LianneEva

Really enjoyed last night's cinema relay and every time this production rolls around I am just blown away by the beauty and opulence of Macfarlane's sets and costumes, whilst avoiding the gaudiness of some other Swan Lakes. He has truly produced a theatrical masterpiece here - and the partnership with Scarlett only enhances the beauty. It's a tragedy that we've lost him, and I was relieved that there was sufficient tribute paid last night, as I think, in the couple of years since his passing, the ROH seem to have dodged the issue in a way that left a slightly bad taste in the mouth. One thing that does occur to me is that Yasmine and Matthew are being relied upon heavily for the cinema broadcasts - between them they've covered all the biggies in the last few years (Swan Lake / Giselle / R&J / Nutcracker - just Yasmine (albeit as a stand-in for Akane Takada) / Don Quixote - Just Matt / Sleeping Beauty and also the upcoming Winter's Tale broadcast!) and possibly more. I adore them but I am keen for a bit more diversity in the relays. Particularly, I would love to see Fumi / Akane / Francesca featured more going forward (I have fingers crossed for Fumi as Odette / Odile the next time the cinema relay rolls around!) I had seen Yasmine in her Swan Lake debut (from a bit of a distance in the amphi) and wasn't terribly moved at the time, so I was pleasantly surprised at what I felt was a really beautiful interpretation last night! There were moments when I missed the nuance of Marianela's acting (I've watched the 2018 version many times, and it's a hard act to follow) but it was beautifully elegant and technically assured. I won't push comparisons too much, but this performance had far more impact than the Cuthbertson relay a couple of years ago for me. Couple of little observations - I wish they had used Leticia Dias as the Odette double in the prologue, as she bears the greatest passing resemblance to Yasmine. The dancer they did use was lovely, but the magic was broken a little as they didn't resemble each other at all in my opinion and that part fell flat for a cinema relay where you can see details clearly. That being said, Leticia was busy last night with her role as a sister and I very much enjoyed her and Annette as a pairing. Out of all the designs I don't always think that the Rothbart makeup and costume holds up that well in close up! Effective from a distance though. I was slightly bothered by a couple of the applause bows, as others have mentioned. The black swan PDD bows in particular seemed more Yasmine and Matthew than Odile and Siegfried. Everything else? Gorgeous.

These are beautiful photos - so grateful that you always share them! I'm a bit of a costume nerd, so my eagle eyes can't help but spot a new headdress design for Odette here as well. The swan queen usually has at least something that distinguishes her from the rest of the flock in most productions, so I'm not surprised that they've changed it but personally I favour the designs that minimize the 'crown' aspect and focus on the feathers - more elegant and swan-like to me, but I'll wait for more angles to decide whether I like it! They also debuted a new look for the Sugar Plum Fairy's crown in the last couple of years, which felt like a big improvement on the (bulbous..?) original, so it's great that they're always re-considering these small design elements

I had assumed that this was the case with the boyish harlot, but loved this bit of insight. Thanks for sharing! I'm still quite high on the general rehearsal, and a bit regretful now that I didn't get tickets for the main run - would loved to have seen Fumi's debut (I was lucky enough to attend her Odette/Odile debut and it was spectacular) - Not to mention, Des Grieux is one of my favourite roles for Vadim, so I'm jealous of anyone going to their shows! Nevertheless, looking forward to the cinema relay with Osipova.

Just a couple of comments on yesterday's General Rehearsal which was gorgeous - I was spoiled with a great seat in the Stalls Circle (A29) so had a wonderful view. It was my first Friend's Rehearsal and I wasn't sure whether people were expected to give it their all at a stage call, but It felt to me like everyone was going at full tilt. Buttery smooth dancing from Lauren and Matt, and I think Lauren makes a wonderfully glamorous Manon - she looks right at home in all the furs and jewels! I saw a few familiar faces about the place which was fun - Deborah MacMillan, Daria Klimentova and Joonhyuk Jun. Later saw Koen Kessels and Luca Acri outside stage door. I hope he didn't mind my spontaneous applause from across the street..

I've got a ticket for the General tomorrow and will be delighted with any cast, but have my fingers extra crossed for Kaneko, Nunez, Hamilton or Lamb please, ballet Gods!

Desperately missing Akane, and feeling so sorry for her bad luck. She mentioned on her 'In conversation with' (on ROH stream) that she had been struggling with stage nerves and was seeing a therapist, so naturally repeated injury can't be helping with that. Really hoping we'll have her back for the later run of Swan Lakes and the next season!

So my friend actually won 2x tickets to this event via a Country Life giveaway - looks like I'll be going on the opening night! (27th) We're seated on one of the back row tables (although the website states that the back two rows are now elevated?) Can anyone speak for the quality of the sightlines? Organising travel was a bit of a palava as neither of us drive, but we've just about managed it with taxis / trains and nearby accommodation! (although at the time we were looking, there was very little left to choose from) Organisational gremlins aside, I'm very excited - particularly to see Francesca Hayward who is one of my favourites, as well as the Paris Etoiles :) I was hoping we might get Frankie and Cesar's balcony pas de deux as suggested by the poster, but the show guide says it'll be Frankie & Marco Masciari performing Within the Golden Hour (Looks like Luna Peigné and Guillaume Diop of the PoB will dance Balcony instead ) also really looking forward to Myriam Ould-Braham in the White Swan pas de deux. I'm not going to hold my breath, but does anyone know whether the dancers mingle after the performance?

Just dropping in to say that I attended the Sleeping Beauty-themed tour today, and towards the end we dropped in to the auditorium for about 5 minutes to sit in the amphitheatre - it just so happened that they were doing a lighting test for Cinderella, so we were able to see one of the sets in situ (It looked the the outside of the Prince's palace, with a very grand backdrop and lots of footstools down the side of the stage) It looked beautiful and there was a lot of lovely floral detail (as per the promotional images) and made me very jealous that I haven't got a ticket for this run of Cinderella!

Yes I thought so too. Probably the best I’ve ever seen! Supremely confident and neat as a pin.

Looking forward to the Sugar Plum Fumi cinema relay 😍 My birthday is 29th Oct, so I'll also be going to see that stellar Mayerling cast with Matthew Ball, Laura Morera and Fumi as Mitzi - very nice!

I've watched the 2018 Marianela / Vadim recording so much as to be spoilt (I think it was the gold standard!) and what struck me was how brilliantly the court ensemble act in the background of Acts I and III. I particularly enjoyed Melissa and Beatriz's looks of disgust at all of the shameless seduction going on in Act III, and noticed that in the later performances and the Cuthbertson / Bracewell cinema relay, much of this has been pared back? I adore Julia Roscoe et al, but they seemed to be watching on more in adoration of their colleague, than in character as stilted, highly-strung princesses. I recall in the behind the scenes interviews that Liam Scarlett keenly emphasised the importance of "what a look can do" and I wonder whether his loss means that this isn't emphasised quite so much?

There was a flower throw, a very nice short speech from Kevin O'Hare (albeit with mic difficulties) and they presented her with the dance award that she originally won during lockdown (the ceremony for which was previously held on Zoom)

Well that was a gorgeous evening. I'll start with a tiny grumble... Did the wide shots appear out of focus to everyone? The picture seemed to be at its sharpest when it was focused on individuals, which took the edge off some of the beauty of the corps and the sets. Not a deal breaker, but didn't quite do justice to the whole picture! I will never tire of this production... The staging, sets and costumes are just breathtakingly gorgeous. I have watched the 2018 recording to death, and could quite happily go for performance after performance for the different casts. I think Gary Avis' characterisation of Rothbart is fantastic - he brings such expressiveness to the role with his facial range. His Rothbart is sneering and played with a certain arrogance, rather than straight up-brooding and stony faced, which I think is the more common portrayal. Ditto for William Bracewell who gave us a fully fleshed-out Siegfried. I particularly liked his complete captivation with Odile after all of the Act III fireworks, with his jaw on the floor..! I thought Nadia Mullova-Barley was fantastic in the Spanish dance - she really looked like she was loving every moment, and was certainly giving passion. Lauren is a lovely Odette / Odile. I thought that her vulnerable and nervous Odette; fluttering away from Siegfried at the first encounter was a lovely point of characterisation. She has such a beautiful, fluffy petit battement 🤩 Her Odile isn't quite the terribly malevolent creature we got from Nela's portrayal, but I thought she was regal and self-assured and arrogant which are also perfectly fine Odile qualities! Really enjoyed Meaghan Grace and Isabella as the sisters. I think the perfect synchronisation between the characters during the Act III PDT is really exciting to watch. Corps and the cygnets were in better sync (to my eye) than ever before. I may have gotten something in my eye at the end...😢

My ticket states 19:15, but Lauren Cuthbertson has mentioned on IG that there will also be a short film shown about her return to dance post-pregnancy. Not sure whether that’s got anything to do with it, or whether that will slot into the spare 15 mins before curtain up?

I wasn't at the performance but I'm so pleased for Claire, and would love to see her in the role one day. You can tell from interviews and press pieces that she's dreamt of this for years, so really lovely to have it come true for her. Thought people might like to watch this little video by Dancer'sDiary on Youtube too: (Becoming a Swan, Claire Calvert)