Royal Ballet Sleeping Beauty, 2019-20

[Sim]

3 minutes ago, Xandra Newman said:

Having just read all of last week's Opening Night rave reviews I cannot recall the last time Sleeping Beauty was awarded multiple 5 stars by the dance critics (usually the critics are not all that enthusiastic about The Royal Ballet's Sleeping Beauty). 

You beat me to it, Xandra.  I am so pleased about this.  Maybe it's a slow burn for the critics as it was for me;  I never liked it much, then all of a sudden I seem to have seen the light, and this run and the one before have really changed my mind.  Maybe it's because of the universally high level of talent throughout the company at the moment;  they make it a different prospect for me.  I even enjoy the Prologue, whereas in years past I used to kick myself for not spending it in the pub having a glass of something nice!!

 

I was also very pleased to see universal praise for Yasmine Naghdi's gorgeous Aurora, as this was a first first night for her and finally the critics got to report on her in a full three act ballet. 

[Beryl H]

19 hours ago, JNC said:

It's now 'correct' (as far as we know!). 

 

As initially assumed, Kaneko/Clarke will be dancing Friday night. 

 

Oh no wait...it's literally changed before my eyes...back to Takada/Takada and Hirano/Hirano...

 

Still Takada/Hirano for the 23rd. 

 

 

I suppose this is the "self-partnering" I keep reading about?

[Xandra Newman]

41 minutes ago, Sim said:

You beat me to it, Xandra.  I am so pleased about this.  Maybe it's a slow burn for the critics as it was for me;  I never liked it much, then all of a sudden I seem to have seen the light, and this run and the one before have really changed my mind.  Maybe it's because of the universally high level of talent throughout the company at the moment;  they make it a different prospect for me.  I even enjoy the Prologue, whereas in years past I used to kick myself for not spending it in the pub having a glass of something nice!!

 

I was also very pleased to see universal praise for Yasmine Naghdi's gorgeous Aurora, as this was a first first night for her and finally the critics got to report on her in a full three act ballet. 

 

Same for me. When the current run of SB was announced last Season I really did not intend on seeing another SB but once the casting was announced I changed my mind.

Much praise for Mr.O'Hare for putting on his youngest principals Naghdi/Ball to dance the Opening Night, adding his best first soloists and soloists, their performance was unanimously praised by the critics (and I don't think they are biased .... ). 

The dancers blew new life into this Sleeping Beauty and made it very exciting again to watch!  

So much so I have bought another ticket. 

Edited November 13, 2019 by Xandra Newman
typo

[Shade]

How interesting to read the views about SB the ballet. It is one I have always loved, some productions more than others. But it has wonderful music, costumes etc. With all the casts to savour it should be a great run an£ of course special to the RB.

 

in contrast it has taken me years to come to love Giselle.

[Rob S]

Tonight’s cast: 

 

King Florestan: Avis

Queen: Arestis 

Aurora: Hayward

Prince: Campbell

Catalabutte: Whitehead

Carabosse: Foskitt

Lilac Fairy: Calvert

 

Fairy of the:

Crystal Fountain: Pajdak Dubreuil 

Enchanted Garden: Magri Ella

Woodland Glade: Hang Mock

Songbird: Hinkis Dixon

Jeremy Vine: O’Sullivan Junker 

 

Lilac Fairy’s Cavalier: Clarke

English Prince: Gartside

French Prince: Richardson

Indian Prince: Dubreuil 

Russian Prince: Emerton

 

Aurora’s Friends: Buvoli Gasparini Grennell Hinkis Pajdak Stock Storm-Jensen Turk

 

Countess: Pajdak 

Gallison: Gartside

 

Florestan and sisters: Acri Hinkis Sasaki 

 

Puss/White Cat: Ella Allnatt 

Florine/Bluebird: Magri Corrales 

Red Riding Hood/Wolf: Gasparini Mock

Grand Pas de Duchy: Hayward Campbell 

 

 

[annamk]

I didn't see the Naghdi/Ball cast so I can't comment on their performances but I think the RB has often fielded some gorgeous Aurora's : Cojocaru, Nunez,  Cuthbertson, Takada are just a few. For myself, what has made the huge difference in the performance I saw (Kaneko/Clarke) was the quality of all the soloist roles, in particular the fairies. The Prologue used to be an ordeal but in the cast I saw it was very far from that. 

[Jamesrhblack]

Gosh, they keep the lovely Miss Pajdak busy ....

[Sim]

6 hours ago, Jamesrhblack said:

Gosh, they keep the lovely Miss Pajdak busy ....

And I am very glad they do!  

[Rob S]

What a fantastic performance from these two

 

 

[capybara]

Last night's performance was a delight all round.

As others have said, this run is seeing performances of real quality across the board - and that is no mean feat considering the number of solos etc the work contains.

Francesca Hayward was as light as thistledown as the young Aurora but managed to bloom radiantly as the bride in the arms of her very attentive and adoring Prince - a nicely judged portrayal from Alexander Campbell.

Claire Calvert was a properly authoritative Lilac Fairy, casting good over the proceedings.

I had not seen Hayley Forskitt's Carabosse before: she is beautifully evil and garnered huge cheers rather than the pantomime boos which have come to accompany that character's curtain calls of late.

[ninamargaret]

Greatly enjoyed last night's performance. It goes without saying that Hayward and Campbell were both lovely to watch, although i do sometimes wonder if Hayward  could project the character a little more. Carabosse always one of my favourite characters and I got the impression Forskitt really,enjoyed the role. Super Bluebirds from Magri /Corrales and a particularly pretty white cat from Sophie Allnatt. One small point about Corrales - his marvellous soft jumps were spoilt by quite noisy landings. Is this because of some technical problem, shoes, or what?

Edited November 14, 2019 by bangorballetboy
Correcting a naughty autocorrect

[JohnS]

Delighted to have got a return ticket for last night after Saturday evening’s first performance for this cast.  I thought the Prologue really fizzed, all very secure, great corps, and set up so well another fabulous Sleeping Beauty, with Francesca Hayward’s radiant Aurora and Alexander Campbell's immaculate Florimund.

 

I’ll look forward to reading more posts and feel very fortunate to have got a ticket for tonight’s performance - Yasmine Naghdi/Matthew Ball.

[Lizbie1]

50 minutes ago, ninamargaret said:

One small point about Corrales - his marvellous soft jumps were spoilt by quite noisy landings.

 

I noticed that the other night - it was quite surprising.

[capybara]

52 minutes ago, ninamargaret said:

 One small point about Corrales - his marvellous soft jumps were spoilt by quite noisy landings. Is this because of some technical problem, shoes, or what?

 

Corrales is a bit of a regular noisy lander. Maybe he doesn't absorb the weight through his legs as much as other dancers manage to do? That said, the Bluebird's jumps hit certain areas of the sides of the stage that many male variations do not venture into and, if/when they do, they can sound noisy there too.

[ninamargaret]

48 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

Corrales is a bit of a regular noisy lander. Maybe he doesn't absorb the weight through his legs as much as other dancers manage to do? That said, the Bluebird's jumps hit certain areas of the sides of the stage that many male variations do not venture into and, if/when they do, they can sound noisy there too.

You could be right - it was particularly noticeable on the right side of the stage. 

[FionaM]

 

2 hours ago, capybara said:

 

Corrales is a bit of a regular noisy lander. Maybe he doesn't absorb the weight through his legs as much as other dancers manage to do? That said, the Bluebird's jumps hit certain areas of the sides of the stage that many male variations do not venture into and, if/when they do, they can sound noisy there too.

 

Ah oh, that’s not a good sign.  It can be due to poor technique/training not to absorb the sound through the feet and the plie, and can lead to injury.   Alexander Campbell seems to land quietly most times.

[JohnS]

A couple of audience reactions with some people nonplussed by the mime and a neighbour asking who was the dancer in Act 2 - from the cast sheet my neighbour knew about the Lilac Fairy showing Florimund a vision of the sleeping Aurora but had not appreciated the Lilac Fairy went on to conjure a dancing Aurora vision.  Is there an assumption that everyone knows what’s going on (surely not given Open Up) or that people new to ballet aren’t interested (clearly not the case given the reaction to a little information last night)?  I can’t recall the exact figures but I’m sure I’ve read somewhere that a lot of audience members are seeing a performance for the first time and do wonder if the cast sheet/synopsis might benefit from a critical review.  I know lengthy synopses can be very off putting but there’s a lot of white space on the Sleeping Beauty synopsis.  A few words about use of mime for the Prologue and the Lilac Fairy conjuring a dancing vision of Aurora might have helped some audience members last night.  Or if there’s some material in the programme on mime, why not include a reference to it in the cast sheet?  There are some great News pieces on mime on the website which could be referenced - not that I’m wanting to encourage inappropriate use of smart phones.

[capybara]

10 minutes ago, FionaE said:

Ah oh, that’s not a good sign.  It can be due to poor technique/training not to absorb the sound through the feet and the plie, and can lead to injury.   Alexander Campbell seems to land quietly most times.

 

I feel the need to make it clear that I wasn't suggesting poor technique on Cesar Corrales's part! 

[DanJL]

I haven't seen the programme for this production yet (attending my first performance next week!), but there was a really lovely and helpful section on mime in the Birmingham Royal Ballet production that came to Cardiff a couple of years ago. It was actually my first time seeing Sleeping Beauty and I found it incredibly helpful!

[ninamargaret]

JohnS's comments about mime very interesting. I thought the mime passages were excellent, but then I am lucky enough ( and old enough) to have benefited from some of the sessions given by the RB's Ballet for All and early TV programmes where it was thought useful to show how mine worked. Alexander Campbell particularly good at it - his Nutcracker performance on DVD shows this. I think it is often forgotten that there are always members of the audience who have not seen the ballet before, maybe a little extra help is needed.

[JohnS]

Here are just a couple of links to ROH’s News items on mime in ballet, particularly Sleeping Beauty:

 

https://www.roh.org.uk/news/cracking-the-code-the-meaning-of-mime-in-ballet

 

https://www.roh.org.uk/news/how-the-lilac-fairy-tells-a-story-through-mime-in-the-sleeping-beauty

 

There’s a wealth of information on the ROH’s website and the search function still works.  I thought a link or two might be worth including on the cast sheet.

 

 

[Douglas Allen]

7 hours ago, capybara said:

I had not seen Hayley Forskitt's Carabosse before: she is beautifully evil and garnered huge cheers rather than the pantomime boos which have come to accompany that character's curtain calls of late.

 

Capybara I'm really pleased to hear this from you, both because it is a difficult role to judge how to play, but also because I hope it marks the end to the ridiculous booing of a performance because the character is judged to be morally deficient! I don't know how or where it started, but it really has no place in any serious opera house or theatre. If pantomime antics like this persist, why not boo poor, absurd Catalbutte, whose gross negligence in drawing up the invitation list led to all the trouble in the first place?

[RuthE]

9 minutes ago, Douglas Allen said:

 

Capybara I'm really pleased to hear this from you, both because it is a difficult role to judge how to play, but also because I hope it marks the end to the ridiculous booing of a performance because the character is judged to be morally deficient! I don't know how or where it started, but it really has no place in any serious opera house or theatre. If pantomime antics like this persist, why not boo poor, absurd Catalbutte, whose gross negligence in drawing up the invitation list led to all the trouble in the first place?

 

I agree with you on the whole, but I wouldn't judge people for making an exception when the subject matter is - like the subject matter of pantomimes - a popular fairy tale.

[bridiem]

7 minutes ago, RuthE said:

 

I agree with you on the whole, but I wouldn't judge people for making an exception when the subject matter is - like the subject matter of pantomimes - a popular fairy tale.

 

And when curtain calls are sometimes taken rather in character, thus encouraging such a reaction.

[RuthE]

39 minutes ago, bridiem said:

 

And when curtain calls are sometimes taken rather in character, thus encouraging such a reaction.

 

That's it. If we all give a big cheer when Gary Avis comes out after Nutcracker and throws a cloud of glitter in the air, then it's equally appropriate to boo a Rothbart or Carabosse who swoops out looking evil.  It would be inappropriate for a baddie in a serious adult human-story-ballet, but then, that'll be why we don't see the Gaoler from Manon coming out for his curtain call making obscene suggestive gestures

[bangorballetboy]

1 hour ago, Douglas Allen said:

 

it really has no place in any serious opera house or theatre. 

 

OK boomer.  🤣

[Douglas Allen]

2 hours ago, bangorballetboy said:

OK boomer.  🤣

And there was I thinking you were a Millennial and you turn out to be Gen Z.

[bangorballetboy]

6 minutes ago, Douglas Allen said:

And there was I thinking you were a Millennial and you turn out to be Gen Z.

 

Generation X me, innit.

[LinMM]

God I’m so old now don’t know what any of it means! 

[Sim]

Another masterclass from Yasmine Naghdi tonight in how it should be done, beautifully partnered by Matthew Ball, and guided by Claire Calvert’s lovely Lilac Fairy.  A super night.  

[zxDaveM]

22 minutes ago, Sim said:

Another masterclass from Yasmine Naghdi tonight in how it should be done, beautifully partnered by Matthew Ball, and guided by Claire Calvert’s lovely Lilac Fairy.  A super night.  

 

I don't really have the words as to how wonderful it was - I was utterly spellbound. Yasmine looked so at ease, exuding warmth and confidence, dancing those steps like they were made on her. Just wow

[JennyTaylor]

55 minutes ago, Sim said:

Another masterclass from Yasmine Naghdi tonight in how it should be done, beautifully partnered by Matthew Ball, and guided by Claire Calvert’s lovely Lilac Fairy.  A super night.  

Yes, I thought she was exceptional - such grace and beauty.  A total delight. A lovely performance all round

[Xandra Newman]

Claire Calvert was such a beautiful Lilac Fairy tonight. I loved Fumi Kaneko as the Lilac Fairy on Opening Night but Claire Calvert outshone her as she is an absolute natural in this role. Great portrayal and well done to her! Romany Pajdak was also gorgeous as Red Riding Hood, as were Sambe and O'Sullivan. 

What amazes me most is whenever I feel Naghdi has given her best performance (as on Opening Night) she surpasses herself and ups her game yet again. It really is testing for any ballerina and there is nowhere to hide, the slightest technical mistake is noticeable. Naghdi's supreme technical command and refined portrayal of Aurora, partnered by the gorgeous Matthew Ball (such a beautiful stage couple they are), combined with several outstanding soloist performances made tonight an unforgettable one. 

 

Bravo to the entire cast for a superb evening!