Linnzi5

I got the email and it took me ages to find where the pricing was!  🤔

Well, I do normally book multiple performances when booking opens for me, so if there are performances I want to see AND casting is announced before I book AND I'm pleased with some of the casts, then tickets for me, with 15% off could actually be cheaper this next season when compared to similar ballets this season, though Alice is excluded (and others may be later in the season, apparently - though that had not better be R&J!!). What happens if I needed to cancel a ticket and rebook? I'm presuming I would not get 15% off the ticket for the new performance?  I will wait to see how this pans out. I was expecting a price hike so am not surprised. I think tickets where I like to sit have gone up by about 9.2%, if my maths is correct and it may well not be! 

This is very sad news. I enjoyed her posts here very much, though I didn't know Linda in person.  My condolences to her many friends here   

I'm ok with the most of what is scheduled - would have liked Fille, Giselle or SB instead of some of the more contemporary numbers, personally.

On to what's on:

Alice - I will definitely see. Will be looking for a cast I like though.

Cinderella - I absolutely loved it. Will depend on casting as to how many I see.

Onegin - I'm looking forward to this but again, how many visits will depend on casting (and price!)

Romeo and Juliet - one of my favourites, so I'm pleased about this. Yet again, how many visits depends on casting and cost.

Balanchine triple - haven't seen any of the ballets live. So, I'll be going.

Contemporary mixed bill - Will see about casting before making a decision.

Wheeldon 'Broadway' bill - well, I love musicals, so maybe I'll love these? Will most likely give it a go.

No Nutcracker - I know RB periodically doesn't do this, but I am sad. It's become a tradition to go. Cinderella instead this year. 

43 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said:

 

Yes, and Marcelino's Mercutio (which I was fortunate to see live in the 2022 run when he stood in for someone, can't remember who). Perfect casting

I thought Sambè was a perfect Mercutio - cheeky and like a little whirlwind when he danced. 

1 hour ago, Scheherezade said:

I won’t be seeing Hayward and Bracewell this run so it’s lovely to read other people’s impressions. I was surprised, though, to read that someone up-thread felt that they didn’t have any chemistry as I’ve always found their shared naturalistic style dripping in mutual chemistry. Indeed - and much as I love the Kaneko/Bracewell partnership - one of my gripes is that Hayward and Bracewell haven’t been paired up nearly enough of late. 

I agree with you. I thought they had lovely chemistry and was hoping to see them in The Dream together, as I think they'd be lovely in that. They were so gorgeous together in Dances at a Gathering as well, IMO.

51 minutes ago, Scheherezade said:

It’s gorgeous, isn’t it. The camera loves both of them and they are each so convincing in what they portray. Add Matthew Ball’s glorious Tybalt to the mix and what you have is pure gold. 

I loved Matthew Ball's Tybalt. It was a very different characterisation to others I've seen and I loved what he did with it.  I thought he was the perfect Tybalt, personally.

2 hours ago, JohnS said:

I found last night’s Swan Lake hugely satisfying and a pleasure to see Francesca Hayward’s audacious Odile alongside her heart-rending Odette. I’ve always been impressed with her Odette and I thought last night she gave a performance to cherish - wonderfully sustained throughout the two White Acts and making the most of the slow tempo. The lighting didn’t quite work as well in the Prelude as I remember from the previous run (as I think has been the case in a number of performances this run). But I found Odette’s vulnerability aching in Act 2 and she was utterly broken in Act 4 before girding herself for her redemptive self sacrifice. Act 3 has always been a challenge for Hayward with the bravura set pieces and there are dancers who certainly have more panache. But last night there was no doubting in my mind that Hayward’s Odile would deliver. And I do find her Odile alluringly seductive, shades of her recent Marie and Manon. 
 

Will Bracewell was a fabulous Siegfried, wonderful dancing throughout, and showing his contempt for Von Rothbart through movement rather than muttering. I thought he and Hayward made a convincing partnership and, as in the previous run, I’m sure Bracewell gave tremendous support. It was good to see them at the Stage Door and they both seemed pleased with the performance.

Looking forward very much to their second performance in a couple of weeks and with other casts to see before then.

I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed last night's performance. I was sadly, well not sadly as I was away with a friend enjoying a weekend of music, unable to attend last night - I would have liked to have gone to both Hayward/Bracewell performances and was disappointed not to be able to do so, but am going on 11th May.  I loved Hayward's Odile last time I saw her and thought she was a complete firecracker. I'm so glad to hear she delivered the fouettés - bravo to her for her resilience, as I know they are not necessarily her forte.

I have to admit that too much muttering is not an interpretation that I personally enjoy - I feel it makes Siegfried seem a bit petulant, as is too much eye-rolling. I'm not saying it's not valid, interpretations are obviously up to the performer, but it's just not what I like to see.

12 hours ago, BeauxArts said:

Curiously, I found Francesca H’s Odile more compelling than her tentative Odette. I was quite happy to see her single fouettés which she finished well. Her classical dancing is small-scale, which is not a criticism, but can leave her rather exposed in this kind of demanding role. She had the immense good fortune of an incredibly generous partner in William Bracewell. This is now an excellent role for him, his thoughtful characterisation in play from  the first grudging acknowledgment of  von Rothbart. His solos were well-judged and beautifully danced and his partnering impeccable. I think he and Francesca H do have chemistry,  but probably the MacMillan repertoire is where it finds (and hopefully will find in the future) its fullest expression. Elsewhere, Joonhyuk Jun was a pleasure to watch. The corps were on fine form, despite the demands of a double-show day. 

Last run, I found Hayward's Odile more compelling too, but I am really looking forward to seeing what she does with both roles on the 11th. 

2 hours ago, Jake said:

Yes, forgot to mention that the prologue did seem a bit strange with the two people bearing no resemblance. 

Yes. I noticed this too and thought it a bit strange. I wonder, if I would have noticed if I was sitting in ROH though? 

I must mention that I thought Yasmine's Act II White Swan Coda was stunning.  I forgot to mention that earlier. I absolutely love that part of Act II and I thought she was gorgeous - one of the best I've ever seen. 

My companions and I thought there was a lot to enjoy about the cinema relay last night. The orchestra was on top form under the baton of Martin Georgiev. Magnus Johnston's playing was just divine and I much preferred his solos to the previous concert master's ones this run (being a violinist, I am picky, and this is just my personal preference of the interpretation of the solos). I preferred Georgiev's interpretation generally to the previous performances I've been to this run - and what a lovely man!  The costumes looked absolutely stunning and were so visually pleasing.

Standouts for me were Joonhyuk Jun as Benno. His dancing was excellent, so confident and light,  but he was such a happy and joyful dancer that I found myself smiling alongside him. Leticia Dias shone as one of Siegfried's sisters, as did Annette Buvoli, though I found their height differences a bit jarring, especially when they were dancing in unison. Nadia Mullova-Barley shone again in the Spanish Dance and I thought Leo Dixon and Isabella Gasparini were adorable in the Neapolitan Dance - and the tambourines behaved! (I always get so nervous when they throw them!)

Yasmine Naghdi was as technically brilliant as I expected. Her fouettés as Odile were showy, technically excellent, and, especially considering this was a cinema relay, were confident and dazzling - they certainly hit the spot for me when they needed to! Bravo to her as I can only imagine, not only how technically challenging hers were but how absolutely nerve-wracking it must have been to deliver those so perfectly! All of my party were blown away here!

I  found the Act II PDD to be technically excellent, but for me, would have liked to have seen more vulnerability in her Odette - just my personal taste.  I did feel she came to her own in Act IV though, where she emoted brilliantly and I felt her despair and pain at Siegfried's betrayal. This I found very moving and I think I liked her best in this movement as I felt so much emotion myself here. 

Yasmine's Odile was playful, flirty and seductive but didn't quite have the malicious, evil/cold streak I  like - again, I think that's personal taste on my part. Overall, I thought she was excellent and so confident - I never once felt unsure of her and she made the choreography look easy and technically, I feel she is one of the best dancers at RB.  

I can't deny I didn't feel Matthew Ball was at the top of his game last night - he is such an excellent dancer and I really like him. Though I thought parts of his dancing were as technically excellent as he usually is, something was missing for me at times. I also found his Siegfried a little expressionless sometimes, as did my companions, though we all felt that in Act IV, he came to his own. I wonder if nerves played a part? I certainly couldn't blame him if that was the case! His partnering was assured, supportive and excellent, I thought.

I thought the Corps was excellent but do take on board some of the earlier comments about the Big Swans and Cygnets. I found them to be absolutely fine and I had nothing to complain about specifically,  but didn't feel they were the best I've seen for some reason.

The quality of the relay itself was sadly not the best. For the first act, for some reason, the picture on the screen was too high and the dancer's feet were cut off! I found that really frustrating. The sound was too low and we had some horrible distortion in the sound again - hearing it in Stravinsky is one thing, in Tchaikovsky, it's a crime. I also did not like some of the cut-in shots - I found some were random and the dancing I wanted to see was missed. I have preferred other Swan Lake relays in that respect, I'm afraid. 

However, overall, it was an enjoyable night that was definitely Yasmine Naghdi's - congratulations to her and to the whole cast. 

On 22/04/2024 at 16:59, Dawnstar said:

I'm very hacked off at the latest strike dates as I was planning to see Winter's Tale on 7th May, which I now definitely won't be able to get to, and Swan Lake on 9th May, which might now be problematic. I suppose I'll have to see that Winter's Tale cast on 13th May instead but I can't reschedule SL as on the other date that cast are performing I have no trains due to engineering. (I'm also worrying because with there being strikes on similar dates in April & May if it's the same in June then that'll be just when Sarasota Ballet is visiting the ROH & if I can't get to their performances that I have booked I will be extremely upset.)

I've done the same and rebooked for 13th and cancelled 7th May. 

1 hour ago, Rachelm said:

Yes- I really enjoy hearing lots of different opinions too.

Me too! I don't necessarily agree with some, but I never mind as it's so interesting to read what other people think and how they interpret things.  @Buru, please keep expressing your thoughts  

Lovely insight. I particularly enjoyed Fumi and Vadim and always enjoy Ed Watson's coaching.  I got a real sense of where they were taking their roles. I didn't enjoy the second rehearsal as much - as others have said, the dancers were stopped what felt like every two seconds and I found myself losing interest (I could see they were, perhaps, at a different stage of learning their roles though). It was an enjoyable experience overall though.

8 hours ago, Silke H said:

And mine 🥳

A lovely birthday treat for me 🤩

Happy birthday! 🎉

I received it on Friday too and filled it in. It was quite comprehensive and I was happy to give my perspective on a number of items - including how important it is to me knowing the cast in advance of booking . . . 

Oh dear. That all sounds rather unfortunate! Sorry to hear Hirano was injured? If so, I hope he recovers quickly.

9 minutes ago, Missfrankiecat said:

I'm not sure the ending is 'universally' disliked.  It works for me and for some others.  There are always problems in applying logic to myths/fairy stories but I don't have any problems with Sigfried's 'lack of agency' or failure to put up an effective fight in the final battle.  It is entirely consistent with his character throughout and he is, after all, the only human on stage in the final act - all the others are supernatural beings to some extent, representing forces of good and evil.  If we are looking at a cosmic fight between good and evil, it is hardly surprising that a mere human stands no chance in defeating evil through his puny attempts.  I have always regarded SL as mirroring aspects of the Christian theology/mythology (depending on your faith view). Evil doesn't win by Odette's self-sacrificing death, rather this is a familiar story of self-sacrificial death by a pure being resulting in redemption from the clutches of evil for her followers - this presumably includes Siegfried (the hopeless human) who will be able to return to rebuild the ruined court now that Rothbart is destroyed.  If the true endgame is less to do with a flawed man (who can't even tell the difference between his true love and an imposter that all the audience see a mile off!) getting the girl and more to do with the redemption of a whole kingdom from supernatural evil, then the euphoria in the final music also makes sense. 

I actually like the end. I agree that Siegfried being supine isn't the best use of him (then again, does he really get to do that much anyway?) but I do like that Odette is the strong one and ends her life as she can't bear to continue as she is - all on her own terms. I also wonder if she sacrifices herself so Siegfried can live?  I took it that Siegfried was killed by VR and the two swans revived him at the end - they certainly go over to him and wave their arms over him, which I just interpreted as them restoring his life? I do quite like the traditional ending of the two of them heading off on a swan boat together, united in death but also find it a little sickly sweet. The only ending I didn't like was the one where Siegfried is swimming under a sea of silk (mimicking waves) - I just laughed inside at that! 

37 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

I hope Onegin and R&J aren't in too close proximity, and certainly not overlapping, as they are highly likely to be the 2 pieces I will want to see the most casts for.

Me too.

14 minutes ago, Blossom said:

Schools’ matinees are confirmed for next year - having just been emailed about a Friends’ new season event I decided to check…

 

Alice - high on my list to try to convince my son to come

Cinderella - we knew this already 

R&J

 

A nice taster of what’s to come!

https://www.roh.org.uk/schools/school-matinees

Thank you for this. So, opening with Alice, Cinderella instead of Nutcracker (damn, I'll be spending more then!) and R &J in the Spring. I wonder when Onegin might be then?

25 minutes ago, Rob S said:

Oooo David Donnelly as Von Rothbart this evening!!! 
 

https://www.roh.org.uk/tickets-and-events/43/swan-lake-by-liam-scarlett/cast-list/54699

I think he'll be brilliant!

8 hours ago, Mary said:

I couldn't recognise any of them either even with my bins. 

I did recognise some from Danses Concertantes - but only because I'd memorised the cast list and worked it out by a process of elimination!  The men looked so different with the head adornments on! I still don't know who half the supporting female dancers were in Requiem, as their hairstyles were so similar. I did recognise Meghan Grace Hinkis and Annette Buvoli though. To be fair, I'm pretty poor at recognising most dancers.

28 minutes ago, Jake said:

 

 Some of the music at the start did seem somewhat avant garde - silly me didn’t realise until afterwards that was merely a technical glitch!

Beautifully performed by the entire cast.

I cannot deny that when the first glitch happened that I thought, hmmm, I don't remember the Stravinsky being this dissonant and unattractive! I then realised, after the second one, that it was definitely a sound issue! I can't deny that I felt a bit embarrassed at myself for not initially realising it actually wasn't meant to sound like that! To be fair, I don't know the Stravinsky well 😂

28 minutes ago, Jake said:

 

It must be very difficult for the presenters to strike a balance between aiming for a specialist audience and the more casual viewer. Thankfully Petroc is so smooth and professional and appears genuinely interested which I’m sure he is.

 

 

I agree. I actually I agree with all of your review but I tend to waffle on, so cut the other bits out of my reply! I agree that Petroc does seem genuinely interested and so knowledgable and I am certain he is both. 

1 minute ago, Mary said:

Entertaining scenes last night before the performance started: a couple in a balcony box were having a really major photo shoot session: he had a small tripod....she was wearing an extravagant dress.  At one stage she perched on the ledge (with her back to the house) sitting quite far out as it were...somewhat noticeable and somewhat alarming....I was glad not to be sitting in the stalls below. .....an usher soon hurried along and told them No ( I presume) but shortly afterwards she was back again- with much posing, twisting about etc etc. There was much hilarious comment from the people around me in the  left amphi who had a great view of it all, - but really it was absurd ( and dangerous.)

 

Wow. Sounds really dangerous to me. I do not like heights, so can't understand why anyone would do that! 😱

1 hour ago, Lynette H said:

Sorry to report a complete failure of the cinema relay in south London last night. They just couldn't get it to work. Many apologies from the Odeon staff and a refund processed straight away. A pity. My only chance to see Hayward missed. 

I'm sorry to hear this. Could you go to an encore performance? I'm not sure how many cinemas do them though. 

38 minutes ago, Roberta said:

 

It's all a missed opportunity for education isn't it? The assumption is they are talking to an 'in crowd' who know all of this, rather than a general audience who may well be new to it.  Often it's rather good, it appears little effort was put into this one.

 

 

I got the impression, certainly from those within earshot of me during the intervals, that a lot of the cinema audience around me did not know anything about the ballets or the dancers - though all seemed to enjoy themselves. I don't know if this is typical of audiences though.

I did find the Benesh notation segment quite interesting, but it was too short and didn't have enough detail in it for me, though I know I'm being fussy! 

41 minutes ago, FionaM said:

During the broadcast the fact that Requiem was a tribute to Cranko was mentioned at least 5 times but with very little background on who he was, how he died, or even his full name, not to mention his legacy and how MacMillan learnt from him in Stuttgart.   Woefully short on historical details

 

Francesca Hayward impressed me with her portrayal particularly last night.    

I agree with both of your points. Cranko was mentioned but not really what his importance was or any details about anything much really.

Francesca Hayward was brilliant - I really was so drawn to her whenever she was on stage - she compelled me to look at her. When I saw her last week, I sat in row E of the stalls - so very near the front and I had an excellent view. However, on the relay, I felt I 'saw' so much more of her, directly into her soul, almost,  and her performance was more intimate and meaningful to me. She was so amazing, I thought.