Thalia Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 44 minutes ago, prs59 said: I thought I’d posted a reply but maybe gremlins are at work so here goes again and apologies if it’s a repeat: thanks for clarifying @Thalia I was aware that Matty had already danced bluebird but not who his partner was. Perhaps in the upcoming performances he will also be partnered by Magri. Whomever it is, we shall see on the days in question. I understand it is Naghdi he is due to be partnering tomorrow and next Thursday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 45 minutes ago, Thalia said: I understand it is Naghdi he is due to be partnering tomorrow and next Thursday. Any confusion arises because Naghdi and Ball are pictured on some of the publicity, whereas the cinema relay main cast is Cuthbertson and Bonelli. The only information people have about the Bluebird and Princess Florine comes from social media or personal contact with certain dancers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard LH Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, FLOSS said: I suspect that the gasps from the audience were prompted by the idea that such a severe punishment might be imposed for the mere act of knitting rather than the form the punishment would take. I heard the audience response last night, and on previous occasions, and I would characterise it as chuckles of amusement, rather than gasps of horror. I suspect most of the audience find the King's arbitrary judgments (changed at a moment notice), rather quaint and comical. There was similar amusement in the ranks last night at the idea of the King indicating to Aurora that now she was a beautiful (16 year old?) Princess it was time to choose a husband from the four on offer. I just enjoy the knitting needle scene as a bit of a hoot, and a suitable excuse for the King making his beneficent gesture of pardon that initiates the joyful and beautiful Garland Waltz music and dance. Edited January 10, 2020 by Richard LH 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 lets be frank, the King is a bit of a scuzz-bucket! When accused of forgetting the invite for Carabosse, he quickly throws Catalabutte under the bus, so to speak. Yet when faced with 3 hapless peasant women trying to improve their threadbare wardrobe, he proffers a hanging, until his sensible wife steps in... 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balletfanp Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 (edited) Ah well, it’s always the sensible wife that puts things into a proper perspective....! 😉 I very much enjoyed last night’s performance. I know that some think Nunez is too mature for some roles, but frankly I don’t care when she puts in such wonderful performances. Her Rose Adage was supremely confident, performed with aplomb and with a glowing smile - I smiled along with her, all the way through! Muntagirov was of course the perfect prince - sensitive, yearning and peerlessly elegant. His Act 2 solo was a thing of pure beauty, his Act 3 solo brought the house down as has become the norm with him. I know that recently there have been comments on this forum about Meaghan Grace Hingis, but last night she was a very creditable Princess Florine - and also an excellent fluttery-handed Songbird Fairy earlier on. A lovely performance from Fumi Kaneko as the Lilac Fairy, and wonderful to see Elizabeth McGorian back onstage as a wonderfully evil Carabosse. I don’t seem to have seen Benjamin Ella onstage for a long while so it was great to see him dancing Florestan last night, and very well too. And I particularly enjoyed Romany Pajdak as one of his sisters - very sprightly. Was it just me, it was the orchestra a bit all over the place last night? It may have been where I was sitting, but the brass section seemed to be either ahead of everyone else or lagging slightly behind. I felt for the dancers having to decide which speed to follow! And the general tempi seemed either too fast or too slow for some dancers, although they all dealt with it very well. Edited January 10, 2020 by Balletfanp 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 I agree that the tempi have not always been 'spot on'. Throughout the run, I have wondered about the Prologue Fairies' music in that respect but, maybe last night, the Prince's Act 3 solo was a tad slow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 The brass section has been noticeably off in a certain part of Coppelia, too 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balletfanp Posted January 10, 2020 Share Posted January 10, 2020 12 minutes ago, capybara said: I agree that the tempi have not always been 'spot on'. Throughout the run, I have wondered about the Prologue Fairies' music in that respect but, maybe last night, the Prince's Act 3 solo was a tad slow. That was very slow, and it was by no means the only one. Plus some seemed a little too fast. And best not to start me on the brass section generally.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scheherezade Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 There are many who might suggest that the brass section can be relied upon to be generally unreliable. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizbie1 Posted January 11, 2020 Share Posted January 11, 2020 7 minutes ago, Scheherezade said: There are many who might suggest that the brass section can be relied upon to be generally unreliable. I had been thinking that they'd upped their game this season, but... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annamk Posted January 11, 2020 Author Share Posted January 11, 2020 Saturday afternoon matinee: Nunez and Muntagirov gave a performance of such easy assurance and such effortless refined virtuosity, it was impossible not fall under the spell of their combined perfection. Magri’s Princess Florine variation had all those same qualities (she needs to do Aurora next time). Bluebird Corrales impressed too and he looked happy to be sharing the stage with her. I haven’t seen McGorian’s Carabosse for a while and it was a pleasure to watch such a class act. Gasparini, Sasaki and Donnelly gave a neat and musical account of the pd3. I wish the Lilac Fairy had been more widely cast in this run- I’ve seen Storm -Jensen nearly every time. Maybe it’s because she’s young and inexperienced but her dancing is somehow too small and contained to convey the munificence of the Lilac Fairy. This would matter less if she was in command of the technicalities but she hasn’t really conquered the challenges of the variation. 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 (edited) A bit of drama in our performance tonight. KO'H came on stage after Act 2 to announce that Lauren Cuthbertson was injured in Act 1 and would be replaced in Act 3 by our Lilac Fairy of the evening, Fumi Kaneko, who in turn would be replaced by Gina Storm-Jensen (who, by Act 3 , has very little to do really except for the curtain calls). So a bit of a strange performance - I just hope that the little girls in the audience weren't too traumatized that it was Princey and Lil getting married at the end. Joking aside, I thought that Cuthbertson was absolutely sublime in the Act 2 vision variation and that Kaneko and Federico Bonelli, looking very confident together, saved the show beautifully. Did Kaneko do a different version of the choreography in the coda? - Manege instead of a kind of balloné step (although this is in other non - RB versions.) Thrown on last minute, she had every right to do whatever suited her best. Other thoughts from this run: I have enjoyed three different casts. Adored the youthful Aurora's of Hayward and O'Sullivan with the magnificents Campbell and Ball respectively. The audience seemed really caught up with the wonderfully theatrical Carabosse's of Hayley Forskitt and Itziar Mendizabal, as I was. Kristen McNally was good tonight, but perhaps a touch understated and less venomous in comparison. I wish I had known that Elizabeth McGorian would also be playing Carabosse - I would have bought a ticket for her alone. The White Cats have brought the good cheer they ought to, mostly in the form of Ashley Dean and Paul Kay. Respect to the suitors, particularly Gary Avis as he has the bulk of the partnering, for looking after Aurora in the Rose Adagio. I was sorry not to see Marcelino Sambé as Bluebird this time around - he was so perfect in the last run, but tonight I really enjoyed the unforced elegance of Matthew Ball in the role, partnering Yasmine Naghdi who danced beautifully and faultlessly. I am a fan of Cesar Corrales, (a previous poster mentioned something to the effect that he has the same sort of star quality that Nureyev had - and I couldn't agree more having seen him in Jeune Homme), but in this case I felt he was conjuring up more Basilio than Bluebird. Romany Padjak made total sense of the frivolity that is Red Riding Hood and also I love the hues of blue and red of the costume! I love her account of her Prologue Fairy solo (Crystal Fountain?) - an example of beautiful artistry. Other dancers I have really enjoyed as prologue fairies, so many: Stix-Brunell, Magri, Hamilton, Calvert, O'Sullivan, Hinkis, Gasparini, Dias and Choe. Just one question though: in the second variation, is that supposed to be a single or double rond de jambe? A very stylish account of the Florestan pas de trois tonight from Hay, O'Sullivan and Magri (O'Sullivan more than keeping up with the brisk tempo of her solo). As these first soloists took their bows at the end, with Kaneko next to them, I couldn't help thinking what tough decisions O'Hare has on the horizon. Wishing Cuthbertson a speedy and full recovery from whatever it was that robbed her, and us, of her third act. Oh, and a big shout for the wonderful corps de ballet and wonderful orchestra (brass section - could do better!) Edited January 12, 2020 by Darlex Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candleque Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 Wow. All the best wishes to Lauren Cuthbertson. What a gorgeous total cast though. Now I can understand why this is the chosen one for the cinema relay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Q Fan Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 I saw the matinee yesterday and absolutely loved it after wishing I had not got a ticket and dreading sitting through this lengthy show! I was so pleasantly surprised and thought it was so good yesterday. I really liked Gina Storm Jensen as Lilac and I thought the story telling yesterday was very good. In several of the solos you could hear a pin drop - unheard of at ROH in my experience, very rare! It transpires Marianela's parents were in the audience too so it must have been a special show for her. Muntagirov and Nunez were just great together nothing to not like. I was delighted to see Mayara Magri and Cesar Corrales dance together again as the Bluebirds (fortuitous for me again that Hamilton as replaced by...Magri). The one and only dancer/artiste for Carabosse for me was the wonderful Elizabeth McGorian I was chuffed that she was cast. We were treated to Gary Avis as the English Prince as well so that is always good! A few pics from the curtain call:- Ensemble Gina Storm Jensen - Lilac, Cesar Corrales - Blue Bird, and Mayara Magri - Princess Florine Ashley Dean & Tomas Mock Red Riding Hood/Wolf and Mica Bradbury & Kevin Emerton as White Cat/Puss In Boots Marianela Nunez and Vadim Muntagirov Elizabeth McGorian - Carabosse Isabella Gasparini, David Donnelly and Mariko Sasaki - Florestan and his sisters 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beryl H Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 Lovely photo of Nunez/Muntagirov 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 12, 2020 Share Posted January 12, 2020 Poor Cuthbertson. And she's scheduled to do the cinema relay on Thursday 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 On 10/01/2020 at 13:02, FLOSS said: Following on from the comments about the audience being fully engaged with the action of the ballet last night and in particular the reaction to the fate of the knitting women.The knitting women are sentenced to hang not to be beheaded. The halter is depicted in the mime.Beheading although capable of being botched was I believe regarded as a merciful death when compared to the agony of being slowly throttled on the end of a rope. Beheading was therefore reserved for the nobility and those to whom a monarch might wish to extend a modicum of mercy. I suspect that the gasps from the audience were prompted by the idea that such a severe punishment might be imposed for the mere act of knitting rather than the form the punishment would take. The punishment seems excessive today but at one time at the end of the Prologue instead of the corps de ballet lining up in a diagonal facing Aurora's cradle gesticulating in a beneficent manner towards her the final tableau was of the corps grouped around the King as he forbade the use of spindles, and by implication other sharp handicraft implements, in his kingdom. Ratmansky's reconstruction has this as the Prologue's final tableau which makes the King's actions at the beginning of the first act seem a little less arbitrary than the current Royal Ballet text does. Like Leslie Edwards before him Montes' Catalabutte collects the knitting and holds it so that all the points of the needles are facing upwards. He then tests the needles to see if they fall within the letter of the law concerning prohibited sharp implements. He discovers to his horror that they are sharp and begins to look sad. But is he sad for them in the knowledge of the punishment that awaits them for breaking the law or is he sad on his own account because of the effort he has put into preparing for the great day which now looks as it it will be wasted? The Queen's notices that Catalabutte is sad. She asks the reason.The King is told that the knitting ladies have broken the law and he condemns them because by their actions they have endangered the life of the heir to the throne. As members of a class clearly far removed from the nobility the women would have suffered the ignominy of hanging had it not been for the Queen's intervention. Her actions enable the audience to see the benefits of living in an autocracy as they watch the KIng exercising his prerogative of mercy . I imagine that this bit of flattery went down exceptionally well with the Tsar and his family. But what prompts the Queen's intervention? Does she intervene simply because she is kind and considerate or is it that she sees that the King has acted in an arbitrary manner ? Is she concerned that the executions would dampen the celebration of Aurora's birthday making things a trifle awkward with the visiting Princes? The reason for Catalabutte's concerns almost certainly encompass those of the Queen with the addition of the planning and preparation he put into the event which seems likely to be wasted. Following this useful account by FLOSS of the current iteration of the 1946 production, here for comparison is what Vsevolozshky and Petipa published in 1890, in the programme for the first performance: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 1 hour ago, Sebastian said: Following this useful account by FLOSS of the current iteration of the 1946 production, here for comparison is what Vsevolozshky and Petipa published in 1890, in the programme for the first performance: Sebastian, the images aren't displaying for me ... is anyone else having that problem? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizbie1 Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 Nor me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 1 hour ago, Jan McNulty said: Sebastian, the images aren't displaying for me ... is anyone else having that problem? Many apologies, they show up fine on my computer. If no admin can help clarify what the problem might be, let me see if posting them here as jpgs in separate replies helps. First part here (the restriction on image size requires splitting up) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 (edited) Second part (to upload this I needed to log out of the Forum and then log in again, surely there must be a better way!): Edited January 13, 2020 by Sebastian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 (edited) Third and final part of the programme extract: Edited January 13, 2020 by Sebastian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 (edited) Lauren Cuthbertson has posted (on instagram) a little about Saturday evening, and hopes to be able to dance on Thursday Edited January 13, 2020 by Rob S 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 Fingers crossed, then. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted January 13, 2020 Share Posted January 13, 2020 23 minutes ago, Rob S said: Lauren Cuthbertson has posted (on instagram) a little about Saturday evening, and hopes to be able to dance on Thursday 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluebird Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 According to the cast sheet now on the ROH website, Lauren Cuthbertson will, indeed, be dancing tomorrow. http://static.roh.org.uk/showings/the-sleeping-beauty-live-2020/EN.pdf?_ga=2.70277072.1991698392.1579088890-319804654.1558825193 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 Let's hope so. And ooh, finally that luxury casting of Prologue fairies I'd heard about, too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynette H Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 Odd, isn't it, that details of who has been coaching the principals appear on these cast sheets for the cinema relay, but no longer appear on the cast sheets at the ROH. If you see it live you have to acquire a programme to get those details. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyTaylor Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 4 hours ago, Lynette H said: Odd, isn't it, that details of who has been coaching the principals appear on these cast sheets for the cinema relay, but no longer appear on the cast sheets at the ROH. If you see it live you have to acquire a programme to get those details. Or have a peak into the Grand tier, where they usually sit to watch the performance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 5 hours ago, Lynette H said: Odd, isn't it, that details of who has been coaching the principals appear on these cast sheets for the cinema relay, but no longer appear on the cast sheets at the ROH. If you see it live you have to acquire a programme to get those details. There’s a mass of blank space on the cast sheet under the synopsis and also under the timings for such info 😮 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynette H Posted January 15, 2020 Share Posted January 15, 2020 The coaching details used to appear on cast sheets previously, but were a casualty when they briefly changed to the unpopular "open up" much smaller cast sheets. They reverted to the original size, but the coaching details were not reinstated. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 (edited) Well that went well Edited January 16, 2020 by Rob S 20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted January 16, 2020 Share Posted January 16, 2020 I don't recall ever seeing a more rivetingly accomplished performance of this ballet from the two leads. Aurora's Act 1 solo (after the Rose Adagio) and the Prince's Act 3 variation were out of this world. The audience roars said it all. And the company as a whole was seriously impressive. I do hope that everything goes OK tonight for their live relay. 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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