The Royal Ballet: New Swan Lake Production, Summer 2018

[Guest]

19 minutes ago, capybara said:

I thought that Jeffrey Taylor of the Express was once a dancer?

 

Also Deborah Weiss (Dance Europe) has a background in dance, I believe.

 

Right on both counts, Capybara. Also Amanda Jennings (Dance Europe) and Emma Kauldar (Dance Europe). I believe Jann Parry also trained as a dancer.

[Blossom]

8 minutes ago, loveclassics said:

I loved it but being too old to be a millenial did not understand it all.  What on earth is a 'horocrux'?

 

Linda

 

Harry Potter reference. ‘A Horcrux is an object in which a bad wizard or witch has hidden a fragment of his or her soul for the purpose of attaining immortality’

 

A hilarious review.

 

Oh and I am 2 years to old to be considered a millenial...

Edited May 29, 2018 by Blossom
To note that I am not a millenial

[Guest]

37 minutes ago, Geoff said:

 

Wasn't Neil Norman a film critic when he was younger?

 

Barry Norman was a film critic, no idea about Neil!

[alison]

8 hours ago, Xandra Newman said:

Difficult to describe Richard, and I know what you want to say re. speed of music, but her mime was just very clear, neat, precise and very readable.

 

OTOH, did I see the mime for "mother" and the bit just before it?  I saw the tears, but thought the "mother" bit comes after that?

[Geoff]

18 hours ago, Darlex said:

Barry Norman was a film critic, no idea about Neil!

 

Yes Barry was (mostly) on tv. Here is a little more on Neil (no relation I think), assuming we can trust Wikipedia that is:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Norman

[alison]

7 hours ago, capybara said:

The integration of Benno into the pas de trois works well but, otherwise, there is altogether too much of him and I'm sorry to say that Campbell is the least attractive of the dancers I've seen in the role. Ella was a joy yesterday afternoon.  I know that Siegfried is feeling gloomy in Act 1 but surely he could have danced with the corps instead of Benno. Irrespective of who the dancer is, it's really quite a relief when he is finally ordered away................but, oh dear, there he is back in Act 3 dressed (again) somewhat incongruously and diverting attention from the principal players.

 

Not all the pairings of Siegfried's sisters have been propitious and we had two not altogether successful  ones yesterday (Heap/Gasparini and Stix-Brunell/Mendizabal). OK, so it can't be Hayward/Takada or Kaneko/O'Sullivan at every show but style and physical shape should surely be a factor in casting - and they are the Prince's younger sisters after all.

 

I like the link between the Princesses and the national dances but would have preferred to see that carried through so that the Spanish Princess led the Spanish Dance etc. And I still don't feel that the tutus sit well with the waltz which should imply swirling skirts.

 

^ This.

 

47 minutes ago, Geoff said:

 

Wasn't Neil Norman a film critic when he was younger?

 

 

33 minutes ago, capybara said:

I thought that Jeffrey Taylor of the Express was once a dancer?

 

Gah!  Right newspaper, wrong critic.  Thanks!

[loveclassics]

57 minutes ago, Blossom said:

 

Harry Potter reference. ‘A Horcrux is an object in which a bad wizard or witch has hidden a fragment of his or her soul for the purpose of attaining immortality’

 

A hilarious review.

 

Oh and I am 2 years to old to be considered a millenial...

Thanks very much.  I do try to keep up but haven't seen my grand children recently.

Linda

Edited May 29, 2018 by loveclassics
typo

[penelopesimpson]

11 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

I don't think that's what was meant. "Allowing" can mean "enabling", and the excellent partnering that Kish supplied in order to do that doesn't exactly grow on trees.

Maybe we're spoilt with RB but I take quality partnering as a given and expect so much more .  I wonder if any posters who saw Muntagirov could explain what was so fantastic about his performance in this rather downplayed role?  I so wish I had seen it.  The critics almost to a man rated it highly.

[JohnS]

26 minutes ago, penelopesimpson said:

I wonder if any posters who saw Muntagirov could explain what was so fantastic about his performance in this rather downplayed role?

 

You might like to have a look again at the posts from opening night on page 1 - Ian started a new thread for Swan Lake performances and many of the posts explain the magic of that performance.  Fortunately we already have the Swan Lake Insight, if you can see it, where the Act 4 PDD is rehearsed by Marianela and Vadim.  Vadim's performance on opening night was so much more than the incredible Act 3 solos and that Insight captures the depths of the sorrow expressed in this wonderful PDD.

 

Hopefully we'll all be able to see something of that opening night performance in the cinema with the same cast.

[capybara]

1 hour ago, penelopesimpson said:

  I wonder if any posters who saw Muntagirov could explain what was so fantastic about his performance in this rather downplayed role?  I so wish I had seen it.  The critics almost to a man rated it highly.

 

I saw this post just as I opened up my copy of Dance Europe. I know that we're not allowed to quote at length so here are three snippets from the six or so sentences written  there about Muntagirov:
 

"..............he has the aristocratic stature of a future monarch".

" The purity of line, the musicality and the depth of understanding he invests in all his work allows the audience to read his every thought.

".............tender partnering......"

".............dazzled in the Black Swan pas de deux..................."

 

There is a lot in similar vein elsewhere. It was an opening night performance of a lifetime.

 

[JohnS]

On 27/05/2018 at 07:55, Lizbie1 said:

It looks like some forum members weren't the only ones not to spot the final "vision" of Odette on opening night: this is from the review in today's Sunday Times.

 

"Scarlett opts for Odette’s self-sacrifice and Siegfried’s surviving to retrieve her body from the lake in lonely grief. Presumably, on the first night, the choreographer himself sensed a vacancy: two days later he added in a final vision of Odette, living on in spirit."

 

Those of us who did see it must have imagined it

 

Sorry to go back to this but I see on the Royal Opera House comments:

"Also liked the addition of the vision of Odette right at the end which wasn't there on opening night."

I don't know if the review helped shape the poster's comment but I wonder if David Dougill will make a prominent correction next time he has a review published or if the Sunday Times will publish a correction?  I really don't like the idea of fake news gaining credence.

[Rob S]

10 minutes ago, JohnS said:

 

Sorry to go back to this but I see on the Royal Opera House comments:

"Also liked the addition of the vision of Odette right at the end which wasn't there on opening night."

I don't know if the review helped shape the poster's comment but I wonder if David Dougill will make a prominent correction next time he has a review published or if the Sunday Times will publish a correction?  I really don't like the idea of fake news gaining credence.

 

Surely if it was a mistake they’d just update the online version of the review.

[Sim]

John, did you put that poster on the ROH website straight about this?!

[JohnS]

Thanks Sim - just have done (under Simon Smith) but awaiting moderation.

[cjp]

I saw Muntagirov's performance on opening night, as well as the Naghdi and Ball debuts.  I can only echo what others said about his dancing that night, it was heart stopping and the beauty of it brought tears to my eyes.  I don't have the technical vocabulary to describe it I'm afraid, but I will never forget it.  Having seen the production since, I think his performance that evening did disguise the relative lack of prominence of Siegfried, particularly during the first Act.

 

Yasmine Naghdi was spellbinding on Saturday and I think I preferred her interpretation to Osipova's, who was undeniably brilliant, of course, but in a completely different style.   Yasmine's fragile innocence as Odette contrasted so well with the evil sophistication of her Odile and built to a very moving conclusion despite her partner not quite matching her level of performance.  I didn't think that the wobble in the fouettes was an issue as she recovered quickly.   I am still a little sad on a purely selfish level that we didn't get to see her make this debut with Matthew Ball.

.

Matthew also made what I thought was a very strong debut; his dancing improves nearly every time I see him and  and I didn't find his acting lacking,  just that even his usually strong stage presence was slightly overwhelmed by Osipova's starriness.  I think that this partnership was an interesting change in dynamic from that with Naghdi - maybe it did have that touch of Marguerite and Armand about it!

 

Kudos to those on Saturday who danced twice, on what was a very warm day just for the audience, let alone the dancers!  I Thank you to those who run this forum and to all who contribute, I have learned so much about ballet here and always enjoy reading all the comments, some of which are incredibly professional.  

 

 

 

 

[Anna C]

Welcome, cjp. ☺️

[fashionista]

20 hours ago, bridiem said:

 

Interesting comments, Saodan. I would say that the role of the man in classical ballet changed a long time ago and that being only an understated support to the ballerina is no longer enough. I don't think that being neat, tidy and assured is enough to carry a principal role in a major company (just about any of the men in the RB could do the role if that was all that was required). I personally don't like dancers who are what I would call showy; but I need to see why they are there.

Without any shadow of a doubt, Prince Siegfried should be able to partner his ballerina strongly and impeccably.  However, his function is not based on that alone.  In order to give the ballet dramatic integrity and balance, it is essential that he should convince us all through strong and convincing acting and dancing.  I regret to say that at Monday's matinee, the balance between Naghdi and Kish was one-sided - it should not have been!!!!  Naghdi's performance was a dazzling and moving interpretation, but sadly, Kish was no more than a cypher figure.  I do not want to criticise unduly, but judging by Monday's show, he was miscast as he showed us no emotion at all.  Yes, he was very supportive of Naghdi, but his own acting and dancing was not of a standard one would expect from a Royal Ballet principal.  As has been said countless times o the Forum, what a pity the lovely Naghdi was not partnered by Ball.  It is so surprising and perplexing as they have debuted together in R&J, Beauty and Giselle  - why, oh why, not for Swan Lake?!!!  Mr KOH, please think again !!!

[cjp]

Thank you for the welcome Anna       With regard to the Naghdi/Ball partnership, or lack of it in Swan Lake, I agree.  It did strike me on Saturday that the partnership between Ball and Osipova was looking like it might become established - they were certainly noticably appreciative of each other at the end.

 

There was more connection between them than Yasmine had with Nehemiah Kish, but not quite the level of dramatic interest that Naghdi and Ball generate together, for me anyway.  On Saturday night Osipova tended to dominate proceedings (natural given the role,  but somewhat overshadowing Ball) whereas the dynamic between N/B feels to me like a more equal exchange, a true give and take.  The Naghdi/Ball debut in Romeo and Juliet was electrifying and every debut since has seen them grow together as artists into something really special. 

 

I was speculating on the reasons for the change and thought perhaps they or KOH feel they need to more dance leading roles with others in order to develop as artists?  Or that given the time needed for rehearsals for major roles, it was easier for everyone to mix things up a little?   I suppose ultimately the RB needs to please the audience with high quality dancing and productions - and that certainly happened both times on Saturday in spades - and to retain its major stars.  Despite this I hope we will see Naghdi and Ball dance together again. 

[Xandra Newman]

33 minutes ago, cjp said:

I was speculating on the reasons for the change and thought perhaps they or KOH feel they need to more dance leading roles with others in order to develop as artists?  Or that given the time needed for rehearsals for major roles, it was easier for everyone to mix things up a little?   I suppose ultimately the RB needs to please the audience with high quality dancing and productions - and that certainly happened both times on Saturday in spades - and to retain its major stars.  Despite this I hope we will see Naghdi and Ball dance together again. 

 

We have all been speculating as to why Mr. O'Hare felt the need to partner Naghdi with Kish and Osipova with Ball, and not Naghdi with Ball.

Naghdi didn't need the Kish partnering (with all my respect to Kish) for her artistry to grow; dancing the role of O/O in itself will have assisted in her growing artistry (I can only imagine what her O/O will be in a few years time!). The only one who will/may have benefitted from this is Ball: upping his partnering skills dancing with Osipova. 

Edited May 30, 2018 by Xandra Newman
spelling

[Geoff]

28 minutes ago, cjp said:

 It did strike me on Saturday that the partnership between Ball and Osipova was looking like it might become established...On Saturday night Osipova tended to dominate proceedings

 

Maybe you mean Monday night?

[JohnS]

3 hours ago, Rob S said:

 

Surely if it was a mistake they’d just update the online version of the review.

 

Thanks Rob.  The problem with just updating an online version (if that's what the Sunday Times does)  is that the mistake has already been set in motion and risks becoming an accepted fact: 'it must be true, I read in the Sunday Times'.  That still remains a risk as a reader of the uncorrected review may not see a correction but they are more likely to read a correction if displayed prominently, for example in a future ballet review, than going back to reread a review on the web just in case it's been amended.

 

My penny worth is now on the Royal Opera House web and I've taken the opportunity to highlight David Dougill's (and others') missed sighting of Odette's spirit, hopefully diplomatically.

[Rob S]

12 minutes ago, JohnS said:

 

Thanks Rob.  The problem with just updating an online version (if that's what the Sunday Times does)  is that the mistake has already been set in motion and risks becoming an accepted fact: 'it must be true, I read in the Sunday Times'.  That still remains a risk as a reader of the uncorrected review may not see a correction but they are more likely to read a correction if displayed prominently, for example in a future ballet review, than going back to reread a review on the web just in case it's been amended.

 

My penny worth is now on the Royal Opera House web and I've taken the opportunity to highlight David Dougill's (and others') missed sighting of Odette's spirit, hopefully diplomatically.

 

With the internet as it is it maybe the corrected review will get more people reading it than the old one. I find myself reading reviews of things from several years ago.

 

Has anyone emailed the reviewer to tell them they were wrong about the vision being added after the opening night?

Edited May 30, 2018 by Rob S

[cjp]

I did mean Monday, oops! 

[JohnS]

35 minutes ago, Rob S said:

Has anyone emailed the reviewer to tell them they were wrong about the vision being added after the opening night?

 

Sorry Rob I don't know - I'm not a Sunday Times reader/subscriber (apart from an occasional ballet review) having given up on the Sunday Times decades ago.  I was suggesting the Royal Opera House communications team take whatever steps they think are needed for a correction which I'm hoping they've already done.

[JohnS]

Just now, cjp said:

I did mean Monday, oops! 

 

For some of us every day's a Saturday so it made sense to me.

[RuthE]

When you have an office job and the Monday is a Bank Holiday, it's hard to tell the difference! 

[cjp]

Thank you, I prefer this excuse to it being a senior moment!

[penelopesimpson]

9 hours ago, JohnS said:

 

You might like to have a look again at the posts from opening night on page 1 - Ian started a new thread for Swan Lake performances and many of the posts explain the magic of that performance.  Fortunately we already have the Swan Lake Insight, if you can see it, where the Act 4 PDD is rehearsed by Marianela and Vadim.  Vadim's performance on opening night was so much more than the incredible Act 3 solos and that Insight captures the depths of the sorrow expressed in this wonderful PDD.

 

Hopefully we'll all be able to see something of that opening night performance in the cinema with the same cast.

Thanks for that

[JohnS]

6 hours ago, Rob S said:

Has anyone emailed the reviewer to tell them they were wrong about the vision being added after the opening night?

 

I looked again at David Dougill's review and there is one comment from 'BalletFan' (3 day's ago) correcting the assertion that a change was made after the opening night and suggesting the reviewer should have checked.  So thank you BalletFan if you read this.

 

I still rather hope David Dougill apologises/makes a correction in his next review.

[Saodan]

On 29/05/2018 at 15:51, capybara said:

I'm sorry to say that Campbell is the least attractive of the dancers I've seen in the role. Ella was a joy yesterday afternoon

 

I found this as well.

 

Having been very impressed by Ella at the matinee (what a season he is having) I was excited to see that Campbell would be dancing in the evening. I was surprised that I found his interpretation to be less engaging, because I normally like Campbell very much.

 

Reading MRR’s post above, I think that Ella, like Sambé, performed barrel leaps rather than doing Campbell’s double tours for the ending of the act 1 variation. Is anyone able to confirm this? I wish I had a head for choreography, but alas I am reliant on the incredible depth of knowledge here.  Also, is one considered to be more technically challenging than the other? I think I prefer the barrel leaps, so it may be the choreography behind my reaction rather than Campbell himself.

Edited May 30, 2018 by Saodan

[Lizbie1]

Yep, Ella did indeed do barrel jumps, I noticed them myself. 

[Coated]

Sadoan, I pretty much agree. I don't think Campbell was particularly engaging Monday night, but the uneven casting of the sisters probably didn't help the overall impression of the pd3. Neither does the Nutcracker outfit in act 3 which makes some dancers look like lion tamers who wandered in from Zippo's travelling circus.

 

So far I'm having a blast with the swan lakes. No one has yet come quite near the buzz of the opening night, but Monday was one of those ballet days that I'm likely to remember. Naghdi's debut was fantastically promising, giving a thorough glimpse of the delights that are in store for RB watcher over her hopefully long career with the company. I though act 1&2 were still a bit tentative or beset by first night nerves, but for me Naghdi arrived as a fully fledged principal in act 3, and broke my heart a little in act 4. Whilst I would love to see a Naghdi /Ball Swan Lake, I suspect that O'Hare knew what he was doing when he cast her with Kish. He was a gentle foil to her sassy Odile and I actually liked his characterisation (though not his solos), standing close-ish to the stage with decent binoculars might have helped. I think that his secure partnering allowed Naghdi to focus on mastering the choreography. There were a few occasions where it was noticeable that this is not a part she has danced umpteen times, but the wonderful thing was to see how the odd little hesitation or wobble (watching from side stalls I probably caught an angle that made it look like she is about to fall out of her fouettés) didn't really faze her, she just recovered and made it look natural and elegant. Equally, Ball could focus on his dancing and characterisation, and not worry too much about perfect partnering with Osipova smoothing over slight slip-ups in that department with verve.

 

Benjamina Ella's Benno definitely deserves a shoutout, he managed to be both elegant and lively, and I thought he had a really beautiful line throughout. His barrel turns added energy to the role and I think it worked really well - would be curious to see what it looks like if he were to dance the same choreo as other Bennos.

 

I loved the high octane evening performance. As other posters have mentioned, Ball seems to improve with each performance and despite knowing this, I was yet again surprised at just how much he exceeded my expectations. I hope he doesn't spend his entire waking life in the studio pushing himself hard towards reaching his goals, but I can't think of another explanation for his constant rapid improvements unless it involves crossroads and witches. I thought they had ample chemistry and loved the way Osipova's Odette leaned into him for a rare moment of human warmth and contentment whilst he held her like the most precious being he'd ever encountered. Of course Osipova dominated the performance somewhat, she is a larger-than-life performer at the height of her power and would put most experienced principals in the shade, whilst Ball was dancing his first swan lake, but he sure didn't drown in her wake. They created an exhilarating, truly exciting Swan Lake together. I love the energy and passion Osipova brings to pretty much any role, and last Monday's show definitely took me to my happy place. Turns out I like pique turns a lot more than I thought. Amongst all the excitement and drama, the one moment that stayed most vividly with me is Ball's Siegfried throwing himself onto his knees with such passion and vehemence to beg Osipova's Odette to not sacrifice herself that a) I had a lump in my throat when she wrenched herself away heartbroken and b ) I could literally hear his hands connect with her outstretched (now possibly bruised?) arms.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 30, 2018 by Coated

[MRR]

20 hours ago, penelopesimpson said:

I wonder if any posters who saw Muntagirov could explain what was so fantastic about his performance in this rather downplayed role?  I so wish I had seen it.  The critics almost to a man rated it highly.

For starters, one of the greatest men's variations in Act III ever done.  That is Siegfried's big moment in Swan Lake, and Vadim knocked it out of the park.  Technical perfection in every step  highlighted by the brilliant (and difficult) sequence of rebounding double tours, culminating with an impeccable pirouette to the knee.

 

Dramatically, Vadim's Siegfried has a solitude and innocence which makes him the perfect target for Rothbart and, eventually, Odile.  Act I in Scarlett's version is far more a stately military affair than a birthday party; besides Benno, it is repeatedly made clear that Siegfried has no friends.  The Prince's loneliness was completely captured by Vadim, especially in his soliloquy with those gorgeous, yearning arabesques. 

 

But what truly sealed the performance was his running out in search of Odette in Act IV.  Shattering and devastating, this was one of those moments when you realize you are watching an uncommon artist.

Edited May 31, 2018 by MRR