Ballet, Opera Houses and destination image

[adrian1982]

Hi there. I am an academic in cultural tourism working on a project on Opera Houses and destination image. If you love ballet and attend ballet performances at lovely theatres, please take a moment to complete this short, anonymous survey:
https://lnkd.in/dRb66DM
My University profile including list of publications can be found at: https://bucks.ac.uk/about-us/our-structure/staff-profile?profile=30595
Grazie a tutti in advance!  

[Jan McNulty]

Hello Adrian and welcome to the Forum!

 

I've just completed your most interesting survey.

[alison]

Yes, thank you, Adrian, and welcome to the forum.

[adrian1982]

1 hour ago, Jan McNulty said:

Hello Adrian and welcome to the Forum!

 

I've just completed your most interesting survey.

Thank so much Janet for the welcome and for completing the survey! The forum looks great

[Lizbie1]

Agreed - so interesting!

[adrian1982]

2 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

Agreed - so interesting!

Thank you Lizbie!

[adrian1982]

3 hours ago, alison said:

Yes, thank you, Adrian, and welcome to the forum.

Cheers Alison!

[Ruby]

Hi Adrian I've completed and submitted your survey. I hope the replies are of help to you! 

[Jeannette]

So did I, Adrian! Thanks for the opportunity. Fascinating project.

[Quintus]

Done, thought-provoking.

[ninamargaret]

Completed your interesting survey. Made me think!

[AnneMarriott]

Also done.  Very interesting survey.

[adrian1982]

18 hours ago, Ruby said:

Hi Adrian I've completed and submitted your survey. I hope the replies are of help to you! 

Thanks so much Ruby! Much appreciated!

[adrian1982]

15 hours ago, Jeannette said:

So did I, Adrian! Thanks for the opportunity. Fascinating project.

Thank you for your contribution Jeannette, I am sure it will be very helpful to the project!

[adrian1982]

3 hours ago, ninamargaret said:

Completed your interesting survey. Made me think!

That's great Nina, thanks so much for your time!

6 hours ago, Quintus said:

Done, thought-provoking.

Thank you Quintus

[adrian1982]

14 minutes ago, AnneMarriott said:

Also done.  Very interesting survey.

Thanks a million Anne! Very much appreciated!

[Dawnstar]

Done, but I suspect my answers on the destination-related questions won't be of much use!

[LinMM]

Yes I just completed too and enjoyed doing it! Hope you have found it useful 

It made me feel just how many more Opera Houses I need to visit!! 

[capybara]

Very difficult to chose a favourite opera house.

[jm365]

I really enjoyed filling this in.  However, I don't quite understand whether you think a destination is chosen BECAUSE of its opera house.  I said Paris Palais Garnier was my favourite - I love the crazy architecture and the whole atmosphere of the place, without even mentioning the superb Ballet Company, but it has nothing whatsoever to do with whether I would visit Paris.

[Jeannette]

I guess that I’m rare, as my non-work travel is just to visit an opera/ballet theatre, e.g., I would never have vacationed in Berlin in 2018 were it not for Ratmansky’s Bayadere premiering there. Every now and then, travel for work and ballet coincide (crafty stop-overs in London or Paris on my way to certain “3rd world” destinations), but that’s rare, especially in these times where travel is no longer necessary to achieve results (teleconferences, research, etc)...not to mention COVID travel restrictions.

[Lizbie1]

23 minutes ago, Jeannette said:

I guess that I’m rare, as my non-work travel is just to visit an opera/ballet theatre, e.g., I would never have vacationed in Berlin in 2018 were it not for Ratmansky’s Bayadere premiering there. Every now and then, travel for work and ballet coincide (crafty stop-overs in London or Paris on my way to certain “3rd world” destinations), but that’s rare, especially in these times where travel is no longer necessary to achieve results (teleconferences, research, etc)...not to mention COVID travel restrictions.

Same here. I scan the schedules for things to hang a holiday on.

[Rachel H]

Great survey!

 

Working in a school, means I have to fit my holidays round term dates. I was fortunate to be able to fly to Madrid 2 years ago to see the RB dance 'Swan Lake.' It might not have occured to me to go otherwise, plus the dates fitted perfectly for me to catch the last couple of shows. It was fascinating to see the company perform in a different setting, and to a new audience. It seemed to be very well received 🙂

 

I was also able to see 'Jewels' in Berlin 3 years ago. As the RB were performing it in London at the same time and it was great to have the opportunity to compare how both companies performed it, and it definitely added to my experience, and enjoyment of the piece!

[adrian1982]

20 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

Done, but I suspect my answers on the destination-related questions won't be of much use!

Thanks so much! Every little helps  much appreciated!

[adrian1982]

18 hours ago, LinMM said:

Yes I just completed too and enjoyed doing it! Hope you have found it useful 

It made me feel just how many more Opera Houses I need to visit!! 

That's very kind of you Lin! Thank you so much. Here's hoping we can go back to watch amazing shows again soon!

[adrian1982]

17 hours ago, capybara said:

Very difficult to chose a favourite opera house.

I know! So much variety between old and new (old being my personal preference)

[adrian1982]

5 hours ago, jm365 said:

I really enjoyed filling this in.  However, I don't quite understand whether you think a destination is chosen BECAUSE of its opera house.  I said Paris Palais Garnier was my favourite - I love the crazy architecture and the whole atmosphere of the place, without even mentioning the superb Ballet Company, but it has nothing whatsoever to do with whether I would visit Paris.

That's a really useful observation, thank you! That questions aims to capture views on what aspects of opera houses intrigue us the most. Of course if we have visited it helps massively but it does not necessarily mean we would need to have done so to be impressed by it. Thank you for your contribution!

[adrian1982]

4 hours ago, Jeannette said:

I guess that I’m rare, as my non-work travel is just to visit an opera/ballet theatre, e.g., I would never have vacationed in Berlin in 2018 were it not for Ratmansky’s Bayadere premiering there. Every now and then, travel for work and ballet coincide (crafty stop-overs in London or Paris on my way to certain “3rd world” destinations), but that’s rare, especially in these times where travel is no longer necessary to achieve results (teleconferences, research, etc)...not to mention COVID travel restrictions.

Facebook reminded me this week that I was in Berlin in 2018 to attend Swan Lake at the Staatsoper! It wasn't the only reason why we went, but it was certainly mi highlight! Hopefully we can get back to it sooner rather than later. But in the meantime there is so much stuff to watch online to keep us entertained I guess!

[adrian1982]

48 minutes ago, Rachel H said:

Great survey!

 

Working in a school, means I have to fit my holidays round term dates. I was fortunate to be able to fly to Madrid 2 years ago to see the RB dance 'Swan Lake.' It might not have occured to me to go otherwise, plus the dates fitted perfectly for me to catch the last couple of shows. It was fascinating to see the company perform in a different setting, and to a new audience. It seemed to be very well received 🙂

 

I was also able to see 'Jewels' in Berlin 3 years ago. As the RB were performing it in London at the same time and it was great to have the opportunity to compare how both companies performed it, and it definitely added to my experience, and enjoyment of the piece!

It's lovely seeing the same ballet staged and produced at different venues and destinations isn't it? When I saw the Bolshoi's Spartacus last year I couldn't help but compare it to the RBs production from many years ago performed in London. This sort of things really add to our travel experiences don't they? which is what the questionnaire is looking at. Thank you for your contribution!

[alison]

On 30/07/2020 at 22:54, capybara said:

Very difficult to chose a favourite opera house.

 

It isn't when you don't have any alternatives

[capybara]

15 hours ago, adrian1982 said:

When I saw the Bolshoi's Spartacus last year I couldn't help but compare it to the RBs production from many years ago performed in London. 

I don’t think that the RB has ever performed Spartacus!

 

16 hours ago, Rachel H said:

. It was fascinating to see the company perform in a different setting, and to a new audience. It seemed to be very well received 🙂

I agree that seeing one’s ‘home’ company - or, indeed, an individual artist one ‘knows’ well - perform in different surroundings is very interesting.

[Jan McNulty]

48 minutes ago, capybara said:

I don’t think that the RB has ever performed Spartacus!

 

I agree that seeing one’s ‘home’ company - or, indeed, an individual artist one ‘knows’ well - perform in different surroundings is very interesting.

 

But maybe it's a memory of the Bolshoi performing Spartacus at ROH in 1986.  I've certainly never forgotten a happy Saturday afternoon!

[FLOSS]

The Bolshoi occasionally bring Gregorovich's Spartacus to Covent Garden when they come to London but the ballet has never been performed by the Royal Ballet and no one in their right mind would ever contemplate acquiring it for the company. It is said that in the 1990's when the Royal Ballet School seemed to be  awash with Russian teachers Dowell had occasion to comment that the school was producing male dancers who could dance Spartacus,which was not in the company's repertory, but that they had trouble dancing works which were. I seem to recall that at one point Carlos Acosta appeared as a guest with the Bolshoi in Russia and danced Spartacus.  Perhaps that is how you have come to connect the ballet with the company. 

 

I am no fan of Katchachurian. His score for Spartacus is accessible in the same way that a Korngold film score is, and as with a film score, in Gregorovich 's version of the ballet the music seems to be used as an accompaniment intended to heighten the action and emotion depicted on stage rather than the engine apparently propelling the narrative to its conclusion. Fortunately although Gregorovich's bombastic version is probably the best known or, at least, the most ubiquitous he is not the only choreographer to have created a ballet using the score. Yakobson also made a version of the ballet in which Plisetskaya created the role of Phrygia. The Mariinsky revived that version some ten years ago . The clips from rehearsal footage which float around on You tube combined with Plisetskaya's  own enthusiasm for the work suggest that it is far more interesting than Gregorovich's version. But then she had a low opinion of both the Gregorovich version of the ballet and of the man himself.