alison Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 FLOSS, I'm aware of all that - it was your "I have to disagree with the idea that it can't be all Ashton. I think that it should be ..." I was picking up on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted May 31, 2019 Author Share Posted May 31, 2019 Don't worry, FLOSS. I have the feeling that Ashton will be VERY well-represented. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 Which would make a pleasant change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 (edited) 5 hours ago, capybara said: Don't worry, FLOSS. I have the feeling that Ashton will be VERY well-represented. Capybara, from your comment just wondering if you know (even in part - short of Firebird) what the specific Fonteyn Gala programme will entail? I would love to know WHAT was being danced even more than the casting. I would have thought that such might have been announced by now. Do you think we will know before the night itself? I'm trying to balance whether to go to this or to SFB. The SFB programme, of course, has long been announced (with its full casting a more recent addition.) Grateful for your kind advice on behalf of all. Edited May 31, 2019 by Bruce Wall 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizbie1 Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 My most cherished bit of wishful thinking is that Miyako Yoshida will perform the Birthday Offering extract(s) which she has announced for her farewell gala in Japan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted May 31, 2019 Author Share Posted May 31, 2019 59 minutes ago, Bruce Wall said: Capybara, from your comment just wondering if you know (even in part - short of Firebird) what the specific Fonteyn Gala programme will entail? I have put fragments of information together, that is all, I'm afraid - and I could be completely wrong in my deductions. I wonder whether the content of the Gala is being kept under wraps deliberately? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 Mayara Magri has given a hint on Instagram that there is something from Sylvia 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fashionista Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 On 31/05/2019 at 15:19, Bruce Wall said: Capybara, from your comment just wondering if you know (even in part - short of Firebird) what the specific Fonteyn Gala programme will entail? I would love to know WHAT was being danced even more than the casting. I would have thought that such might have been announced by now. Do you think we will know before the night itself? I'm trying to balance whether to go to this or to SFB. The SFB programme, of course, has long been announced (with its full casting a more recent addition.) Grateful for your kind advice on behalf of all. I think it is purposely being kept under wraps, as was indeed, the Gala dedicated to Ashton's retirement (not that I was around to see it, but have read and seen pix of the same!!!). On that particular evening, I believe Helpmann and Michael Somes were the "comperes" and the evening ran through excerpts from most of Ashton's choreography which one could say equalled all the roles made for Fonteyn.! You never know, may be it will be a repeat of the Ashton farewell Gala (only teasing!). I think it is rather nice to have a "surprise" element as it gives the evening an added element of anticipation and excitement., I also remembering reading that the programmes for the Ashton farewell were given to the audience when they left the House!!! I think we may expect a very special night on Saturday..................................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 1 hour ago, fashionista said: I also remembering reading that the programmes for the Ashton farewell were given to the audience when they left the House!!! I think we may expect a very special night on Saturday..................................... Oh help, I hope not. If they expect the audience to recognise lots of excerpts without a programme then I'll be hopelessly lost. The only Ashton I've seen so far is Two Pigeons, to which I'll be adding Month in the County tomorrow, so I wouldn't have a clue what anything else is from! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJW Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 12 minutes ago, Dawnstar said: Oh help, I hope not. If they expect the audience to recognise lots of excerpts without a programme then I'll be hopelessly lost. The only Ashton I've seen so far is Two Pigeons, to which I'll be adding Month in the County tomorrow, so I wouldn't have a clue what anything else is from! Don't worry - there will be a Programme (at £10 apparently)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JNC Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 Anyone have any idea about timings for the Gala? Managed to snap up a ticket on the ROH website (there's still a few going, albeit the more expensive ones) because I'm willing to take a gamble (though it does mean three firebirds in a week!). I guess this sort of thing doesn't come round very often so felt it was worth the risk, and I've never seen a gala before so there's also a new experience at least! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 2 hours ago, MJW said: Don't worry - there will be a Programme (at £10 apparently)! Ouch! This season, with more frequent ROH attendance, I've mostly been making do with cast sheets, but I guess this probably is an occasion to buy a programme. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JNC Posted June 3, 2019 Share Posted June 3, 2019 Just now, Dawnstar said: Ouch! This season, with more frequent ROH attendance, I've mostly been making do with cast sheets, but I guess this probably is an occasion to buy a programme. I'm hoping it's a bumper edition with lots of gorgeous pictures and hoping for interviews with dancers to justify the additional cost! I am excited though. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted June 4, 2019 Author Share Posted June 4, 2019 The “Fonteyn and Me” session tonight had Sarah Crompton interviewing Marguerite Porter, Christopher Newton and Mayara Magri. There was mention of something from Sylvia being in the Gala. Apparently, the similar event tomorrow will feature Dame Monica Mason, Margaret Barbieri and Lauren Cuthbertson. The much longer Insight on Thursday will be introduced by Dame Monica and Kevin O’Hare with input from ballet luminaries who worked with Fonteyn. Names were mentioned with caution so I will not repeat them here. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candleque Posted June 6, 2019 Share Posted June 6, 2019 Tonight's Insights had Beatriz Stix-Brunell rehearsing this solo of a heartsick flower girl from Nocturne by Frederick Ashton. So that will be in the Gala. KOH stated he wouldn't reveal the program, so nothing else was confirmed. But Ondine was mentioned a few times in the panel discussion and Aurora / Sleeping Beauty was mentioned a LOT. The panel was: Dame Monica Mason, Donald MacLeary and Sir Peter Wright, moderated by KOH. Some lovely first-hand memories were shared. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
li tai po Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 That's very exciting to hear about Nocturne. Ashton created this ballet in 1936, with Margot playing A Flower Girl, rejected by the Young Man, who goes off with the Rich Girl. Ashton used Delius' orchestral nocturne, Paris - The Song of a Great City. I think the ballet is now lost; it was last seen at the Royal Opera House in 1947. Margot danced the solo at the 1970 Ashton Gala, with Michael Somes looming in the background in silhouette as the Spectator, a role created by Ashton himself. I hope that the Spectator will loom behind Beatriz Stix-Brunell. Romany Pajdak danced the Bride's solo from The Wise Virgins at the recent London Ballet Circle event. She had previously danced it in Westminster Abbey at the commemoration service to dedicate the memorial tablet to the Founders of the Royal Ballet. This ballet was created in April 1940 and last performed in 1944; it was never seen at the Royal Opera House. William Walton arranged the score from J.S. Bach's cantatas. Ashton recreated this solo on Margot for the 1970 Gala. Cyril Beaumont wrote that The Wise Virgins had been built around a single figure, that of the Bride, who, despite the quiet mood of serenity and resignation which distinguished the character, yet contrived to dominate the whole. Quiet authority was one of the great qualities of Margot's dancing. Lynn Wake at the London Ballet Circle event selected, for an extract from The Firebird, the moment when the Firebird casts the spell over the entire company. She argued that Margot's calm domination here illustrated how over many years she led the company from the front on and offstage, justifying her title of prima ballerina assoluta. Part of the excitement of Saturday's gala will be the occasion itself and the memories, not so much the repertoire and cast. I attended the 80th birthday gala for Ashton in 1985, which also took place without advance notice of the programme. The first half concluded with the end of Cinderella Act I. When the mice came on pulling the carriage, there were Margot and Fred, elegant and imperious, in a glamorous ball gown and full evening dress. It brought the house down. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 I've been meaning to say, the performance is described as a "celebratory performance", not a gala. Just in case anyone was thinking of dusting off the tiara and ballgown 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJW Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 1 hour ago, alison said: I've been meaning to say, the performance is described as a "celebratory performance", not a gala. Just in case anyone was thinking of dusting off the tiara and ballgown I did contact the Box Office after booking just to make sure it wasn't black tie or anything (thankfully it isn't as I don't have one!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beryl H Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 There is a running time now, total 2hr.55m : Firebird, 30m interval, 90m divertissements, sounds good. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 I wonder why the running time for The Firebird is given as 55 mins whereas it's 50 mins as part of the triple bill? Speeches beforehand? (Though we got a speech on Tuesday anyway.) I'm surprised the overall running time is quite so long; I was expecting more ten-ish. Oh well, home at 1am it is then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizbie1 Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 Any news about who will be performing in Firebird? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 22 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said: Any news about who will be performing in Firebird? Mendizabal said on Instagram a couple of weeks ago that she is scheduled to be. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted June 7, 2019 Author Share Posted June 7, 2019 (edited) 6 minutes ago, Dawnstar said: Mendizabal said on Instagram a couple of weeks ago that she is scheduled to be. And this was also 'leaked' at the RB in Rehearsal event last week. As I write this, over 60 tickets at prices ranging from £5.00 to £125.00 are available for this event. Extraordinary Edited June 7, 2019 by capybara Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 I was hoping it'd be Naghdi - first cast, and all that. Fingers crossed for something interesting, then ... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted June 7, 2019 Author Share Posted June 7, 2019 1 minute ago, alison said: I was hoping it'd be Naghdi - first cast, and all that. Fingers crossed for something interesting, then ... Naghdi is 'otherwise engaged'! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JNC Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 I too am rather shocked at the number of available tickets for this. Interestingly I don't think it's gone to student standby as with the timing of Friday Rush it didn't seem to work out (Student Standby tickets have to be purchased by midnight the previous day). I hope this doesn't mean empty seats though, would be a real shame and wouldn't want to put ROH commissioning such one-off gala/celebrations in future. I have to admit I was hoping for Naghdi in Firebird too (as I've already seen Menzibal this week) but if this means she can do something elsewhere I can't complain too much as I'm not missing out (seeing her in Firebird next week!). I am sightly curious as to whether gala/celebrations usually do a full one act ballet rather than a full mix of divertissements. I do wonder if they are only doing the whole firebird (rather than select firebird extracts) because the company has a lot on (to be fair to it) and because this seemed to be a fairly last minute scheduling and firebird happened to be showing at the same time. But perhaps this is a little unfair/cynical of me, and I look forward to tomorrow night immensely, I hope it will be a very special evening. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shade Posted June 7, 2019 Share Posted June 7, 2019 It sound very exciting and hope that everyone has a wonderful evening and I look forward to reading the reports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted June 8, 2019 Share Posted June 8, 2019 14 minutes ago, Legseleven said: Naghdi and Muntagirov dancing together - I so wish I was there! I was there! And it was magnificent! thread now started in Performances seen etc, so best post views over there folks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted June 8, 2019 Share Posted June 8, 2019 Link to discussion of the performance thread: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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