The Royal Ballet: Romeo and Juliet, Spring 2019

[MJW]

37 minutes ago, J_New said:

Just a question - did anyone else find the cinema stream very dark? I was in Cambridge and even though I knew what to look for the whole stage was so dark that for example the monks entering the tomb were completely invisible, so no chance of seeing Romeo at all. It was the same all through - Tybalt’s entrance down the steps in Act 2 was almost impossible to see if you didn’t know where to look. Even some of the market scenes were hard to see.  I’d love a DVD but don’t know whether this would be a problem or whether it was just a transmission issue.

 

Yes - it was and quite difficult to see anything further at the back of the stage. I have found this before with the live broadcasts

 

[bridiem]

37 minutes ago, J_New said:

Just a question - did anyone else find the cinema stream very dark? I was in Cambridge and even though I knew what to look for the whole stage was so dark that for example the monks entering the tomb were completely invisible, so no chance of seeing Romeo at all. It was the same all through - Tybalt’s entrance down the steps in Act 2 was almost impossible to see if you didn’t know where to look. Even some of the market scenes were hard to see.  I’d love a DVD but don’t know whether this would be a problem or whether it was just a transmission issue.

 

Yes, it was pretty dark (in Brixton). But that always seems to be the case with these screenings so I've come to expect it. (It happens in Wimbledon too.)

[jmhopton]

4 hours ago, Richard LH said:

 

 

One thing I noticed is that in the tomb, at first Naghdi's Juliet seemed pleased to see Romeo prostrate on the floor, as if she didn't realise he was dead, only doing so when she knelt down to him. As far as I recall, other Juliets realise at first glance that Romeo (like Paris) is dead;   Naghdi's  interpretation (if intended)  is certainly novel (and potentially even more heart rending)  but  I am not sure it is believable  given the context.  

 

I thought that Juliet always thought Romeo was alive when she first saw him and it was only after she kissed him she realised he was dead. She touches her mouth to indicate she's detected the taste of the poison and I think last night Yasmine picked up the bottle. 

I was watching from Preston odeon last night and I thought the performance really terrific far better than when I saw it at the ROH. I think the close ups made all the difference and both main performers truly outstanding as were the entire cast. They are all an amazing advert for British artistic excellence and long may they continue to be so. 

 

 

[Nogoat]

If dance is painting with movement, then last night’s Romeo and Juliet was a technically brilliant trompe l’oeil – awe-inspiring in the fidelity of its representation – compared to a week ago last Saturday which was a masterpiece of impressionism – less emphasis on accuracy and more on conveying the emotional content to the viewer (for obvious reasons, Munch’s The Scream comes to mind).

To my untrained eye, Juliet last night seemed step-perfect throughout; even when Romeo dropped her back down onto the crypt floor in despair, her lifeless body managed to fall and arrange itself ‘classically’! Truly impressive!

It’s just that it seemed technique was constantly favoured over the impulse and abandonment that helps convey the emotional content of the piece.

This was true (albeit to a lesser extent) with Romeo; unusually for us, we were sat in Stalls Circle and were hoping to catch the elevations we tend to miss from our usual viewpoint in the Amphi (the trade-off being a better view of the ensemble patterns from there). We were expecting Ball to pull out all the stops, but my overall impression was one of restraint and focus on execution.

This was my first opportunity to see Naghdi/Ball in these roles, so I don’t know if this was typical of them or perhaps a response to the presence of the cameras; I think they are much too professional to be fazed by the increased size of the audience, so I’m left wondering if they avoided risk-taking because of the possibility of the recording being released on DVD – better to have a safe, controlled rendition of the ballet rather than a more risky, impulsive interpretation?

And, for me, MacMillan cries out for spontaneity, for risk-taking. His is the gift of exploring the irrational, impulsive psychology of our desires, and the messy reality of the ways in which those are made manifest and realised – the tears, the sweat, the blood and the hormones coursing through it.

At their best MacMillan’s narrative ballets eschew romantic ideals for the sweaty, dangerous reality of passion.

Last Saturday week there was even real blood spilled; last night was beautiful to watch, but it seemed somewhat arid in its content. 

But something did blow me away last night – and that was Gary Avis’s Tybalt. His portrayal provided what I can only describe as a dramatic realignment of the whole story. I’ve previously mentioned that the ballet is so much about Juliet (especially in the hands of a dramatic Juliet) that it could be called Juliet and Romeo, or even just Juliet.

This is because Romeo’s half of the story seems less engaging, for his ‘narrative arc’ is shallower and less well defined.

As such, Act 2 (which hardly features Juliet) seems more of a plot device that happens to have some impressive dancing and fighting; it’s an interlude in the love story.
That changed last night; Act 2 became all about Tybalt’s narrative arc, and in doing so it helped illuminate and flesh out that of Romeo’s as well.

Looking back at the Tybalts I have seen in this run, Ball was arrogant and cruel, Whitehead seemed protective, and Hirano seemed to exude a knowing, entitled power.

Avis was most like Whitehead, but magnified ten-fold. He was there to protect the integrity and honour of the family; he was quite happy to skirmish, but in the way that rutting stags might – designed to set boundaries of behaviour, respect and influence rather than inflict mortal harm.

I don’t know how closely the camera followed him during Act 1, but his interactions with the rest of the cast in conveying this were amazing – a quick glance here, a frown there; it all added up.

In Act 2 he arrives drunk, yes, but it was patently clear that the death of Mercutio (which was superbly realised by Zucchetti) was an accident, and one for which both Romeo and Tybalt were equally to blame.

Tybalt was completely horrified by what his sword had done – it was not meant to be! If he could undo it, he would.

So, when Romeo lost his rag and attacked Tybalt, Avis didn’t immediately double-down and attack back – he initially ran away from Romeo, fending him off with his sword behind him (he ran away not, I felt, from cowardice but from not wanting things to escalate further).

When Romeo eventually killed him (the sword bent with the power of that thrust!) and the red mist lifted, Ball’s own horror at what he had done was greatly magnified– the tragedy represented by these twin deaths was painful in its intensity, and Romeo’s narrative arc was boosted to escape velocity as a result.

 

In fact, Avis was so damn good that when we happened to run into an ex-dancer on the way to the tube I blurted out that on the basis of his performance the ballet should be renamed Romeo, Juliet, and the Tragedy of Tybalt.

 

Last Saturday week contained the best Act 3 I have ever seen; last night contained the best Act 2 I have ever seen. It was a privilege to have been able to witness them.

 

[zxDaveM]

1 hour ago, J_New said:

Just a question - did anyone else find the cinema stream very dark? I was in Cambridge and even though I knew what to look for the whole stage was so dark that for example the monks entering the tomb were completely invisible, so no chance of seeing Romeo at all. It was the same all through - Tybalt’s entrance down the steps in Act 2 was almost impossible to see if you didn’t know where to look. Even some of the market scenes were hard to see.  I’d love a DVD but don’t know whether this would be a problem or whether it was just a transmission issue.

 

The monks are always invisible these days, even in the theatre through high gain binoculars.

its a modern trend I think, save 50p on the electric bill, so gloomfest rools ok!

[J_New]

That's true, Dave, but you can usually make out a slight movement as they go through!! Last night there was just blackness ..... and also times when the dancers disappeared into the dimness at the sides of the stage until re-emerging into the spotlight ....and it wasn't intentional! 

It didn't matter for me, but I'm sure that others less familiar with the ballet might have missed quite a lot!

[Fiz]

Thank you for replying, Sim. 

[zxDaveM]

I could just make out Romeo through the bins, as I knew where to look. It would be better if he was lit, so we could follow his reaction to Paris, so we knew why he murdered him!

[Nogoat]

1 hour ago, zxDaveM said:

I could just make out Romeo through the bins,

 

Aye, it were tough back in the day getting banished from Verona and having to scavenge for food... 

[Mary]

1 hour ago, zxDaveM said:

 

The monks are always invisible these days, even in the theatre through high gain binoculars.

its a modern trend I think, save 50p on the electric bill, so gloomfest rools ok!

Perhaps they're saving money on monks as well...

[JohnS]

1 hour ago, jmhopton said:

She touches her mouth to indicate she's detected the taste of the poison and I think last night Yasmine picked up the bottle. 

 

In the cinema I thought it was clear that Juliet tried to finish the poison but the bottle was empty - hence she stabbed herself ... and much more effectively than 1 June as Sim has pointed out.

[Dawnstar]

18 hours ago, MRR said:

Sorry, I forgot to answer this earlier.  The only difference in the step was that Hallberg's assemble had a single (360 degree) revolution while Ball/Tissi's rotated twice.  The preparation, air position, and landing of the step were all the same, with Ball/Tissi (and presumably other Romeos) rotating an extra turn in the air.  

 

Can't recall if Zuchetti's Mercutio solo was any different than Sambe's though it is possible. Sambe's technique and musicality were much cleaner and clearer, even while his pirouettes attempted more revolutions than Zuchetti's did.  However, in the mandolin dance Saturday evening, Benjamin Ella added a barrel "540" jump which was not done by the other mandolin soloists (Sambe and Sissens).  

 

Thanks for the explanation. I was trying to work out last night if Zuchetti was doing anything different to Sambe but am still not sure if it was an actual difference in steps or just a difference in excecution.

 

5 hours ago, Richard LH said:

One thing I noticed is that in the tomb, at first Naghdi's Juliet seemed pleased to see Romeo prostrate on the floor, as if she didn't realise he was dead, only doing so when she knelt down to him. As far as I recall, other Juliets realise at first glance that Romeo (like Paris) is dead;   Naghdi's  interpretation (if intended)  is certainly novel (and potentially even more heart rending)  but  I am not sure it is believable  given the context.  

The sword fighting came across very well at the cinema - really punchy and dramatic. But as in previous screenings, in my cinema at least, the stage

 

I thought Nunez also played it as if she thought Romeo was alive at first. As she knelt down by him she was smiling & it was only after she bent over him that she realised. She's also the only Juliet I've seen who, after her silent scream, actually thumped the stage in frustration that he was dead - not necessarily an interpretation I entirely agreed with but it was certainly different.

 

1 hour ago, J_New said:

Just a question - did anyone else find the cinema stream very dark? I was in Cambridge and even though I knew what to look for the whole stage was so dark that for example the monks entering the tomb were completely invisible, so no chance of seeing Romeo at all. It was the same all through - Tybalt’s entrance down the steps in Act 2 was almost impossible to see if you didn’t know where to look. Even some of the market scenes were hard to see.  I’d love a DVD but don’t know whether this would be a problem or whether it was just a transmission issue.

 

Yes. That was the biggest difference I found between the cinecast & seeing the production live. I'd also add that none of the characters were visible when entering/leaving either the Capulet ballroom or Juliet's bedroom by the rear entrance. Nor was Lord Capulet visible on the stairs at the end of Act 2 until after Lady Capulet had finished gesturing towards him. I was in Cambridge too but possibly not the same cinema as i was at the Light - which is rather ironic really!

 

26 minutes ago, zxDaveM said:

I could just make out Romeo through the bins, as I knew where to look. It would be better if he was lit, so we could follow his reaction to Paris, so we knew why he murdered him!

 

I knew where to look for Romeo but still couldn't see him through the gloom & he did appear to come out of no-where to stab Paris. Admittedly my concentration wasn't helped by some idiot deciding to enter the cinema just as the last scene was starting & walk right up the centre aisle so his head was in the way of the lower part of the screen. Who turns up only for the very last scene of a production?

 

I thought last night was a very good performance but it didn't quite do it for me in the same way a couple of other performances in the run did. I think the problem is that, having seen 5 other performances, I was inevitably comparing and apart from a handful of dancers (McNally, Arestis, Stix-Brunnell, possibly Avis, all of whom I'd already seen live) most of last night's cast, including those I hadn't seen live, didn't manage to surpass others I had already seen in the various roles.

 

I thought Ball was strong all round but I've seen others I've preferred in each aspect (Muntagirov better technical dancing, Corrales better passionate acting, Andrijashenko better looking - yes, I know that seems shallow but Juliet does have to fall in love with him at first sight!). Also I still think I might prefer him as Tybalt. I can't fault anything about Naghdi's performance, her lines were lovely, her acting was detailed, but somehow she didn't break my heart & I also never had the sense that I did with Hamilton & Hayward that the choreography was absolutely right (not sure if that's clear, I don't know the choreography well, it was just a feeling). I can't really fault Zuchetti, and I think he works better closer to, except that Sambe just managed to be better! I really liked Avis's Tybalt when I saw him at the first performance I saw & I still think he performs the role as ideally as he can but, having now seen other, younger, Tybalts, I'm not sure that the character doesn't work best when he's nearer the age of the Montague boys.

 

Has anyone seen a dancer manage to make Benvolio's Harlot a memorable character? I think I've seen 4 or 5 different dancers in the role this run & none of them succeeded in making her at all interesting for me. She does as much dancing as Romeo's Harlot & Mercutio's Harlot but seems to get none of thier acting or characterisation opportunities.

 

I just want to rave about the score once more. It was worth going to the cinema last night just to hear it yet again. While I've not heard all ballet scores I'd be very surprised if any others ever overtake it as the best ballet score in my opinion.

[jm365]

I remember in the old days that Tybalt was also laid out on a tomb/bed in the vault, and the monks were a very visible procession, with Romeo concealing himself amongst them.  Juliet had an even more frightening waking up scene - seeing Tybalt as well as Paris.

[Richard LH]

4 hours ago, Sim said:

Richard LH said:

 

One thing I noticed is that in the tomb, at first Naghdi's Juliet seemed pleased to see Romeo prostrate on the floor, as if she didn't realise he was dead, only doing so when she knelt down to him. As far as I recall, other Juliets realise at first glance that Romeo (like Paris) is dead;   Naghdi's  interpretation (if intended)  is certainly novel (and potentially even more heart rending)  but  I am not sure it is believable  given the context. 

 

 

The RB dancers used to do this more often, but I have noticed this run that it hasn't been done, so I was very pleased to see Naghdi do it.

 

I think it is entirely in context.  The tomb is very dark, and Romeo has had to travel a long way to get to it, probably through the night so he wasn't seen re-entering Verona, so would be exhausted.  Juliet has been in a deep, deep sleep.  She has just woken up in a dark, forbidding place and tripped over Paris' dead body.  There are no outward signs of death to Romeo, and it isn't until she kisses him that she realises the awful truth.  It is totally feasible that she would think, for a brief moment, that he had fallen asleep whilst waiting for her to wake up. 

 

This is just one of the touches that Naghdi, ever the intelligent interpreter, added to her performance that made it so special for me.  For those who commented that she didn't stab herself hard enough last time, last night she certainly did, and for good measure, pulled the knife out very slowly ensuring that her pain was shared with all of us.  I can almost feel it now. 

 

Thanks Sim, and thanks to others, for explaining this.  The way you put it, it does indeed  appear a perfectly plausible reaction  for Juliet to have, so  well done Yasmine for upping the agony even more ! 

(I suppose other Juliets I saw may have done the same,  but not so obviously seen in the absence of the camera close-up).

I agree also about the knife - I was feeling that too !  

[J_New]

21 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

I'd also add that none of the characters were visible when entering/leaving either the Capulet ballroom or Juliet's bedroom by the rear entrance. Nor was Lord Capulet visible on the stairs at the end of Act 2 until after Lady Capulet had finished gesturing towards him. I was in Cambridge too but possibly not the same cinema as i was at the Light - which is rather ironic really!

Very ironic! I was in the Arts Picturehouse.  I agree about the entrances and exits - characters just kind of materialised on stage out of the gloom, and so it didn't always make sense. Lord Capulet on the stairs at the end of Act 2 is a case in point as Lady Capulet was just gesturing into the blackness.

[JohnS]

I very much enjoyed last night’s relay, including all the introductions/interval features.

 

I found R&J as a pair very moving, believable, engaging and the balcony/bedroom scenes lovely - they clearly trusted each other and there was a real exuberance which I found captivating.  

 

One aspect I found odd - Mercutio’s death seemed very much Romeo’s fault, Tybalt showed the most remorse, and that sets up a bit of a problem as we may sympathise much more with Tybalt than is normally the case.  I’m sure Romeo’s contribution to Tybalt’s death is played up much more in some performances than others and last night seemed a shade too much to me.  And do other Tybalts really show that level of remorse?  I thought done showed hardly any/none.

 

As others have said Valentino Zucchetti was much better than on 1 June and I do like Benjamin Ella - there’s a real confidence in all he does and I find he’s so on the beat that he never looks rushed.  Loved the street scenes and the opportunities for so many to make their contributions.  Does any one know if Anna-Rose was lead Juliet’s friend in every performance (when she wasn’t dancing Juliet)?

 

One or two odd selections by the director - we didn’t see Juliet arrive at the Ball and I don’t think the focus on either Romeo or Juliet at the end of the Balcony scene did justice to the wonder of the curtain fall.

 

I may well go to the encore - for the Medusa Triple Bill I think we heard that there was to be a DVD before the encore performances took place which was very helpful as the nearest cinema from home was a 90 minute drive.  Many more R&J encores closer but a DVD would be very welcome.
 

 

[penelopesimpson]

My only 'fault' with Ball was that he wasn't playing Tybalt as well!  For me, his characterisation - entitled/supressed anger/cold violence - was the definitive one.  I loved Avis but he is more violent, drunken thug and I prefer it when the characters are all of an age.

 

For me the worst character in any production is Paris.  I've seen three different ones now and they all make what they can of it but it seems somehow an underwritten, thankless part.

[onemouseplace]

1 hour ago, Dawnstar said:

 

I just want to rave about the score once more. It was worth going to the cinema last night just to hear it yet again. While I've not heard all ballet scores I'd be very surprised if any others ever overtake it as the best ballet score in my opinion.

 

I know there is another thread about favourite scores, but I just have to say here that I agree with you.  I was a little worried that the cinema screening wouldn't do justice to the music (cinemas are mostly far too loud for my taste) but I was pleasantly relieved that it sounded lush - and as a pp said, the brass were the best I've heard them. Of all the ballet scores, it's probably the only one I prefer to listen to as a piece of music as a whole rather than either a suite or excerpts.  Act 3 is just perfection in my opinion.

 

How full were the other cinema screening people attended?  Mine only had about 20-25 people in which made for a bit of a lack of atmosphere (and certainly no applause!) but I did see than my other two local-ish cinemas were fully booked/ nearly fully booked.  

Edited June 12, 2019 by onemouseplace

[Scheherezade]

What an extraordinary range of opinions here, and that has to be a good thing, both from the audience objectivity angle and, also, the different qualities that the principals and artists in the company are able to draw on.

 

I have seen three performances in this run and I chose each of them because I hoped that they would bring something to the table that the others might not. They were, chronologically: Hayward/Corrales; Osipova/Hallberg; Naghdi/Ball. Putting aside, for the time being, Hallberg's Romeo which as I have said elsewhere, did not, for me, sit happily with the rest of the cast, I enjoyed all three, and before dissecting them I will lay my cards firmly on the table: in general I find Naghdi technically extraordinary, Osipova a rollercoaster powerhouse and Hayward unutterably sublime - she is the one who reaches places that others can barely envisage. If Naghdi appeals to the classicist in me, Osipova fires my combative instincts but Hayward is the one who touches my heart, and that was what I expected to take home from the three performances of R&J.

 

To some extent, that was true: Hayward displayed her usual, luminous spontaneity and I melted, I was stirred and embattled by Osipova's feral child of Verona but, my goodness, what a revelation Naghdi proved to be, and to some extent I should have expected this because it isn't the first time that she has surprised me - I was totally won over, for instance, by her take on Lescaut's mistress, all the more spectacular because it seemed so out of character.

 

I have asked myself what was so special about last night's performance and, of course, there are many elements, not least, as others have pointed out, the astonishing, warts-and-all Tybalt fleshed out by Gary Avis, every little gesture bringing humanity to a character that it is generally difficult to lift beyond the realms of sheer caricature. I also liked Zucchetti and Ella a lot. Ella made for a very convincing Benvolio and whilst Zucchetti may not have had the full skill set of Sambe's Mercutio, what he lacked in virtuosity was more than counterbalanced by his usual engaging personality, in this case laddishness tempered with that caring touch, and I was particularly impressed by the realism of his death scene.

 

Which leads me to Ball, and what a dreamy, pitch-perfect Romeo he was: everything, in fact, that a young teenage girl would fall for - handsome, attentive, amorous. He may not have had the reckless Latin passion of Corrales but he had fire in his veins, he was besotted with his Juliet and the chemistry between the two of them set the stage alight. A text book Romeo and a Juliet who was true to herself and to her emotions as she grew before our eyes from a shy child to a purposeful young woman in thrall to the glory of her first love.

 

In their different ways I loved the Romeos of both Ball and Corrales. Each was valid, each worked so well with the subtly different nuances that their separate Juliets brought to the stage and both of them also showed a real sense of camaraderie with their two bosom friends. I know that many on this forum loved Hallberg's Romeo but I could not feel the same connection in his scenes with Mercutio and Benvolio where I still feel that he had the air of a somewhat delicate alien doing his best to fit in with the ebullience of his less than suitable friends.

 

But back to Naghdi and to the criticism that her classicism can get in the way of interpretative powers. If it did, it went over my head. I found her performance charming and naturalistic. The person sitting next to me said that in the last act Naghdi's body was like a lizard, which is not a comparison that I have heard anyone else use but I do know what she meant. And I am so glad that I was there last night.

[penelopesimpson]

'Hayward unutterably sublime - she is the one who reaches places that others can barely envisage.'

 

Wonderful description.

[Bravissima35]

I really enjoyed the performance last night.  Ball and Naghdi have the most gorgeous chemistry and he is so secure with his partnering.  

 

Yasmine Naghdi was stunning as Juliet.  She made it her own role and like another poster said, she was part of a noble family and danced accordingly and this made the third act even more heart breaking as her dancing was more wild, desperate. I thought Matthew Ball played Romeo as a very 'British Lad' which might not be accurate in character  but he did come across as being romantic and dreamy.  I would love to see him as Des Greiux!  

 

I liked Nicol Edmonds as Paris but I always see Paris as being played by a very tall dancer but he did have the right amount of Haughtiness in the Dance of the Knights. There were a couple of blips in the orchestra but marvelous French Horn playing!  IMHO Romany Padjek should have been playing Romeo's Harlot as thought she captured the character more and I hope she gets promoted.  Beatrix Stix Brunell would have been better as Mercutio's but obviously with this casting it would have made her too tall for Zuchetti! 

 

My main bug bear was with the filming of it.  There were bits where they focused on the back of the stage and not on the dancing. Some of the Harlots and crowd scene choreography was lost by this.   In the scene in Act three where Juliet is sitting on the bed thinking on what she is going to do, I wish they had panned out from her face to show the whole stage and the sense of the music being all around her and showing how alone she is.  

 

I hope they bring it out on DVD 

[Dawnstar]

5 hours ago, JohnS said:

Does any one know if Anna-Rose was lead Juliet’s friend in every performance (when she wasn’t dancing Juliet)?

 

I as wondering that too. She's been in the role all 5 performances I've seen & I don't recall any comments on here mentioning anyone else in the role so she's presumably done at least a pretty big proportion of the performances. Query for anyone who saw her Juliet: who did the role in that performance?

 

5 hours ago, onemouseplace said:

How full were the other cinema screening people attended?  Mine only had about 20-25 people in which made for a bit of a lack of atmosphere (and certainly no applause!) but I did see than my other two local-ish cinemas were fully booked/ nearly fully booked.  

 

Mine was less than half full but the other local cinema looked to be nearly sold out. Despite the fairly small audience I still found it annoying. I don't go to the cinema much (the last time I saw a film as opposed to a livestream at a cinema was in 2002) & when I do go I find the incessant eating drives me mad. Not only the rustling but the smells. Before it started there were a couple eating fast food, during the first act there was a pervasive sickly-sweet smell who origin I couldn't identify, & after each interval there was the smell of popcorn. I spent a large part of the evening feeling rather sick & thanking God that people don't eat during performances at the ROH.

 

Reading all the comments, I seem to be in a very small minority in not being blown away by last night's performance. I'm now feeling guilty that I evidently missed or didn't get something that almost everyone else got.

[Lizbie1]

9 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

Reading all the comments, I seem to be in a very small minority in not being blown away by last night's performance. I'm now feeling guilty that I evidently missed or didn't get something that almost everyone else got.

 

I think I’ve only ever been blown away by live performances, so don’t feel bad!

[J_New]

8 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

 

 

 

Mine was less than half full but the other local cinema looked to be nearly sold out. Despite the fairly small audience I still found it annoying. I don't go to the cinema much (the last time I saw a film as opposed to a livestream at a cinema was in 2002) & when I do go I find the incessant eating drives me mad. Not only the rustling but the smells. Before it started there were a couple eating fast food, during the first act there was a pervasive sickly-sweet smell who origin I couldn't identify, & after each interval there was the smell of popcorn. I spent a large part of the evening feeling rather sick & thanking God that people don't eat during performances at the ROH.

 

Reading all the comments, I seem to be in a very small minority in not being blown away by last night's performance. I'm now feeling guilty that I evidently missed or didn't get something that almost everyone else got.

 

It must have been the cinema experience putting you off! The other cinema was full with a very well-behaved appreciative audience, although they did bring the odd glass of wine in with them. No food though!

[MJW]

5 hours ago, onemouseplace said:

How full were the other cinema screening people attended?  Mine only had about 20-25 people in which made for a bit of a lack of atmosphere (and certainly no applause!) but I did see than my other two local-ish cinemas were fully booked/ nearly fully booked.  

 

Mine isn't a proper cinema, just our local arts centre which can be converted into a cinema for live broadcasts etc. I suppose the main hall must have a capacity of around 160 and it was packed and it appeared everyone enjoyed (even the husbands who went at the behest of their wives!)

[Dawnstar]

38 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

I think I’ve only ever been blown away by live performances, so don’t feel bad!

 

I had it the other way round with Mayerling though: I was more moved by the cinecast of that than seeing it live, thanks to much prefering McRae to Hirano as Rudolf, so I'm not sure I can entirely blame my feelings about last night on it not being live.

 

35 minutes ago, J_New said:

 

It must have been the cinema experience putting you off! The other cinema was full with a very well-behaved appreciative audience, although they did bring the odd glass of wine in with them. No food though!

 

I don't think feeling sick throughout Act 1 helped, for sure. Yes, the Arts Picturehouse does generally have better audiences & not all the popcorn etc. but unfortunately there weren't any decent seats left there by the time I decided I wanted to go, so had to put up with the Light.

[bridiem]

57 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

Reading all the comments, I seem to be in a very small minority in not being blown away by last night's performance. I'm now feeling guilty that I evidently missed or didn't get something that almost everyone else got.

 

Well as you say, it's 'almost' everyone else, not everyone else; and please don't feel guilty! It is quite disconcerting when your reaction is very different from that of most other posters here - it's happened to me a number of times - but there's no right or wrong about it. All sorts of things affect how we react to an individual performance and/or to individual dancers, and no one person's reaction is any more or less valid than anyone else's. And your view may be shared by many forum members who don't post anything (maybe in case their views don't tally with those of the majority!).

[Balletfanp]

I was at the cinema last night. I thought Yasmine Naghdi was utterly wonderful. Her dancing was gorgeous and I didn’t find it too classical or restrained - on the contrary, I thought it expressed Juliet’s feelings perfectly, especially in the bedroom pas the deux when her anguish and despair was palpable.

 

And her acting, particularly in Act 3 was fantastic. The sitting on the bed moment, with her dawning hope and determination, along with that beautiful swelling music, was spine tingling, and a real test with the camera close-up. At the end of that particular sequence, my sister turned to me and just said “Wow.” Wow indeed.

 

I’m afraid I’m in the camp who doesn’t think Ball matched her. They did have lovely chemistry, and his partnering in the pas de deux was very strong, but although he looked the part, I just didn’t feel him. It wasn’t that he was bad in any way - just that I found his dancing good without being outstanding, and his acting fine but not mindblowing, and not on Naghdi’s level.

 

I thought Zucchetti was very good as Mercutio, but having seen Sambe recently I think he may have spoilt me for any other Mercutio! I did, however, really enjoy Ella’s Benvolio - I always like to watch him and last night both his dancing and acting were very strong. I’d like to see him promoted (but that’s another thread!).

 

Regarding the broadcast itself - yes, it was very dark, and after Tybalt’s death, if anyone wasn’t sure of what was going on, they would have been hard put to guess as Lord Capulet lurked dimly in the shadows at the top of the steps and Lady C gesticulated at - apparently - nothing. It was only really a problem at certain moments, but still....

 

When Juliet sits on the bed with “that” music, I find it very effective, and it’s a bold choreographic move to use stillness rather than movement at a time like that. When Juliet runs to find Friar Lawrence, though, I do see in my mind’s eye the In the Round version staged in the Albert Hall, and remember Daria Klimentova’s beautiful fleet footed run (she barely seemed to touch the ground) around that huge arena with the billowing cloak streaming behind.... I always think it’s a shame they don’t have all that room on the ROH stage, as the music really lends itself to the run, and it remains a wistful memory!

[Coated]

13 hours ago, Sim said:

 

The RB dancers used to do this more often, but I have noticed this run that it hasn't been done, so I was very pleased to see Naghdi do it.

 

I think it is entirely in context.  The tomb is very dark, and Romeo has had to travel a long way to get to it, probably through the night so he wasn't seen re-entering Verona, so would be exhausted.  Juliet has been in a deep, deep sleep.  She has just woken up in a dark, forbidding place and tripped over Paris' dead body.  There are no outward signs of death to Romeo, and it isn't until she kisses him that she realises the awful truth.  It is totally feasible that she would think, for a brief moment, that he had fallen asleep whilst waiting for her to wake up. 

It's also in the music - a few bright, hopeful notes before the score returns to despair. Naghdi's interpretation fitted the notes like a glove.

[Bluebird]

7 hours ago, JohnS said:

Does any one know if Anna-Rose was lead Juliet’s friend in every performance (when she wasn’t dancing Juliet)?

 

Sae Maeda was Juliet's lead friend several times early in the run but I have only seen her once in the more recent performances.

[Sim]

33 minutes ago, Coated said:

It's also in the music - a few bright, hopeful notes before the score returns to despair. Naghdi's interpretation fitted the notes like a glove.

That’s a good point, Coated. 

[bangorballetboy]

4 minutes ago, Sim said:

That’s a good point, Coated. 

 

It’s in the music, and (accordingly) it’s in the choreography!

[Sim]

Just now, bangorballetboy said:

 

It’s in the music, and (accordingly) it’s in the choreography!

But often not done....