Royal Ballet Onegin 2020

[maryrosesatonapin]

I hope this top hat isn't worn when seated?  That would be most troublesome.

[Tony Newcombe]

1 hour ago, maryrosesatonapin said:

I hope this top hat isn't worn when seated?  That would be most troublesome.

In the early nineties, I remember seeing three nuns in full wimple mode taking their seats towards the front of the orchestra stalls

[CCL]

On my way home from tonight’s performance. My first ever Onegin. I feel drained! Such beautiful dancing and intense emotion. I’ll try to articulate properly tomorrow 

[zxDaveM]

Tonight’s Onegin was just a whopping WOW! Yasmine Naghdi and Federico Bonelli seemed in such beautiful harmony (or should that be disharmony in the final pdd). And the red dress/Gremin pdd just so beautifully elegant and tender (nice one Bennet Gartside).

[balletyas]

Just incredible tonight. Am huge Yasmine fan already but tonight we saw her mature into the next level. A great ballerina. Can’t express it very well just yet! 

[Tebasile]

This evening may have turned me into a Naghdi convert. 

[ninamargaret]

I think this performance was even better than their first performance. Naghdi and Bonelli just seem to feed off emotionally from each other - they both seemed very emotional at the curtain call. A tiny part of me regrets not having seen Morera as Tatiana, but I'm certainly not complaining! The Gremin pas de deux was beautiful and I thought Sissens was better than on his first showing- he appeared to be more settled in the role. I have to admit a great fondness for this ballet; wish we could see a little more Cranko.

[Xandra Newman]

Well what more can be said about the Naghdi/Bonelli cast that hasn't already been said? Tonight  was indeed a whopping WOW! as zxDaveM posted.

Naghdi has the ability to show her audience new and different aspects of her artistry performance after performance, we never get to see the same Naghdi twice. Her Tatiana tonight, and also last Friday, showed a ballerina who had freed herself from any "restraints", she was totally free and gave herself over in complete abandonment. Frederico Bonelli was amazing too and these two wonderful principals connected so beautifully, physically and emotionally. Anna-Rose O'Sullivan was again a beautiful Olga and Sissens really improved since his debut as Lensky. Bennett Gartside was a very special Prince Gremin, my favourite one.

As The Royal Ballet's newest and youngest Tatiana, Naghdi has certainly made this role her own. The huge amount of flowers delivered on the stage caused audible gasps from the audience, nice to see Sissens and O'Sullivan getting a few bouquets too, and Gartside and Bonelli got a rose each from Yasmine Naghdi. I hope Onegin will come back soon, this ballet has it all! 

 

[Richard LH]

Yes an amazing amount of flowers for both Yasmine Naghdi and Anna Rose O'Sullivan!

Yasmine was clearly very moved with the audience reaction at the curtain calls.

 

[Rob S]

 

 

 

 

[Sim]

1 hour ago, Richard LH said:

Yes an amazing amount of flowers for both Yasmine Naghdi and Anna Rose O'Sullivan!

Yasmine was clearly very moved with the audience reaction at the curtain calls.

 

It was the emotion of the whole performance, not just the audience reaction to it!  Yasmine gave everything last night.  She and Bonelli have such an incredible emotional connection that is so natural.  Watching them change and deepen their interpretations and their closeness over the three performances has been a joy and an honour.  This is truly great art.  

[Richard LH]

On 13/02/2020 at 07:56, Geoff said:

 

Last night I saw Onegin - at least this is what it looked like to me - performing a card trick to Olga and Lensky during the family ball at the beginning of Act 2. I never noticed this before (my eyes are usually elsewhere during this music but Bolle kept me focussed) Does anyone know if this comes from Pushkin?  

 

Seeing this last night, my better half reckons  that this involves  drawing  cards to see who will dance with Olga. Although Lensky  wins, Onegin holds Olga back and wants a re-match - Lensky wins again but Onegin barges in and takes her off to dance anyway. I have watched this on a couple of different recordings, and I agree with my wife (always wise) that this could well be a valid interpretation.  If so it would be one of the factors that makes Lensky not just irritated but  incensed enough to challenge Onegin to a duel. It would be tantamount to "cheating at cards" which  is definitely a no-no in ballet narratives....

[Sim]

9 hours ago, Tebasile said:

This evening may have turned me into a Naghdi convert. 

Very glad to hear it.  And if there’s any lingering doubt, try to catch her Odette/Odile.  For me she is, along with Marianela Nuñez, the finest classical dancer in the company.  A strong technique complemented by a pure and beautiful softness. Those arms. That gloriously expressive line.  Sigh.  

[Xandra Newman]

49 minutes ago, Sim said:

It was the emotion of the whole performance, not just the audience reaction to it!  Yasmine gave everything last night.  She and Bonelli have such an incredible emotional connection that is so natural.  Watching them change and deepen their interpretations and their closeness over the three performances has been a joy and an honour.  This is truly great art.  

 

I felt exactly the same Sim, Naghdi clearly gave it all she had last night, I guess she didn't have anything left to give by the end. When she told Onegin to leave her alone, when pointing her finger ordering him to leave, that was so dramatic, forceful and intense. At the end of the ballet I thought this is just not a ballet I have watched... but Ballet turned into sublime Art. 

[Rob S]

46 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

 

Seeing this last night, my better half reckons  that this involves  drawing  cards to see who will dance with Olga.

Pushkin got the idea after watching an episode of Bruce Forsythe’s Play Your Cards Right 🙂

[Rob S]

16 hours ago, maryrosesatonapin said:

I hope this top hat isn't worn when seated?  That would be most troublesome.

Bravo man was there last night, and after he finally piped up in Act 3 I checked the Stalls, no top hat to be seen 🎩 

[ninamargaret]

4 minutes ago, Rob S said:

Bravo man was there last night, and after he finally piped up in Act 3 I checked the Stalls, no top hat to be seen 🎩 

Slight mystery - Bravo man, the silver cane wielding one, was next but one to me in side s/c and was very vocal after Act2, but beat a hasty and silent retreat after Act 3. Are there two of them?

[Rob S]

10 minutes ago, ninamargaret said:

Slight mystery - Bravo man, the silver cane wielding one, was next but one to me in side s/c and was very vocal after Act2, but beat a hasty and silent retreat after Act 3. Are there two of them?

I’m talking about the one that gets his bravo out before people start clapping..(he used it after a group dance, not anything fabulous by Naghdi and Bonelli earlier in the evening)...not to be confused with anyone that shouts during clapping 

Edited February 25, 2020 by Rob S

[Xandra Newman]

There was also a lot of bravo shouting during the clapping at last Friday's Naghdi/Bonelli show, again last night bravos could be heard. I feel the ROH audience has become much more vocal in their appreciation. To me there's nothing wrong with it, it's all part of the appreciation of the dancers and their performance. 

[alison]

I notice that Naghdi has changed her ballroom (and general Act III?) interpretation quite a bit since the first show: I was much happier with her characterisation last night!

[zxDaveM]

30 minutes ago, Xandra Newman said:

There was also a lot of bravo shouting during the clapping at last Friday's Naghdi/Bonelli show, again last night bravos could be heard.

 

ah - that might have been me! 🙂 🙂

[Janite]

7 minutes ago, alison said:

I notice that Naghdi has changed her ballroom (and general Act III?) interpretation quite a bit since the first show: I was much happier with her characterisation last night!

 

Can you say more, from what to what please? 

I saw an early one and I would loke to know the difference. 

Edited February 25, 2020 by Janite

[Richard LH]

55 minutes ago, alison said:

I notice that Naghdi has changed her ballroom (and general Act III?) interpretation quite a bit since the first show: I was much happier with her characterisation last night!

 

I didn't see her earlier performance(s)  either, but I thought (compared to other Tatianas) she played her Act 3 PDD with Gremin sorrowfully and  regretfully rather than lovingly and tenderly .... perhaps this is more correct to the original plot ?.... being in line with the concept that  her marriage to the Prince came about due to  society custom and opportunity, rather than love (at least on her part). It means she is truly and horribly torn at the end between her first - and now re-wakened - love for Onegin, and her sense of wanting, or at least needing,  to remain faithful to her (less than exciting) husband. 

 

If  Tatiana is seen as being too content and tender with Gremin, it perhaps lessens the dramatic impact of her final decision to  stay true to him. 

Edited February 25, 2020 by Richard LH

[Anna C]

31 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

 

I didn't see her earlier performance(s)  either, but I thought (compared to other Tatianas) she played her Act 3 PDD with Gremin sorrowfully and  regretfully rather than lovingly and tenderly .... perhaps this is more correct to the original plot ?.... being in line with the concept that  her marriage to the Prince came about due to  society custom and opportunity, rather than love (at least on her part). It means she is truly and horribly torn at the end between her first - and now re-wakened - love for Onegin, and her sense of wanting, or at least needing,  to remain faithful to her (less than exciting) husband. 

 

If  Tatiana is seen as being too content and tender with Gremin, it perhaps lessens the dramatic impact of her final decision to  stay true to him. 

 

This is another reason why I much prefer the more mature Gremins of Bennet Gartside and Gary Avis.  I don’t know how much older than Tatiana Gremin is supposed to be (apologies for grammar, neither way seemed right) but it just makes so much more sense for there to be quite an age gap between the two.  

[Fonty]

2 hours ago, zxDaveM said:

 

ah - that might have been me! 🙂 🙂

 

I hope you checked your top hat into the cloakroom before the performance, Dave. 🙂

[Scheherezade]

3 hours ago, ninamargaret said:

Slight mystery - Bravo man, the silver cane wielding one, was next but one to me in side s/c and was very vocal after Act2, but beat a hasty and silent retreat after Act 3. Are there two of them?

 

What! A copycat bravo man?

 

3 hours ago, Rob S said:

I’m talking about the one that gets his bravo out before people start clapping..(he used it after a group dance, not anything fabulous by Naghdi and Bonelli earlier in the evening)...not to be confused with anyone that shouts during clapping 

 

I heard the post group dance bravo. It did get me wondering ...

[Xandra Newman]

3 hours ago, alison said:

I notice that Naghdi has changed her ballroom (and general Act III?) interpretation quite a bit since the first show: I was much happier with her characterisation last night!

 

I'll make an attempt describing the difference in Naghdi's characterisation of her Tatiana in Act 3, between her debut performance back in January and her 3rd one last night. At her debut, her Tatiana in Act 3 was characterised as if she was still a rather naive, young married woman, with hints she might have just about learned to love her husband a little bit, there was moving tenderness between them, whereas last night her Tatiana was that of a fully mature  married woman, she had simply learned "to be" with her husband as society expected from her. She clearly didn't love her husband, there was a deep sadness in her, but she was respectful to him and grateful for the life he had given her.

When she danced with Onegin, she let go of all of her feelings for him, showing him remaining, dormant passion (as if for a moment she completely forgot she was a married woman). Their pd2 showed all of her past feelings and emotions for him, very passionate, and I felt there were instances when Naghdi's Tatiana could have been totally capable of suddenly changing her mind and reunite with him. It was but a let-out moment for her and a sudden catharsis occurred once she had released all those pent-up emotions. She completely changed her body language and her facial expressions suddenly turned very stern. With great self-confidence she made up her mind there and then. She told Onegin to never come back and she left him in no doubt!  Their Dream Scene pd2 last night was also very beautifully executed.

Edited February 25, 2020 by Xandra Newman
.

[Scheherezade]

First and foremost, what an astounding, triumphant and utterly heart-rending performance by Yasmine Naghdi last night with a convincingly nuanced Onegin, more than capable of engaging our sympathy, from Federico Bonelli.

 

Anna Rose O'Sullivan's Olga was as charming as we have come to expect from her, characterised with the little details that breathe life into the characters she portrays.

 

I found Sissens' interpretation very different from that of Matthew Ball. For me, Ball's Lensky was a hopeless romantic in thrall to his love for Olga - the big romantic statement - whereas Sissens painted a Lensky more concerned with the damage to his ego than any notion of romantic love. I have always enjoyed watching Sissens and his pre-duel solo consolidated that enjoyment but feel that his Lensky is still very much a work in progress. Did he, by the way, steady Anna Rose from a slight loss of balance in the act 1 duet or was it the angle at which I was seated?

 

So back to Yasmine. I haven't seen her earlier performances so can't compare but I did not feel that her relationship with Gremin was limited to duty and respect. I found that little gestures, such as a spontaneous tilt of the head towards his shoulder, suggested that love was there, albeit a different type of love from the blazing passion that Onegin could invoke. I also felt that her coming of age was shown very clearly in her unspoken rebuke to Onegin when they faced each other after the duel.

 

And I wholeheartedly agree with everyone who has noted the emotional connection between Naghdi and Bonelli and hope that this partnership will still have some time to develop whilst Bonelli is still on the ROH stage.

[zxDaveM]

2 hours ago, Fonty said:

 

I hope you checked your top hat into the cloakroom before the performance, Dave. 🙂

 

I sure did! 😉

[Bruce Wall]

3 hours ago, Scheherezade said:

Did he [Sissens], by the way, steady Anna Rose from a slight loss of balance in the act 1 duet or was it the angle at which I was seated?

 

I think what happened was that Sissens was a tad too close to O'Sullivan at that particular moment in time forcing her to steady herself with her free hand pressed against his breast as he made the slight adjustment in order to regain the necessary balance for their partnered turn.  

 

Edited February 25, 2020 by Bruce Wall

[Scheherezade]

Thanks for that, Bruce. 

[Sebastian]

10 hours ago, Anna C said:

This is another reason why I much prefer the more mature Gremins of Bennet Gartside and Gary Avis.  I don’t know how much older than Tatiana Gremin is supposed to be (apologies for grammar, neither way seemed right) but it just makes so much more sense for there to be quite an age gap between the two.  

 

This has been discussed before but if one goes by the text of the novel, Olga is 19, Tatiana 20, Onegin 26, and Lensky 18 when we first see them. Four years later we have the ball where Tatiana is married to Prince Gremin: he shares memories of their youthful pranks and adventures with Onegin (who by then is 30). This makes Gremin maybe a bit older (nobody says exactly by how much), maybe something like 35-40. So perhaps a ten year gap or so between him and Tatiana.

Tchaikovsky on the other hand needed a lower voice for the operatic Gremin, so people usually assume he is much older.

[JohnS]

I just saw on Instagram that Bennet Gartside has danced his last Gremin. Makes Monday’s performance even more special - one of those truly memorable evenings. I agree with all the plaudits posted above. 

 

I don’t accept the suggestions above that Yasmine Naghdi’s Tatiana is not in love with Gremin - the way she rested her head on Gremin spoke volumes to me and I always find the Tatiana/Gremin PDD deeply affecting. Onegin works because Tatiana is conflicted - she loves Gremin but also recognises what might have been. She is tempted but refuses, not in my mind for reasons of social convention but because she has found and shares a deep love with Gremin.

 

We’ve been treated to a fabulous run of Onegins and still more to come - I’m sure Saturday’s final Thiago Soares performance will be another high and a fitting end to this run.