VickyPage Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 Not sure if I can add much to the richly deserved praise of Marquez and Campbell last night. The whole experience was completely joyful, and Roberta thoroughly deserved the carpet of flowers she received at the end. Alex really shines in the partnering I've noticed; his future partners will be very lucky ladies. Peregrine even behaved himself perfectly! It felt as though the audience was in a particularly good mood - they seemed more open to laughter than on the 5th, although that might just have been an impression. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 I can't add much more either, but I have seen both of their performances and, as mentioned after I saw the first one, I felt such a mix of emotions last night. On the one hand, I felt sheer joy and happiness, as I always do at the end of this ballet. The whole company was on special form; often, by the end of a run, you definitely feel that it is the end of a run and dancers are looking tired of whatever they've been dancing for the past three or more weeks. Last night, it looked like an opening night. Everyone gave it that little bit extra to make it a deserving send-off for one of the best Lises ever (IMHO). Roberta sparkled and nuanced this character pretty much to perfection. I could have watched the ballet all over again as soon as the curtain went own. Alex Campbell is just the best partner for her: tender, caring, senstive, gentle.....yet strong and funny. He added all kinds of little touches to the role, and like Roberta was an impetuous young person but with a loving, caring heart. And what fabulous technique he has. Both dancers impart Ashton's difficult footwork with seeming ease and pinpoint accuracy. This is why I felt sad as well as happy....once again, the feeling of waste that he wasn't around a decade ago to partner her. What a different career she might have had. I so wish that these two performances had been videoed officially. That is how I would always like to remember Roberta. Not forgetting her triumphs in other Ashton ballets such as Symphonic Variations and The Dream, as Titania (she is also one of my favourite ever dancers in that role). Aside from Ashton, she was a lovely Giselle and an incredibly moving Nikiya. I am only sorry that we didn't see more of her in the last couple of years of her time at the RB. Intriguingly, Steven McRae posted up a very heartfelt message to her on social media, saying how much he'd enjoyed dancing 'with this wonderful ballerina', how much he would miss her, thanking her for everything and.....saying that they will be dancing together again soon, so this is not the end. Hmmmm..... I was so pleased to see lots of gorgeous bouquets arrive on the stage (and a couple of lovely ones for Bennet...probably also to do with the fact that he had a Big Birthday on Friday!) and a very generous House flower throw. I can only hope that in future they might bring her in and get her to coach the roles of Lise, Titania, and others as well. It would be of great benefit to the dancers of the future. I wish Roberta well in her future career, and I for one will miss her a lot on the ROH stage. 18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
munchkin16 Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 I managed to get a last minute ticket to see the final performance last night thanks to a lovely forum member! I'm so glad I made the effort to go and stand though the performance despite being up at 4:30am this morning for work. It was brilliant! I've never seen Marquez or Campbell dance so I feel lucky and sad at the same time this was my first and last chance to see her. The company was full of energy and Campbell was an excellent partner, the lifts were solid and his acting and dancing was very impressive. I wasn't expecting so many laugh out loud moments but the audience was giggling the whole way through, the comedic timing was great. But my favourite part still has to be Roberta's performance. Her artistry and expression is stunning, every little subtle look and movement exuded her character. She was so graceful and her use of her head, eye lines and arms is a truely excellent example of epaulment. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 Intriguingly, Steven McRae posted up a very heartfelt message to her on social media, saying how much he'd enjoyed dancing 'with this wonderful ballerina', how much he would miss her, thanking her for everything and.....saying that they will be dancing together again soon, so this is not the end. Hmmmm..... That's interesting ... Yet they haven't danced together at the ROH much in recent years. Japan, perhaps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scheherezade Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 As with other recent posters, there is nothing that I can add about last night's performance that hasn't already been said but I felt that I just had to add my voice to what was a pitch perfect evening. I have topped and tailed this run, beginning with Morera and Muntagirov, both of whom were everything that we have come to expect from them, and ending with Marquez and Campbell, and what a way to end a run! The audience, too, seemed fully engaged from the get-go and rightly so. Alexander Campbell consolidated everything that he brought to his impressive R.B. debut in Two Pigeons and Roberta was just captivating! I do hope that she realises how much her talent, skills and personality, and the charm and intelligence that she invariably brought to everything that she danced, were appreciated by, and will be treasured by, those of us lucky enough to enjoy her wonderful performances over the last decade. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Q Fan Posted October 23, 2016 Share Posted October 23, 2016 Wonder if any photos of Roberta's flower throw exist? I've seen one of Peregrine's goodie basket very cute! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesrhblack Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 Well, Saturday evening was utter enchantment. I too topped and tailed the Fille run and have to say (write) that for sheer joy and tenderness, Marquez and Campbell rather outshone Morera (who had seemed a little subdued) and Muntagirov. Marquez's sheer exuberance in this role is absolutely captivating and if we might think it rather remarkable that a South American seems to have found her fullest expression in what might be thought a quintessentially English role, let us not forget Sir Frederick Ashton's South American upbringing. I'd agree her shoes were occasionally noisy but she then turned that too dazzling effect in the sequence of prancing steps across the diagonal at the end of the Essler pas de deux. She has not always been a favourite dancer but in this role I'd put her up there with fondest memories of Lesley Collier and Ann Jenner. Her sheer impudence, her temper, her glow, her technical assurance that never here became an end in itself and, of course, her exquisitely tender and nuanced partnership with Alexander Campbell moved me greatly at the time and brings a slight dampness to the gills in recollection even as I type this. He is, of course, an absolute favourite dancer of mine, and it was marvellous to see the new assurance of his stage manner: he has already grown in to his principal status and as partner, technician and dance actor, I'd have said it was more or less flawless. There can be something very magical in these May / September pairings (remember Collier and Mukhademov or, more recently, Yanowsky and Clarke) and I wish very much that they had had further opportunities to dance together. Bennet Gartside was a delightful Simone, not overdoing the drag act, and clogging with delightful vitality, as well as establishing an affectionate on stage relationship with Lise, whilst Luca Acri brought some of the pathos to Alain that I felt missing on the first night. There were no exaggerated wiggles and the sense that here was a shy boy who knew what he ought to do but couldn't quite manage to do it was very touching. A flower show, some tears, some elation: nobody can say goodbye quite like the ballet. Does anybody know if Marquez is intending to dance elsewhere or was this indeed her last on stage outing? 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 Someone mentioned above that McRae is expecting to dance with her somewhere, no specific details given. I wouldn't be surprised if it were Japan, though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VickyPage Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 She said at the stage door that she would be dancing Coppelia with Alex in Spain soon. (I didn't ask her, because I thought it might be a bit invasive, but I was right next to someone else who did.) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangorballetboy Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 One of my pictures from Marquez's curtain call: pic 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiz Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 That's lovely, B3. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAB Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 One of my pictures from Marquez's curtain call: pic Thanks for sharing. Bittersweet evening, very much hope I catch up with Ms Marquez elsewhere sometime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 Wonder if any photos of Roberta's flower throw exist? Not brilliant, from halfway up the amphi, but since you asked: https://imgur.com/a/xmfD1 (and it's not actually the flower throw: for some reason, my front-of-curtain pics all turned out really blurred ) Lovely piccy, thanks, BBB. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted October 24, 2016 Share Posted October 24, 2016 Lovely photo B3....sums up Roberta's joyous and sunny depiction of Lise. ☺ Alison, same goes for yours....thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josephine Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 Roberta Marquez posted on Instagram this lovely film of her farewell curtain call, though not the flower throw: https://www.instagram.com/p/BL5tDfMh7ko/ (To the Moderators - I hope it is OK to post this link, as this is a public Instagram account. Please advise if not.) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferrylights Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 Here is a small video of her curtain call and the flower throw on Twitter: https://twitter.com/morganbferry/status/790837340868575232 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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