jmhopton

I thought he used to be senior ballet master but he wasn't when I checked which made me think it must be a new post after all. I didn't see he was now rehearsal director. Does Christopher Carr still do any rehearsing? I used to enjoy his insight rehearsals though Christopher Saunders and Gary Avis are great too.

Do you need to stay in London overnight JNC? I find the trouble with last minute tickets is then I have to pay even more inflated prices for transport and accommodation. If I leave matinee booking until later I'm concerned I won't get the seats I want as they tend to sell pretty fast for others like me who don't want to add hotel costs to their already large ROH bill.

My 'hopes' for the autumn season (haven't been able to book yet as am not a Friend so waiting for public packages or public booking) Manon Lamb/Muntagirov (primarily because of the very unexpected but welcome matinee which means I don't need to pay for an overnight stay.) Hayward/Cambell/Corrales/Magri. An exceptional dream team with potentially 2 very exciting debuts and also a matinee. Morera/Bonelli. Bit of soul searching financially for this. Would love to see them as have never seen Morera in this role and suspect this might be my last chance. (Didn't Bonelli do it in the cinema broadcast with Nunez a few years ago?) Wednesday not a good day evening staywise for me as can only get my 'cheap' hotel at the weekend but might have to go anyway. Would love to see Osipova and certainly would after the Hayward matinee if she wasn't paired with Hallberg whose partnering I was really concerned about just in the R and Juliet Fonteyn gala pas de deux. Now if it was Shklyarov you couldn't have kept me away! Concerto triple The cinema broadcast gives a really excellent cast and is great to see a triple being filmed. However... The Saturday 12 o'clock matinee on Nov 2nd also seems to have a must-see cast' and great it's a matinee. Also the cast for Wed evening 18th Dec. Sleeping Beauty Not a great fan of this and annoyed the cinema broadcast isn't the Naghdi/Ball cast featuring in the promotions as this would have spared me the expense of a ROH visit. Cuthbertson has already had a filmed performance with Polunin. If it couldn't have been Naghdi/Ball because they've had a filmed Romeo and J why couldn't if have been the Hayward/Campbell cast? To me they gave the standout performance last time it was performed and as they only managed the one I was so lucky to have seen it. Hayward/Campbell O'Sullivan/Hay Probably Naghdi/Ball Coppelia Don't really like the ballet and even watching the wonderful Australian Ballet version recently broadcast on SkyArts didn't really make a convert of me. For me the second act drags on interminably and have never been a huge fan of the third act so to see a ballet when all the interesting dance you want to see comes in the first act is a bit of a letdown. However, I've had similar thoughts about several RB ballets in the last few years and have ended up being captivated by individual performances so I'm hoping they'll perform their magic again. Incidentally Franz is a role I've never visualised Vadim dancing let alone in the cinema broadcast so I'll be interested to see what he makes of it. I would have preferred to see one of the younger couples at the cinema in such a young persons ballet but I suppose it's the only filmed full length ballet he could star in as he's already been filmed for Beauty and Swan Lake. O'Sullivan/Sambe Naghdi/Ball Magri/Coralles Hayward/McRae I selected these four as they are all huge favourites with me and I can see all of them on just 2 days with the wonders of casting and Saturday matinees.I would love to see Campbell/Morera as well but it would have to be a matinee and as their only matinee is Dec 23rd I don't know how practical that would be. When I told my brother I'd 'pared down' my Autumn RB performances to 12 he thought that was hilarious! The main worry is the expense, as for me it's not just the ticket price but transport and accommodation as well. Also I'm trying not to think about all the Onegins I'll probably want to see after Christmas! Has anyone any experience of declaring themselves bankrupt?!

I think Friday Rush is different as we were both discussing tickets kept back before public booking opens though I was certainly surprised to hear no tickets were kept back for public booking as I'm sure I've read several times on this Forum that a certain percentage of tickets were kept back for public booking. Like Onemouse above I would find it impossible to find the packages page on the new ROH website but I have now bookmarked it courtesy of a post from the Forum. It is http://www.roh.org.uk/help/package-faqs You can click on whichever of the FAQs is applicable to what you want to know eg booking dates etc.

I forgot earlier to offer congratulations to Gary Avis and Samantha Raine on their promotions to Chief Ballet Master and Chief Ballet Mistress. Really well deserved and a great idea from Kevin O'Hare as the new posts seemed to have been created for them (they are not in the current list of RB staff). Like the posts of Principal Character Artists which Kevin also created it is a great way of rewarding excellence and showing how important the roll of rehearsing, coaching and acting is to the RB productions.

Sorry I was posting from my phone and have obviously spelt it wrong initially and now it defaults to it automatically. The curse of predictive text!

I was confused about the packages information given on the ROH FAQs and emailed the ROH Customer Services today. I did get a very prompt reply. Here are my queries and their reply. "I just have a query re booking a ballet package. As I'm not a ROH Friend I realise the package booking doesn't apply until the 1st August. I am interested in attending all the ballets in the autumn period. However, how many tickets can I book? The website says A flexible package allows you to build your own series of performances according to the dates that suit you, letting you choose the seats for each performance. Can I book multiple dates for the same production? #Our packages are configured to offer a selection of productions and so you cannot buy multiple performances for a production within one package. The first quotation seems to contradict the second. Does that mean I cannot book more than one performance per ballet per package. So if I wanted to book 3 performances per ballet would I have to book 3 packages? Also as I book side stalls circles what seats are available in the packages? On your website it says only higher priced stalls circle seats are available for package booking but people who have actually booked said most stalls circle seats are available. Finally do you keep some side stalls circle seats in reserve for when public booking opens?" Their reply was "Please be advised that you can book up to a total of 9 tickets per performance within a Package. The number of tickets has to be exactly the same for every performance within the package. You can only have one performance of a particular ballet/opera production within a single package (i.e. you cannot double/triple up on the same ballet production within the same package). If for example you wanted to see a performance of Manon twice then you would need to book at least two different packages. The seats offered in the Stalls Circle will include all but the very lowest price categories (i.e. the bench seats, restricted view and standing positions). We have slightly relaxed the restriction on only being able to book the top two price categories for the forthcoming season, however I cannot guarantee that this will be the case for every season going forward. We do not hold back any seats in the main auditorium for public booking". So it looks like you can book up to 9 tickets per performance but not multiple single tickets for different nights of the same production (which is what I want). So if I want to book 3 tickets for all 4 ballets I will have to book 3 packages. Also I was rather surprised no tickets were kept back for public booking. I thought a certain percentage was kept back and that was one reason I decided not to opt for becoming a ROH Friend.

Especially pleased about Gasparini, O'Sullivan and Padjek but disappointed about no promotion for either Joseph Sissons or Francisco Serrano, especially as Joseph has been recently nominated for the Breakthrough award from SkyArts.

I take it Winter casting isn't in the new magazine. Any idea when it might be available? I'm thinking especially of Onegin.

Yes Moulin Rouge debuts on SkyArts on Sunday 14 July at 7pm. Lasts two hours. It is also repeated Monday 15 at 2.10am and Tuesday 16 at 4pm. Interesting that Joseph Sissons was nominated in the Breakthrough category in the SkyArts Awards though unfortunately he didn't win.

Going slightly off topic here but looked at the first page of the Royal Ballet 2019/20 season on Ballet Alert and was truly heartened to see how many Americans commented about how disappointed they were with the lack of Ashton. One even said Kevin O'hare had done a splendid job nurturing wonderful dancers but didn't give them wonderful rep. to dance. Others said Ashton should be the core of the RB rep. and doing just one piece on the main stage was not sufficient for dancers to really get into the Ashton style. Also by staging Ashton at the Linbury it gives the impression Ashton isn't really important to the Company or capable of attracting a wide audience. Another encapsulated my thought by saying she hoped there would be more Ashton for this season as an additional Fonteyn tribute.

I have always found Mayerling a bit of an acquired taste, loved the music, sets and costumes and some brilliant pas de deux but lots of irritating stuff as well. The three officers pop up too much, hate the brothel scene apart from Bratfish, really dislike the opera singer, the fireworks scene is too long and I never understand what that odd picnic scene means, where Rudolph shoots someone. Every time you hear the audience muttering at the end of it as if collectively saying 'what was that all about?' Then I saw it from the front row of the stalls circle very close to the stage with Morera and Bonelli and I thought wow, what a masterpiece! Well, perhaps that's a slight exaggeration but it's certainly the most enjoyable Mayerling I've ever seen and criminal that cast wasn't filmed recently and aren't performing in the States. I know Bonelli is on sabbatical but he might have returned for that. It seems bizarre Kevin O' Hare prefers the Ryio cast to this one. I think he's in a definite minority here.

Couldn't see anything new on SkyArts next week after a quick look through the Radio Times. The only ballet I could see at all was a repeat of Anastasia on Friday 12th July at 7am

I have 'liked' all the other comments on this but felt I had to add my own as my first reaction to news of Brandon's promotion was 'Hooray!! (and about time too!)

I've just had an email from the Lowry about a visit by Carlos' Company 24 and 25 March next year. Booking is open. I'm sure they'll be appearing at other venues as well. International ballet superstar Carlos Acosta and his critically acclaimed Cuban company Acosta Danza perform a programme of new and existing works. Acosta makes a guest appearance in the iconic ‘Rooster’, choreographed by Christopher Bruce to music by the Rolling Stones. The company also perform new work, ‘Paysage, Soudain, la nuit’ by visionary Swedish choreographer Pontus Lidberg. Inspired by Vaslav Nijinsky’s ‘L’après midi d’un faune’, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui completes the bill with masterpiece ‘Faun’, set to Debussy’s original score with additional music from Nitin Sawhney.

Hi Chris G, welcome to a fellow Northerner! it's interesting what you said about Winter Dreams because I saw it twice in the same day (being a northerner if I've got to stay over I try and see a matinee as well). I definately wanted to see Vadim in the evening so I saw the matinee cast also and was very disappointed in it. it seemed overlong and rather boring. Then with Vadim in the evening it was like seeing a different ballet (as Bruce said also). it was totally entrancing and the time seemed to fly by. So I think casting is important in how you view a ballet and influences your opinion as to whether the ballet is a seasonal lowlight or highlight.

Lucky you Jenny. It sounds a really fabulous experience and thanks very much for sharing it with us. It's the next best thing to being there.

The Preston Odeon printed off cast list/plot synopsis for us. However, the 2 gentlemen sitting next to me left in the interval saying it was 'absolute rubbish'. The Cast list mentioned a website www.cinemalive.com who describe themselves as 'one of the world's leading producers and distributors of Premium Event Cinema'. They also list NB Dracula and other ballets by Australian Ballet including The Merry Widow and Spartacus as well as more pop based and also theatrical events.

Another new ballet on SkyArts. Sunday 30th June 11am Australian Ballet Coppelia. Seems to last two hours. Repeated Friday 5th July at 7am. 6am the same day they're showing a repeat of Force of Nature : Natalia Osipova.

Just back from seeing Victoria at the cinema and there was an advert for a dvd/Blu Ray (date unspecified) at the end of the recording.

Just come back from Northern ballet's Victoria at the cinema and not really sure what to make of it. Some very good choreography, excellently danced, but I would have liked not to spend so much time wondering who everyone was! For example in the first act I wasn't sure for a while if the young girl was the young Beatrice (turned out she was). Also who were all those people dressed in red skirts who were flitting about throughout the ballet? I was quite mystified. They seemed to be to do with the archives but (speaking as a librarian for 40 years) they didn't look like anyone I'd ever seen in a library! Also the men in the second act; as none of them had moustaches I wasn't sure which was Albert until she was getting married. I preferred the second act to the first as the choreography seemed more inventive; I suppose there was more scope for a young Victoria. The Victoria/Albert pas de deux was stunning in it's explicit and implicit sexuality even though Beatrice showed her disapproval by ripping several pages of the journal out after seeing it! Congratulations especially to Pippa Moore as Beatrice and Abigail Prudames as Victoria who were both excellent. One thing that really put me off at the start was the fact it seemed to be treated as a film rather than a live broadcast. Consequently, the 'trailers' just advertising the Company and sponsors were mega loud and made me remember why I'd stopped seeing films at the cinema. I only go and see the RB broadcasts, and speech, music and ROH trailers are at normal levels. I am mystified as to why cinema broadcasters assume their audience are deaf (if you're not when you go in you might be when you come out!) and watching in somewhere about the size of the Albert Hall, hence the need for massive sound amplification. The reality is most screens are very small these days compared to the large ones in the 50s and 60s and there is no need for massive amplification at all. Perhaps I need to see Victoria again. I see at the end there was an advert for a dvd/Blu Ray (date unspecified). I will go and see Dracula on 31st October (make a welcome respite from the doom and gloom of Brexit!) though I wish it was the Christopher Gable production.

Much as I love many ballets; Onegin and virtually anything by Ashton springs to mind, I don't know if I'd want to see any ballet programmed every year. it would be like having Christmas every day; if it happens too often it loses it's magic and becomes the norm rather than a special treat to be savoured occasionally. Now having more frequent stagings of Onegin and a greater variety and frequency of Ashton is a different story! Also, regardless of what we might like, any regular staging would be the most popular ballets like the recent long run of annual Nutcrackers. I know many people love Nutcracker (as do I) but I'm looking forward to a break from it for one year and have all those endless Christmas slots taken up with a fresh ballet. if I want to enjoy my Christmas fix of Nutcracker I can go to the repeat cinema broadcast (which I think is an excellent idea and I wish could be repeated for other ballets) or watch one of the many excellent dvds available. If our favourites were programmed every year what would we have to discuss when the annual season is announced?!

I know this link has been posted before but I was having trouble getting it to work on my pc and then lost it altogether. I emailed the ROH website people and was sent it again and it worked so I just thought I'd share it with everyone as I find it invaluable for booking and just general checking of performances and I've no idea how to find it on the website itself. I was so relieved to get it as I made sure it had been discarded just because it was plain and useful and not trendy and attractive at all. http://www.roh.org.uk/seasons/2019-20

My Highlights (mainly Royal Ballet) Kevin O'Hares choice of mixed bills. To me these have improved immensely this season and seem to be continuing over to the next season also . Previously I thought the RB choice of mixed bills fairly lacklustre often with one ballet I really wanted to see, one ballet I wasn't too bothered about and the third I didn't want to see at all (the latter usually in the middle so I couldn't arrive late or leave early though at least once I sat it out on the terrace). However, this year most of the mixed bills from Patineurs, to 2 Pigeons and the final glorious Firebird all were truly excellent and inspired choices. The next season looks to be getting off to a great start too with the Concerto triple and an added bonus it is being filmed. Margot Fonteyn celebration. A fabulous evening that I'm so glad I attended. I have been very critical about Kevin O'hare about the seeming lack of planning for this great event but the actual event was very well planned and beautifully danced. it was wonderful to see all the Ashton performed, especially the rare pieces (though it highlighted the disappointing amount of Ashton available next year). A great choice of extracts and it would be wonderful to see more of these sort of evenings in the future; perhaps an annual event (?) It doesn't need to celebrate anything except how wonderful the RB is at the moment! The programme organised by Laura Morera last summer for one of the tours also looked really well planned as regards content and dancers. I would have loved to see that also. Individual ballets; anything by Ashton, so Les Patineurs and Two Pigeons were especially wonderful. La Bayadere; great to see it again after too long an absence (though I wish we had a different production. I don't like the Makharova version at all.) However the casting was to die for; Nunez, Osipova and Muntagirov though disappointed to miss the Osipova/Coralles performance. Apart from Asylnuratova I don't see how it could have been bettered and seeing it at the cinema was an added bonus. Hopefully a dvd will follow eventually (hint, hint!) Also seeing Brandon Lawrence in la Fille at the Lowry. He is a great Colas and an great asset to any company. Disappointed he isn't cast as Will Moffat in Hobson's Choice. Debut performances. Sambe/Naghdi and Campbell/Magri in Don Q were wonderful but possibly the stand out debut performances for me were Hayward/Coralles and O'Sullivan/Sambe in Romeo and Juliet. they were both amazing performances anyway but as debut performances they were just incredible. I don't even especially like Romeo and Juliet but like many other ballets I've not been especially bothered about over the last few years I'm now hooked because of all the mesmerising performances I've seen. Also Vadim in Winter Dreams. He gave such an emotional performance I was practically in tears at the end. Individual performances; where can I start?! Seeing Francesca Hayward as Juliet, Ondine, Symphony in C and Month in the Country made me realise what a very special talent we'd been missing for most of the season. Hopefully she'll be with us all next season and we'll see her develop her already considerable artistry even more. She is a true inheritor of Fonteyn's mantle as was seen in her Ondine. Joseph Sissens has continued to impress in whatever he does and I'm hoping his prominent role in Symphony is C is a precursor to another well merited promotion. Teo Dubreill came to my notice as Benvolio in R and J and was my favourite Benvolio so I hope he is promoted too, also Francisco Serrano who was a wonderfully memorable beggar in Don Q. Ball and Naghdi continue to impress both with their partnership and individually. Matthew Ball's Tybalt was so memorable; probably the best Tybalt I've ever seen. Also Sambe was an amazing Mercutio and I hope he and Matthew will be filmed eventually, preferably with Hayward and Coralles. Gary Avis and Christopher Saunders in most roles they do. I love the RB idea of creating Principal Character Artists as they can help so much to 'flesh out' a ballet in a way many foreign companies don't seem to get. The fact they are both teachers as well is an incredible added bonus. Anna Rose O'Sullivan and Marcellino Sambe have developed so much over the past year both together and individually; they wowed New York with their Balanchine and then wowed us with their wonderful Nutcracker and Romeo and Juliet. it is wonderful to have such a wealth of talent emerging from many of the younger Royal Ballet dancers; there are really no weaknesses anywhere. Finally (leaving the best to last!) Vadim Muntagirov. In just about everything I've seen him in this year he has been amazing; his versatility and artistry are second to none. He practically reduced me to tears in 2 Pigeons, Winter Dreams and A Month in the Country (for me the latter two were the standout performances of the year). He can give Vasiliev a run for his money in virtuosity in Don Q and Corsaire, was beautifully romantic in Bayadere and Romeo and Juliet and sparkled in Symphony in C. As someone on the Forum very aptly put his is the gift that keeps on giving; just when you think he can't get any better he surpasses even your high expectations of his performance and always (when appropriate) with that megawatt smile; Vadream indeed! Lowlights There aren't very many of these mainly as the RB is so good and because I live a distance from London and evening performances involve a hotel stay I tend to be very selective and only book for performances and dancers I am fairly certain I will enjoy. The Medusa triple. saw this at the cinema and very glad I didn't go to London to see it as even Within the Golden Hour didn't really do much for me and I was frankly bored with the other two. Lighting in some Royal ballet productions, especially Romeo and Juliet. Do lighting engineers not realise that most people prefer to actually see what is going on onstage? it becomes an especial problem if that production is filmed as there doesn't seem to be any way to improve lighting for cameras which don't adjust to gloomy conditions as fast as most eyes can. ENB Manon. I saw this production in Manchester and hated it so much I couldn't even bear to go and see Alina in it and I'm sure she was incredible. St Petersburg Ballet Cinderella at the Grand Theatre, Blackpool. Uncharacteristically a very disappointing production; more pantomime than ballet. In fact when the prince arrived in a classical costume I could almost have kissed him as there had been very little choreography until then.

SkyArts next week Tuesday 18th 10pm until 11pm Natalia:a force of nature. NEW 11pm-12.30 Osipova at sadlers Wells (repeat) Wednesday 19th 7am Australia Ballet Cinderella NEW (first showing this morning but I missed it.) Friday 21st 6am Natalia at Sadlers Wells 7pm Natalia: a force of nature. Repeat