Sim

I will admit that I am in the 'yawn' camp, and I don't think it's an uncivil response. I do, however, look forward to hearing about the Verona R&J. I have a lot of respect for Kobborg/Cojocaru as artists. They gave me some of the best nights of my life at the ballet (Onegin, Giselle, Manon....) and I really hope this is successful for them. I also respect Polunin's great talent as an artist and feel that he went off the rails artistically as well as personally. Again, I hope this piece is a success for him. Not because of what he has become, but because of what he once was...a truly great artist.

Wow! Relief all round!

Great reviews all round in the press, with the somewhat miserable exception of Neil Norman. All in today’s links.

Sending you lots of wishes for a very quick and full recovery, Lin. 💪💪

Jan I believe you are absolutely right with that one!

I had never seen this before, nor did I have time to read or find a synopsis (there isn't one on the cast list), so I had no idea what was going on most of the time. However, it mattered not because I loved the music, the sets, the fun, the joy and most of all the gorgeous dancing. This is the only Bolshoi performance I am seeing during the run, and I am very pleased it was this one.

Great choice, CCL....Hayward was a fabulous Manon last time around!

John wouldn’t have wanted it to be any other way.

Great milestone, Dave...congratulations!!

Hello. If anyone would like to divest themselves of a Balcony or SCS or side amphi Bright Stream ticket for August 7th, I would be very interested in buying it from you. Please PM me if you can help. Many thanks, Sim

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our fellow moderator and founder of this forum, John Mallinson. John passed away on Friday after a short illness. To say he will be missed is an understatement. Not only was John a moderator for the forum, but as the administrator he set up all the systems that allow the forum to function technically on a day to day basis. He was our liaison between the people running the server and us, and often managed to save us some money by proving that their stats were incorrect. He was also one of our terrific triumvirate, with Ian and Janet, who so diligently provide the worldwide links every day. John wore his moderator hat very subtly and behind the scenes. His was always the voice of calm, of gentle reason, when all around us (including us) was going mad. We could ask his advice on anything, and if we disagreed he would do his best to talk us round, in his calm and sensible way. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but it was always done with his quiet good humour and intellectual approach. He always gave good reasons for his suggestions of what to do in a given situation. We will greatly miss his wit and wisdom, his technical prowess, his patience and his gentleness. He was an old-fashioned sort of true gentleman, the likes of which we don't much see these days. I have known John personally for 15 years and never once in all that time have I heard him swear, or be nasty about anybody or anything, no matter how angry he was. Somehow with John, you always ended up laughing. We will miss his dedication and commitment to this forum. As most of you know, we all started the forum together back in 2011. No-one has ever left our motley little crew, and we work very well together. When John wrote us a message a month or so ago telling us that he was unwell, his first concern was for the forum. He even apologised for letting us down. A couple of weeks ago, from his hospital bed, he communicated with us, worried about how the admin side of the forum was going. This is the kind of man John was, and we will miss him more than we can say. I am sure that you will all join us in thanking John for all that he did to make the forum the thriving place that it is today. His contribution cannot be underestimated. On behalf of the moderators and all forum members, we send our deepest condolences to John's wife, two daughters, grandchildren and all of his family and friends. I will end with the words of a fellow moderator: a true gentleman who will be sorely missed by all. Rest in peace, John. We are privileged that your life touched ours, and so many others.

I can't wait to watch this. Many thanks, Sebastian.

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our fellow moderator and fellow founder of this forum, John Mallinson. John passed away on Friday after a short illness. To say he will be missed is an understatement. Not only was John a moderator for the forum, but as the administrator he set up all the systems that allow the forum to function technically on a day to day basis. He was our liaison between the people running the server and us, and often managed to save us some money by proving that their stats were incorrect. He was also one of our terrific triumvirate, with Ian and Janet, who so diligently provide the worldwide links every day. John wore his moderator hat very subtly and behind the scenes. His was always the voice of calm, of gentle reason, when all around us (including us) was going mad. We could ask his advice on anything, and if we disagreed he would do his best to talk us round, in his calm and sensible way. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but it was always done with his quiet good humour and intellectual approach. He always gave good reasons for his suggestions of what to do in a given situation. We will greatly miss his wit and wisdom, his technical prowess, his patience and his gentleness. He was an old-fashioned sort of true gentleman, the likes of which we don't much see these days. I have known John personally for 15 years and never once in all that time have I heard him swear, or be nasty about anybody or anything, no matter how angry he was. Somehow with John, you always ended up laughing. We will miss his dedication and commitment to this forum. As most of you know, we all started the forum together back in 2011. No-one has ever left our motley little crew, and we work very well together. When John wrote us a message a month or so ago telling us that he was unwell, his first concern was for the forum. He even apologised for letting us down. A couple of weeks ago, from his hospital bed, he communicated with us, worried about how the admin side of the forum was going. This is the kind of man John was, and we will miss him more than we can say. I am sure that you will all join us in thanking John for all that he did to make the forum the thriving place that it is today. His contribution cannot be underestimated. On behalf of the moderators and all forum members, we send our deepest condolences to John's wife, two daughters, grandchildren and all of his family and friends. I will end with the words of a fellow moderator: a true gentleman who will be sorely missed by all. Rest in peace, John. We are privileged that your life touched ours, and so many others.

What a fascinating interview, TTP. Thanks for sharing it here. It is so interesting to read how totally dedicated and committed Wagman is to his art, and his focus and determination at such a young age. I am also very heartened to see this young artist give such a heartfelt defence of classical ballet and its importance today. With such innate talent and such passion for his artform, I am sure he will go far.

And to be honest, this isn't really about skin colour at all. The beautiful Yasmine Naghdi has skin that is a bit darker than Francesca Hayward's, but this fact is never mentioned, and she gets no press attention because of it. She is clearly the wrong ethnicity. The press attention she gets is because she is a truly wonderful artist, as is Miss Hayward, and THAT is all that should matter. It's other people bringing all this stuff up; as mentioned above Miss Hayward just wants to be recognised for her achievements as an artist....and rightly so. No-one ever mentions the colour of Miss Naghdi's skin, and I don't see why they should for Miss Hayward either.

Thanks for that wonderful review Sabine. I wish I could have been there!

That’s a good point....Lauren has had to fight so hard over and over again during the past decade to come back from serious illness and injury that perhaps she deserves to have some of the opportunities for exposure that she has had to miss over the years.

Thanks for that sumptuous review, Mandy!

Some interesting casting for Onegin, although, with the exception of the Naghdi/Ball/O'Sullivan/Sissens cast, there is always one that slightly makes me hesitate to buy a ticket. However, one out of four ain't bad, so I will start saving my pennies now as I would like to see all the casts except one. I too am disappointed not to see Morera/Bonelli in Onegin as they were just superb in it together. However, if this means Naghdi getting to dance Tatiana, I don't feel as bad as I should! And at least we are getting Morera/Bonelli in Manon. I have been saying for a while that David Donnelly should get a crack at Lensky, so I am very glad Kevin has listened to me! Re SL, very pleased that the Naghdi/Ball partnership is being continued for this (although I would love to see her dance it with Muntagirov too), and will be very interested to see if the Hayward/Corrales magic in R&J also translates to a purely classical ballet. Cuthbertson/Bracewell is also a very exciting and romantic prospect, although I am disappointed that he isn't doing it with Takada.

Thanks Duck....sounds like you had an amazing and varied season in Stuttgart!

How I envy those of you in Germany! I will have to try and get over there to see this young man dance. It sounds well worth the expense!

Yes, they have had it for a little while. I saw them do it in St P in February 2015. It is similar to Kobborg’s production but there were a few differences. I enjoyed it but not hugely. Thanks for the videos; Shale really nailed that difficult footwork, and the height of his jumps is very impressive indeed. I can see why the Maryinsky asked him to guest!

Thanks Mandy. Sounds like a very special night!

It’s pitiful. Poor Francesca. It should be such a happy time for her, and she has to deal with all this idiocy. I hope she can ignore it and just enjoy her days in the sun. I thought Jennifer Hudson sounded dreadful. It’s a very difficult song to pull off, requiring an amazing vocal range that she doesn’t seem to have. I guess there’s time between now and December to record it again.

It had a run of a few days, Lin, but that was a couple of weeks ago. Keep an eye open next year; it’s well worth it!