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ENB, Le Corsaire, January 2020


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I was also there on Friday evening,and thought Katja Khaniukova was outstanding.She is such a versatile dancer and actor, I really hope she is promoted to principal soon, it would be richly deserved. Shiori Kase was exquisite, and dazzled whenever she was on stage. I thought there was lovely chemistry between her and Brooklyn Mack, and, for me, his was a strong performance full of strength and charisma. Erik Woolhouse was a superb Ali in an overall wonderful evening of dancing, with the jardin anime scene another highlight for me. This was the first time I have seen Le Corsaire, and I was on a real high as I left the Coliseum - I am eagerly anticipating next week’s gala.

Edited by CCL
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By a stroke of good fortune, I was able to attend the matinée performance on 11 January and witness again Fernanda Oliveira’s dazzling Medora with a completely different cast, as she was replacing Cojocaru.  Considering the cast change was only announced a few days ago and, given the company’s hectic rehearsal schedule, they must have had little time to rehearse together but the performance of the three leads in the Act II pas d’action was astonishingly polished and assured.  Jeffrey Cirio brought nobility and a quiet dignity to his Ali and, as always, the brilliance of his technique, especially in his firecracker of a solo, was imbued with impeccable elegance, as was his partnering of Oliveira, with whom he was extremely well matched, despite this being a chance pairing.  Likewise, Isaac Hernandez, in his only performance of the run, proved an excellent partner for her.  Being slightly taller than Joseph Caley, her partner for her scheduled performances, the lifts were slightly higher and this made the upside down lift in the Act II pas de deux even more breath-taking, especially as they were able to hold the position for just that little bit longer so that it really registered.  I was also impressed by the tenderness he displayed towards her, especially during this pas de deux, which she reciprocated, and there was a palpable chemistry between them throughout the ballet.  There is a raw energy to his dancing which made him a believable leader of a gang of pirates, and this made his fight with Birbanto very realistic, especially when he continued to attack the other pirates to bring them into line.  Erik Woolhouse, on top form, was even more extraordinary in the role of Birbanto than his performance which I saw in Milton Keynes, more than matching Hernandez in hot-headedness and showing some splendidly virtuosic dancing to boot.  It was a joy to see the diminutive Adela Ramirez, as the Lead Villager, dance up a storm with him in Act I, in a wonderful mixture of vivacity and coquettishness.  With Woolhouse being so tall, the two overhead lifts were jaw-dropping in the height achieved.  It is one of my regrets with this season’s casting that we have not been treated to her incomparable performance of the first Odalisque solo which I remember so well from 2016.  In less than twenty-four hours, Shiori Kase changed from Medora into Gulnare, a role in which she enchanted me in 2016.  As with the previous evening, her flawless technique and artistry raised her performance to another level, especially with her ability to move from delicate, legato movements to electrifying fouetté turns and pirouettes with the same serenity, and her charm was given full rein in her Act III solo.  As with last night’s cast, she and the Medora of Oliveira were an excellent match physically and artistically.  As to Oliveira, her performance was even more radiant and assured than on Thursday afternoon, with a particularly breath-taking balance in attitude derrière in the jardin animé scene which was so secure that it looked like she could have held it for the rest of the ballet.  The fiendish pirouettes à la seconde  also looked smooth as silk, as did the series of fouettés into attitude in Act III.  My delight in the performance was completed by a sparkling rendition of the score by ENB’s fabulous orchestra under the baton of Gavin Sutherland who received a huge ovation from the packed matinée audience, as did the whole company.

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5 hours ago, Irmgard said:

As to Oliveira, ....., with a particularly breath-taking balance in attitude derrière in the jardin animé scene which was so secure that it looked like she could have held it for the rest of the ballet. 


thank you for reminding me of these.  All these balances (repeated as she collects the flowers from the girls either side) were exquisite.  

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Am up to my eyeballs in work - but just can't let this evening pass without saying how miraculous Katja Khaniukova's Medora was - Truly inspired - and so gloriously musical - as was her Conrad, Jeffrey Cirio.  Such an illustrious partnering is theirs.  He's up there as a partner with Jock Soto; with Dowell; with Muntagirov, with the extraordinary Alexandre Riabko.  Cirio is elegance incarnate and, as such, totally deserving of - and fitting for - Khanlukova's galvanising magic. That cave PDD has never flowed so creamily.  The woman behind me - who had never been to a ballet before - was audibly cooing.  (She'll be back.)  This was a VERY true love's knot - and held EVERY member of its large audience bound in total rapture.  Their stellar performance of that specific piece deserved the prolonged burst of applause that met its conclusion and travelled on well into the next segment.  Daniel McCormick ONLY ever goes from strength to strength as Ali and it was breathtaking to watch him vary his own solo variations.  Every challenge he sets for himself is met and then some.  He makes us all PROUD.  Above and BEYOND was Frola as Bribanto.  (Talk about 'luxury casting') - Frola was - as we have come to expect - supreme.  He even made me forget Corrales' eyes.  This was Douglas Fairbanks Jr. to the life.  (Didn't think that was gonna happen somehow.)  The choreography through his concerted instrument punched the air in a way here that gave the thin narrative new life; a richer meaning.  Suddenly it palpitated.  So many jewels to be had tonight in this particular theatrical crown - all wrought under the concerted majesty of Sutherland's baton.  I so wish I could write more .. but am already past a couple of deadlines ... 

 

Edited by Bruce Wall
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Just wanted to say that I love Bruce Wall's review although I can't 'like' it because I don't agree with his view of Frola as Birbanto. His dancing was beautiful but the necessary menace was missing for me.

Otherwise, a fabulous show, especially from Kaniukova, Cirio and McCormick.  Bravo!

Edited by capybara
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Wow. I thought Friday night was great, but last night just blew me away.
 

11 hours ago, Bruce Wall said:

Daniel McCormick ONLY ever goes from strength to strength as Ali and it was breathtaking to watch him vary his own solo variations.  Every challenge he sets for himself is met and then some.  He makes us all PROUD. 


Totally agree. This man deserves a promotion. (Tamara Rojo was sitting right behind me, and it was hard to resist the temptation to gush in her direction.)
In addition to the dancers mentioned above, Junor Souza made the most of the villainous Lankendem, and I thought Emma Hawes was just beautiful as a captive Gulnare.

Le Corsaire reminded me how much talent there is at the ENB. It is really quite privileged to be blessed with two world class ballet companies performing just blocks apart. Can't wait for their 70th Anniversary Gala on Friday. Really hope it sells out as the line-up looks amazing.
 

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11 hours ago, capybara said:

Just wanted to say that I love Bruce Wall's review although I can't 'like' it because I don't agree with his view of Frola as Birbanto. His dancing was beautiful but the necessary menace was missing for me.

Otherwise, a fabulous show, especially from Kaniukova, Cirio and McCormick.  Bravo!


I agree with you Capybara,  regarding Frola.  He didn't seem quite ruthless enough. On the other hand, I really enjoyed Souza who seemed to be having a ball as Lankendem, and as far I was concerned dominated every scene he was in.  

 

I wasn't going to see Le Corsaire this time around, as my purse is feeling the strain of some heavy spending at the start of the new year, but I am so glad I decided to get a last minute ticket.  The dancing last night was sensational from everyone, and they richly deserved the prolonged applause at the end, but Khaniukova and Cirio just blew me away.  I can't think of enough adjectives to describe how marvellous they were.  

 

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I am not sure I will be able to find enough superlatives for last night’s performance (13 January), led by a stellar cast and Maestro Sutherland, who I believe is unique in being able to make the score sound as if it comes from the pen of one, rather than the myriad composers that it does, drawing a particularly impassioned reading from the orchestra.  Never has the Act II pas de deux sounded lovelier, no doubt inspired by the charismatic partnership of Jeffrey Cirio and Katja Khaniukova whose sublime chemistry made this a magical expression of the love between Conrad and Medora and confirmed that, stripped of all the complexities of the plot, the ballet is essentially a love story. 

 

Before I try to put into words their totally enthralling performances, I would like to mention the others in this impressive cast.  While not as soulful as the Gulnares of Kase or Khaniukova (and no-one imbues the backbend lifts in the Act I pas de deux with as much despair and sorrow as Khaniukova), Emma Hawes brought a sweetness to the role with her delicate dancing and was especially charming in her solo in the jardin animé scene.  She had a perfect partner for the Act I pas de deux in Junor Souza in another towering performance as Lankendem, whose characterisation of what should be the most unlikeable character in the ballet was as vibrant as his sensational dancing.  I still regret that we have not been given the chance to see his phenomenal Ali this season.

 

Francesco Gabriele Frola was initially a very likeable Birbanto, particularly in his Act I dance with the radiant Adela Ramirez, and there was a real sense of comradeship between him and Cirio until it all turned sour with their argument over the freeing of the slave girls in Act II, during which Frola’s blood really did boil.  Personally, I felt that his death was the most realistic and shocking of all the Birbantos I have seen, leading again to my wish that the whole ballet was treated in a more dramatic way.  As with his Conrad, his dancing, especially the extraordinary height of his jumps, was thrilling but always imbued with an exceptional finesse.  The same applied to Daniel McCormick’s Ali, with his ever-growing confidence in the role, especially his silky-smooth but explosive solo. 

 

In fact, finesse of technique and artistry was the hallmark of all these leading performances, and nowhere was it more in evidence than in the richly detailed interpretations of Cirio and Khaniukova who took the whole ballet to another level, making me forget everything I dislike about the plot.  Of course, their dancing was out of this world technically, with Cirio's thrilling solos and Khaniukova being particularly exquisite in Act III, but it was the way they used the choreography in Acts I and II to express Conrad and Medora’s love for each other which made it so special.  In her first scene, when Medora is ostensibly dancing for the Pasha, it was clear that everything was directed towards Conrad and the two of them could barely take their eyes off each other.  This was also evident in the Act II pas d’action and led naturally to the pas de deux which was so tender and loving that it brought tears to my eyes.  This is a dream partnership which first enchanted me when they stole the show (for me) in the secondary roles of Ben and Clementine in “Cinderella” at the Albert Hall and, as I wrote after their fabulous début performance together in “Le Corsaire” in Milton Keynes, their Critics Circle nominations for Best Female and Best Male classical dancers are richly deserved.  It therefore seems incomprehensible to me that Khaniukova is the only female dancer at First Soloist level upwards who is not highlighted in the first night of the 70th Anniversary galas at the end of this week and only the matinée audience will be lucky enough to see her as Frida, the role for which she received one of her two nominations, in the excerpt from “Broken Wings”.

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I went to see this on Saturday afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed it. 

I can't think of a single role that wasn't really well performed and everybody on stage seemed to be enjoying themselves especially the male characters. 

Fernanda Oliveira is fairly new to me in a main role and I thought she was very good as Medora ....a really strong dancer with a pretty solid technique. That second Act really shows off the different styles for Medora ....the more purely classical in the grand las de deux and the slightly more romantic dancing of the drugged flower scene! Oliveira carried both of with great confidence and expression. 

I loved Shiori Kase though her dancing has such delicacy very beautiful to watch a stand out dancer for me.

Like some others have mentioned I didn't find Hernandez that convincing in his acting but his dancing was definitely up there some pretty great solos from him but I would probably have wanted to run off with Birbanto played by Eric Woolhouse ....very convincing with dancing to match!! 

I loved the big pas de deux ...the music always gets to me especially as conducted by Gavin Sutherland .....and I was surprised to read here that Jeffrey Cirio had injured his foot a couple of days before because you would never have know absolutely stunning solo from him as Ali but he whole pas de deux was a joy for me. 

I had to look up who was the Pasha's assistant as he was very funny....went for over the top but pulled it off wonderfully ...I think he upstaged the Pasha ( Michael Coleman ....great to see him still dancing) somewhat but very well done by Shevelle Dynott. 

 

Thats two Saturday afternoon  treats running ( Coppelia last week) with fab costumes lovely music and brilliant dancing from both Companies. 

Have one more Saturday afternoon to come and am sure that will be a treat too. 

 

Two asides........firstly I sincerely hope nobody from the forum was sitting in the Upper Circle on Saturday as just as the lights went down I realised I hadn't turned my phone off which was deep in my bag ( small rucksack) firmly wedged under the back of my seat with my coat piled on the top of it!! So lots of kerfuffle and unraveling into the aisle to get to phone which must have been annoying 🙄 I didn't realise just how little leg room there is in those Upper Circle seats and I was cursing myself for not putting everything in the cloakroom as I usually do 😬 

The second is does anybody know if Rebecca Blenkinsopp is still dancing with ENB? I wasn't sure if she was one of those carrying a garland in the Flower scene or not but if she is still with them I'd be hoping to see her in some non corps roles soon. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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T

34 minutes ago, LinMM said:

 

The second is does anybody know if Rebecca Blenkinsopp is still dancing with ENB? I wasn't sure if she was one of those carrying a garland in the Flower scene or not but if she is still with them I'd be hoping to see her in some non corps roles soon. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, she is still with the company and I am pretty sure she was a flower girl last night.

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3 hours ago, Irmgard said:

  It therefore seems incomprehensible to me that Khaniukova is the only female dancer at First Soloist level upwards who is not highlighted in the first night of the 70th Anniversary galas at the end of this week and only the matinée audience will be lucky enough to see her as Frida, the role for which she received one of her two nominations, in the excerpt from “Broken Wings”.

 

It seems incomprehensible to me that she is not a principal, Irmgard.  And I am one of the lucky ones going to the matinee on Saturday. :)

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24 minutes ago, LinMM said:

Hee hee he's mine Scheherezade! Though I suppose you did mention him first 😬

I think we’d have to concede the first mention to Capybara although, to be honest, it was a distinctly non-proprietorial mention. So, without wanting to pre-empt the soon-to-be seen Onegin, I’d say it’s pistols at dawn for you and me. 

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A lot of praise already for last night's performance of Corsair. I will just add that for me it was unremitting pleasure: wonderful  dancing from the leads, all of whom showed all their tricks and more, and a company dancing with total commitment. Well done ENB!

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1 hour ago, Fonty said:

 

It seems incomprehensible to me that she is not a principal, Irmgard.  And I am one of the lucky ones going to the matinee on Saturday. :)

I'm with you there!  Especially as the vacancies at Principal level created by the departures of Laurretta Summerscales and Begona Cao have not been filled.

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2 hours ago, Irmgard said:

I'm with you there!  Especially as the vacancies at Principal level created by the departures of Laurretta Summerscales and Begona Cao have not been filled.


hoping that Katja might fill some of the slots vacated by Alina at the 70th anniversary performances ...🤞

Edited by FionaE
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Well, although I've been disappointed to see only a very limited number of casts in this run, last night's not among them :(, I am at least very glad that I managed to catch the one I missed last Friday, at this afternoon's matinee. Michael Coleman's Pasha was certainly spoilt for choice with the Medora of Shiori Kase and the Gulnare of Katja Khaniukova - and I'll blame his obviously elderly eyesight for the decision to reject Gulnare: she was lovely - as was Medora.  Ms Khaniukova unfortunately seems to be another one of those dancers who is taking an inordinately long time to make Principal :(  Having seen so few performances, I was still getting to grips with who was who and doing what, with the Bolshoi's far more extended version in my mind, so it was quite confusing to find that Medora and Conrad already seemed to be in something of a relationship, and that Gulnare appeared more or less right from the start, and was almost as major as a role as Medora.  I was slightly confused in the Jardin Animé, as the two leads seemed to be dressed very similarly to the other dancers, and first time around I initially wondered whether some of the Roses and Leading Flowers had small solos!  Brooklyn Mack's Conrad performed with authority, and actually convinced me that he could still credibly boss the other pirates around even after he'd released the slave girls.  Erik Woolhouse impressed as Ali.

 

Overall, though, I do find this production a little perfunctory in places, and truncated compared with other versions (I was expecting the "fake" marriage, for a start) - but it's great fun, and showcases some great dancing.  In particular, I hope that parents with dancing sons took their children to see it, because it must be inspiring to see a ballet in which the men have a lot more to do than just hold their ballerinas up and present them!

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10 hours ago, FionaE said:


hoping that Katja might fill some of the slots vacated by Alina at the 70th anniversary performances ...🤞

According to the casting published by ENB, Cojocaru was only ever going to do the Sylph section of "Etudes" in the gala. As well as the excerpt from "Broken Wings" at the matinee, Khaniukova is also doing the ballerina solo in "Etudes" at that performance only and one of the solos in the 'Jewels' section from Act III of "Sleeping Beauty" at the Saturday evening performance.  Otherwise, she is a member of the ensemble in "Etudes" in the two evening performances.

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9 hours ago, alison said:

. Michael Coleman's Pasha was certainly spoilt for choice with the Medora of Shiori Kase and the Gulnare of Katja Khaniukova - and I'll blame his obviously elderly eyesight for the decision to reject Gulnare: she was lovely - as was Medora.  Ms Khaniukova unfortunately seems to be another one of those dancers who is taking an inordinately long time to make Principal :( 

He doesn't reject Gulnare - he buys her first and then buys Medora.  They both go off with his entourage just before the end of Act I but only Medora is rescued.  Gulnare is therefore in the harem when Medora is brought there by Lankendem at the start of Act III and is presumably in a different costume from the rest because she has become his chief wife!  Such is the absurdity of the plot that, if Ali had not rescued her along with Medora, she would have remained alive and well instead of drowning in the shipwreck!  As always with this production, best not to try to make sense of the plot! 

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Yes ...I Thought it a bit mean that they didn’t all survive the ship wreck ...forgotten this from last time. Perhaps it’s in the poem though that only Medora and Conrad survive....a rather romantic ending I suppose...enduring love conquers all etc. 

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35 minutes ago, LinMM said:

Yes ...I Thought it a bit mean that they didn’t all survive the ship wreck ...forgotten this from last time. Perhaps it’s in the poem though that only Medora and Conrad survive....a rather romantic ending I suppose...enduring love conquers all etc. 

 

I'm not seeing it this time, but have seen it 3 or 4 times in the past, and this point has always troubled me - it seems a happy and triumphant ending, despite the fact that the secondary couple supposedly drowned not 30 seconds earlier...

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1 hour ago, Irmgard said:

He doesn't reject Gulnare - he buys her first and then buys Medora.  They both go off with his entourage just before the end of Act I but only Medora is rescued. 

 

Thanks, Irmgard.  Yes, when I finally dug out my programme and read the (incredibly detailed) synopsis I realised that was what had happened.  It's not what I retained from the performances, though.

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3 hours ago, LinMM said:

Yes ...I Thought it a bit mean that they didn’t all survive the ship wreck ...forgotten this from last time. Perhaps it’s in the poem though that only Medora and Conrad survive....a rather romantic ending I suppose...enduring love conquers all etc. 

I must say I had assumed the others were shipwrecked around the coast and that Ali was salvaging the provisions and making Gulnare a nice cup of tea. 

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Well of course you could be right Tango Dancer it’s only that you see Medora and Conrad after the storm perhaps it’s my rather morbid outlook at the moment that I just assumed the others were all dead!! Perhaps they were just about to follow on behind! 

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