emmarose

14 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

 

Goodness no, I never turn up at the ROH in anything resembling evening dress. I usually walk from Kings Cross to the ROH & back so evening dress really wouldn't be practical! White cotton wrist length. I have OCD so where most people take off their winter gloves when they get inside I swap winter gloves for lightweight ones.

 

Nor do I. I have terrible photo taking timing. I usually seem to press the button just as a dancer starts to bow/curtsey & get them either blurred or their face not visible. Though I do think some dancers do their solo bows faster than others as I find it harder to photograph some dancers.

Oh I understand you, yes if I ever see you I'll say hello. 

We must share the exact same timing. Yesterday I took a photo as Nela and Vadim hugged and it came out so weirdly, it looks as if Nela doesn't have a head (it's a bit unsettling actually).

1 hour ago, Dawnstar said:

 

If you ever spot someone wearing gloves indoors that'll probably be me!

 

Don't we all! I got a couple of close-ups last night that came out well by the standard of my curtain call photos but looking at them in comparison with Rob's mine just don't have the crispness or clarity that his have.

Any particular gloves? Long evening gloves?

I have no idea what would distinguish me... I'm maybe a little tall, I have brown curly hair.

I know I can't even aspire to Rob's standards, I just don't have the ability.

52 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

 

I was in SC C25 so a bit further round to the side than you. @Rob S must have been practically behind you, as I could see him standing a few places in from the end of the standing area. What I don't know is how some people manage to get decent photos on their phones. I use a camera & still get very mixed results. If I used my phone all there would be visible would be a few distant blobs & the curtain!

 

 

The stretcher party were very prompt last night: they turned up just as the mouse was collapsing!

 

Thanks @Richard LH

Yes, you both must have been around, I have no idea what anyone looks like so couldn't say hello. 

I just use my phone, I got a couple of niceish ones, but nothing special. I long to have photos like Robs! 

26 minutes ago, Jane S said:

 

If I was there and the tree didn't grow I would want my money back.

Luckily there's quite a lot more to see.

I also forgot to add what little stars those children were, every single one of them were just amazing and did themselves proud! I always love that little mouse being carried off on a stretcher! 

I was there last night and thought it was so well danced by all.

I was slightly saddened about the tree, as soon as it didn't start growing I had a bad feeling, and it was one of the moments I most love, however it was handled so very well by all, Avis carried on dancing in such a way it made you feel as if the curtain should be closing, coming right near the gap and staring out at the audience. And Madison, what a pro for a debut!

I felt Madison was completely at ease in the role, it felt made for her and from the start she embodied that young joy of Christmas, she wasn't acting, it just seemed to come from within. A natural Clara.

Leo was excellent and got stronger and stronger as it went on.

Gary Avis is just magical.

Snowflakes made me completely forget about the tree malfunction, such a breathtaking scene and the music is a joy to hear live, it seeps into your bones.

Act 2 was perfection from all, it seemed to fly by.

Nela and Vadim are just so at ease here, on the stage, in the scene, with each other, just divine from them both. After their gorgeous PDD someone in the stalls stood up clapping, such were their feelings about it. I agree with Dawnstar, they have to be the gold standard here, sublime. 

Left with a lovely and warm feeling, which was good because it was freezing outside.

Last note, I know so many of the songs are overplayed and used in everything, but the score really is beautiful.

9 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

I loved Madison Bailey as Clara, I thought she was absolutely delightful in the role. I hope that, although she only got to do the role this year due to Pajdak's absence, she'll now be on the main roll of Claras because I'd certainly like to see her again in future seasons. She didn't seem at all fazed by the transformation scene interruption. I thought she partnered very well with both Boswell in the party scene & Dixon in the rest of the ballet.

 

Nunez & Muntagirov surely must be the gold standard in the Nutcracker. Even though they must have both done these roles so many times that they could do them in their sleep they still manage to look totally engaged as well as being technically brilliant. Ditto Avis as Drosselmeyer - admittedly he doesn't have to be technically brilliant except in cape twirling & glitter throwing!

 

I know no-one needs to see my curtain call photos when they've got @Rob S's to look at but I'm posting this one anyway because I love the accidental view through the curtains!

 

You mustn't have been very far from me, I was SC A34/35.

This is a lovely photo too, mine always come out awful, I don't know how people do it!

56 minutes ago, Mary said:

I always enjoy your marvellous photos Rob, but that second picture is particularly lovely: it really captures Akane's beauty and gracefulness (perfectly positioned between the motifs on the curtain) in a tiny moment of stillness as she sweeps off stage - and the hard work and pain are visible in that shoe....

 

I agree, this is an amazing photo!

10 hours ago, Rob S said:

 

 

What gorgeous photos Rob.

Nela's absolute joy at what she does is a wonder to see. It just shines through here and in her performance. just sheer joy.

47 minutes ago, DoctorDerry said:

I have enjoyed reading forum friends many and varied comments, and having generally enjoyed the evening at the cinema, apart from the second act, felt I had nothing useful to add.

Then I read the Gramilliano review and felt I might have been to a totally different production , he loved the Toonga etc. shows how we all have such very different tastes.

It did make me wonder if this selection had anything to do with Arts Council funding, trying to be ‘ more relevant’ and ‘ appealing to young people’ and moving away from a classical repertoire, Just a thought.

The discussion on costumes really resonated with me, they were awful in the new works, did they save on everything else then splash the cash on Prima, which looked OK as long as they stood still.  Very catwalk!

On a totally different topic..someone mentioned fear of catching Covid in a full opera house, I watched in the Cinema in Cheltenham together with 9 others in an auditorium which holds two or three hundred. So no risk of virus Infection but not boding well for continuing productions being shown live from ROH

For Mayerling there was six people in total, everyone there was in a pair too. The cinema itself was packed with people all evening, but very empty for the ballet streaming.

I've only just seen the casting, I've had a stressful few weeks and only now have some time!

I am such a fan of Marianela, I think she is a sublime ballerina, and her and Vadim are amazing together. But, we're about to get them paired in Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty and then Cinderella? It all just seems very much samey! 

After seeing her with Reece in Diamonds and footage of her partnering Bracewell, could we not have had a bit of a mix up? Also, Fumi works beautifully with Vadim, so they could have swapped those two pairings and had something a little different.

I'm very surprised to not see Anna Rose cast.

35 minutes ago, Mary said:

I find it striking and moving that everyone loved Diamonds so much.

 

Maybe we love it because such very pure classical ballet answers a deep-seated human need for order, beauty and harmony, in the unique experience of watching beautifully poised people dancing together in blissful, joyful cohesion to sublime music - creating for a short time a heaven on earth.  Possibly we need it more than ever these days.

 

 

 

How wonderfully put Mary.

It did feel lovely to just sit back and enjoy the dream of this ballet, you could lose yourself in the beauty and poise and after the last few years we probably needed it.

Yes, so beautifully expressed Mary, couldn't agree more. 

40 minutes ago, JennyTaylor said:

They did the same thing at the rehearsal, and yes, it felt very much like "thank goodness, here's something beautiful that we know we will like".   You could almost hear the sigh of relief

That's what I felt, relief. I felt as if I knew where I was, I was back in the land of ballet. 

And I'd spent so long thinking while watching the new pieces, I could just sit back and enjoy and bask in the gorgeous dancing and costumes. And I really did, it was divine.

22 minutes ago, Fonty said:

You can tell from this lengthy description that I was so distracted, I couldn't tell you a thing about the choreography. Not one thing. Surely Zuccetti should have realised early on in the proceedings that these were not going to work. What was everybody thinking? Frankly I would have preferred to have seen the dancers in vests and pants, and that is saying something!
 

This is what I can't get my head around, how many people it would've passed through to get approved and everyone thought these costumes were a good idea? Not one person decided to step in and say not only were they hideous, which is one thing, but they completely distract from the dance, which surely is a hindrance to the choreography.

I just can't understand any of the thought process that led to those gorgeous dancers looking like that up on the ROH stage.

4 minutes ago, Beryl H said:

Have only just signed in but to agree with you, I didn't like Prima, or more accurately the costumes, the only one that didn't make me need sunglasses was Fumi Kaneko's, all the girls dressed in different shades of that costume would have been lovely. I'll carry on reading the views, think mine will also be very different!

We've been talking about it here today and what I keep coming back to about the costumes in Prima was that they were distracting.

All through it I kept wondering why and trying to come up with some cohesion as to why Fumi's was so different (and lovely) and the rest looked as if they came from a circus (or one review suggested, a deflated beach ball).

It kept me from being fully absorbed into it because they were distracting in how bad they were.

10 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

I was amused when the audience applauded as the curtain rose on Diamonds. It felt like "Thank goodness, finally some tutus"! I thought Nunez & Clarke were both very good. I'd be interested in seeing them paired together more often.

 

I found myself start to clap when the curtain opened and asked myself why I was clapping.

But yes, it very much felt like, at last, something spectacular was happening.

Back from the ROH.... I booked for Diamonds, and that was tonight's saving grace. 

There was much to like, but not much to love and I felt that what the ROH provided in galas during the lockdowns far  surpassed what we got tonight.

I really disliked Dispatch, I don't know if I hated it more because I felt as if it was a waste of these two dancers and the only thing we saw from the wonderful William Bracewell, it felt cruel that that was the only glimpse we got of him. I was a bit worried in the rehearsal from World Ballet Day, it seemed a bit thrown together then and it felt it really.

See Us, unfortunately came across a bit like a high school/college dance performance more than anything else. 

Melissa was great in Qualia.

I thought For Four was good, it's always a joy to see all of those men dance.

Manon, excellent, Akane was flawless. 

Prima was the best of the contemporary for me, but most of that was due to Fumi who was stunning in every way. She danced beautifully, I couldn't take my eyes off of her, her face was beautiful and she had the only costume that didn't look as if it belonged in the circus. I have no idea what was going on with the other three, but their costumes were just hideous. Poor Magri seemed to draw the short straw, but it was a close call!

Diamonds felt like a saving grace. It was glorious. The whole cast were beaming and seemed to be dancing with pure joy.

Reece was wonderful, sometimes I feel as if he is pasting on a smile at times, but his joy seemed to come from within.

Marianela  was Marianela, what more is there to say? She was beautiful and this partnership really has grown so much (I saw them for first time they partnered when Nela replaced Natalia in the Tchaikovsky PDD last minute and it's miles apart) They really worked beautifully together.

It was a wonderful third act and well worth going for, but somewhat underwhelming.

Is this not always the way when a big star guests? They always make a big fuss over them, no?

I took them up on the trial/£1 offer.

It's working fine on my laptop, but when I try using my smart TV I'm getting an error 500 message.

Has anyone else had this issue?

55 minutes ago, Linnzi5 said:

I saw Laura Morera on Tuesday (at the Friends rehearsal) as Mary and she was absolutely amazing - the stand-out performer for me. I just loved her and think she will be hard to beat (not that it's a competition). I liked Matthew Ball's Rudolph very much but wasn't blown away by it. He seemed a bit shaky at the start. so would like to see him again. The Act III pas de deux was breathtaking though. Loved the Hungarian officers, especially William Bracewell - their choreography was stunning and very dramatic! I have only seen Mayerling recently (on a streaming service) and once only, and that was an older performance. I am new to the ballet but really enjoyed the performance on Tuesday, Mayara Magri's Larisch was excellent too.

I was really impressed with the Hungarian officers last night too, I thought they were a stand out, really thrilling! 

40 minutes ago, Legseleven said:

I enjoyed Hirano’s Rudolf very much - although I suspect it wouldn’t have worked as well live as it did in the cinema with close ups. 

 

The stand out performance for me was Morera, with Nunez also making a strong impression. I would love to see Morera’s Mary Vetsera. She really was Larisch last night and it was not an acting performance - she was ‘being’ the character. 

 

I was left cold by Hayward, who seemed to have one expression in the Act 1 pas de deux and I didn’t feel that that was a deliberate choice to show that she was frozen in terror. However, I may be wrong. 

Osipova was certainly passionate but I didn’t ‘feel’ it particularly. Not sure why, I am trying to work it out. 
 

Morera really was a standout, she seemed to carry most scenes she was in and your eye couldn't look away from her.

I do feel (not amongst fans, she is beloved) but from within the Royal itself, she is an unappreciated asset. She's never pushed forward or promoted but she always shines on the stage.

Also, forgot to say, but one of the lifts went quite wrong in the bedroom PDD too and that lifted me out of it as well.

Sadly, I have to agree Sim!

I only saw it in the cinema (my first time seeing it in this way) and I was actually glad I didn't go to the trouble and extra money to see it at the ROH.

The women did really well and I thought Frankie really stood out in the Act One PDD.

Otherwise I was a bit cold on it.

3 hours ago, capybara said:

Yes, that would be another good mix up.

 

Some partnerships have been ‘set’ for a long time now. Time for Kevin O’Hare to ‘stir the pot’ a bit and, possibly, excite regulars to book for more shows.

I agree, we love those established pairings, but for it to be all the time, we might be missing something great!

As much as I love Vadim and Nela together (and it's a lot!) I had hoped after seeing her and Bracewell pair so beautifully together we might have them in a classical partnering like in Beauty. Would be a nice change up. I'll keep my fingers crossed for Cinderella.