annamk

A rather flat, and thus disappointing evening for me. I came away preferring the tinkered with choreography of the RB and Russian versions to this historically correct Skeaping. That may have been to do with familiarity or to do with the central performances which felt as tired as the production did yesterday. I was looking forward to seeing Cojocaru reprise a role I have adored her in on a number of occasions but her performance was faded like a shadow of her former brilliance. Hernandez is a competent if unexciting dancer but I felt zero chemistry between him & Cojocaru. Summerscales's Myrtha was strong and convincing, she has a terrific jump and a secure balance. Her attendants made no impression but the performance of the corps was respectable. I was in the Upper Circle and it was sad to see it was at least 1/3 unsold for the opening night although it meant my friend and I could move to great seats in the centre near the front. 

Jewels doesn't look as though it's sold well in Friends booking. Currently for the mat on 1st April there are plenty of tickets left in the Amphi inc the front row on the side blocks & also plenty in the Balcony, front row availability is in the side blocks. The stalls has barely sold at all. On top of this will be the extra tickets released for public booking whichever they may be.

Highlights

Viktor Lebedev's Albrecht - Giselle (Mikhailovsky)

Oleysa Novikova's Giselle (Mariinsky)

Akram Khan's Giselle (ENB)

Akane Takada/James Hay Two Pigeons

James Hay's flawless Act 3 variation in Sleeping Beauty (RB)

Frankie Hayward luminous in everything (RB)

Obsidian Tear especially Calvin Richardson (RB)

Richard Alston Dance - An Italian in Madrid w Liam Riddick & Vidya Patel

Kim Brandstrup's Transfigured Night (Rambert)

Crystal Pite The Seasons' Canon / William Forsythe's Blake Works (Paris Opéra Ballet)

Ratmansky's Plato's Symposium & Shostakovich Trilogy (ABT)

Bolshoi London tour - Maillot's Taming of the Shrew and dancers Olga Smirnova, Semyon Chudin & Yulia Stepanova

Mariinsky Ballet in Cardiff

New York City Ballet Paris tour

Low points

RB Frankenstein , Strapless, Anastasia

Osipova at Sadlers Wells

????

Yesterdays matinee : I've not particularly been an admirer of James Hay (I always thought he was too small for leading roles although he is perfectly proportioned) but his recent performances (Two Pigeons, Nutcracker) have rather changed my mind. Yesterday, he showed a faultless Act 3 variation, as good as McRae a few years ago, but with a more appealing style & manner. My daughter, not a seasoned ballet goer, said that she thought he was too small when he came on but that his dancing was so good he somehow seemed to grow in stature. Akane Takada danced with lush phrasing, beautiful musicality and was entirely technically secure. The grand pas was terrific, it looked well rehearsed and the fish dives were immaculate. They are well matched in style although if you like plenty of characterisation you might find them bland, I didn't. Just as well the principal roles were first rate because many of the soloist roles were not well cast. How is it possible for the Bluebird pdd to seem so dull ? Why is the Lilac fairy variation always so disappointing - is it more difficult than it looks ?

Is Shklyarov not in Munich for a year (?) ... or perhaps this will be the beginning of his return.  Fingers crossed.  If they needed male guests perhaps they could bring in Matthew Ball or Brandon Lawrence.  (They'd sell me more than a few tickets.)  

 

Novikova too would be a delight.  That Giselle she danced here with her husband with the Mikhailovsky was a total delight.  

 

Funny the most recent Bolshoi and now the upcoming Mariinsky tours will OPEN in London with Don Q.  

 

 

It seemed that Shklyarov had left the Mariinsky for Munich but then, according to a recent interview with Shklyarov, Gergiev called him and asked him to consider working at both theatres so he is dividing his time between Munich and St Petersburg although he has mostly danced in Munich so far this season. He is dancing in St Petersburg on NYE (w Novikova). 

Terrific performances in the rehearsal today from Takada/Hay today. She: on the music, beautiful phrasing, technically entirely secure, strong but dainty and delicate. Him: elegant, attentive, generous partner, and he delivered a pretty classy variation. They look good together. 

Personally, I find that rep reasonably appealing given that a tour is always going to focus largely on box office winners and at least their Swan Lake is more attractive than the dreadful Bolshoi version. It's the casting that worries me. IMO there are very few world class dancers in the top ranks of the company than previously or than currently at the Bolshoi. I'm offering prayers that Shklyarov and Novikova come. 

They are all gone before Supporting Friends booking too  

I love Shklyarov and was really excited that he was moving to Munich but casting just isn't published early enough to be able to buy cheap flights :( 

I was reflecting yesterday on what a luxury it would be to be able to have male soloists of relatively uniform height, just like e.g. the Mariinsky have in the corps de ballet

I totally agree, although the RB does seem to have improved in this regard recently - is it me or does Reece Clarke not stick out quite as much as he once did ? The choice of male soloist Cavaliers in Nutcracker yesterday was curious - I mean why would you put Dyer with 3 much taller men ? I thought the same in Anastasia I think with Zucchetti ? Having said that, my criticism of yesterday's cavaliers was as much to do with poor technique and ragged individual finishing as with lack of synchronicity. 

Hayward was lovely in what was I think her first principal classical role ? She was not technically perfect but I didn't care because she has the most appealing stage presence. Campbell partnered & danced well, although I've seen him dance better - not all his finishing was tidy. Unfortunately too that costume is ghastly on someone with a less than perfect ballet physique. Both Hayward & Campbell seemed to flag slightly by the coda. Anna-Rose's Clara was delightful, she danced absolutely beautifully as indeed did her partner, James Hay. The four cavaliers (Dyer, Ball, Clarke, Edmonds) were not impressive and three of them will need to up their game considerably for their debuts in the lead role. Yasmine Nagdhi made easy work of the Rose Fairy & didn't let an uncharachteristic slip throw her off course. The corps in the snowflakes looked great - much more together & homogenous than they were a few years ago, coaching has clearly improved here.

The back of the First Circle has restricted view of the top of the stage because of the overhang of the Second Circle. Not having seen this production I don't know how much difference that would make. Perhaps someone who has been could advise. You could ring the box office to see if tickets are being held back.

I sat at the back of the First Circle row M on the side and the view was fine although I haven't seen it from elsewhere so I don't know whether it's much better in the Second Circle. 

Maybe it's "second-viewing syndrome"?    In the same way my above reaction to Tuesday's performance was a lot stronger that the first time I'd seen it.  Perhaps because, having seen it once before, you've decoded a lot of the important things - realised, for example, which one out of the throng is Albrecht, instead of wondering where he is for quite a bit of the first act - and once that's out of the way you can delve deeper into it?  I mean, on Tuesday night all those niggling quibbles many of us have had with the piece, such as the lack of narrative clarity and so on, just seemed totally irrelevant, and I never thought I'd find myself saying that.

I absolutely agree with you re second-viewing & narrative clarity. I saw the rehearsal which was terrific, and much better than I'd anticipated on the basis of some of the reviews which I mistakenly assumed were on the generous side. However, after the matinee (Oliveira/Bufala) yesterday I thought it was one of the most powerful new works I've seen for years. The final pdd was emotionally devastating; it's a long time since ballet in London has left me feeling like that. How different from the all the dispiriting and expensive new commissions seen at the RB in the recent years. 

Leaving aside the difference in choreographic quality, the story of Anastasia is rooted in reality whereas Nutcracker & Swan Lake are clearly fantasies. Nonetheless, if the story telling/scene setting in Acts 1 & 2 gave you any insight into the characters to make you care about them in any way then the poor choreography might be less of an issue. Act 3 lost a good part of its impact after the mind numbing tedium of the first 2 acts. I only saw the rehearsal and the heroic efforts of the dancers to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear could not save it for me. Surely the RB could have come up with something better than serving up yet another dull as ditchwater offering a la Raven Girl, Strapless, Frankenstein.

Very sad that he HAD it all. Some of it got lost on the way...

I remain optimistic that Sergei has some memorable performances to give .... he is still very young and his talent is too rare and special for me to lose hope yet 

I saw the film this eve as part of the London BFI festival. It's full of fascinating video footage of Polunin's childhood, interviews with close friends and plenty of dancing clips. I thought it was a sensitive, touching portrayl of a hugely talented young man and the emotional price he & his family have paid in their pursuit of a better life for him. The footage reminded me that Polunin had everything: incredible technique, terrific stage presence and a beautiful physique.

But no casting yet for 19th which was the date Zakharova  originally put on her website but has since removed ..... 

I give up .... my laptop keeps switching from the live transmission to the Charlotte MacMillan interview ! It was mildly interesting the 1st time but not by the 5th ! Tried clearing my history but to no effect. Hey ho.

Just noticed that DaveM seems to have the same strange problem .... at least it's not me going mad. 

Perhaps all three Sim ..... My friend went to Cadogan Hall to hear the Mariinsky orchestra under Gergiev playing Prokofiev. It's not a huge venue & I would have expected it to sell out but it seems to be have been half empty on some evenings. 

The poor ticket sales seem to be across all the performances although the Friday matinee is worse. It's hard to believe that there are so many unsold amphi seats for Osipova/McRae next Wednesday - the stalls have sold better but only since they were discounted to £40 ?

I've never seen so many ticket offers from the RoH at the same time and with such a high level of price discounting: Fille, Il barbiere, Cosi fan tutti. It can't be the start to the season the management will have been hoping for ...... 

Dancers joining the Bolshoi Ballet corps this season are: Alyona Kovaleva, 

 

 

..... Alyona joined straight from Vaganova school and has been cast as the lead in Diamonds next month (her partner is Vladislav Kozlov also in the corps, joined the company in 2013). Looks like one to watch. 

Has anyone heard which cast is dancing the FGR tomorrow ?

Thank you for reporting on the performance Angela. Will you go to Shirinkina/Shklyarov on Sunday ?

something new about munich giselle casting

 

 

Giselle

Natalia Osipova (09-23-2016)

Maria Shirinkina (09-25-2016) - afternoon

Ksenia Ryzhkova (09-25-2016) - evening

Svetlana Zakharova (09-29-2016)

N.N. (10-02-2016, 10-02-2016, 11-24-2016, 11-25-2016)

Albrecht, Herzog in Franken

Sergei Polunin (09-23-2016)

Vladimir Shklyarov (09-25-2016 - afternoon, 09-29-2016)

Osiel Gouneo (09-25-2016) - evening

N.N. (10-02-2016, 10-02-2016, 11-24-2016, 11-25-2016)

There are some casting changes ..... 

The matinee performance on 25/9 will be danced by Osipova/Gouneo and the evening performance by Shirinkina/Sklyarov.