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Missfrankiecat

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  1. Missfrankiecat
    I didn't check my watch at end time but it started 9 minutes late and the intervals were the full 25 each so I'm guessing not.
  2. Missfrankiecat
    9 x Mayerling in one season - I salute you! Not that it isn't a wonderful ballet - it is, but I find it emotionally gruelling if well done. I was completely wiped out after Muntagirov's performance.
  3. Missfrankiecat
    I'm a bit of an out-lier on this discussion, simply because I only joined Friends this season and have therefore booked more performances this season as I have had greater choice of tickets, including standing which were never available by the time of public booking for the performances I was interested in. I remain likely to book at least one performance of a favourite casting in Stalls Circle and then at least one other or more in much cheaper seats/standing to see other castings. I will also admit to being less discerning about full castings for Nutcracker than most because I regard it as a fairly silly ballet with glorious music and a festive vibe pretty much whoever is dancing Clara etc.
  4. Missfrankiecat
    Thanks for sharing that. Both soloists were exceptional but I was especially moved by Novais' performance.
  5. Missfrankiecat
    Agree on the Nunez Manon, although I always think it's a role Sarah Lamb excels in too.
  6. Missfrankiecat
    I thoroughly enjoyed this afternoon's performance and agree with a lot of the previous comments in terms of the pieces I most enjoyed, although I did think that, overall, the programme reflected many aspects of his life and range of work. Some additional thoughts: Is it possible that we sometimes take how lucky we are to watch Marianela Nunez dance so often in London and how consistently brilliant she is, for granted? I was struck in the Apollo, where the women are performing the same choreography in close proximity, how exquisitely superior her lines and timing were to the other two women. Her epaulement in particular made Celine Gittens look very stiff in the upper body by comparison. I loved the chemistry between the two of them in the Swan Lake - I was very close to the stage and could see facial expressions more clearly than usual. I thought tthe build up to them making any eye contact in that pas de deux was scorching - not something I have ever thought of for Odette. Carlos legendary charisma and vitality seemed very much in evidence in all his performances but especially the classics. What a trick the RB missed in letting Brandon Lawrence escape to Zurich - I wish I had made the effort to see more of him in Birmingham. The orchestra were outstanding today - especially the cellist soloist (whose name I can't find in the programme).
  7. Missfrankiecat
    Thanks for that offer AE but we are all set. Sorry you aren't able to make it to the last performance.
  8. Missfrankiecat
    Thanks to everyone posting their first reviews and photos, as well as the cast list. I am so excited to go on Sunday.
  9. Missfrankiecat
    I love Much Ado, but it is a very 'verbal' plot where most of the entertainment comes from the witty repartee between the principals, and the ambivalence between their words and actions. Powerful though mime can be, I'd struggle to see this translating to ballet in the way the more emotionally powerful Shakespearean tragedies do.
  10. Missfrankiecat
    In a way, I find watching Anastasia as a drama,( so I'm not reflecting on the technical content), now, when we know the central character is not really Anastasia is, if anything, more potent than when her actual identity was an open question. It has been usual to see Anna Anderson as either a complicit deceiver or as a madwoman but in current times when factually inaccurate beliefs about personal identity are no longer regarded as necessarily dishonest or delusional - indeed are encouraged as the person's own 'truth' which must be adopted by others, who are the really delusional in Anna's story?
  11. Missfrankiecat
    So many others have already mentioned the cherished performances in different roles, so I will just add I also enjoy the coaching and performance interviews she has given in more recent years etc. In a world of superficial platitudes her intelligent and self-effacing insights are refreshing in their simple depth and I always learn something new when I hear her speak.
  12. Missfrankiecat
    Ultimately, they can get away with it without provoking negative comment too. Swan Lake is never going to be primarily associated with Liam Scarlett in the eyes of the public/most commentators in the way of his original creations.
  13. Missfrankiecat
    Thankyou to @Rob S for posting those beautiful photographs of Laura, especially receiving her bouquets from the men. It was such a wonderful send-off surrounded by many affectionate friends and colleagues and seen by a very enthusiastic audience. We were seated by a young dancer from the Birmingham Royal who had been given a last minute ticket, as had others, for last night's performance, and it was obvious that many young dancers were in the audience last night.
  14. Missfrankiecat
    I went straight to Amazon to pre-order but it isn't listed which is unusual if publication is a month or less away.
  15. Missfrankiecat
    I'm pretty happy. I didn't like Dante Project but maybe I'll give it another chance - once! I love Don Q and Manon (and, in truth, Swan Lake too) and am delighted with the triple bills. Even Nutcracker is one I always want to see near Xmas because of the nostalgia. So, I am a little sad not to get a Fille but otherwise I think it's a lovely, quite balanced schedule offering the inevitable big office draws (which also offer the great classical challenges to dancers), with a good nod to the English choreographers and newer works.
  16. Missfrankiecat
    I think Len Goodman's role in the success of Strictly was quite important. The show is now so successful (and has changed its format and content so much since the early days), that is is difficult to remember that the concept of foisting a prime time show featuring ballroom and Latin dancing on the general public, who regarded both as niche and outdated at the time, was a risky one. Len's credentials as someone who was very experienced in judging professional Ballroom, as well as committed to teaching, coupled with an ability to simplify the essentials and a quirky persona gave a real anchor to the early series. It's a shame he didn't get to enjoy an illness free retirement but I suspect work (in the form of dance entertainment) was his life (along with the odd game of golf).
  17. Missfrankiecat
    I'm with you. I find Vadim far more authentic as an actor, and the beauty of his lines unsurpassed. But you are right, different approaches appeal to different people and I think in ballet particularly where we are able to follow the same dancers for years, we also tend to 'attach' to those we watch 'coming up' and their career story, which informs our individual responses to them.
  18. Missfrankiecat
    Have to butt in to say how much I am enjoying reading all the reviews, especially the comparisons of viewing in the cinema and live at the ROH. Super to read that the Fumi/Will partnership has been delighting so many. For those of us lucky enough to live in London and have the means to see more than one cast, it is so hard to decide who. Having seen my favourites, I have plumped for the Osipova cast simply, as someone else has hinted, to see Natalia dancing (acting really) so against type but the reviews here are making me wish I could see Fumi too. As a side comment, I watched the cinema relay in Cornwall with a packed audience who gasped on several occasions - the lights of the enchanted forest, the pumpkin/coach appearance and the Act 2 set reveal - and applauded Marienela tippy-toeing down the steps as well as Vadim hoisting her above his head in the final few moments. They also loved the jester. It was a very responsive crowd.
  19. Missfrankiecat
    I watched the livestream in a packed cinema in Cornwall and really enjoyed it despite it being the same cast I saw in person at ROH a couple of weeks ago. The camera work is excellent and allows really close scrutiny of footwork and facial expressions. Did anyone else wonder if Vadream was a little under the weather? He looked very pale and was breathing very heavily at times after minimal (for him!) exertion. He was still excellent - beautiful presentation of Nela and solid lifts. I enjoyed the commentary items presented in the intervals. The design and costumes made more sense after listening to the explanations and the close camera work allowed us to see the floral details on all the costumes, some of which had escaped me - even the jester was covered in white poppies. And finally - the mystery of the oranges explained by Darcey - of course, Ashton was writing immediately post WW2 when oranges were exotic treats here in the UK with rationing. Apologies if someone has explained this before!
  20. Missfrankiecat
    Me too. Brought back happy memories from last Saturday and I am looking forward to the livestream cinema 'performance' next week already.
  21. Missfrankiecat
    I feel that comparisons are ok? Different dancers bring different qualities to a performance. I am only beginning to learn the differences that the various schools of ballet bring to technique, let alone personality and congruence with a particular role. To take wonderful Osipova and amazing Nunez, both are exceptional dancers but so unalike in most performances, I find it very interesting to read peoples' views on the why's and how's. I feel very lucky to live in London and have the opportunity to see so much live performance and such richness of interpretation generated by depth in talent in this particular company.
  22. Missfrankiecat
    What lovely excitement! I forgot to say what a pleasure it was during the intervals and after last Saturday's matinee to see and hear so many little girls (and quite a few boys) so enthralled with the experience. Ballet is such a wonderful vehicle for endlessly entertaining and entrancing all ages and this is a lovely production for family viewing.
  23. Missfrankiecat
    Thankyou - what a friendly and informative group you all are.
  24. Missfrankiecat
    This is my first - tentative - post, so please be gentle! Saw my first Cinderella at today's matinee - Nunez/Muntagirov cast - and, while it's not going to become my favourite ballet, I loved it. I am slightly mystified by the comments that Nunez is a 'cold', technical dancer - I find her repeatedly the most musical performer in the company, with the tiniest nuances of movement often adding new inflections to interpretation. I did feel that Act One didn't quite 'take off' for me, but put that down to the slightly unbalanced narrative - too much of the ugly sisters - and once Cinderella and the Prince met in Act Two, the magic began. I must be the only person to like the costumes - they added colour and vivacity - and the set. The mouse led coach and the twinkling trees were magical. The orchestra was on fine form.
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