halidon

Hi all! First time creating a new topic here so I hope this is allowed - apologies in advance if not! I usually sit in the Ampitheatre but am wanting to treat myself to a nicer seat for The Winter's Tale, a ballet which I've really wanted to see for a few years now. Ideally I would like to be as close as possible to see facial expressions while still being able to see most of the dancing on stage, as this will be my first time seeing the ballet. I don't mind standing, bench seats etc. but am only average height and have found when I sit at the side of the first few rows of the Ampitheatre my view is often obstructed by heads. My budget (again, ideally!) is £100, which rules out the majority of the stalls and front of the first few tiers. Can any of you experienced ballet-goers recommend me a seat that might fit the bill? I'm aware I might be searching for the impossible here but any advice is much appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Piling on the praise for Sarah Lamb and Ryoichi Hirano this afternoon now I've sufficiently recovered! It was a superlative performance - one of those moments you just want to hold in your memory forever and never let fade. Sometimes (and in my very subjective opinion) Manon can feel relentlessly cruel; she rejects love for riches and is subsequently punished through the next two acts with the murder of her brother, assault by the Gaoler, starvation and death. But from the very start, Lamb presents Manon as a complex woman fully in charge of her own destiny. We may not agree with her choices but we can understand them. She is a willing player in her brother's schemes, owning her power in a time when women had few avenues to do so. Lamb's Manon has seen how life can be for those on the fringe of society and is determined to drag herself up into something better, making her ending all the more heartbreaking. Act One was a gorgeous start - those backbends alone in the Lescaut/GM/Manon trio deserve a shout-out! - but for me the Lamb/Hirano pairing really came into their power in Acts Two and Three. You felt every ounce of his desperation when he was pleading with her to come back and her spiralling loss of control, contrasted with how easily she could manipulate the other men in the crowd. Even when she was being thrown between them you got the sense she was deciding exactly where she ended up - not so with DG. The façade breaks, and it's all downhill from there. The final pdd in Act Three was just breathtaking. My jaw dropped at the speed of the twists - she was a blur! It must be wonderful to have such a solid partnership that they can pull out all the stops on only the second time Ryoichi has ever performed the role. I had tears in my eyes from start to finish. When he threw her up into the air one final time and she came down limp and lifeless... it'll be a while before I stop thinking about that final moment. The standing ovation was long and loud and well-deserved, and I was so glad to see Ryoichi get bouquets as well! There was a very sweet moment where he presented Sarah with a flower, in response to her usual tradition of presenting her male partner with a flower. I sincerely hope it's not the last we'll see of these two in Manon, but what a way to end if it was. Together they created something really special.

I’ll echo the thank-yous to the forum above! As a long-time lurker, I wasn’t even aware this program was on until I read all the glowing reviews on here. I convinced a few ballet newbies to join me (£8 tickets are hard to turn down!), and we all unanimously agreed it was a wonderful time tonight. Hard to believe we get to see such a variety of riches for such a low price! Never Known was our favourite of the night and definitely got the biggest cheers, but all four pieces were fascinating to watch. The colours in For What It’s Worth were stunning even from the very back of the Amphitheatre. Sae Maeda in Twinkle was a particular highlight - her solo was whip-smart, so sharp and charming. Overall I found it really inspiring to see such a diversity of movement and music on the Opera House stage. The classical pieces sat right alongside the modern, and neither felt out of place. A wonderful night!