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Royal Ballet - Don Quixote - Spring 2019


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6 hours ago, Richard LH said:

Lara Turk. She also doubles this role with that of Dulcinea on occasions.

 

Thanks. I knew she was someone I should recognise. I saw her as Natasha in Winter Dreams.

 

12 hours ago, Thalia said:

Regarding the cast changes – the printed notice had a couple of the dancers’ names misspelt. Apparently, Valentio Zucchetti was replaced by Lukas Brændsroød...

 

I think that tells us everything about how they are treating cast changes at the moment. 

 

Sorry, I didn't realise that the cast change sheet had mis-spelt Brændsrød's surname so I've perpetuated the erros in my posts from yesterday. I'll see if I can edit them. EDIT: No, too late to change my posts from yesterday. Plus I see I put an extra e in Mosley. Apologies everyone.

 

14 hours ago, Odyssey said:

Disappointing that Melissa Hamilton has hardly been seen of late. No reappraisal of her roles in either Asphodel Meadows or Queen of Dryads. Apart from Juliet, there appears to be nothing else this season.

 

I would say that maybe it's because she's doing Seven Deadly Sins at Wilton's but as Morera is the lead in that & still has lots of RB roles coming up then I guess it can't be that.

 

6 hours ago, Richard LH said:

I find the same thing Dawnstar. This is the best I could  achieve last night.

 

That's still much better than I ever managed. Both my camera & my phone give very poorly focused pictures in low light levels, such as in a theatre.

 

3 hours ago, David G said:

I presume that these shadow characters were meant to be heretics and that each was wearing a coroza - a paper or cardboard hat in a conical shape that was put on those condemned by the Spanish Inquisition and that served as a complement to the sambenito. Being black, they showed that the heretics were impenitent. (I only know this because Voltaire refers to an auto da fe in Candide which I had to study for my French A level in the 1970s...but I am also grateful to Wikipedia!!) My apologies to everyone if there is an explanation of this in the programme!

 

Thank you very much for the information. That also suddenly makes more sense of a scene in the 2008 production of Candide at ENO.

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On 21/02/2019 at 23:42, jmhopton said:

I thought the cinema relay could have done with better lighting. Several times the cameras seem to be switching angles because the first shot was too dark and not just the gypsy scene but the street scenes. I thought the idea was to present a sunny Spain (at least in the street scenes) but several shots looked very overcast.

Yes the lighting was  too dark in the (encore) screening I saw, especially in the long shots. It made it difficult at times for all the nuances of the dancing  properly to stand out. The street scenes are really sunny and bright ballet as performed live in the ROH, so it is a shame that this seems to have been lost,  at least in some cinemas. Certainly worth pointing this out to the ROH (again - La Bayadere was also too dark for me) for anyone that had the same experience.

With that exception, I thought the screening was well filmed and well presented and of course the wonderful dancing spoke for itself (to mix a metaphor).

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13 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

Yes the lighting was  too dark in the (encore) screening I saw, especially in the long shots. It made it difficult at times for all the nuances of the dancing  properly to stand out. The street scenes are really sunny and bright ballet as performed live in the ROH, so it is a shame that this seems to have been lost,  at least in some cinemas. Certainly worth pointing this out to the ROH (again - La Bayadere was also too dark for me) for anyone that had the same experience.

With that exception, I thought the screening was well filmed and well presented and of course the wonderful dancing spoke for itself (to mix a metaphor).

 

I'm glad someone has mentioned the lighting in the cinema screenings - I saw a screening of Swan Lake both on BBC4 at Christmas and again at the Linbury in January, as well as La Bayadere at the cinema, and they were much darker than seeing them live. As you say, it is quite difficult sometimes to make out all the detail !

 

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I went to the encore screening today and, having read the posts about lighting, was on the alert for dim lighting. 

 

I sat in row C at the Finchley Road Vue. It was as clear as anything as far as I was concerned and I thought it one of the best ROH recordings I’ve seen. 

 

I’m afraid I couldn’t see the basis for the earlier complaints. 

 

I loved the whole performance. 

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Some of my views on Ball / Cuthbertson from Friday night:

 

I’ve always been a huge Cuthbertson fan and always saw her as one of those special talents who can master all roles, whether it be a classic like Giselle, a MacMillan like Juliet or something contemporary from the McGregor sphere. I have to admit though, that I think her style has changed quite significantly over the past year or two. I find her a bit over the top these days and quite boisterous. When she danced in Symphony in C I found it all a bit frantic and I have a similar view on her Kitri. She really bounds onto the stage, chaotically weaving through the crowd and it seemed to me in quite a few instances that she was unsure about where she needed to be on stage. I also found the acting slightly forced and over the top. Yes Kitri is independent, stubborn and cheeky, but she’s also flirtatious, warm and full of joy. I felt Takada really understood this, and in the more seductive moments used everything, from her eyes to her fan, to really seduce Basilio and the audience. Technically Cuthbertson was great, but I just found it all a bit chaotic and too much of a whirlwind. It’s sort of how I expect Osipova will be when she dances Kitri – but I don’t mind that as much with her because a) I expect it and b) it’s sort of what she’s all about.

 

I don’t think comedy comes as easily to Ball as it might do to others like Campbell. For me he is a natural prince, a dark and brooding artist perfect for meaty roles like Rudolf or Onegin. I think the ‘lighter’ pieces aren’t quite as a natural fit but I think he did well and that this is perhaps something that will develop as time goes on. Unfortunately I didn’t think there was much chemistry between him and Cuthbertson, unlike with Takada and Campbell who perfectly balanced petty jealousy, flirtation and humour with a real deep and loving connection. Ball is incredibly tender and affectionate on stage – we saw this with his Romeo - but I don’t think that style matched very well to Cuthbertson’s more exuberant characterisation of Kitri. I’m not seeing them dance together in Romeo and Juliet but will be interested to read everyone’s views on it.

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28 minutes ago, Sim said:

Yes we all know they were making their debuts, but that’s what TTP is commenting on;  the first impressions. 

 

and that TTP has done so with real sensitivity. She really has the knack of being able to combine criticism with respect.

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17 hours ago, Sim said:

Lukas B-B said on Instagram that Romany Pajdak had learned the role of the lead Gypsy Girl in one day.  Bravo to her!

And Bravo to Romany for many many other things. All the Royal Ballet dancers are Super Troupers but Romany is a Super Super Trouper. 

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5 hours ago, Sim said:

Yes we all know they were making their debuts, but that’s what TTP is commenting on;  the first impressions. 

 

I'm afraid I didn't. At least, I knew Ball was but I assumed that Cuthbertson would have danced Kitri before. Presumably the previous Don Q runs must have coincided with the long periods she's had off injured/ill then?

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Sorry if this has been commented on already but I couldn't seem to find it in the thread, what has been the run time? It says approx 3 hours on the roh page and wanted to check if this had been accurate in people's experience as i need to be out by 10.30pm. Thank you :)

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I'm so sorry; I'd wanted to write with a fuller report yesterday of Saturday evening's performance, but the unseasonable warmth, and the splendours of London on a Sunday,  and the fact that I'm only here for a few precious days, kept me from writing. As I'm not a seasoned or well-informed ballet watcher, I'll keep my comments to the impressionistic: first off, Marianela Nunez and Vadim Muntagirov: a gift from the gods. I know many of the more experienced ballet goers here have been fortunate enough to have watched some legendary partnerships in the past, and I wonder if, for my (younger) generation, this particular partnership will linger on in my mind, and in my memory, as I grow older, as the one to which every other is compared. I simply cannot think of a better partnership.  A lot of people , here and everywhere, have rightly complimented the joyousness of their dancing and their individual technical perfection and the sheer brilliance of their stage presence. I'll confirm all of that, but what I think I'd like to add here is that they dance so well together. I've seen each of them on this stage with other partners, and they are always so good, always giving of their best. Each is a joy to watch, no matter who they are partnering. But when they dance together it seems to me all that more special, as if they give more than their best to and for each other. I've never watched DQ live, but I've seen the youtube clips of Marianela and Carlos dancing the same choreography, and think that actually physically, and perhaps personality wise (at least what they project on stage in character), Carlos and Marianela are much better matched. But there is something about Vadim and Marianela together, perhaps their very difference - his reticent elegance, her warmth and radiant joy, their technical perfection, the matched lines - something about it just makes the partnership sparkle in a way that seems really rare.

 

Apart from the main leads, I was blown away by Ryoichi Hirano and Itziar Mendizabal's duets, and their chemistry together;  they sparkled and then caught fire, and absolutely stole the show when they had centre stage. Anna Rose O Sullivan was a delightful, light-footed cupid, so perfectly musical and fairy like. Mayara Magri was a fantastic Queen of the Dryads; something about her just catches the eye, no matter where she is on stage.

 

I agree with some other commenters here that the staging is a bit too busy; there is almost too much going on all the time, and the scene is unnecessarily crowded with people and props and bits of scenery. It is certainly colourful and joyful as intended, but I sometimes couldn't see the dancing because the props , or dancers, got in the way. 

 

Some of the acts felt a bit too long. But maybe that's my travel weariness catching up with me!

 

For the rest,  I was thinking how rare it is in ballet to have an older lead in the main role, as we have here, and I found myself wishing that there could be ballets that did much more (and I wish this one did more too) with the themes that lurk beneath the surface of DQ: the poignancy of old age, of regret at things not having been done, of nostalgia for an adventure filled youth , of yearning for a past that maybe never even existed, and above all, the longing for a life that is more colourful and adventurous than the one that one has been consigned to living. In this staging it is all boistrous broad comedy, but I think much more could be done, to bring out Don Quixote and Sancho Panzas story, to make them complex, nuanced, and recognizable to us all, regardless of our age. But that is maybe for another ballet, and here I risk being told that I've gone off topic.

 

To end with a final thought on Saturday's evening performance: the ballet was performed as a perfect embodiment of Carlos Acosta's (announced) vision, a thing of joy that helped us forget the sadder parts of life. Marianela and Vadim sparkled in a way that I think must be rare, on any stage, in any era, but the entire company sparkled with and for them. It was a lovely, lovely evening. I just wish the story could have pushed a bit more, towards the darker, sadder, elements. 

 

Thank you to the whole company, and , oh, to the marvelous, appreciative audience too, whose collective joy lifted my spirits ! 

 

 

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4 hours ago, SMballet said:

As I'm not a seasoned or well-informed ballet watcher, I'll keep my comments to the impressionistic: first off, Marianela Nunez and Vadim Muntagirov: a gift from the gods. I know many of the more experienced ballet goers here have been fortunate enough to have watched some legendary partnerships in the past, and I wonder if, for my (younger) generation, this particular partnership will linger on in my mind, and in my memory, as I grow older, as the one to which every other is compared. I simply cannot think of a better partnership. 

 

I agree and think you are right. we willl look back and wonder. I will look back and wish I had seen them more often when I had the chance.

Thanks for a lovely review- everything you say about them I entirely second.

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14 hours ago, lakeylakes said:

And Bravo to Romany for many many other things. All the Royal Ballet dancers are Super Troupers but Romany is a Super Super Trouper. 

 

Having seen Miss Pajdak in the mini-feature during the La Bayadère cinemacast, I say

 

"...lights are gonna find me
Shining like the sun,
Smiling, having fun,
Feeling like a number one"

 

The lines could have been written for her.

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35 minutes ago, Mary said:

...and the sad thing is there is not really much chance to see them together again until the autumn! Maybe a few minutes in Symphony in C if I can understand the casting info on ROH website.

 

 

I think that you'll find that the pairings for Symphony in C will be as in the Autumn: Muntagirov partnering Cuthbertson in the First Movement and Nunez dancing with Hirano in the Second.

 

 

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47 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

I think that you'll find that the pairings for Symphony in C will be as in the Autumn: Muntagirov partnering Cuthbertson in the First Movement and Nunez dancing with Hirano in the Second.

 

 

Yes, -a shame as I should have liked to round off this wonderful year by seeing them together in that sparkling finale.

I do want to watch Vadim with others too. It is a very long summer gap though, my word.

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9 hours ago, SMballet said:

I agree with some other commenters here that the staging is a bit too busy; there is almost too much going on all the time, and the scene is unnecessarily crowded with people and props and bits of scenery. It is certainly colourful and joyful as intended, but I sometimes couldn't see the dancing because the props , or dancers, got in the way. 

 

I'm thinking that, with its smaller forces, this might not be so much of a problem when Acosta stages it on BRB.  Might be a good thing ...

 

Quote

For the rest,  I was thinking how rare it is in ballet to have an older lead in the main role, as we have here, and I found myself wishing that there could be ballets that did much more (and I wish this one did more too) with the themes that lurk beneath the surface of DQ: the poignancy of old age, of regret at things not having been done, of nostalgia for an adventure filled youth , of yearning for a past that maybe never even existed, and above all, the longing for a life that is more colourful and adventurous than the one that one has been consigned to living. In this staging it is all boistrous broad comedy, but I think much more could be done, to bring out Don Quixote and Sancho Panzas story, to make them complex, nuanced, and recognizable to us all, regardless of our age. But that is maybe for another ballet, and here I risk being told that I've gone off topic.

 

Not at all :) (And thank you for your lovely feedback on the performance).  I suspect there are a few places in the ballet where something a bit more poignant could be slipped in, and give the production a bit more light and shade, and possibly make it a better ballet - but then perhaps I'm being overly influenced by my only viewing thus far having been in the cinema, with a number of close-ups of Don Q's reactions.  Perhaps that might go missing from the back of the amphitheatre ...

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ENB cast sheets indicate debuts, but I don't think Royal Ballet ones do - or ever did, as far back as I can recall (I could be mistaken, but definitely don't remember it, or why would I have been annotating my cast sheets in manuscript?).  It was always in the booking leaflet, so I guess there was an acknowledgement that people might want to see debuts.

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