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The Royal Ballet: Romeo and Juliet, Spring 2019


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4 hours ago, J_New said:

Does anyone know which cast (s) Kish is Tybalt? 

 

He was in the Hamilton/Andrijashenko cast I saw, but I don’t know which of the casts yet to come he will be in.  

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I'd hazard a guess at Clarke/Nunez, given he was in what should have been the Clarke/Hamilton cast, but it is only a guess. And I suppose we don't even know yet if Clarke will be able to do those performances or not.

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There's nearly half a row left in the stalls for the final performance (June 11th).   All top price unfortunately but since I've bought very few tickets this season I thought I'd treat myself.😃

 

Linda

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8 hours ago, alison said:

Yes, it's really annoying not to know.  And there seem to be so many Tybalts - unlike Mercutios.

 

So far I've seen Avis & Kish and read comments about Gartside & Whitehead. Who are the other Tybalts, if there are more of them than the 4 Mercutios?

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7 hours ago, loveclassics said:

There's nearly half a row left in the stalls for the final performance (June 11th).   All top price unfortunately but since I've bought very few tickets this season I thought I'd treat myself.😃

 

Linda

Well done Linda!  👏👏

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On 08/05/2019 at 19:17, Dawnstar said:

 

So far I've seen Avis & Kish and read comments about Gartside & Whitehead. Who are the other Tybalts, if there are more of them than the 4 Mercutios?

 

Matthew Ball?

 

 

 

 

 

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On 08/05/2019 at 08:26, Dawnstar said:

I'd hazard a guess at Clarke/Nunez, given he was in what should have been the Clarke/Hamilton cast, but it is only a guess. And I suppose we don't even know yet if Clarke will be able to do those performances or not.

Conversations I had last night when at the ROH led me to believe that Clarke is not fit, but it seems very odd that they have not announced a replacement

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2 minutes ago, JennyTaylor said:

Conversations I had last night when at the ROH led me to believe that Clarke is not fit, but it seems very odd that they have not announced a replacement

 

I think that that announcement will be made next week.

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6 hours ago, capybara said:

 

Matthew Ball?

 

 

Oh, is he dancing Tybalt as well as Romeo? That seems quite a heavy schedule with Medusa as well.

 

1 hour ago, JennyTaylor said:

Conversations I had last night when at the ROH led me to believe that Clarke is not fit, but it seems very odd that they have not announced a replacement

 

That's a shame. Yes, given his first scheduled performance is in a week they must know who the replacement is. Fingers crossed I won't want to return my ticket once the announcement is made...

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12 hours ago, alison said:

Possibly worth noting for those attending either of today's R&Js: on the tube, the Circle line, and much of the central District line, are completely out due to engineering works.

 

Thanks for the reminder. I'd completely forgotten. Good thing I saw this 4 mons before I need to get off a train at a different station! 

 

34 minutes ago, Sim said:

Matthew Ball is Tybalt at today’s matinee.  

 

Hope he is for the later Corrales/Hayward perfs too. It'd be interesting to see the same dancer do roles on the opposite sides!

 

Looking forward to Lamb/Muntagirov this evening.

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4 hours ago, Sim said:

Matthew Ball is Tybalt at today’s matinee.  

… and he was absolutely stunning - couldn't take my eyes of him, which then caused difficulties as Marcelino Sambe and James Hay (Mercutio and Benvolio) were superb too.  Loved it!  

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6 minutes ago, nycitybird said:

How was Corrales

 

I booked specifically to see him, as I think he is perfect for this part. And I really enjoyed his performance. They looked amazing together. Hearts breaking all over the audience for the pas de deux. Don’t think he is back to full strength though. Almost unfair to have two other Romeos on the same stage (Ball and Sambé) and one could be Romeo imo (James Hay).  Wish I could see the whole thing over again right now, as I am that spoiled from this cast

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Agree totally with Candleque's estimation vis a vis this afternoon.  Best I think to give Corrales some rope.  That said sparks were there to be found.  Ball and Sambe (Mercutio) were simply sublime in the fulfilment of both their balletic and dramatic goals; each adding focused details which I can only believe were unique to them.  Ball's Tybalt was a fighter - replete with a tightened confidence frequently stroked by caustic wit - to the end.  It was oh, so thrilling to be in the presence of both and the stage lit up every time they were in our lucky purvey.  Bravi. 

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24 minutes ago, Candleque said:

 

Don’t think he is back to full strength though. 

You wouldn’t have thought so, watching that Act 2 sword fight.  My goodness, so ferocious. He really meant it!

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The matinee was wonderful - I’ve never been so moved by the wedding service.  Just managed a quick word with Francesca Hayward at the Stage Door and absolutely delighted to have picked up a good ticket for Tuesday.  No chance of making her final performance given train services over the bank holiday weekend and thought I simply must come again.  The cast really was a dream - Anna-Rose O’Sullivan as Juliet’s lead friend just an example of the luxurious casting.

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I loved the matinee today.  What a sublime cast.  Everyone was firing on all cylinders (physically and dramatically!) and gave an ensemble performance worthy of the best.  It has been a long wait to see Cesar Corrales onstage again, but if we had to do without him for most of the season, it was worth the wait to see him debut as Romeo today.  His Romeo is young, passionate, sensual and everything he does is from the heart.  Absolutely no hesitation to start a love affair with Juliet, even though he knows who she is from the get-go.  No hesitation at all to grab the sword to avenge his best friend's death, despite what the consequences might be;  he just goes for it and a pox on the consequences.  He was so in love with his Juliet, like a puppy on a lead just waiting to be let go so he can run to her and be with her always...it just doesn't work out that way.  His despair in the crypt scene was so sad.  He was willing her so hard to go on and get up, and when he couldn't, you could feel the weight of his agony take over his whole body, and he wanted none of it.  His fight with Tybalt was one of the most ferocious (and at times uncontrollable) I have ever seen.  He knocked the sword out of poor Matthew Ball's hand a couple of times, and the latter had to scramble to retrieve it, but did so very well.  He seemed almost surprised by the ferocity of the attack coming at him.  

 

In the last run, I wasn't as crazy about Francesca Hayward's Juliet as some other people were, but I think that had much to do with her partner, with whom she was utterly miscast.  Today, no such worries.  She and Corrales had great chemistry, and were totally believable as the young, star-crossed lovers.  When they first encounter each other at the ball, it's as if neither of them understands what is happening to them.  As love and lust slowly dawn on them, they become more and more fired up and passionate, and this will make the fall hurt much more.  Unlike Romeo, we can see Juliet have brief moments of hesitation;  her nurse has told her who Romeo is, and she knows deep down that nothing good can come of it.  Foreboding shadows darken her lovely, expressive face a couple of times, but she throws caution to the wind and experiences that which she really wants to experience.  The final scene in the tomb was so moving, from her as well as from him.   I think he is the one who really broke my heart,  but she contributed to that;  how she crumpled over him when she discovered he was dead was just heartbreaking.   He had died a bit too far away from the side of the bed for her to be able to reach his arm to pull it up and kiss his hand in her death throes, but her final, empty reach was just as moving;  she couldn't even have him in death.  Very sad.

 

I loved Matthew Ball's Tybalt...it was a very different interpretation, an 'English' Tybalt, if you like.  He wasn't angry and fuming and lashing out.  He was subtle, simmering, sardonic, smug, sarcastic, smirking, sexy and sublime.  He was much more measured than we usually see with Tybalts, and this worked as a very effective contrast to Corrales' Latin passion.  This Tybalt just thought it was all a fun game at first....he smirked at the Montague boys, toyed with them like a cat with a half-dead bird, obviously considering them as pathetic little boys trying to be big men with their swords and their provocations.  However, the simmering cauldron had to boil over, and the job be completed on the half-dead birds.  All of a sudden, Tybalt's fury and humiliation manifested themselves through his sword.  As mentioned above, this was one helluva fight.  There were no regrets after killing Mercutio, and that's when I felt really angry at him.  I really hope he is doing it again on Tuesday night.  

 

And speaking of Mercutio....Marcellino Sambe, wow!  One of the best I have seen.  Again, last time I didn't think  he was that great in the role.  THIS time was a completely different  matter.  Fabulous dancing,  fun, cheeky, full of life....all of which made the waste of his death so much more poignant.  A truly bravura performance.  

 

Excellent also from James Hay as Benvolio.  I always feel sorry for poor Benvolio;  by the end of the story, he has lost both of his best mates in the space of just a few minutes.  I always wonder whatever becomes of him!  But I digress....James Hay was an exuberant boy, and the trio were utterly believable as three teenage mates, roaming around Verona, having fun....until Romeo falls in love, at which point they are all doomed in one way or another.  

 

Gary Avis was his usual patrician lord, and I love the feeling I get with him that he is just fed up with dealing with all these hormonal teenagers:  Paris always whining asking why Juliet doesn't like him, Juliet not paying attention to nor fulfilling his wishes, Tybalt constantly angry and making a scene at his ball, Romeo also causing problems in his house....I can almost hear him cry in despair 'will no-one rid me of these hormonal teenagers?'    Christina Arestis is a very sympathetic Lady Capulet;  she loves and comforts her daughter, but as a woman in those days there wasn't much she could to help Juliet with her situation as Lord Capulet's word and will are final.

 

Well done to a very special all-round cast who gave a luscious rendering of this ballet.  The fact that I have seen it so many times and yet can still be moved by it is a huge tribute to all the fantastic casts the RB has at the moment.  I am in awe.  

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1 hour ago, JohnS said:

absolutely delighted to have picked up a good ticket for Tuesday.

 

hashtag jealous 😄

 

18 minutes ago, Sim said:

Well done to a very special all-round cast who gave a luscious rendering of this ballet.  The fact that I have seen it so many times and yet can still be moved by it is a huge tribute to all the fantastic casts the RB has at the moment.  I am in awe.

 

Agree agree agree. Thanks @Sim for the excellent detailed review

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Great review Sim, and a full one for being so hot off the press. It was indeed a wonderful performance from all those you mention. Those PDDs at the end of Act 1, and the start of Act 3...so beautiful.

As I recall, Corrales picked up the sword that he knocked out of Ball's and handed it back. A gentlemanly act!

 

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34 minutes ago, Sim said:

I loved the matinee today.  What a sublime cast. 

 

Well done to a very special all-round cast who gave a luscious rendering of this ballet.  The fact that I have seen it so many times and yet can still be moved by it is a huge tribute to all the fantastic casts the RB has at the moment.  I am in awe.  

 

Totally agree with you Sim. 

 

Only a little to say ......

 

Corrales is an astonishingly talented young man: 22 years old, just back from a major injury, dancing one of the most demanding male roles in ballet, his first principal role in a MacMillan ballet and he has the skill and confidence not simply to dance the solos beautifully, and to partner commendably but to act out a committed, credible and deeply passionate Romeo. 

 

Ball is turning out to be a remarkably versatile dancer. His Tybalt was powerful and convincing. 

 

Sambe and Hay were both terrific and ideally matched with Corrales : the masks pd3, so often sloppy, was almost a masterclass. 

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Lets have a little shout out too for the corps and the harlots. They had a whale of a time whilst all the main business was going on. Lovely to watch. Wonderful having you back Frankie, well matched with Corrales. Matthew, Marci and James really put the top hat on it.  Fabulous performance, Act 3 was just sublime. Going to lie down now.

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