Christine

Judging by the date of your post you saw the performance on June 14th. Glad you liked the performance so much, I did, too, by the way. He actually danced with concussion and a whiplash injury that day, following a training accident a couple of days before. Apparently  his doctor said that  he wouldn‘t dance on Tuesday (14)…, Friedemann Vogel said at a public screening of his film „Incarnation of Dance“ this week. Well, he did, and very impressively, too. On another performance on June 17th he seemed almost fully restored and got a totally deserved very long standing ovation.

I agree that Elisa Badenes is perfect in the role of Vetsera, in terms of looks and the incredible abandon with which she throws  herself into the role. Her dancing is, of course, top notch. I have never seen Morera live but would love to.

No, I wouldn’t know which bits of Mayerling to edit out. As you said, some of it serves to slow the pace down a bit and the only scene which seems a bit long to me on repeated viewings is the one at the home of the Vetseras. But then, the music is so gorgeous, I simply cannot imagine Mayerling without it. Perhaps I‘m lacking in imagination.

Watched it without buffering problems yesterday. So grateful Ivan Putrov decided to offer this gala as a stream and the opportunity to raise funds for a worthy cause. A beautiful gala with a  lot of variety, deeply moving moments and some spectacular highlights. Of, course I have seen Marianela dance live in the past but here, once again, I was awestruck by her superb performance: supreme artistry paired with so much joy, finesse and apparent ease - fantastic. And lots of other wonderful moments, too. If pressed for most memorable ones, I‘d say Frola & Magri‘s fireworks display, Fumi Kaneko‘s incredibly beautiful port de bras and her attentive prince, Natalia Osipova including the very poignant ending in the carpet roll… but that is perhaps only because I have read so much about them here. I found all other performances, flawless or not, very enjoyable, too.

Hmm, the next Mayerling performance is scheduled for June, so that’s a whole new ballgame. Only a single Mayerling was performed thus far - it must be a crushing disappointment, most of all for the dancers, of course. On the other hand cancellations because of Covid cases in the company are not unusual occurrence these days… and so far we have been rather „lucky“ in Stuttgart in this respect.

OK, thank you for this info, Fiona, I hadn't seen this yet. Yes, it is a bit of a disappointment, I admit, but in these times we have to be pleased if performances can go ahead at all, I guess. I've never seen Emilie Mazon so I do look forward to her Aurora, too - unless there's going to be another change thanks to the Covid lottery.

On 08/01/2022 at 11:23, Angela said:

Hamburg Ballet had to postpone four performances of John Neumeier's Sleeping Beauty due to Covid infections in the company. New dates to be announced.

The Semperopera at Dresden remains closed until Jan 14th.

So, this will be a week full of suspense. I've got tickets for the 15th, SB with Alina Cojocaru... that night's performance has not been cancelled yet.

On 22/12/2021 at 18:03, Sabine0308 said:

Staatsballett Berlin has cancelled all performances until January 3rd 2022. Guess why.🙄 I'm so sorry for the dancers in particular, and for audience of course.

So sorry to hear this, Sabine. In Stuttgart, our luck still holds, for how much longer nobody knows, of course.

On 20/12/2021 at 13:58, JNC said:

Thank you both! I have to admit I would be a bit disappointed if there wasn’t a live orchestra (at that point if the reason is covid why not cancel the performance as surely the dancers shouldn’t be mingling either) but fingers crossed all remains ok on the covid side although omicron is hitting us and Europe hard. But hopefully means it’ll have passed by next spring…

Sorry, I forgot: I do wish you all the best and that this awful Omicron wave will be over soon and not cost too many lives. 

In Germany, it is still ahead of us and it is not going to be fun - sadly, in Stuttgart, more than 30% of the population are not vaccinated and not likely to get vaxxed anytime soon either, not voluntarily anyway. So, January and February could get rather grim here. Let's hope not.

And: Merry Christmas to Everyone reading this and thank you to all your wonderful contributions. I have been learning so much on this forum!

My biggest wish is that next year will see the end of the great difficulties we had to endure during last two years.!

On 20/12/2021 at 13:58, JNC said:

Thank you both! I have to admit I would be a bit disappointed if there wasn’t a live orchestra (at that point if the reason is covid why not cancel the performance as surely the dancers shouldn’t be mingling either) but fingers crossed all remains ok on the covid side although omicron is hitting us and Europe hard. But hopefully means it’ll have passed by next spring…

You are right, of course, the missing live orchestra was a disappointment. On the other hand, as visiting Paris to see ballet for me is a pleasure that is not to be had everyday, I was very happy that they didn't cancel the entire performance and that I was still able to enjoy some spectacular dancing. It is probably a testament to the professionalism of these dancers and their relief at still being allowed to perform that they did their very best to make you forget that they did not in fact dance to taped music, even though it must have beem a sore let-down for them, too. I suspect that hygiene protocols at some houses are pretty sophisticated by now which is why POB was able to still go ahead with the planned performances. Financially, this solution was probably far less damaging than having to cancel and refund 2,700 tickets.

On 16/12/2021 at 02:05, Clara_f said:

 

Have never been to Bastille but am sure it's a cool experience!

 

I have just been this weekend to the Bastille for the very first time (Don Quixote - Gilberte/Marchand) and it is definitely a different experience. Even if you're not into this particular style of contemporary architecture it is exhilarating to watch a ballet performance together with 2.700 other spectators in the huge auditorium. I guess it must be similar at the Royal Albert Hall in London. 

On 22/11/2021 at 21:07, Sabine0308 said:

I keep my fingers crossed so hard. I am travelling to Munich Staatsballet for the performance on Nov 27. And I want to get in🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞 to see Shale Wagman's debut in Rubies Solo with Carollina Bastos.

Did you actually get to see the performance, Sabine? Instagram snippets of Shale Wagman and Carolina Bastos do look rather tantalizing. 

Well, they are closing in some places like Dresden in Saxony where the number of cases are running especially high, at the very least until the 12 of December. The 525 places remaining in Munich are apparently 25% of theatre capacity, which can make nobody very happy.

With case numbers soaring and the debate about what can or should be done to stem the tide of new infections in full swing (without making much progress) we do not know what this development will mean precisely in terms of theatre closures or restrictions. The decision conerning whether to shut down venues for cultural or sports events or reduce seating capacity is taken at the level of the states (Bundesländer). So we are all a bit on tenterhooks at the moment and are hoping for the best while fearing the next hit... 

Anyway, it does feels like a déjà vu.

11 hours ago, Sabine0308 said:

Arrgh....here we go again:

Bavarian Staatsballett cancels tickets:

 [...]

 I am so sorry for the entire team. All the wonderful effort that was put into "Cinderella"... I hope they can continue to show it, but this will be ruinous.

😢😢😢😢😢😢😢

10 hours ago, Angela said:

Theatres in Austria will close on Monday until 13th December.

At Dresden, the Semper Opera has closed until at least Wednesday.

 

 

So sad.

 😢

Totally frustrating, really! 

Thank you, Angela, for the good news regarding the Pina Bausch Online Archive!

8 hours ago, Angela said:

 

Yes he said that - they change the seating capacity during the Onegin performances from 50 per cent (due to the pandemic) to 100 per cent, and the full capacity performances are not sold out yet, a rare thing for the ever-sold-out Stuttgart Ballet. 

 

 Well, they are as good as sold out now with only one seat left for some of the performances to the full capacity audience in November which should make the Director very happy! But its true of, course, people have been rather hesitant about returning to events in general.

19 minutes ago, jmhopton said:

I've been trying to access the Stuttgart Onegin rehearsal today and failed. Was it only online for the live event or am I missing something? I enjoyed the last Onegin rehearsal they did last year or the year before. Hope it's not too long before the RB stage it again. All the dancers seem to love it.

For some reason it was only available until yesterday 4 pm and I don't know why - perhaps it has got to do with the rights attaching to Cranko's Onegin.  In previous years the Stuttgart Ballet contributions to the World Ballet Day were available for much longer (and one still is), on the other hand they had a duration of 30 minutes only, this year it was 60 minutes. That's  no consolation if the video is no longer accessible, I know.

On 20/10/2021 at 12:36, AnneL said:

 it was a reminder of the magnificent Cranko choreography which is less familiar to me than some other works which I have seen performed more often. I now dream of traveling to Stuttgart to see it! 

You should translate your dream into reality! If you do, you'll have to hurry a bit, however, as unfortunately, the current run is a short one with the last performances of Onegin on 14 November. The first cast - that is the plan - will dance only on 23rd and 31st of October. Anyway, Onegin is bound to come back again sometime in the future, so I am sure there will be opportunities! 

Good news: my copy has arrived this week - sending a reminder to Waterstones seems to have set the train in motion. Thank you to all of you for your encouragement!
 

There don‘t seem to be border processing issues with shipments from the UK to Europe either anymore, which is great. Another order I had made earlier in the year had been lying around for months at customs control in Frankfurt and could not be cleared due to some missing information perhaps, or for some reason.

Anyway, the book looks great, makes perfect bedtime reading -a few reviews at a time - his brilliant dance writing is a joy. Needless to say, I lapped up his wonderful article on Marcia Haydee in the favorite dancers section, an article I hadn‘t come across so far.

22 hours ago, Jeannette said:

I’ve just received an email from Waterstones about my order. It’s been dispatched, with a link to Royal Mail tracking! 🥳 ✈️ 👑 

Same here!

That does not sound too promising. I received an email today telling me, that payment had been made the day before and that the book was now prepared for shipping. At least the reminder has set someting in motion, hopefully not just the payment...

1 hour ago, Jeannette said:

Mine has not even been dispatched. Payment to Waterstones made on 24 August. I live in Washington, DC...paid for intl dispatching. I’m sure that it will be worth the wait (& weight). 😆 

Completely agree re. wait and weight. I have written to Waterstone Customer Support, perhaps there will be a reply.

I haven't received a copy yet and heard nothing from the publishers. I placed my order in May. I do expect shipments to Germany to take even longer, however, 

On 03/09/2021 at 14:16, Angela said:

Dortmund Ballet announces the first gala of the season on Sept. 18 and 19, with Mayara Magri and Matthew Ball from the RB (a non specified Grand pas de deux and a pdd from “Infra”), Elena Vostrotina and Alexander Jones from Ballet Zurich with a pas de deux from the Ratmansky Swan Lake and a “Nocturne” by Chopin, Anna Tsygankova and Constantine Allen from Het dancing “Delibes Suite“ by José Carlos Martinez and a duet from Christopher Wheeldon, Friedemann Vogel and Elisa Badenes from Stuttgart Ballet with “Nachtmerrie” by Marco Goecke.

 

https://www.theaterdo.de/produktionen/detail/internationale-ballettgala-xxxiii

 

 

Bought my ticket yesterday and I am very greatful for this glimpse into the program which, by the way, I coudn't find anywhere. But I really wanted to see Nachtmerrie with Friedemann & Elisa and am very happt that I will get a chance to finally see Mayara Magri live - I really love her charisma. Also very happy with the other contributors on this list!!!

OK, I just heard it on the local news... the premiere has been postponed until Saturday. It's sad to loose two performances, of course, but still better than loosing all three Boleros with Friedemann Vogel and the whole wonderful rest of the programme. Let's just hope that the water does not wreak more havoc on the opera house in the meantime.

Oh no! Have you received a cancellation, Angela? I haven't heard anything thus far and was hoping that might be a good sign... For the second time I managed to get front row seats for this and for the second time I've been frustrated ... first time by what they called the "lock-down light" and now the thunderstorm. It is much worse, of course, for the artist(s), though.

Yes, it was pretty bad. I attended the concert and everything seemed fine. But then we were unable to leave because of the storm raging outside. The good news is that nobody got injured. 

12 hours ago, LACAD said:

In regards to my use of the word ‘consternation’ I don’t mean it too strongly. Just that sometimes an online audience can be a bit more discerning than one in the theatre that’s able to soak up the buzz and atmosphere.

That is very true, of course, and you could add after a lengthy period of deprivation. Thank you for your comments, LACAD.