a double bill by a small visiting company from Kazakhstan at the Coliseum in 2019, the last was the Royal Ballet in 2009 as far as London goes (I don’t know if BRB/NB/Scottish Ballet performed it subsequently as I couldn’t get listings for performances up north over 6 years ago).

 

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.

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.

1 hour ago, Jan McNulty said:

Crown Ballet Naples seems to be a school rather than a touring company?

 

 

 

Could be - I was fooled by 'gli eventi' which looks like performances....

They're from Naples.

On 06/09/2022 at 22:49, Dawnstar said:

 

I'm afraid I'd never even heard of Trusch before so I was relieved that I liked him last night, as it would be jolly awkward to decide you don't like a dancer a week before seeing them in a full length ballet! I thought he looked quite young, only in his early-mid 20s, but working out dates from his programme bio he must actually be in his early 30s.

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.

4 hours ago, Sim said:

Yet another example of how the standard of dance criticism has plummeted in recent years.  If only we could have Mr Crisp back. 

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.

5 hours ago, Sim said:

I have just read all the reviews in Today's Links.  I almost spat my coffee out when I came across this line from Jim Pritchard:

 

It is 84 years since his birth and 29 years since his sad, premature – and let’s be brutally honest – self-inflicted death.

 

This makes it sound as if Nureyev caught AIDS on purpose.  Yes, he lived a promiscuous life, but at a time when AIDS was new and not understood.  With Pritchard's logic, just about every type of death is 'self inflicted'.  If you fall over and bang your head it's self inflicted.  If you accidentally crash your car into a tree it's self inflicted.  Nureyev fought very hard to live, and to make the most of the time he had.  To call it a 'self inflicted' death is, for me, very disrespectful and insensitive, both to Nureyev and the millions of others who have died of AIDS through no fault of their own.

 

 

 

Pritchard's comments are disgusting and he should be taken to task for it.  I completely agree with what you say here, Sim.  

3 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

All the reviews I've read had nothing but praise for Praetorius & Frola in the Flower Festival In Genzano extract apart from the Gramilano one which has a sentence I don't really understand. "That said, I think some purists would have questions concerning certain interpretations of the choreography and musicality." I'd never heard of the piece before this gala, let alone seen it, so I have no idea how it's supposed to be interpreted. Can anyone who knows the piece elucidate?

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.