MildConcern

My first (and probably last) performance of this run of Cinderella this evening. Overall I enjoyed acts 2 and 3 but I am in no haste to return.

Production - I quite liked the set design. Changing Act 2 to a garden setting was rather effective. I didn’t have any problem with sight lines and the fairy godmother transformation was pretty seamless from where I was sitting (amphi front row centre left). The fairy costumes are awful, aside from godmother. Spring and Summer in particular resemble energy drinks. The light display at the start and the projections throughout were rather nice.

Composition - Cinderella remains very low ranked in my ballet preferences and this production does nothing to elevate that. After the initial 10 minutes of the stepsisters, I would’ve happily cut the majority of the rest of their scenes - very few chuckles at their antics from those around me (indeed, a father close to me groaned and buried his head in his hands when they appeared at the start of Act 2). I can’t imagine the jokes improve on second viewing. The prince is woefully underused as others have said. Act 1 is far too long and easily the weakest dramatically. I rather wonder at the seasonal fairies - to me, they don’t provide enough narrative to justify their inclusion across all 3 Acts. I love Prokofiev symphonically, but this score is quite hard work.

Performances - Kaneko and Bracewell a wonderful partnership as usual. Bracewell left me wishing that we did get to see the princely race across the world - anything to get him more stage time. Fumi’s Act 2 was wonderfully vibrant. I did believe their love story, which is half the battle with Cinders. I was more than surprised to find a lump in my throat during their pdd, which is rather telling! Gartside was a hoot and Hay a bit overpowered - though I don’t know if that is just the nature of the dynamic of those two parts? Certainly all laughs near me were gotten by Gartside.  Hamilton very nice as godmother. 
 

I for one really enjoyed reading Fonty's review, just as I appreciate and read everybody who takes the time to leave their personal thoughts and opinions on this forum.

Finbarr - you say we should only review casts, rather than the production. I don't think that's a limitation that has ever been intended for this forum. After all, if Siegfried's black tights are indistinguishable from the dark backdrop, it doesn't matter who is dancing if I can't enjoy the dancer's efforts fully and it will hinder my enjoyment of the cast.

Fonty gave measured and explained comments on the production, which I think is equally valid. This is after all a new production, never seen before, and regarding which there is plenty of excitement. Indeed, it being a new production is a huge part of why I intend to see this run at all (Cinderella not being a ballet I particularly enjoy). I think there is more than enough room for that here. I wouldn't like to think that others will be discouraged from leaving their reviews as a result of responses like these. 

25 minutes ago, capybara said:

I have a feeling that many of us on here would very much like to see 'your' dancer (and others) as Nikiya.

And that's one of the very unfortunate 'unintended consequences' of all this - opportunities lost within careers and audiences deprived of the joy of seeing artists who are 'made for the roles'.

Yes, this is the main tragedy. Nikiya and Gamazatti are two of the most intriguing roles in the classical ballet repertoire, where the choreographic and dramatic demands are quite unique. Given that the RB has a very high number of female principals (I want to say a record high, but this might be easily disproven!), Bayadere could give everyone a 'run out', so to speak. As we have said extensively on other threads, the small amount of main stage performances for each principal is something that is hard to resolve. 

But alas! I was quite wistfully jealous at the Kaneko / Muntagirov / Naghdi Bayadere that was staged in Brno last year. 

In addition to the wonderful excerpt  of the Kaneko / Bracewell schools matinee curtain call posted earlier in this thread, ROH has now posted nearly the entire curtail call to its LinkedIn (link below).

In addition to how lovely it is to see and hear the children's appreciation, it also gives some indication as to how the costumes appear on stage. I must say the Cinderella tutu does look like Sleeping Beauty's wedding tutu, but Fumi wears it very well. Excited to see this cast next week!

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7048676690801086466/

1 hour ago, annamk said:

And yet there on the RoH stage in all it's cultural appropriation and orientalist fantasy over the top grandeur is Turandot, complete even with yellow faces ........ 

It is worth noting that this production of Turandot is also being retired, this being its final run. I suspect its successor, whenever it arrives, will not lean into the appropriation element as heavily. 

That's the loveliest clip! How very exciting it must have been for the children. Hopefully inspiring too. Thank you for sharing!

1 minute ago, Mary said:

Are these posts predictions or wishes?

 

My 2 lists would be different..

 

Anyway Onegin does seem likely and definitely on my wish list ...thinking of casting....

 

I'll admit that the main reason Onegin is on my wishlist is because I've had a burning desire to see Muntagirov in another 'unpleasant' role ever since his Mayerling. And he did say when withdrawing in 2020 that he will be performing in its next run...

That being said, Onegin was last on in spring 2020 shortly before the first lockdowns, so it may be quite early for a revival. I live in hope, however. 

Bayadere and Onegin would be top of my wishlist, but I'm not holding out much hope!

I hope an Ashton triple bill is on the cards. Manon is looking the most likely out of the Macmillan full-lengths. I would swap out Swan Lake for Giselle, but think that's unlikely to happen!

25 minutes ago, Lindsay said:

I also thought Lamb danced beautifully and was a very touching Cinderella, particularly in the kitchen scenes.  Bennet Garside was also I thought a decent elder sister - witty without being quite so OTT as the first night cast. I find it hard to write about this cast with much enthusiasm though because (sadly) I thought McRae miscast as the prince and it was extremely distracting..

Would you be happy to explain more about why you thought McRae miscast? I haven't seen this (or any) cast yet, but my general opinion is that the pattern of late has to been cast any principal who 'wants a go', as opposed to maybe considering who would be the best fit. For example, James Hay is (to me) a much more natural Ashtonian dancer than some of the Princes cast!

The problem with Monahan’s dogged insistence that Hayward is the best thing since sliced bread (not just in Ashton ballets as expressed in this particular review, but all repertoire if you look at his body of work) is that he is purportedly a critic, not mere hobbyist.
 

It’s hard to take his reviews seriously when they all equate to “Francesca is great!” or “I’m disappointed dancer [insert name] is not Francesca”. Given the general scarcity of dance reviews and the fact that many principals rarely get the open night casting (and therefore reviewed), this is a very great shame.

By the by, I’ll be intrigued to hear how Hayward’s Ashton credentials hold up in Cinderella. When I first saw her in Rhapsody in 2015(?) I thought she was marvellous, truly Ashtonian. During the last revival in 2022, I thought she had actually regressed a bit and the lower body work was a lot slower. I’d buy my own ticket to see, but I’d fear being sat next to Mr Monahan!

I do like seeing the newer principals still dancing supporting roles, with all of Kaneko, Magri and O'Sullivan in the Nunez/Muntagirov cast. In my opinion, given the sheer number of principals, this should be the norm rather than mass promotions to the first soloist rank and young principals restricted to a handful of performances a year!

I have applied the discount code and had a look at what is available. I will not (yet) be buying discounted tickets for a number of reasons:

• The three casts for which the discounts apply aren't top of my wishlist. I already have a ticket for a Kaneko/Bracewell performance and I am contemplating also seeing Takada or Morera if I enjoy the production. 
• Prices remain high despite the discount, as it only applies to the top 4 price bands. £127 is a discounted stalls price I would snap up for something I am very curious about, or something I know I'd love. I already know I am ambivalent about the score and while I have never seen the full ballet live, the excerpts I have seen don't particularly whet the appetite. 
• Frankly, I am having to be more selective about the performances I am seeing. I used to be very happy buying multiple second/third row amphi tickets for different ballet casts, as this would be around £20 - 30. The same ticket for this run of Cinderella is between £51 - 91. Added to the fact that while this is a new production, most ballet productions are recycled year on year. I sometimes feel that if prices keep going up, my money is better utilised seeing new opera productions that offer something different than just a new cast from the last revival. 

In addition to my similar struggles with the ROH website (no Werther rehearsal ticket for me 😔), I also then experienced Garsington Opera's website completely imploding on release of Under 35s membership at 10am. At least Garsington was very courteous when I called and reserved a membership for me, whereas ROH just went unanswered...

A very dicey moment at the Royal Festival Hall yesterday! I sat in first row of the choir, directly above the last row of the brass section. The Southbank Centre has also changed their rules so that food and drink are allowed in the auditorium. A lady a couple of seats along had a small plastic glass of wine placed on the ledge above the orchestra (you can see where this is going)

As people were shuffling back in after the break, someone's coat arm hit the glass and it wobbled back and forward very rapidly while the lady panicked and cried "watch out!". Mercifully the glass stayed upright by the finest of margins, thus narrowly avoiding upending directly into the inner working of the French Horn directly beneath it...

A fantastic performance of Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony otherwise

I’d always understood that casting is led by the female principals in descending order of seniority. I.e - that the likes of Nunez, Lamb, Morera would be first to pick their male partners and then it goes down by year of promotion (and with the assumption that the men are consulted before casting is set)

It would be interesting to know if this is still the case. It would make sense in that Nunez/Muntagirov seem a lock, as does Osipova/Clarke. I’m just rather surprised that we get to enjoy Fumi and Bracewell - long may it continue - as they are a number of female principals ahead of her in seniority! And also why we don’t get more real life partner pairings if that is the method - for example Hayward and Corrales (though I think I saw them together once and think I much prefer her with Campbell and others)

Fumi was luminescent and utterly wonderful. Such confidence in the role now and seems to have all the time in the world to find the small beauty in every movement. Act II vision scene in particular sublime. 
 

Bracewell - oh, how he had become my favourite RB male principal in very short time! Sensitive and charming, with such assured technique and a genuinely boyish sense of excitement. I completely adore his partnership with Kaneko - I am booked to see them in Cinderella and I very much hope that partnership is nourished for the future.

Storm-Jensen was commanding in driving the narrative, but while greatly improved, still leaves something to be desired in her prologue variation. 
 

Sitting in the second row of the stalls, it was an interesting afternoon to observe the corps. She still only has minor roles, but time and time again Viola Pantuso catches my attention - she has that X factor. However Ashley Dean caught attention for the wrong reasons with loose execution and not quite matching the enthusiasm of her fellow fairies / the dependably sunny Anette Buvoli as Florestan’s other sister. 

1 hour ago, LinMM said:

I think I must have missed the 2017 run as saw the very original first night of this so must be further back even than I thought in 2015. 
Im now even more convinced that the ending of the third Act has been changed since then. 
The memory is so strong that I don’t believe I dreamt it!! 
I did remember thinking that it must have been difficult for Ferri to melt down like that and wonder if it has been changed for that reason perhaps in the 2017 revival which I did not see. 
Does anybody else here recall seeing that slightly different ending where a partner did not lay her down she just sort of did so herself. 
I need a phone line to McGregor lol!!! 

I have to say, my recollection of 2015 opening night is Ferri being laid down on the floor by Bonelli… but my memory of events 8 years ago is by no means exact!

22 minutes ago, JNC said:

In previous runs has it only being Ferri who has taken the role of Virginia? Just wondering as it seems unusual to have only one cast but equally given her expressiveness and skill as a dancer it appears there are big shoes to fill! (But I’m sure Osipova and Nunez are well up to the task to bring their own special take!)

In 2015 premier run, that’s right - it was only Ferri as Dalloway/Woolf even though there were two casts and the other roles rotated.

Mara Galeazzi covered during 2015 and performed the role during the 2017 revival. She is more similar to Ferri in age and style than either of Osipova or Nunez so it will be particularly interesting to see how a younger dancer interprets the role, with all its retrospective wistfulness and regrets!

My favourite night of the season yet, but I have been enamoured by Woolf Works since its premier.

Richardson lived up to every promise. Fumi razor sharp and haunting in Orlando. Naghdi really surprised me as young Dalloway. Bracewell a handsome debut.

But Alessandra Ferri... I was sat close enough in the stalls to see every flash of emotion in her eyes. The soul of this ballet. Totally remarkable. 

Ferri, Avis, Naghdi, Bracewell - such a ridiculous spoil of delights. I also think Calvin Richardson will handsomely put his own spin on the role of Septimus, being very much in the 'style' of beloved Ed Watson. Very much looking forward to this evening!

I've seen from social media that Ferri is rehearsing Waves with Bracewell! I think he will be a great fit for the role. And I think Osipova is with Clarke and Nunez with Ball 

The rehearsal cast sheet is up for what looks like the Nunez cast! Interestingly, Mock cast in the Richard Dalloway role originated by Gary Avis. And Ball in Bonelli's role in Waves. While I won't be attending, I am seeing the evening performance tonight and already brimming with excitement!

I had a rather unfortunate run in last week at the Royal Opera House with an amphitheatre neighbour who proceeded to attempt to eat chicken wings all the way through Act 1. I do wonder if perhaps the security guards should flag a warning that you can’t eat in the auditorium when they perform the bag search and see this gigantic Tupperware. As it is, I eventually took it upon myself to politely tap her on her shoulder and tell her it isn’t allowed. She huffed but did stow them away, but unfortunately I found myself thinking about the interaction for longer than I should’ve. 
 

She also then proceeded to shoot me dirty looks in every interval, but that is beyond my control really

Terribly sad news but wishing Laura the best for the future! Her Tatiana in Onegin will always stay with me.

Well, I saw every cast that performed this season except Sambe's and this question is trickier than expected!

On intense reflection (and limiting only to performers this run, and not past ones)

Rudolf - Vadim

Mary Vetsera - Sarah Lamb (toyed between her and Osipova but I have a feeling Osipova wouldn't work well with Vadim's Rudolf!)

Stephanie - Hayward

Larisch - Fumi

Empress - Mendizabal

Mitzi - Nunez

Bratfisch - David Yudes

Colonel Middleton - of course it has to be Gary Avis!