Jamesrhblack

I've corrected the typos as requested, James: I must admit to being totally bemused about the "pet furnace"

 

At the risk of repeating myself, posters have 30 minutes after hitting "Post" in which they can edit the posts themselves: after that, it's not possible.

Thanks Alison and John (I've managed to mis spell ensemble early on too). I was writing at St Pancras awaiting my train home. I wanted to write while impressions were still strong and pressed post before I could double check as there is very limited signal between St P and Ashford and I've lost things in the past. Apologies for the length John - I'll try to be more concise in future.

Also, Scarlett not Scariest, performance not pet furnace; cause not faust

NOT as a linear narrative work. How can I edit my post please moderators to correct?

Saw this programme twice bit at the premiere and at today's matinee and hugely enjoyed.

I don't recall seeing Serenade before and was delighted to have the opportunity to revisit so quick has it definitely grows with watching, so rich in choreographic variety and expression. The Ensemnle was good on Wednesday and even better today (nothing improves dancing like more of the same) although injuries continue to strikes with Annette Buvoli replacing Nathalie Harrison and Tierney Hrap being announced as replacing Laura McCulloch at curtain up. Lovely principal ladies: for me, Sarah Lamb's cool purity (is she really that cool and pure or do we all make the assumption given her golden appearance) was even lovelier than Marianela Nunez with exquisite detail in her body placement. It was very obvious that her hair was coming down at the end of the third movement and not just because I knew what was coming. Lauren Cuthbertson was sharp, radiant, assured, Natalia Osipova breathtaking and it was good to see her in two company works in two visits even if she seemed to being try too hard just initially this afternoon. A lustrous assured Olivia Cowley had the edge for me over Melissa Hamilton as did Valeri Hristov over Matthew Golding. What a beautiful ballet.

Sweet Violets is fascinating. Yes, you need to do your homework and there are confusions (the Camden Town Murder with which it starts was 1907 and the last Ripper murder was 1888) so I think it important not to regard it as a linear narrative work. Given our national obsession with murder (witness the ongoing success of Agatha Christie's subjects and of the Jack the Ripper walks) it is surely an interesting meditation on our fascination with violence and our need to sanitise it by turning it into art. Agreed, some of the choreography is fairly misogynisyic which is inherent in the subject matter but Scarlett's refusal to sanitise that is surely laudable. We can't pretend things haven't or don't exist by ignoring them and the rapturous pas de deux for Annie and Eddy throws the first and last pas de deux into stark relief. The recreation of the Camden Town Murder by Marie with the possible suspect Robert Wood while Sickert paints and the ghost of Emily Dimmock screams silently as her agony is given to posterity thriugh art is chilling. Scarlett is also marvellous at manipulating the stage space and the skewed perspective of the Music Hall scene is theatrically very stimulating. He's so talented too: in the scene outside the Hall, Annie changes the balance of her meeting from the passer by's perspective from pick up to evening walk by the simple act of putting her arm through Sickert's. Committed performances from both casts. Standouts for me were Laura Morera and Leanne Cope (who has surely never been used to her full potential) as Annie, and it was great to see Alexander Campbell back on stage as the equivocal figure of Jack, who I take to be the dark side of the human consciousness. Superb musical performance too. Some worryingly young children in the audience, some of whom didn't return after the Scarlett. Do parents really not check the content of the programmes for which they are booking? It would seem not.

DGV is a great joy and a thrilling musical (although the timpani were out on both occasions towards the end, I'm sure this isn't intentional ) and choreographic experience: audience screamed their approval today. Wheeldon's ever inventive choreography seems to inspire the dancers to total intensity of response leaving us if not them breathless. The ensemble was terrific as were the principals, although at both performances I was unconvinced by Matthew Golding's choice of facial expression - I can't think how else to put it and have no wish to cause offence or the attention of a moderator. Of course, Zemaida Yanowsky, Eric Underwood, Natalia Osipova, Edward Watson, Marianle Nunez, Thiago Soares, Laura Morera and Valeri Hristov (great yet again, as he had also been as Polixenes) were outstanding in the first cast, but even more exciting this afternoon were Tierney Heap's theatrical glamour contrasting with Ryoichi Hirano's steady command, Beatrix Stix-Brunell's combination of freshness and ever greater assurance with Valentino Zucchetti's exuberant zest, and, above all, the sheer physical thrill of Akane Takada and Tristan Dyer, at one point sailing across the stage in a grand jeté matched in angle, physicality and musicality. She is already on her way to ballerina roles. I am not sure what his journey will be, but he was fantastic this afternoon.

I don't think that I heard anyone laugh at Gartside's dancing in any of his performances. He has given a finely nuanced interpretation of the character and the 'choreographic tics' have not been overdone.

There was no laughter yesterday and I don't see that irrational jealousy with potentially lethal consequences can ever have been intended as comic whether by Shakespeare or Wheeldon, it's the lack of basis for Leontes' imaginings that makes it frightening and very far from comic.

Yes.  Others who were watching more closely than I was at that point will be able to tell you more.

To my party of four it definitely came across in the Stalls as a drop - there was a definite bang as Ms Nunez hit the deck and I was delighted she recovered so quickly. One can but record one's impressions and I did cover myself by using the word "seem" so sm pleased to be corrected. I hope that my more than positive response to the afternoon will have made clear that it did not affect my realise to the work and I should also have reported that Ms Nunez was beaming as she ousted Gartside forward for a solo stage call and that he blew her a kiss and they embraced at their red runner - evidently, no hard feelings there.

Came away from this afternoon's performance moved almost beyond words. It's such an astonishing play, at least in its earlier scenes. To this day, I remember seeing it at the Oxford Playhouse over thirty years ago on a school pre University trip, knowing nothing of it and being totally gripped. It is to the credit of Christopher. Wheeldon and his team that this marvellous ballet has the same edge of seat intensity. Perhaps a second viewing would affirm or contradict this initial impression but for now I can only marvel at the achievement. It would be interesting to see the first cast on whom the work was built but no complaints about what was on stage today. As standingticket points out there are many Watsonisms in the choreography for Leontes and agreeing with aileen it seemed that Bennet Gartside dropped Marianela Nunez during the trail scene. In the last pas de deux, there is also an echo of Lauren Cuthbertsin's magical slowing of a turning arabesque for Hermione. However, the sense of an entire creative team from choreographer and composer (loved the score) to design and staging working together produced an overwhelming effect. Valeri Hristov danced with such athletic power and precision in Act One and some of the corps choreography in Act 2, as well as that for Perdita and Florizel had me gasping with delight. Perhaps some of the last Act seems a little rushed in its pacing, but the final Duet, which achieves no easy end, is absolutely exquisite and Laura Morera's desolation at the end truly moving too. There is no reconciliation here for her shattered life.

Ok, cool. I was just curious whether it was surgery related etc and they would be out for months.

 

Just noticed Cope has also been replaced. That's annoying. Was really looking forward to seeing her in SV.

I think she is still dancing but as Annie in First Cast and Marie in Second, just not Emily which she created so vividly...

Leanne Cope has tweeted that she will be taking a sabbatical for a year.

 

https://twitter.com/cope_leanne/status/458709340396875776

I think there is a lot if truth in what James Sinclair writes and it did occur to me that the weight gain was probably related to lack of performances. It is odd that Rojo seems so persistently determined not to use her, even if that is an AD's prerogative...

Not wishing to be disrespectful, but is Elena not rather mature for Swanilda and, apologies to seem ungallant, she did seem to be carrying quite a lot of weight at the Russian Icons Gala last month. I was rather taken aback....

So, Marquez out of Symphonic. Looks to be a thin season for her so far...

I thought Dust was one of the most astonishing things I have ever seen. Days afterwards (I went on Friday) the music and images continue to haunt me.

That's how our constitution works and it is quite deliberate for it prevents the ministers from going native as I said before. Ministers don't need to be expert at the subject matter of their portfolio - that's why they have civil servants - and it is arguably a good thing that they don't because it makes it easier for them to impose fiscal discipline (or cuts if you prefer) where necessary. It also makes for flexibility.  Hunt for example moved from Culture, Media and Sport to Health quite seamlessly.

 

The functions of a minister are to report to Parliament. apply government policy in their department and (but to a much lesser extent) represent their department in cabinet.  When I look at the US system and in particular the circumstances of the resignation of Kathleen Sibelius from healthcare after the problems with Obama care I think I prefer our system.

I absolutely agree. I don't condone Maria Miller's expenses but she managed to ensure that cuts in the Arts budget were smaller than in some other departments. You don't necessarily need empathy and if you're arguing a case the arms length principal can be beneficial. In times of austerity when there isn't a lot of public money thanks to the last incumbents spending all the money and then eating all the pies it is inevitable that cuts will need to be imposed - the alternative is higher taxation which nobody welcome,

I'd also intimate that despite Yuhui Choe's replacing Osipova again, Francesca Hayward's casting in two principal roles against Choe's know suggests that management is still ambivalent to promotion for Choe.

Gosh, Francesca Hayward is being fast tracked. One should never speculate, but does anybody else think Zenaida Yanowsky is being allowed to return to Manon (and with Roberto Bolle) as a valedictory treat in a final season....

Maybe casts shouldnt be announced til the day then it's pot luck. I shall be extremely cross if Osipova is not dancing on 5/4 but even more cross if not replaced with another principal. Preferably not Marianela as I have seen her already and she always seems to be asked to do stand ins. Injury is no ones fault but very frustrating for all concerned not least the dancer - a hazard of the job.

But which principal? Cuthbertson is up to her ears with the Wheeleon and has already been pulled from one Beauty and you don't want to see Nunez. Marquez is surely too small for Golding and her replacing of Cojocaru in Bayadère wasn't well received by all. Indeed, Marquez seems increasingly marginalised after a brief flurry as Steven McRae's principal partner dancing a smaller number of performances than many other dancers and in a more narrow repertoire.

I agree with bangorballetboy. In addition, I feel that is it unfortunate when one Company Principal (i.e. Osipova) merits a special, front-of-curtain, detailed announcement from the Director whereas others simply get a correction footnote on the cast sheet.However, I understand from someone who is a Patron and has a personalised ticketing service from the ROH that Patrons who had tickets for the 27th were alerted to Osipova's withdrawal during last Thursday afternoon and were given the opportunity to exchange them for the 5th April performance. This suggests that there was/is a strong expectation that she will be able to dance then.

With no disrespect to Yuhui Choe, although Natalia Osipova's long term reputation as amongst the greats remains to written in future years, she commands an international respect and has generated a huge amount of excitement meaning that the damage limitation involved when she cancels of necessity a major, high profile debut is greater than with many other of the current Royal Ballet dancers. I wasn't there, but it could also be interpreted that Kevin O'Hare was trying to make things easier for Choe in front of a possibly hostile audience by explaining the situation in person,

It's here, but they are actually dancing Romeo & Juliet, not Manon. I got confused. I think they are doing Manon in Russia?

 

Still, I wouldn't be surprised if these were the castings for Manon next season.

 

http://www.ntch.edu.tw/program/show/2c90814043d7947e0144258ecb4e0466?lang=en

Thanks.

So, no Marquez or McRae let alone Osipova....

I can appreciate there may be have been a height issue to Choe's replacing Osipova (and she seems to have done very well) but was it odd to replace a very starry principal with a First Soloist in her debut season. I imagine Cuthbertson will have been busy with A Winter's Tale (and had already ceded one performance), Nunez already busy (and in the Wheeldon) but does Marquez seem to be not overly prominent for a principal these days in number of performances...

Just remembered that Cuthbertson/Bonelli and Hamilton/ Watson are dancing Manon in Taiwan on the tour, so that will most likely be the casting for the new season.

Is there a link somewhere to the tour casting?

If it's not too complicated, does anyone have a tally of exactly how many dancers are now off with Soares added to the list ...

Another one...

Is anyone able to advise who the Lilac Fairies have been for this run? I guess Claire Calvert still isn 't stage fit but so far have the others only been  Melissa Hamilton, Tierney Heap and Laura McCulloch? I'd have thought Itziar Mendizabal would have been obvious casting, but I thought she would have been obvious for Myrtha too and that didn't seem to happen..

Thank you for this. When I was a JA in the '70's David Wall was the dancer we all wished to emulate. Even at that young age, it was apparent that as well as being a fine dancer he had a command of the stage that was absolutely involving.

Stage management error? Years ago at a Hatley / Mukhamedov Beauty occurred the incident when Gillian Revie hadn't checked the call sheet and Deborah Bull, due to dance Florine, noticed that Florestan was sporting only one sister so climbed into a spare tutu and took to the stage in a solo she had t previously danced. She recounts this episode in Damcing Away and Gillian Revie confirms it in a Forum interview.