Who to see in RB Manon?

[JNC]

15 minutes ago, LinMM said:

Thanks JNC I'm sure the date has been mentioned on the Forum somewhere as well but don't know why I can't find it on the ROH website.

Thats a difficult booking date for me online at least as am in London all that week and won't have easy wifi access and don't like using my card online to pay if am in a Neros or Prets!! 

However I will be close to the ROH itself every day that week so may have to go in to book in person so have to hope too that there are some seats left by then! Am after Oct 9th and Oct 29th or 19 th matinee at the moment. 

 

If you click on an individual performance in the Autumn slot (i.e. a date/time) where it says 'Not on sale/see prices) you not only get the map of seat price bands but also all booking dates for various friends/general etc. 

 

Good luck with general booking! I am still very on the fence about whether to be a Friend or not (had a lot of helpful insight on this Forum) but decided to hold off at least for this period. If it seems a bit of a struggle when I book next month, I may consider Friends for Winter booking. I find it quite annoying booking is staggered and I'm not really an opera goer so priority booking for spring/summer when there are fewer ballets (only one or two in a booking period) doesn't seem like it's worthwhile for me at the moment. 

[penelopesimpson]

As someone else said, it is a no-brainer. Hayward, Hayward, Hayward.  The best Manon ever

[Jamesrhblack]

22 hours ago, penelopesimpson said:

As someone else said, it is a no-brainer. Hayward, Hayward, Hayward.  The best Manon ever

 

And Campbell’s jump-in Des Grieux was truly wonderful. This could be a magical pairing and it’s certainly my first choice although I will also see Osipova and Hallberg. I understand the concerns re his partnering after the accident at the Fonteyn Gala but I think he’s a most beautiful dancer and that his lyrical, extended style will suit this Dowell role. I also enjoy his stage partnership with Osipova ...

 

Mind you, I’ve never forgotten Sibley as Manon with Dowell and find her Bedroom Pas de Deux with Wall (on YouTube) almost definitive, late as it is in both their careers.

Edited July 13, 2019 by alison
At poster's request

[hfbrew]

Morera every time. 

[Jamesrhblack]

10 hours ago, Jamesrhblack said:

 

And Campbell’s jump-in Des Grieux was truly wonderful. This could be a magical pairing and it’s certainly my first choice although I will also see Osipova and Hallberg. I understand the concerns re his partnering after the accident at the Fonteyn Gala but I think he’s a most beautiful dancer and that his lyrical, extended style will suit this Dowell role. I also enjoy his stage partnership with Osipova ...

 

Mind you, I’ve never forgotten Sibley as Manon with Dowell and find her Bedroom Pas de Deux with Wall (on YouTube) almost definitive, late as it is in both their careers.

 

Thanks Alison 🙂

[JohnS]

We really are spoiled - I’ve gone for Hayward, Morera, Osipova and Takada (alphabetical order).  If I had to choose just one I think it would have to be Morera but only because there may not be many more opportunities to see her (although I very much hope there’ll be several more years, including another Anastasia run).

[Anna C]

Thank you all so very much.  Still slightly torn between Nuñez/Bolle and Morera/Bonelli but unless I come into some money before 7th August (not going to happen) I *think* I’ll go Morera/Bonelli.  If I need a Bolle fix I guess I can buy the DVD of Aurélie Dupont and Bolle. Not quite the same. 😕

[zxDaveM]

Please note the posts above were hidden by the moderators as the original post breached the Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) of the forum - and so subsequent posts made no sense, or referred to that original post.

 

Just to say that we have had independent confirmation that Laura Morera IS dancing her Manon shows as planned, so further speculation can now happily cease.

 

which is good for all us Laura fans! 🙂

[CCL]

I’ve just booked a Manon ticket - I’ll be seeing Hayward/Campbell and I am delighted!

[Sim]

Great choice, CCL....Hayward was a fabulous Manon last time around!

[alison]

(And pretty good the time before that, too )

[BellaF]

1 hour ago, CCL said:

I’ve just booked a Manon ticket - I’ll be seeing Hayward/Campbell and I am delighted!

 

Me too 🙂 

 

 

[Blossom]

Saw Hayward last time as Morera was injured. Definitely recommend seeing her.

 

I have chosen to see Morera this time as she is a wonderful actress and plays young and gritty Macmillan roles so well. 

 

Can’t go wrong with either choice to be honest but very tough to make the choice.

[Anna C]

Well I was very happy to nab my favourite seat for Morera and Bonelli in Manon ☺️ Thank you all very much for the input and interesting discussion! 

[alison]

Yay!  Let me know when you're going, in due course.

[Dawnstar]

A bit off topic but I didn't want to start another thread & this seems the most suitbale to put my query in. I don't suppose there's any publically available information anywhere as to which cast will be dancing the dress rehearsal on Tuesday? I've finally managed to bag a pair of SC tickets after weeks of website checking (having been stupid enough to completely forget about it on the first day of booking, as I've only joined the Friends scheme this season so am not used to it). I already have five "normal" performances booked so am thinking that if it's going to be a couple in the rehearsal that I'm booked to see later in the run then I could try returning that ticket for possible re-sale to keep my viewings at "only" five.

[zxDaveM]

its probably between the Sarah Lamb cast, and Lauren Cuthbertson's - though don't quote me!

[Dawnstar]

Either of those would be good from the point of view of being able to try returning a subsequent ticket, at any rate.

 

Also, can anyone help with a couple of points of ettiquette where I'm wondering if it differs from normal ROH performances:

1) Are curtain call photos allowed?

2) Is going to the stage door afterwards allowed?

[capybara]

6 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

Also, can anyone help with a couple of points of etiquette where I'm wondering if it differs from normal ROH performances:

1) Are curtain call photos allowed?

2) Is going to the stage door afterwards allowed?

 

 1) I've seen people taking curtain call photos at rehearsals.

2) The dancers involved in General Rehearsals don't usually come out until the very end of the day. As I understand it, they have 'notes' afterwards and, often, other rehearsals later on in the afternoon. We are asked to remember that we are watching a working rehearsal, not a show, and I, personally, wouldn't then go to the Stage Door.

[Dawnstar]

@capybara Thank you. I would have expected them to be a while because of notes but didn't think they'd then have more rehearsing as well. I now feel guilty for even asking as it sounds horribly entitled.

[bridiem]

8 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

@capybara Thank you. I would have expected them to be a while because of notes but didn't think they'd then have more rehearsing as well. I now feel guilty for even asking as it sounds horribly entitled.

 

The very fact that you asked, Dawnstar, proves that you were not being entitled; it was very courteous of you to check how these things work in advance.

[capybara]

In today's edition of The Times, Debra Craine makes Manon one of her choices. She says, ".........barely 18 months since the ballet's last outing. Audiences, it seems, can't get enough of this tale............"

She is seriously mistaken. Only 4 days from the opening night, only one cast is hovering around being 'sold out', two casts are doing OK too, two casts still have a surprising amount of availability (especially given who is featured) but, alas, two casts  have sold very, very badly. Overall, there are several thousand seats still available. This has to be unprecedented.

[alison]

Well, I believe I booked a total of 3 performances, due to lack of availability of tickets within my price range.  Normally I'd probably have gone for virtually every cast, and doubled two of them, probably.  I just gave up because I got so sick of navigating to the right page on the off-chance (and no, my bookmarks for some reason don't get saved, so that's not an option).

[Dawnstar]

I'm booked for 5 casts but then I'm playing catch-up as it's my first time seeing the RB's production.

 

Given the feeling that was evinced when the autum casting was announced that it was perhaps a shame that the RB were using up a number of performances on male guest artists rather than their own men, it's interesting that the performances that look best sold are those of Nunez/Bolle & Osipova/Hallberg. Maybe the RB does have a point! Although the fact that Nunez & Osipova are two of the most popular & high-profile RB women will also be a factor.

[JNC]

I'm not surprised Nunez/Bolle is the most popular cast as this could be one of the last performances for Bolle in London, and he is a big draw especially as he doesn't perform that often at ROH (compared to Hallberg at least). 

 

The fact that Osipova/Hallberg are the next most popular cast is somewhat surprising for me, however when you think about it it does make sense as both are 'big name' draws with large fan bases it would appear (although not my personal choices for this ballet).

 

I'm surprised that Hayward/Campbell hasn't sold so well - their Saturday performance has done ok but there are still masses of seats for their Tuesday one, suggesting the Saturday one has partly only sold as well due to it being a Saturday matinee. Considering Hayward's popularity and her profile has significantly increased of late (with Cats/Vogue/Romeo and Juliet film) this is a real shame, especially as from what I've heard she is excellent in the role. You can see a similar pattern with Lamb/Muntagirov, where their Saturday matinee has sold reasonably well but their opening night in 3 days still has lots of availability, especially in the amphi. 

 

Disappointed to see Morera/Bonneli is not anywhere close to being sold out at all - if anything it's the opposite, you can sit practically wherever you want in any area. The same can be said of Takada/McRae and Cuthbertson/Ball (although with Cuthbertson/Ball's one next week has sold reasonably well in comparison suggesting things may pick up for them closer to their performance in 2 weeks). In fairness Morera/Bonneli/Takada/McRae casts are those towards the end of the run, suggesting that they may get more last minute sales with people booking closer to the time. 

 

I feel terrible for the dancers playing to half (or less) filled auditoriums. But when pricing has gone up and the rest of the season is very strong (Coppelia revival, a popular mixed bill, and the classic that is Sleeping Beauty with debuts), it is not difficult to see how Manon is struggling considering no debuts and nothing new to offer (except for Bolle/Hallberg who are selling ok) and the fact it was in the RB rep only 18 months ago, with ENB showing it in London only 9 months ago. 

 

ROH seem to be trying to encourage last minute sales - I'm seeing a lot of videos/photos of it on their official facebook/instagram/twitter feeds but ultimately I don't think this will be enough, though I hope I'm wrong. I imagine a lot of these performances will go into student standby. Considering the availability in the amphi for opening night in 3 days, and still no general offers, it looks unlikely that ROH will cave on this front - but perhaps they may change their position halfway through the month if the situation doesn't drastically change. 

 

I've done my bit and have booked 2 casts but couldn't afford any more as I'm already going to see a lot this season, and price increases for Sleeping Beauty especially have hit hard. It'll be interesting to see if they can get a lot of last minute sales (usually not possible this late in the day, most ballet they have done over the last year or so is sold out a week or two before at least) which may encourage a new type of audience which is perhaps one small positive in all of this. 

 

All of this really saddens me. I really like Manon and I hope this doesn't affect future programming of it. I hope ROH realises that it is simply too soon to bring back a ballet after only 18 months (especially one that doesn't necessarily appeal to 'non-regulars' the way Swan Lake/Nutcracker/Sleeping Beauty does). When was the last time a ballet didn't sell this well? I know Frankenstein didn't sell well but can't remember if it was on this level? 

 

 

[SusanR]

4 hours ago, capybara said:

In today's edition of The Times, Debra Craine makes Manon one of her choices. She says, ".........barely 18 months since the ballet's last outing. Audiences, it seems, can't get enough of this tale............"

She is seriously mistaken. Only 4 days from the opening night, only one cast is hovering around being 'sold out', two casts are doing OK too, two casts still have a surprising amount of availability (especially given who is featured) but, alas, two casts  have sold very, very badly. Overall, there are several thousand seats still available. This has to be unprecedented.

Manon is my favourite ballet & I wanted to book for the Hayward/Campbell matinee, however, when I saw the prices for the stalls circle, where I like to sit, I was flabbergasted! How can they justify 

£67 to sit on a bench, with a restricted view?  Those benches are incredibly uncomfortable & I only sit used to sit there because they were in my price range. So disappointed that, yet again, I have been priced out if the art form that I love. I have been going to the opera house since the late eighties but can barely afford to go now. I thought the opera house was non elitist.

[maryrosesatonapin]

I am shocked to see that Muntagirov's performances are selling so poorly - well over 200 tickets still available and the performances only a few days away.  He is so reliable in the quality of his performances.  Some of the other combinations I wanted to see one of the dancers but not the other, so opted for Nuñez/Bolle.

[Richard LH]

50 minutes ago, SusanR said:

How can they justify

£67 to sit on a bench, with a restricted view?

Fair point Susan, these bench seats do seem overpriced, given that for £67 you can also find some individual seating in rows B and C which have pretty good views.

[SusanR]

1 hour ago, Richard LH said:

Fair point Susan, these bench seats do seem overpriced, given that for £67 you can also find some individual seating in rows B and C which have pretty good views.

I recently sat in row B of the stalls circle for a performance of ' The Bright Stream '

It cost  £27! And that was for the Bolshoi. Much more acceptable price. True, I was very close to the stage but I had a brilliant view. I feel that patrons sitting in what were the cheaper seats are subsidising the 'Open Up ' & I'm not impressed.

[LinMM]

Yes some of the prices are getting a bit cheeky....for Sleeping Beauty in particular.....in the Balcony they were charging £98 for a seat with a pillar or a rail or both obstructing ones view! 

[capybara]

4 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

........ it's interesting that the performances that look best sold are those of Nunez/Bolle & Osipova/Hallberg. Maybe the RB does have a point! Although the fact that Nunez & Osipova are two of the most popular & high-profile RB women will also be a factor.

 

I think that the main 'draws' here are Bolle, who has a huge international following (but is reliably wooden in Manon, I find) and Osipova. There are other attractions in the Osipova cast (i.e. Naghdi/Sambe!!!).

It is interesting that the Hayward/Campbell cast, which also offers Magri/Corrales, has not sold better. No doubt people on the student list will be having amazing offers soon.

[Dawnstar]

38 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

I think that the main 'draws' here are Bolle, who has a huge international following (but is reliably wooden in Manon, I find) and Osipova. There are other attractions in the Osipova cast (i.e. Naghdi/Sambe!!!).

It is interesting that the Hayward/Campbell cast, which also offers Magri/Corrales, has not sold better. No doubt people on the student list will be having amazing offers soon.

 

Is he? I will lower my expectations accordingly! I've booked because I've never seen him live & feel I should while there's the opprtunity, given it seems to be thought that he'll retire in the not too distant future. Aren't Naghdi & Sambe in the Nunez/Bolle cast rather than the Osipova/Hallberg one? At least I hope they are, as I'd like to see them & I'm not seeing Osipova/Hallberg.

[capybara]

55 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

Aren't Naghdi & Sambe in the Nunez/Bolle cast rather than the Osipova/Hallberg one? At least I hope they are, as I'd like to see them & I'm not seeing Osipova/Hallberg.

 

Apologies. Yes, you're right.