Viviana Durante Co - 7 Deadly Sins

[bridiem]

Just now, JohnS said:

 

You should be ok for a refund Bridie.  The email says:

 

If you wish to have your tickets refunded, please contact the box office on sevendeadlysins@wiltons.org.uk or 020 7702 2789 so that we can process your request.

 

Our phone lines are open 11am-6pm, Monday-Friday (closed Saturday 4th May and Sunday 5th May but with answerphone facility).

 

Great, thanks John.

[Dawnstar]

2 hours ago, zxDaveM said:

 

no idea really - they gave no reason. I can only wildly guess that the singer was indisposed, and at short notice, they could not find and rehearse a replacement. But that is a guess, I hasten to add

 

I would have thought that finding a replacement singer, even if they had to perform from a score, would be easier than replacing the entire content of a production! However I'm no expert. I'm now glad that I didn't book. I was thinking about it but decided to wait until the first night reviews & comments to make sure there wasn't anything gruesome involved.

[JohnS]

Having thought about the alternative programme, I decided to cancel my ticket and have instead picked up one of the last tickets for András Schiff playing the Bach six partitas at the Wigmore Hall - a little removed from Seven Deadly Sins!  After a visit to the Royal Ballet School, I thought András Schiff and Bach an ideal concert pairing and would set up double Romeo and Juliet for Saturday.

[RuthE]

The refunds process seems very straightforward. I emailed the box office earlier this afternoon (on a public holiday, so I wasn’t expecting a response until tomorrow) and within an hour my promise of a refund was confirmed.

[bridiem]

1 hour ago, RuthE said:

The refunds process seems very straightforward. I emailed the box office earlier this afternoon (on a public holiday, so I wasn’t expecting a response until tomorrow) and within an hour my promise of a refund was confirmed.

 

I haven't actually been notified yet, so if I wasn't on this forum I wouldn't know it had been cancelled/changed. If I don't hear by tomorrow, I'll contact them myself for the refund.

[Mandy Kent]

I’m not taking a risk on the alternative show and have asked for a full refund. I’ve had an email back to say they will credit my card asap. Shame .

[blackdove]

Well if Viviana is going to dance I'll chance it

[SheilaC]

I've not been notified, I'd be interested to know if they've contacted Bridiem yet. Ironically they emailed the friend who booked once she knew I was going- she lives in central London, not north of York like me so doesn't need to book trains and a hotel, like me. I contacted Wilton's this afternoon and they have refunded the money. I'd have loved to see Viviana again but loathe the substitute choreographer, no MacMillan, apart from his penchant for shocking.

[bridiem]

26 minutes ago, SheilaC said:

I've not been notified, I'd be interested to know if they've contacted Bridiem yet. Ironically they emailed the friend who booked once she knew I was going- she lives in central London, not north of York like me so doesn't need to book trains and a hotel, like me. I contacted Wilton's this afternoon and they have refunded the money. I'd have loved to see Viviana again but loathe the substitute choreographer, no MacMillan, apart from his penchant for shocking.

 

I hadn't heard from them by yesterday afternoon, so I emailed them and they have organised the refund. Not great that they hadn't contacted me, though. (My ticket was for tomorrow evening.)

[RuthE]

5 hours ago, bridiem said:

 

I hadn't heard from them by yesterday afternoon, so I emailed them and they have organised the refund. Not great that they hadn't contacted me, though. (My ticket was for tomorrow evening.)

 

Are you sure their email didn’t get lost in your junk filter somehow?

[bridiem]

31 minutes ago, RuthE said:

 

Are you sure their email didn’t get lost in your junk filter somehow?

 

Yes - there's been nothing from them. I was going to protest about this but then I thought they'd probably had enough stress about all this without me getting on my high horse!

[SheilaC]

The Wilton's box office suggested to me that my email might be in spam, but like Bridiem I have none in spam. When I emailed them I did comment that it was unfortunate that they hadn't let me know given that I live so far away, so I was complaining- but not rudely. 

[alison]

I'm assuming everyone ticked the GDPR box?  (Although come to think of it, surely GDPR allows them to use your data to contact you in the event of cancellations anyway?)

[Bluebird]

16 minutes ago, bridiem said:

 

Yes - there's been nothing from them. I was going to protest about this but then I thought they'd probably had enough stress about all this without me getting on my high horse!

 

I didn’t get an email and there was nothing in my junk mail. There must be something wrong with their systems. My worry is that some patrons who didn’t get the email and who don’t read this forum will turn up at the theatre expecting to see the originally announced ballet.

[bridiem]

I was giving them the benefit of the doubt that if I hadn't already contacted them, they would have contacted me... Otherwise yes, there will be people turning up who could be pretty annoyed.

[Lizbie1]

Interesting review in today’s links: https://dancetabs.com/2019/05/viviana-durante-company-three-8-38-seven-london/.

[JohnS]

Thanks Lizbie - interesting to read of the research done for the MacMillan and hopefully we might see his Seven Deadly Sins on stage at some point (The Linbury?).  

I’m very pleased to have gone to the Wigmore Hall for András Schiff playing the Bach partitas as my alternative to Wilton’s changed programme - a fabulous recital and delighted to have heard him playing live.

[Douglas Allen]

Thanks for pointing out the review and the (implicit) confirmation of hesitations/disagreements/objections (who knows?) on the part of the MacMillan Estate. I never saw the first attempt with Western Theatre Ballet (with Anya Linden and Cleo Laine), but I did see the 1973 version with Jenny Penney and Georgia Brown. I only saw two performances and after 46 years (gulp!) my memory isn't that clear - but I remember the work as both interesting and convoluted. On the whole it worked well, at times the dance appeared to comment on the singing and at other points the singing referred back to the dancing. The reception was, as always with MacMillan at that time, mixed with lots of applause and cheering at the first night interspersed with some booing and catcalls. In 1973 MacMillan was still unpopular with a section of the audience because he wasn't Ashton - nothing to do with his qualities as a choreographer. Both his Anastasia and Beauty had not been well received and 7 Deadlies provoked a similar reaction. I was surprised that it was allowed to die, though, as it had a lot going for it.

[Jan McNulty]

2 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

Interesting review in today’s links: https://dancetabs.com/2019/05/viviana-durante-company-three-8-38-seven-london/.

 

17 minutes ago, Douglas Allen said:

Thanks for pointing out the review and the (implicit) confirmation of hesitations/disagreements/objections (who knows?) on the part of the MacMillan Estate. I never saw the first attempt with Western Theatre Ballet (with Anya Linden and Cleo Laine), but I did see the 1973 version with Jenny Penney and Georgia Brown. I only saw two performances and after 46 years (gulp!) my memory isn't that clear - but I remember the work as both interesting and convoluted. On the whole it worked well, at times the dance appeared to comment on the singing and at other points the singing referred back to the dancing. The reception was, as always with MacMillan at that time, mixed with lots of applause and cheering at the first night interspersed with some booing and catcalls. In 1973 MacMillan was still unpopular with a section of the audience because he wasn't Ashton - nothing to do with his qualities as a choreographer. Both his Anastasia and Beauty had not been well received and 7 Deadlies provoked a similar reaction. I was surprised that it was allowed to die, though, as it had a lot going for it.

 

2 other reviews had been posted in Links earlier in the week.  It's always worth looking at the Links section, you never know what you might find!

 

Reviews - Viviana Durante, Three, 8:38, Seven, London:

Jack Buckley, Seen and Heard International

Vera Liber, British Theatre Guide

[JohnS]

Many thanks Jan - I’d been meaning to look for the reviews but rather got side tracked by the new season/Alex Beard.