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Mayerling - and Spring public booking


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Anyway, I suspect that the calls for a recording are more about Watson than Osipova. The fact that he happens to be cast alongside six other principles is a bonus. 

 

Nah... ;-)  I mean Watson is wonderful in the role, no question, but he has danced it for years and I'm sure most of the ROH regulars have seen him as Rudolf at least once, if not more, plus he has a recording already. I personally think there's nothing more exciting than a debut, especially from a ballerina who generates as much fervour as Osipova, and their partnership will be electric.

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Nah... ;-)  I mean Watson is wonderful in the role, no question, but he has danced it for years and I'm sure most of the ROH regulars have seen him as Rudolf at least once, if not more, plus he has a recording already. I personally think there's nothing more exciting than a debut, especially from a ballerina who generates as much fervour as Osipova, and their partnership will be electric.

Well, speaking only for myself, I have bought tickets for all three of Watson's Mayerling because it is him.  Yes, of course I've seen him before - but that's precisely why I want to see him again.  Actually, I'm rather annoyed it's Osipova because although it will undoubtedly be exciting to see what she makes of it,  it is her presence as well as his that has made the tickets impossible to obtain.  Based on her Manon, I would like to have see Francesca Hayward.

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David's comment about the scarcity of recordings of Sylvie Guillem is a good point.  It's all very well ballet fans lobbying the ROH for a recording of Osipova in Mayerling but if the artist herself refuses permission, what can the company do?  I note that her partner has stated that he feels dancers are undervalued so she may well support that view and intends to control her career to her advantage, rather than the company's. 

 

I have a certain sympathy with that approach but I agree that the deciding factor for most people would be the dancer portraying Rudolf.

 

Since I've already seen Watson, I'm looking forward to Bonelli's interpretation.  He too, may not have many performances left in this demanding role.  And Morera, I'm sure, will be truly exciting.   Have they danced together in this before?

 

Linda

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I seem to recall that when Morera was promoted to Principal dancer in 2007 she said that she had been told that she would still be needed in the roles which she had been dancing up to that point.Think back to 2007 for a moment when the company had so many star principals each of whom expected to be given three performances in every full length ballet which is part of the standard repertory. It did not leave much room for a new principal except in those areas of the repertory which are less popular among the stars because they are so damned difficult. Morera spent a lot of time before and after her promotion as something of an Ashton and Royal Ballet historical repertory specialist,a bit like Belinda Hatley did, while the blazing stars in the company's firmament danced roles in which they could emote and roles which allowed them to display their technique rather than those which tested it.Much as I admire Rojo she really was not much of an Ashton dancer, Ondine perhaps but that is atypical of his choreography and she struggled with the Fonteyn role in Birthday Offering.

 

Just as I think that the company is going to miss Yanowsky when she steps down at the end of the season I am sure that Morera's departure, which I hope is a long way off, will leave something of a gap in the company's ability to perform a wide range of ballets as well as it now can.Morera may not have the perfect body for classical ballet but she does far more with what God gave her than many more perfectly shaped dancers manage to do. I hope that she lasts as long as Leanne Benjamin did and that she continues to be offered new roles as long as she wants them.

 

I assumed that Kevin expressed the intention of not having as many principal dancers as there had been in the past because of the difficulties which a large number of  of principal create for the developmental opportunities for the junior ranks. If all the principals assume that they have the right to dance the lead at every revival of ballets like Romeo and Juliet and Manon it does not leave much room for anyone else.Now if senior dancers can be persuaded to forego the odd role,perhaps drop the ones to which they are not suited and to dance roles which were once performed as the norm by principal dancers such as Myrthe and the Lilac Fairy the company might become an organisation which is really capable of renewing itself. If management can't manage to change the attitude of senior dancers about the suitability of certain roles for dancers of their seniority then it will be caught in the same situation of not being able to renew itself at regular intervals in perpetuity.  If Kevin really wants to keep everyone happy and give the younger dancers an opportunity to shine he needs to programme more early Ashton such as Les Rendezvous and Les Patineurs and more of MacMillan's classical choreography and fewer performances of full length works which only give a bare handful of dancers an opportunity to dance. It will be interesting to see what he does. Those who want to see their favourite dancers appear in everything regardless of their suitability for specific roles need to recognise that there is a payoff between allowing everyone at the top of the company to dance everything they want to, and retaining talented dancers and giving the next generation its chance to progress

 

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If Kevin really wants to keep everyone happy and give the younger dancers an opportunity to shine he needs to programme more early Ashton such as Les Rendezvous and Les Patineurs and more of MacMillan's classical choreography and fewer performances of full length works which only give a bare handful of dancers an opportunity to dance.

 

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I am sure that most posters on this forum would agree with this, Floss, and that we would add our votes from an audience perspective as well as that of the development of the younger dancers but, regrettably, how likely is it that the the inevitable 'bums on seats' considerations will be ditched in favour of more imaginative scheduling?

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Has Morera never danced it before?

 

I am shocked!  She really has been under used in the past, hasn't she?

She certainly has. Even more unbelievable is that she has never danced Juliet. Given what a great dance actress she is, and how she has excelled in other MacMillan ballets, I find it incomprehensible that she has never been given this role.

 

Conversely, I am thrilled that she is finally getting Vetsera and can't wait to see what she makes of it. Her Manon is one of my favourite interpretations ever.

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I managed to nab 3 opening night Mayerling tickets (central amphi) this morning - and seated together nonetheless! There were also returns for SCS and affordable side amphi so keep checking!

 

Thanks for the tip! I paid an outrageous amount for 2 tickets but this is probably the last chance I'll have to see this ballet for a while and it will be the first time for my hubby so I though it was worth splurging on a great cast :-)

 

I hadn't realised the the matinees are quite a bit cheaper - they aren't always. Wish I could stretch to another afternoon.

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At the risk of sounding like Bruce Wall :), bless you, DQF!  Thanks a million.  But what on earth were they doing putting them on so late in the evening?  I'd been refreshing the page all day - unless my cache had got stuck, or something.  If they'd done it a few hours earlier, I could have exchanged the Beauty tickets I've just returned :(

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A heads-up for those attending the Saturday May 13 evening performance. Although the website says it starts at 715 pm, I just got a ticket confirmation that says 7 pm. I was also booking at the restaurant so I had them double-check the curtain-up time for me and they confirmed it's 7 pm.

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A heads-up for those attending the Saturday May 13 evening performance. Although the website says it starts at 715 pm, I just got a ticket confirmation that says 7 pm. I was also booking at the restaurant so I had them double-check the curtain-up time for me and they confirmed it's 7 pm.

 

The website says 7 o'clock.  Saturday evening ballet performances are almost always 7 o'clock starts.

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At the risk of sounding like Bruce Wall :), bless you, DQF!  Thanks a million.  But what on earth were they doing putting them on so late in the evening?  I'd been refreshing the page all day - unless my cache had got stuck, or something.  If they'd done it a few hours earlier, I could have exchanged the Beauty tickets I've just returned :(

The Jewels ones are now on despite not being there this morning!

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They're like bar stools with footrests, and they're available (sometimes) after the others because they are behind the wheelchair spaces, so the box office only knows how many to release once they know how many wheelchairs are booked for that performance.

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