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MildConcern

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  1. MildConcern
    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!
  2. MildConcern
    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.
  3. MildConcern
    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!
  4. MildConcern
    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.
  5. MildConcern
    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.
  6. MildConcern
    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.
  7. MildConcern
    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…
  8. MildConcern
    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.
  9. MildConcern
    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!
  10. MildConcern
    Now taken!
  11. MildConcern
    Hi all - selling a ticket for Don Quixote rehearsal as I forgot I already have brunch plans! Amphi A-39 £25 12:30 start on Saturday 30 September It is an e-ticket so I can email it to the taker.
  12. MildConcern
    Crikey - this casting is putting a spanner in my winter booking plans! So very excited about Kaneko’s debut. On one hand, terrific that we finally get to see her with Muntagirov. On the other, Bracewell’s Des Grieux was one I was sorely anticipating and I was hoping they would be cast together. But seeing as Bracewell is with Naghdi, I must see both casts! Echoing the above comments re Melissa’s public performance - I am so relieved she hasn’t been dropped from the roster. I saw her debut in 2014(!) partnered by Matthew Golding and remember her being utterly divine. Also excited for Richardson, remembering his gala performance with Takada last year in the role. Slightly disappointed not more debuts are scheduled. Did we really need Bolle, who hasn’t done any strenuous partnering for a good few years? Of course the female principal situation is very bloated at the moment, with neither of Magri or O Sullivan getting a run out, but typing the above re Hamilton made me recall that she and Francesca made their Manon debuts as lowly soloists in the same year. How unlikely that is to happen to young potentials now.
  13. MildConcern
    I found it interesting in Muntagirov's autobiography that he states he has said he won't dance modern works because he doesn't want it to detract from his classical technique, and management have respected that. He obviously came to the RB as an established principal, but I suspect this would've panned out quite differently if he was hired by the RB on graduation - in that I don't think he would've been able avoid dancing to styles that are not his preference.
  14. MildConcern
    I can see from my ROH account that my last trips to see Manon in October 2019 set me back £18 for a restricted view amphi ticket. This season, that same ticket will cost £49. I can't see how a £31 increase is justified, even with the cost of living crisis. As it is, I am minded to pick the one cast I am most excited about (probably Kaneko debut if that happens), splash out for a central stalls ticket and be done with it (rather than seeing multiple casts from the amphi as I have usually done).
  15. MildConcern
    I think I have now been successful. Despite only being able to start putting tickets into my basket at 9:30, most of the seats I wanted were still available, which indicates that most people were also struggling. This still wiped out a good hour of my working morning, when the entire ordeal should have been over in 10 minutes!
  16. MildConcern
    Friends and Young Friends booking this morning... I cannot for the life of me book anything as I keep running into the "exceed ticket limit" message despite having nothing in my basket. Now have been on hold with box office for 20 minutes. Most unimpressed.
  17. MildConcern
    I have lost count of the number of times I have seen a young couple, dressed to the nines, come up to the side amphi, looking in confusion for their seat, only to discover with panic that it is a standing ticket. How they don't see this when they are booking, I don't know as it is very well signposted on the website. This is often followed by a row and not returning after the first interval...
  18. MildConcern
    One of fifty here! I don't think I'd be half as passionate about ballet and opera as I am now (and pay full price for so many tickets) if it wasn't for the fantastic exposure the Young ROH scheme gave me. As a person who would've only wanted to book for Swan Lake and Giselle otherwise, £10 stalls student standby tickets lead to me falling in love with Ashton, listening avidly to Strauss operas... it gave me the 'bug' true and proper. Those were the days! As a result, I feel rather cheered now when I occasionally look down from my amphi seat at a stalls full of excited young theatregoers who are getting the same opportunities I once had!
  19. MildConcern
    I believe Hayward has been frank about stamina issues she faced during Swan Lake and which (in my humble opinion) were apparent from the audience. Admittedly, she seems to be fine with Aurora (although I didn't see her during her performances this run), but maybe she views Kitri as more in the O/O wheelhouse.
  20. MildConcern
    30 Swan Lakes!??! Someone get the corp ladies a bottle of wine already...
  21. MildConcern
    I will see 1 or 2 casts in Don Q - I would see more if the Acosta production didn't infuriate me. Manon and Swan Lake are never unwelcome! Pleased about Anemoi, less so about the Cellist. I like the Dream triple bills, but wish we could have something instead of Rhapsody, which as much as I love it, we saw recently. I will probably see Dante again (intrigued by another dancer in the Watson role) but will give Winter's Tale a pass.
  22. MildConcern
    To add onto the Naghdi praise, she was by some distance my favourite Tita in LWFC. Though I do seem the unlikelihood of nominating her over Hayward, who was Wheeldon's choice for the first cast.
  23. MildConcern
    A rather interesting interview with Kevin O'Hare where he discusses, among other things, giving principals the freedom to guest elsewhere. (I think this interview is from last year in Brno and is interspersed with lovely clips from La Bayadere, but it has only just be uploaded!)
  24. MildConcern
    As though to whet the appetite for next season, Bolle has posted a short clip on his instagram story of Kaneko and Muntagirov rehearsing Don Q for his upcoming Friends show. Unlikely they are cast together on ROH stage, but it seems they have started getting rehearsal time in!
  25. MildConcern
    As much as I am hesitant to say it (given how much I ADORE Kaneko/Bracewell), the fact that Kaneko / Muntagirov are frequent gala partners and are performing R&J on Japan Tour makes me wish they could have a big Macmillan together on ROH stage. However, if Kaneko’s debut Manon is not with Bracewell I will feel rather put out! I scarcely see Muntagirov in big 3 act ballets because (whisper it) I don’t really connect with Nunez as a dancer and so I also enjoy the rare occasions where he is partnered with Lamb, Naghdi and others. I loved Osipova and Bracewell together in Month - but see above reservation about splitting up Kaneko/Bracewell, who I consider to be the finest RB partnership in the past decade. I also enjoy Naghdi/Ball and have done ever since their R&J debuts.
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