Nina G. Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 I don't like the Telegraph review and the placing and comment on the photos seems critical to me in an unpleasant way. It seems poor taste when the cinema screening is on 26 Jan. I find it all OVER the top, it just comes over as cheap publicity and it doesn't do anyone justice. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLOSS Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 (edited) We none of us know whether, and to what extent, Kaneko has developed her portrayal of the Gypsy but she is going to have to go some to be a truly satisfactory substitute for Morera who was, for me, the best thing in the Cuthbertson, Muntagirov cast before Christmas.. She dances Ashton's choreography idiomatically and can do anything she wants with it and she makes it look easy. Kaneko's Gypsy was quite nice, the steps were fine but there was little or no dynamic range in her dancing and very little characterisation. It was a small scale performance without any sense of allure or danger. Morera's Gypsy was alluring, dangerous and funny, She ate up the stage every movement had an extra quality to it which really carried into the auditorium. Nothing that she did was exaggerated but her performance really was on the grand scale. Her dancing had a wide dynamic range and she played with the music in a way that none of the other dancers taking the role in this 2015-2016 revival have managed so far. Her use of her upper body combined with extraordinarily fast clean footwork was an object lesson in how to dance Ashton. It was one of those occasions when you are brought up against the great difference between a good performance and a truly great one. She is still the best Ashton dancer that the company has got by a very wide margin. A friend who was lucky enough to see the original cast said that she was the best Gypsy she had seen since Elizabeth Anderton herself. Tomorrow we shall see whether the decision to substitute Kaneko for the injured Morera is a sensible one or whether management would have done better with Mendizabel as substitute. Edited January 22, 2016 by FLOSS 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Well, all I can say is that I hope Kaneko doesn't read that before the performance. Nothing like piling on additional pressure before a live relay, especially for a dancer who is still relatively inexperienced. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAB Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 FLOSS, for what it's worth I thought Morera better than Anderton. Fabulous performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Thank you all for the precis and quotes, and the tips on how to access the FT reviews. Not for the first time, I find myself at odds with some of what Mr Crisp says! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLOSS Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 (edited) I seem to recall that when BRB went to the US in 2004 as part of the Ashton centenary celebrations they took Pigeons with them as part of their contribution. It was the first time that it had been seen in the US as Sol Hurok had refused to accept it as part of a tour programme because of what pigeons do on park benches in New York. The critics who saw the work in 2004 were enthusiastic about the work as a whole but several declared that the role of the Gypsy was impossible to dance. I suspect because they saw it danced by a someone who while they did the steps did not make as much of the epaulement as she might have done. But then I have always thought of the three main roles in the ballet it is the Gypsy who it is most difficult to cast satisfactorily because it needs a technician who can do a lot more than simply reproduce steps. Morera's account of the role is the most nuanced and varied that I have seen and I have seen some truly formidable accounts over the years. It is such a pity that her account is unlikely to be preserved just as it is a great pity that her account of Lise has not been filmed. True Ashton dancers as opposed to dancers who appear in Ashton ballets are very scarce on the ground. As far as the Ashton repertory is concerned I find it really strange that no one seems to have noticed how beneficial dancing Ashton is to performances in other repertory particularly the major MacMillan three act ballets. Edited January 23, 2016 by FLOSS 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Newcombe Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I think there are those of us who appreciate the benefits 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 And I seem to remember someone commenting that it was benefitting the supporting roles in Romeo & Juliet earlier this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coated Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Another Rhapsody matinee, another interpretation. It felt more mellow than the last Osipova/McRae outing, and Osipova brought a serenity with her today that made me feel quite emotional at times. Their last outing was a bit of the McRae show, today Osipova arrived in full glory. I can see what people mean when they mention that her back hasn't quite achived the RB pliancy, but I guess even great ballerinas need to have something to work on. Someone also seems to have set fire under the boys feet, and with one exception they were nearly as good as the girls today 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleaden94 Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Has Matthew Ball, Beatrix Brunell & Claire Calvert made their Two Pigeons debut yet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Newcombe Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Just finished their debuts. All quite superb 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 That's good news will be seeing on the 30th!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coated Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 You're in for a treat on the 30th, Lin. Excellent characterisation from the debutants, their performance had real charm (and fine dancing, of course) 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 (edited) Briefly: Ball and Stix-Brunnell added a unique and very moving lustre to their Two Pigeons performance and created a very soulful and entirely fitting character arc. Even the title figures seemed to be impressed by their final PDD. It was just so, SO very movingly etched. You could hear the hearts of the - (for the first time in this run - at least at the performances I've attended) - capacity audience flutter. A fine achievement by both without hesitation. Choe additionally glistened with seeming ease in her Rhapsody. Edited January 23, 2016 by Bruce Wall 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Newcombe Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I should also have mentioned that Zucchetti was very good in Rhapsody. He might not have the technique of McRae but I thought he caught the mood Of the piece beautifully. As for Yuhui Choe, she gave a magnificent performance of Ashtonian dancing. Brava, 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Really looking forward to the 30th now! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Me too Sim! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beryl H Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Good weekend, Corsaire in the afternoon, a beautiful Ashton evening, and will shortly be watching the Bolshoi at the cinema! Yuhui Choe gets 5 stars from me in Rhapsody, such luminous dancing, can't imagine a better interpretation, but if there is the RB have 3 outstanding casts now! Valentino Zuchetti was very good at the rapid changes of direction, one of the things I have been reading about in the Ashton biography. Very special debuts from all four leads in Pigeons, Claire Calvert showed exciting technique, and emotional dancing from Beatriz Stix Brunell and Matthew Ball, think the first act is a little slow but the second act is a gem. Looking forward to the cinema, shame Laura Morera is injured. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balletfanp Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 (edited) I went to yesterday's matinee - a very long day up and back in a day for me, but well worth it. I'm not a great fan of Steven McRae and I don't think I will ever really warm to him but I have to say his performance in Rhapsody was superb. Likewise Osipova - beautifully danced. She is still quite "Russian" in her dancing and interpretation but for me that didn't detract from the performance at all, just brought something different to it. I would have loved to see the Hayward/Hay pairing to compare and contrast. The Corps performed very well too. I noticed one of the girls slipped on her first entrance - one of those things - but she recovered very quickly and well, and I doubt most of the audience would even have noticed. The Pas de Deux between McRae and Osipova was just exquisite, along with That Music, played wonderfully by the orchestra, that always makes my hair stand on end at the best of times (not least because I always associate it with a very sad and soppy film starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour!). The combination of music, choreography and their dancing almost finished me off! I had never seen Rhapsody before and am now very happy to have done so. On to the Two Pigeons. I was so looking forward to seeing this (another one I've never seen) and it didn't disappoint. For me, the second act was far more interesting than the first which is really just setting the scene, but the performances from Muntagirov and Cuthbertson were just lovely; they hit the comedy note just right but without going over the top or trying too hard, and seemed to me to have real chemistry - they make good pairing. Vadim's dancing in act 2 was just gorgeous as always - he always has such a perfect "finish", and those beautiful lines and effortless jump.... he was perfectly cast as the artist. Fumi Kaneko as the gypsy gave a great performance, but I couldn't help missing Laura Morera in the role; I felt that she would have brought more to it. However given that Kaneko was a last minute substitute I thought she gave a very creditable performance but would possibly look more at home in the cast she had rehearsed with all along. Not her fault - just circumstances. Heaven knows how they train those pigeons but I felt quite tense when they were on stage in the last few minutes - but they behaved impeccably and five stars for confident pigeon-handling from Vadim. The last Pas de Deux was just so beautifully and emotionally performed by the pair of them - I was fighting tears all the way through but almost started blubbering out loud when the Pigeon flew in at the end! (Note to self; you really must get your emotions under better control....). All in all, a wonderful afternoon, and also lovely to have long chat with various like-minded people at the stage door afterwards - the only thing about coming by myself is having no one to discuss the performance with afterwards, so I very much appreciated talking to several lovely people and having the opportunity to do so. I guess some may have been members of this forum but I had no way of telling. Edited January 24, 2016 by Balletfanp 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balletfanp Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Oh, and by the way, they were filming at the matinee, and one of the chaps I was talking to was sitting near the camera and took the opportunity to ask if there would be a DVD coming out. The cameraman said he thought there "probably" would be. Fingers crossed! I'd certainly buy it. Maybe we need to put pressure on Mr O'Hare afterwards to make sure! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Heaven knows how they train those pigeons but I felt quite tense when they were on stage in the last few minutes - but they behaved impeccably and five stars for confident pigeon-handling from Vadim. Thanks last Pas de Deux was just so beautifully and emotionally performed by the pair of them - I was fighting tears all the way through but almost started blubbering out loud when the Pigeon flew in at the end! (Note to self; you really must get your emotions under better control....). I've never been able to control my emotions and was sobbing out loud by the end last Saturday! I hope I don't sob too loudly in the cinema on Tuesday... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balletfanp Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Oh dear - I didn't think about that - it would somehow be worse in the cinema! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 along with That Music, played wonderfully by the orchestra, that always makes my hair stand on end at the best of times (not least because I always associate it with a very sad and soppy film starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour!). The combination of music, choreography and their dancing almost finished me off! Ah, Somewhere In Time. I'd forgotten that one Better film than it probably ought to have been. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scheherezade Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 I haven't yet seen Hayward and Hay in Rhapsody but I have to say that I loved the McRae and Osipova debut on Wednesday, in turn, electric and lyrical, and I can't wait to compare their performance with Hayward and Hay on the 30th. As for Two Pigeons, I fully endorse everything that has been said about Choe and Campbell and, yes, please nurture this totally convincing partnership! Having been lukewarm about the somewhat arch McRae/Salenko interpretation in the pre-Christmas run, Choe and Campbell's dancing, acting and chemistry - delightful, without in any way being mannered - won me over completely. Yuhui Choe was so totally natural, and Alexander Campbell, whom I haven't previously seen in a major role, made total and moving sense of what, in other hands, could seem unsympathetic and shallow. He has moved right to the top of my 'must see again and soon' list! 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balletfanp Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Ah, Somewhere In Time. I'd forgotten that one Better film than it probably ought to have been. That's the one - yes, I agree! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLOSS Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 (edited) Saturday evening brought yet another cast in Rhapsody and yet more debuts in Pigeons. Choe gives a lovely account of the Collier role and managed to make more of the wrist flicks than either Hayward or Osipova have done. A small detail I know but it is the observance of such small details that contribute to great performances, I am sure that O'Hare must be very happy to be able to muster three casts of soloists for Rhapsody. It certainly says a great deal about the technical standards in the company. However while Zucchetti can execute the steps he did not look as if he was completely at home in the choreography. His performance is at the bravura end of the spectrum but his performance did not look as effortless as it should have done and had a rougher edge to it than McRae's did. Two Pigeons saw Ball and Stix Brunell make their official debuts in Pigeons. They both danced the choreography as set but brought out details which had been missing or not brought out sufficiently by other casts. This Young Girl was not the sweet little thing that most of the other dancers had made her. She seemed to me to be more in the Seymour mould than the others and she made the section in which her actions tell the audience that she has realised that she has gone too far register. With Ball there were occasions when I hardly noticed that he was dancing not because he was dancing badly but because the narrative was completely integrated into his dancing. In the second act he made far more of the section where the Young Man, having been bound with ropes pulls himself along one rope and wraps it round his waist turns and repeats the action, than any of the other Young Men had done. His performance reminded me of David Wall particularly in that section. The reconciliation pas de deux was beautifully done. Clare Calvert made a strong debut as the Gypsy Girl. Three more performances this week and then we wait to see whether Two Pigeons slips back into oblivion or whether it is revived in future seasons and whether in due course a DVD is issued. I can't help wondering whether Amos 73's mystery dancer at the matinee was Stix Brunell? Edited January 25, 2016 by FLOSS 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPD444 Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 Just noticed this morning that the statement on the cinema page saying cast lists would be available soon has gone? Does that mean they are not available or if they now are then does anyone know where they are? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nina G. Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 Does anyone know if there will be a second showing of tonight's relay? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billboyd Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 Tip top performances tonight! Superlative! Terrific! Congratulations Royal Ballet! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Q Fan Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 Does anyone know if there will be a second showing of tonight's relay? Yes on Sunday there is an encore at quite a few places my local Vue has it at 2pm Sunday 31st. I'll be going as didn't go tonight. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WoodlandGladeFairy Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 Just got back from the live cinema relay of Rhapsody/Two Pigeons and what a wonderful evening it was. Steven McRae was like fireworks in 'Rhapsody', but I thought Natalia Osipova looked awkward in it, but then I saw Francesca Hayward in the ballet back in 2014 and there really was no comparison for me, Francesca Hayward really gets Ashton's choreography but that's just my personal opinion! Also special mention to the female dancers Olivia Grace Cowley, Yasmine Naghdi, Emma Maguire, Elizabeth Harrod, Meaghan Grace Hinkis and Beatriz Stix-Brunell, such beautiful dancing. I have fallen in love with 'Two Pigeons', what a magical ballet, Lauren Cuthbertson and Vadim Muntagirov were just perfect, comic, heartbreaking and just scrummy. Vadim Muntagirov is such a beautiful dancer, I fall in love with him everytime he dances, he has wonderful clean lines, a beaming natural smile which lit up the stage, and is such a good partner to the female dancers, I have a slight crush on him..... Lauren Cuthbertson was wonderful as well, wonderful acting and dancing. Also spectacular Ashton choreography in the 2nd half, the Royal Ballet really looked like they were enjoying being gypsies. And finally not forgetting the actual pigeons, very professional! 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 Yes, it was marvellous. I saw Muntagirov/Cuthbertson first night and thought this was better- she had grown into the role, he was more passionate in those two solos-both his gipsy camp solo when he throws off the waistcoat, and his Act 2 solo with the ropes were really memorable, full of passion but he manages still to hold those lovely lines. A shame not to see Morera again but Kaneko rose to the challenge so well. This is a ballet you need to see 2 or 3 times to start to appreciate how well made it is, how the parts fit into the whole, how moments mirror one another between the acts, (e.g. Young Man turns gipsy girl in a circle when besotted but then this move is re worked in Act 2 as a beautiful moment of reconciliation) how it all hangs together. Rhapsody was pretty sensational, a part McRae has rather made his own . If only I had remebered the hankies as prompted by Janet's post I wouldn't have had to be snuffling my way through Rhapsody and part 2 of Pigeons and mopping up tears with my new scarf. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesrhblack Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 (edited) Just back from the cinema relay: what a truly beautiful evening. Ashton's choreographic genius was so wonderfully displayed and I thought the Royal Ballet was looking on splendid form. Having really enjoyed the matinée on 16 January I wasn't sure if memory would get in the way but I think that the very different nature of the cinema experience enabled me to take things on their own footing. There has been seemingly universal praise for the Hay / Hayward cast of Rhapsody and I enjoyed their performance hugely. Of late, I have tended not to warm to Steven MacRae's performing personality but I don't think anybody could dispute that he was absolutely sensational this evening. I can understand those who felt that the morel lyrical understatement of James Hay is more Ashtonian but the role was written for Baryshnikov (who I understand was disappointed that Ashton had gone more for Soviet bravura than English lyricism) and MacRae certainly shows you how hard it is and how astoundingly he surmounts the challenges. He seemed to have a good rapport with Osipova (although she is a little tall for him) who was certainly bending with a vengeance and coruscated through the footwork despite wearing what looked to be an extremely battered pair of shoes. The ensemble seemed really well balanced too, even if Olivia Cowley and Tristan Dyer cannot help being compulsively watchable. They both have a dance style that really reads to me with her luscious epaulement and his concentration of attack - I'm really looking forward to seeing him in Frankenstein). I think Two Pigeons is under estimated, possibly even moe than Fille by some people, but for the same reason. The subject matter may seem slight and the characters ordinary but yet do ordinary people not have feelings that matter, and even if the subject is simple the treatment is not. A point was made by Liam Scarlett in one of the very interesting interviews that are always such a feature of these broadcasts (in this case re his new work) that a creator needs to reach out beyond his subject matter to find something with which an audience can empathise and I am sure that most of can appreciate the lure of the exotic unknown (here represented in 19th Century fashion by the Gypsies) as well as appreciate the hurt we have caused to those who we love.There's a wonderful moment in the final Pas de Deux as the Young Man and Young Woman walk towards the back of the chair and she looks back (twice) as if to say I know it's not going to last and he brings her chin back in reassurance that takes the edge off the sentimentality and the imagery of the broken wings is very touching. I won't deny that my eyes were damp on a couple of occasions. Vadim Muntagirov is such a charming presence and dancer and I greatly enjoyed his performance. He has true virtuoso strength but also a smiling graciousness and generosity that is very beguiling. The moment when he is tied up by the Gypsies and turns backward and forwards along the ropes is almost like a sinister parody of the ribbons in Fille, or, at least, that is how it seemed to me. It was so good to see Lauren Cuthbertson again. She has an extraordinary ability to move from quirkiness, even gaucheness, to genuine heartbreak and her long lines and radiant musicality are a true pleasure to watch. All those interviewed (including a most delightful and unexpected appearance from a beautifully eloquent Alfreda Thorogood) constantly emphasised Ashton's response to the music. Barry Wordsworth spoke so well on this and I was pleased to see a conductor stressing the choreographer's impact on the music. Sometimes it is forgotten just how important that is and yet so often when one hears dancers who one really rates discussing their art so much of it is to do with musical response (think of the Four Swan Queens interview on the ROH DVD - Collier, Grey, Mason, Nunez- or Sibley and Dowell on anything or read Deborah Bull on dancing Odette). Everyone has been so rapturous in their praise for Laura Morera that is a real pity she was injured - certainly, she looked marvellous in the rehearsal footage. I did wonder if Fumi Kaneko was using smiling flirtatiousness in place of a more dangerous sensuality but she's a wonderfully accomplished and stylish dancer with beautiful feet and a marvellous jump. I'm sure she'd be a terrific Lise and, having enjoyed watching her Nutcracker Masterclass on the ROH site, I'm confident she will also prove memorable in the classics as the opportunity arises. Given Muntagirov's height, I did have a slight pang re Mendizabal who had been so glorious in performance and wondered if she might have fitted better (and given her more compact presence Kaneko might have been a good foil to Alexander Campbell although he coped superbly with his taller partner in the Encampment Scene), However, I've determined not to make comparisons ("odorous" as they are) and wanted, essentially, to post my positive delight after such an enjoyable evening. Edited January 26, 2016 by Jamesrhblack 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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