zxDaveM Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 Hey Dave, what's a wireless? well, the 6Music 'listen-live' app from the BBC website, to be more exact :-) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beryl H Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 The CD is very good, mine arrived from Amazon on Friday, although not complete the running time of 66 minutes is enough, there are 3 excerpts from the Mrs.Dalloway ballet, about half of Orlando and almost all of The Waves. It really has the feeling of the ballet, including Big Ben tolling. Interesting booklet too, it actually names Sally Seton, Septimus Smith and Peter Walsh as being in the first ballet and who are represented by the 3 excerpts. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 How gratifying to see the run is almost sold out - well, it isn't for me, since I've had to dump most of my tickets so far - but good for the company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 Just in case anyone's in the vicinity of the ROH, I've just had to put a front amphi ticket back on sale at the box office I WILL get to see this programme eventually, I hope. In the meantime, your reports will at least help me experience it vicariously (hint, hint!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 Bad luck- this happened to me last season. It is v depressing to hve tickets and then not be able to use them . I shall do my best to evoke the experience for you when I go Alison. There is the live screening on 8th isn't there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted February 4, 2017 Share Posted February 4, 2017 Yes, but there's no guarantee I'll be able to get away for long enough even for that Plus, with 2 30-minute intervals, I don't want to be spending those at my local, so will have to try and go elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petunia Posted February 8, 2017 Share Posted February 8, 2017 I'm going to see the cinema relay tonight. Anybody passing the camera in the Floral Hall, please wave to me. Thank you 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted February 8, 2017 Share Posted February 8, 2017 Have fun, Petunia I won't be joining you (in spirit, I mean), I'm afraid - and at the rate things are going I shall miss all the Encore screenings as well I'm just hoping some nice person decides to screen it on the BBC later on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted February 8, 2017 Share Posted February 8, 2017 I'm going to see the cinema relay tonight. Anybody passing the camera in the Floral Hall, please wave to me. Thank you I will do my best to photobomb the camera, Petunia!! I am wearing a dark blue blouse with little blue and red flowers on it. Enjoy! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted February 8, 2017 Share Posted February 8, 2017 I'll wave (metaphorically speaking) from the cinema! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tatiana Posted February 8, 2017 Share Posted February 8, 2017 First time watching Woolf Works, and it's the first ballet that's ever reduced me to tears. I'm absolutely in love with the score and bought the CD on the night. Sarah Lamb's performance in the last act was my particular favourite part, (although she is the first dancer I ever watched, so I'm a little biased!) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loulabelle Posted February 8, 2017 Share Posted February 8, 2017 We are watching the live screening, was moved to tears by the first act and just couldn't get enough of the second! Can't wait for the third now. Love the score, design, costumes and performances by dancers that have surprised me with how suited they are to the choreography. Will definitely be one I'll watch live next time. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted February 8, 2017 Share Posted February 8, 2017 I see the score is by Max Richter who is behind the music for the current BBC Drama series....I'm completely hooked on....Taboo( would make a great ballet) I'm looking forward to seeing this for the first time on Saturday afternoon....and even though am most keen to see Ferri I am struck by how many stars of the ballet will be performing in this.....hadn't noticed properly before for some reason..... Some years back now got interested in the Bloomsbury set because I'd read a book about Lady Ottiline Morrell ....who was a fascinating character.....and came to her via another book about Bertram Russell.....what an age.....However just couldn't get to grips with Virginia Woolf.... or rather her writings. Have never managed .....yet....to get into any of her books. But if others can .....then a trip to her final home in Rodmell in East Sussex ( near Lewes) from where unfortunately she committed suicide is well worth it in the summer when you can sit in her lovely garden and listen to people reading extracts from her books. Perhaps after the performance I might feel I can give her books another go.....but meanwhile will do a bit of homework for the ballet so can at least hopefully get the gist of what's going on on the stage!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loulabelle Posted February 8, 2017 Share Posted February 8, 2017 The third held me enthralled. I want to watch it again! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMC Posted February 8, 2017 Share Posted February 8, 2017 Sadly only about 20 or so of us at Shepherd's Bush - but everyone absolutely riveted and no-one moved until after all the curtain calls. For various reasons hadn't been able to see this live and now can't wait to go and see both casts on Monday and Tuesday next week. As someone who finds MacGregor a bit 'diminishing returns' (loved Chroma and Infra and then found myself asking: is that the one with the light bulbs? Is that the one in Afghanistan etc?) I really didn't expect to be completely carried away by Woolf Works and, like the posters above, moved to tears (even if I didn't always know what was going on!) All the dancers were fantastic and Alessandra Ferri just wonderful. So wonderful to see her back with the Royal Ballet. One of my favourite screenings so far. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shya100 Posted February 8, 2017 Share Posted February 8, 2017 This was wonderful. The first act had me in tears. I almost feel though it would work being reversed. The middle act is all about life and perhaps should go first with Tuesday in the middle andistance I theneed, now last. I feelse that is the one that encompasses everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odyssey Posted February 8, 2017 Share Posted February 8, 2017 So enjoyed the live streaming . Extra treat in the second interval was Maggie Smith reading extracts from The Waves & from Woolf's letters which set the atmosphere for Tuesday. What an enthralling triptych this ballet is. So many moments I want to revisit and savour. The cast were all exceptional it would be wrong to single anyone out. I also loved the staging and the score. I'd be interested to know how people who have seen a live performance felt this screening compared. I have rarely been so moved by anything I have seen in a cinema broadcast. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted February 8, 2017 Share Posted February 8, 2017 (edited) It was a very different thing seeing it in the cinema, rather than live. In the theatre it is much more of a spectacle, so in a way one is distanced. The live screening made it seem much like three chamber pieces, which was good in a way-the relationships made in dance were endlessly fascinating and involving close to. Yet, in the theatre, it was like being in the middle of the whole thing. The fourth wall dissolved. In the cinema, not so. I noticed this especially during the end of the second-in the theatre we were surrounded by lasers as if in a net or web, and at the very end, the rolling waves piling up and toppling towards us were overwhelming. This was much less so in the cinema. I was just as moved, in a different way. I am a lifelong great lover of Woolf. Not so of MacGregor! But with this work he really enthralled me when I first saw it, and now having seen it close up I really think it is, not only far the best thing he has done, but a masterpiece. But, I do feel the wonderful dancers on whom he made the work must take a lot of credit too-as I believe Wayne would be the first to agree. Their individual characters are preserved in the choreography. Ferri, Lamb, McRae, Bonelli, especially and Watson-on totally amazing form tonight, his Septimus was shattering and brilliant. Hayward was most beautiful in the first piece I thought. It was just such a shame that applause began so quickly at the end- in the theatre there was just that pause, perhaps 10 seconds, while we all sat silent and took it in, which feels appropriate at such a moment. Deeply moving.Reminded me almost of Song of the Earth. Edited February 8, 2017 by Mary 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petunia Posted February 8, 2017 Share Posted February 8, 2017 I feel exactly the same as you, Odyssey. Just got home from the cinema and I'm so excited I can't go to sleep. This was my first McGregor experience and I'm thrilled! I wish I could see it all over again right now. The sheer beauty of the work is so striking. I've seen a lot of ballets where a big effort was made, but very rarely it comes together as a whole. I have my head full of images which will return again and again for a long while, I'm sure. So sorry I missed you Sim, but there were no cameras at the Floral Hall this time! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petunia Posted February 8, 2017 Share Posted February 8, 2017 It was a very different thing seeing it in the cinema, rather than live. In the theatre it is much more of a spectacle, so in a way one is distanced. The live screening made it seem much like three chamber pieces, which was good in a way-the relationships made in dance were endlessly fascinating and involving close to. Yet, in the theatre, it was like being in the middle of the whole thing. I often wondered whether in the theatre one could experience more of the space, as the screen lacks depth, especially in the second act. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quintus Posted February 8, 2017 Share Posted February 8, 2017 I was in a distant seat at the ROH, and wish I'd splashed out again for a better one, as I think this benefits from close viewing (which the cinema streaming doubtless gave). I saw essentially the same cast as last time it was on - wonderfully moving performance from Alessandra, a sinuous and powerful Osipova I could have watched all night and with both Francesca Hayward and Beatriz Stix-Brunell looking particularly radiant as well as dancing beautifully. Ed Watson and the guys also impressed, well, everyone was on great form really.. I guess the cinema will have struggled to capture the three distinct projected layers created by the lasers, which was one thing my eagle's nest was well suited to appreciate! Nice to see Wayne come out at the end too, for what was a very appreciative audience reaction to the evening. Who was the other person he brought on stage - Max Richter? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petunia Posted February 8, 2017 Share Posted February 8, 2017 Yes, that was him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted February 8, 2017 Share Posted February 8, 2017 I've not seen WW in the theatre and only decided to go to the screening yesterday. I just absolutely loved everything about it! I loved the music, the sets, the costumes and, most of all, the outstanding performances. I think this piece lent itself particularly well to screening - the lighting and laser effects in Becomings looked spectacular to me on the screen. The sound in the cinema I was in was superb. I hadn't done any background reading before I went so knew nothing about the first and third acts but I could feel the waves of emotion coming off the screen and was very moved by both sections. I had seen Orlando in the cinema years ago so had more of an idea about that and I thought the abstract interpretation worked perfectly. I definitely want to see it in the theatre next time it is revived. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petunia Posted February 8, 2017 Share Posted February 8, 2017 Janet, you must read "Orlando", it's witty and funny and I think it's Woolf's most accessible book, I'm sure you'd like it. The movie was great, too. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 I saw this live this evening and enjoyed it more than in the last run. In particular, there seemed to be fewer longueurs in Becomings and I wondered whether the choreography had been tweaked. As I think I may have said last time, I felt that Becomings perhaps should have ended after Osipova's wistful solo. I wondered whether some sections of Becomings would be too dark on the screen and how the horizontal triangles of coloured light would come across but it seems that the lighting / lighting effects worked well in the cinema. It is very dramatic to have the lasers at the end crisis-cross the auditorium but I seem to remember them being more multi-colored last time. One other thing that I wondered about (and I know that we've discussed this subject before) was whether Osipova's duet with Watson, which involved quite a few lifts in which her legs were splayed directly towards the audience, made uncomfortable viewing. How close up were the shots of Osipova's crotch? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 I don't know whether it's further up this thread, but in case it isn't, here's a link to the discussion thread of two years ago: http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/9684-the-royal-ballet-woolf-works-spring-2015/?hl=%22woolf+works%22 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 I am so pleased it worked so well in the cinema. It was a wonderful atmosphere in the House and no wonder, it was a flawless performance. I dragged a friend along kicking and screaming because she hates everything McG has done since Infra so has never bothered to see WW. By the end she was thrilled and couldn't thank me enough for taking her along! She said it restored her faith in him. I love it more each time I see it. In the first run I wasn't very enamoured of Act 2 but after multiple viewings I really enjoy it now. And what a coup getting Ferri to dance. Her silent, deeply expressive face says so much more than words ever could. Petunia, I did look for those cameras as I was ready for my close-up, but as you said, there weren't any!! There goes my 15 seconds of fame! A wonderful evening all round. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanartus Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 (edited) Wonderful live-relay of WW in Barbican. About 2/3 full. Audience totally caught up in the drama. Parts 1 & 3 benefited from close-ups of dancers' faces - the direction was excellent and never disturbed the flow of the actual dance. For me the revelation was the Orlando middle section. As a rabid McGregor fan I was loathed to admit feeling that it was a tad overlong, but somehow on the screen it rushed by. And Osipova's final solo had an emotional dimension to it that had passed me by when I saw it at ROH. I didn't want it to end! But the whole cast was amazing...and as for Ferri at the end: broken, shattered and totally glorious. Edited February 9, 2017 by Vanartus 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penelopesimpson Posted February 9, 2017 Author Share Posted February 9, 2017 It was a very different thing seeing it in the cinema, rather than live. In the theatre it is much more of a spectacle, so in a way one is distanced. The live screening made it seem much like three chamber pieces, which was good in a way-the relationships made in dance were endlessly fascinating and involving close to. Yet, in the theatre, it was like being in the middle of the whole thing. The fourth wall dissolved. In the cinema, not so. I noticed this especially during the end of the second-in the theatre we were surrounded by lasers as if in a net or web, and at the very end, the rolling waves piling up and toppling towards us were overwhelming. This was much less so in the cinema. I was just as moved, in a different way. I am a lifelong great lover of Woolf. Not so of MacGregor! But with this work he really enthralled me when I first saw it, and now having seen it close up I really think it is, not only far the best thing he has done, but a masterpiece. But, I do feel the wonderful dancers on whom he made the work must take a lot of credit too-as I believe Wayne would be the first to agree. Their individual characters are preserved in the choreography. Ferri, Lamb, McRae, Bonelli, especially and Watson-on totally amazing form tonight, his Septimus was shattering and brilliant. Hayward was most beautiful in the first piece I thought. It was just such a shame that applause began so quickly at the end- in the theatre there was just that pause, perhaps 10 seconds, while we all sat silent and took it in, which feels appropriate at such a moment. Deeply moving.Reminded me almost of Song of the Earth. Oh, Mary, I so agree with you. Just got home after a long slog back from ROH. This is the third time I've seen it and it just gets better and better. It is, for me, a masterpiece and Wayne McGregor and I think Max Richter coming on at the end was another gift. I just love it. And, as for Edward Watson, what can one say other than completely absolutely frigging fantastic! Off to bed now. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penelopesimpson Posted February 9, 2017 Author Share Posted February 9, 2017 I've not seen WW in the theatre and only decided to go to the screening yesterday. I just absolutely loved everything about it! I loved the music, the sets, the costumes and, most of all, the outstanding performances. I think this piece lent itself particularly well to screening - the lighting and laser effects in Becomings looked spectacular to me on the screen. The sound in the cinema I was in was superb. I hadn't done any background reading before I went so knew nothing about the first and third acts but I could feel the waves of emotion coming off the screen and was very moved by both sections. I had seen Orlando in the cinema years ago so had more of an idea about that and I thought the abstract interpretation worked perfectly. I definitely want to see it in the theatre next time it is revived. Janet: You absolutely must see it live. I think the cinema experience is terrific but for this particular work, I am leaning towards saying that the theatre is better. Wonderful night. I went with a ballet novice and he was knocked out by it - talked for an hour on Waterloo Bridge afterwards. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nycitybird Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 I wasn't able to go to the cinema screening but I hope they'll do a DVD of this as I saw at the opera house and would love to see the dancers' faces close up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colman Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 So that was wonderful: I'm even more jealous of my wife who's seeing the matinee on Saturday. I got something close to the correct narrative from the first - I checked against a plot summary of the boo afterwards, made no sense of the 2nd act and just luxuriated in the third. I think it'll need to be seen a few more times to get it all. One other thing that I wondered about (and I know that we've discussed this subject before) was whether Osipova's duet with Watson, which involved quite a few lifts in which her legs were splayed directly towards the audience, made uncomfortable viewing. How close up were the shots of Osipova's crotch? There was *nothing* left to the imagination, but I doubt I would have noticed if we hadn't discussed this before. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted February 9, 2017 Share Posted February 9, 2017 Olivia Cowley has put some photographs of the costumes on her blog Ballet Style: http://www.ballet.style/journal/2017/2/2/woolf-works-costumes-up-close 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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