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Jamesrhblack

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  1. Jamesrhblack
    Pajdak and, especially, Campbell too
  2. Jamesrhblack
    No Sarah Lamb in WTGH or DAG and no Tierney Heap either... Can anybody remember who Teo Debreuil is taking over from in the second cast of DAG? I’ve tried some googling but can’t find details of the 2020 second cast...
  3. Jamesrhblack
    At a personal level, I’m delighted that one of the six is on my management roster ...
  4. Jamesrhblack
    Listening to the Merle Park reminds me that my Pa sent me a cassette of this broadcast when I was away at Choir School. I’d never heard any Andrew Lloyd Webber before, whilst the Finlandia was a revelation (turned out my Mama loved it) and I was most taken with the Kwela Joe 🙂
  5. Jamesrhblack
    Thanks for these links. I greatly enjoyed listening to Patricia Ruanne, who had a gloriously eclectic choice of music, and spoke with a sardonic elegance and eloquence that was a joy to hear. Happy memories of her glamour on stage too. Will explore further anon...
  6. Jamesrhblack
    Enjoyed this very much. I thought that Anna-Rose O’Sullivan was showing a new maturity in her style (I mean that as a positive) and I concur with the approval for Leo Dixon. Very interesting to hear Christopher Saunders talking about some of the issues of partnering. Good to see the lovely Romany Pajdak. Has any other dancer made her debut as Clara having been the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet? I think she is a most lovely artist who has taken a long time to find any sort of prominence but I am not entirely sure that management quite knows what to do with her particular talents. For what it is worth, I think she’d be a wonderful Larisch and an interesting choice as Giselle.
  7. Jamesrhblack
    Thanks
  8. Jamesrhblack
    Thought the new Zucchetti commission was first class. Glorious music, great choreography and a real lift to the spirits to see opportunities giving to the younger generation who all looked fighting fit too. Beautiful work from Fernando Montaño on the Ashton too, and Fumi Kaneko and Reece Clarke on the Marston. Will have to go back and find the Balanchine... Does anybody know if the Zucchetti will be performed in either of the upcoming programmes, if we don’t end up going into lockdown? Hadn’t realised both programmes were on sale so have ended up with tickets for the Elite Syncopations one (not a work I enjoy but important to be supportive) and now trying to justify purchasing the Within the Golden Hour one as well.
  9. Jamesrhblack
    That moved me very much in the theatre and on screen too. From dust we come, to dust we shall return. ”Now of my threescore years and ten, Nine lost months won’t come again, And so, with longing, I implore, Let me watch the dance once more.”
  10. Jamesrhblack
    In the circumstances, should we not all just give thanks that the Royal Ballet was back on stage and that, vicariously, those of us at home were able to enjoy that?
  11. Jamesrhblack
    I’ve read the article and the author’s principal complaint seems to be that David Ross supported Brexit and votes Tory. Neither is a criminal charge, although interpreting them as that is exactly what you’d expect from a Grauniad paper. What would the response have been if the headline had been in The Times as “Labour donor in charge of the ROH.” I fail to see how his appointment can be regarded as “a farce.” Nowhere does the author make reference to the fact that a his Nevill Holt Estate he initially supported Wasfi Kani’s Grange Park Opera ‘Young Artists’ Programme and in 2013 setting up Nevill Holt Opera who are described as having “a clear mission to enrich lives, and empower young people through the power of music and the Arts.” In 2018, he opened a new theatre on the site, designed by Witherford Watson Mann, which has won multiple awards including a RIBA National Award. There’s a stunning horse statue in the grounds too (I won’t attach a photo in case it infringes copyright) It’s just possible that the ROH Board, who may be better informed than many of us on here, or indeed Catherine Bennett, felt that, if nothing else, his combination of artistic experience and proven philanthropy were a good match for the position.
  12. Jamesrhblack
    Yesterday was my first proper trip to London since 12 March. I am attending the Opera Holland Park concert this evening to support three of my artists who are singing and decided to accept an invitation to go to yesterday’s Heart’s Delight concert as well to support friends and colleagues who were performing, as well as OHP who have shown such initiative providing live music opportunities for both performers and audiences. I didn’t have much time at check in to my hotel so literally washed my hands and face, dropped my bag and headed to Holland Park. Returning later after the concert and dinner, I was concerned to find that the duvet cover had stains on it (and this was a reputable Hotel) and asked to move rooms. Face wash, teeth clean and bed. Waking up this morning I was astonished to see on the wall a photograph of the famous statue of David Wall by Enzo Plazzotto on Millbank. He was my hero when I was a Junior Associate at the Royal Ballet School and I was completely astonished at the serendipity of the situation.
  13. Jamesrhblack
    I’m sure the Moderators will advise if I’’m writing inappropriately, but is Fumi Kaneko the most sheerly glamorous ballerina (apart from possibly Tierney Heap) that the Royal Ballet has had since Deirdre Eyden? She’s a ravishingly charismatic dancer of musical and technical abundance but she radiates that something else that is extraordinary to behold.
  14. Jamesrhblack
    He was a lovely dancer. First noticed him in DGV but also particularly liked him in Age of Anxiety, Frankenstein and Symphonic Variations. I’d noticed he’d not been on stage during the curtailed 19/20 season and wondered if he might already have left. Very best wishes to him for his future.
  15. Jamesrhblack
    I’m sure that is the way forward. I thought Ashton’s Act 4 was truly beautiful, although I’ll stand up for LS’s Act 3 Pas de Trois and Spanish Dance (especially for Tierney Heap). One shouldn’t speculate, but does anybody else think we are now unlikely to see Lauren Cuthbertson return to the role of Odette / Odile? Did she ever dance it after those wonderful debut performances with Rupert Pennefather?
  16. Jamesrhblack
    Interesting. Back in my singing days, I can remember a director telling me the trouble she had raising any stage spark from a Figaro and Susanna who were a couple, and later seeing a sensationally full-on Coronation of Poppea where both leads liked each other very much, were very happily married elsewhere and, as a result, were able to go as far as the action needed without any personal compromise at all. It was, indeed, dynamite.
  17. Jamesrhblack
    Many thanks for as typically informed and illuminating response. I always really enjoy reading your thoughts.
  18. Jamesrhblack
    It was an interview in The Stage. Does she therefore not have her sights on La bayadère or Don Quixote?
  19. Jamesrhblack
    I absolutely agree. Sometimes, I think there’s a quasi fake glamour to the the “tragedy” of Jacqueline Du Pré’s situation, and I thought this really brought home the sheer misery of the crippled musician and the silenced instrument.
  20. Jamesrhblack
    Dust to dust, ashes to ashes. From here we come, to here we return. Look at the expanse of our lives... Just my own thoughts ... And I agree that Campbell was marvellous this evening (and I know he’s one of my favourite dancers).
  21. Jamesrhblack
    So pleased she’s back. She really is one of my favourite dancers and I’ve missed seeing her 🙂
  22. Jamesrhblack
    With Laura Morera,,,,
  23. Jamesrhblack
    I doubt anybody will be surprised that much as I admire Bonelli, and I thought him looking wonderfully re-junvenated with Kaneko on the Beauty broadcast, I had hoped that after his superb Des Grieux this might have been a window of opportunity for Alexander Campbell ...
  24. Jamesrhblack
    I must agree with all the plaudits for Zenaida Yanowsky and Wayne Sleep: that was a real Insights Evening. I’ve been watching Swan Lake for nearly 42 years and I was still learning. Streets ahead of the “And 1 and 2, and squeeze” we saw with the Beauty variations.
  25. Jamesrhblack
    “I too enjoyed David Donnelly’s performance at the matinee of 18th January. I thought he had wonderful musicality, he was able to project the emotions up to the amphitheatre and had beautiful technique. However, this was all spoilt for me unfortunately by his noisy landings. Such a shame and a schoolboy error for me. He had great plié and good feet but he didn’t use either on his jumps/landings.” I’ve had a ludicrously busy week and although I’ve formulated thoughts on the Onegin matinee and the ENB Saturday night Gala I’ve not yet committed in writing, but I have to agree with Allegro re the noisy landings. It was particularly noticeable next to Thiago Soares who doesn’t now in technical terms have the younger dancer’s pliancy but was much more disciplined in such matters. And, I’ll try to write at more length, I thought Mendizabal was wonderful.
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