The Royal Ballet: New Swan Lake Production, Summer 2018

[Petunia]

They should've read this forum more thoroughly.

[Rob S]

22 minutes ago, alison said:

... but unfortunately they missed out on the bit about not being able to see Siegfried's legs against the floor ...

 

Maybe they really hated Siegfried being in it at all (being complete Bennomanes) so not being able to see him easily is a compromise 

Edited June 14, 2018 by Rob S

[LinMM]

Final bits on this Swan Lake and agree with Sim's comments above.

I quite liked the fourth Act in the end....except for just a bit too much of Siegfried lying around as mentioned. It was darkish but I could see most of it reasonably clearly from row E in the Amphi...maybe just a tad lighter?

But there was some really nice choreography here and ...well...it was all the girls together to get the better of that Rothbart in the end!

I loved the way Rothbart sort of disappeared ...crumpled into nothing as such into the rocks and there was some final pathos in Siegfried carrying Odettes body from the lake.....would have preferred in her swan tutu ....but imagine if this was with an exceptionally good partnering this ending could be really moving ....even if there's a preference for me at any rate of that old ending ....going off together having made the sacrifice together into the distance in a swan like carriage!! A little more symbolic significance I think.

First an omission don't know why but completely forgot to mention the pas de trois when writing about Act one!!

On Monday as many will know by now this was Sambe Mayara Magri and Isabella Gasparini and was excellent. I could not take my eyes of Magri ....though both are lovely dancers as Isabella has such an expressive little  face.....but Magri had that something extra a real ease strength and grace in her dancing which is truely relaxing to watch....she never seems hurried ...I hope she will go all the way as there's more to come from her I'm absolutely sure ...but SO much talent around at the moment who knows what will happen. 

 

So so overall mostly pretty okay but I would do away with the Prologue at the beginning because without even more of a back story we know she has been changed into a swan .....don't really need to see this ....then there would be no problem with the dress versus tutu thingy at the end of the ballet.

A little too much Benno ...not cut completely because as I said it's nice to have some more dancing for a solo male ...but it seems it is at the cost of the main character Siegfried. For example we see the pas de trois couple again in Act three....perhaps another important court visitor....brother of one of the princesses?? ....could dance with the sisters in this Act.....probably looking for a wife too!! 

And one thing I would love is for that lovely Siegfried solo (Dowell danced it beautifully) to be put back in. I can imagine Muntagirov would be great in this.

 

So for me Monday was a wonderful occasion but not one of those "extra special" occasions. It requires two to tango to come into that category for me but has left me wanting more .....so looking forward to next week....and one final time ..Naghdi was divine as Odette! 

 

 

 

 

[Richard LH]

2 hours ago, alison said:

 

Name me an RB principal who isn't?

Whoa up there, Alison...! Alice found Kish "noticeably technically weaker" than Muntagirov in one particular production. I am no technical expert but I very much doubt that those who are, would  judge all other  RB principals (Watson, McRae, Campbell, Bonelli, et al) noticeably technically weaker than him in everything!

Of course the overall performance also depends very much on acting/characterisation, partnering, interaction with other cast members, and projecting to the audience.

Edited June 14, 2018 by Richard LH

[alison]

I actually changed "principal" to "Siegfried" before I hit Send, Richard.  Unfortunately, for some reason the software seems to have ignored it.  I've corrected it now.

[aliceinwoolfland]

My review of Swan Lake with Naghdi is up! 

 

https://aliceinballetland.wordpress.com/2018/06/14/review-swan-lake-royal-ballet-11-6-18/

[bridiem]

16 minutes ago, aliceinwoolfland said:

My review of Swan Lake with Naghdi is up! 

 

https://aliceinballetland.wordpress.com/2018/06/14/review-swan-lake-royal-ballet-11-6-18/

 

Great review!

[Richard LH]

1 hour ago, aliceinwoolfland said:

My review of Swan Lake with Naghdi is up! 

 

https://aliceinballetland.wordpress.com/2018/06/14/review-swan-lake-royal-ballet-11-6-18/

Despite being privileged to see 5 performances of this SL  I was unfortunately unable to include one with Naghdi, so it is great to hear universal praise for her debut.

I wholly agree that Hayward (with Campbell if possible) must debut as O/O in the next run, and I am hoping this could be as early as  Autumn next year, as surely SL will be run again in the 2019/20 season.

[Xandra Newman]

I think Principals are in a position to suggest roles to the AD they would like to dance as well as roles they do not want to dance. 

In an interview in 2016 

 https://www.standard.co.uk/go/london/theatre/francesca-hayward-a-sugar-plum-life-a3213211.html

Hayward stated: 

“I feel in control when I’m on stage,” says Hayward. “Something kicks in and I feel calm.”

That tunnel vision doesn’t work so well when she’s not in character.

“If it’s Frankie in a tutu, rather than Frankie being another person, then I get more nervous because you haven’t got anything else to hide behind.” 

From what she said in that interview I am under the impression that she rather prefers, and feels more comfortable, dancing character roles such as Manon, Giselle, Princess Stephanie,... instead of the exposed highly classical tutu roles.

[Lizbie1]

5 minutes ago, Xandra Newman said:

I think Principals are in a position to suggest roles to the AD they would like to dance as well as roles they do not want to dance. 

In an interview in 2016 

 https://www.standard.co.uk/go/london/theatre/francesca-hayward-a-sugar-plum-life-a3213211.html

Hayward stated: 

“I feel in control when I’m on stage,” says Hayward. “Something kicks in and I feel calm.”

That tunnel vision doesn’t work so well when she’s not in character.

“If it’s Frankie in a tutu, rather than Frankie being another person, then I get more nervous because you haven’t got anything else to hide behind.” 

From what she said in that interview I am under the impression that she rather prefers, and feels more comfortable, dancing character roles such as Manon, Giselle, Princess Stephanie,... instead of the exposed highly classical tutu roles.

 

Are you suggesting Odette/Odile isn't a character role (or indeed two)?

 

I read it as referring to roles such as SPF or gala pieces, not to tutu roles in general.

[Richard LH]

Not being able to get to see the live screening, that evening we watched the most recent RB DVD instead...Osipova and Golding in 2015.

Some random thoughts in comparison...OP = older production, NP = new.

I acknowledge I am comparing live views of the NP with the OP DVD.

The NP sets are just so much  better.

The lake was still pretty invisible in the OP. 

The NP costumes are also  far better. The girls' pas de trois dresses in the OP were pretty horrible and I didn't like the partial black skirts that some swans had in Act 4.

Siegfried's tights disappeared more in the OP - the Act 3 lighting did not help by being far too dark and purple.

Act 3 in the OP all seemed rather messy. I didn't like the (6) princesses all being made to look the same.

I didn't like the OP's inclusion of lots of little swans, presumably from the RB school, which tended to spoil the consistency and flow of the corps formations. Too many different heights.

The drunk tutor in the OP was unfunny, and almost creepy with the two young girls.

The villagers / maypole dancing in the OP were poorer than the NP court/military ensemble dances.

Benno seemed to have little function in the OP; albeit I agree with those who think in the NP he perhaps has a little too much of a role, especially compared to Siegfried.

Von Rothbart makes more sense in the NP.

The NP's Act 1 to 2 transformation is a great addition and  makes lovely use of a section of music which is rather thrown away by being orchestra-only in the OP.

The death jump from Osipova, then Golding, looked like them   jumping into the sea on holiday, followed by them taking a ride in a swan shaped pedalo into the sunset - too corny.

As to those two OP leads, I thought Golding danced very well and appeared very princely. It is the first I have seen of him and was pleasantly surprised, given some views others have expressed.

Siegfried seemed to have no more dancing to do in the OP than in the NP.

I thought Osipova gave rather more of an athlete's performance than that of a ballerina' nuanced interpretation of Odette and Odile. I much preferred Nunez and Takada in the NP.

Overall my summary would be that the OP was OK, but the NP far surpasses it.

[Balletfanp]

6 hours ago, Richard LH said:

Whoa up there, Alison...! Alice found Kish "noticeably technically weaker" than Muntagirov in one particular production. I am no technical expert but I very much doubt that those who are, would  judge all other  RB principals (Watson, McRae, Campbell, Bonelli, et al) noticeably technically weaker than him in everything!

Of course the overall performance also depends very much on acting/characterisation, partnering, interaction with other cast members, and projecting to the audience.

 

At the risk of being pilloried 🙂, whilst not thinking that any of the Principals you mention are weak - they most certainly aren’t - I do think that Muntagirov is currently pretty much matchless technically. There’s a reason the other dancers have nicknamed him Vadream! The fact that no other Siegfried has attempted those double double tours in Act 3 speaks volumes.

[Jan McNulty]

2 minutes ago, Balletfanp said:

 

At the risk of being pilloried 🙂, whilst not thinking that any of the Principals you mention are weak - they most certainly aren’t - I do think that Muntagirov is currently pretty much matchless technically. There’s a reason the other dancers have nicknamed him Vadream! The fact that no other Siegfried has attempted those double double tours in Act 3 speaks volumes.

 

I'm not quite sure why you think you are at risk of being pilloried.  In terms of technique I think the vast majority of members absolutely agrees with you!  I know some think he still needs more acting ability but I think he is doing just fine on that score too!

[Lizbie1]

Thank you, Richard LH, that made me laugh!

[Balletfanp]

8 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

I'm not quite sure why you think you are at risk of being pilloried.  In terms of technique I think the vast majority of members absolutely agrees with you!  I know some think he still needs more acting ability but I think he is doing just fine on that score too!

 

I do think he is a lovely actor too - he isn’t as “out there” as some but personally I prefer that as it comes across as more natural.

[Richard LH]

1 hour ago, Lizbie1 said:

 I read it as referring to roles such as SPF or gala pieces, not to tutu roles in general

I am sure you are correct Lizbie and that Xandra has misinterpreted that comment.

See https://www.finerylondon.com/uk/chapters/meet-francesca-hayward

Hayward has confirmed she would indeed  like to perform O/O  and there is no reason she should feel unduly exposed in this role any more than the other highly classical tutu roles she has danced, to great acclaim - SPF, Aurora, Giselle. The idea that somehow Hayward is not right for such roles was discussed earlier this year and I thought we had laid  this old chest-nut-cracker to rest !

[MRR]

23 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

Siegfried seemed to have no more dancing to do in the OP than in the NP.

Yes, as you stated, Siegfried dances the transition between Acts I and II in Scarlett's production where nothing was going on in Dowell's.  Perhaps Siegfried had a bit more dancing in the Waltz in the old version, but only a bit.

 

Though I would have appreciated a Nureyev "moody" solo in the first act for the Prince, especially on Muntagirov.  

[MRR]

It's a shame that with six casts Hayward was the odd woman out.  The six O/Os were all very deserving so I can't argue with Scarlett (or O'Hare's) casting of that role, but I am dismayed she is performing neither lead in the autumn Bayadere.  

 

It's possible Hayward was also the first cover for O/O, so if there had been more time to adequately prepare her to replace Cuthbertson, she would have gone on.  

Edited June 14, 2018 by MRR

[aliceinwoolfland]

And no Mary Vetsera for Hayward either

[Lizbie1]

1 hour ago, MRR said:

It's a shame that with six casts Hayward was the odd woman out.  The six O/Os were all very deserving so I can't argue with Scarlett (or O'Hare's) casting of that role, but I am dismayed she is performing neither lead in the autumn Bayadere.  

 

It's possible Hayward was also the first cover for O/O, so if there had been more time to adequately prepare her to replace Cuthbertson, she would have gone on.  

 

This reminds me: IIRC John Macfarlane mentioned during the live screening that they had made costumes for seven O/Os - is it a matter of public record who the seventh was for?

[alison]

1 hour ago, Richard LH said:

As to those two OP leads, I thought Golding danced very well and appeared very princely. It is the first I have seen of him and was pleasantly surprised, given some views others have expressed.

 

I don't think anyone really ever queried his Classical credentials - it's just rather unfortunate that he didn't really get much chance to display those during his sojourn with the RB, because the programming didn't call much for it and/or because he was injured at the wrong times.

[Rob S]

2 hours ago, Richard LH said:

Not being able to get to see the live screening, that evening we watched the most recent RB DVD instead...Osipova and Golding in 2015.

Some random thoughts in comparison...OP = older production, NP = new.

I acknowledge I am comparing live views of the NP with the OP DVD.

The NP sets are just so much  better.

The lake was still pretty invisible in the OP. 

The NP costumes are also  far better. The girls' pas de trois dresses in the OP were pretty horrible and I didn't like the partial black skirts that some swans had in Act 4.

Siegfried's tights disappeared more in the OP - the Act 3 lighting did not help by being far too dark and purple.

Act 3 in the OP all seemed rather messy. I didn't like the (6) princesses all being made to look the same.

I didn't like the OP's inclusion of lots of little swans, presumably from the RB school, which tended to spoil the consistency and flow of the corps formations. Too many different heights.

The drunk tutor in the OP was unfunny, and almost creepy with the two young girls.

The villagers / maypole dancing in the OP were poorer than the NP court/military ensemble dances.

Benno seemed to have little function in the OP; albeit I agree with those who think in the NP he perhaps has a little too much of a role, especially compared to Siegfried.

Von Rothbart makes more sense in the NP.

The NP's Act 1 to 2 transformation is a great addition and  makes lovely use of a section of music which is rather thrown away by being orchestra-only in the OP.

The death jump from Osipova, then Golding, looked like them   jumping into the sea on holiday, followed by them taking a ride in a swan shaped pedalo into the sunset - too corny.

As to those two OP leads, I thought Golding danced very well and appeared very princely. It is the first I have seen of him and was pleasantly surprised, given some views others have expressed.

Siegfried seemed to have no more dancing to do in the OP than in the NP.

I thought Osipova gave rather more of an athlete's performance than that of a ballerina' nuanced interpretation of Odette and Odile. I much preferred Nunez and Takada in the NP.

Overall my summary would be that the OP was OK, but the NP far surpasses it.

 

I much preferred the OP's villager based Act I to the NP's military affair, although the latter does mean you can get away from the 'ballet villager' look of the outfits with something a bit more authentic. the OP's Queen outfit is also a lot more practical for walking out and about and Benno looks like he belongs to the same regiment as his friends instead of sticking out like a sore thumb.  The pas de trois outfits are extremely easy to forgive when it's Yuhui and Francesca wearing them, their eyes and smiles make up for the jackets. The chap's outfit is worse than pretty horrible, however. The tutor gets on my nerves (but thankfully the DVD/blu ray editors keep the worst of his antics in check) I love the kids I just wish they were strong enough to propel him in to the orchestra pit.

 

Act 2 The NP has tutus....and the return of traditional headdress doesn't seem to get much of a mention. Again, I love the inclusion of the ballet school students in the OP's  I love the transformation from Act 1 to 2 in the NP

 

The NP's Act 3 is far superior to the OP's, it looks like it's taking place in a real building space rather than a vast, non specific area with a strange red background and loads of freestanding structures and miles of silly string dangling all over the place. The OP also measures high on the annoyance Richter Scale for having a dozen or more people wearing a cross between a hair salon bonnet hairdryer and a beekeepers outfit. I HATE the skull things,  OP's Act 3 costumes are better in a few areas, the OP Spanish dress is far better than the overly long one used in the NP which is an accident waiting to happen. I adore the NP Czardas headdresses though they look a bit Russian to my non-expert eyes, the NP Mazurka outfits make me overheat just looking at them, I think I hate all Neapolitan fashion .....the NP princess dresses look beautiful but I prefer the OP's long dresses that look borrowed from the V&A or Bath fashion museum rather than ballet outfits even if for some reason all six princess borrowed the same one. I love the black swans of the NP, I also love that the Odette vision is placed subtly in a window frame rather than resorting to the centrally placed limited edition oval BP Big Screen of the OP. The OP has some seriously annoying party guests.

 

Act 4, the owners of the grounds immediately in front of the OP lake need to fence off those steps that lead to nowhere except certain death, the NP looks like it takes some doing to get to the summit, it's a more realistic rock. The OP's ending is far better with the death of Siegfried as well, in the NP he's just lying there far too long, then suddenly gets up but also takes a confusingly long time in the darkness and then comes back with a woman's body leading to up to 2256 conversations about whether the body Siegfried comes out with should be wearing a tutu or whether the vision should. For me the vision should be woman Odette, the dead body should be in the tutu. Maybe he took so long fishing her out of the lake the tutu simply decomposed. The OP's apotheosis maybe a corny moment but it fits the music and is highly emotional (despite the pedalo draggers taking a breather halfway through in the 2015 version, 2009 is a far smoother trip to heaven for everyone).

Edited June 14, 2018 by Rob S

[loveclassics]

11 hours ago, alison said:

 

Name me an RB Siegfried who isn't?

Isn't that a little harsh?  Personally I think Bonelli is still excellent and youth isn't everything,  While I think Vadim is a brilliant dancer I still think he lacks a certain 'princely' aura - a sense of 'otherness' that marks out the aristocrat from the boy next door type. I'm sure he will develop this in time.

 

I'm not saying this is always essential but in a fairy story it does help.  For the same reason, while I admire Campbell's skill, I don't think he is suitable to be the fairy tale prince - he's just too likeable and approachable.  Suitable for our modern monarchy perhaps but not in the ballet tradition which does, after all, stem from the court of the Sun King.

 

Luckily for us, and the RB dancers, there are plenty of human characters in Macmillan's work as contrast to Petipa's more rarefied roles.

 

Linda

 

 

[Fiz]

10 hours ago, Richard LH said:

Not being able to get to see the live screening, that evening we watched the most recent RB DVD instead...Osipova and Golding in 2015.

Some random thoughts in comparison...OP = older production, NP = new.

I acknowledge I am comparing live views of the NP with the OP DVD.

The NP sets are just so much  better.

The lake was still pretty invisible in the OP. 

The NP costumes are also  far better. The girls' pas de trois dresses in the OP were pretty horrible and I didn't like the partial black skirts that some swans had in Act 4.

Siegfried's tights disappeared more in the OP - the Act 3 lighting did not help by being far too dark and purple.

Act 3 in the OP all seemed rather messy. I didn't like the (6) princesses all being made to look the same.

I didn't like the OP's inclusion of lots of little swans, presumably from the RB school, which tended to spoil the consistency and flow of the corps formations. Too many different heights.

The drunk tutor in the OP was unfunny, and almost creepy with the two young girls.

The villagers / maypole dancing in the OP were poorer than the NP court/military ensemble dances.

Benno seemed to have little function in the OP; albeit I agree with those who think in the NP he perhaps has a little too much of a role, especially compared to Siegfried.

Von Rothbart makes more sense in the NP.

The NP's Act 1 to 2 transformation is a great addition and  makes lovely use of a section of music which is rather thrown away by being orchestra-only in the OP.

The death jump from Osipova, then Golding, looked like them   jumping into the sea on holiday, followed by them taking a ride in a swan shaped pedalo into the sunset - too corny.

As to those two OP leads, I thought Golding danced very well and appeared very princely. It is the first I have seen of him and was pleasantly surprised, given some views others have expressed.

Siegfried seemed to have no more dancing to do 

Overall my summary would be that the OP was OK, but the NP far surpasses it.

Agreed but there was one thing I really missed and that was the interplay between Odile and Von Rothbart. The way Gary Avis played it he was really controlling Odile and I really liked it - it added to the magic, fairytale element. It wasn’t there when I saw it on Tuesday.

[Richard LH]

21 minutes ago, Fiz said:

Agreed but there was one thing I really missed and that was the interplay between Odile and Von Rothbart. The way Gary Avis played it he was really controlling Odile and I really liked it - it added to the magic, fairytale element. It wasn’t there when I saw it on Tuesday.

True; the interplay between them is far less in the NP-it is still there to a degree but I think it depends more on subtle glances and how the particular Odile chooses to play it.

[Richard LH]

11 hours ago, Balletfanp said:

The fact that no other Siegfried has attempted those double double tours in Act 3 speaks volumes

He was very impressive with those turns but so was Bracewell, I thought, and he is just a soloist. I would not discount the highly trained and practiced technical abilities, for turning or otherwise, of the other principals (some of whom were not performing as Siegfried in this run) and other dancers throughout the company, and other companies. 

I know when I saw Nunez effortlessly doing her fouettes on the first night I was thinking "that was matchless", but then I thought Takada did them  even better on at least one occasion, and young Francesca Velicu of the ENB gave an amazing series of fouttes at the Emerging Dancer competition with loads of triples and doubles thrown in. There is so much technical talent out there at present.

 

[capybara]

8 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

He was very impressive with those turns but so was Bracewell, I thought, and he is just a soloist.

 

Just to mention that Bracewell, who was impressive, I agree, did not perform double doubles.

 

BTW, Bracewell is but one year younger than Muntagirov.

 

I love them both and am thrilled that I now have a ticket for  Takada/Bracewell's last show next Thursday.

[MRR]

1 hour ago, Fiz said:

Agreed but there was one thing I really missed and that was the interplay between Odile and Von Rothbart. The way Gary Avis played it he was really controlling Odile and I really liked it - it added to the magic, fairytale element. It wasn’t there when I saw it on Tuesday.

One thing I miss is Odile's entrance with Rothbart in Act III.  Somehow the lifting of the curtain to reveal an almost silhouetted Odile by herself doesn't have the same magic as Rothbart and Odile storming in together.  Although the Dowell production did not achieve this well at all, with the weird skull minions robbing the scene of the electricity needed.  I love the Mariinsky version where the lights dim upon their arrival.  ABT's staging where they enter through the gates at the top of the stairs is also effective.  

[Richard LH]

14 minutes ago, capybara said:

I love them both and am thrilled that I now have a ticket for  Takada/Bracewell's last show next Thursday.

Have a wonderful time capybara, the closing night should be something special. I can't make it 😕 but look forward to reading the feedback.

[JohnS]

36 minutes ago, MRR said:

Somehow the lifting of the curtain to reveal an almost silhouetted Odile by herself doesn't have the same magic as Rothbart and Odile storming in together. 

 

It is good to see so many contrasting opinions.  I've found this entry tremendous, from the Open Rehearsal and the performances I've seen since then.  A real coup de theatre - and certainly justifies that fabulous drape.

[Bruce Wall]

1 hour ago, Richard LH said:

... and young Francesca Velicu of the ENB gave an amazing series of fouttes at the Emerging Dancer competition with loads of triples and doubles thrown in. There is so much technical talent out there at present.

 

 

I believe she gave us QUADRUPLES!!! ... and three times so ... just for great measure  and assiduity  !   Even now she's up there with Rojo and Panova!

Edited June 15, 2018 by Bruce Wall

[Anna C]

11 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

This reminds me: IIRC John Macfarlane mentioned during the live screening that they had made costumes for seven O/Os - is it a matter of public record who the seventh was for?

 

Oh yes! I remarked on that at the time but assumed he meant Cuthbertson.  But that's still six, isn't it?

 

Cuthbertson

Lamb

Naghdi

Nuñez

Osipova

Takada

 

Am I mising one? 

 

[MRR]

I saw Nunez pull in for a quad seven years ago (on her first set of multiples), and she even did a quintuple at a recent gala.  Opening night her fouettes were fairly conservative--singles with the occasional double--but executed impeccably.  

 

John--I'm glad you enjoy Odile's entrance, and I do love the curtain and the entire Act III set.   

 

Speaking of the Act III set, I noticed vision Odette walking up to the platform before she is lit up (and descending the backstage stairs after her vision), in every performance.  This was more a problem in the pas de deux than at the end of the act where there is so much going on.  As there are three windows, Odette appears in the middle window but ascends or descends the stairs apparent in the stage left (audience right) window.  It's a minor distraction, but at least from stalls something which caught my eye.