annamk

At 10 this morning (supporting friends booking) I was unable to buy any Stalls circle standing for 2 of the Osipova/Acosta Giselles and by 10.30 there seemed to be virtually no standing left for any ballet performances in this booking period.

I agree with you Bruce athough I feel even more gloomy than you and think that barring a few obvious exceptions the line up on the female side doesn't look so wonderful either. Disappointingly, also there isn't a single compelling partnership - I mean where the man and the woman are equals. All of this highlighted by the wonderful Bolshoi dancers Swan Lake was dull yes but not Bayadere or Sleeping Beauty. Anyway, the excitement was in having the opportunity to see wonderful dancers throughout the company. Really, all of them blind ? Well me too then because I loved Olga Smirnova's performances - particularly in Diamonds.

I don't think Obratztsova was on poor form at all on Saturday. She fell out of all 3 pirouettes in the scarf pdd that's all - yes it looked slightly messy but these little things happen to the best dancers from time to time. In every other respect her performance was lovely.

Errr I agree the RB shades were good but "the Bolshoi shades could take a big lesson" from them ? I really don't see that at all. Briefly on the performances ..... I watched all three and I'm far more positive than some posters here. The opening night obviously suffered from the unfortunate accident to Alexandrova - I have heard that there was no contact between her and Lantratov, her achilles tendon just snapped. Over the three performances, I saw some wonderful dancing at all levels of the company. Yes there have been small wobbles such as Obraztsova's scarf scene mentioned by a poster above but I found that a minor distraction in an otherwise excellent performance from her. Lantratov has a fine stage presence and is a fabulous dancer. His Act 3 variation was terrific, extraordinary height on his assembles (?) and panther light landings. Smirova has to be seen to be believed, she was exquisite - Sarah Crompton has just published her review 5*. I could go on and on Zakharova, Chudin, Tikhomirova, Krysanova, Stashkevich, Khoklova, Alizade. Unlike the Bolshoi Swan Lake I love this production and I much prefer ending with the shades scene as Jann Parry notes in her excellent review for Dance Tabs. My only gripe is that they didn't schedule more than three performances of Bayadere.

IMO it's knock your socks off. If you look on YT you can find plenty of clips of the Fri cast because they danced the live relay earlier this year.

I agree with the point that for the majority of the audience at Covent Garden they like to see principal casting but the identity of the actual principals is not important. The one Covent Garden principal who seems to have a personal impact on ticket sales way ahead of anyone else is Carlos Acosta. Unlike nearly all the recent visitors to the Coli he's had no trouble selling it out.

If anyone is interested in contributing to a flower throw on Wed evening please send me a private mesage via balletcoforum. Thank you

What a pity ! I really enjoy looking at the photo galleries. So few images appear in the press or the ROH programmes the galleries are much appreciated. Hope the RoH can be persuaded to change their minds.

Thanks Meunier !

My very brief thoughts.The sets were excellent although the traverse arrangement restricted the sightlines badly from some parts of the auditorium where you would normally expect a clear view. The recorded music was atmospheric. The dancers performed with commitment. Ultimately though I found the evening one of the most deeply unsatisfying I can remember at the RoH. Full of tired cliches, eg Laura Morera in a slutty nightdress with black stockings and suspender belt... please. The choreography was entirely unmememorable and interminably repetitive. Liam has done some wonderful abstract work for the main stage but IMO he hasn't found his way yet with narrative ballet: perhaps he needs to try something lighter than the dark, violent storylines of the last two pieces.

I'm less enthusiastic than others about last night. Matthew Golding has great elevation and delivered his solos at least as well as the RB men but I thought he wasn't an ideal partner for Zen. He's not tall enough for her so the partnering wasn't smooth and effortless and I don't feel they have very complimentary styles or looks. Understandable nerves on his part might account for the lack of warmth (& resulting lack of chemistry) in the Act 1 pdd. I remember Zen's debut - she was as wonderful as Clement Crisp said :- http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/791b819c-7ddd-11dc-9f47-0000779fd2ac.html#axzz2S997ikIs

I and my friends saw the rehearsal and the evening performance and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. It was refreshing to see a different version of this ballet as I've only seen MacMillan (many times). I'm very glad to have seen it and thought some of the critics were unduly harsh, I'm much more in agreement with Judith Mackrell's 4 star review. On the opening night there was a standing ovation from many people in the stalls.

MAB you may know this anyway but (if you don't you will find it interesting) there's a long thread about the Mariinsky - casting etc on this US site http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/index.php?/forum/63-kirov-mariinsky-ballet/

Thank you for drawing my attention to the Hallberg interview Meunier. What Hallberg says about Osipova is fascinating & sad that he feels as he does about himself. It came into my mind as I read it that Alina Cojocaru has surely found her individual voice.

The ENB code EMERGING isn't working for me online & I can't find a link to the offer. Has anyone else tried ?

The Friends rehearsal was the first time I'd seen her dance Alice and I thought she was fabulous ! Edited to make sense !

Ismene Brown has posted available preliminary casting for some dates, not sure where she found it but gave cut & paste from her article thus morning. Swan Lake - 29 July, Svetlana Zakharova/ Ruslan Skvortsov; 15 August Olga Smirnova/ Semyon Chudin La Bayadère - 2 August, Zakharova (Nikiya)/ Maria Alexandrova (Gamzatti)/ Vladislav Lantratov (Solor); 3 August (eve) Smirnova/ Ekaterina Krysanova/ Chudin The Sleeping Beauty - 5 August, Nina Kaptsova (Aurora)/ Ekaterina Shipulina (Lilac Fairy)/ Artem Ovcharenko; 6 August, Zakharova/ Smirnova/ Ruslan Skvortsov; 8 August, Maria Alexandrova/Smirnova/ Semyon Chudin Jewels - Emeralds: 12 August, Evgenia Obraztsova/ Lantratov; 13 August, Kaptsova/ Dmitri Gudanov; Rubies: 12 August, Ekaterina Krysanova/ Gudanov/ Shipulina; 13 August, Kristina Kretova/ Andrei Merkuriev/ Yulia Grebenshchikova Diamonds: 12 August, Svetlana Zakharova/ Alexander Volchkov; 13 August, Olga Smirnova/ Semyon Chudin The Flames of Paris - 16 August, Natalia Osipova /Ivan Vasiliev

Including the General rehearsal I've seen this triple 3 times. I really enjoyed all the performances of Apollo (Pennefather, Acosta and Bonelli) and to choose between the casts would be nit picking for me because I thought they all performed well and each cast brought something slightly different which made them all worth watching. Unlike other posters above I thought the Ratmansky was ravishing. At the rehearsal I might have agreed that it was everso slightly too long but not now. I think the dancing has improved with each performance, particularly so this afternoon, maybe with first night tension out of the way. It seemed the dancers relaxed so all the clever detail in the choreography had much more impact. I feel I could watch it all over again and find something new and different in it. I love the way the tempo changes suddenly and dramatically and how Ratmansky has used his dancers singly and together so effectively. I like the costumes especially now the men's tights which were black at the rehearsal and first night have been changed to pale grey this afternoon. It was beautifully lit too. Personally, I think it's a work of genius. Of specific dancers I only want to say that I have been astonished by Rupert Pennefather: both as Apollo and in the Ratmansky. I don't think I have ever seen him dance with such intensity and commitment. Ratmansky (and/or someone else) has coaxed out of him some beautiful footwork and a charismatic stage presence to add to his attractive physical one. The whole package - I hope we see more of it. The Wheeldon has grown on me and I very much liked watching it this afternoon. It is clever and has been beautifully danced - of course by Marianela Nunez but equally by Clare Calvert who has a lovely lyrical quality to her dancing and seems to fill the stage. I don't love it yet and I wouldn't rush to see it again.

I've seen those interviews and both said Polunin would be dancing in Coppelia in July, I think the 2nd interview was in the Times which specifically mentioned the Coliseum ? I did then look at the Coli website and there appears to be a slot after Boston Ballet.

It certainly was glorious, even better than Tuesday

I think you're spot on about the applause Sim. I think it really destroys the atmosphere of a tragic ending if people start clapping or bravo-ing before the curtain is down. I'll never forget an early (maybe even his debut) Mayerling of Johan Kobborg. It was such a devastating performance that at the end there was complete silence in the auditorium for a couple of minutes which said it all really.

The names appear listed as "Principal Dancers ...." after the Flames of Paris picture. I suppose they could just be listing the company principals although Olga Smirnova is included in the women.

Not too soon I hope .....

I wonder if audiences have changed so much (for many reasons not least the availability of so much online ballet footage) that we are unlikely ever to witness 20 to 40 minutes applause ? In my, relatively short, 15 years of RoH attendance the most noteworthy applause I've seen (leaving aside the retirement performances) were the stalls standing ovations for Osipova and Vasiliev's DQs.