Sim

Sensational night.  

24 minutes ago, zxDaveM said:

The 'Bear'....

 

 

That's certainly not how it looked last night.  Last night it was like a tiny face on a large sheet, that was it.  

Ticket now spoken for.  😃

Bumping this up as not much time left.  

8 hours ago, Mary said:

For me it would be the only reason to go to Alice which I very much dislike. He was fantastic though in this role, literally made for him. I remember opening night when he brought the house down. I do hope  Steven will be fit enough.

 

 

 

 

Yes, and he seems to love dancing tap as much as he does ballet.

Donald Thom was also brilliant in the role.  

Just now, art_enthusiast said:

 

I noticed those - I don't think it was too obvious but I'm surprised the costume department hasn't addressed it before, presumably they've been using the same costumes for a while

Yes, and it has always been this way.

I have a last-minute spare ticket for tonight's performance (Fumi/Vadim), £14.  Please PM me if you'd like it.

Thanks,

Sim

As I said above, I really did enjoy last night.  It has taken me a few years to warm to Winter's frost, but I do like it.  No, it doesn't engage me emotionally.  Another choreographer (MacMillan, Ashton, Cranko) might well have succeeded in making me weep at the end; like an afternoon movie its final mix of redemption and tragedy should set the tears rolling down my cheeks, but it doesn't, despite the best efforts of the dancers.  That aside, I know that I will therefore just sit back and enjoy the spectacle.  

Cesar Corrales was on cracking form and, let's face it, no-one does jealousy like a Latin man!  His was profound and frightening, and he brought a new depth to the role.  Lauren C was also on great form.  Frankie Hayward and Marci Sambe were like young lambs gambolling in a sunny field:  happy, carefree and full of boundless energy and the joys of spring.  Gorgeous dancing from both of them.  Calvin Richardson made a likeable, dislikeable, then likeable again Polixenes and worked well with Cesar and Lauren.  As others have mentioned, Melissa Hamilton once again showed her acting chops just via her dancing and her facial expressions.  She is a deeply moving Paulina and a worthy successor to those who came before.  I really do think that it is time for her to be promoted.  And yes, Marco Masciari was wonderful as Brother Clown.  He is quickly developing into a very special dancer and I look forward to seeing more.  He was a good partner for Meaghan GH, as was she for him.  They fed off each other very convincingly.  Others have said that Act 2 has too much 'peasants frolicking' but I really enjoyed it last night.  The colour burst in the middle of two much more gloomy acts is very welcome, and although the music is indeed forgettable I do like the pseudo-medieval group music.  The solo flute is particularly atmospheric.  A shout-out too for the corps who danced with energy and joy.  

My two little niggles are:  1)  after all these years they still haven't been able to organise a bear that bears any resemblance to a bear.  I took a friend along and in the interval she said 'what bear?' which is just what I said on my first viewing.   "Exit, pursued by a bear" is probably the most famous stage direction in the theatrical canon, and yet you have to be eagle-eyed and know where to look in order to see it.  2)  I wish they could find better material for the costumes in Act 2....sweat patches abound and whereas of course it shows what efforts the dancers are making it is unflattering.  

Having got that off my chest, I am looking forward to the other casts I am seeing and congratulate everyone on a very successful opening night.  The great and the good were all there as well and I am sure they enjoyed it as much as the rest of the audience did.

36 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said:

He certainly brought the drama! He and Lauren were brilliant together. I didn’t know what to expect when I first saw the casting of this pairing as I’m not sure if they’ve danced together before, but I was extremely impressed tonight.

 

The whole cast was brilliant of course - it goes without saying that Marcelino and Francesca were spectacular, and I loved Marco as Brother Clown, with Meaghan as Shepherdess - I was hoping to see him cast in this role. Act 2 was so joyous and lively.

 

Wonderful performance overall!

I agree. A wonderful, dramatic and joyous night.  Great to have Cesar back on full fettle!  

If anyone fancies saying hello tonight, I will be in the Floral Hall near the small stairs that go down to the old part of the House.  Dark hair, black trousers, loud dark pink top!  There are usually a few of us around the table, but don't let that stop you!!  Either way, enjoy the show. 

1 hour ago, Timmie said:

Well that was totally amazing last night. Nadine Sierra was astonishing. In L'elisir d'amore last year her voice didn’t entirely convince but her commitment to the performance made her an easy must book for Lucia. Last night her voice was stunning and her performance commitment 10/10. The love duet in the crypt, looking forward to the tragedy to come, was so overwhelming that the tears started rolling down my face just 30 minutes in.

 

Sierra’s ‘mad scene’ on and around the billiard table was mesmerising, and the quietest I have ever heard the audience at ROH. I’ve not seen that many operas but this has easily gone to ‘best so far’.

 

(Much less violent/bloody than the Diana Damrau recording and the cuts and edits a welcome improvement).

(Carmen was very good last week as well).

I agree.  I saw this cast on Tuesday and was bowled over.  Nadine was marvellous, and the production itself much less bloody and gory than I remembered.  I quite like the split stage scenario.  It worked very well for my friend who had never heard of Lucia before Tuesday, so being able to see what was going on in the background whilst arias were being sung really helped her understanding of the plot.  

So far this doesn't seem to be selling that well (and at those prices I am not surprised).  I assume that the offers will start at some point soon.  

I am really looking forward to seeing Lauren tonight in the role she created...and having Cesar back onstage again after his SL shows.

What a lovely tribute to an extraordinary lady, @li tai po   Thank you. 

With the lovely Laurretta’s permission, here is the Instagram tribute posted by Fiona above:

As per the post above, unfortunately we cannot for the moment allow much talk about LVS here.  We are therefore locking this thread for now.  Please have any further discussions about this school privately as this is a public forum.

Many thanks.

1 minute ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

It wasn't just the Ashton though!

Oh?  That's the only one I can remember having been disastrous with the advance casting.  What did I miss, or, more likely, forget?!!

31 minutes ago, The Sitter In said:

October - Requiem (MacMillan)/A Wedding Bouquet (Ashton)/Les Noces(Nijinska)

November - Sylvia (Ashton)

November - Scènes de ballet/Devil’s Holiday Variation and pas de deux/Beauty Awakening pas de deux/Thaïs pas de deux/Five Brahms Waltzes/Voices of Spring pas de deux/Daphnis and Chloë (Ashton)

December - Cinderella (Ashton)

December - Swan Lake (Petipa/Ivanov)

January - La Fille mal gardée (Ashton)

February - Manon (MacMillan)

March - Rhapsody (Ashton)/Pavane pour une infante défunte(Wheeldon)/Duo Concertant/Symphony in C (Balanchine)

March - Tombeaux(Bintley)/Enigma Variations(Ashton)/The Rite of Spring (MacMillan)

April - Ondine(Ashton)

May - The Dream (Ashton)/Three Songs - Two Voices(Bruce)/The Rite of Spring

June - Les Biches(Nijinska)/Symphonic Variations(Ashton)/A Month in the Country(Ashton)

 

2024/25 makes me weep…

 

 

 

I remember this season.  What a difference 20 years makes.

I took a friend to the ROH to see Lucia last night.  She isn't a regular ballet or opera goer, but enjoys both on the odd occasion that she comes along.  I was telling her about the name change and she was very disappointed.  She said 'but how about the history and tradition? I mean, even I know that the Royal Ballet is based at the Royal Opera House.!'  

Many of the other big houses in Europe are called opera houses as historically opera was performed first.  I wonder whether they will all feel the need to change their names, or whether their public is more culturally aware than ours?  On the other hand, it wouldn't surprise me at all if someone from ACE had no idea that the RB is based at the ROH!

38 minutes ago, Elodie said:

I just heard back from them and I got the same response. I am so disappointed- this means that there is a possibility I will not get a chance to see my favourite dancers. Surely the ROH knows that many people come to see certain dancers, so it’s odd that they would get rid of that feature.

 

So they are covering themselves by saying 'where possible'.  Why is this changing all of a sudden when for decades they have managed to announce casting prior to any booking being open?  Of course we all know that casting isn't rigid, but in a high proportion of shows the casting is as announced (unless there is a virus going around, then there can be a lot of changes).  We are very aware of the fact that as casting is announced so far in advance, there is the possibility of it changing.  So why now are they changing how and when it's announced?  Aside from the audience, the dancers also like knowing their schedule in advance so that those who get invited to guest abroad can book themselves out. I live in London, but if they do intend to leave casting announcements until late, it will make things more difficult for those outside of London who have to plan travel and accommodation well in advance.  As I said at the start, I hope they are just covering themselves by saying 'where possible' because of the Ashton triple debacle (in case they can't announce in advance for whatever reason), and continue to announce well in advance as they always have done.

I remember applause for Act 3 of Liam Scarlett's SL when the curtain rose on the opening night.

Ditto The Winter's Tale...I remember applause for that amazing tree in Act 2 on opening night.

3 hours ago, art_enthusiast said:

 

For Manon I think there is applause when she enters? I remember applauding. But as people have mentioned, Des Grieux is so subtle that no one sees him appear on the stage! I didn't ever see him enter, and I went to about 5 performances this run

Yes, you are right.  I was indeed just thinking of the male lead in Manon, who you don't really notice until the stage clears and he bumps into Manon.  And Juliet sometimes gets applause, sometimes not...depends on the audience!

21 hours ago, RobR said:

 

At the ROH, and I believe it’s the same at other UK companies, with a few exceptions, principals are not generally applauded when they arrive on stage. If I’m right, different countries have different‘conventions'.

 

 

I think it depends on the ballet.  In the UK, principals are almost always applauded when they arrive onstage in the classics (Giselle, Beauty, Swan Lake) because the entrances are made to encourage that.  Principals aren't applauded when they appear in, say, R&J, Mayerling, Manon, Onegin....this is because their arrival onstage is subtle, not with a flourish as in the classical ballets.  Of course, not everyone arriving onstage in the lead role is a principal, so in the UK the applause is not because of their rank, but because they are taking on the lead role.  

Just now, bridiem said:

 

I think this must actually mean before it 'opens' and it just wasn't checked? I very much hope so anyway!

I do hope so....but if it is a mistake it's pretty poor!

This was in the small print in the Friends email:

Pricing will be supplied separately, and ballet casting before booking closes. 

I hope this doesn't mean that casting won't be known prior to when booking opens as it always has been?!  I have always been hugely grateful to the RB for the advance casting.  I have even planned holidays around who I wanted to see dance.  I would have felt a lot better had it said 'before booking opens.'!