Royal Ballet Sleeping Beauty, 2019-20

[Rob S]

What a fantastic performance that was, Yasmine was every bit as good as I thought she'd be

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 15, 2019 by Rob S

[Sim]

Thanks for the gorgeous photos, Rob!

[Mary]

They are your best yet, Rob- stunning.

[Ian Macmillan]

All a far cry from that time back in the ballet.co era (essentially pre-iPhones) when the Opera House forced the site to withdraw Curtain Call photos ... or do I remember that wrongly?

[bridiem]

Slightly bizarre (though appropriately enthusiastic) review of the Takada/McRae/Hirano/Campbell/Naghdi performance (!) in today's Links, from the Londonist, by Hari Mountford - throughout, Takada is referred to as 'Akana Tawada' and the director of the RB as 'Kevin O Hara'. Not sure if this is some sort of autocorrect gone bonkers, or if the reviewer actually doesn't know their names.

[Sim]

12 minutes ago, bridiem said:

Slightly bizarre (though appropriately enthusiastic) review of the Takada/McRae/Hirano/Campbell/Naghdi performance (!) in today's Links, from the Londonist, by Hari Mountford - throughout, Takada is referred to as 'Akana Tawada' and the director of the RB as 'Kevin O Hara'. Not sure if this is some sort of autocorrect gone bonkers, or if the reviewer actually doesn't know their names.

Probably the latter.  It reminds me of my dear mother in law who could never quite get Kiri Te Kanawa's name, and instead referred to her as 'Tiri Ke Twanat'!

[JohnS]

I echo all the praise above - a fabulous evening and wonderfully captured in Rob S’s curtain call photos.  Yasmine Naghdi’s Aurora is presented with such assurance and confidence, the young girl becoming a woman, with no doubts in her own abilities or limits as to what she will achieve.  I have a soft spot for a hint of vulnerability in Aurora where we see her develop over the three Acts.  The only ‘vulnerability’ I noticed in Yasmine was her rapt concentration in the Rose Adage balances where I thought she only fleetingly acknowledged the princes and would have welcomed a touch more recognition.  

 

I enjoyed Matthew Ball’s Florimund.  He and Yasmine certainly made a great pair.

 

And a fabulous cast as has been highlighted by others: Clare Calvert’s Lilac Fairy, Anna-Rose O’Sullivan and Marcelino Sambe’s Princess Florine and Bluebird.  I was very pleased to see Bennet Gartside’s Catalabutte - in my opinion much better played as over fastidious than outrageously camp.  Again scintillating dancing from the corps in such good form.

 

The last two evenings were extras for me - Christmas has certainly come early.  Poignant too as Yasmine’s Aurora debut was one of the last performances my wife saw and she couldn’t contain her glee for Yasmine’s Rose Adage balances.  She would have so enjoyed last night’s triumphs.

[zxDaveM]

1 hour ago, Ian Macmillan said:

All a far cry from that time back in the ballet.co era (essentially pre-iPhones) when the Opera House forced the site to withdraw Curtain Call photos ... or do I remember that wrongly?

 

I think the weight of people taking them, and the wave of positive publicity on social media, in the end outweighed the amount they p**sed people (i.e enthusiastic fans) off trying to ban them. 

[Rob S]

12 minutes ago, zxDaveM said:

 

I think the weight of people taking them, and the wave of positive publicity on social media, in the end outweighed the amount they p**sed people (i.e enthusiastic fans) off trying to ban them. 

 

The Royal Opera House has asked me if they can use my curtain call photos on their Instagram page on four occasions now to ‘advertise’ last performances or a cinema screening. Clearly they must’ve had a rethink if they used to ban such things 

[Sharon]

I couldn't write last night I was so overwhelmed. I witnessed greatness on that stage. Yasmine Naghdi is undoubtedly the Aurora of this generation, as Sim said. We all know that she has an amazing, assured technique so much so that it is almost taken for granted because she makes it look easy. But for me what was wonderful to see last night was how she totally embraced and lived this role. She was Aurora, from the pleased excited look on her face at her first entrance to the confident, unrushed balances in the rose adagio. You believed she was a young princess, Yasmine danced like she was. I want to mention her beautiful port de bras throughout, her hands, her arched and pointed feet but most of all the beauty and artistry of this very special ballerina. I shall never forget this performance the last time I was so moved watching SB was when I saw Viviana Durante. I never saw Fonteyn live, but I like to believe that she was smiling down and nodding in approval at last night's performance. I'm aware that this review has only mentioned Yasmine - and that is not a critique of the company because all the dancers were fantastic, special mention to Romany Pajdak. But the show belonged to Yasmine Naghdi.

[Sim]

When people who aren't interested in ballet ask me why I love it so much, and how a bunch of people dancing on a stage can reduce me to tears, I wish I could just snap my fingers and show them last night's performance.  Or the slow movement of Concerto as performed by Naghdi/Hirano.  Or the slow movement of Rhapsody as danced by Hayward/Hay.  And lots of other things.  I struggle to put the feelings into words for these friends;  as I say, I just wish I could show them. 

[bridiem]

1 minute ago, Sim said:

When people who aren't interested in ballet ask me why I love it so much, and how a bunch of people dancing on a stage can reduce me to tears, I wish I could just snap my fingers and show them last night's performance.  Or the slow movement of Concerto as performed by Naghdi/Hirano.  Or the slow movement of Rhapsody as danced by Hayward/Hay.  And lots of other things.  I struggle to put the feelings into words for these friends;  as I say, I just wish I could show them. 

 

Yes, absolutely. On the other hand, sometimes when you do show them, they don't 'get' it! I once took a friend to a performance including Serenade, and afterwards he looked puzzled and just said 'well what was all that about then?'. I was in an exalted state and was completely crushed and baffled by his response.

[RuthE]

1 hour ago, Sharon said:

I want to mention her beautiful port de bras throughout, her hands, her arched and pointed feet but most of all the beauty and artistry of this very special ballerina.

 

Mine is a comment on last Thursday's performance rather than last night's, but her hands and fingers were so beautiful in the fish-dives.

 

54 minutes ago, bridiem said:

On the other hand, sometimes when you do show them, they don't 'get' it! I once took a friend to a performance including Serenade, and afterwards he looked puzzled and just said 'well what was all that about then?'. I was in an exalted state and was completely crushed and baffled by his response.

 

To be fair, I feel like that about Serenade as well...

[LinMM]

Wow Rob S that’s a great compliment! See you are a Professional after all 😊

Edited November 15, 2019 by LinMM

[Rob S]

5 minutes ago, LinMM said:

Wow Rob S that’s a great compliment! See you are a Professional after all 😊

 

But I’m not being paid for them, which may be why they use them instead of just using the professionally taken ones from performances 🤔🤣

Edited November 15, 2019 by Rob S

[LinMM]

Actually not edited it wouldn’t let me for some reason ....I couldn’t type anything but first ‘edit‘ attempt on my phone so something I wasnt doing ANYWAY I saw that my comment was a long way from Rob S ‘s comment about the ROH using his pictures so may have looked odd! 

[LinMM]

Oh well that’s not so good is it ...perhaps they owe you a complementary ticket at least then 🤗

[Rob S]

6 minutes ago, LinMM said:

Oh well that’s not so good is it ...perhaps they owe you a complementary ticket at least then 🤗

 

To be honest the most important thing, at least at the time of the first one they used, is that it confirmed that the taking of curtain call pics is ok. I had an issue at Bristol when I saw BRB’s La Fille last year where I was stopped from taking a spur of the moment iPhone pic of their curtain call, I’d really only taken the phone out to check the England v Sweden game

[LinMM]

Personally I would think curtain call piccies are okay .....but do dancers dislike it? Because if they don’t mind then it shouldn’t matter to anyone else really. 

[ninamargaret]

1 hour ago, RuthE said:

 

Mine is a comment on last Thursday's performance rather than last night's, but her hands and fingers were so beautiful in the fish-dives.

 

 

To be fair, I feel like that about Serenade as well...

me too - glad that I'm not alone!

[Rob S]

30 minutes ago, LinMM said:

Personally I would think curtain call piccies are okay .....but do dancers dislike it? Because if they don’t mind then it shouldn’t matter to anyone else really. 

 

Well given a lot of people at the time were getting up and leaving it’s not like my non-flash photography from the very edge of the auditorium was distracting anyone, I was sat down and nobody was trying to get past me in my row. I also overheard the usher telling people to stop taking ‘curtain’ call pics at the Royal Albert Hall when I saw the Nutcracker there last year before I’d even thought of trying to get a pic of Celine Gittens 😇

[Sim]

Rob, the colours on your photos are truly stunning.  The blue on the Bluebird costumes is something I wish I could capture...wow!! 

[Richard LH]

5 hours ago, bridiem said:

Slightly bizarre (though appropriately enthusiastic) review of the Takada/McRae/Hirano/Campbell/Naghdi performance (!) in today's Links, from the Londonist, by Hari Mountford - throughout, Takada is referred to as 'Akana Tawada' and the director of the RB as 'Kevin O Hara'. Not sure if this is some sort of autocorrect gone bonkers, or if the reviewer actually doesn't know their names.

 

The errors have been corrected now.

Thanks for highlighting  the review  bridiem - it gave me a bit of an uplift after the great disappointment of  Akane  not being  able to complete Act 2 and 3 on this occasion.

Another slight uplift was derived from the prompt refund  of  50% of the ticket cost!

 

 

  

[Rob S]

53 minutes ago, Sim said:

Rob, the colours on your photos are truly stunning.  The blue on the Bluebird costumes is something I wish I could capture...wow!! 

 

Thank you, I hope the pics look ok to people, they look a little dark looking at the forum on my phone but perfect on the laptop 

[Jan McNulty]

In respect of curtain call photographs I was told many years ago that it was to do with copyright issues over the costumes and sets (not at RB but at 2 other companies).  I wasn't trying to take photographs but wondered why other people were being stopped.

 

(In some theatres they don't even like you taking pictures of the auditorium before anything has started!)

[bridiem]

I heard an usher at the ROH telling someone last week that they could take photos in the auditorium but not after the curtain went up. But as he says, if the ROH are using Rob's curtain call photos (I'm not surprised - they're amazing!) they must be OK with it.

[RHowarth]

28 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

In respect of curtain call photographs I was told many years ago that it was to do with copyright issues over the costumes and sets (not at RB but at 2 other companies).  I wasn't trying to take photographs but wondered why other people were being stopped.

 

(In some theatres they don't even like you taking pictures of the auditorium before anything has started!)

That is certainly the received wisdom in the sector. 

[Sim]

Any comments on last night’s performance please?

[bangorballetboy]

1 hour ago, Sim said:

Any comments on last night’s performance please?

 

I think this says it all...

 

 

[Sim]

In other words, or any words, they were gorgeous?!

[Jamesrhblack]

17 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

In respect of curtain call photographs I was told many years ago that it was to do with copyright issues over the costumes and sets (not at RB but at 2 other companies).  I wasn't trying to take photographs but wondered why other people were being stopped.

 

(In some theatres they don't even like you taking pictures of the auditorium before anything has started!)

 

At last night’s premiere of Orphée at ENO, a sign appeared above the stage stating that we were welcome to film the curtain call!

[Bruce Wall]

WHAT a lovely picture  

[Naomi M]

On 15/11/2019 at 22:37, LinMM said:

Personally I would think curtain call piccies are okay .....but do dancers dislike it? Because if they don’t mind then it shouldn’t matter to anyone else really. 

 

Recently a book was published to commemorate the retirement of Miyako Yoshida (I contributed a little bit on translating tribute messages from Sir Peter Wright and Kevin O'Hare and more from her colleagues at RB) and inside the book, 4 pages on the back of the cover featured numerous (36 to be correct) curtain call pics of Yoshida taken by Dave Morgan, and this was such a lovely feature.  I am sure Yoshida loved them.