Emeralds

Funnily enough, the Royal Ballet's Swan Lakes have had Siegfried in black tights for Act 3 from as far back as the late 1970s (at least!) till now - in the Ashton/Morrice, Dowell and Scarlett productions. But Siegfried has been visible in the two older versions. The difference has been the lighting and the set- this has been the darkest set and lighting we've had. I've been able to see Siegfried easily in the others but this one is really dark. (And I don't think our eyesight collectively deteriorated dramatically between 2015 to 2018!) Even if you watch the Act 3 pas de deux on DVDs of the 3 productions on the same day, the current production is too dark. Perhaps they could reposition some courtiers further back and more centrally to add a bit of light colour to the background!

I definitely agree commitment to the home company should come first- and if it's SFB, would have thought 2 weeks was more than enough time to learn a production. Many guest artists learn it in far less time. I'm still assuming it's a good reason (ie not due to guesting) unless we are told otherwise, but hopefully not due to serious injuries or anything worse. Sorry you have to miss tonight's show, @capybara- lots of lovely performances among the second casts and the ensemble.

Beatriz Stix-Brunnell was a popular choice with Wheeldon (she joined his Morphoses dance company while still a student at ballet school) and always looked excellent in his ballets- she danced Alice at every run, as far as I can recall. Fun fact: Marianela Nunez actually danced Alice in the first run opposite Rupert Pennefather as Jack/the Knave of Hearts but hasn't danced the role for a long time. Wonder whose choice that was- I would have bought tickets to see her in the last run as well, if she'd been cast 😊 Hope Vadim will still be on the list to dance Jack/TKOH. I'd like to see Sambe, Clarke, Corrales, Bracewell &/or Hay in the role too.

Yes, it's all a bit of a mystery as Osipova isn't due to dance anything with RB till 7 June in the Ashton mixed bill (Five Brahms Waltzes....) and Clarke is dancing Swan Lake with Lamb next Saturday (replacing Hirano) but his name is still on that....and Lamb is dancing tonight. Osipova is scheduled to dance Swan Lake on 30 April and 3 May at San Francisco Ballet but that's 2 weeks and 3 days away...surely there would have been sufficient time to dance tonight then fly over to SFB for rehearsals. I haven't looked up the rest of Osipova's freelance schedule. Wonder what the underlying reason is, as it's three dancers replaced. Hope nobody is injured. It would be a pity if any patrons had booked tonight just to see the second cast for DD, having already seen the first cast, although they would know substitutions can occur. (Excellent first cast though!)

Well spotted @Dawnstar- I must say I thought Donnelly being cast as Rothbart last night for Swan Lake was very unexpected because he would be quite worn out after a full length turn as Rothbart (who unusually is in 4 acts plus prologue whereas in other productions he's only in 3 acts, +/- prologue) to be then dancing Drum Major the following night too. Maybe the cast was changed because of this, or maybe it was due to something else. That said, Marcelino Sambe could also be tired out after dancing Siegfried last night- an even more tiring role! - and he's now dancing Woyzeck tonight! Glad it's not just me that's spotted the Verklarte Nacht/Different Drummer mismatch/juxtaposition - thanks for the poem quotes, @JohnS. Come to think of it, it would be great if any company (ballet or contemporary dance) could revive/acquire Kylian's Verklarte Nacht (which is much older than Different Drummer) - it's a positive story and almost looks like a classical ballet minus the pointework. Used to be danced a lot by various companies and not just NDT. Hopefully next time round the souvenir programme or cast sheet will provide the much needed synopsis of the Different Drummer storyline, which was definitely available in the programme or cast sheet a long time ago. I can't attend tonight but would be keen to read the opinions from those who are going tonight, since I'll be missing Isabel Lubach in the Agnus Dei role.

With regards Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, I saw it on TV with the original cast before seeing it live in ROH, and initially wasn't sure about whether to watch it live. I would say that if you watch it on tv/DVD/online first then live, it is much, much better live, and you don't have to go with children-to me it actually looks more adult and teenager oriented than child oriented! Nothing at all like Disney or the older Derek Deane production for ENB. NB if your seat is quite far away, eg middle or rear Amphitheatre (or even closer), I would advise using opera glasses or binoculars to enjoy the full effect of the jokes.

Correct- 6. The Friday matinee is labelled "schools matinee" to let patrons know there may be school groups attending, but unlike the ROH schools matinees that are only for schools, the public can book and attend ENB schools matinées.

Unfortunately it clashes with the BRB Sleeping Beauty- and unfortunately I can't go for any of the other performances so it has to be Sat for SB. I highly recommend this orchestra (London Philharmonic), the conductor (Jurowski), and singers Sinead Campbell-Wallace, who was a stunning Tosca at ENO (the Royal Opera should really hire her ASAP) and Claire Barnett Jones, who was picked as a last minute replacement for a candidate with a positive Covid test at the Cardiff Singer of the World competition and went on to win her group and wow audiences.

There's also the May and June performances and I think the Rothbarts and Bennos tend to be matched with the Odette-Odiles and Siegfrieds they have already danced together with. There's the possibility that Donnelly might be Rothbart to another Odette-Odile/Siegfried team in April, May or June (provided it isn't too close to his Winter's Tale performances I suppose). I suppose once you see the casting for the first dates that Hayward, Takada, Kaneko, Naghdi, Lamb, Sasaki, Osipova and Calvert are dancing, you'll have an idea of who their Rothbart will be for their next performance. It's tempting to suggest getting a Friday Rush a week in advance for any pairing who are only dancing Fridays and weekends - just risking £4 to return it if it turns out not to be the supporting cast you'd like, but at least you won't miss out on a bench ticket again. Must say that's really very unusual that Anna Rose O'Sullivan and Marcelino Sambe were assigned only Fri & Sat shows; usually everyone gets at least 1 week night.

That's really bad luck about the timing, @Dawnstar 😟 ....missing out on the information just by several hours! Can only hope a return ticket miraculously appears in an area you can buy for the 18th. 🍀 🍀 🍀 🍀 🍀

So it's very likely (though no guarantees, as injuries/illness/etc can occur) that David Donnelly and Taisuke Nakao will reprise their roles as Rothbart and Benno respectively at the 18th April evening and 27th April matinee performances. I believe these are role debuts for both Donnelly and Nakao- very exciting! Madison Bailey and Liam Boswell were brilliant in the Neapolitan Dance in the last run. Great casting in tonight's show! Toi toi toi to all

Tiny digression but while we're comparing (or just recalling) Don Quixote productions eg Nureyev's vs Acosta's, National Ballet of Canada is acquiring Acosta's production of Don Q this season. From the photos and trailer used for marketing it, it looks like it is the BRB version that they have in mind.

ABT is the latest company to dance Woolf Works, Wayne McGregor's successful full length ballet about Virginia Woolf and her writings, originally created on Alessandra Ferri and the Royal Ballet with an original score by Max Richter. ABT performed Woolf Works for the first time last night at Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California, and the run ends on Sunday 14 April. The company is due to perform the ballet in June at the Metropolitan Opera House as well. The scheduled casts include Hee Seo, Devon Teuscher and Gillian Murphy in the role of Virginia Woolf/Mrs Dalloway, and Isabella Boylston, Skylar Brandt, Catherine Hurlin, Christine Shevchenko, Cassandra Trenary, Joo Won Ahn, Aran Bell, Daniel Camargo, Thomas Forster, Calvin Royal III, Cory Stearns and James Whiteside in other roles. Looking forward to reviews and feedback from any members who are attending one or more performances! 🙂

Wasn't meaning "interesting" in a negative or sarcastic sense, as some might do- I meant that it's actually made me interested in looking for returns (the performances are sold out), although I've never been to Draft Works before.

Interesting to see that Xander Parish is dancing in the Norwegian National Ballet's offering!