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. 

10 minutes ago, Candleque said:

Is anyone a member of Central Tickets? I just stumbled upon their seat filler service. Don't know if they ever have ballet. An article in the Guardian (2018) says there are several agencies like this, but doesn't name the others.

I'm a member. I've never seen any fillers from the RoH. 

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 ? 

Or England v Australia football friendly on Friday ....... 

2 hours ago, JNC said:

I’ve received a 25% off code for the cellist mixed bill. Only applicable on the top 5 price bands (!) and only on select dates (20, 21, 23 October). 
 

For context I’m not a friend, and I haven’t booked any performances of this bill - a combination of I’m not that interested in it, prices, and not living in London anymore. This was sent to me a few days ago but I only saw it now.

 

I guess sales are slow. I hope they learn from this that there is a pricing limit. Slightly annoyingly from this point Don Quixote seems to have sold reasonably well, although I note a stubborn unsold block of the £67 (!!) side amphitheatre tickets for many performances, which is quite obvious as to why…the Nunez and Osipova performances are really the only sell outs. 
 

edited to say I’ve just actually checked the prices for the cellist bill and they seem (dare I say) fair so it’s likely the programming that is why this is selling so terribly. It’s quite a short bill (only two works). Perhaps if they did Anemoi plus some Balanchine, or the Cellist plus maybe some MacGregor (instead of Dante Project), and or some Robbins as well it would have had broader appeal. 

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. 

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 ? 

3 hours ago, oncnp said:

Cast list for today's matinee.

 

Don Quixote | Cast List | 07.10.2023 1:00 PM (roh.org.uk)

I would just LOVE to see Leo Dixon’s Espada, I hope someone will report ! 

1 hour ago, Mary said:

 

And much as I really enjoy DQ I would like to see him in something else.  (The Nutcracker pas de deux is glorious but it's a lot of money for a few minutes.)

 

I do wonder why when the RB has such stellar dancers who can sell the house we don't see more of them when we have lots of empty seats for The Cellist and Dante. It seems hard to believe the dancers  really do prefer 12 hour flights etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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. 

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. 

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 ?

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. 

@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

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.

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 !

6 hours ago, Lindsay said:

Yes Bridiem- I also thought there was something very odd going on with the sound (I was in the First Circle).  

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. 

21 minutes ago, FionaE said:

well then you’ll be delighted to know that I travelled to Russia this summer … to see ballet.  

No words for that 

3 hours ago, FionaE said:

The main point is that freedom in the West is an illusion. 

 

Many dancers from Mariinsky, Bolshoi, Mikhailovsky, Stanislavsky have been free to perform in Europe, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, South America and USA in 2023 without being forced to leave their home companies on return.  (I can provide names.  Information is public on their instagrams.).  
 

Only Prisca has been forced to leave.  She is Austrian, trained at Vienna State ballet school and was previously a Soloist at Vienna under Legris.  She joined as a soloists in 2016 and has been a principal in Munich since 2019.  
 

I’ve no doubt she was aware of the possibly consequences of performing alongside longterm friends and colleagues. 
 

You may wish to reset your thinking about freedom and democracy . 

 

 

@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. 
 

I subscribe to BRB (not a friend) and I received an email from them today with  this ....... 

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

Marina Harss's new biography "The Boy from Kyiv:Alexei Ratmansky's Life in Ballet" 

Comes out in hardback and kindle on 3rd October. 

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

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. 

Just now, Sim said:

I am interested to see that a Junior Soloist has been cast as Albrecht with Emma Haws.  I'm afraid I haven't heard of him; is he new or has he just been under my ENB radar??  Vsevolod Maievskyi is his name.

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. 

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. 

It is now working for me.

I think maybe it's just a problem with the link in the email because it does say that daily casting can be viewed online via the link.