Vanartus Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 Saw the final performance (...and it will probably be the last outings for both apart from the pdd in both) and I really enjoyed Raven Girl. I know some of you will consider me either mad or masochistic, but after three viewings I really believe - and I'm not the only one - that this ballet has received a particularly raw deal from some of the critics. Repeated viewings and familiarisation of plot have revealed so much more detail in the dance. It's a great pity that it's not been filmed for TV. Anyway, audience reaction very positive at each showing. Good to hear it too! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
munchkin16 Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 I think that may be the problem. In order to truly understand Raven Girl and connect with it maybe you have to see it more than once. Which for many of us just isn't financially possible. So we will never discover the small details that reveal themselves in multiple viewings. Making it slightly less accessible as a ballet perhaps? I saw it on Tuesday night and I have to say visually it was impressive. There were bits that made me go wow, that's beautiful. Unfortunately a lot of the time I was mostly lost, confused and finding it weird. I felt sorry for the corps who sort of seemed like fillers between the main scenes flapping around (although they did a fabulous job.) I actually preferred Olivia Cowley (I think it was) in her dancing of the Raven over Sarah Lamb when they were dancing side by side. The final pas de deux was probably the highlight, along with the reveal of the wings for the stunning effect. Connectome was mesmerising but I wouldn't choose it as a ballet. Again it was beautiful visually and I liked the music but it was just sort of bland. Too abstract for me. The dancers were incredible though, I loved seeing Lauren Cuthbertson back and it was nice to see some men highlighted. They were all very impressive. Overall I really enjoyed seeing them but I wouldn't choose to go back. I would consider myself a pretty strong ballet fan and I think my main issue is that these two pieces are perhaps not too accessible to a wider, new audience. Frankly I think it might put a few people off. Also I think it's possible that those dancing in it may love it more than those watching it. Maybe I'm wrong but they both seem like pieces that would be really cool or beautiful/challenging to dance which is why they come across as being enjoyed by the company but perhaps do not translate as well to an audience who isn't involved in the process or piece. All the same I admire Wayne and the company for doing something a bit different, I was certainly challenged watching the pieces. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 Munchkin, was there not a plot summary on the cast sheet for Raven Girl? You raise an interesting point about how much preparation an audience member should be expected to do before seeing a performance. Actually, the RB does, I think, always put a plot summary and / or some background information on its website. I too have sometimes felt that a work is more enjoyable to perform than to watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanartus Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 A v v v good point - no plot summary on the free sheet/cast list. I find that quite divisive and unfair. Strangely they give plot summary for R&J which most people know. Re pricing - I paid £9 for each row M seat in Amphitheater - not a fortune! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
munchkin16 Posted October 25, 2015 Share Posted October 25, 2015 (edited) There was one in the programme I had but I didn't get a chance to read it before the performance. It wouldn't have helped with the overwhelming moments when the screen was down and the lights, effects and corps made the stage very busy and difficult to focus. I couldn't work out what was happening then! Edited October 25, 2015 by munchkin16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 Scrolling down the "Performances" page, I realised that I'd never posted any thoughts about the last performance of this bill. Various people had told me that I ought to see Beatriz Stix-Brunell in "Raven Girl", and I'm glad I did. I thought she brought a lot to the role which I hadn't seen before, including some very believable teenage sensibility, and it was good to be able to see the full height of the stage, as I'd missed so much from side stalls circle the previous time. Not that I had an unrestricted view, by any means - I became very aware of just how many solos etc. McGregor had located in the front right-hand corner of the stage - but even so I managed to get a good feel for the overall piece, and barely noticed any longueurs whatsoever, so assume that Stix-Brunell had managed to capture my attention sufficiently. It was also good to have a full-height view for "Connectome" so that I could see the set and projections properly. I was initially upset to discover that Ricardo Cervera was injured, because he'd been one of my main reasons for booking the bill*, but as it happens owing to the viewing restrictions I mentioned above I would scarcely have seen him anyway, so in the end it didn't matter particularly that he was replaced by Ed Watson, who I'd seen first time around. While I'm mentioning cast changes, I think I also ought to say that I thought Alexander Campbell was more effective in the middle movement of the piece, although he didn't match Steven McRae's attack in the final movement. * The cast change was printed on the cast sheet, so it can't have been a last-minute replacement, but I don't remember anyone flagging up an announced cast change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 Having read all the interesting comments here, I (almost) wish I had booked to see this bill. I thought Connectome was absolutely beautiful first time round, but disliked Raven Girl so much that I just couldn't face it again and I couldn't justify the cost of a ticket to see just one short work. Raven Girl was very striking visually, but I found the story-telling and choreography so weak that it positively annoyed me. Maybe I should have tried it again but I suspect I would have found it difficult to do so with an open mind. (And I go to all new works at the Opera House, and I love abstract ballets - if they're good! So neither is an issue for me at all. I agree with Floss that it's increasingly difficult to go to new works in a hopeful frame of mind nowadays - but I still do!). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Pigeons Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 Raven Girl got a mention on University Challenge tonight. The teams had never heard of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 Yes...'Audrey Niffenegger' was one of only three questions I got right. I don't know why I torture myself every week! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Raven Girl got a mention on University Challenge tonight. The teams had never heard of it. More accurately, I don't think they'd heard of Audrey Niffenegger, which is what the answer to the question was I didn't do too brilliantly tonight, either 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 (OTOH, I did think the question about the official languages of Switzerland was exceptionally easy) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Yes, that was one of the other questions I got right! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Newcombe Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Last week, the teams could not identify 3 ballerinas. The youngest French ballerina to be promoted to top rank who joined the Royal Ballet. A Russian dancer who was famous for The Dying Swan. Sadly I have forgotten the third question. However, despite being given the nationalities of the dancers, they came up with Margot Fonteyn 3 times. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Was it Tamara Rojo? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hfbrew Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Yes it was and mispronounced too! I knew my English composers last night. Mind you I often shout Tchaikovsky as soon as music is mentioned as it often is one of the correct answers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fonty Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Was it Tamara Rojo? If that was the question, what was the answer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 I can't remember, that's the trouble! Maybe something to do with RB ballerina left RB and took over artistic directorship of ENB? I'm not worried about them not knowing Guillem or Rojo, but I thought they might have known Pavlova! Didn't Paxman give dates, as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hfbrew Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Spot on Alison, Rojo was the answer to the question which I am sure is the one you suggest. I was screaming at the TV. I stay very,very quiet on all other subjects..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnneMarriott Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 I can't remember, that's the trouble! Maybe something to do with RB ballerina left RB and took over artistic directorship of ENB? I'm not worried about them not knowing Guillem or Rojo, but I thought they might have known Pavlova! Didn't Paxman give dates, as well? Yes dates were given - so I was a little surprised that they could have thought Margot Fonteyn was born in 1888. And I think the question about Tamara Rojo asked which Spanish ballerina left the RB to become AD of ENB. To be fair to the contestants one of them did think the name may have begun with R and they speculated with a couple of Spanish-sounding names before giving up and uopting for Fonteyn again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 That's awful. Even if they have no interest in ballet you'd think they'd be a bit more aware than that (since by going on the programme they're effectively claiming to be well-informed!). Clearly Fonteyn was the only ballerina they'd heard of and even then they knew nothing at all about her. Whereas the Raven Girl question was pretty obscure for non-specialists (or even, possibly, for some specialists... I'm sure I wouldn't have remembered her name if put on the spot). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Although it was mentioned that she was also the author of The Time Traveler's Wife, which more people might be aware of (I wasn't even aware of its existence when the film came out). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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