Paco

Agree with the above comments. A deeply emotional performance, with a devastating Act III where Osipova and Clarke have reached levels of dramatic intensity hard to describe with words! What was amazing throughout the performance was that everything was natural, all moves and even technical complexity had a meaning. And in addition to Osipova and Clarke, the other dancers were wonderful as well. A perfect Lescaut with Mr Campbell, so subtle in his interpretation, so credible in his youthful acting. And a luxury Mistress with Mayara Magri, who played her character like a mirror of Manon. As usual she was putting fire on stage. Perfect corps de ballet. Among my best Manon performance at the ROH. And for sure my best Act III, the kind of emotion that I will never forget for the rest of my life!

There are so many fantastic Principals nowadays at the RB that choosing a cast is always a cruel dilemma. For this Manon I chose Osipova / Clarke, because Osipova approaches the 40s and I am so afraid these could be her last years at the RB in great roles that I don't want to miss it. (and I hope she will be in June' Swan Lake). Then I also chose Nunez/ Bolle, exactly for the same reason regarding Ms Nunez, and also because I much prefer Mr Bolle when he dances at the RB than when he dances at la Scala. At Covent Garden there is always something very special between him, the audience and the company. He is just no the same dancer, so much more engaged and emotional than at la Scala. But these choices were really dilemma, because I would also have loved to see most of the other casts (and am frustrated to have missed the Naghdi-Bracewell). Just can't see 3 performances of a same run, financially speaking...

There is a deadline to use them. I've just realized that mine from 2020 were to be closed next week and have just used them before they would have disappeared.

Agree. This is also illustrated in his often excellent speeches when celebrating a dancer for this or that reason. I found particularly moving his speech for Bonelli farewell. Those moments (also the recent speech for Osipova 10 years at RB) were full of humanity and empathy.

I think one of the great accomplishment of Mr O'Hare directorship is the mindset that he developed at the company: a team-spirit, a kind of excitement to dance, energy, an amazing synchronisation of movements in the corps de ballet and in the pas de deux, a way to dance the ensemble with a goldsmith precision. It was not the case before his direction, it is really his "marque de fabrique". Last year and even recently I have seen excellent ballets in Amsterdam, la Scala, Paris. However it has nothing to compare with the Royal Ballet in terms of precision and excellence of the ensemble. The Royal Ballet stands just in another planet, where Bolshoi used to be (I don't know now). Even yesterday, I was amazed while looking at a short insta video of a gala in Barcelona with Osipova and Clarke. The arms and legs movements from both were so amazingly synchronized and homogeneous : arms heights totally similar, head moves like siamese... One would say "hey it's normal, it's Osipova, and Clarke is a good partner". No it's not that: it's just Royal Ballet! Nowhere would you find such precision, such amazing attention to details, even at outstanding partnerships like Smirnova-Tissi or Manni-Andrijaschenko.

I totally agree

Agree. At Paris Opera, Serge Lifar stayed 19 years, so did Brigitte Lefevre. Regarding Mr O'Hare, his mandate is a very complex one, having had to go through the pandemic years and, just after, the financial pressure due to the ROH post-Covid difficult situation + the inflation. 12 years: From my spectator point of view it seems shorter, but perhaps from his point of view it seems a century, he must be exhausted after those crisis in such a short time! If it were a piece in 3 acts, I think KOH has completed Acts 1 & 2, and Act 3 has not started yet, last and current seasons being kind of an "interval": Act 1 was to uplift the company from an already very good one to a stratospheric one, comparable only to Bolshoi or Mariinsky, and this Act has been a huge, tremendous success, regarding both the corps de ballet and the new generation of Principals and Soloists. Act 2 was to refresh some classic productions, which he initiated with the new Swan Lake, and to create new full-length, like Winter's tale or Woolf Works. Act 3, for me, would be to create other new classic ballets (enlarge the repertoire) and/or new full-length, but this has obviously been interrupted by the two crisis and I am pessimitic about his ability to raise sufficient money to develop ambitious programs. I am afraid he will be constrainted into seasons like the current one, with looong runs of blockbusters in the main hall + a few contemporary works at the Linbury. But I hope I am wrong and too pessimistic.

Regarding the productions, for me the ENB Skeaping production is the best of the best, mostly because it is the only one showing the integrality of the Willis act, with that spectacular fugato of the Willis hassling Hillarion. I love the RB production too, but sometimes I wonder whether I love the production itself, or just the amazing, unique level of the RB corps de ballet and Principals. I mean, I am not sure this production would be so much enjoyable with another company, chiefly a company with less theatrical skills. On the contrary, the very classic, aesthetically beautiful, authentic productions of Paris Opera and Milano la Scala could be danced by any other company, thanks to their anchoring in pure tradition of Giselle.

Agree with you for Osipova (unforgettable Giselle for my whole life) and Cojocaru. My other 3 are Olesia Novikova, Dorothée Gilbert (Paris) and Guillem. If I could add a 6th one it would be Nunez.

Yes, Raise the Red Lantern is an absolute must-see. It is spectacular. I have seen the company on various occasions while they were touring. They are brilliant.

My wish list for RB is to see again Sylvia, Coppelia, Alice, Symphony in C And a new full-length (as ambitious as were Winter's tale or Woolf Works) And a new production of a classic (Raymonda, Corsaire, ...)

For me, next semester (+ September) will be: - ROH: Manon, Swan Lake, Winter's tale, the Ashton bills. Each time with 2 or 3 different casts including one with Osipova - Saddlers: La Strada (Cojocaru) - Scala: Coppelia, La Bayadère - Paris: Giselle - Rome: Swan Lake (Kaneko/Munti), Sleeping Beauty (Nunez/Clarke) - Verona: Roberto Bolle & Friends - Hamburg: The Odyssey (Neumeier), Anna Karenina (Neumeier), Nijinsky gala if I manage to get a ticket

Me too. Why do you say that the ROH won't perform Bayadère? They did it in 2018

I would much more prefer the RB to create its own production of Raymonda, a ballet which is missing to the RB repertoire, than inviting the DNB production. Personally I was mitigated with the DNB production when it was created last year: On the one hand I was happy to see Raymonda, a ballet which is not often danced by European main ballet institutions, but on the other hand this production, obviously anchored in the "woke" mouvement, is too much re-written and far from the original synopsis. I much prefer the Bolshoi version, in comparison, more faithful to the original ballet. So, if the ROH is going to propose Raymonda one day, I would much prefer a RB brand new production to the DNB one. However, KOH was attending the Premiere in Amsterdam last year, so perhaps something is being negotiated I don't know (there was also Bonelli in the audience).

Thank you so much, Jeannette, for the detailed analysis! I plan to go to see this production in January, your analysis will help me to enjoy all the details of this new choreography!

It will also be streamed as a Replay on RAIplay website on Dec 28th. The problem is that it is never announced beforehand whether it will be accessible only to Italian residents or Worldwide. With Raiplay we never know, it is different each time, there is not a clear rule. So we can try and see if it works...

Mara Galeazzi? (left in 2013 for private life reasons)

Giselle was early 2014, she was already a Principal at the RB. She arrived in the company at a time where the stars Rojo and Cojocaru had left. It was urgent for KOH to secure some new stars for the future of the company. With Nunez (already well famous at the time) and Osipova it was secured. However I remember at that time many observers were asserting that Osipova would not stay more than two or three years, that she would perhaps dance one or two ballets per season (on the model of Guillem), that it was a mistake to appoint her as a Principal, that her true world was the free-lance one etc. etc. There were more Cassandra assertions than congratulations to KOH. 10 years after, it is obvious that KOH "bet" was a genius one: Ms Osipova has danced at the RB all the classical + McMillan and Ashton heritages + some McGregor creations, she has been casted on full seasons every year (except when injured), she invites other RB Principals to dance with her in galas overseas (mainly Clarke, but also Sambé if I remember well). To put it into a nutshell, she has been totally faithful to her company. It is true that at that time there was a shortage of Principals at the RB, leading to many "guest" appearances such as Obraztsova, Salenko or Shklyarov. It is also to put to the credit of KOH that there are now so many brilliant young Principals. He totally relaunched the company, which is now probably the only one in Europe (apart from Mariinsky and Bolshoi) able to schedule ten different brilliant and attractive casts for a Swan Lake or a Sleeping Beauty. A golden era...

I don't think so regarding the Royal Ballet. I loved the amazing Guillem, Rojo, Bonelli, Yanowsky, Cojocaru, Acosta period, but find the current Osipova Nunez Cuthbertson Magri Kaneko Lamb Muntagirov Bracewell Clarke Sissens etc. as flamboyant as were the early 2000s. Notably I consider the level of the corps de ballet and young generation of first artists/ soloists of what I would call the "Kevin O'Hare period" as the highest they had ever reached before. The RB as an ensemble is just at a stratospheric level that you can realize only when you are able to see other companies (Paris, Milan, Wien, Amsterdam...) and compare. And even on DVD, when I compare a classical ballet by the RB today to a DVD from the early 2000s, I am amazed to see how much the corps de ballet has improved in quality. When I look at the previous DVD, sometimes I react like "What? Was it the RB at that time? How disappointing...". The company is, from my point of view, living a golden era. And this is probably partly due to the excellent quality of coaches - who are often former Principals...-. Perhaps we miss some outstanding charismatic figures: it is true that Nunez, Osipova or Lamb are now starting the last cycle of their career in classical ballet, and the new generation of outstanding Principals do not have the same charisma - except, perhaps, Magri. But it is too early to assess that, time will help them to develop their personality and evolve from outstanding to unique.

I do not have the impression that Osipova is already at the "turning point" of leaving classical roles. Neither are the other RB "old" stars Nunez and Lamb, who are still absolutely amazing in classical ballets. Osipova's recent Odette/Odile, Nutcracker and Giselle at the RB were just mezmerizing and I would be extremely sad if she decided to abandon them and focus only on contemporary dance (where there are hundreds of other excellent dancers in the World and where she does not bring something differentiating). Regarding her supersonic turns, they have always been like this since the beginning of her career and I am ashamed to say that I do love that! The question, from n spectator point of view, is just "do I like that approach of classical ballet or not". But it is not a question of declining technique. Perhaps her Kitri were not at the level of her previous ones, but we should remember that she was injured less than a month ago and has probably not completely recovered yet. Personally I love the passion and engagement she brings in classical ballet. Other RB Principals also bring lots of passion and interpretation - and this is why I come so often to the RB-, but honesty when there is Osipova the evening is just not the same. We are suddenlly in another planet, unforgettable, unique. This is why for every ballet I always book a performance with her, in addition to a performance with other Principals. I know that here and there, on a very pure and academic approach of classical technique, there are some imperfections. Mostly resulting from that energy and engagement. But I much prefer that to a dancer 100% pure and perfect in the academics but icy and unable to make her character living. This is exactly what has killed the Paris Opera Ballet during the last 20 years: With their artistic directors' (before Martinez) obsession of total perfection of the most tiny physical detail they have killed strong personalities and ended in paralysing their dancers to such an extent, that paradoxically they declined in technical ability: For fear that the right toe of the left foot is not oriented exactly 37 degrees to the nail of the left index finger when the pirouette ends, men do not jump anymore and women' fouettés are so cautious that the orchestra often has to play adagio instead of allegro. (Of course there are exceptions like Gilbert). So I much prefer an Osipova supersonic fouettés, even if the angle of the right knee is not perfectly right, to academic perfection without life. So, long life to Natalia Osipova in the world of classical ballet! At "only" 37 years-old she still has plenty of opportunities to put fire to RB audience in the next Swan Lake!

Tonight, at the end of the performance, during the curtain calls Kevin O'Hare went on stage to celebrate the 10 years of Natalia Osipova at the Royal Ballet, with a beautiful moving speech. Standing ovation and lots of flowers. Such a nice, charming initiative!

It happens to me, never at the ROH, but ALWAYS at the Nederlands Nationale Opera and Ballet (Amsterdam). I book a seat, and when it comes to payment just 30 seconds later it says "your seat is no longer available". Almost every time it is just an issue of browser: I have noticed that this happens almost always with Mozilla Firefox. If I start again the same booking, choosing the same seat, this time with Chrome, there is no issue anymore and I can pay for the seat I have chosen. So perhaps it is the same issue at the ROH website? Years ago the Paris Opera website was facing similar issues, to an extent that nobody could imagine (sometimes an empty auditorium was mentioned as sold out on the booking site... then available again 10 minutes later with hundreds of seats to chose...). Now they seem to have solved it, I do not hear anymore about those kind of issues.

From a French point of view I would prefer a web streaming, as the ROH never managed to deploy a significant network of cinema broadcasts in France. Actually, at the time the ROH was launching its cinema broadcast years ago, the market was already duopolistic btw the Met and the Paris Opera (and the Bolshoi before the war), a huge competition that did not let any space for the ROH. Today only very few venues in provincial cities stream Royal Ballet performances, and two small venues in Paris but usually weeks, if not months after the performance actually took place (so that sometimes the DVD is already available before the cinema display!). On a pay-per-view basis, let's say around £5, for sure I would screen almost all ROH performances on the web. On the contrary, though I am a Friend of the ROH I did not subscribe to the current streaming service, as I don't think I would stream several evenings every month, so a subscription formula is not for me. A pay-per-view would be much more adapted. But I know this is wishful thinking 😉

I agree with both of you. Keeping in mind that she was injured not later than 6 weeks ago (thus having to cancel October performances), then having this gala in Dubai last Wednesday (with Clarke), and anticipating that she still has to dance Kitri next Friday, it is probable (and wise) that she has adapted her choreography in order not to get injured once again. We don't even know whether she has fully recovered or is still in a kind of convalescence regarding the October injury.

Yes and I loved that characterization. I even laughed at times. And it was also the same approach for Clarke's Basilio, definitely a Basilio I will remember!