Royal Ballet 2019/20 Autumn Season Casting

[alison]

1 hour ago, Darlex said:

Regarding the casting for Enigma am I correct in thinking that at the Royal Ballet, nobody other than Derek Rencher played Elgar for roughly the first twenty years, and that since the 1990s' revivals, only Christopher Saunders has taken on this role.

 

No.  Will Tuckett (I think - or am I imagining it?) and Bennet Gartside have danced it.

 

Quote

Regarding Edward Watson, I am hoping he will reprise Carabosse in The Sleeping Beauty. That's the role I have enjoyed him in the most!

 

Won't happen.  It was made very clear that the current production was only going to have females portraying Carabosse    I quite agree with you: one of the good things about the short-lived Makarova version was his and Yanowsky's Carabosses.

[Jane S]

Interesting, though, that Gartside gets a debut * by his first Elgar of the run, and Avis doesn't.

[alison]

Oops!  I'm sure Avis has never danced it before.

[Guest]

17 minutes ago, alison said:

Oops!  I'm sure Avis has never danced it before.

I also thought he hadn't. I think he used to dance the role created for Robert Mead. 

And I think Tuckett played the part made on either Desmond Doyle or Leslie Edwards 

Edited June 1, 2019 by Darlex

[Dawnstar]

I suppose all you experienced ballet viewers are used to processing triple bill castings but upon studiying it more closely & realising that due to cast variations there are in fact 6 cast combinations for Concerto & 5 for Enigma Variations I ended up so confused that I've had to put together a spreadsheet to get my head around it! From which I've worked out that I'll definitely be trying to book for 25th October but trying to decide on a second date is difficult. I don't know any of the pieces being performed. Would people say that Concerto or Raymonda is the more important piece in terms of leads?

[Lizbie1]

5 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

 

I suppose all you experienced ballet viewers are used to processing triple bill castings but upon studiying it more closely & realising that due to cast variations there are in fact 6 cast combinations for Concerto & 5 for Enigma Variations I ended up so confused that I've had to put together a spreadsheet to get my head around it!

 

 

I resorted to a full set of highlighters

[Jamesrhblack]

1 hour ago, Dawnstar said:

I suppose all you experienced ballet viewers are used to processing triple bill castings but upon studiying it more closely & realising that due to cast variations there are in fact 6 cast combinations for Concerto & 5 for Enigma Variations I ended up so confused that I've had to put together a spreadsheet to get my head around it! From which I've worked out that I'll definitely be trying to book for 25th October but trying to decide on a second date is difficult. I don't know any of the pieces being performed. Would people say that Concerto or Raymonda is the more important piece in terms of leads?

The Second Movement of Concerto defines that piece for me (Nunez and Pennefather were stupefying beautiful) and re Enigma, The Lady and Troyte so it’s Arestis (will see Morera in the cinema) and Campbell for me ....

Edited June 1, 2019 by Jamesrhblack

[Dawnstar]

57 minutes ago, Jamesrhblack said:

The Second Movement of Concerto defines that piece for me (Nunez and Pennefather were stupefying beautiful) and re Enigma, The Lady and Troyte so it’s Arestis (will see Morera in the cinema) and Campbell for me ....

 

That Enigma cast is my first choice too - purely on liking the dancers.

 

As far as I can work out unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any way of seeing 3 different casts in the 3 ballets over 3 performances, with 1 of the 3 performances being the cinecast, which I would ideally like to do. Maybe I should take up Sudoku instead, it might be easier than trying to work out these cast combinations!

[Ianlond]

23 hours ago, bridiem said:

 

I really really hope that Claire Calvert will be given Swan Lake.

I too hope Claire Calvert is given the opportunity to dance the lead in Swan Lake; she seems to have the amplitude of movement and beauty of line to do this. As others has said, she also seems to be interesting dramatically, with (IMO) the ability to project pathos.  But of course there are only so many shows ...

[Fonty]

Swan Lake casting seems to be a hot topic at the moment. 🙂  I see that some soloists' names are being put forward. 

 

This role is acknowledged to be one of the most difficult in the rep.  Not only is it one of the most demanding technically, it also requires a high level of stamina.  Therefore, I would have thought it was one that is normally danced by those who have reached the very top i.e principals.

 

So, I am interested to know how many times has Odette/Odile been danced at the RB by a dancer who  was not a principal?  I am sure someone on this forum will know the answer!

Edited June 2, 2019 by Fonty

[Jamesrhblack]

Off the top of my head: Bryony Brind, Fiona Chadwick? (Both became Principals), Deidre Eyden, Pippa Wylde in the late 70’s / early 80’s. I’m not sure that Darcey Bussell and Deborah Bull had yet been promoted when they made their debuts and I think Christina McDermott also danced the roles in the Dowell prouduction.

[Bluebird]

1 hour ago, Fonty said:

So, I am interested to know how many times has Odette/Odile been danced at the RB by a dancer who  was not a principal?  I am sure someone on this forum will know the answer!

 

2 minutes ago, Jamesrhblack said:

Off the top of my head: Bryony Brind, Fiona Chadwick? (Both became Principals), Deidre Eyden, Pippa Wylde in the late 70’s / early 80’s. I’m not sure that Darcey Bussell and Deborah Bull had yet been promoted when they made their debuts and I think Christina McDermott also danced the roles in the Dowell prouduction.

 

I seem to remember that Sarah Lamb danced Swan Lake while still a First Soloist.  However, I think she replaced an injured Principal and wasn't iniitially cast in the role.

[bridiem]

Bryony Brind was in the corps de ballet when she danced Swan Lake in 1981. (It was the day after my 21st birthday!). She was promoted to soloist later that year (and to principal in 1984). Can you imagine if someone in the corps was cast for SL now? Mind you, it created a lot of excitement even then.

[Jane S]

Ria Peri did a Swan Lake in the 1970s but I can't remember if she was ever a principal.

[Margaret]

19 hours ago, Richard LH said:

It is not there yet...I rang the Friends number and they told me the information would be there next week but that they could email me the castings pdf.

 

I have used the pdf for sending out information to the friends I book for, but did notice what I think is an error.  The Manon on Thursday 17th Oct is listed on the pdf as 1.30, but is 7.30pm on the web.  I would imagine the website is correct?

 

Thanks for posting the pdf, it made life a lot easier for me and many others.  It is still not on the website!

 

 

Edited June 2, 2019 by Margaret
spelling mistake

[Lynette H]

I think Muriel Valtat did Odette/Odile in the Dowell production, and she wasn't a principal. 1998. 

[Richard LH]

26 minutes ago, Margaret said:

The Manon on Thursday 17th Oct is listed on the pdf as 1.30, but is 7.30pm on the web.  I would imagine the website is correct?

 

I would think so; there is unlikely to be a 1:30 matinee on a Thursday. 

[Guest]

49 minutes ago, Jane S said:

Ria Peri did a Swan Lake in the 1970s but I can't remember if she was ever a principal.

She was a Solo Artist in 1975, a Principal by 1976. I have no references for 1977. By 1978 her name is no longer listed.

[Lizbie1]

28 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

 

I would think so; there is unlikely to be a 1:30 matinee on a Thursday. 

 

I think you’re probably right in this case, but matinee kick off times are very unpredictable at ROH and there are quite a few weekday matinees scheduled for next season.

 

I remember that there were several inconsistencies between the website and casting pdf listings for R&J: it turned out - only after members of this forum raised it directly with the box office and then I think a senior RB figure, each of which had a different view - that wires were crossed. Ultimately the casting pdf was accurate and the website wasn’t.

 

Maybe it’s worth someone clarifying this with ROH / RB.

[Jamesrhblack]

19 minutes ago, Darlex said:

She was a Solo Artist in 1975, a Principal by 1976. I have no references for 1977. By 1978 her name is no longer listed.

 

According to Alexander Bland’s The Royal Ballet: The First 50 Years, Ria Peri danced her Swan Lake (with David Wall if I recall correctly, not that I was at the performance, but I seem to remember a Dancing Times review) in 1976.

 

According to this book, Monica Mason danced her first Swan Lake in 1967 with the Touring Company, and I don’t think she became a principal until 1968.

[Sophoife]

...and of course there was the famous Beryl Grey début on her fifteenth birthday In 1942...was the company ranked then, though?

[Jamesrhblack]

3 hours ago, Lynette H said:

I think Muriel Valtat did Odette/Odile in the Dowell production, and she wasn't a principal. 1998. 

 

That was another career that didn’t quite go as anticipated. I first saw her in a Swan Lake PdT and there was a lot of excitement around her. I don’t have much recollection of her Aurora at Hammersmith (I was so devastated that Deborah Bull was “off” for her only ever scheduled Aurora performance) but suddenly she seemed to be the Nurse in R & J. Incidentally, on the subject of that, is the lovely Romany Pajdak the only dancer so far to have been both Nurse and Juliet’s Friend in the same season ....

Edited June 2, 2019 by Jamesrhblack
Grammar

[Jamesrhblack]

3 hours ago, Bluebird said:

 

 

I seem to remember that Sarah Lamb danced Swan Lake while still a First Soloist.  However, I think she replaced an injured Principal and wasn't iniitially cast in the role.

 

She did indeed and I was there, although I have no recollection of who she replaced. My biggest memory is being disconcerted by her insistence on doing doubles in the foutées and getting out of time with the music ....

 

One of the things I like most about Naghdi is that her musicality seems so exceptional, the balances in the Rose Adagio (for example) being dictated exactly by the musical cue. Interesting to read from some of the R & J reports that her increasingly excellent classicism may have have mitigated again st her rawer expression as Juliet. 

 

Ballet remains such an astonishingly diverse and versatile art form even within examinations of one company’s approach to its repertoire ....

Edited June 2, 2019 by Jamesrhblack

[John Mallinson]

23 hours ago, Mandy Kent said:

Saw Bolle as des Grieux years ago and thought he was terrific !

 

This may be the last time we see his Des Grieux. In June he's billed to dance his final performances with ABT. From Dance Magazine: "After over a decade of turning heads and breaking hearts at American Ballet Theatre, Roberto Bolle is saying good-bye to the company. The international star's final ABT performances will be as the idealistic Des Grieux…"

[ctas]

I saw Bolle in Manon with Nuñez last time around and their combined performances changed my opinion of the ballet. As a pair they were compelling, emotional and technically astonishing. I’m very excited to get to see this casting again!

[Jamesrhblack]

2 minutes ago, John Mallinson said:

 

This may be the last time we see his Des Grieux. In June he's billed to dance his final performances with ABT. From Dance Magazine: "After over a decade of turning heads and breaking hearts at American Ballet Theatre, Roberto Bolle is saying good-bye to the company. The international star's final ABT performances will be as the idealistic Des Grieux…"

 

That Manon with Yanowsky was quite something. Up there with my finest RB memories (Mason and Nureyev in Swan Lake, Jenner and Baryshnikov in La Fillle mal gardée, Park and Wall in Giselle, Sibley’s last Manon with Dowell, Sibley’s last Cinderella with Wall, Collier and Mukhamedov in La Fille mal gardée, her last Giselle with Mukhamedov. Osipova’s first Giselle with Acosta, , Bonelli’s and Morera’s first Mayerling for starters). I’m thinking of overall performances. Individual triumphs are another matter. Interesting, in retrospect, how many of these are based in the 70’s/80’s and yet I have seen fantastic things in the last thirty years too. Perhaps time will have an effect on my retro-spectacles ....

[J_New]

Wasn’t  Yanowsky’s Manon with Kenneth Greve?  I was there and I agree it was quite something!

Edited June 2, 2019 by J_New

[CCL]

5 hours ago, Fonty said:

I am interested to know how many times has Odette/Odile been danced at the RB by a dancer who  was not a principal?  I am sure someone on this forum will know the answer!

I can’t answer the question, but I recently came across a pile of old programmes, including the programme for my first ever trip to the ROH, Thursday 13th May 1993, when the role of Odette/Odile was performed by Leanne Benjamin, who is listed as a First Soloist. (Adam Cooper was Siegfried, replacing an injured Jose Manuel Carreno).

[Anna C]

1 hour ago, Sophoife said:

...and of course there was the famous Beryl Grey début on her fifteenth birthday In 1942...was the company ranked then, though?

 

I bet the ROH website was easier to navigate in those days too. ☺️

[Jamesrhblack]

26 minutes ago, J_New said:

Wasn’t  Yanowsky’s Manon with Kenneth Greve?  

 

That was way back in 2004. She got two more chances to dance the role in  2014. Bolle cancelled the first (I think Golding replaced him) but he did dance the second with Acosta as Lescaut ....

Edited June 2, 2019 by Jamesrhblack

[J_New]

Ah - thanks. I just remember that first performance, and it was very emotional. Didn’t realise it was so long ago!

[JNC]

Is casting for the Linbury usually announced in advance? Curious as to who will be in the Monotones mixed bill. 

 

With only four performances I feel I am probably unlikely to get a seat though! Do Linbury performances get included in Friday Rush or not? 

[Fonty]

1 hour ago, CCL said:

I can’t answer the question, but I recently came across a pile of old programmes, including the programme for my first ever trip to the ROH, Thursday 13th May 1993, when the role of Odette/Odile was performed by Leanne Benjamin, who is listed as a First Soloist. (Adam Cooper was Siegfried, replacing an injured Jose Manuel Carreno).

 

Leanne Benjamin had been principal with other companies, including Sadlers Wells RB, before joining the RB, though.  And Sarah Lamb had also been a principal too, hadn't she?  I've got a feeling Bull might have been a bit like Choe is now.  Often cast in lead roles, while remaining a first soloist?

 

Bryony Brind's casting is amazing.  She had already been in the corps for 3 years, so it makes you wonder why she hadn't been promoted further up the ranks a bit earlier.  I never saw her dance, sadly.  I am pretty certain Bussell was a principal when she did her first SL, although probably a newly promoted one.  

 

Edited June 2, 2019 by Fonty