MildConcern

42 minutes ago, MildConcern said:

When you think that Hayward, Hamilton and Naghdi first danced a 3 act lead role as Juliet as lowly first artists (or very new soloists, I can’t quite remember).

Correcting myself now I’ve had my morning coffee! Young first artists Hayward and Hamilton got their breaks as Manon in the same run. Naghdi got hers as Juliet a year or so later. But my point stands! 

I love the casting. Alice should look and feel very young - I’m glad they are looking to younger dancers. 
 

I hope this trend continues. When you think that Hayward, Hamilton and Naghdi first danced a 3 act lead role as Juliet as lowly first artists (or very new soloists, I can’t quite remember). Or that Kaneko as a first artist was cast as Kitri. I’ve felt that casting “every principal no matter what” trend has been a bit stale lately, especially when some are so eminently unsuited to certain roles. 
 

While Sasaki and Calvert are getting runs out in SL, they are on the more senior end of the company. I miss the excitement of seeing the young talent coming through. I sense it with Pantuso, who just draws your eye whenever she is onstage. I hope we can discover other “gems”.

One thing I will say is that Hinkis strikes me as badly cast as Alice. She doesn’t have the young wide-eyed charm of the other Alices. I think she is a very solid dancer but doesn’t quite have the star quality to carry a story and I don’t quite understand the opportunities she has been getting. 

This forum proves invaluable once again. I’ve swapped my existing ticket for a much better stalls ticket for less than I originally paid.

These “swaps” are obviously not helpful to the overall problem though. I’d be interested if others can recall how the last run of WT sold (or LWFC). I personally usually avoid Wheeldon, it’s only Muntagirov’s casting that has tempted me to try it again. But McGregor’s full lengths have generally sold well this season and last. 

16 minutes ago, CCL said:

I’m really delighted for Sissens and Sasaki and excited for June 25th when I will be seeing them.

Oh, have I missed an announcement? The website still shows Takada dancing with Sissens on the 25th.

I liked Sasaki’s Odile better than her Odette, but it was a confident debut. Her black swan solo variation was very nicely done, as was the solo Act 2 variation after the two big swans. But I did feel that she was quite rushed in Act 2 (including even the mime) and while beautiful, her Odette wasn’t very  regal and I missed a certain dreamy quality I love in the role.

Sissens did a wonderful job of the solo linking Acts 1 and 2 and his Siegfried was very persuasive. I continue to feel that partnering is one of his weaker points and some of the black swan lifts were a little clunky.

I liked Rovero as Benno very much. I’ve seen Hinkis and Tonkinson as the sisters across all three casts I’ve seen live - can’t tell if there’s limited variation or I’m just fated to see these two. Each time I’ve found them safe hands (feet?) but a little dull. It’s a shame because I remember loving the sisters in the first run. 

One person I'd like to acknowledge is last night's conductor, Martin Gergiev. He was excellent throughout, deeply attentive to the dancers and allowed them to accentuate their dancing with the right musical flourishes. I can't recall if I have seen him conduct the RB orchestra before this run of Swan Lake, but I was really impressed and would certainly like to see him more often!

7 hours ago, HelenHelen said:

I really hope Kaneko gets filmed as Odette/Odile one day, and that it doesn't count against her that her current partners have had the cinema/streaming treatment already.

I very much agree with this! Kaneko was my surprising favourite Odile in the 2022 run.
 

She was head and shoulders above everyone else I saw in this run. I would dearly love her interpretation to be filmed with one of her current partners. The RB has track record of trying to record dancers in the same role twice (Cuthbertson as Hermione and Aurora spring to mind - although the second recording of the latter was derailed by injury) so I hope it works out!

10 minutes ago, mari said:

I’m sorry, I was honestly trying to honor the performers by giving them a standing ovation. I think THEY and their arot are the ones we should think about and honor. Especially considering that rows before were also doing so… 

I agree - and can I point out the entirety of the stalls were on their feet during the curtain calls. I don't think mari should have to ruin her own enjoyment for one much outnumbered outlier, regardless of the reason they did not (or could not) join in. 

But please, let's focus on the sublime performances!

I’ve already said all I could possibly say following Saturday’s performance from Kaneko and Muntagirov. I can only add that their second performance completely lived up to their first. Utterly dazzling - everything dialled up to ‘11’ but still so heartrendingly sincere. A giant standing ovation from those of us in the stalls (I hope also from the rest of the house) - and a rather shy kiss shared between the two leads during the red run! All as a lovely tribute to Linda Gainsbury - the cup does runneth over. 

1 minute ago, JNC said:

Not if it’s less than 24 hours until the performance?

 

Oh - I wasn't aware of that small print. I stand corrected!

14 minutes ago, balletyas said:

I’m so disappointed and half inclined to return my 4 tickets tonight and rebook for 13th just not sure if they’ll sell? All SC and ranking from 49 to 63 - any thoughts very welcome. I’m sure they will do very well tonight but I was set on the Bracewell/naghdi cast.. 

If your concern is whether you get the return credit, then rest assured, the amount will be credited to your account immediately on return and is not contingent upon resale. 

26 minutes ago, Sim said:

I see from his Instagram story that Vadim dedicated his performance last night to Linda Gainsbury, saying that he hoped she and Michael had been watching from “the beautiful sky.”  How lovely. 😢❤️

I think that was Fumi's instagram story! But I'm sure Vadim shares the same sentiment. 

That was the most complete performance of Odette and Odile I think I’ve ever seen live. Utterly remarkable from Fumi Kaneko. World weary, sincere and beautiful in the white acts - she really found every last microsecond of the music to extend those endless arms. I really felt like Odette’s death wasn’t a preordained walk to the gallows, but a true act of desperation and sacrifice. Her Odile was a comprehensive vixen - hedonistic and seductive. Those fouettés - whipped off in an initial series of doubles with arms in changing attitudes - words fail me. 
 

The strength of the performances by the three leads - Kaneko, Muntagirov and Braendsrod - really hit me in Act IV, which is never usually the highlight for me. The struggle between the three for power and freedom really came across this evening with a strong sense of real jeopardy. Braendsrod was vital to this - he is a very active Rothbart with a commanding presence you really felt he could overwhelm and incapacitate. I was hugely impressed with him throughout. In Act 1, he didn’t sneer at Siegfried with condescension the way many Rothbarts do. Instead, his gaze was that of a challenger - impassive and political.

Muntagirov - we all know how good he is in this role and plenty has been written about it already. One thing I will say though is that he looked incredibly ‘free’ tonight - the joy was emanating off him in the black swan pdd and he really seemed to luxuriate in Odile’s every touch. This partnership really, really works in the big classics.

@li tai po, thank you for such a heartfelt tribute. Reading it, I really felt the full force of Linda's love and contribution to the art form and I'm amazed at the extent of her kind hearted support and philanthropy. A life of real fulfilment and it is evident she touched many of those around her. I only ever enjoyed reading her posts on this Forum, and yet I still feel the void she leaves.

Second row amphitheatre, B-36, £35.

I will still be attending, just in a different seat! Can email the ticket to the taker.

28 minutes ago, jmhopton said:

There is also a recording of the Bolshoi done a while ago with a young Lantratov as Onegin and Chudin as Lensky (can't remember who did the female roles) but I don't know how 'legal' it is

If it's the one I'm thinking of, it's Smirnova and the recording is definitely illegal!

A shame, because I do think Lantratov's Onegin is magnificent. 

Also, adding to above comments re the Cranko estate's vice grip on recording, they are also pretty powerful when it comes to casting. During the Bolshoi's first run of Onegin in 2013, Zakharova was promised (or assumed she would get) the opening night as the undisputed prima. The Cranko estate objected and gave it to the then very young and much less established Smirnova, causing Zakharova to storm out of rehearsals and the run...

Rather pleased with the casting for Faust, Turandot, Tosca and Onegin. A lot of the names I hoped to see are present in some capacity over the season. 

Most of all, I'm glad it's not a second season without the wonderful Lisette Oropesa!

You will find me at Balanchine, Onegin (multiple casts), R&J (at least twice depending on casting) and Madaddam. So overall quite a lot less than this year.
 

If I had the power to make just one change it would be to replace one of the Wheeldon bills with a classic three acter - Giselle or Bayadere spring to mind.

 

34 minutes ago, JohnS said:

 

Just picking up one comment, Eugene Onegin is a new production, Ted Huffman directing. The blurb says he directed 4:48: Psychosis and ‘… brings his unique vision … that blurs the boundaries between memory, longing and desire.’ There’s a feature on Huffman in the Autumn Booking Magazine.

JohnS, you've rather made my day!

Oh, I do hope to hear that it is a new production of Eugene Onegin. The Kasper Holten staging is such a travesty to my favourite opera. If it remains the same, I shall have to attend with my eyes closed.

Mixed feelings from this evening.

It’s not Francesca Hayward’s wheelhouse but she gave it a good attempt and was better as Odette. I’m afraid her Odile was rather unconvincing, though I do give her plaudits for managing to muscle through the fouettés when she was clearly out of steam and laboured. It’s a weird description but she has very ‘Macmillan’ arms - all wrists. I’d watch her endlessly as Manon, but it’s slightly odd on O/O.

Bracewell was fantastic as I have come to expect, but they do not have much chemistry together. 

Gary Avis almost stole the show as Rothbart!

1 minute ago, balletyas said:

I wonder if you’ve ever seen her Giselle? That, for me, was the moment I saw her vulnerability and I have seen that ever since although I think less so tonight… 

I have not seen it live, but I did catch it on the ROH stream! Again, not to my taste but I do always like my Giselles slightly more deranged than politely insane. 

I was so enamoured by Naghdi and Ball’s debuts in R&J in 2015, but I’m afraid I’ve never felt that way about her again. About Ball, certainly (his Rudolf and Beliaev among others). But as much as I admire her technique, I have never found Naghdi heartrending other than that first R&J outing. There is something very calculated about her presentation that is a barrier to my emotional enjoyment, and I’m afraid that came across to me strongly this evening.

I have Hayward, Kaneko and Sasaki to come still. Aside from Kaneko, I’m not sure the others will be able to match Naghdi on technical prowess. But I am more hopeful I will be able to be emotionally invested in the story. 

Hirano has posted pictures from his surgery bed… amazing that he was able to exit the stage so gracefully in the circumstances!

If I can see Onegin and Giselle in the new season, I shall be completely satisfied.

Dream casting - Muntagirov Onegin debut alongside Bracewell as Lensky. Can’t decide the Tatiana and Olga - maybe Kaneko (debut) and O’Sullivan respectively. Unlikely, but one can dream!