Jump to content

annamk

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1,281

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by annamk

  1. annamk
    A friend pointed out that the first two programmes at Paris Opera Nallet seemed to sell out. The top price tickets are the same as the RB so I wonder why this is: is it the ballets themselves, are there fewer seats to shift overall, are there more cheaper price tickets, do people in Paris have more money, are there fewer alternatives ?
  2. annamk
    I completely agree with you re the dancers. If more triple bills were programmed then presumably we would see our favourite principals more often ? It seems to me reading @Bruce Wall reports from New York that in a very short space of time he's seen all the principals on stage several times. Maybe also part of the reason they aren't known is that the RB no longer tours the UK - I'm reading Dame Beryl Grey's autobiography and the company used to tour extraordinarily extensively, very gruelling for the dancers it has to be said. I understand that it's totally uneconomical now (Aaron Watkins said as much in the LBC interview the other evening) but Roberto Bolle seems to have a model for Italy in the summer that works. Maybe there are just too many competing forms of entertainment these days ......
  3. annamk
    For myself it's first and foremost the rep. If I don't want to see it the price is irrelevant. I downgraded my friends membership this season because of the programming. In the past I'd go to multiple performances in a run to see different casts; yes all standing but occasionally for something really special I have splashed out up to £90 for a side stalls aisle seat - now those seats are £150. I actually like Don Quixote and Swan Lake but sadly I don't like the RB productions at all. There are very few of the new commissions at the RB over the last 10/15 years that I've loved and would see on repeat. And that's not because I don't like new work: I loved Akram Khan's Giselle, if Tiler Peck were to bring her "Turn it Out" back to Sadlers Wells I spend my ballet budget for the year on it, same with ENB and the Forsythe bill to name just a few. But it's not just RB that's suffering - ENB at Sadlers Wells wasn't well attended, likewise the Pam Tanowitz at the Barbican.
  4. annamk
    I'm a member. I've never seen any fillers from the RoH.
  5. annamk
    So yesterday afternoon there were many unsold stalls seats for the Don Q matinee tomorrow and now they have all gone. I guess the RoH must have given them away to friends and family ?
  6. annamk
    Or England v Australia football friendly on Friday .......
  7. annamk
    I'm sure the reason for the slow sales is entirely to do with the programme; I wouldn't go if I was given a ticket. Neither myself nor a single one of my regular ballet going friends has booked any performances for this mixed bill, we can't be unusual. If it had been a mixed bill with made up of some of the following: Ashton, Balanchine, Bournonville, Forsythe, Ratmansky just to pick a few, I'd have gone to every performance. IMO The Cellist/Anemoi is a bill for The Linbury theatre.
  8. annamk
    The Paris Opera Ballet has an official resale site that is easy to use. You may be able to sell your ticket there for full price ?
  9. annamk
    I would just LOVE to see Leo Dixon’s Espada, I hope someone will report !
  10. annamk
    Personally, I think the empty seats for The Cellist and The Dante Project are about the ballets themselves and not to do with the casting - there are even some stalls circle standing places left for Dante after public booking. In any event Muntagirov would be wasted in both of those ballets. It seems to me Muntagirov has an ideal balance: cast in most of the major roles in the RB rep - he finally debuted in Mayerling last season - but free to guest all over the world for which I imagine he is (deservedly) handsomely rewarded.
  11. annamk
    I've looked extensively on booking.com and not found anything reasonably priced and well reviewed within say 10 minutes walking distance. In the past I stayed at the Monet Garden but at the moment it's out of my budget. However, the trams are efficient and safe so if you're a bit further away I have found it to be fine.
  12. annamk
    Wow it starts on 17th November ! What are the company doing after the Nutcracker finishes on December 9th until Sleeping Beauty on 8th February ? I guess they need a rest after nearly 30 Nutcrackers ?
  13. annamk
    I went to the matinee this afternoon and pretty much completely changed my mind about Four Last Songs. On the opening night I felt the choreography was rather repetitive with far too many lifts but this afternoon it seemed utterly mesmerising, in short I was completely blown away by the sculptural beauty of it. One of the best new creations I've seen for some time. All the dancers, a number of whom were new to me, were terrific. Daniel McCormick (in the role danced by Frola I think) is clearly on the up in the company and this afternoon he was a revelation for the sensitivity, beauty and sleekness of his movement. In spite of me reading the programme notes Les Noces remains a mystery. However, the primal power and raw energy of it all swept me up. I chose this T & V cast to see Sangeun Lee and Gareth Haw and I thoroughly enjoyed their performance in the lead roles. In particular I thought Gareth Haw's partnering was terrific, he made it all look smooth and effortless. What a fantastic triple bill. I regret not going to more performances. Also disappointing for the company that it didn't sell out, it really deserved to.
  14. annamk
    @dawnstar ENB have confirmed tonight's casting here https://www.ballet.org.uk/blog-detail/daily-performance-casting-voices/ Khaniukova and Frola in T & V
  15. annamk
    I see from the daily cast sheet that some words of explanation have been added re Les Noces. I trust it's ok to cut and paste here. Looking forward to seeing whether this makes it clearer next time I go. I. A family grieves their daughter sacrificed by the rite. II. The people shoulder the debris from the sacrifice and at the same time rush to collect promised returns. A priest prays for the fulfillment of divine favour. III. The people return empty handed. They vote. The sacrifice will be repeated. IV. The father’s heart is a battlefield between his faith and his grief, he has only has his son to turn to. The priest, infatuated with the chosen one, needs a plan to keep her alive. The chosen one and the community prepare for another rite. V. A brother and sister reunite.
  16. annamk
    I too thought it was rather odd to start with T & V instead of sending the audience home on the exuberance of it. I don’t think I’ve seen ENB dance such a challenging, nowhere to hide, purely classical piece and as if that wasn’t enough it was programmed immediately after the summer recess. It was a brave choice and I think one which largely paid off. Emma Hawes was marvellous in her solo work, was well partnered by Aitor Arrieta who was somewhat out of his comfort zone in the solo of many double tours (but then very few dancers in London wouldn’t be). The corps were by and large well co-ordinated and the company tried very hard to project the joy of dancing the piece. It must have been nerve wracking for them all and I expect that having got the premiere out of the way future performances will be more relaxed. I didn’t understand what was going on in Les Noces, I’m hoping one of the critics will explain it all so it will make more sense on a second viewing. There were some eye catching performances from the soloists, Rentaro Nakaaki really stood out for me. As for Four Last Songs somehow I seem to agree with both @AnneMarriott and @zxDaveM !
  17. annamk
    We were sitting in the back of the 1st circle and we also thought there was something strangely tinny sounding about the music, almost as if parts of it were recorded. The intervals were very long. Mostly it seemed due to the overrunning of the patrons event who were all very late coming back to their seats. So maybe other nights will be on time.
  18. annamk
    No words for that
  19. annamk
    @FionaE I find it hard to believe that someone who has the good fortune to live in a Western European democracy rather than the mafia kleptocracy of Russia can make comments like yours above in all seriousness.
  20. annamk
    I subscribe to BRB (not a friend) and I received an email from them today with this ....... We're delighted to share with you some of the groundbreaking new technologies BRB is currently exploring to bring our audiences closer to the heart of our art form. With the support of Bloomberg Philanthropies' Digital Accelerator Programme for Arts and Culture we've been creating Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) content. Over the coming months you, alongside many new audiences, will be able to experience BRB from brand-new perspectives and immerse yourself in life backstage. Find out more about our Virtual Stage Black Sabbath – The Ballet Facebook Live rehearsal Join us next Wednesday (6 Sep) at 7pm BST for a Facebook Live event from their studios in Birmingham for a special one-off rehearsal of Black Sabbath - The Ballet. This is an exciting chance to discover and learn more about this highly anticipated heavy metal ballet experience. Visit our Facebook page for more
  21. annamk
    Marina Harss's new biography "The Boy from Kyiv:Alexei Ratmansky's Life in Ballet" Comes out in hardback and kindle on 3rd October.
  22. annamk
    Dance Europe have reported that Jacopo Tissi ex Bolshoi principal and at La Scala since 2022 is joining Dutch National Ballet. https://www.instagram.com/p/CwP1ODboWMS/?hl=en
  23. annamk
    I enjoyed listening to Aaron S. Watkin talking about the ballets in Our Voices and seeing the dancers in the rehearsal process - potentially some clues to casting here. Video posted by ENB on their YT channel. Afterthought - it would be amazing if ENB could stream insights on YT like the RB do now.
  24. annamk
    He has come to ENB from Dresden but before that he was with the Mariinsky for a few years. He is Ukranian and he left Russia when the Russians invaded Ukraine.
  25. annamk
    Intriguing and unexpected casting particularly in Mary Skeaping's Giselle ...... Katja Khaniukova and Aitor Arrieta Erina Takahashi and Fernando Carratala Coloma Emma Hawes and Vsevolod Maievskyi I can see I'll need a couple of Nutcracker tickets too.
×
×
  • Create New...