jm365 Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 Tried watching this via Youtube on my desktop computer - impossible as the sound and vision were completely out of sync. Then tried it on my tablet and it was OK. Did anyone else have any problem? Hated the music elements anyway, so gave up after the Wayne Macgregor piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeannette Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 (edited) I was quite touched by the ballet segment. A creation straight from the heart, fluidly rendered. Bravi! jm365, it’s fine on my smart tv (Youtube function, ROH channel). Maybe a problem with your browser? Refresh? Edited June 13, 2020 by Jeannette Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJW Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 (edited) 13 minutes ago, zxDaveM said: eternity? It did seem a bit like that. I have to say I preferred the music for the Queen’s birthday parade this morning. However I thought Hayward and Corrales were lovely Edited June 13, 2020 by MJW Addition 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 3 hours ago, MJW said: However I thought Hayward and Corrales were lovely They were indeed! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 I enjoyed the ballet section, not too McGregorish 🙂 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 28 minutes ago, jm365 said: Tried watching this via Youtube on my desktop computer - impossible as the sound and vision were completely out of sync. Then tried it on my tablet and it was OK. Did anyone else have any problem? Hated the music elements anyway, so gave up after the Wayne Macgregor piece. I saw that someone on the live chat suggested re-booting the video and that sorted out the problems for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annamk Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 To see the dark and empty opera house was sad and moving in a way that I wasn’t prepared for. I found the pdd for Hayward/Corrales very intense and affecting. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 I thought that we should have a thread for talking about the three 'live' shows. I struggled with the music but felt that the pass de deux for Hayward and Corrales was truly lovely and heartfelt, almost especially because of the youth and beauty of the two artists. These programmes do, in my view, need more dance. The Blessed Spirits being shown next week is very short. And, maybe, the music should aim to be more 'popular'? The 'concerts' are, after all, of considerable significance in reaching out to the audience (current and future) as well as in bringing in donations. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 I agree with Capybara - too much singing and not enough dance. However the duet for Hayward and Corrales was absolutely sublime. It was heartfelt and moving and I was moved to tears (no surprise there then!). I think it is a fantastic venture by ROH but possibly not my cup of tea with the musical choices. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balletfanp Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 I agree. It was very singing heavy. I know there are difficulties in staging ballet at the moment but I can’t believe that, with a little imagination, they can’t get a bit more into these programmes. That said, Hayward and Corrales were absolutely beautiful and it felt very emotional to see them perform. So sad not hearing any applause, though. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJW Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 Absolutely - certainly more dance (there are quite a few couples in the RB) and something a bit lighter music-wise - some Mozart perhaps? 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 I've moved some posts discussing the performance over from the news thread. Thanks for starting this Capybara. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 It was lovely to see/hear live performance again and to see the ROH again, and the singing was wonderful. But I thought the programme choices were more Wigmore Hall than ROH and I would have liked some more stirring opera rather than what felt like largely sombre songs (even though I love songs and am not really an opera person). The duet at the end of the programme was terrific. I almost enjoyed the McGregor piece - I didn't particularly like the constant distortions of movement for Corrales, but they weren't exactly a surprise, and Hayward was beautiful (and spoke beautifully). It was a pleasure to see 'live' ballet again, except that it then turned out to have been recorded earlier which was a bit disappointing. But I'm looking forward to next Saturday's programme. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balletfanp Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 Itziar Mendizabal posted a video of herself dancing the Firebird solo in the empty Covent Garden piazza this week - she looked very on form and it occurred to me then that that would be an ideal solo to perform at one of these concerts. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 Yes, I agree, it would be useful if the balance between the two art forms could be a bit more ... balanced. I know that's going to be tricky given the virtual necessity of having solos - or possibly outing various dancers' living arrangements to do otherwise - but it shouldn't be impossible. Not everything will work well out of context, of course. You could even presumably do something like the Prologue fairy variations from Sleeping Beauty - they all come in one after another, after all. Or possibly the three Solo Shades? And by the way, I've been wondering, how far apart are the corps de ballet in the Entry of the Shades? I don't suppose it's as much as two metres, is it? I did find the music a bit ... austere? Perhaps that's not the word, and perhaps something was said in the first few minutes which I missed - there was some indication of acknowledging the grief, I think? - but hopefully once they have the orchestra back in some form (playing onstage, I presume?) their options will be more extensive. And if the view is to attract more viewers - and donations - possibly something a bit more familiar and more operatic? Plus more ballet Next week's is Song of the Earth and Dance of the Blessed Spirits, so that's another good hour of music and only a few minutes of dance. Hoping that will change for week 3. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 We all seem to agree. I very much support the venture and want to support ROH as much as possible. It seemed a bit heavy on the sombre songs, indeed - and why, if it's possible to have solo singers, is it not possible to have more solo dance? I was a little surprised to see the description of the dance - which was beautiful - as an 'interlude' in the singing. Yes the programme could do with being a bit more balanced between the art forms next time. But it was only the first one - hoping for more good things to come. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnS Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 49 minutes ago, bridiem said: Hayward was beautiful (and spoke beautifully) Absolutely - what an astonishing surprise to hear her deliver the Morgen translation at the outset. I was in tears before the music. And a beautiful performance from all five artists, achingly blissful. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard LH Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 The Pearl Fishers was wonderfully sung, and was worth waiting for, but I couldn't relate to the rest of the male singing...very stylised and quite depressing in some of the subject matter. I did like Louise Alder's Handel piece...she has great voice! The ballet rather came and went before you could blink...hardly enough to get engaged with. All in all I didn't feel this was a particularly exiting advert for the ROH or very representative of its repertoire. Hopefully the ROH can find better material overall for the forthcoming paid events - and with much more ballet - as it needs all the support it can get at present. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 I’’m wondering whether there are performing rights issues getting in the way of dance being shown? And we are possibly overlooking the fact that dancers trying to keep in shape at home may not feel ‘performance ready’. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninamargaret Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 Agree that more ballet is needed. Having watched most of the Monday evening concerts from the Bayerischer Staatsoper, they have tried to include a bit more ballet, but somehow short solos that are part of a pas de deux just don't seem to come across. I think also the lack of an audience makes a huge difference - today I saw a concert from the Vienna State Opera of Beethoven trios played in front of a socially distanced audience and it was totally different. I do think programmes like this need a bit of lightening up. Some of the Monday concerts have been quite depressing, not what is needed. But for me seeing the empty Opera House was so sad - just want to get back! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaM Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 Personally I think the RB made a poor choice this evening. The white swan pdd would have been infinitely more poignant, especially given that these two dancers were denied their debuts together in Swan Lake due to COVID. Anthony Pappano got it right by finishing the concert with the emotional duet from The Pearl Fishers. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaM Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, ninamargaret said: Agree that more ballet is needed. Having watched most of the Monday evening concerts from the Bayerischer Staatsoper, they have tried to include a bit more ballet, but somehow short solos that are part of a pas de deux just don't seem to come across. I think also the lack of an audience makes a huge difference - today I saw a concert from the Vienna State Opera of Beethoven trios played in front of a socially distanced audience and it was totally different. I do think programmes like this need a bit of lightening up. Some of the Monday concerts have been quite depressing, not what is needed. But for me seeing the empty Opera House was so sad - just want to get back! It seems to me that ROH have ‘copied’ the format of the Munich Monday live concerts. ... mostly opera with a short bit of ballet tacked on (though only from concert #8!) Munich also kicked off with a new creation for ballet in the first concert which was of no consequence, although beautifully danced. Their next concert included the full Don Q pdd with Lauretta Summerscales and Yonah Acosta, plus Virna Toppi also danced the Kitri solo from the first act. Admirable effort! This one is available until 18th June https://operlive.de/montagskonzert9/ Edited June 14, 2020 by FionaE Added link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 (edited) 7 hours ago, FionaE said: Personally I think the RB made a poor choice this evening. The white swan pdd would have been infinitely more poignant, especially given that these two dancers were denied their debuts together in Swan Lake due to COVID. Anthony Pappano got it right by finishing the concert with the emotional duet from The Pearl Fishers. Or the R&J balcony pdd. It's as if the ROH thought it should be reflecting the times rather than helping us to escape temporarily from them! Reflecting the times is fine, and necessary, but only up to a point. Even though the singing was beautiful I spent most of the evening feeling thoroughly melancholy. And though I'm very much looking forward to next Saturday's programme, it could again be characterised as largely a load of melancholy songs... Very odd thinking. Having written that, I realise that the aim is presumably to show how 'relevant' music and ballet are. As if 'relevance' only means a close reflection of the times. But that's only one of the purposes of the arts, and not the most important as far as I'm concerned. Edited June 14, 2020 by bridiem Paragraph added 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaM Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Well we know how ballet is regarded at ROH now (if we didn’t before). Less than 6 minutes of an hour and a half long concert. I’ll be watching ENB’s offerings instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 25 minutes ago, FionaE said: I’ll be watching ENB’s offerings instead. Hmmmm! ENB has been ahead of the pace from the outset. They are streaming Song of the Earth on Wednesday (danced), so goodness knows why the ROH chose the same piece for Saturday (not danced). I get the impression that the inspirational Pappano is very much the lead player in the Live From Covent Garden initiative. But, as well as us , their audience, the RB as a Troupe needs the kind of.morale booster and hope for the future that seeing more dance on the stage would provide. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oncnp Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 1 minute ago, capybara said: Hmmmm! ENB has been ahead of the pace from the outset. They are streaming Song of the Earth on Wednesday (danced), so goodness knows why the ROH chose the same piece for Saturday (not danced). Somehow I don't think the opera folks at the ROH care in the least what the ENB is doing. I'm not sure they care about what their own company is doing for that matter. I was wondering about the practicalities of live ballet at this time. Having been out of the studio for more than 2 months it will take a bit of time to get back in shape. As for the more popular (and profitable) "gala fodder" is that realistic under time constraints and distancing? Is there anyone cohabitating who already has these in their repertoire(s)? Hopefully if they continue these live events there will be more ballet. But since Muntagirov is going to be there anyway on Sat a little Basilio or Siegfried wouldn't come amiss..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annamk Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 50 minutes ago, FionaE said: Well we know how ballet is regarded at ROH now (if we didn’t before). Less than 6 minutes of an hour and a half long concert. I’ll be watching ENB’s offerings instead. I don't know .... it maybe the logistics of more live dance were just too difficult to organise at this stage of the lockdown. As for the White Swan pdd I can imagine the dancers not feeling ready to perform that after 3 months out ! I'm more disappointed with the choice of output from the RB than the lack of it : Peter & the Wolf, Metamorphoisis, Winter's Tale, Anastasia, The Cellist, Fille ....... I enjoyed Men at the Barre although that was the BBC. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scheherezade Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 It is hard to disagree with most, if not all, of the comments about last night’s live performance and the ROH output generally. Last night’s ballet offering was, sadly, a blink and it’s gone piece and the sung recital fare was, in general, melancholy to the point of suicidal. Hardly likely to draw in new audiences - in the case of the sung pieces I’d say the opposite was more likely, unlike the inspiring output from the Wigmore Hall, and on the dance front, although the Wayne McGregor piece was very welcome, it hardly made up for the disappointing choices that have been streamed so far. I shall be watching next week but, sadly, feel that last night was at best a missed opportunity and at worst something of an own goal. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaM Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 1 hour ago, capybara said: Hmmmm! ENB has been ahead of the pace from the outset. agree. ENB’s screening of their archival recordings has been an inspired insight into undoctored live performances of a ballet company. 👏 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Is there any way of watching the ballet segment again? I couldn’t watch last night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oncnp Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 2 minutes ago, Sim said: Is there any way of watching the ballet segment again? I couldn’t watch last night. On You Tube I believe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Yes, it’s available for a fortnight via the same link. Fast forward to about 29mins! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 Thanks so much. Will do it today. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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