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Royal Ballet: Manon, autumn 2019


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On 04/10/2019 at 12:48, Bluebird said:

 

There was also a superb debut by Sophie Allnatt as the "boy whore" in the brothel scene. She really made the most of the role.

 

Completely agree! I noticed Sophie too and thought she performed extremely well. Kevin O’Hare seems to make good choices with his lateral hires.

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2 hours ago, Jane S said:

 

Two months, in 2002 - joined in September, left in November. He did a few performances of Mayerling, and said he left because he wasn't going to get on stage as often as he'd hoped.

 

That's interesting. Presumably he must have performed in Manon elsewhere then, if he's now able to coach it.

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10 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

 

That's interesting. Presumably he must have performed in Manon elsewhere then, if he's now able to coach it.

 

Tewsley and Ferri in the final PDD in Manon.  (Is it just me or does some of the partnering seem a tad uncertain?)  

 

 

Edited by Bruce Wall
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5 hours ago, Bruce Wall said:

 

Tewsley and Ferri in the final PDD in Manon.  (Is it just me or does some of the partnering seem a tad uncertain?)
  

no, i don't think it is just you, it looks a little under-rehearsed. but i do love ferri in this role. she is so loose and her feet!

the way she just collapses in his arms is quite amazing.

but my all time favorite couple is Cope and Guillem. that special PDD performance - can't remember what even right now.

 

 

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18 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

 

That's interesting. Presumably he must have performed in Manon elsewhere then, if he's now able to coach it.

 

Robert Tewsley guested in Royal Ballet's Manon in 2005 in Japan (after he left the company), partnering Tamara Rojo.

 

He replaced the injured or ill (I don't remember which)  Jonathan Cope and it was a last minute replacement, coincidentally he was in Japan for another guest appearance and was available. I saw the performance and it was superb. 

 

He also guested in National Ballet of Japan's Manon in 2003, partnering Alessandra Ferri, and also danced Lescaut in another cast.    

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1 hour ago, Naomi M said:

 

He also guested in National Ballet of Japan's Manon in 2003, partnering Alessandra Ferri, and also danced Lescaut in another cast.    

 

Would Bruce's clip be from that performance?  It's always struck me how hard it must be to portray hopelessness, despair and exhaustion looking effortless in such a physical duet.

 

Robert Tewsley also guested with Birmingham Royal Ballet as Edward ll and Cyrano, and excellent he was too.

 

(In a talk David Bentley said that he had intended to create Edward ll on Robert Tewsley at Stuttgart Ballet but he had left before the creation started.)

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On 06/10/2019 at 08:26, Dawnstar said:

 

That's interesting. Presumably he must have performed in Manon elsewhere then, if he's now able to coach it.

 

Robert Tewsley performed Manon many many times: Toronto, Munich, Australia, New National Theatre of Japan, Ballet de Santiago (Chile), Vienna, in addition to the ones mentioned above. He was an absolutely fabulous Des Grieux, and also Lescaut.

Edited by toursenlair
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On 06/10/2019 at 11:20, Jane S said:

Two months, in 2002 - joined in September, left in November. He did a few performances of Mayerling, and said he left because he wasn't going to get on stage as often as he'd hoped.

 

I liked Tewsley as Onegin when he danced it at ROH as a guest from Stuttgart before joining the Royal Ballet.

Edited by Amelia
typo as usual
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On 06/10/2019 at 11:13, capybara said:

 

Don't worry, the RB does these things properly. His dancing career will be appropriately celebrated, for sure.

Thank you for that which is reassuring.  For a dancer who has contributed so much to RB and to ballet generally, he does seem to have been forgotten.  A run of posts about somebody called Robert Tewsley who only a few people have ever heard of yet Watson is never mentioned or discussed.  For my own part, I find it odd.

Edited by penelopesimpson
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8 minutes ago, penelopesimpson said:

Thank you for that which is reassuring.  For a dancer who has contributed so much to RB and to ballet generally, he does seem to have been forgotten.  A run of posts about somebody called Robert Tewsley who only a few people have ever heard of yet Watson is never mentioned or discussed.  For my own part, I find it odd.

 

Edward Watson remains a current Principal of the Royal Ballet.

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4 minutes ago, penelopesimpson said:

 For a dancer who has contributed so much to RB and to ballet generally, he does seem to have been forgotten.  A run of posts about somebody called Robert Tewsley who only a few people have ever heard of yet Watson is never mentioned or discussed.  For my own part, I find it odd.

 

I personally haven't forgotten Edward Watson but it is difficult for there to be a discussion on here when all that we know at present is that he is coaching some couples in Manon and will appear in Wayne McGregor's new ballet next summer.

There are other dancers who don't get mentioned much too! 

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3 hours ago, penelopesimpson said:

Thank you for that which is reassuring.  For a dancer who has contributed so much to RB and to ballet generally, he does seem to have been forgotten.  A run of posts about somebody called Robert Tewsley who only a few people have ever heard of yet Watson is never mentioned or discussed.  For my own part, I find it odd.

 

a run of posts about Robert Tewsley because there hasn't been much mentioned about him before. So its natural that when his name mentioned with respect to Manon staging, people would share memories. Ed Watson not been that active lately which is why he hasn't had a mention - as soon as he does hit the stage again, I'm sure plenty will be said. These discussion topics not called a thread for nothing, and its pretty hard discussing someone who hasn't appeared for while, in a relevant way

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On 06/10/2019 at 11:13, capybara said:

 

Don't worry, the RB does these things properly. His dancing career will be appropriately celebrated, for sure.

 

On 05/10/2019 at 23:14, penelopesimpson said:

I would have liked to see him dance it rather than coach.  If he has finished with major roles, I would have liked some announcement some swansong, some form of tribute.  

I’m hoping he’ll be appearing in McGregors Dante Priject?? I think he did in LA.. 

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10 hours ago, penelopesimpson said:

Thank you for that which is reassuring.  For a dancer who has contributed so much to RB and to ballet generally, he does seem to have been forgotten.  A run of posts about somebody called Robert Tewsley who only a few people have ever heard of yet Watson is never mentioned or discussed.  For my own part, I find it odd.

I quite agree! I admire Ed Watson perhaps more than any other dancer and that is saying a lot as I admire several very much! And I find it so odd that there has been no reference to him / injured/improved but not yet able to perform/ retiring with one swan song left? Who knows and I for one find it very puzzling and also upsetting - imagine how hard it must be for him.,, one minute down for Mayerling and now 18 months later - almost nothing ..,, 

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... To return to Manon. I was at the ROH matinee last Saturday and it was like returning home after a long absence. I sank down in my seat, kicked off my shoes (metaphorically I hasten to add!) and settled down to enjoy the perfect performance I've come to expect from the Royal Ballet. Vadim was on fire and gave the most passionate yet nuanced performance I've seen him give as De Grieux. While Sarah Lamb isn't my favourite RB dancer I thought she was excellent as Manon, all her personal dilemmas clearly etched on her face and in her movements. The way she held herself so stiffly in the second act as if she was trying to blank out the way she was being passed around as if she was a commodity not a person was heartbreaking. I thought Ryio, Itzibar and finally Gary as an extremely loathsome gaoler (hardly typecasting!) excellent also. The only person I didn't think was quite as good as usual was Christopher Saunders as M. GM. I'm not sure why as he's usually my favourite GM. Perhaps I'm used to seeing him in close up at the cinema broadcasts. He was still very good but perhaps not quite as good as I remembered. Anyway it was a wonderful performance enhanced by seeing many of the cast at the stage door afterwards being their usual friendly and pleasant selves. Now I can't wait to see Hayward/Campbell and Morera /Bonelli. 

Edited by jmhopton
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12 hours ago, balletyas said:

I quite agree! I admire Ed Watson perhaps more than any other dancer and that is saying a lot as I admire several very much! And I find it so odd that there has been no reference to him / injured/improved but not yet able to perform/ retiring with one swan song left? Who knows and I for one find it very puzzling and also upsetting - imagine how hard it must be for him.,, one minute down for Mayerling and now 18 months later - almost nothing ..,, 

Thanks for that Balletyas.  I have been and remain completely puzzled about this, almost feeling that there is something everybody else know that is a secret. He had a bad injury which we are told is now behind him and then he disappears.  Soares and Bonelli are both still dancing major roles yet Watson has vanished.  Maybe it is his choice, maybe he isn't fully fit, maybe KOH doesn't want to cast him - who knows.  I do not want to know the ins and outs of his personal life or his medical history but surely when one has been a major artiste with the top ballet company it is reasonable to keep fans informed of what is happening? I can imagine the chattering if Muntagirov had simply vanished!

 

Anyway, this is a Manon thread so I will shut up but .... I am still left wondering what is going on.

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29 minutes ago, penelopesimpson said:

Thanks for that Balletyas.  I have been and remain completely puzzled about this, almost feeling that there is something everybody else know that is a secret. He had a bad injury which we are told is now behind him and then he disappears.  Soares and Bonelli are both still dancing major roles yet Watson has vanished.  Maybe it is his choice, maybe he isn't fully fit, maybe KOH doesn't want to cast him - who knows.  I do not want to know the ins and outs of his personal life or his medical history but surely when one has been a major artiste with the top ballet company it is reasonable to keep fans informed of what is happening? I can imagine the chattering if Muntagirov had simply vanished!

 

Anyway, this is a Manon thread so I will shut up but .... I am still left wondering what is going on.

 

Well, Muntagirov is in the prime of his dancing career whereas Watson is clearly near the end of his (unless he moves more into contemporary dance, of course - he could do a Baryshnikov). But I do find the lack of information from the ROH over such a long period of time a little surprising/odd, given how high his profile is.

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I don't think ROH communicate the status of dancers whilst recovering from injury or long term illness, for any dancer. And certainly not casting decisions. The info we often get is from the dancers' own social media presence, which I don't think Ed Watson does very much, which is of course his prerogative. At least, I don't think so anyway, though I certainly don't mind being corrected if I'm mistaken. That is why 'the silence' is there, rather than some sinister plot...

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The new ROH magazine is out with a big piece about The Dante Project with pictures of Edward Watson. He will be going out on a real ' high' if these prove to be his farewell performances. And that will be absolutely fitting for an artist who has contributed so much to the RB.

 

Now, please can we get back to Manon?

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Sadly, due to injury, Yasmine Naghdi is being replaced by Yuhui Choe as Lescaut's Mistress this evening...even though the ROH website is still showing Miss Naghdi as dancing.  :(

 

All being well, she will be back for Concerto.

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22 minutes ago, Sim said:

Sadly, due to injury, Yasmine Naghdi is being replaced by Yuhui Choe as Lescaut's Mistress this evening...even though the ROH website is still showing Miss Naghdi as dancing.  :(

 

All being well, she will be back for Concerto.

 

Oh, noooooo! . Poor Yasmine, What a shame! And I've just been out to buy her some flowers.

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43 minutes ago, Sim said:

Sadly, due to injury, Yasmine Naghdi is being replaced by Yuhui Choe as Lescaut's Mistress this evening...even though the ROH website is still showing Miss Naghdi as dancing.  :(

 

All being well, she will be back for Concerto.

 

oh no! Hoping its nothing too bad, as it takes a lot to knock young Yasmine off her stride!

(and to be honest, would prefer to see her in Concerto anyway)

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I wish Yasmine Naghdi a very speedy recovery!

I am really looking forward to seeing her dance in Concerto (it's been far too long since last June). If my memory serves me right this is the first time ever in her 10 year career Miss Naghdi needs to be replaced (it has always been the other way round). 

Isn't she due to dance Dorabella in "Enigma Variations"? 

Edited by Xandra Newman
typo
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