Yaffa

12 minutes ago, alison said:

Greetings-card manufacturers with their "Get well soon" cards.  What do you send to the person who isn't going to get well soon, or even at all?  Surely there must be some other formulations they can use which don't presuppose a quick recovery?  Why rub the sick person's nose in it?

There are some interesting ideas for 'empathy cards' e.g. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/08/empathy-cards-serious-illness_n_7243148.html

On 24/08/2018 at 18:15, Yaffa said:

According to the airline's website, an area I'll be visiting for a stopover is 'known as one of the most futile plains of the world.' Oh well...
 

On 25/08/2018 at 20:05, taxi4ballet said:

What's the point in stopping there then?! 

Maybe to take advantage of the kind offer of a cafe owner who wouldn't accept payment for filling my water bottle:  'It is our pleasure to liquidate you - no charge.' 

On a more serious note, I wish my language skills were a tenth as good as those of so many thoughtful people I have encountered on this and other amazing stopovers. 

Yaffa

With less than a week to go until World Ballet Day (Tuesday, 2nd Oct), I was  glad to see the following in the official blurb at https://worldballetday.com/about/
Don’t worry, if you missed the moment of your favourite company went LIVE, you can come back to the full schedule and click through to watch the full replay on their Facebook page.

Knowing that we can catch up on anything later should make the day's activities much more enjoyable. (In previous years, there were vague  promises to post edited versions/select events online after WBD.)  

On 21/09/2018 at 14:28, Fonty said:

Regarding allowing non ticket holders into the building during the day, broadly speaking I have no problem with this.  There have been times when I have wanted to linger over the photos or costume exhibitions, but haven't had the time during a performance after queueing for the loos.   I like the idea of being able to wander in during the day, and just soak up the atmosphere of a beautiful building.  Not sure about the increased restaurant space.  I would imagine that the number of people not attending a performance who want to eat rather indifferent food at vastly inflated prices would be quite small.

 

But I assume they will not be allowed in to the building in the evenings?  Seating is in extremely short supply, I don't want to see it taken up by people who have popped in to pick up their email!

 

 

 

 

Um, not that I would do anything like that, heaven forbid... but I'd be interested to know what the power outlets and wifi are like in the new 'open' areas. 

5 hours ago, capybara said:

The new Linbury looks smart and, yes, the seats are more comfortable. However, there are sightline issues at the highest level (guardrail) and in the 'stalls', which are barely raked.

Would that be affected by the seating flexibility mentioned in the Guardian article?  At https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/sep/19/royal-opera-house-linbury-theatre-open-up-stanton-williams it says : The seating can be raked in a steep configuration for ballet, or shallow for opera, or disappear completely at the touch of a button, while a state-of-the-art electro-acoustic system allows the reverberation time to be finely tuned according to what kind of production is being staged. 

I've always felt that Alma Deutscher would have much to offer the ballet world. So it's very exciting to see that her Cinderella will be adapted as the Cinderella Ballet Suite and performed in Berlin on 13th and 14th October. More at: https://idfestival.de/cinderella-the-nutcracker  I'm hoping to add an ultra-cheap stopover to my travel schedule.... Anyone else who is interested in going and would like details of cheap transport and accommodation,  just send me a PM...

According to the airline's website, an area I'll be visiting for a stopover is 'known as one of the most futile plains of the world.' Oh well...
 

Great! But unfortunately it looks as though there will be other not-so-nice changes:

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jul/20/toblerone-to-revert-to-original-shape-but-with-bigger-size-and-price

There are now (1:30 pm. Friday) 19 tickets available including 15 amphi. They're mostly Friday Rush tickets (see https://www.roh.org.uk/events/friday-rush) and will probably go quickly

Margot Fonteyn: Autobiography. Paperback from 1980.  Free to good home (i.e. a ballet lover who would like to read it, not sell it immediately). Can bring to RBS matinee on Sunday (8th July).
 

21 hours ago, LinMM said:

Many thanks for the info Cara!

She also still has a toe  in Ballet!! She is teaching this coming August...2018...tips on technique and learning some of her variations under the San Jose Ballet International although one of the days seems to be near San Francisco. So is obviously keeping it up in some form!!

 

I see she's actually listed as the Conservatory Director of Dance International San Jose, where she's giving the Masterclasses. See: https://www.sjdanceinternational.org/ It says in her bio that "She started teaching in 2016 and has held workshops in Thailand, Japan, and Australia" and she's also offering private lessons. 

On 02/07/2018 at 10:26, RuthE said:

Just a note to say - and I think I mentioned it elsewhere on the forum last week - the RBS will be returning to Holland Park next year even though the Linbury will no longer be out of commission.  Like the RBS ROH matinee and the whole Opera Holland Park season, it all jumps "back a week" next year, with performances from 4th-6th July.

 

(Source: marketing material in this year's OHP opera programmes.)

Thanks RuthE. Good that we already know the dates and location.  I'm interested in people's impressions of OHP. Two years ago, I was really looking forward to the return to Linbury - I kept on getting lost trying to find the OHP within the park, and it was quite cold during some of the performances.  And squeezing into the tiny loos wasn't much fun. This year, with the good weather, it was a really great experience and the bigger loos were much appreciated! A pity there were still hardly any directions to OHP within the park, but I finally realised that you don't need to go along winding paths...Just walk straight down Holland Way for around 10 mins, til you see the white tents and crowds.

18 minutes ago, alison said:

Quite.  Having got to my local station - and having carefully checked the train times beforehand - I find that although I have trains coming back from a specific London station I don't appear to have any going to that station, regardless of what the timetable says!

Well, if you will insist on going to a place before you come back .. :-)

I see they have just posted the full video of Tsiskaridze's current class...

On 12/21/2017 at 05:01, Yaffa said:

From an interesting review at https://www.sfcv.org/reviews/opera-san-jose/deutschers-cinderella-is-a-melodious-surprise:

The ballroom scene (for which Deutscher wrote a toe-tapping waltz) is choreographed with stately grace by historical dance expert Richard Powers.

 

The live broadcast on Medici TV, which starts in an hour, will apparently be free to watch: https://www.medici.tv/en/operas/cinderella-alma-deutscher-american-premiere/ The video will be available after the live performance  - not sure for how long.

For anyone who was tied up when the live version of Alma Deutscher's Cinderella was broadcast from San Jose - it is still available for just another couple of weeks on Medici TV  https://www.medici.tv/en/operas/cinderella-alma-deutscher-american-premiere/  You now need to set up a Medici account but there's no charge to set up the account or to watch Cinderella. It's a truly breathaking performance, which would make for great family viewing. Here's a review: http://operawire.com/opera-san-jose-2017-18-review-cinderella-12-year-old-alma-deutscher-is-a-genius-to-behold/   Missing from the archived version is a series of interviews from the interval in which Jane Glover (the conductor who also came to San Jose from England) commented on how remarkable it was to work with Alma: The young composer knows exactly what she wants and plays a very active and mature role in all aspects of the production, yet also brings the excited joy of a child.  Members of the cast and orchestra also praised her work and said what a unique and special opportunity it was  to interact with a classical composer about her work, rather than just interpret the creation of someone who died a long time ago. A shorter version of Cinderella for children is now running in Vienna. More about this and of Alma Deutscher's other performances in Europe (none at the moment in England) at: https://www.almadeutscher.com/events/

CeliB (or anyone else) - Do you know anything about the narrow red ankle bands that some of the boys are wearing in the rehearsals? Are they used elsewhere?The melmoth.blog writer isn't sure about this but guesses that Tsiskaridze introduced them as visual aids to assist with correct placement of the feet.

On 10/1/2017 at 18:44, Yaffa said:

The Vaganova Academy just uploaded a video showing the preparations for the 2017 graduating boys' class.  Looks very interesting even though I don't understand what Tsiskaridze is saying.

 

They just put on Youtube a version with an English voiceover - most interesting:

From an interesting review at https://www.sfcv.org/reviews/opera-san-jose/deutschers-cinderella-is-a-melodious-surprise:

The ballroom scene (for which Deutscher wrote a toe-tapping waltz) is choreographed with stately grace by historical dance expert Richard Powers.

The live broadcast on Medici TV, which starts in an hour, will apparently be free to watch: https://www.medici.tv/en/operas/cinderella-alma-deutscher-american-premiere/ The video will be available after the live performance  - not sure for how long.

2 hours ago, Melody said:

What is it with all these airlines going bankrupt?

An interesting take on this at:

Why do European airlines keep going bust?
http://money.cnn.com/2017/10/02/news/europe-airlines-monarch-competition/index.html
...Analysts say that more losers could emerge in the coming months as smaller, weaker players come under pressure.

"It's primarily an issue of scale and competition," said Rob Byde, a transport analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald. "It's likely you're going to see more consolidation and more failures in the European market."

Some good news for those of us who could not see Alma Deutscher's Cinderella in person: Tonight is the US premiere of a more lavish version (apparently including some dancers and an enhanced musical score), and one of the performances will be broadcast live online by Medici TV at 8 p.m. on 20th December Pacific Time. That is 4 a.m. UK time on 21st December, but the recording will be online for a few days afterwards for folks who aren't such earlier risers. Further details at https://www.medici.tv/en/operas/cinderella-alma-deutscher-american-premiere/

Alma continues to inspire on so many levels... The beautiful second movement of her new piano concerto is now online (see https://www.almadeutscher.com/video/slow-movement-almas-new-piano-concerto/) and she was also recently the subject of a second documentary - this time on the American CBS' 60 minutes. 

Yaffa 

11 hours ago, alison said:

Friends of mine were busy decorating the local parish church this afternoon.  I suspect they hadn't been home for lunch, but they were hungry and decided to ring for a pizza from a certain well-known chain which shall remain nameless (although an "H" is involved ).  They were told it was company policy not to deliver to places of worship in case it caused offence to their delivery people!    Whatever next?!  Refusing to deliver to the local Conservative/Labour/Lib Dem association?

Very sad that this is company policy... 

4 minutes ago, RuthE said:

I booked VTWC first class as a treat on my birthday earlier this year to attend a matinee in Buxton.  Sadly through circumstances beyond their control (fatality on the line at Milton Keynes) I ended up being diverted onto EMT from St Pancras, where there is no such thing as free catering in first class... which is the only reason I paid for first class in the first place...

 

I've done VTWC first class (weekdays) a few times before, and yes, the catering is decent.

Sorry to hear about this... I've found Virgin's Complaints Department to be quite understanding and gave a voucher even for circumstances outside their control. 

Before booking a ticket via the Virgin sale, you might want check out other cheap train tickets at: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-train-tickets  and also to see if you can get the same Virgin ticket cheaper using the 10% Virgin Money discount. From an earlier post I made about this (NB: The Virgin Money lounges are not the same as the Virgin First Class Lounges):

2 minutes ago, alison said:

A family member is a fan of using the West Coast First Class because you can get some very good bargain fares (compared with Standard Class), and they often include a meal and glass of wine en route.  Or at least, that's what I think it is.

What you get depends on the day of the week, length of journey and a few other things. Updated details are at:

https://www.virgintrains.co.uk/experience/first-class

Virgin is having two sales:

a. West Coast Network
From midnight tonight (Wednesday) until 11:59 on Monday 27th November: up to 52% on selected tickets e.g. 
between London and Manchester £5 one way
between London and Birmingham £11 one way.
Dates are from 18th December to 14th January, excluding 22nd-23rd Dec and 25th-27th Dec. That should hopefully still include travel for Nutcrackers and other performances. There will also apparently be child and first class tickets.

b. East Coast Network
Available now until 11.59 p.m. tonight (Wednesday). Tickets are available between 6th Jan and 2nd March, excluding the week of half term (10th-18th Feb) and 24th-25th Feb. Might work for some audition dates.
 

Further details of both sales at:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/virgin-trains

There are some other good travel deals around - before you book you might want to check out the moneysavingexpert.com list at https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/travel-and-days-out

No connection to any of the above - just passing on the info