MildConcern

It is really interesting to read Forum members' different reactions to the roles. For me, Osipova and Kaneko's respective Manons are very different (disclaimer - I have not seen Osipova this run, but I have seen virtually every one of her Manon performances in previous runs starting from her London debut with Acosta). Osipova's Manon always came across as a real agent of her own destruction - she is a candle that burns brilliantly at both ends, seeking pleasure and never destined for a long life of contentment. I always feel her sexual liberation very keenly, and there is an eroticism to the bedroom pdd when she dances, a young girl discovering adult pleasures. When her downfall happens, I feel that she does not so much exhibit remorse, but more despair that everything she worked for has disappeared. The relationship with Des Grieux is one of blazing attraction and first love, but I don't necessarily believe that it was destined to last in any event. This is Manon with very much a capital 'M' - she is the sun around which everyone revolves and falls into orbit. In the final pdd, I feel she is throwing herself into the grave with abandon - one last reckless fling (and Des Grieux happens to one left who supports her to the end). Kaneko's Manon (based only one run out so far!) is very different. I wrote about it above and as Sim says, her downfall comes about through a mix of brotherly manipulation and a predilection for luxury that sits uneasily with a private distaste of immoral means. There is an inner turmoil and a private battle of wills that is much more complex than 'I like him, but I also love money'. In Act 2, I think her sense of shame at being a courtesan comes across much stronger than most Manons I've seen. The bedroom pdd is flush with bright and promising love, not lust, and accordingly it comes across very differently. In Act 3, she is shell-shocked and catatonic at what has befallen her and vey much retreats into herself. Similarly, the final pdd is one saturated in regret and a doomed realisation at how she has caused Des Grieux to fall also. I came out feeling I'd experienced a real love story. It really is a matter of personal taste and we're very lucky to have such range to choose from!

I cannot agree more. I was so thrilled by Vadim when he first joined the RB - the beauty of his first Des Grieux was a real shock to the system. Over the years, I found myself taking the stunning classicism of his lines for granted and wishing that he would emote more even beyond the natural beauty of his dancing. I also (she says quietly) never found his partnership with Nunez emotionally demanding and so inevitably saw him less the more they danced together. Mayerling was a real turning point for my connection to him - I could not believe that this agonisingly tortured and consumed portrayal came from him. And he has gone from strength to strength since. HIs Des Grieux now glows, and when he looked at Kaneko's Manon last night, the love was from inside, not just his wonderful dancing. I am still agape - and counting the hours to Tuesday's performance.

Lots of wonderful feelings from this evening - in particular, Muntagirov. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him stronger. His interpretation has changed greatly since the very boyish des Grieux at his debut with Lamb. This came across strongly in his first solo where he portrayed an assured young man confidently displaying his ardour, rather than an enraptured youth and it worked very well. His solos in Act 3 were heartbreaking - he is now as strong dramatically as he is technically, which is a heady and deadly combination! The bedroom pdd and swamp pdd were “suspend time” sublime. The Muntagirov and Kaneko partnership is very different to the tender one she shares with Bracewell. This one is grand and buoyant, where everything from lifts to emotions are ‘large’ and it really soars in the pdd. The kisses and little touches of affection between them all felt extremely natural. I really look forward to seeing them together in Swan Lake. I was really sucked in by Kaneko’s Manon. Hers seems to feel familial bond more than perhaps the allure of gold. She never seemed as entranced by the jewellery as she did by Lescaut’s encouragement, and her first concern in the fight scenes was always for him. She displayed more coldness and ambivalence than most towards Monsieur GM - she was the puppet rather than the gravitational sun. Some of her acting really struck me - the way she bounced up full of beaming smiles immediately after bedroom pdd and also the sinuous slight disgust she had during the pas de trois with Lescaut and GM. Some of the acting in Madame’s parlour could perhaps be more varied, but it is a debut!

I remember thinking it was a shame when Hayward was announced as the replacement for Takada for Manon, when there is Hamilton with one performance and also plenty of female principal 'Manons-in-waiting'. This newest announcement makes it fall into place - it is fitting that Campbell's last performance is with a partnership that has brought us so much joy over the years. My favourite role of his remains his Bratfisch (he embodies it like no-one else) and I will be very sorry to never see it again.

The surprise standout of the evening for me was Never Known, by Joshua Junker. I thought it suited the dancers extremely well, was thought provoking and innovative (definite shades of Pite though) and I found the final male pdd quite affecting. It also certainly got the loudest cheers this evening! Boundless and For What It’s Worth both somewhat tapered off after promising beginnings. In particular, I found Boundless numbingly repetitive and dull. For What It’s Worth had some highlights but I’m not sure the balletic language is really an effective one to convey Mother Africa. I had high expectations for Twinkle, but while very charming it didn’t quite reach the highs. Will and Fumi are my favourite RB pairing and yet the choreo didn’t really tap into the reserves they have. I found the opening Brahms solo for Bracewell particularly underwhelming, especially when we know his immense capabilities. An evening very well spent however! And I found the video projections before each piece a great way to transition the audience.

The Friday Manon with Kaneko / Muntagirov might provide a new experience for me - an overseas-based balletomane friend will will be flying in and has asked if I would guide her to, and join her at, the stage door after the performance. Not having done this before in my 10 years of RB attending (always being perfectly happy to wander off into the night with fine memories and an earworm or two), would anyone have a rough idea of how long we might have to wait post-performance? The etiquette I would hope we would get right, but I don't think she is envisioning more than a hearty handshake and a few uplifting words about the performance.

I didn't catch the broadcast but looking at various (pirated) clips being shared by the dancers themselves on Instagram, it really struck me how different Osipova's Manon is to her first performances of the role with Acosta in 2014. I remember attending both performances fervently! Both interpretations are striking in different ways.

Worth noting that Clarke and Lukas BB are two of the tallest men in the company. If Magri has been rehearsing with a tall sugar plum prince, maybe it’s easier to sub in another similar physique?

If this thread has evidenced anything, it is that the vast majority of commentators react very positively to their pairing. So I think we should put this topic to rest.

In and out quickly and holding my desired tickets for the Sasaki / Sissens and and Kaneko / Muntagirov casts. Splashed out for stalls for the latter. NB: RB management, you can tempt me buy another pricey ticket if you finally cast Hamilton as Odette/Odile in summer casting!

I don't agree with this post. I enjoy Hirano as a performer and his partnering is one of the most secure of the current RB male principals. I think the latter point is particularly important in the later years of the a ballerina's career. Moreover, they both have a sort of quiet maturity to their dancing that complements each other rather well. I doubt Lamb has no say over her partner - I would expect that of the current female principals, Nunez, Osipova, Lamb and perhaps Cuthbertson have more sway over their casting (look at Osipova's insistence on Clarke). I suspect the Lamb / Hirano partnership is as much her choice as anyone else's.

Thank you @Sim and @JohnS for providing the pre performance links! I needn’t have worried - I found the evening ‘divine’ indeed and remarkably easy to follow. In its premier run, I remember liking Purgatory but not much else. This time round however, it flowed as an intensely communicative piece. I confess I am usually partial to McGregor and find his dance language quite intuitive. I am aware it is not the same for everyone on the forum. But like some others earlier in this thread, I find it now sits very well on the RB and think it is a real boast for our flagship ballet company to have such a defined modern movement. Bracewell was magic and the Act 2 pdd brought a tear to my eye. I found the soothsayers onwards to the end in Inferno very captivating. Paradiso is perhaps the weakest of the three but the score does much to lift it. My companion, a ballet newbie who hated Cinderella, loved this immensely. You see, there is something for everyone!

I'm taking a ballet newbie to Dante this evening and wonder if anyone can point me to a synopsis for the ballet? My own memory of it is rather foggy and neither of us have too much knowledge of the Divine Comedy. It would be helpful for him to know which scenes of Inferno are expected in Act 1

I also have the same feeling about at least one promotion being rather earlier than I would have otherwise expected. It isn't just about whether they have done enough 'big classics' in the repertoire, it's more a general feeling about their ability to command the stage and really excite me the way a principal should. For instance, I felt (and feel) very positively about the relatively speedy promotions of Hayward and Naghdi - their respective (very different!) star qualities were undeniable as first artists. And we have now been rewarded with many years of their debuts and performances. Kaneko, on the other hand, was beset by injury and not ready for promotion at an earlier stage in her career. Her promotion came at the right time for her and she is now my 'first choice cast' for virtually everything as everything she touches turns to gold. But I think that route should be a just reward for late bloomers with the same star quality as those young promotees, rather than a sort of service prize for a very good soloist.

A very fine debut by Clarke and some excellent partnering (those lifts!). It was also great to finally see Osipova in her signature role - her Act 1 solo variation was truly sizzling and her Kitri has a very naughty demeanour. I also thought her excitement when watching the gypsy camp was very cute - dancing away in her chair. I have the slightly unfortunate (or very fortunate) condition of having seen the utterly superlative Kaneko and Bracewell cast twice now and the cohesiveness they portray really carries the ballet. With Osipova and Clarke, I felt they were always most focussed on technical fireworks which, once executed, was followed by a huge grin. While impressive, it really exposes how “bitty” this ballet is, particularly in the Acosta production.

Looks like the June date casts are not yet up! I would bet that is where Osipova and Takada are. No Kaneko Bracewell 😞 But a very anticipated debut in Sasaki!

Yes - during a performance of Tannhäuser last season, I was sat next to such an enormously larger gentleman that it really was causing me (and him!) a lot of discomfort. I spoke to ushers at the first interval and spent the rest of the evening in a Grand Tier box that was also filled with ROH staff and their friends. From chatting, it seems they get free tickets fairly regularly and I have since made a habit of scoping the boxes to see if they are filled with staff or paying punters. Staff seem to occupy them a lot more than you’d think!

A couple more thoughts, following my immediate plaudits of Fumi and Will yesterday evening. Mariko Sasaki's Queen of the Dryads was very lovely and she executed that variation with an enforced, dreamy air. I was also very taken by Joonhyuk Jun as lead gypsy - he filled the stage and made a very memorable impression in a short appearance. Leo Dixon seemed a little nervous as Espada and came across slightly rigid, though perhaps the swagger will come more as he beds down in the role. How wonderful is James Hay! I can't quite believe his range and I do potential for a very successful path as a principal character artist, should he desire it. Finally, and though I have already spoken about them, the brief windmill pdd at the beginning of Act 2 gave me an intense longing to see a Kaneko/Bracewell Swan Lake later this year. I do really hope this comes true - they were my favourite O/O and Siegfried in the last run by some distance, though both partnering others. If I see them together by the lake, I might just explode.

The Kaneko / Bracewell partnership really is something truly special; the chemistry reminds me of Cojocaru / Kobborg back when they were on the ROH stage. There is something naturally warm and intimate in the way they pay notice to each other even in the midst of a challenging pdd that makes their storytelling feel so very genuine. There is much I could say about this evening but the main thought I have is that it may be the most convincing wedding pdd I have seen in the Acosta production - not speaking purely in terms of technique (though those fouettés!), but in making me feel like I am a guest at their special day. A very happy theatregoer tonight indeed, and extremely pleased that I nabbed a last minute ticket!

Fumi also danced a number of 'doubles' last year - Lilac and Aurora in Sleeping Beauty and also both Cinderella and Fairy Godmother. A counterbalance to having a very healthy number of female principals is that the first soloists are not as strong as they have been at other points in the past (my opinion only, of course). I rather like seeing Kaneko, Magri and O'Sullivan still dancing secondary roles, alongside their many leading debuts.

I’m not the one you asked, but I paid that price for SCS Rheingold. I have the lowest level of Friend priority and there were a good few available on the (stressful!) autumn booking day, though if I recall correctly they went rather quickly.

I thought the ENO Rheingold earlier this year was vastly superior to the ROH’s new offering - and very affordable too! But I agree that it is a sad state for our flagship opera house when it works out on par - or perhaps even cheaper - to fly to Munich or Zurich for the same pleasure.

Opera sales are struggling also. Rheingold sold very well (as a new Ring Cycle production inevitably will) but both La Forza and L’elisir have swathes of unsold seats. I am in my twenties and many of my theatre loving friends are feeling the cost of living and the ROH price increases have turned them away - rather sadly, I am attending largely on my own (or occasionally with my partner) this season…

Hi all - with the unfortunate news that Osipova is injured and withdrawing from the October performances, I am looking to sell or return the below ticket: Amphi A-42 £52 Magri (replacing Osipova) / Sambe Nothing against Magri; I simply do not enjoy the Acosta production and it was only the promise of seeing Osipova in this role at long last that tempted me to buy a ticket for this run! It is an e-ticket so I can email to any takers.

I actually had a very calm experience this morning, compared to the stress of the Autumn booking period! Hope the website held up well for others. General discontent at price increases means I chose to splurge on a single Manon stalls ticket for Kaneko/Muntagirov, rather than buying various Amphi/balcony tickets across multiple casts as I usually do. So needless to say, I am looking forward to 23 February!