jmhopton

For me any version with Osipova/Ivan Vasiliev if one is available. I find their early performances in this ballet definitive (though of course not everyone agrees!). I don't know if an official dvd was ever made of the Bolshoi cinema broadcast they made about 2011 but if not there are loads of clips on YouTube for you to see what you think of their performances and there may be a full length version there. I think there was a dvd made a while ago with Nina Anashiavilli, another brilliant Kitri, and it may be possible to get this second hand if it's not still available new.

Thanks again for the wonderful pictures Don Q fan. They do capture a very special performance really well. I wasn't there that day but I was there when Matthew Ball stepped in for David Hallberg and I thought he was as wonderful then as when he did the full length performance with Yasmine. Incidentally, I thought the RB had a principal on site to take over if anything went wrong. I know it's not possible to cover all roles but I remember what a wait there was when Osipova fell in Don Q and Takada had to come from home and take over having danced the role at the matinee. Surely they must have principals on site if a performance is being filmed or would they just use the footage from the film of the earlier performance as 2 shows are normally filmed? Anyway, though being disappointed about Hallberg I was really pleased to see Matthew again and fingers crossed for seeing Hallberg in Manon. Also looking forward to seeing Osipova/Ball in Swan Lake. What an embarrassment of riches we have to look forward to at the RB these days!

Haven't watched all of it yet, only the first rehearsal of the '3 gents'. I found it fascinating that so much hard work goes into just a very few minutes of the actual performance. I've seen many rehearsals before so I shouldn't be surprised but I think it's because it's a relatively small soloist role, not a principal pas de deux. It's wonderful that so much effort goes into making even a seemingly insignificant dance such as this be given as much time and effort as a principal's dance and I think that is the Royal ballet's secret in producing great ballets and great dancers. Full length ballets aren't just about technique and showing off, they are all about inhabiting a role and being in character. Christopher Saunders was giving fascinating insights about this, about how different characters respond differently to different people and that, Lescault, for example would behave differently towards Mr GM, Manon and his mistress. Also the fact that the 3 gents would be a bit drunk so even though the moves are carefully choreographed they mustn't look too classical. It is this attention to detail and the fact the RB is blessed with such great (and now officially recognised) character artists that make them (IMO) the greatest company in the world. I have seen other companies do Manon and after about 15 minutes I am longing for Christopher Saunders, Elizabeth McGorian, Bennett Gartside and, of course, the wonderful Gary Avis who so enhances every role he plays, however small. The word small is key. The street scenes in a RB Manon are teeming with life and a multitude of different characters who are all very different. it's not all about the principals, important though they are. A whole world of individuals has to be created and this is what brings the ballet to life so gloriously every time it is performed. Can't wait!!

Yes, that's something I've been thinking about too. Given the number of hugely talented First Soloists the RB has at the moment will they have to wait for someone to leave or retire before they can be promoted?

Thanks Alison. I haven't really mastered the quotes facility yet and usually avoid it because it often seems to go wrong! However, I managed your quote so perhaps I'm getting the knack! I meant to thank Don Q fan for her lovely photos earlier in the postings. They are a great memento of a wonderful performance. it was wonderful meeting up with her and Bruce and Bluebird, and seeing Jillikins for the first time. Great to put a face to the posting. My only disappointment was that we could only see the one public performance by Frankie and Yasmine and may have to wait possibly a couple of years to see another. However, I'm sure there will be plenty of great performances by both in the years to come so I shouldn't get too greedy.

Actually I feel just the opposite. I know what LinM means about wanting time to digest individual performances and I can sympathize with this but from a financial point of view it was great for me to see 2 performances for my overnight stay and 200 mile train journey. I suppose it doesn't have to be debuts. I seem to remember a Vadim Sleeping Beauty one night and Frankie's debut the next day was also very helpful. Anytime where I can see 2 performances for my trip is a red letter occasion for me! Already planning (hopefully) for Yasmine's Swan Lake matinee on May 28th with Osipova's performance in the evening though it would have been more helpful if this wasn't a Bank Holiday Monday!

What else can I add to the other wonderful reviews for last weekends brilliant performances, except 'WOW! (and even that's already been said.) It's so wonderful to think that we have such amazing dancers just starting performing principal roles and think of all the years we have seeing them develop and perfect their art even more. We are so lucky in this country to have such fantastic dancers and an equally fantastic Company (the corps de ballet are so vital for ballets such as Giselle and soon for Swan lake and - hopefully next season, please?- for Bayadere). Francesca and Alex were really stunning together. Especially in the second act her jumps were so high and light it did bring back memories of Alina and they went together so well, as if they had been princpals together for years and not just over a year. But though they seemed so experienced they brought a freshness to the role and make you feel you were experiencing the ballet almost for the first time. Yasmine and Matthew were also amazing. She may have been a little nervous to start with as, unlike Francesca, she hadn't done the full rehearsal to an audience or the Schools matinee (a pity perhaps she couldn't have done one then they would both have performed before their official debuts). However, you would never have known that and her innate musicality and luxurious ports de bras made her performance really special. Her mad scene too I found really touching in a way that I've found few others and I was virtually in tears when the interval came. But it was Matthew's performance that really surprised me (in the nicest possible way). I was very close to the stage and just the way he made his first entrance really got my attention; his very bearing seemed to epitomise the Romantic Hero he was meant to be and (for me at least) he just got better. He gave everything he had to his solos and pas de deux in the second act and also in the acting. I always thought Yasmine was rather ahead of him both in technique and acting and hoped she wouldn't be 'held back' by a not too experienced partner. Though she still may have a slight edge Matthew seems to be catching up and I am disappointed not to see them together in Swan Lake though (as someone has already pointed out) hopefully Osipova will develop his acting and technique even more and stand him in good stead for more future partnering with Yasmine. After the performance they both came to the stage door (Yasmine still in full make up!) and chatted and posed for photographs for quite a while which was lovely as they must have been exhausted. I can only hope that next season will enable some of their brilliant performances to be shown at the cinema for all the world to appreciate the great and unique talent currently in performance at the Royal Ballet. As Jeffrey Taylor from the Express said 'There is something going on at the Royal Ballet; and it's very good'.

I too will be at the Saturday matinee so will try and get to the bottom of the escalator in the interval. May even try and remember to wear my blue badge which I found languishing at the bottom of my travel bag, unworn!

Living at a distance from the ROH and having had family illness problems I find e-tickets a huge boon as if they have to be returned (or I subsequently see better seats and want an upgrade) all I have to do is email the box office. None of that cumbersome having to post tickets back and hope they've arrived. Also if I want to re-sell to a friend or on the Forum it's so much easier. My only problem is when I book tickets on first day of public booking I always seem to forget to select the e-ticket option in my hurry and then have to email them asking for them as e-tickets as the default is always printed tickets! However, they've always got back to me very promptly and sent them as e-tickets. I do have a smart phone but am not very good with it and would never want to rely solely on it as I'm always afraid it won't work or the battery will die on me or something. Our printer hasn't been working lately so I just go along to my local library and print out e-ticket, hotel accommodation voucher, train ticket etc there. There's never a problem and it is a way of supporting your local library.

Thanks to Bluebird I did manage to get a ticket in Friday Rush.

While an interesting range of programmes (especially the Kenneth Macmillan doc) it once again seems to highlight the BBCs current obsession with screening ballet docs rather than ballets themselves. After showing an in-depth doc about the Nutcracker without showing the Nutcracker itself they now seem to be showing a doc. about Kenneth Macmillan without either one of his full length ballets or one of last years special Macmillan ballet programmes (which would have been potentially more interesting given the range of companies and dancers involved). Of course they might still be doing this and just not mentioned it as it wouldn't have been commissioned specially by their Arts Dept. but I have my doubts. They seem to think the 2 or 3 minute clips shown in these sort of docs (which often have commentators talking over them) are an adequate substitute for the real thing. It is as if they think modern audiences can't sit through a full length ballet and can only cope with short extracts which to me seems patronising in the extreme. I know they showed Matthew Bourne's Cinderella (which I fell asleep during!) and the other year they showed his Sleeping Beauty but it is as if they think the ballets produced by their 'partner' the ROH somehow aren't suitable; very strange.

If anyone has a ticket for this performance I will be very grateful. I have one myself but my husband would like to accompany me and as he hasn't been to a ballet for ages it would be great if he could get a ticket. He prefers amphi as that's the area he knows but would consider any ticket £50 or under with a reasonable view (preferably not slips) as long as it's not too close to the orchestra. I know about Friday Rush and will try it if I am unsuccessful here. Many thanks

Well done Floss for clearly articulating what I've ben thinking for a while. Every time Kevin is recorded as praising Ashton for being a wonderful founder choreographer it's as if he feels the need to justify his inclusion in the RB rep. and even more so if Ashton is being filmed. if he really believes this why is Winter's tale being filmed and not Sylvia? I do so agree with your list of Ashton ballets that need performing or we may be in danger of losing them. Similarly the Ballet Russes and de Valois rep. They seem to be ignored these days in favour of more modern, cutting edge ballets I usually have no interest in seeing. But if they carry on being neglected, like obscure Ashton ballets, we may find one day there is no one left to stage them who remembers them. Similarly with other Companies like ENB. I have an old recording of Fonteyn introducing a performance of Graduation Ball and Sanguin Fan. Both great ballets but I can't remember the last time I saw either actually performed perhaps because both could be deemed 'old fashioned', and who wants to stage old fashioned ballets these days? It doesn't matter if they are great ballets and many people would like to see them. it would be interesting if they were performed as a double bill next to a Macgregor double bill and see which prove the most popular. I suppose the answer would be they may both attract completely different audiences which is great, but those of us who like more traditional double bills shouldn't be made to feel as if we're being marginalised which I tend to do whenever the new RB or ENB season mixed bills are announced. ENB in particular used to do great mixed bills with their small touring Co. Tour De Force; a good mix of modern and traditional works. However, these days they seem to be following the RB example of heavily weighting their mixed bills in favour of more modern works. A shame when so many traditional one act ballets may be being forgotten through neglect.

I agree Geoff. I know there has been complaints sometimes about the Hochhauser prices but we would have ben deprived of so many great Russian performances without them. They organise things so well we perhaps take them for granted and it's only when someone like Derek Block comes along in the 1990s and tries it and nearly bankrupts himself because he's used to dealing with pop stars not ballet companies that you realise how good they are and how lucky we are in this country to have them. I just hope they can find someone to continue their fine tradition as the time they can do it personally must be fast running out. Incidentally I assume you meant he was in the Bolshoi audience in Russia and not a cinema audience. if so that is pretty amazing for a 94/95 year old and you wonder if he is there to discuss a future visit (she says hopefully!!!)

I always used to watch out for Violetta at the ROH stage door afterwards. She was a lovely lady, very quiet and unassuming and she loved seeing the dancers. I never knew her other name; same with Yvonne who died about 3 years ago and who I've been seeing at stage doors since the 1990s. Indeed Yvonne was keen up to the end of her life and some tickets I'd bought for her just before her death were given to Violetta who apparently often stood for performances despite her age! I know Violetta hasn't been well for possibly a few years and I haven't seen her at the stage door for a while. I didn't realise she had died or that she has been a supporter of the ROH for so long. She will be sadly missed and it was a lovely tribute from Kevin O'Hare and the other dancers.

Am slightly surprised that Francesca isn't given a chance to dance Odette, especially as she is a more senior principal than Yasmine (though I adore Yasmine's dancing and her performance will be a highlight of all the Swan Lakes for me). Also slightly surprised Alex isn't given a chance though perhaps that is a future partnership being kept in reserve for next season.

Thank you very much for this Don Q. I remember the tomb cover was like an oriental rug but I didn't realise it was so splendid. the photos capture it beautifully.it must make it easy for anyone looking for his tomb. No mistaking where he is buried! the design reminds me of POB Bayadere which of course was Rudolf's last and possibly most wonderful production which Ezio Frigerio designed. The only ballet grave I have visited was Petipa's in the Alexander Nevsky cemetery in St Petersburg. My husband and I were on a Baltic cruise and as we didn't have visas we had to take the guided trips and one of them was round 3 cathedrals and the cemetery was next to one of them. The guide gave us a brief tour around some of the better known composers/writers buried there; Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky and Dosteovsky and then mentioned there are other ballet related people buried there. I asked if my husband and I could go and look and reluctantly he agreed. But it was very rushed as everyone on the coach was waiting and of course all the inscriptions was in Cyrillic! We were just giving up when I saw Marius Petipa written in English! So was able to take a quick picture and dash back to the coach.

Hear, Hear!!!!!!!!! Definitely!!!!! The only problem would be choosing the cast out of such an embarrassment of riches that is the current RB company; perhaps Nunez/Muntagirov in the leads with Nagdi/Ball as Olga/Lensky, though Vadim is a wonderful Lensky too.

As we're just beginning a new year I wonder what people will be looking for in the next Royal Ballet new season? As it's only about 3 months or so to the announcement I'm sure Mr O'Hare's plans will be all but finalised but just in case he may have an odd slot he is undecided about my wish list is virtually unchanged since last year when I didn't get anything on it. It is:- Onegin Bayadere Ashton programme to commemorate 30 years since he died eg Ashton mixed or triple bill (preferably containing either or both ) Patineurs and Pigeons (As I've already said these 2 would make a great Christmas 'feel good' double bill to complement Nutcracker) Sylvia again (I've become a convert!) or Cinderella Also a better selection for cinema screening (why wasn't Sylvia screened????) and a greater variety of cinema casting if repeats are scheduled. As I keep saying, those who aren't ballet devotees won't know or care who is dancing whereas those of us who are would love to see different dancers filmed. I'm sure there are many more I can add but these are my main priorities.

Have just watched the Sylvia dvd as I can't see any more live performances, alas. It was interesting to see Sarah lamb and Lauren Cuthbertson as 2 of Sylvia's attendants and Thiago still playing the villain! However, the performance as a whole didn't 'grab' me like the live performances. I know you can't really make comparisons and seeing it on a small screen, not even the cinema screen will inevitably reduce the scale and impact of the ballet but it is the sheer quality of performances by everyone that made this seasons run so memorable and exciting whereas I didn't find the dvd very exciting at all. However, my memory is not very good, but I'm sure there were at least a couple of differences between the 2 productions, possibly more if my memory was better. The most noticeable one was in the choreography in what I call the 'Wilson, Kepple (without Betty)' sand dance in the second act. In the dvd they did separate cartwheels but in the 2017 production I'm sure they did more complicated moves, almost pulling each other over into cartwheels where they are joined together. Also when Sylvia changes her dress in the 2nd act on the dvd she changes into a gold dress whereas this year she had a rather splendid peacock blue dress. if there was a change in the choreography who is authorised to change it? Similarly, who decides on the costume change? I see the dvd I have was a recording from Christmas tv, possibly 2005. if only we had a similar treat to look forward to this year!!! here's hoping for next year (Mr O'Hare, please take note!)

Have seen 3 different Sylvia casts and enjoyed them all in slightly different ways. I loved the ballet itself and didn't really notice the rather thin, outlandish plot because there is so much to enjoy in the sets, costumes, lighting and choreography, and above all the wonderful music and high standard of dancing and acting. I thought Marianella scored more as a vamp in the second act; you could really 'see' her working out how to play it to get Thiago drunk. But she was also really strong in the first act and lyrical in the last. Reece Clark was a revelation in the second cast I saw. Difficult to believe he is only a soloist; surely promotion due next summer. He reminded me slightly of Jonathan Cope. Valentino Zucchetti was brilliant as Eros but I also enjoyed seeing Fernando Montanez today and glad to have seen him in a solo role at last. (He may have had others but I don't remember seeing him.) I don't think his walk was quite as 'pantomime' and funny as Valentino's but it was still a great performance. Finally, what can I say about today's principals'? For me, everything came together to make it a magical, unforgettable performance. Vadim danced like a dream; such style and elegance. he made so much out of relatively little. I loved Osipova's performance (apart from a six o'clock' extension she did near the start which I'm sure Ashton wouldn't choreograph for Fonteyn).The Osipova/Muntagirov partnership was everything I'd hoped for over the years and I hope we haven't seen the end of it. I do love seeing Vadim with Marianella but if he could partner Osipova occasionally that would be great. It perhaps wasn't a great ballet to form a partnership as they only have one pas de deux but you wouldn't think they have had such a short rehearsal time together. I can only regret the lack of more Ashton this season and hope that will be remedied next season. it would be brilliant to have a Christmas Ashton double bill, perhaps with Pigeons and Patineurs. The 3 wonderful performances I've seen of this ballet makes me realise all the more what a criminal decision it was not to film it and release it on dvd or possibly even on tv. If you click on the link on the ROH news page about the broadcasting of Boheme over Christmas there is a sentence at the bottom that says 'The ROH and the BBC are partners'. Really?? Haven't seen any sign of that recently. In fact I can't remember a time when so little RB has been broadcast by the BBC. They seem to have taken to producing docs rather than full ballets. This is despite all the cinema broadcasts so the BBC wouldn't even have to film them. I know there are always problems with rights and contracts but presumably this has always been the case. Hopefully Sylvia won't be allowed to languish unperformed for another 7 years and next time it will be broadcast so the world can see this great ballet. In the meantime I'll have to make do with my memories, especially of today. For me, Christmas really did come early.

Great to hear this news and lovely that he has taken the time to reply personally. I apologise if I seemed to be asking for information that wasn't in the public domain. I wouldn't dream of invading Marcellino's privacy, I just wondered if anyone did know 'officially' and just hadn't posted it. Wonderful to know he is recovering and I wish him well and hope to see him in Manon or whenever he is perfectly fit to perform.

WOW!! A dream come true to see the 2 of them together but I just wished it hadn't happened like this and I hope Federico recovers soon. I intend to book for his and Laura's Manon on the strength of seeing their amazing Frankenstein and even more amazing Mayerling. Their Manon should be really special.

Early tomorrow morning (Friday) 6.10am to 9am there is a performance on SkyArts of John Neumier's Bach: Christmas Oratorio a Ballet. This is a repeat as it was originally shown last Sunday but that was a first showing so it is new to SkyArts. I'm not convinced it will be for me as I tend not to enjoy sung ballets but I thought I'd mention it.

While looking forward to seeing Alexander I too am disappointed not to see Marcellino. Does anyone know what the matter is? it must be a very severe injury as I'm sure his performances have been cancelled all this season. He must be gutted as he's missed some really good roles and to be so sure he won't be fit for Giselle in Feb doesn't seem to bode well for his immediate dancing future. Obviously if he's been injured for such a long time it will take quite a while to get to the level of fitness needed for full length ballets. I can only wish him well and hope he will be fit for his debut (?) role as Lescault in Manon.