Royal Ballet - Coppelia (Dec. 2019 - Jan. 2020)

[alison]

I've been meaning to comment that, with Raymonda, Coppelia and something else which escapes me at the moment on the schedule this season, there will be absolutely no excuse for not getting the mazurkas, czardas and so on right by the time Swan Lake comes around.

[Geoff]

2 hours ago, Blossom said:

Which brings me onto what I feel is the elephant in the room, at least for me. I have been waiting for someone else to comment on the character dancing to no avail. I really feel that stylistically something was missing in tboth the Mazurka and Czardas from the corps de ballet,  there was no sharpness in the footwork, epaulement, head lines. The way they travelled the stage looked messy and cluttered and it  came across more like Morris dancing than Polish folk dancing. Thank goodness for Mayara Magri  and soloist peasants who gave the dances the oomph they needed. These dances are one of my favourite parts of the ballet and so disappointed.

 

Indeed Blossom. Something to do with "English" shoulders, perhaps?

[LinMM]

Well don’t get to see this till Jan but I love character dancing and have done quite a lot of Hungarian and particularly Polish dancing so hope this is going to be vibrant and reasonably authentic in Coppelia to that lovely music!! Morris dancing it should not be much as it’s fun to come across a Morris dancing troupe at a pub on a summer outing!! Or catch a Morris dancing festival up in Haworth as we did a couple of years ago .....And I have a particular affinity with the name Morris lol. 

I always assume they have professionals advising on these character dancers just as much as in the more classical dancing so am hoping will be very much to be celebrated by January Blossom! 

[maryrosesatonapin]

14 hours ago, Blossom said:

Which brings me onto what I feel is the elephant in the room, at least for me. I have been waiting for someone else to comment on the character dancing to no avail. I really feel that stylistically something was missing in tboth the Mazurka and Czardas from the corps de ballet,  there was no sharpness in the footwork, epaulement, head lines. The way they travelled the stage looked messy and cluttered and it  came across more like Morris dancing than Polish folk dancing. Thank goodness for Mayara Magri  and soloist peasants who gave the dances the oomph they needed. These dances are one of my favourite parts of the ballet and so disappointed.

 

 

I do agree with you on this, which is why I didn't mention them favourably in my mini review earlier in the thread!

[capybara]

These dances are at the root of my 'issue' with Coppelia in this production of the ballet, not least because they are so forward-facing and repetitive that they feel like numbers in a revue.

My other 'problem', which has, I think, been picked up by one critic, is that the wonderful Gary Avis does not, for me, bring out sufficient vulnerability or pathos in his characterisation of Dr Coppelius.

[Blossom]

13 hours ago, Geoff said:

 

Indeed Blossom. Something to do with "English" shoulders, perhaps?

 

Something about general line and head placement too... Not enough technical expertise to really unpick what my issue is. I also wonder if perhaps a bit more space is needed on stage (the village set appears to encroach quite a bit).  

 

[Dancing Kitty]

On ‎08‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 18:10, Blossom said:

Which brings me onto what I feel is the elephant in the room, at least for me. I have been waiting for someone else to comment on the character dancing to no avail. I really feel that stylistically something was missing in tboth the Mazurka and Czardas from the corps de ballet,  there was no sharpness in the footwork, epaulement, head lines. The way they travelled the stage looked messy and cluttered and it  came across more like Morris dancing than Polish folk dancing. Thank goodness for Mayara Magri  and soloist peasants who gave the dances the oomph they needed. These dances are one of my favourite parts of the ballet and so disappointed.

 

I always got the impression that the RBS pride themselves on their character dance training so it's a pity that this doesn't appear to be reflected in the company.

 

 

[maryrosesatonapin]

On 09/12/2019 at 09:48, capybara said:

My other 'problem', which has, I think, been picked up by one critic, is that the wonderful Gary Avis does not, for me, bring out sufficient vulnerability or pathos in his characterisation of Dr Coppelius.

 

Although I've seen this ballet numerous times, it especially struck me this time (although it's true of other productions) that at the point where the village boys 'tease' Dr C so that he drops his key, in real life that would be an attack, a mugging!  So maybe Avis feels he has to avoid being too sympathetic a character in order to avoid the audience recoiling from what happens to him, even though it's all happily made up in the end with the remedial bag of coins.

[swanprincess]

According to the ROH website, tonight’s cast (10/12/19) is Nunez and Muntagirov.... Correct me if I am wrong but wasn’t Osipova supposed to dance tonight? Has the casting been changed? Thanks!

[Balletfanp]

No, it’s been Nunez and Muntagirov all along. I don’t think Osipova is dancing in Coppelia at all (I might be wrong).

[LinMM]

Osipova is not dancing in Coppelia this time swan princess. 

[Shade]

Sadly not in this run- there was some comment about that earlier I think. 
 

I hope to catch tonight’s performance at the cinema.

[MJW]

Watching at a cinema screening - how joyful is Marianela?

 

looking forward to seeing it live at the end of December 

[HelenLoveAppleJuice]

2 minutes ago, MJW said:

Watching at a cinema screening - how joyful is Marianela?

 

looking forward to seeing it live at the end of December 

Is it going to broadcast again? I thought next one in cinema is Lauren's nutcracker

[MJW]

1 hour ago, HelenLoveAppleJuice said:

Is it going to broadcast again? I thought next one in cinema is Lauren's nutcracker

 

There is a repeat screening on the 19th

[Mary]

On 08/12/2019 at 12:20, capybara said:

Since we are talking about reviews, here is a short quote from today's Sunday Times in the context of a full piece about the Hayward/Campbell cast:

" The second night brought Marianela Nunez and Vadim Muntagirov...........(ref to cinema relay)......and, as with everything this pair dance together now, they are spot on wonderful: so natural, stylish, witty, technically breathtaking".

I loved Hayward's performance too but the cinema audiences are in for a treat.

How very true!

What an enormous treat that was- technically breathtaking indeed, with Nunez on superlative form. I enjoyed the first night immensely with Hayward and Campbell but I must say tonight was just on another plane. Muntagirov's variation! It drew gasps from the audience and the cinema audience and I couldn't help exclaiming 'fantastic' during the applause.

I think someone said he was like a race horse or a greyhound let out of the slips..yes indeed, he just unleashed this incredible sequence with such nonchalance and a sweet joyful smile. . I have to go to the encore to see it again.

A lovely evening all round. How marvellous to see Merle Park in the second interval.

 

 

[Alice Shortcake]

I thoroughly enjoyed the live broadcast, but did anyone else find the first act much too dark? Perhaps the old DVD gave a false impression of the production - most recordings of that era were over-lit for the TV cameras - but I was a bit disappointed when the curtain rose to find that twilight had already fallen and Osbert Lancaster's lovely buildings and clouds were barely visible!

 

On the credit side, thank goodness the night hours no longer have to carry those comically huge candlesticks...

[cackles]

Yes, we thought that the first act was too dark. This isn't usually a problem at the Odeon in Wimbledon.

[alison]

33 minutes ago, MJW said:

 

There is a repeat screening on the 19th

 

Or the 16th, for the ones I've looked at.  Try the search on the ROH website to find out when your local ones are (they may be under "Encore" or under "Recorded").

[alison]

12 minutes ago, cackles said:

Yes, we thought that the first act was too dark. This isn't usually a problem at the Odeon in Wimbledon.

 

All 3 acts were too dark.  If they can lighten them up a bit, it will make a great DVD: if they can't, it will be even more difficult to see Muntagirov's legs than it was in the cinema, and that would be a huge disappointment (boy, was he on fine form tonight!  As was Nunez)

[bridiem]

A very small audience at the Ritzy in Brixton. If only people knew what they were missing... What a brilliant performance. Nunez was incredible, technically magnificent and so funny and believable; Muntagirov sensational in all he was asked to do. Just wow. Yes, the first act was much too dark, which was a shame. But nothing could mar the excellence of the performance. I also loved Annette Buvoli's Prayer - such beauty and grace! I immediately wanted to see her as Odette/Odile. And lovely interviews etc as usual. I thought it was so sweet at the end when Darcey Bussell said she felt so proud of the company; that shows that she still feels part of it, and quite right too.

[Tessie]

It was rather dark throughout in our cinema, but a thoroughly enjoyable evening nonetheless.

Lovely to see Merle Park , Darcey Bussell and Marianela Nunez chatting about Coppelia.  I also enjoyed hearing about the costumes, and the challenges of conducting for different casts. In fact, all the extra snippets for cinema-goers were interesting.

Nunez and Muntagirov were both wonderful; Nunez so delicate, yet vivacious and Muntagirov leaping effortlessly and landing silently. They made the pas de deux look easy! 

 

 

[alison]

Among the minor delights of this screening, I thought, was being able to watch the expressions on Romany Pajdak's face while she was trying to persuade Nunez's reluctant Swanilda to confront the "living" doll in Act II

 

Overall, though, I could probably have done with a touch fewer closeups, especially during the mimed or mime-like bits.

[allnewtome]

I throughly enjoyed it with my daughter at our local cinema. Also delighted to see an Upper School student we know in the performance. All be it a small part on the steps - nice to see the company offering these opportunities to students. 

[alison]

That's a point: can anyone tell me what sort of age the students were?  I got the impression that they were older (well, taller) than in previous runs, although I may be mistaken.

[allnewtome]

8 hours ago, alison said:

That's a point: can anyone tell me what sort of age the students were?  I got the impression that they were older (well, taller) than in previous runs, although I may be mistaken.

The one I know is in the last year of US. 

[bangorballetboy]

8 hours ago, alison said:

That's a point: can anyone tell me what sort of age the students were?  I got the impression that they were older (well, taller) than in previous runs, although I may be mistaken.

 

They are upper school year 3.  The age of students used for these roles has gradually increased over the years!

[Tessie]

I wouldn't have realised there were any school students in the performance if I hadn't seen the credits. What roles were they playing?

[HelenLoveAppleJuice]

40 minutes ago, Tessie said:

I wouldn't have realised there were any school students in the performance if I hadn't seen the credits. What roles were they playing?

All those yellow country girls and their companions. 

 

To be honest I don't like that yellow blouse

[Fonty]

I agree with all the comments made. 

 

I thought Nunez was wonderful in this.  She looked as though she was having fun, and enjoying every minute of it.  And Muntagirov?  Wow!  I am starting to ask myself if he is one of the best male dancers I have ever seen.  I keep thinking of him as young, because he looks so boyish, but he is nearly 30 apparently.  I didn't really notice the lighting until Vadim started doing his solos, and then I found myself wishing he was wearing white or light tights, as those marvellous scissoring legs would have been even more spectacular. 

 

I also thought the Prayer solo was very calm and beautiful.  I don't think I even recognise Buvoli's name.  I thought she was a newcomer, but she joined the RB 6 years ago.  

[RuthE]

26 minutes ago, Fonty said:

I also thought the Prayer solo was very calm and beautiful.  I don't think I even recognise Buvoli's name.  I thought she was a newcomer, but she joined the RB 6 years ago.  

 

It seems it's only recently that the RB has started to give her featured roles (she is also dancing Winifred Norbury in one cast of Enigma Variations).

 

In 2013/2014, when Buvoli was new to the company, she was featured along with Nathalie Harrison in this behind-the-scenes look at the rehearsal process for the corps de ballet women in Giselle:

 

 

[Stevie]

I feel that all the performers were heavily restricted by the lack of available dancing space on stage. This also appeared to be a factor with the original choreography. It was most evident in the Mazurka, where cross stage movement was severely limited. Removing a couple of the large buildings in the set would have helped. I couldn't help make comparison with the recent Bolshoi production , where the performers had much more available space. I attach the Bolshoi equivalent for comparison. Of course the Bolshoi stage is bigger anyway, but all the more reason to have a more appropriate set size.

 

[JohnS]

24 minutes ago, RuthE said:

In 2013/2014, when Buvoli was new to the company, she was featured along with Nathalie Harrison in this behind-the-scenes look at the rehearsal process for the corps de ballet women in Giselle:

 

Many thanks RuthE - lovely to see this again, a real gem.