jmhopton

Was just going through the ROH streaming offering again preparatory to cancelling my subscription (my free 3 months Friends subscription ends Wed) when I noticed at the bottom of the offerings page, opposite where it says Easily Watch on your TV they have removed A Month in the Country from their selection of offerings (below Sleeping Beauty) and replaced it with the opera Cendrillon. Yet another indication there don't appear to be plans to release it anytime soon. Given the lack of intent to stream it (why?) you wonder why it was there in the first place.

Sun 22nd Jan BBC4 Romeo and Juliet: beyond words. The Balletboyz abridged version of the RB Romeo and Juliet filmed about 3 years ago and starring Francesca Hayward and William Bracewell. I thought at the time they were supposed to be going on to film Manon and Mayerling but I haven't heard anything about this lately. Has anyone else? May be a way of getting Vadim's Mayerling on film! (Though I suspect they'll probably do Manon first if they do film them.)

17 minutes ago, alison said:

Well, Kunstkamer did get rave reviews.  But yes, not quite what I'd expected to be put on at the ROH.

I didn't mean to imply it wasn't any good. I'm sure it's wonderful for anyone who enjoys modern ballet and a chance to see an unusual programme. Just not my sort of thing.

However, I've just realised in my disappointment I didn't read on. Apparently, Australian Ballet are also doing a 60th Anniversary Celebration 'showcasing The Australian Ballet in some of it's signature repertoire'. So, perhaps I'll get a tantalising glimpse from The Merry Widow, leaving me wanting more.

You just beat me to this, oncnp! Just logged on to post this. I must admit to being so excited when I saw Australian Ballet were coming as they're one of the few Companies that perform The Merry Widow; the only favourite ballet I've never seen live. Then I saw what they were doing; a modern triple bill, Kunstkamer, 2-6 Aug 🙁. Ballets by Sol Leon and Paul Lightfoot, also Crystal Pite and Marco Goecke.

The Carlos at 50 is on 26-30 July. No rep. details yet though it says 'he will be joined by friends and guest artists from the Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Acosta Danza'. Both appear to be  in the main auditorium and booking opens whenever your summer booking period starts. Friends 14th March, Young ROH 12th April and public 13th April.

Just a reminder that the RB school performance also in this booking period and  is on Sunday 16th July at 3pm and lasts about 3 hours.

Well, I'm a Friend and didn't receive an email, though a non Friend kindly forwarded it to me. However, I had already booked for 2 of the 3 nights though ironically I had already made up my mind to cancel them and be refunded. I did debate briefly whether to do as Dawnstar suggested and return and re book at a discount but decided the other extras of hotel and train fare were still too expensive. I'm attending 3 other SBs and several Cinderellas so that will suffice. I think the ROH did miscalculate the prices for Jan in particular, for reasons Capybara already mentioned; too soon after Christmas and Nutcracker, and very few tourists. In addition there is also a cost of living crisis which couldn't have been anticipated when the programme/prices were agreed, possibly over a year ago. Also, something else that's probably played a big part in people's decisions (it did mine) is the potential problem of getting to the ROH, not to mention getting home afterwards, as there may be both train and bus strikes but nothing announced yet so you can't even plan ahead.

Had a reply from Customer Services re streaming the Ashton triple. Graham Boland is always very pleasant but couldn't give any information as it when it would be available. He said he would pass my wishes on, but as I've asked Kevin and Alex more than once I don't think they can be in any doubt! Just can't understand what the delay is when it's a new item no one will have and you would think attract new members to the streaming. Perhaps MJW is correct and they're waiting for most of the Friends free 3 months to expire before making them pay to re-join.

Friday 6th Jan BBC2 2pm Red Shoes. Excellent1948 film with Moira Shearer, Robert Helpmann and Anton Walbrook.

Sat 7th Jan SkyArts 6am Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake.

Yes I agree with much that Janet has to say about BRB and Northern Ballet.

Like JM365, up until now I haven't seen a lot to tempt myself to Birmingham with what Carlos has programmed. I'd love all of the Ashton suggested by Janet. David Bintley was always very protective of his balletic heritage, especially Ashton and De Valois and programmed them regularly. Carlos hasn't done that until now but times have been difficult and he's early days into his tenure. Hobsons Choice would also be good.

For Northern Ballet I too would love to see the Gable Christmas Carol and Romeo, also the Giselle they did in 1990 which I thought really terrific, far better than the Kirov version I saw a few months later. Unfortunately it was superceded by other NB versions I wasn't so keen on so it would be great to see it again. 

On 31/12/2022 at 13:55, LinMM said:

I’m thinking of seeing their Giselle in Brighton in February. 

I think I'm seeing this production at the Grand, Blackpool on Fri 13th Jan so I'll report back.

Re abbreviations, it took me ages to work out elsewhere on the Forum that SPW is Sir Peter Wright!

1 hour ago, zxDaveM said:

PS - just been reminded in another thread, that MaddAddam from MacGregor (and Richter) is probably heading our way before too long...

Oh dear!

Yes Dave a Christmas triple would be great as would Coppelia instead of Nutcracker though perhaps Nutcracker is still needed to swell the ROH coffers.

I too wondered about more Balanchine, I'd love to see Symphony in C again; brings back lovely memories of seeing it in a great triple with Firebird and Month in the Country. Was that 2019. I'm with you about Prodigal Son, Dave.

I do like the way these days Kevin has differentiated between triple content, tending to go for all modern or all traditional. Going back 10 years or more, triples seemed to inevitably contain something I really wanted to see, something just about OK and something I didn't want to see at all. I much prefer his new programming and hope it continues into the new season.

Happy New Year, everyone!!

As we're now officially in 2023 I'm going to start a thread for people's ballet wishes in the 2023/24 ballet season. As the new ballet seasons start being announced about April presumably most ADs will have finalised their programme but you never know, there may still be mixed programmes that haven't quite been decided on, or perhaps we can provide food for thought for 2024/25.

As you'll probably know my main wish will be more Ashton and Vadim!! But seriously, it would be great to have another mixed Ashton bill as the last one was so wonderful. Having seen the Ashton Foundation rehearsals featuring Daichi in Patineurs and Letitia Dias in Les Rendezvous I'd love to see both of them staged again.  I don't think I've seen Les Rendezvous live and it seems ages since Les Patineurs was done. Possibly both with the Dream or Symphonic Variations or Facade. Not sure if that would work timewise but there are loads of Ashton I'd love to see. Full length, La Fille would be wonderful as it's been absent for too long. Am wondering if releasing Sylvia for streaming means there is any chance we may see that again next season. One lot of performances in ages (and not filmed!) is terrible.

Other ballets, my favourite ballet is Onegin. I was thinking it wasn't that long since it was staged at the start of 2019 but of course that will be 4 years ago this spring. When I spoke to Kevin at the stage door last time he said he wouldn't leave it so long to stage it again (5 years last time, possibly) so it could be staged and the female ballerinas especially always say how much they enjoy it and so many new principals since 2019.

Of other ballets I'd like to see Don Q. I know BRB staged it this year but I don't see why RB couldn't stage it next season. There have been too few 'fun' ballets staged after covid.

I suppose we should be getting Manon if the rolling Macmillan programme continues which is fine as I'd enjoy seeing it again.

Be good if the RB could stage more Robbins like Afternoon of a Faun as I do like his choreography, possibly instead of more 'new' offerings but I suspect that's not going to happen even if the Robbins will be new to most ballet goers. Failing that would be good to see The Concert again.

Anyway, that's enough from me. I'll probably think of all sorts I'd forgotten when people start adding their own wish lists. Over to you!

Yes indeed Don Q Fan. I am seriously thinking about cancelling the 2 Sleeping Beauties I have booked in Jan. The tickets were £70 each but the added cost of trains, accommodation and a couple of meals out means I won't get much change out of £400. Given I have 3 other SBs booked and several Cinderellas I feel I have to start economising. Instead I will go to my second performance of Ballet Theatre UK Beauty and the Beast at the Lowther Pavilion, Lytham (near Blackpool) on 17th Jan. A fabulous production, very professional, and a net outlay of £15.

Thanks Sim. All the very best to all the Mods and Forum users for a happy, healthy and balletic New Year. I'm sure there'll be many wonderful performances for us all to attend and discuss. Can't wait!

I'm pleased that you're enjoying the ROH streaming system DVDfan and I'm sure you're not alone in this. It is a great initiative and I don't know of other major opera houses who have launched anything similar,  so we'll done ROH. My criticisms are personal to me in that so far I already have most or all of what has been streamed and I thought the Ashton triple was promised for release in the autumn (though of course no mention as to which autumn!) An image from Month in the Country is even used in their promotional publicity! So hopefully we'll see it sometime next year. It would also be great to see some non official recordings that haven't been used for cinema broadcasts but that doesn’t seem to be happening either, probably because of copyright problems.

Well, I must be checking my date in case I need to cancel also.

Am just totally hacked off after the very cheery email from the streaming service extolling the wonders to come FOR THE NEXT 3 MONTHS but still no sign of the Ashton triple. So we're not going to see it before April at the earliest unless we all bombard them with emails and Kevin seems impervious to that. I did say to him All I want for Christmas is the Ashton triple but I suppose I didn't specify which Christmas. Perhaps MJW is right that they're holding it back until most of the Friends have cancelled their free subscription,  forcing them to rejoin.

Balletwise we're getting The Cellist 5th Jan,  Romeo 14th Feb (don't know which cast) and the old Sylvia recording with Darcey Bussell 9th March. This reminds me of my Sylvia grievance about it not being filmed when it was revived a few years ago. Why not as it hasn't been revived for ages? At this rate it will be at least a year between Ashton triple performance and stream. Just can't understand it at all. I thought streaming was supposed to be instant.

Opera streaming is Traviata in Jan, Fidelio Feb and Madame Butterfly March.

Yes I caught a glimpse if this as well. While I enjoyed the dancing I must admit I don't like productions where there is a lot of snow covering the stage early on in the Land of Snow scene. It ruins my enjoyment of the scene as I'm so worried about the dancers slipping. I don't think they do that so much now. I think the snow generally falls near the end of the scene and possibly just at the back of the stage which is a lot better (for me, anyway).

Thanks for the clarification Bruce and for everything you did to get it all going. We wouldn't be here now without you. You did an incredible thing, starting the original Forum and we all owe you a great debt of gratitude.  I knew you were involved in founding the original forum but didn't know to what extent, as then I was very new to the Forum, so it's good to know how much work and financial commitment you put into the original Forum as well as your involvement in this one. Well done you to have the vision to establish and create a great international Forum that brings so much pleasure to so many people and long may it continue to do so.

I think it had its merits as a children's film. It was spectacular, action packed and well acted. However, the tantalising snippets of real Nutcracker music made me realise just how fond I am of the score as well as the spectacle of the ballet and made me want to watch,  or even just listen to, the Real Thing. By the way, where was Polunin? He was mentioned in the credits but I didn't see him, but did keep rather switching off to imagine I was watching the ballet.

Yes,many many thanks to the Mods for all the hard work they do on our behalf all year round. It's really appreciated.  It's so grateful to have somewhere to go to discuss ballet and many of the posters are like friends even though we may never have met. Some posters have become friends after messaging and then meeting up and that's really wonderful. 

I think back with horror to the mercifully brief period 11 years ago (?) when we were briefly without a Forum and life just wasn't the same. I hadn't realised how much I had taken the Forum for granted for information, discussion  chat and so much more until it wasn't there. How would I find out what was going on? Who could I discuss performances with? Mercifully the moderators sorted everything and a new Forum was born and has continued ever since. I'm so thankful to them and everyone responsible for setting up the Forum and making it a safe, friendly place for everyone to participate in and enjoy. 

Merry Christmas, and a happy, balletic 2023 for everyone. 

Well, I'm coming rather late to the party but I have seen some truly stunning ballets and performances in 2022.

First up was BRB's revamped Don Q at the Birmingham Hippodrome in Feb. I thought the new sets and costumes (especially the sets) were terrific and far better than the larger, more cumbersome ones at the ROH, especially the vision scene where I thought the simple fronds far more effective than the garish flowers at the ROH. The idea of having Amour danced by a man was quite intriguing too. I thought Alexander Yap was fabulous as the matador. Couldn't believe he was just an Artist. sadly he has now left BRB to be a soloist in Hong Kong ballet. He will be missed. I saw Vadim Muntagirov and Marianela Nunez guesting with BRB and they were terrific in the roles; a great start to my ballet going year. I'd have liked to see Brandon Lawrence as Basil but sadly not to be. A treat for the future.

One of the highlights was the Ashton triple bill in April and May. Saw 6 performances (probably a record for me, certainly for a mixed bill) and really enjoyed them all. The highlight was definitely the Morera/Muntagirov performances in Month in the Country. This was made even more special as they danced all their performances together after Lauren Cuthbertson was forced to pull out. Why have they never danced together before? They were absolutely terrific, reducing me to tears every performance. I still get very angry they weren't filmed in it and hope there is still time though I suspect probably not, as sadly there will be no reason to film it again in the near future. Sambe in Rhapsody too was also very special though I think James Hay and Francesca Hayward would be my overall favourite choice. It was great seeing Scenes de ballet as I don't know if I've ever seen it live. All in all a very well balanced, exciting triple bill and I hope something similar will be programmed in the next season as there seems to have been a lack of traditional mixed bills in this season.

One of the September highlights was undoubtedly the Nureyev tribute organised by Nehemiah Kish at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. A very interesting selection of known and lesser known pieces highlighting many different facets of Nureyev's career both as a classical and character dancer and also as a choreographer. I especially liked the Laurencia pas de six (great to see some younger RB dancers here)  and also the Flower festival pas de deux which I really like and seldom see.

The other September highlight was the Ukraine Giselle and another chance to see the supreme Alina Cojacaru play the lead role. There is no one who does Giselle like Alina. It was an emotional evening anyway, coming so soon after the death of the Queen. We started off by singing God Save the King which itself felt very strange, and an extra reminder of the loss of the only monarch most of us had known. Alina was wonderful as always as was her Albrecht and the evening ended on another emotional high with the Ukranian National Anthem.

October brought ENBs Raymonda in Bristol. Haven't  been to Bristol or seen this Raymonda before and was pleasantly impressed with both. I think it's a big improvement on the traditional Raymonda which I saw the Bolshoi do at the Coliseum in 1999. The sets and costumes were great and loved the choreography and was impressed with ENBs dancers. The Crimean war seemed rather marginal and not sure about the ending which seemed rather rushed, but a great effort from Tamara in breathing new life into a rather dusty old war horse.

Saved the best to last, The RB Mayerling in October and November. Saw 5 performances, all excellent and it transformed my attitude to a ballet I've never really rated that much. I must admit to being slightly disappointed that Laura Morera wasn't partnering Vadim as they were so wonderful together in Month in the Country and I thought her experience and acting ability would be great for him in his debut in such a demanding role. I saw Laura with Bonelli last time it was staged and that really started to change my attitude to the ballet as a whole as they were just such an emotional pairing together, each encouraging the other to give a really great performance. This time Laura gave an equally searing performance with Matthew Ball whom I didn't see last time so seeing him as Rudolf was a debut performance for me. He is obviously becoming one of the RBs great dance/actors, possibly in time inheriting the mantle left by Ed Watson. Every performance he gives he seems to go further in this aspect of his career and I would love to see his Onegin (hopefully fairly soon) I also saw Ryio and Melissa Hamilton. I'd seen him in the cinema broadcast with Osipova and thought them both really terrific but I really wanted to see Melissa Hamilton as Mary as I really rate her as a dancer but (like James Hay) she doesn't seem to get the big roles that she deserves so this was a rare chance to see her in a major role and she didn't disappoint, throwing herself into the role of Mary with reckless abandon. Saw Sambe/Hayward also. Was intrigued by Sambe as Rudolf as I wasn't sure what to expect but he gave a very detailed, emotional performance as did Hayward who was amazing as Mary. The RB dancers are so good these days it is often very difficult to tell the difference between a debut performance and an established one as the debut performances look like they've being doing the role for years. Which brings me to my final Mayerling cast featuring Muntagirov/Naghdi. Debut roles for both of them and Yasmine had the added stress of also debuting as Larisch and stepping into partnering Vadim late on after Cuthbertson had to pull out because of pregnancy. I didn't know what to expect from Vadim as the character of Rudolf seems totally alien to him and I didn't know how he would interpret and convey Rudolf's torment and mental deterioration; would he be capable of it? The answer was a resounding yes! I sat totally spellbound through both performances and didn't want them to end. He somehow managed to find and channel his inner Rudolf and gave 2 performances of searing intensity. I was totally drained just watching him, yet an hour after the performance he breezed out of the stage door as if it hadn't been anything much at all, just being his usual pleasant, chatty self. Such a shame it wasn't filmed. It must be filmed at the next performance. Like JohnS  I just hope we don't have to wait another 3 years for another. It was an amazing performance to end a great ballet going year and I'm already looking forward to the RB Sleeping Beauties and Cinderellas I've booked for next year (trains permitting!)

Had an email from Paris Opera Ballet today. Apparently they're relaunching a new website and are offering the Nureyev Romeo as a free inducement if you create a new account. Haven't actually tried it so I don't know if it's just creating an account (no payment upfront) but that's what it sounds like. Anyway, I'll copy the letter so if anyone wants to try you can. The letter link is below

Dear spectators,

We are pleased to present you the new website for l’Opéra chez soi. As a celebratory gift, we offer you access to the ballet Romeo and Juliet by Rudolf Nureyev.

To access the show, we invite you to create a new account, which will allow you to connect to the entire Paris Opera ecosystem.

Enter the code ROMEOV2 to watch the show for free. See you soon on l’Opéra chez soi.

https://infos.operadeparis.fr/optiext/optiextension.dll?ID=PlkPoUE9Qp02n3pCmtiEk%2BXOSRts58cy0IJM17r0_R9CzeE5GuFN%2BggabVRc_c4K7V4L3PssizxRzzSnGeLFR1uLmWCjU

Not a livestream as such so apologies for mentioning them here (especially if I've mentioned them somewhere previously) but the Ashton Foundation YouTube channel have recently posted 2 recent masterclasses on their website; one of Daichi Ikarashi being coached by Wayne Sleep as the Blue Boy in Les Patineurs and another one where Leticia Dias is coached in the solo from Les Rendezvous by Merle Parke. Both really interesting and entertaining, especially for Ashton enthusiasts. There are also other previous masterclasses available there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X18kr_BHPuU&t=554s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mib9bxGQz7k&t=703s

Fingers crossed for a successful journey Emeralds whichever company you use.

I'm due at the ROH 18/19 Jan and am living in dread of the next round of strikes. Just hope they announce them soon, as not knowing is almost worse than being affected.  You can't book trains until you know and then you might have to decide to cut your visit short or stay an extra night. It's just so complicated.

No mention of BRBs Don Q in the double issue Radio Times so the one ballet offering I really wanted to see isn't on over Christmas. Back to the dvds though might watch the Cranko Taming of the Shrew kindly highlighted by FionaE in the free livestream thread.

However, the Radio Times did mention SkyArts showing Swan Lake on Christmas day at the usual unfriendly time of 8-8.30am

To mark the 50th anniversary of Rudolf Nureyev's version of Tchaikovsky's ballet, this 2014 Vienna State Opera production revived the show with new sets, costumes and more (the statement ends as abruptly as this)

Also, the Balanchine Nutcracker is repeated Monday 2nd Jan 6.10-8am. So there is some ballet on offer, just not much that appeals to me.