Jan McNulty Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 THE ROYAL BALLET ANNOUNCES GUEST ARTISTS FOR 2012/13 SEASON Principal of the Mikhailovsky Ballet, Natalia Osipova, will make her Royal Ballet debut in Swan Lake later this year. She will join the Company for three performances on 10, 13 and 25 October, dancing alongside regular Royal Ballet Principal Guest Artist Carlos Acosta. Tamara Rojo and Sergei Polunin will return to the Royal Opera House for three performances on 12, 15 and 21 February 2013. Rojo, who leaves the Company at the end of the current season, will dance three farewell performances of Marguerite and Armand partnered by Polunin, both having danced the ballet to critical acclaim in October 2011. Director Designate of The Royal Ballet, Kevin O’Hare said: “I am delighted to be able to invite Natalia Osipova to appear with the Company for the first time next season and I know that she is really looking forward to appearing in our production of Swan Lake and to working with Carlos Acosta. I am also delighted that, after her long and distinguished career with the Company, Tamara Rojo is able to accept my invitation to return to make a final farewell to Covent Garden audiences and reprise her performance of Marguerite partnered, as before, by Sergei Polunin.” Tickets for Swan Lake are already on sale at www.roh.org.uk. Public booking for Marguerite and Armand opens on 17 October. ---Ends--- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 So, Rojo's not coming back for anything else Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted July 19, 2012 Author Share Posted July 19, 2012 I'm glad for ENB's sake that she is only doing M&A. ENB is a major company and she is apparently intending to dance as well as directing. This is a major undertaking and I'm very glad she won't be spreading herself too thin with other guest performances. These performances should give an opportunity for the RB and its audience to give her an appropriate valedictory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Thanks for posting this, Janet. I might not have seen it otherwise. I've just booked to see Osipova. I wasn't going to see the RB's Swan Lake but I just had to see her to see what all the fuss is about! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I'm glad for ENB's sake that she is only doing M&A. Well, yes, understandably. I'd just had the impression that she was doing more than just M&A with the RB next season, that was all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I had booked all three of the TBC Swan Lakes as I thought they would probably be Rojo ... but say how delighted I am that it is Osipova .... Now if only Vasiliev would guest later in the year in Bayadere .... The season would be entirely complete ... Is this not Osipova's debut as Odette/Odile? I believe she has not done it with ABT. THIS IS GREAT NEWS .... and notes yet another valuable sea change from the previous administration ... That and the varied casting for the Period 2 schedule bodes extremely well for the RB's future health methinks. Onwards ... with a smile ... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annamicro Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Is this not Osipova's debut as Odette/Odile? I believe she has not done it with ABT. She danced it with her Company, the Mihailovskij. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 THIS IS GREAT NEWS .... and notes yet another valuable sea change from the previous administration ... Why? They weren't entirely averse to getting in Russian guest artists when needed, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 (edited) Thanks Annamicro for the update on Osipova/SL. What a thrill it will be to see her working in close tandem to the RB company. Alison, it's just that I'd been told that Dame Monica had not been entirely enamoured of importing Russian guests ... Though, of course, I do remember Obratzova being brought in to guest at a point when, I believe, injury was high ... so, as you suggest, this may not be ABSOLUTELY accurate. Edited July 19, 2012 by Meunier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Whilst I'm very pleased to have the opportunity to see Osipova, I do wonder whether her engagement is a little unfair on the Royal Ballet's ballerinas. People have previously said on this forum that the principals don't have enough performances and there must be some less senior dancers who were hoping to make their debuts. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beryl H Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I think it had to be someone really special to make up for the loss of Tamara Rojo, especially at the start of the season, I thought it may have been a Cuban dancer but am thrilled it's Natalia Osipova! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Newcombe Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I find it depressing that the RB do not consider that there is anyone suitable in the ranks below principal to dance the roles of Oberon and Odette/Odile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangorballetboy Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I find it depressing that the RB do not consider that there is anyone suitable in the ranks below principal to dance the roles of Oberon and Odette/Odile Me too. I wonder whether Siegfried had anything to do with the need for a guest... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mallinson Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Who, from the junior ranks of the company, would be suitable to cast against Acosta for his three performances? Can't see that you could do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I wonder if anyone knows if there is the same kind of comment when Alina, Tamara, Carlos or Johann (all current or recent RB principals) have guested with ABT (a company of similar size) - which I believe they have all done for more performances and in a greater variety of roles than either Marcello or Natalia Osipova will ever have done with the Royal Ballet. I wonder does Osipova get the same kind of comment when she guests (which she has done on a number of occasions with the Paris Opera Ballet or, say, in Munich? Please forgive my ignorance in this regard. I should think such cultural exchanges will - or at least I would hope it might - prove beneficial for ALL. Certainly ALL members of the Royal Ballet have had many more opportunities to be featured in foreign tours and - without hesitation - on international cinema screens than many of their (even national, given the celebrated international make-up throughout the entirety of the RB roster) peers in other much celebrated balletic climbs.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 What I did find surprising - to be honest - is the return of Polunin as a 'guest' - in light that is of his VERY recent behaviour in the VERY face of this VERY company. I would have thought some other RB principals - even guests - who had been - how does one put it - in a more respectful standing - might well - with justification - feel aggrieved. (Of course, it would be an entirely different matter if Mr. Polunin was to appear as a member of another unit company upon the stage of the ROH. That I could understand). If the RB management felt compelled to look for an 'outside' guest in this regard - even one who had proven himself in this role ... might they not have considered Nicholas La Riche? I wonder if Guillem came back now for a Manon would there be a similar concern? Forgive me. I do understand in the majority aspect this is but a rhetorical consideration, which is perhaps where it is best to be lodged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I wonder if anyone knows if there is the same kind of comment when Alina, Tamara, Carlos or Johann (all current or recent RB principals) have guested with ABT (a company of similar size) - which I believe they have all done for more performances and in a greater variety of roles than either Marcello or Natalia Osipova will ever have done with the Royal Ballet. Maybe not, but then of course ABT relies far more on the pulling power of outside guest stars than the Royal does. Especially now, when it is short on numbers of principals of the (perceived?) quality its audiences have got used to. Personally, I'd like to see them concentrating a bit more on developing what they have in their own ranks, but there you go ... (And I'd also have preferred not to see the Royal putting its eggs in so few baskets - if that's actually the right metaphor - too) I don't actually remember Rojo or Acosta having guested with ABT, but then I don't pay much attention to these things, so I may have missed them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Whilst I'm very pleased to have the opportunity to see Osipova, I do wonder whether her engagement is a little unfair on the Royal Ballet's ballerinas. People have previously said on this forum that the principals don't have enough performances and there must be some less senior dancers who were hoping to make their debuts. I agree with Beryl: you wouldn't be putting on a "less senior" dancer with Acosta, not when people were expecting someone of Rojo's status (although did booking take place so far back that it wasn't known that she was leaving?). As we discussed when the casting first came out, the one valid option would have been Nuñez, had it not been for the fact that she was dancing the matinee to one of the evening performances (or was it vice versa?). So you either change the casting around and upset Nuñez fans, or get in a guest artist. I must go and look for reviews of Osipova's Odette/Odile debut: I don't remember them being outstandingly good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I find it depressing that the RB do not consider that there is anyone suitable in the ranks below principal to dance the roles of Oberon and Odette/Odile I'm sure they do. However they are trying to fill the shoes of Rojo and not put on a matinee cast I fancy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Others will no doubt disagree, but what makes a really great performance, for me at least, in a ballet like Swan Lake or Romeo and Juliet is the partnership between the two leads. I feel that an established partnership, even with less starry dancers, will usually produce a more satisfying performance than a partnership put together at short notice with the guest often having to contend with an unfamiliar production. Whilst I'm looking forward to seeing Osipova, unlike others I hope that guests are not going to become a regular feature of the RB schedules. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scaramouche Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 I am really appalled at the importation of guests this early in the new directorship. It shows a basic lack of faith in the company’s dancers, and must surely be bad for company morale. Laura Morera was shamefully neglected this season and would have been an ideal replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Morera - as Odette/Odile, when she's never danced the role before? There are several leading dancers I'd describe as "shamefully neglected" this season . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Bravo to O'Hare I say. I'm sure he has lots of faith in the permanent company and the announcement of one major star doing 3 nights is hardly abandoning the flock. It will also generate excitement for some and those who bought tickets for Rojo will not be shortchanged by some much much loved choice of a few fans only. Back in the early 90's Dowell brought in guests and I thought it worked well. I'm not campaigning for a full ABT model but a few guests on stage, as in life elsewhere, enriches us all (or most of us anyway!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Sorry - just another angle on Rojo going. Overall a principal has left and not been replaced as such - nobody has been promoted. This fact alone means there are more roles available for a variety of others - some senior and some coming through. For those who want the roles this is a 'good' position - better then the position they were in before. However it doesn't mean all Tamara's slots have to go to insiders and a few being given to somebody of Osipova's powers seem no bad thing in the overall mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Overall a principal has left and not been replaced as such - nobody has been promoted. And probably just as well, really. In the same way that people would have been reluctant to be perceived as "stepping into Darcey Bussell's shoes" when she retired, so with Rojo, I would suspect. Not that either of them are/were "replaceable", of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAB Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 If Rojo returns as guest then she's not entirely leaving and I imagine she won't break her dancing links to the company entirely. I appreciate that this is basically the fan site of the Royal Ballet, but perhaps it's time to recognize the actual limited ability of so many of the dancers compared with other companies. There is talent there to be sure, though some of it unacknowledged, but on the whole the company is in the doldrums. Perhaps the presence of a dancer like Osipov will act as some sort of spur. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 Aileen started an interesting topic about guest dancers a few days ago. It might be good to add your comments there: http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/1496-guest-dancers/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangorballetboy Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 If Rojo returns as guest then she's not entirely leaving and I imagine she won't break her dancing links to the company entirely. The use of "farewell performances" in the press release suggests that M&A will be the only performances Rojo has with the company. It's pretty obvious that this is to ensure Rojo can have a proper farewell not overshadowed by the retirement of Dame Monica Mason. I appreciate that this is basically the fan site of the Royal Ballet Errr, no it's not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 MAB, I don't think that you can fairly say that the RB is in the doldrums. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 I should just perhaps mention that the reason I mentioned the imagined possibility of Vasiliev with Alina in Bayadere ... was because he did perform with her as Solar in ABT this summer ... and as it is the same (Makarova) production albeit a different physical surround and costumes ... I thought this would be an easy guesting assignment - would benefit all - and not rob any valued home team members of any due attention ... In such a case, I should have thought it would be a 'win/win' kind of thing ... but, then, who am I? (Answers on attractive postcards only please.) I also wanted to say that I used to enjoy seeing Makarova dance in London with either the Royal or (as then) LFB because you saw different sides of these international artists given the different stimuli that was enriching/being enriched in the immediate surround. Of course, she often danced with Dowell (then himself an ABT principal) - who was, then, of course frequently a guest artist with the Royal as well. (Was his presence retarding the development of others ... I never looked at it that way. It's most interesting. Perhaps it did .... What great dancer did we miss? Do you remember?) How lucky everyone was in my eyes. well, certainly I felt most fortunate when I have been blessed in seeing the Royal's current (or recent) principals in New York ... especially when they are dancing with different partners. How I remember those wonderful performances with Darcey Bussell of Agon at the New York City Ballet - as well as Midsummer's Night Dream. Surely such fine artistry belongs to world as a whole. I have always believed that TRULY it was for the benefit of ALL ... no matter from where these extraordinary artists may have originally hailed ... and certainly it brought home for me the fact that the literacy we were celebrating in Ballet was, indeed, an international language. What of those performances of Oneign with Maximova, Edokimova (sp?) or Haydee at the Coli? I don't remember anyone suggesting then that the home principals were being cheated in any way by the extraordinary presence of such. Were they? Certainly I felt enriched by seeing/experiencing them ... and, I say that knowing that I had been one of those rare ones who had been so, so fortunate to see them ALL in different locales. That certainly would have only been a pipe dream for, say, many in my grandparent's generation. Now, on 25th July, we can watch a live simulcast of the DQ with Osipova and Vasilev for free on our computers ... Times they have - and I expect always will - keep changing. Boarders are there - or so it seems to me in many instances - to dissolve. Still, of course, the Boarder Control staff are intending to go out on strike in England and Wales the day before the opening of the Olympics. I remember myself being a company member at Straford Ontario MANY, many years ago. I was in a fabulous production of Richard III with Brian Bedford, Maggie Smith, Maggie Tyzack and several notable others. It was a WONDERFUL experience. It was to be broadcast live on the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). The week of the broadcast Canadian Equity said that all British performers would have to be replaced by their Canadian understudies. There was much debate and - in the end - even though the broadcast trucks were outside the theatre and all cameras placed - the CBC DID broadcast Richard III ... only they used a BBC recording with Ian Holm and Glenda Jackson. Did I feel that opportunities had been enhanced by that? In no way, shape or form ... and I WAS a company member. I will say that being on the stage with the extraordinary artists WAS a unique education for me that I have long profited from. That, I knew, spoke for itself ... and would (indeed has) throughout the world where my work fortunately has taken me. Bless all on this board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 I'm not opposed to guest dancers. I just think that they should not be brought in to the detriment of the company as a whole. I agree that there are probably good reasons for these particular guest appearances but I think that the number of such appearances should be limited otherwise it could be very demoralising for the company dancers. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 (edited) Post removed because it was a duplication. Edited July 20, 2012 by aileen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 I appreciate that this is basically the fan site of the Royal Ballet, It's not and never has been. There is a lot of thought, care and knowledge from many here. Nobody will agree on what the best companies in the world might be like and that variety is there to be appreciated and enjoyed. I certainly agree that RB could be better, but I doubt many of us would agree on what would make it so. And in other places dance goers are inevitably having similar debates in the lust for more of what the other man has. I can make a robust point with the best but we all might do better then cast slurs on the community here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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