Beryl H

Whilst browsing the Coliseum website I found this

Maris Liepa Gala - London Coliseum - organised by Andris Liepa

Sunday 29th July 5pm

Dancers include Farukh Ruzimatov, Ilze Liepa. Dmitri Gudanov, Andrei Batalov, Vladimir Sckllryov and Ekaterina Osmolkina

Pas de deux and solo's including Corsaire, Nutcracker, Don Quixote, Pique Dame, Cinderella, Harlequinade

More details are on the website

Many thanks Dave, I was there last night, these pictures capture the atmosphere, especially the one where Tamara finally gets a small bouquet

Funnily enought at the Saturday evening performance an announcement was made that the first interval would only be 25 minutes, I wondered if people had complained, more likely the orchestra wanted to pack up at 9.30pm

I liked The Lesson as an opener, which was a complete contrast and longer, I don't mind short evenings as long as they are just that, not short ballets and long intervals, 25 minutes is long enough!

I've had a horrible afternoon at the bottom of my garden trying to cut down giant thorns and weeds, although it was sweltering I had to wear trousers, anorak and gloves to protect myself!

Who danced Madge last night? I'm seeing this cast tomorrow, glad to hear Alexander Campbell danced Gurn, he was good on Monday in a very brief solo.

I saw the first 2 performances (can't understand why this ballet doesn't sell, I love it) both were excellent, hard to believe it was Steven McRae's debut, and Alina Cojocaru must be the perfect Sylphide, good dancing from Valentino Zuchetti as Gurn too, the RB have lots of Bournonville men, the role of James also suited Dawid Trzensimiech on Tuesday, exciting fast light dancing and touching acting, he showed lots of confidence, looks the part too, quite Danish! Very sad to think this is Tamara Rojo's last leading role in a full-length ballet, she is both capricious and moving as the Sylphide.

I usually prefer Madge to be danced by a woman but on Tuesday I must say Gary Avis gave a magnificent performance!

This must be a perfect production of this ballet, what a masterpiece it is, not a step or gesture is wasted, Johan Kobborg has done a wonderful job, I wish the BBC or someone would film it, especially the one and only Cojocaru/Kobborg performance in June.

There were no actual running times in the programme but from memory:

Spitfire 15m

Town 20m

Interval of 20m

Country 25m

Interval of 20 m

Galop Infernal 30m

Total running time about 2h 10m

This programme is at SW next week but I was able to see it nearer home and at a theatre that was really suited to slightly smaller scale works, the Theatre Royal in Brighton, it produced a wonderful atmosphere last night. I saw the TV show at Christmas that included extracts from all 3 works and wanted to see them complete, they are so witty, inventive and sexy, almost revue like although Town and Country has a serious side too. The music is a marvellous mix of classical and songs from the past, my favourite piece of all was Christopher Marney dancing a "merman" to La Mer (the song not Debussy) in The Infernal Galop, but there are so many things to enjoy!

Saw Snow White last night, it was actually reading an article about the costumes that made me want to see it, plus the mostly good reviews, and I managed to get a ticket online. I did wonder if I would like it and will agree that the costume for Snow White didn't seem appropriate for such an innocent character, it lacked modesty to say the least, but overall thought the ballet was a mix of some boring passages (mainly as it used whole movements of Mahler symphonies), and some very powerful moments indeed. The costumes in the main were striking, also the designs, it made a very dark impact, didn't realise just how unpleasant the original tale was, (thanks to the excellent programme notes from Graham Watts) I can remember the Disney film and this was a long way off, since this was the point I would have to say it was a success, just hope there weren't too many children at the matinee!

Macaulay's article "Whose Swan Lake is it?" is a really worthwhile read.

Yes, I don't think I have even seen that pose ending the Black Swan PDD, and I certainly agree that it would be nice to see the original ending of Giselle,not sure if I have even seen it but I know about it, I prefer the original musical ending too instead of the quiet one we are used to.

I love the first scene in Red Shoes where everyone rushes up the stone stairs to get a front row seat, things were never that chaotic for me but I do remember them, it's all so sedate now, riding up what has been called the "most expensive escalator ride in town".

Definitely not frightened off! As an ignorant newbie, it's good to know What Not To Do at the ballet I really had no idea that leaning forward even slightly could affect the person behind you's view so much.

 

 

 

Beryl, your post about being lost without your binoculars in row J is swaying me towards getting some now. I'm just thinking that as a non Londoner who'll only be able to see the RB occasionally, it would be a real shame not to make the absolute most of this occasion.

 

Don't forget I'm a complete ballet nutter who has to see as much of my favourite dancers as possible there are lots of people who sit up in the amphi who don't use them, in this particular programme Month in the Country would be the one where a close-up view of the dancer's faces would be an advantage.

 

 

I'm pathetically excited about it, especially Les Noces. When I was deciding whether to see it and had a quick look at the RB recording on YouTube, the music honestly sent a chill down my spine and moved me to tears, even though I have no idea what they were singing about! I really can't wait to see it live.

 

It's a great programme, I'm most looking forward to Birthday Offering.

I often sit in row J of the amphi at the ROH and must say I would be lost without my mini-binoculars, it's a wonderful view of the whole stage from there and I always think classical ballet looks best from above, especially the corps de ballet, but for pdd and solo's I like to use about x5 or x8, that way I get the best of both worlds!

As to etiquette, it's not usually people who use opera glasses/binoculars that annoy me, but people who can't sit still and especially sit forward all the time.

Carlos Acosta's name guarantees a sellout even if he only dances a small role in a triple bill, so clever of the RB to invite him to produce a ballet which has been troublesome in the past, the Bolshoi and Mariinsky versions seem to be perfect, so I hope he doesn't change too much, any chance to see this colourful and exciting ballet is good though

I've finally managed to get into it, thought I'd try an early morning attempt and it worked, takes a lot of getting used to, only after reading Bluebird's post was I able to see the top amphi seats, still I'm happier than I was last night!

The ROH website will be shutting down from 3pm to 11pm today for maintenance.

Alina looked extraordinarily happy on stage and the final pdd was lovely.

 

That's good to hear, she looked as though she was in tears at the end of Sweet Violets last Wednesday, am looking forward to seeing them both in a sunny ballet on Saturday!

 

 

 

 

Hi Beryl,

not sure what you mean by 'modern' but I take it that the Kirov Kolpakova recording and the Bolshoi Semenyaka/Mukhamedov recording don' t fall into that category.

 

I have those versions, much prefer the Kirov performance to the Bolshoi, but the picture and sound quality on this Blu-Ray is so much more enjoyable, I feel as though I am at La Scala when I watch it!

 

 

I think the Nureyev version for the Paris Opera ballet is wonderful. A DVD of the 2008 revival is supposedly being released, but I have the feeling that it is not going to happen. It was not very well coached and a pretty flat affair except for the 2 performances given by Maria Alexandrovna. Sadly these were not recorded. The production has now been deleted from the repertoire of POB.

The Grigorovich version will be in cinemas later this year live from the Bolshoi.

 

I saw a Nureyev version in the late 1960's at the Apollo Victoria and loved it, I've never seen a live full length performance since, only his Act 3.

I don't think it is fair to the Super Friends, why coudn't they have made sure the system was working properly and postponed the booking dates until it was!

If you liked Sergei Vikharev's reconstructions of La Bayadere, Sleeping Beauty and Coppelia, this new DVD/BluRay of Raymonda is a treat, as well as being the first modern recording of this ballet. Vikharev has reinstated the original story, choreography and mime sequences, and looks very opulent, if old-fashioned, some of the costumes are hard to take, especially the men's, but I found if fascinating. La Scala are really stretched and need all their dancers and students plus some extras I imagine, but they all do very well, there are some lovely dances for children.

Olesia Novikova and Friedermann Vogel are Raymonda and Jean de Brienne, she has 6 solo's and 3 pdd, including a series of 30 entrechats landing on pointe, never seen that before!

There is an article in today's Sunday Times where Tamara Rojo gives her views on the pressure on female dancers to be ultra thin, perhaps as the wish of others including choreographers, she is so down to earth, good for her, she really may help to popularise ballet.

I had to miss Carbon Life as it looked like a late finish again, plus transport problems, please don't tell me it finished 10.30 sharp!

Polyphonia didn't have quite the same impact as on Tuesday although I thought Yasmine Naghdi and James Hay danced beautifully in their pdd, I rather missed Leanne Benjamin and Nehemiah Kish as the other couple, Dawid Trzensimiech and Samantha Raine looked good.

I sympathise with people who are perplexed with the plot in Sweet Violets but I think it's more of a fantasy in the mind of Walter Sickert ballet than a narrative one, it moves suddenly from 1907 to 1888

without warning! I agree with the critics who say that the role of Sickert is too detached and could have more dancing, Bennet Gartside was especially good in the scene with Leanne Cope (who was pitiful and heartbreaking as Annie) and at the end with Laura Morera and Alexander Campbell, it makes a very powerful ending, still think the designs are magnificent and contribute much to the atmosphere, also the music was well chosen.

Can't find this info anywhere else but apologies if it is:

La Sylphide June 7 Johan Kobborg replaces Sergei Polunin

La Sylphide June 15 Dawid Trzensimiech replaces Sergei Polunin

Sarah Lamb still dancing the Sylphide

My first short reaction to this triple bill is that Polyphonia is the best Wheeldon ballet I've seen so far , Sweet Violets is very dramatic and atmospheric with a strong start and ending (similar pdd and settings) and marvellous designs that looked like art installations in themselves, the stage/audience one was brilliant, and the last bedroom scene (there must have been an optical illusion or how else did Alina Cojocaru run up the walls?) very scary, I felt truly shocked afterwards, and Carbon Life is a disappointment, too much going on without any effect, I kept watching the singers and musicians instead of the dancers.

Looking forward to seeing the second cast and the first cast again next week, I'll probably have changed my mind too!

 

 

I've been wondering about this too. I have a recollection that some time in the 1990s (I think) there were adverts in the dance press for a production of Le Train Bleu which a French or German company was planning to bring to the UK - maybe the Coliseum ?. But it never happened. It gave me the impression that there might still be a production "live" out there somewhere. Does anyone recall this ?

It may have been the POB, there is a DVD available of them dancing it, I believe it dates back to the 1990's, the other ballet on the DVD is Three Cornered Hat, it's called "Picasso and Dance" and there is also a documentary. I often watch Train Bleu, it's not as good as Les Biches but very similar in theme.

I would like to see the RB revive Les Biches too.

I managed to get a ticket for Alice yesterday, Beatriz Stix-Brunell was captivating as Alice, she has a light willowy style with beautiful arm movements, endless possibilities for her, also liked Nehemiah Kish who was a marvellous partner for her. Only really went to see her but found myself liking Alice a little bit more this time round, didn't mind the extra 20 minute interval as it gave a break from the hectic pace for the audience as well as for Alice! As a result there's not much ballet dancing until act 2, Alice's solo, Caterpillar (Fernando Montano excellent), waltz, then an extended pdd for Alice and Jack, much needed, and beautifully danced. Act 3 passes quickly, the garden scene, Rose Adage (am I the only person not to really find this funny?) and trial scene, until one of the best moments, the collapse of the playing cards and whole court, the journey back throught the rabbit hole, and the epilogue which is charming and nostalgic, a moment of stillness at the end of a hectic and too manic ballet.

The audience adored it though, including lots of children on Easter holidays, and I'm so glad I saw Beatriz Stix-Brunell and Nehemiah Kish, on an off-chance!