Emeralds

They used to tape a cast sheet to the wall on each auditorium level. Has that disappeared now? That's not good. Rather than giving away a printed cast sheet to each person who asks, they should pin them up. You can get the full cast list from the ENB website without using a QR code on the day, but I agree it's not great if one doesn't have a smartphone or internet access at the theatre. The cast list link is: https://www.ballet.org.uk/blog-detail/daily-performance-casting-for-carmen/

Yes, it was a period setting, and the set recalled public baths from the past. Found a little info from kennethmacmillan.com- "In 1991, Ian Spurling set the ballet in a tiled set reminiscent of the public baths, making it seem a completely different ballet."

Thanks, @San Perregrino, I saw his bio online but it doesn't really tell us whether he is using folk, contemporary, or even ballet or another genre, for this one-off performance as he sounds very versatile and open to different styles. I expect the dancers are probably hired as freelancers for this one-off performance. @alison, I checked- Scherzo Ensemble is the name of the organisation (they call themselves a platform....hmm, ok) who has put together a choir of young singers.

Oh yes, thanks for the reminder @JNC and @Linnzi5- I'd forgotten about the Nov 2019 debut with Reece Clarke just over a month before. There was the interview in The Times with them both and glowing reviews. Glad you enjoyed the performance too, JNC! 😊

Was it the same choreographer, @Scheherezade?

It used to be the same production, down to the same designer - Nicholas Georgiadis (both Nureyev and MacMillan liked collaborating with him). But the Paris Opera changed the designs recently, and commissioned new sets from Alexandre Beliaev and new costume designs from Elena Rivkina.

Did find something interesting for this thread on Danses Concertantes etc while trying to search for the Hatley/Bussell substitution story! In this gallery of black and white photos about Bussell and RB colleagues there is a photo of Belinda Hatley (in either Hinkis or Maeda's role) in Danses Concertantes with the previous Ian Spurling designs. It's the 3rd photo from the bottom or the 15th photo from the top. Sadly the pictures aren't in colour but thought readers who hadn't seen the previous production might be interested. I think the men come off better and the corps de ballet ladies have some nice outfits, but I think the three leading women get nicer costumes from Georgiadis. Sorry there aren't more. If we find some colour ones maybe members might like to vote (straw poll?) which ones they like more - Georgiadis or Spurling? BTW, tomorrow's performance is also the first show with the second cast of Danses Concertantes (although Isabella Gasparini is in both casts of course). https://www.theguardian.com/stage/gallery/2020/oct/24/darcey-bussell-explodes-royal-ballet-black-and-white-in-pictures

Trying to rack my brains but I can't recall this exactly although you probably are right as you usually are with these recollections, Alison! Was it Sleeping Beauty also or another ballet? (Certainly wasn't a performance I was at, unfortunately/fortunately. ) Tried to do an online search but cyberspace isn't helping either!

Lauren Cuthbertson started the performance (the show just before the cinema relay) but Fumi Kaneko (who was Lilac Fairy) stepped in halfway due to Cuthbertson sustaining an injury during the performance. Kaneko then went on to do the subsequent cinema relay in the end as well because Cuthbertson wasn't fully recovered in time. So you're sort of right both ways actually! (Or people can reread the whole thread from 2019 too 😀 ). Yasmine Naghdi and Matthew Ball, who had previously danced Aurora and Florimund before, were scheduled to dance Bluebird pdd for the cinema relay as part of a "super luxury cast" with so many principals, and although I did wonder if they would be moved up to reprise Aurora and Florimund for the cinema relay, it was decided to keep them as Bluebird and Florine (they were brilliant) and have Kaneko making her full debut (as opposed to just part of the ballet!) as Aurora on live cinema relay to UK and international audiences....no pressure then! The same thing also happened to Darcey Bussell once- injury during the ballet - and her Lilac Fairy, Marianela Nunez (who was scheduled to dance Aurora later in the run, I think), stepped in to dance the rest of the ballet for her. Ended up on the front page of a few newspapers! But it wasn't a cinema relay though- before the days of live cinema relays.

No problem 😊.

Yes, he is still listed in the cast for 13 April. As @capybara posted (somewhere!) it sounds like he is withdrawing for planned treatment in late April and May rather than some injury or illness that has sidelined him completely.

That's a good question (and observation) . I suppose if one wanted a "perfect" recording and relay one would have the same dancer on both nights. Here's a funny anecdote - I don't know if it has been discussed on the forum before as it was wayyyy before I joined: on the RB La Bayadere recording with Rojo/Acosta/Nunez in the lead roles (available on DVD and previously broadcast frequently on the Sky Arts channel), there are actually two different dancers performing the role of the third shade (the one with the solo beginning slowly and finishes with fast runs on pointe across the stage to the wings). When they start dancing together with the other Shades, the role is danced by Hikaru Kobayashi, but the solo is danced by Lauren Cuthbertson. Can't remember who is recorded dancing the coda. I wasn't at the performance- I can only guess that there was injury/illness and one of them replaced the other at one of the performances. I suppose there are 2 options- 1) have Sarah dance both 4 & 9 April and offer Lauren 13 April if she is available/well and ready to dance on 13th, or 2) proceed with Sarah on 4 & 13 and Lauren on 9 and use discreet camera angles and editing where necessary if recorded footage has to be used, since there's a precedent from Bayadere (it would be the digital equivalent of "the show must go on"!) 😀

Thu 4 April MacMillan triple bill cast change: Sarah Lamb replaces Lauren Cuthbertson (in the Pie Jesu role) in Requiem tomorrow. I've posted on the performance thread but just in case everyone is only checking this thread for casting updates. I don't have the reason why, and Lauren is still listed on the website to dance next Tuesday (but of course that doesn't necessarily mean that won't -or will- change nearer the day.)

Cast Change for 4 April 7.30pm performance (tomorrow!)..... Requiem: Sarah Lamb replaces Lauren Cuthbertson (in the Pie Jesu role in the white dress). Ms Cuthbertson is still currently listed to dance next week on 9 April. (Info from ROH website)

Should we be a tad perturbed that there's no mention of who will be dancing or even what style/genre of dance it will be.....

Yes, I must admit it's puzzling as I used to get informed of cast changes a few years ago, and I do still get emails about other matters so it's not like I've inadvertently blocked or refused notifications. I must commend fellow members on being so efficient at relaying the information though!

Wow, that's quite a number of replacements and as usual I've had no email from ROH about the cast changes despite the fact that I've booked 7 tickets to these performances (and they're not Upper Slips seats where one can't see which dancers are dancing!) Many thanks to @Bluebird and @lady emily. Wishing Anna Rose O'Sullivan, Ryoichi Hirano, and Claire Calvert a speedy recovery from injury and/or whatever is causing them to be sidelined from Winter's Tale, Swan Lake or both. I note Claire Calvert is still listed for her Swan Lakes in June so hopefully she and Anna Rose O'Sullivan will both sufficiently recovered by June to dance.

Just to let you know, @miki.s, the casting has changed to Mayara Magri in the role of Odette/Odile (confirmed on the ROH website and by Ms O'Sullivan as well as Ms Magri). Ms O'Sullivan said she has an injury that needs more time to heal.

I would have liked to see Tierney Heap as Carmen! You're right, @Vanartus- the role needs grittiness and toughness rather than "classical ballet style" even though it uses ballet technique. Unfortunately I couldn't make it for Tierney Heap's show- if I recall correctly, she was only given 1 performance? I do miss seeing her dance, especially when seeing her in old recordings and photos. *Also, just to add that I spotted my typo belatedly- Morera/Bonelli/Acosta were the second cast (and not a mystery RB dancer called Don Jose)!

Just to add here for readers who remember only Acosta's Carmen for the Royal Ballet in 2015, Acosta has made changes to it since then. I saw both the Nunez/Acosta/Bonelli (Carmen/Don Jose/Escamillo respectively) cast (premiere, DVD, farewell performance cast) and the Morera/Bonelli/Don Jose cast. and while the first cast are clearly all brilliant dancers, the second cast seemed better suited to the roles they were given in the production. There were some limitations and weaknesses in the choreography then- I couldn't help wondering if it was because Acosta was preparing four casts (many choreographers like McGregor, Scarlett or Wheeldon at the time would have only two) with Nunez, Osipova, Morera and Heap down for the role of Carmen and a bit of juggling around after Osipova had to withdraw due to injury. With not two but three other items on the programme (Viscera, Afternoon of a Faun, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux), and other ballets (Romeo and Juliet, The Two Pigeons and Monotones I & II) being alternated then, the limitations on studio and rehearsal/creation time with company members could have restricted his time to put together and refine his ideas. The production has been reworked for Acosta Danza abroad since (I haven't seen it but Laurretta Summerscales has mentioned performing Carmen with them as a guest artist on a social media post) and the most notable difference is that he is now presenting it as a full length ballet rather than a short one-act ballet in a mixed bill. I saw Laura Rodriguez dance the role of Carmen last July with Acosta Danza colleagues in two excerpts at Acosta's Carlos at 50 gala- a pas de deux to the music for Don Jose's Flower Song aria, and a group dance - and it was like an entirely different ballet: it was much, much improved. (Rodriguez is also brilliant in anything, which helps!) There were still a few small areas in the group dance that could have been even better but overall it looked more impressive than the 2015 version. I haven't booked for it as I wanted to see what others thought first. Kudos to Carlos, the tickets are going fast and the Saturday afternoon performance is already sold out. (Unsurprisingly, ticket sales follow the pattern of his Carlos at 50 shows- ie selling out fast before the casting was announced. 😀) I think the Cuban vibe of the Acosta Danza company suits the style of the ballet Carlos had planned in 2015 more comfortably than a classical ballet company dancing it among classical ballet items, so audiences will be in for an interesting show, regardless of whether they like the choreography or not. Looking forward to reading feedback from@CCL, @LinMM and other members attending - good luck with the tickets, LinMM! 🍀

This cancellation decision actually occurred after the train had left London, halfway through the original announced journey! 😳 This was 2023. And not the first time- cancellations en route are quite the Thameslink 'special' down south! The minicab driver did take credit cards, thankfully. You MUST remember to get a receipt from the driver to make the online claim. That said, the service is great when it's running normally, with nice big carriages and plenty of seating and space. 😀

Re: the discussion on what age children should be "allowed" at ROH/ Swan Lake, I do recall one of the youngsters in our family going to the RB Swan Lake for the first time aged....5 and a half! (Dear me, could have sworn it was actually older ....but newspaper reviews don’t lie!) No chatting, no yawning (helps if the kids have a nap beforehand or aren't tired out before the show by a whole day of sports or other tiring activities).....child's only faux pas, if one calls it that, was applauding her fouettés halfway because the music was at the part where it sounded like they were finished! To be fair, her fouettés were very fast and spectacular......some audiences in other cities would be applauding too. NB this is not a recommendation to take all children at the age of 5 or 6. You have to know the child. (Or prep the child adequately- and lead by example.) The child was also the one who reminded us grownups to turn off our phones before each act and to stop talking when the lights were darkened! 😀 On the other hand, the most disruptive behaviour I've seen at Swan Lakes or at the ROH has still been from adults- including a few who boasted loudly to their companions that they attended the ballet a lot and knew a lot about the dancers.....

If it's the solo in the scene where he is first confronted by Rothbart (in his Royal senior employee guise), then he puts down the crossbow and begins his solo, that's Scarlett's choreography. Ashton did make a solo for Siegfried in Act 1 but to different music.

Haven't used the Great Northern for several years but Thameslink gets a lot of train cancellations on overtime ban days. The very last service of the night tends not to be cancelled but you often find that it contains passengers from 2 or 3 services that were cancelled so.....sardine time. Once, the last service was cancelled but the second last service became the last one....a bit scary if you didn't know! That's rare nowadays but can still happen. If the last train is cancelled and you're forced to take a cab instead, the rail company should reimburse you (the usual online form to apply). But you still have to pay the [hefty] cab fare yourself first until you get reimbursed. (That's for my area- in the past you didn't have to but the system has now changed.)

Yes, Monday 8th April is going to be a nightmare if you use both train and Tube or have a lot of travelling that day. Commuters whose tube and rail provision are gone will also be adding to the numbers relying on buses and any alternative rail/DLR/tram services they can find. 😞😓