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Jamesrhblack

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  1. Jamesrhblack
    A good turn out in The Rye Kino this afternoon, albeit in the smaller room. The cast sheet being distributed is inaccurate listing both Cuthbertson and Ball for Requiem.
  2. Jamesrhblack
    I have referenced before the original ending: Siegfried tears the crown from Odette’s head, she dies, the waters overcome them, the swans are seen on the lake. Human aspiration is flawed and fails. Nureyev had an effort at refashioning this ending and although people quibble at its execution the message of the imagery remains indelible for me, possibly because I saw the film at a young age, but had already seen the ballet in the theatre and been encouraged by my parents to discuss and evaluate what I had seen and found this suited both music and message as I understood them. I like much of what Scarlett is trying to achieve in Act 4, but agree that a supine SIegfried isn’t the best solution, whilst thinking the final image is a moving one but would be improved without the vision of Odette. All opinions my own.
  3. Jamesrhblack
    Delighted you enjoyed Josef’s singing. He’s the latest addition to my General Management roster 🙂
  4. Jamesrhblack
    Fair enough. My Onegin reference was not in terms of misogyny but in terms of the wider exploration of the the theme of Cosi fan tutte that sometimes we fall in love with the wrong person and how we deal with that.
  5. Jamesrhblack
    Again, with respect, I think you are taking an overtly literal approach to a plot which is an examination of human emotion. One thing that the music seems to make very clear is that the relationship between Fiordiligi and Ferrando has an intimacy and reciprocity that it is not there with her original lover and Mozart’s music shows that he has every sympathy with Fiordiligi’s situation. Don’t forget also that the sisters are encouraged by their maid Despina to amuse themselves whilst their men are away before Don Alfonso introduces Ferrando and Guglielmo in disguise. As she, to paraphrase, says, “Have some fun while they’re away. You can bet they will be.” Is that also “abusive and misogynistic?” Sometimes, we fall in love with the wrong person. And, sometimes, we find an accommodation with that. Tatyana in Eugene Onegin loves Onegin but keeps her marriage vow. Sometimes, we don’t, which is a fact of human existence. Is it significant that the couples “in disguise” match the opposite way to their original pairings? Sometimes, deep down, we long for what we cannot have. Is it not one of the values of art that it enables us to explore and discuss these things? If everything were “just as it ought to be,” whatever that might be, would it actually be a true reflection of human reality?
  6. Jamesrhblack
    The plot of The Magic Flute is, indeed, a problem, not helped by the fact that the librettist seemed to switch tack about a third ot the way into Act One with the moral positions of the principal antagonists, the Queen of the Night and Sarastro, switching. Così fan tutte is a different matter and the plot is, with respect, much more subtle than presented above. It may start from a male assumption that women are emotionally vulnerable, but, by the end, has shown that both men and women are emotionally vulnerable; that as human beings we make assumptions about relationships that are not necessarily sustainable; and that love is a complex issue. For me, it is one of the most fascinating operas in the repertoire, and there’s nothing misogynistic in the music Mozart writes for Fiordiligi in ‘Per pietà’ or ‘Fra gli amplessi.’
  7. Jamesrhblack
    In Recollections of a Ballerina, Antoinette Sibley writes, ”I had a wig but Fred wasn’t happy with that so I dyed my hair green…Yes, the first night I wore my own hair dyed green.”
  8. Jamesrhblack
    Yes, delighted to see Romany Pajdak returning, although a single performance looks ominous. Essentially pleased with my castings (Kaneo, Muntagirov for Les Rendezvous and Hayward, Sambé for Dream in Programme 1; In Programme 2, I think Osipova may bring out some of the feral wildness that Sibley used to bring to Titania, Bracewell is always a pleasure, and delighted to see Pajdak. Would have preferred Hayward, Bracewell for Hamlet and Ophelia and am getting Magri, Acri twice in Rhapsody but with a programme like this the choreography is the thing above all else). Great opportunities for Sae Maeda, Taisuke Naka and Daichi Ikarashi.
  9. Jamesrhblack
    I've scanned and uploaded as a PDF. I hope it works... AshtonCasting.pdf
  10. Jamesrhblack
    Just hand an email from ROH with the Ashton Casting, but not sure how to share it on here...
  11. Jamesrhblack
    The original scenario has Odette dying in Siegfried’s arms and Siegfried drowning with the last image being of the swans on the lake which is what Nureyev sought to emulate. Ultimately, Siegfried fails as, however inadvertently, he breaks his vow. As with Orpheus. The confrontation of our own mortal inadequacy in the face of temptation and challenge is humbling. I’m not fond of Scarlett’s Prologue as I think it diminishes the impact of Odette’s entrance and I think there are incongruities within his revised scenario that might well have been ironed out if he lived to supervise a revival. I’m writing from recollections of 2020 and 2022 as not seeing a performance until June, and agree that a prone Siegfried for much of Act 4 doesn’t work, but I think his effort to match the originally intended tragic failure an imaginative solution as the music returns to the hammering B’s of the Swans’ B Minor theme (although I could do without a spirit Odette rising up). All opinions my own.
  12. Jamesrhblack
    Which is where Alexander Campbell, and before that Laura Morera, always seemed to be so particularly special.
  13. Jamesrhblack
    Although Lescaut is a principal role created by David Wall. He and Anthony Dowell used to alternate the roles of Lescaut and des Grieux …
  14. Jamesrhblack
    “…the anguished facial expression was there but the movement itself felt more contained and so didn’t ‘speak’ the turmoil as effectively.” That’s such a good observation. It is when the dance is expressive not just the face that the art form “sings.”
  15. Jamesrhblack
    Undoubtedly. As with Laura Morera…
  16. Jamesrhblack
    His Romeo with Naghdi was astonishing: the curtain came down in shocked silence. His Des Grieux, not just this last week, exemplary. Albrecht, Florimund, Colas, Young Man (Two Pigeons), Lescaut all superb. Brown Boy in Dances, one for the ages. Basilio was pretty good too. As with Morera, I will never understand why such a complete dance actor, with a virtuoso technique, was not allowed to explore the whole repertoire.
  17. Jamesrhblack
    And turning to the left. I actually cannot think of a role that he didn’t illuminate…
  18. Jamesrhblack
    Beautiful photos indeed. Wonderful souvenirs of a very emotional, but also heart-warming evening. The feeling was palpable in the auditorium: here was an artist not only admired and respected by his colleagues and audience but loved too.
  19. Jamesrhblack
    An exceptionally moving performance last night, emotion heightened by the fact that it was my penultimate opportunity to see one of my five favourite dancers of the last ten years in what I think one of his best roles (although, favouritism apart, I can’t think I have ever thought him other than outstanding in everything I have seen him do) in one of my two favourite full length works in The Royal Ballet repertoire. I have a ticket for Friday, so will write more after that, but realise how lucky I am to be seeing his last two performances, just as I was lucky to see Laura Morera (another of those five) in her last two Giselles. On both occasions, quite by chance, each was dancing with the partner with whom they seemed to have the closest onstage connection: Morera with Federico Bonelli (another of those five), Campbell with Francesca Hayward. And a shout out for Valentino Zucchetti: it was great to see him back on stage and in such viciously scintillating form.
  20. Jamesrhblack
    For me, a deeply affecting dance-actor (which is not to mitigate his virtuoso technique), a superb partner, a wonderfully musical performer, amongst my four or five favourite Royal Ballet dancers of the last ten years.
  21. Jamesrhblack
    Really enjoyed chewing the cud with you in the intervals. Thanks for saying hello
  22. Jamesrhblack
    hi, I’ll lurk with intent in that corner of the Hamlyn Hall. Blue jacket, white jumper, glasses and quite possibly a red wine too 🍷
  23. Jamesrhblack
    Will any Forum members be present this evening and, if so, is there an accustomed place to say hello?
  24. Jamesrhblack
    As in, I have a Grand Tier ticket for tomorrow evening for sale, as managed to secure two returns for 8 March…
  25. Jamesrhblack
    Managed to get two tickets for 8 March and now have 1 Grand Tier for 2 March if anybody wants to pm me.
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