zxDaveM

Symphonic Variations, Symphonic Dances, Symphony in C Marvelous!

Lovely tribute on 6Music this afternoon - listeners writing in with their experiences of having met and/or interacted with the man. He really sounded like a decent and interesting man, that's for sure. And was only some 8 months older than me, so definitely too early to exit the world! RIP Prof

Initial thoughts: Fumi Kaneko was just gorgeousness personified, William Bracewell look calm and elegant and their partnership was a joy to watch; Sae Maeda so adorable! Gary Avis drove the action along - surely they should just rename the part from Drosselmeyer and have done with it! Feeling a lot more like Christmas now - inspired to get those decs up asap!

I can sympathise - I'm going to see Giselle in January with a little trepidation, I can't deny that's like finding a bovine pat on your seat: pure BS

they must give the website update tasks to the work experience bods...

an update - the 'wrong' location forwarded my mail to the right location, and new appointment sorted inside an hour. So hats off to the Moorfields' admin teams!

Much as I believe in the NHS, they can be frustrating at times! Just had a letter saying my appointment changed from the 3rd Jan, to the 27th Dec - which I cannot attend as I'm Nutcrackering. So I replied to the email address in the letter to ask for a change - and the auto-response says that the location I am due to attend is amongst the list of locations that can't be dealt with at this email address!!!

I think what we learn over the course of the evening, is that 'heaven' is even dingier and dirgier than 'hell', and 'purgatory' just seems like hell, but on hallucinogenic drugs... which give you monster flashbacks if you do make it to heaven (That weird screen in the last act just makes me think or Warner cartoons, and I'm expecting a "That's All Folks" to appear)

Only a personal opinion of course, but: Wedding Bouqet, Daphnis & Chloe, parts of Sylvia's last act (though I do love that), some of the ghastly bits of Ondine (ie when Ondine not on stage), Beatrix Potter, are a few examples that instantly and vividly spring to mind

Perhaps they got that promotion to stop them moving to another company, as it was felt they'd blossom over the coming years and so be established as 'older' already established Principals started retiring...

that is very true - and yes, a stander I am 🙂

There is indeed a glut of 'back of the hand to the forehead' melodramatic moments - but that makes the very subtle ones all the more moving I find. If there is a middle section I don't like (triple bill or 3-acter), I'll happily sit it out in the bar with my book, and not feel in the least bit hard done by 🙂

Lara is a lovely dancer, who has been starting a family, and so has been restricted to more character roles of late when she has been on stage (unattibuted type roles). I like her a lot, so had been hoping she would return to dancing properly. I saw her in the Linbury audience a couple of weeks back, and she certainly looks fit enough to my eye Kevin has been injured I believe, but I don't know much else

I'd say it isn't the ballet (choreography) as such, but the costume designs that date a production of even seemingly timeless works (eg Catalabutte in RB's Beauty - well actually, nearly all the chaps seem somewhat cursed in the costume dept in that production - look pretty ghastly in my view). The ethereal beings (sylphs, nymphs, fairies etc) seem to persevere better being in 'timeless' costumes such as tutus, but the courtiers do suffer horribly! Swan Lake's white acts sail imperiously over the other acts as they have been left largely alone - whereas every restaging has a go at the first and third act, with varying success over varying timescales. For me, when a ballet is made (or even restaged) and very much "of it's time", it will tend to date very quickly. Something like Giselle seems almost timeless when set in the era of its story, so more resistant to becoming dated - will Khan's Giselle at ENB do the same over the years? (I do hope so). Whereas something like Symphonic Variations could have been made any time in the last 100 years - or even the next 100 years - as opposed to some of Ashton's more twee one act works, or MacMillans contemporary make-'em-aware-of-real-life era ballets, which look very dated to me, as opposed to something like his Requiem or Concerto which still look breathtakingly fresh and vibrant. The simplicity of the staging/production of Balanchine's ballets will make them pretty bomb proof to the passge of time I reckon, as another example.

Le Corsetaire!!

never, I hope!

they were filming too - though I know not for whom

I went along to see the Chineke! Orchestra's performance at the QE Hall, mainly to hear the premier of Joan Armatrading's 'Symphony No 1'. The programme started with a rendition of Duke Ellihgton's reworking of The Nutcracker Suite (the overture). Starting with the opening bars of the Nutcracker overture we are all familiar with (made me look forward to the 6th Dec at ROH all the more!), it then changed when the 'jazz' instruments joined in. I'm not a huge fan of jazz, but this short piece was most enjoyable. After the interval, we enjoyed Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony, splendidly and enthusiatically played, by the orchestra in full flow. Made me realise it is a good while since last I heard this masterpiece, so it is due a revival on my CD player very soon. In between was the afore mentioned premiere, of Joan Armatrading's debut symphony. Better know as a singer/songwriter of folk/pop/rock/blues/jazz tunes, the multi-instrumentalist (she plays all the instruments on her records) continues her musical path into a classical symphony. I really enjoyed it too. Not hugely 'challenging' - ie not difficult to listen to - she used the orchestration to good effect, putting over her motifs elegantly, and with a triumphant bit of 'oomph' for the climaxes. The audience gave it a great reception, and then went bonkers with a standing ovation when the lady herself took the stage. As much an ovation for the piece, as for the woman herself - well, it WAS Joan Armatrading!!! PS - spotted Wayne McGregor in the audience. On a night 'off'? Or scouting for the next musical collaboration? He may not have been in love - but open to persuasion?

and that will be a good thing 🙂

Sarah Lamb was magnificent as Beatrice (that last pdd in 'act 2' was sublime) Lovely to see Olivia Cowley being devilish (very intense) closing out 'act 1'. Both these dancers really do deliver for McGregor.

she looked very good, fair play 🙂

full details: https://www.roh.org.uk/tickets-and-events/43/insights-the-royal-ballet-in-rehearsal/cast-list/56207

casting is up for the insight this evening... https://www.roh.org.uk/tickets-and-events/43/insights-the-royal-ballet-in-rehearsal/cast-list/56207 Guessing - Chinese Dance? Bits of Clara solos?

I must be in a minority of about one, but I really liked Live Fire Exercise and had been looking forward to it before it got 'covided' (along with Symphonic Dances if memory serves). There is nothing though, save the winning Euromillions numbers, that could get me to see Multiverse again! (same with some of MacMillan's 'rapey' pieces).

Agreed, and then some. For me, she is single handedly 'bringing on' a lot of the up-and-coming male dancers, as she seems to bring them up to her level (to my eyes)