Missfrankiecat

What an inspirational life - Thank you to @li tai po for sharing this tribute and testimony to a life well lived, enjoyed to the full, giving support to others and living in their hearts and eternal memories.

I too am one of those who did not have the pleasure of meeting Linda in person but enjoyed and learnt from her post in the short time I have been a member of the forum. Now, I can see from the heartfelt tributes and remembrances here what an exceptional person she was and how greatly she is missed. May her memory be eternal and condolences to those to whom she was a dear friend.

I would add to that, I recall both Nunez and Muntagirov (and Hirano) received short bursts of applause for their entries on opening DQ last Autumn - I thought it was really a warm welcome back to their home stage. I was never keen on the Broadway habit of applauding the star at their first entry but somehow I have changed my mind, certainly for RB stars after we haven't seen them for a few months.

I think it will be really interesting to see how much sells without fairly obvious discounting. Cinderella for sure will do well but I'm not so sure about Alice. Attractive to families perhaps? But I'm pretty sure warhorses like Giselle would be better sellers. Even Fille for family fun is better known to non-fanatics but also attractive to enthusiasts.

It's hard to please everyone and, overall, I greatly enjoyed this year's offerings. SL, DQ and Manon were all multiple viewings for me, as was the MacMillan triple and the coming Ashton. I suspect next season I will be spending much of my dance budget elsewhere because only R and J and, possibly, Onegin will be multiples for me. Cinderella is charming but I saw several casts last time and it seems like only yesterday. The season does feel classic light.

No, you're not the only one. I love Nutcracker and I prefer Peter Wright's version to all others.

Gosh, I thought Marianela utterly superlative and I thought the swan corps very well rehearsed on opening night. The only raggedness I noticed was the men in Act One (and I do think the staging is very busy and crowded there, although I quite like it). I thought the swans were a bit ropier in the Naghdi/Ball cast the other night (but I was much further away and higher and I do think viewpoint makes a difference - will be interesting how it looks on the Live stream. PS - re the comment that Vadim is the only swan - I will say that the only 'disadvantage' of having Vadim in the RB is that almost anyone looks inferior by comparison. And not just when dancing. I can remember looking at him in Act 1 standing around doing not very much next to Benno (Luca Acri) and various others and, whatever their heigh, they all looked slightly muscle bound or otherwise 'chunky' next to those perfect lines.

Did your friend offer more detail - on the face of the comment I would judge it as damning of the overall standard of the dancing or at least characterisation rather than staging but maybe I misunderstand?

Me too - she was a huge loss.

Magri's tumble in DQ last Autumn was edited out of the Encore screening let alone subsequent streaming/DVD. I was impressed that they must have got a new version out within 48 hours!

I agree - good that the surgery was successful and he is looking cheerful. He also posted two lovely photos of Liam Scarlet in his insta stories with a touching inscription about missing him. The ROH also posted a more conventional photo saying he and his family were in our thoughts but I note turned off the ability for followers to comment which is unusual.

You have perfectly articulated what I was thinking about their respective performances. They were both radiant. Re 'door piano', aka Ryoichi Hirano, it looks from one of his instagram posts as if the issue might have been a worsening of the issue for which he is going to have surgery. Fingers crossed for a successful procedure and speedy rehab.

Yes, Isabella has had a wonderful few weeks showing her versatility and character. I always find her to be such a graceful, classical dancer and hope she will have further impressed the powers that be over the past weeks, so we see her in more leading roles.

In @Rob S photo, Francesca looks genuinely surprised to receive it. I agree it is a nice gesture to thank those who slot in at the last minute whatever plans they had to keep the show on the road.

Sambe has been an absolute trooper. They all are but he has had a particularly gruelling schedule these past weeks.

I always think that too - they are off alone for a long time. Of course, in reality they are limbering up for the big climax!

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.

This is how I feel - though I think I have seen and enjoyed his Swan Lake more than once over the years. As much as the choreography, his overall concepts for productions and designs are so strong, and so "Matthew Bourne" that I always enjoy a first viewing but wouldn't really want to see each show again.

Great minds think alike ... I too am hoping Takada is back to dance with Sissens when I have booked (also Osipova). Takada is such a soulful dancer, I am really interested to see her SL.

I guess part of my problem is I can only go on the relatively rare and poor quality recordings of Margot, which are mostly from late career. One can easily see the difference in technique and I think a lot of her obvious charm and artistry does translate but the precise quality of emotional interaction with an audience is more ephemeral.

I didn't mean to convey any pejorative description - of either Yasmine or Dame Margot. In our over-sharing world, it seems 'reserve' and a certain distance are now regarded as personality defects. Not by me! I would, however, maintain that, when interviewed in the company of others, Yasmine is often the more reticent and considered in her responses and she doesn't share much as much personal stuff on her social media as others. For eg Marianela - whose cats I could pick out of an ID parade just as I could tell you what colour her bathroom tiles are. Not a criticism of either woman.

Yasmine reminds me a lot of Margot Fonteyn - who, btw, I have only seen on film. Not just the looks (especially the smile and the chin tilt) but both have/had slightly aloof elegance and a certain reserve in their public personalities.

They lifted the full lights fairly early in the red run so they could see the audience enthusiasm. I thought Vadim looked slightly choked up.

There are so many intriguing partnerships in the next run - I think Francesca Hayward and Will Bracewell would be a very interesting contrast to Marianela/Vadim. Frankie Hayward's great acting skills will be right at home with the Odette/Odile split. I am looking forward to Joe Sissen's Siegfried debut (his partner seems to be an alarmingly moveable feast atm) - I'm sure he is a star of the future and, naturally, I will also be enjoying Osipova and her vulgar fouettés!

What a beautiful start to my short holiday last night down at the Lake. As others have mentioned, electric atmosphere last night - right from the collective sighs of relief and nervous giggles afterwards, when the cast replacement announcement was made, it was obvious who many people had come to see, confirmed by warm applause for Vadim and Marianela's entrances. But there was so much in addition to enjoy. I was front row, a rare treat and chance to really drink in details - only the footwork (not an insignificant detail!) is compromised from row A, but more than compensated by the ability to see every facial expression [not an advantage when it comes to Liam Boswell's grimaces btw - why oh why doesn't someone sort this out; he has great lines but pulls the most effortful faces when lifting], and the fabulous detail of set and costuming. I love the magnificent set for Act 3 in particular and it seemed better lit than usual last night. The swan corps was so good, not a feather out of place. Such kudos to them, to the repetiteurs who drill them to such perfection and the artful arrangement of a company which has quite a diversity of height. Luca Acri was a very engaging Benno, Isabella Gasparini (what a couple of weeks she has had) and Meaghan Grace Hinkis were lovely sisters - it's a shame that they don't get separate curtain calls. Even on such crowded sets, Gary Avis is able to compel attention - I loved him in Act 3, sitting in front of the Queen Mum, like a Svengali-suited bovver boy, giving the visiting delegations the evil eye. What more is there to say about the dream team? Individually sensational, they are sublime together. Marianela drains every last drop of meaning from each note of music, her ability to make her limbs and even spine at times look liquid when her core is performing such miracles of balance and control is completely unparalleled in this company, at least. Her Odette was imperious injured pride, melting into tremulous trust, dignified disappointment and finally determined redemption. Her Odile (always my favourite) is sexy, powerful malevolence. She and Vadim sizzled in Act 3. Sim is right - Vadim is phenomenal. His lines are so perfect, you want to weep and he just makes every technical feat look so effortless that you start to think it must be easy. I swear, even close up, there is no sign of sweat being broken, breathing being controlled nor a hair out of place. He always partners beautifully but there is a special sympathy with Nunez and their lines match perfectly; I saw she mouthed what looked like a 'thankyou' at the end of the Act 3 coda as they took their bows - the only time they were out of character. I felt privileged to be there last night.