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Now I feel even worse! 😛. But thanks for that very evocative review, Bridie. Next best thing to being there.

Indeed....and many thanks. If only I were rich!!

Yes I guess everyone wanted to ensure that they attended the final show of the season! So we will have to experience it through posters here....

Ditto!

Jacky: Ah....the one on Monday night 11th. That was indeed incredibly special, I totally agree. I just found it even better when she had a dramatic and emotional equal, which Kish wasn't, good though his physical partnering might have been.

Hi Jacky. So you saw her debut and then Monday night with Bonelli? As you say, interesting how perceptions differ. She had of course had much more rehearsal time with Kish, so yes she trusted him a lot, and he is a very secure partner. But for me the emotional depth was much more apparent with Bonelli, and that made a big difference to me.

I disagree....what fun!!

Isn't it just?! You are the first person I've heard to prefer the performance with Kish to that with Bonelli.....I'm glad there is someone who does!! But as you say, it might also have had to do with seating position!

Considering he did it twice I am pretty sure he didn't 'blank'. I think he was simply holding it for a few extra seconds so that we could see/enjoy it, and possibly also making a dramatic point.

There was definitely a much deeper, more emotional and heartfelt aspect to Monday night's performance; as I said in my previous posting about that, Yasmine had someone whom she could really feed off in Bonelli. Not only is he a wonderful, experienced partner, but his dancing is still excellent and boy can he emote, and relate so beautifully to his ballerina. If she then gives it back to him, and there is natural chemistry, wow. Just like on Monday night.

Ha, wouldn't it just! If that were to happen I think that the sacrificing of the Russian companies might (just) have been worth it!!

Wow, what a packed and fascinating newsletter, Anna. I will miss the Bolshoi Ballet in London this summer, and already look forward to their trip here in 2019! With many thanks for posting these newsletters up so regularly, it's much appreciated.

Wishing you the happiest of birthdays in advance, George.....and may you keep bouncing in your seat for many years to come! xx

Yasmine Naghdi begins her Act 2 pdd in just that way: with a look of fear, and a small shake of her head (which is then repeated at the beginning of the Act 4 pdd) when Siegfried first tries to engage with her. It then slowly and beautifully unfolds into a love story. Gorgeous. OTOH...I would find it very hard to be so close to Vadream and not give him a loving look.....😃

Hi folks. Can we please move on from the RB Press Department and stick to comments on the production of Swan Lake. Many thanks!

Yes I had heard that a couple of weeks ago....but those turns didn't exactly look as if they were the easy option!

Well I for one am very interested to hear your thoughts....especially if they are very different from most other people's! It would be boring if we all thought the same thing across the board!

Don't be wary, James, please go ahead and say your piece. If anyone jumps on you, the moderators will be jumping on them. As we keep reiterating, we encourage debate on this forum, but if anyone does it rudely we will take action. "I may disagree with what you say, but I will fight to the death for your right to say it" is our philosophy (well, metaphorically!!).

I agree, Serenade, with your opinions on last night. I am at work so can't write much, but I didn't feel anything at all between Matthew and Natalia, even though he tried very hard. She just didn't open herself up to him emotionally. I didn't like her interpretation of the swan the other times I have seen her, but thought I would give it another go in this new production, mostly because I wanted to see Matthew. My opinion hasn't changed, sadly, so I won't be seeing her again. I just love her in other things (Giselle, Onegin, M&A, Month in the Country, Manon) but for me, this is definitely not her role. Matthew is such a noble and dignified and passionate prince; how I would have loved to see him dance this with Miss Naghdi. Together, they would have been sensational. An error of judgement there from Mr O'Hare, in my opinion.

Just bumping this up, in hope.....

You are right, Richard, the mime sequences really enhance the narrative of this ballet, and I have never understood why most other companies have dropped it. Same goes for Berthe's mime in Giselle; dropped by many for some unknown reason, yet telling very clearly the story of the Wilis. Again, the music is telling us what should be there, and if it isn't, you notice the gap. Well done to the RB for keeping this in their productions. Regarding Yasmine Naghdi, let's hope that next time she may at least get the live screening. If they make a DVD of this run then there won't be another one in two years. If they don't make one of this run, let's hope that Naghdi will feature in the one they DO make!

Totally agree Dave....it is hard to choose, but for me this was something above and beyond!

I certainly didn't see anyone else do it!

Yes, I believe they are.

Just a few more words about last night’s sublime performance. Having seen three of Yasmine Naghdi’s four performances of Swan Lake, it is amazing how, over the course of just four outings in this most difficult of roles, she has matured into it so much. It is now inside her, a part of her being, and it always will be. Once she nailed the technical and main dramatic requirements of the role, she could relax and concentrate on all the other nuances that make the difference between a good and a great O/O. Last night, dancing with Federico Bonelli, she could not only relax, but could interact with him in a way that she couldn’t with Kish, because Federico was her equal, especially from the interpretative aspect. Oh my goodness, how he looked at her. How he looked after her, and protected her. It was as if he just couldn’t believe his luck, and knew that he had to protect this vulnerable creature from that nasty world near and away from the lake. Naghdi’s incredibly seductive Odile rendered him almost unable to move, and unable to think straight. He made very clear that he was totally smitten, in love and in lust. Naghdi played off this, and gloried in the power she wielded over this pathetic prince whom she could manipulate with one look. Gosh, Act 3 gave me shivers for all kinds of reasons, and that was before those amazing fouettes and his joyful solo variation. The pdd brought the house down, and rightly so. In Act 4, my choking up started when Bonelli gave one of the most heartfelt (and deep) bows of apology to his desperate Odette that I have ever seen. He seemed to be almost in tears when he ran onto the stage during that beautiful music. Then, Naghdi’s heartfelt and utter despair at the beginning of their pdd increased the lump in my throat. The contrast between her head telling her not to trust him, and the yearning of her tormented heart to reach out and show that she still loved him, made this pdd so real. I am sure many of us have all felt this way, and could certainly relate to what she was feeling. The clarity of both these dancers throughout the whole ballet was a joy to behold. Their mime, the looks they shared….so intimate and yet so clear to everyone, the chemistry they have, their ability to tell us everything we need to know, and more, through the physical expression of their dancing, their innate passion….this partnership works. For the first time in this run, I could understand the ending, and the way Bonelli was cuddling his dead Odette, with a sad but redemptive look on his face (similar to Albrecht at the end of Giselle: he knows that she will always be with him) as her spirit appeared over him, just about finished me off. It was sublime. The whole evening was simply sublime. There were of course other people involved in making last night so special. Tristan Dyer was a fine Benno, and Claire Calvert and Beatriz Stix-Brunell were lovely as his sisters. Elizabeth McGorian gave us a sadly melancholy and dignified Queen, and Benn Gartside a menacing but slightly understated Von Rothbart. The corps were simply beautiful. However, the evening belonged to Naghdi and Bonelli. People have been saying that this will be her signature role. May I venture that it already is?