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The Royal Ballet: Swan Lake, anticipating the new production, Summer 2018


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17 hours ago, aliceinwoolfland said:

Francesca Hayward told me today that she will be in Acts 1 and 3 of Swan Lake 'doing something', but sadly not the Naghdi performance I'm booked to see!

Sorry to hear that you won't see her in that cast...no idea which cast(s) she will be joining, I suppose?

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Something that Kevin said at the last Ballet Association meeting suggested  that the first night cast, which I assume is going to be the one seen in the streamed performance, was going to be a rather star studded one, or rather one including a lot of dancers drawn from the senior ranks of the company not already accounted for.My guess would be that we are likely to see Hayward in the pas de trois and the Neapolitan dance.


I have been struck by a number of people saying that they like the fact that in this production the princesses from among whom Siegfried is expected to select his bride are to be clearly identifiable as coming from the countries associated with the third act divertissements and that this makes sense. My understanding is that the six dancers who originally appeared at this point in the ballet, and have done so in every production which  the company has staged since it first acquired Swan Lake, have always been undifferentiated. I have to admit that this has never worried me or seemed illogical. Folk tales, myths and plots derived from such sources never answer to the strict rules of logic. All that ever matters it seems to me is that  they should make sense emotionally. if I have thought about the undifferentiated nature of the princesses at this point of the ballet then I have tended to think that the point is that to Siegfried they are of no interest and seem little more than a group of young women who his mother has insisted that he should consider as prospective brides. As  he has already met Odette he has no eyes for any of them hence the undifferentiated costumes. As for the dancers in the divertissement the last RB production made it clear that they were conjured up by Von Rothbart while the production it replaced only hinted at such a connection.

Edited by FLOSS
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11 minutes ago, FLOSS said:


I have been struck by a number of people saying that they like the fact that in this production the princesses from among whom Siegfried is expected to select his bride are to be clearly identifiable as coming from the countries associated with the third act divertissements and that this makes sense. 

 

Of traditional productions I am most familiar with SPW's for BRB.  The princesses (only 3) are associated with the national dances except for the Spanish Dance which is associated with Odile's companions.

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26 minutes ago, FLOSS said:

Something that Kevin said at the last Ballet Association meeting suggested  that the first night cast, which I assume is going to be the one seen in the streamed performance, was going to be a rather star studded one, or rather one including a lot of dancers drawn from the senior ranks of the company not already accounted for.My guess would be that we are likely to see Hayward in the pas de trois and the Neapolitan dance.


I have been struck by a number of people saying that they like the fact that in this production the princesses from among whom Siegfried is expected to select his bride are to be clearly identifiable as coming from the countries associated with the third act divertissements and that this makes sense. My understanding is that the six dancers who originally appeared at this point in the ballet, and have done so in every production which  the company has staged since it first acquired Swan Lake, have always been undifferentiated. I have to admit that this has never worried me or seemed illogical. Folk tales, myths and plots derived from such sources never answer to the strict rules of logic. All that ever matters it seems to me is that  they should make sense emotionally. if I have thought about the undifferentiated nature of the princesses at this point of the ballet then I have tended to think that the point is that to Siegfried they are of no interest and seem little more than a group of young women who his mother has insisted that he should consider as prospective brides. As  he has already met Odette he has no eyes for any of them hence the undifferentiated costumes. As for the dancers in the divertissement the last RB production made it clear that they were conjured up by Von Rothbart while the production it replaced only hinted at such a connection.

 

I understand that the pas de trois dancers from Act 1 reappear in Act 3, as part of the continuity being established for the new production - so my guess is that whoever does the pdt, won't be a character Princess (i.e doing the Neopolitan). Other companies have the 4-6 princesses as leaders of the visiting nationalities - and as Siegrfried's suitors, as it were - and I think this is the way they are going now, from what John MacFarlane was saying at the insight the other evening.

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As far as the Princesses are concerned I always think of them as following strict etiquette in their dress, like the Debutantes at Queen Charlotte's Ball or the Vienna Ball where the girls all wear white and look very similar.  Wouldn't Royalty and the Aristocracy normally wear similar finery, wherever they came from, and it would be lesser ranks who wore National Dress.

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10 minutes ago, Pas de Quatre said:

As far as the Princesses are concerned I always think of them as following strict etiquette in their dress, like the Debutantes at Queen Charlotte's Ball or the Vienna Ball where the girls all wear white and look very similar.  Wouldn't Royalty and the Aristocracy normally wear similar finery, wherever they came from, and it would be lesser ranks who wore National Dress.

 

Very likely true for the 1890s but I don't think it was so clear cut at the time of the "fairytale" setting.  Besides, the Sleeping Beauty suitors tend to be differentiated by nationality, so why not the Swan Lake brides?

 

I think it can be played either way, but personally I prefer to see the extra pzazz a bit of national stereotyping can bring to the costumes.

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20 hours ago, LinMM said:

I would advise most people to take a tube route as close to the ROH as possible.

 

Thanks very much for that. I usually walk but I guess it will be the tube for me. Hopefully it will all be cleared by the evening.

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In Sleeping Beauty the Princes were suitors, vying for the Princess's hand in marriage, so putting on a display of wealth and power, from the lands they rule.  Princesses sadly tended to be more of a commodity, the marriage reinforcing treaties between Kingdoms.  So unfortunately not the same at all!

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So did princes, sometimes.

 

5 hours ago, FLOSS said:

if I have thought about the undifferentiated nature of the princesses at this point of the ballet then I have tended to think that the point is that to Siegfried they are of no interest and seem little more than a group of young women who his mother has insisted that he should consider as prospective brides. As  he has already met Odette he has no eyes for any of them hence the undifferentiated costumes.

 

That's always been my assumption, too.

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1 hour ago, Saodan said:

 

Thanks very much for that. I usually walk but I guess it will be the tube for me. Hopefully it will all be cleared by the evening.

The race starts at 10am so I would think that most of the runners would have finished and that there will be manned crossings at various points. Road closures can be found here

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The concierge at my hotel just off the Strand has responded to my panicked email, and assured me that there will be "numerous monitored crossing points" for pedestrians, so walking should be possible.  While I note that the race's website warns slow runners that after 12:30 they may have to take to the sidewalk, I suspect that the Strand will continue to be closed to vehicular traffic.

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Making my first trip to London since August 2013 for this production. Seeing Nunez/Muntagirov (opening night), Takada/Bracewell, and Lamb/Hirano, as well as Cuthbertson/Clarke in Manon. Will report back on all the performances. To say I'm excited would be a gross understatement!

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4 minutes ago, aliceinwoolfland said:

I have a surprise opportunity to go tomorrow. Pros: it's opening night! And I'm not due to see it for almost a month...cons: it's on a work night, and I'd have to travel to London, and could do without the expense. Thoughts??

 

I'm in exactly the same boat - am leaning towards thinking that I'd regret not being there: it might be another 30 years before I get to go to the opening night of a RB Swan Lake!

Edited by Lizbie1
Update: I've just talked myself into it :)
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9 minutes ago, aliceinwoolfland said:

I have a surprise opportunity to go tomorrow. Pros: it's opening night! And I'm not due to see it for almost a month...cons: it's on a work night, and I'd have to travel to London, and could do without the expense. Thoughts??

Throw caution to the wind and GO!  It should be a very special night with a great atmosphere.  I am so pleased that I have a ticket.  A pox on work!!  :)

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Just now, aliceinwoolfland said:

OK - I'm going! My bank balance is very disappointed in me, but I am very excited! I'm in Amphitheatre A82 - it says 'view obstructed by tier ledge' but the view actually looks pretty good. Can anyone confirm?

 

It's a bit "round the corner" but not bad (and IMO "view obstructed by tier ledge" is preferable to "view obstructed by patron with unnecessarily big hair leaning forward"). Looks like I'll be sitting next to you - see you there ;)

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4 hours ago, aliceinwoolfland said:

OK - I'm going! My bank balance is very disappointed in me, but I am very excited! I'm in Amphitheatre A82 - it says 'view obstructed by tier ledge' but the view actually looks pretty good. Can anyone confirm?

So glad sense has prevailed!  A pox on your bank balance too.....mine would be a lot enhanced if it weren't for my (and my daughter's!) ballet passion, but my life would be much diminished, and that is what I always have to remember when I am depressed towards the end of every month (as someone once said, why is there always so much month left at the end of the money?!).

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I saw the rehearsal with Marianela/Vadim plus Francesca Hayward, Alexander Campbell and Akane Takada in major roles. I'm not going to do any spoilers before tomorrow, but I was extremely happy with everything I saw, the scenery, the costumes. Marianela and Vadim were stunning - and that's at a rehearsal. I'm so happy I have a ticket for tomorrow

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I would love to meet some more 'forumers' tomorrow evening, so methinks a gathering at the bottom of the escalator is in order for those who would like to come and introduce themselves.  :)

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