Jillykins Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 Terrific performance last night. I won’t repeat previous views just say Hayward was amazing. Bonelli such a safe partner their confidence in each other gave us some heartbreaking moments. However no other Des Grieux has performed his solo before Manon as well as Ed Watson. The Demi point balance needed has caused some unsteadiness. However Bonellis lovely line and expressive face, especially in act three compensated for any wobbles. Maybe I was a bit tired but Act two seemed to go on a bit, not the dancers fault. Hayward seems to wear quite soft pointe shoes and her feet are beautiful extensions of her legs and seemed noiseless. So much talent in the company ( loved David Yudes beggar chief) so much to look forward to. Looking forward now to Swan Lake Insight on May 10th! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 Thanks for that great piccie from Monday Richard LH much appreciated. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 I may be imagining it, but was there somewhere, possibly last run, where Hayward discussed her interpretation of Manon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mallinson Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 10 minutes ago, alison said: I may be imagining it, but was there somewhere, possibly last run, where Hayward discussed her interpretation of Manon? Here. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninamargaret Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 I think the yardstick for the interpretation of Manon herself must be Jennifer Penney's performance. She always looked so interested in everything going on, always ready to try anything or anyone new and always a look of the cat who had all the cream! It made her final act so touching with the realisation, too late, that De Grieux was the love of her life. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAB Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 Although people disagreed with me when I mentioned this before, in a Ballet Association talk many years past. Ms Penney claimed the role was largely created on her after Sibley backed out in the early stages of creation only changing her mind much later when the final form of the ballet was apparent. Everyone will have a favourite Manon and both Seymour and especially Markarova seemed to live the role on stage, but I think Penney gave us more of the choreographer's intentions than anyone else. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
penelopesimpson Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 1 hour ago, Jillykins said: Terrific performance last night. I won’t repeat previous views just say Hayward was amazing. Bonelli such a safe partner their confidence in each other gave us some heartbreaking moments. However no other Des Grieux has performed his solo before Manon as well as Ed Watson. The Demi point balance needed has caused some unsteadiness. However Bonellis lovely line and expressive face, especially in act three compensated for any wobbles. Maybe I was a bit tired but Act two seemed to go on a bit, not the dancers fault. Hayward seems to wear quite soft pointe shoes and her feet are beautiful extensions of her legs and seemed noiseless. So much talent in the company ( loved David Yudes beggar chief) so much to look forward to. Looking forward now to Swan Lake Insight on May 10th! Yes, the beggar chief was terrific. Didn't know who it was but wonderful stage presence and quick-silver movements 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninamargaret Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 25 minutes ago, penelopesimpson said: Yes, the beggar chief was terrific. Didn't know who it was but wonderful stage presence and quick-silver movements He was a terrific Puck in the last run of The Dream - his fast turns and neat footwork were amazing. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 46 minutes ago, MAB said: Although people disagreed with me when I mentioned this before, in a Ballet Association talk many years past. Ms Penney claimed the role was largely created on her after Sibley backed out in the early stages of creation only changing her mind much later when the final form of the ballet was apparent. Everyone will have a favourite Manon and both Seymour and especially Markarova seemed to live the role on stage, but I think Penney gave us more of the choreographer's intentions than anyone else. Is there film of Penney dancing Manon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 There's a whole DVD, isn't there?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard LH Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 2 hours ago, Jillykins said: However no other Des Grieux has performed his solo before Manon as well as Ed Watson. The Demi point balance needed has caused some unsteadiness. I didn't see Watson in the role but to me Campbell (his replacement) looked rock steady in this solo. What I particularly liked, though, is the way he acted it. He made the solo a sort of gift of his heart to Manon (Takada) - he kept it right in the context of the story, rather than (as seems to happen in some solos) just perfoming a random presentation of skill to impress the audience. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jillykins Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 Wish I had seen it! Campbell is a great favourite of mine. I did admire his Lescaut, a really unpleasant character or was he a weak character? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthE Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 14 minutes ago, Richard LH said: I didn't see Watson in the role but to me Campbell (his replacement) looked rock steady in this solo. Campbell replaced McRae. Bonelli replaced Watson... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 1 hour ago, Sim said: Is there film of Penney dancing Manon? I have a videotape of Penney/Dowell so I'm sure there must be a DVD around as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 2 hours ago, Richard LH said: I didn't see Watson in the role but to me Campbell (his replacement) looked rock steady in this solo. What I particularly liked, though, is the way he acted it. He made the solo a sort of gift of his heart to Manon (Takada) - he kept it right in the context of the story, rather than (as seems to happen in some solos) just perfoming a random presentation of skill to impress the audience. My point exactly I spent years - even, dare I say it, in the case of Dowell in the video - thinking that dancers were performing it too suavely for someone who was supposed to be completely inexperienced with women and falling for one for the first time. So I was pleased, in 2007, when first Kobborg and then Watson - I assumed based on a suggestion from their coach - broke up the phrasing a bit so that it really looked as though they were making it up as they went along. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard LH Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 3 hours ago, RuthE said: Campbell replaced McRae. Bonelli replaced Watson... Of course....sorry for the confusion ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyTaylor Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 I was there last night and wholeheartedly agree with all the comments about Francesca Hayward's performance. This was on another plane from anything seen from her previously, and bearing in mind the standard which she has already set, this was super special. I'd like to mention Thomas Whitehead's Monsieur GM. I felt the dynamics were so much stronger between Hayward / Campbell and GM than in any other performance in which Hayward has featured and for me, this made a big difference overall. I'm still not completely sold on Bonelli as Des Grieux but he certainly gave it his all with increasing intensity as the performance progressed. All these Manons should carry a health warning. I can't sleep afterwards as I am so excited! 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnS Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 Just back home from last night’s and a visit to the Royal Ballet School. I so agree with bridiem, penelopesimpson and others. Francesca Hayward’s Manon is utterly compelling. I think her Manon not only realises how controlling she can be over so many men but that she so enjoys her sensuality. Even in the pas de too many to count in Act 2 she luxuriates in her power. Last night was originally Francesca's opening night this run but in replacing Laura Morera by all accounts she gave a stunning performance on opening night and I thought her performance last week tremendous. But last night was astonishing. I think Federico Bonelli and Alexander Campbell absolutely complement her - all such fine dancers, fabulous technique, so secure in what they do, which enables them to develop such complete characters. There were a couple of thoughts. I do wonder if in Act 3 I’ve seen Manons who in their death throes seem as if they are given a temporary reprieve and match the exhilaration of De Grieux, desperate to escape the swamp with Manon (Federico Bonelli was magnificent). For me Francesca is perhaps a shade too much the victim near death. I think I recall Sylvia Guillem’s complete abandon in approaching that final pdd but recognise I may have got things a little exaggerated in my mind and will look forward to checking the footage. Secondly I can't help but feel how disappointing it is that Francesca is not cast as Mary Vetsera in the Autumn Mayerling. She is absolutely made for the role and I can't think of anyone I would prefer to see dance that role at this time. My understanding was that Mayerling was being brought back fairly soon after its recent run so there would be opportunities for a number of dancers to develop new roles and I don't think that has been realised in the casting. For once I think Kevin O’Hare has been rather too conservative. As regards other roles in last night’s Manon I was very impressed with David Yudes Beggar Chief - how strongly this role has been cast in the Manons I’ve seen. I found Thomas Whitehead a bit too reliant on a sneering look of disapproval in Act 1 but much stronger in Act 2 and truly malevolent at the end of that Act. Bennet Gartside as always was a commanding, appalling gaoler. I do agree with the comments about the inappropriateness of applause before the fall of the final curtain and the conductor has brought the music to an end. It’s a problem and I wonder if it’s getting worse? But then how many Tristan's/Mahler 9s/Song of the Earths have also been marred over many years? I’m afraid I do get a bit irritated by those audience members who seem determined to be first in shouting their approval. I look forward immensely to Francesca et als last performance this run but before that the cinema relay and I’ve managed to get a ticket for the Akane Takada, Alexander Campbell, James Hay performance on Saturday having missed out last Saturday with emergency plumbing problems. I’ve very much taken RichardLH’s and Sim’s exhortations to grab a ticket. The hotel I normally stay at is full, Sunday travel is horrendous, and with the 7pm start, I realised I could actually catch a coach back to Penrith so I should be home for breakfast. It will make for an interesting day/night trip. I’m slightly concerned about catching the coach from Victoria and wondered if anyone with a standing Stalls Circle place would be prepared to swap for Act 3 - I have Stalls Circle C33. It would be a massive favour for me - I don't like dashing away at the end of a performance which seems very disrespectful to the artists and potentially disturbing for others but I’m afraid on this occasion I’ll have to slip away pronto. If any way is able to help, please do get in touch. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RuthE Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 25 minutes ago, JohnS said: Even in the pas de too many to count in Act 2 she luxuriates in her power. The other day when chatting with a friend I christened it the pas-de-parcel... 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatC Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 7 hours ago, ninamargaret said: I think the yardstick for the interpretation of Manon herself must be Jennifer Penney's performance. She always looked so interested in everything going on, always ready to try anything or anyone new and always a look of the cat who had all the cream! It made her final act so touching with the realisation, too late, that De Grieux was the love of her life. Jenny Penney was my first Manon and will always be my yardstick - a wonderful dancer 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 2 hours ago, JohnS said: Secondly I can't help but feel how disappointing it is that Francesca is not cast as Mary Vetsera in the Autumn Mayerling. She is absolutely made for the role I couldn't agree more - and I suspect someone else thinks so, too 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard LH Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 9 hours ago, JohnS said: I look forward immensely to Francesca et als last performance this run but before that the cinema relay and I’ve managed to get a ticket for the Akane Takada, Alexander Campbell, James Hay performance on Saturday having missed out last Saturday with emergency plumbing problems. I’ve very much taken RichardLH’s and Sim’s exhortations to grab a ticket. I am very pleased you got a ticket for Takada/Campbell but in making my exhortation I didn't realise you were also cramming in Hayward/Bonelli twice more, as well as the cinema ! I hope you find the extra trip worth it and I will look forward very much to your review aftert the 5th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard LH Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 17 hours ago, JohnS said: I can't help but feel how disappointing it is that Francesca is not cast as Mary Vetsera in the Autumn Mayerling. I have only seen a DVD of Mayerling and I'm not yet quite sure what to make of it. It all seems pretty bleak and desperate from the outset, with pdds based on aggression, lust, madness, and hysteria rather than expressions of beauty, sensuality and romance. Plus I wasn't initially engaged by the score (although I know it often takes several hearings to get into unfamiliar music). I expect I will go, probably for Watson, Osipova, McNally, Lamb, Hayward, Nunez, Campbell, Saunders and Avis - how often do we get 9 principals all together in the same performance ! -but I am not expecting it to overtake Manon in my list of favourites. Re. Hayward's casting , it seems to be a choice between being thrown around by Rudolf as Princess Stephanie, and surviving, or being thrown around by Rudolf as Mary Vetsera, for a bit longer - and then getting shot. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 It may take you a while, Richard - I think it took me about 10 viewings before I really started to like it! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 1 hour ago, Richard LH said: I have only seen a DVD of Mayerling and I'm not yet quite sure what to make of it. It all seems pretty bleak and desperate from the outset, with pdds based on aggression, lust, madness, and hysteria rather than expressions of beauty, sensuality and romance. Plus I wasn't initially engaged by the score (although I know it often takes several hearings to get into unfamiliar music). I expect I will go, probably for Watson, Osipova, McNally, Lamb, Hayward, Nunez, Campbell, Saunders and Avis - how often do we get 9 principals all together in the same performance ! -but I am not expecting it to overtake Manon in my list of favourites. Re. Hayward's casting , it seems to be a choice between being thrown around by Rudolf as Princess Stephanie, and surviving, or being thrown around by Rudolf as Mary Vetsera, for a bit longer - and then getting shot. Yes, by its very nature it is bleak and desperate. On the other hand, it contains some of the best, most interesting and most difficult pdd known to Man, and for that alone it is well worth persevering. Also because it highlights how well a dancer has to dance and act to pull off a MacMillan narrative role convincingly. Johan Kobborg famously said that by the end of Act 1 he always felt as if he had already danced a three-act ballet. If you are depressed and disturbed at the end, it has done its work....but I always walk out of a performance in awe of how human beings can be so beautiful whilst portraying something so ugly, and that uplifts me. Somewhere on this thread I posted up a link to an interview I did with David Wall in 2005. He created the role of Rudolf and talked to me at length about that experience, so well worth you having a read. If you can, get your hands on the South Bank Show documentary about the making of Mayerling, starring Wall, MacMillan and Lynne Seymour (the men smoking in the rehearsal studio...imagine that now!!). There is also a programme about MacMillan on BBC4 this coming Sunday night, which will most probably discuss it as well. Do give it a try....it is yet another example of the versatility of our beloved art form! 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blossom Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 I really wanted to enjoy Mayerling having seen the fabulously dramatic suicide scene performed by Acosta/Morera at his final farewell. I didn’t enjoy it at all and also didn’t enjoy Song of the Earth at all so thought I had a general dislike for Macmillan until I saw Manon again after many years and just fell in love with the choreography. Wonderful that the POB version is on Sky Arts at the moment - I could just keep watching it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnS Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 1 hour ago, Richard LH said: Re. Hayward's casting , it seems to be a choice between being thrown around by Rudolf as Princess Stephanie, and surviving, or being thrown around by Rudolf as Mary Vetsera, for a bit longer - and then getting shot. I think there is a great deal more to Mary Vetsera, how she is a more than willing partner to the suicide, egging on Rudolf, and can be played as being more than a match for him. Princess Stephanie is a victim throughout, her lot in life as accepting wife to an appalling Crown Prince, and knowing her place in the suffocating Hapsburg aristocracy. It's because Mary Vetsera is a much more complex character, with ever more demanding PDDs, that I regret Francesca Hayward is not given the opportunity in the Autumn run. No doubt she will be cast as Mary the next time round but that might be another 3 years or so and, as Mary was 17, I just think it would have been fabulous to have cast her now. I hasten to add, not she will be too old at the next revival and I'm sure will be astonishing! 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninamargaret Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 2 hours ago, Richard LH said: I have only seen a DVD of Mayerling and I'm not yet quite sure what to make of it. It all seems pretty bleak and desperate from the outset, with pdds based on aggression, lust, madness, and hysteria rather than expressions of beauty, sensuality and romance. Plus I wasn't initially engaged by the score (although I know it often takes several hearings to get into unfamiliar music). I expect I will go, probably for Watson, Osipova, McNally, Lamb, Hayward, Nunez, Campbell, Saunders and Avis - how often do we get 9 principals all together in the same performance ! -but I am not expecting it to overtake Manon in my list of favourites. Re. Hayward's casting , it seems to be a choice between being thrown around by Rudolf as Princess Stephanie, and surviving, or being thrown around by Rudolf as Mary Vetsera, for a bit longer - and then getting shot. Twhe documentary about Mayerling is on You Tube and is definitely required viewing. I found, the first time I saw it i got confused by who all the various women were, so it helps if you know the story. I admit to loving the whole ballet- choreography, music, story, designs They're so much of a piece, to my mind a pretty well perfect piece of work. I first came to it via the DVD with Mukhamedov, whose performance on DVD at any rate came over as somewhat over the top. Far prefer the Watson. Having seen all four casts last time it was shown I'm not going to get drawn into arguments about which I enjoyed most! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 Anyone want to get back to discussing Manon? It's doing very nicely in the cinema. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiz Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 Oh, that bedroom pas de deux! Sublime and made me cry. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliceinwoolfland Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 Not as convinced by Lamb’s portrayal as Osipova’s (she seems a bit more girlish), but I suspect a matter of personal taste! Hirano is fabulous as Lescaut. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiz Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 I don’t know how Sarah Lamb made herself look about 15/16 when she walked on stage for her first entrance but she did. Muntagirov and Hirano are superb and I find Gary Avis’ portrayal of Monsieur G.M very interesting. The last time I saw it in the cinema, the dancer who played him was genuinely besotted with Manon and hurt by her betrayal. There’s a really mean and possessive edge to Gary’s portrayal. Bravo! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliceinwoolfland Posted May 3, 2018 Share Posted May 3, 2018 Lamb has won me over - once I adjusted to her portrayal I thought she was very expressive, and she conveyed the tragedy of the third act so well. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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