Royal Ballet booking period 1 (2021) - casting and pricing

[alison]

3 hours ago, ToThePointe said:

But three new Albrechts!

 

And STILL no James Hay.  Sheesh.  What does it take?!

[LACAD]

Really quite disappointed with these prices. 

[Guest]

3 hours ago, LinMM said:

There are some strange timings for performances. Saturday at 11.30..... 

 

I would hazard a guess it's because if they do a matinee and evening show, they will need to have a longer gap (especially if the evening is opera) to allow more time in between for some lingering Covid precautions (cleaning/airing) . Maybe I am completely wrong! 

[Richard LH]

7 hours ago, capybara said:

 

Those of us who saw Reece Clarke as Des Grieux (some time ago now  - possibly 2018) will have no doubt about his Romeo - (and his ability to carry Osipova 😉!!!)

I thought Clarke/Osipova in Onegin (Jan 2020) worked very well (he stood in for Muntagirov, after the latter decided the role was not for him at that time).

Clarke  did also perform Des Grieux, albeit briefly, in Oct 2019 when he stood in for  McRae after the latter's horrible injury,  to complete the performance with Takada. He was excellent, especially given the circumstances.    

[Richard LH]

9 hours ago, Lizbie1 said:

Is anyone else finding the seat maps painfully slow to load? If so it doesn't bode well for when booking opens, when time is of the essence.

Is this still the case Lizbie? They seem to be loading fine for me, and it's great to be able  immediately to see all the seats for each performance with filters for date, seat price and type,  and views of/from all the seats in advance of booking. Fingers crossed that it all works well at booking. 

[Candleque]

11 hours ago, JNC said:

Have to admit I'm not overly excited by casting for some reason but I am looking forward to maybe Naghdi/Muntagirov in R&J (though will struggle to choose between that and Naghdi/Ball as we all know that's a great combination). I wish they had maybe swapped a bit of casting so we could see Naghdi/Muntagirov in Giselle or the Nutcracker.

 
Naghdi/Muntagirov seem perfect for Giselle. Muntagirov can do anything for sure, but he doesn't feel like an impetuous Romeo to me. But maybe Ball will play Tybalt in their show, which would be cool 🤺

It was after I saw Naghdi/Ball debuts in R&J that I went from casual fan to casting obsessed.  Iconic.

Also agree completely with the above that James Hay would be a fantastic Romeo and deserves the chance to prove it. 

[Jamesrhblack]

Am I the only one who had a fond wish that Laura Morera might finally be granted Juliet …

[bangorballetboy]

20 minutes ago, Jamesrhblack said:

Am I the only one who had a fond wish that Laura Morera might finally be granted Juliet …

 

I very much doubt it!

[Guest oncnp]

12 hours ago, bridiem said:

It seems to me that Clarke is doing the work and carrying the responsibility of a principal without having been promoted - not very fair. (And will Osipova now dance with no-one else?!).

...and not as if any of the male Principals are exactly overworked - with the exception of McRae and Ball in in R&J (4) and Muntagirov in Nutcracker (3) each has 2 (at most) performances in each production. What's the point of being a Principal if you can't perform? 

[capybara]

10 minutes ago, oncnp said:

What's the point of being a Principal if you can't perform? 

 

For sure, there are very difficult balances to be achieved in casting but 6 or 7 shows over a four month period, especially when dancers are re-visiting works and one of them (The Nutcracker) amounts to no more than a pas de deux), cannot be enough for a top ranking artist. 

[bridiem]

Just now, capybara said:

For sure, there are very difficult balances to be achieved in casting but 6 or 7 shows over a four month period, especially when dancers are re-visiting works and one of them (The Nutcracker) amounts to no more than a pas de deux), cannot be enough for a top ranking artist. 

 

This is so true, and must put extra pressure on the dancers when they do finally get to perform. And it must be pretty frustrating getting so few chances to perform works where a) a huge amount of time and effort has gone into learning them, and b) there are great interpretative riches to be mined which cannot possibly be achieved in a couple of performances.

 

Perhaps there are guesting opportunities for many of the principals? But that should be additional to rather than instead of getting a reasonable number of performances with their home company.

[bangorballetboy]

So you're proposing fewer principals?  Or not to let potential principals try out?

[Guest oncnp]

12 minutes ago, bangorballetboy said:

So you're proposing fewer principals?  

 

 Controversially perhaps - yes. Use the ones you have efficiently and have more opportunities for your "try outs".  Saves on the wage bill as well.  

Edited June 16, 2021 by oncnp

[Pulcinella]

12 hours ago, LinMM said:

There are some strange timings for performances. Saturday at 11.30 is a difficult one unless you live in London but isn’t it the weekends that give non Londoners a chance to see performances. 
Ive also never seen 12.30 on a Friday before....could that be a school performance? 
 

 

There was a 12.00 performance on a Friday in June 2019 of the triple bill Firebird/Month in the Country/Symphony in C. It caused me all sorts of problems working out how I was going to get to London to see it without spending a fortune.

[alison]

1 hour ago, oncnp said:

...and not as if any of the male Principals are exactly overworked - with the exception of McRae and Ball in in R&J (4) and Muntagirov in Nutcracker (3) each has 2 (at most) performances in each production. What's the point of being a Principal if you can't perform? 

 

'Twas ever thus   If someone wants to go back through the archive and see how many scheduled performances e.g. Ravenna Tucker had per year before she moved to Birmingham, please feel free.  I know it was an abysmally low number.

[Guest]

3 hours ago, Jamesrhblack said:

Am I the only one who had a fond wish that Laura Morera might finally be granted Juliet …

Along with the wish, shared by many here, that James Hay had more principal roles, the absence of Morera as Juliet was my other major disappointment. I hope Morera gets Natalia Petrovna at the end of the season (cast with a shorter Vera!)

[Dawnstar]

13 hours ago, Tebasile said:

Osipova’s Juliet is worth seeing. 

 

I wasn't keen on what I saw of it at the Fonteyn Gala, though admittedly I think the rather visible partnering issues were more due to Hallberg.

 

13 hours ago, jmhopton said:

Like Dawnstar I'm intrigued that Clarke is getting so many plum roles when not a principal. From the time James Hay was promoted to first soloist Clarke (even when still a soloist) seem to have leading roles; Swan Lake  with Osipova and possibly Manon as well. Then he got promoted and did Onegin, Romeo and Sleeping Beauty. I think James Hay got a couple of Sleeping Beauties but wasn't he injured for one? By comparison with Clarke he gets few great roles and yet is a wonderful dancer. I know he isn't very tall but would be great with O'Sullivan if their sparking Dances at a Gathering livestream is anything to go by, also Hayward, though I know both dancers are in demand by different partners. I'm not saying I don't like Clarke, on the contrary I think he is a great dancer and loved him in Dances at a Gathering on Sunday (my first time on a train and in a theatre for 15 months!) and also with Kaneko in Sleeping Beauty. It's just I'd like to see a bit more of James Hay. Am disappointed there are no new Giselles though I understand the newly promoted principals all have a go in Romeo and Juliet (though I would have liked to see Magri/Ball in Romeo after their terrific Carousel).

 

I think Hay missed his first performance of SB in November 2019 & Ball substituted. Hay was definitely back later in the run though, as I saw him & O'Sullivan on 12th December. I too was really hoping Magri & Ball would be cast together in R&J. I can't really imagine Richardson as Romeo, though admittedly I've not seen him in many roles, I think the only lead role I've seen him do was the Instrument in The Cellist.

 

5 hours ago, Richard LH said:

I thought Clarke/Osipova in Onegin (Jan 2020) worked very well (he stood in for Muntagirov, after the latter decided the role was not for him at that time).

Clarke  did also perform Des Grieux, albeit briefly, in Oct 2019 when he stood in for  McRae after the latter's horrible injury,  to complete the performance with Takada. He was excellent, especially given the circumstances.    

 

Clarke did Des Grieux in full in October 2019 opposite Hamilton's Manon but their only performance was a Schools' Matinee. I was deeply disappointed, as I really wanted to see Hamilton's Manon.

 

3 hours ago, Candleque said:

 
Naghdi/Muntagirov seem perfect for Giselle. Muntagirov can do anything for sure, but he doesn't feel like an impetuous Romeo to me. But maybe Ball will play Tybalt in their show, which would be cool 🤺
 

 

I wish the Mercutios & Tybalts were announced in advance. I would definitely book to see Ball's Tybalt again. I would also like to see a greater variety of Mercutios this time round, having ended up seeing Sambe twice & Zuchetti 3 times for the last run.

 

2 hours ago, bangorballetboy said:

So you're proposing fewer principals?  Or not to let potential principals try out?

 

Starting this coming season with 11 female principals does seem rather a lot, given in the last few seasons there have been 8 & even then some of them didn't seem to get many performances at times.

[Sim]

Before the casting was announced, I was already imagining myself weeping at James Hay's Albrecht.  Now I am weeping because I won't be weeping at his Albrecht.  

 

Hay is not only a lovely dancer, but such an expressive actor, too.  Give the man a chance, Kevin....please!

[LinMM]

Totally agree Sim 😢 

[FionaM]

14 hours ago, bangorballetboy said:

 

How patronising. 👎

I meant it positively, as in they are becoming a formidable pairing.  And yes I too saw his debut in Onegin.
 

He should be a principal with this pairing and the amount of principal roles he has performed / is now due to perform.

Edited June 16, 2021 by FionaE
Clarification

[Tony Newcombe]

2 hours ago, alison said:

 

'Twas ever thus   If someone wants to go back through the archive and see how many scheduled performances e.g. Ravenna Tucker had per year before she moved to Birmingham, please feel free.  I know it was an abysmally low number.

I remember  when she was  asked why an earth would she want to move to Birmingham. More performances was her reply! 

[Tony Newcombe]

4 hours ago, capybara said:

 

For sure, there are very difficult balances to be achieved in casting but 6 or 7 shows over a four month period, especially when dancers are re-visiting works and one of them (The Nutcracker) amounts to no more than a pas de deux), cannot be enough for a top ranking artist. 

As Natasha Oughtred once said, they come on at the end of the ballet having done ******all for two hours and get all the applause

[Richard LH]

2 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

Starting this coming season with 11 female principals does seem rather a lot, given in the last few seasons there have been 8 & even then some of them didn't seem to get many performances at times.

I was thinking the same...I had wondered if the 3 additions had been made in anticipation of others moving on, but it seems not.  

Edited June 16, 2021 by Richard LH

[SheilaC]

1 hour ago, Sim said:

Before the casting was announced, I was already imagining myself weeping at James Hay's Albrecht.  Now I am weeping because I won't be weeping at his Albrecht.  

 

Hay is not only a lovely dancer, but such an expressive actor, too.  Give the man a chance, Kevin....please!

Yes, and with Romany Pajdak as Giselle. Two lovely expressive dancers.

[capybara]

17 hours ago, JNC said:

 

I wish they had maybe swapped a bit of casting so we could see Naghdi/Muntagirov in Giselle or the Nutcracker. And wish they had more Giselles (both performances and also additional casting choices, given the mammoth runs of R&J/Nutcracker and being a Giselle fan I do feel a bit hard done by here!). 

 

 

The pairing of Naghdi and Muntagirov is a good example of the kind of swapping around I would like to see more of. A lot of us book for our favourites and we don't always want to see them with the same partner.

Unfortunately, there are other pairings (especially as just announced) where I am keener on one dancer than the other.

One of my top wishes - O'Sullivan/Hay in Giselle* - has not come to pass this time. Now there's a line-up (like Naghdi/Muntagirov) where I do want to see both the leads.

But, putting grumbles aside, I am looking forward to the new season and am starting saving right now!

 

*Edited to add that Pajdak/Hay would have done nicely for me too.

 

 

Edited June 16, 2021 by capybara

[Sim]

17 minutes ago, Tony Newcombe said:

As Natasha Oughtred once said, they come on at the end of the ballet having done ******all for two hours and get all the applause

But it is a fiendish pdd, and they have to wait for two hours to come on and do it, with no warm up onstage and time to get into the flow of the whole.  Most ballerinas I have spoken to about this all say how difficult it is.  So I think the ******all they have done for the previous two hours is more than made up for in the 15-20 minutes they are on.  

[Sim]

10 minutes ago, SheilaC said:

Yes, and with Romany Pajdak as Giselle. Two lovely expressive dancers.

Oh my.  A dream team!

[FionaM]

17 hours ago, Saodan said:

Some observations:

 

R and J - No one misses out from 2018/19. Bracewell and Clarke make the debuts they missed. Campbell and Richardson have unexpected(?) debuts. Bonelli is back. McRae is back. Naghdi/Muntagirov.

 

Giselle - No female debuts. No McRae. No Ella. Sambé makes the debut he missed in 2017/18. Lamb and Sambé partnered for the first time.

 

Nutcracker - Osipova’s first London Nutcracker since 2013/14. No Bonelli. No Hamilton. All missed debuts reinstated. Allnatt and Junker have unexpected(?) debuts as Clara and Hans-Peter. O’Sullivan and Zucchetti the only dancers to take two roles as Sambé retires Hans-Peter.

 

General - Osipova/Clarke is definitely a thing. Cinema/live streams focusing on the younger dancers: O'Sullivan/Sambé, Naghdi/Ball, Takada/Corrales.

thank you for these observations.  Very helpful in understanding progression 🙏

[FionaM]

15 hours ago, capybara said:

 

Those of us who saw Reece Clarke as Des Grieux (some time ago now  - possibly 2018) will have no doubt about his Romeo - (and his ability to carry Osipova 😉!!!)

I meant emotionally she will help to bring on his performance ... his debut in Onegin with Osipova which I saw ...  was good, though (understandly) somewhat emotionally stiff.  I didn’t get to see his Des Grieux.

Osipova performed an outstanding Juliet with David Hallberg, which I also saw, two years ago.  He couldn’t match her for intensity and range of emotions that she can portray.  Few can.  But nevertheless as a whole it was a moving performance and he improved for me as the drama intensified.  This is what I meant by ‘carry him through’. 
 

Personally I think Reece will give an emotional portrayal of the young Romeo that I would like to see.  
 

But with so many casts to choose from, I can’t get to London for them all. 😟

[Jan McNulty]

I assume both Alex Campbell and William Bracewell are shown as debuting in role means at ROH as they were both wonderful Romeos with BRB.

 

Do these companies' MacMillan versions of R&J class as 2 different productions?

[Bluebird]

6 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

I assume both Alex Campbell and William Bracewell are shown as debuting in role means at ROH as they were both wonderful Romeos with BRB.

 

Do these companies' MacMillan versions of R&J class as 2 different productions?

 

The asterisk in Royal Ballet castlists used to have a footnote which stated "Debut with The Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House"

[Candleque]

Working my way through the casting — just spotted a (new to me) pairing I'm psyched to see: Calvert and Clarke in Nutcracker 🎁

[Sharon]

16 hours ago, bangorballetboy said:

For those who would prefer the pdf of the casting, it’s attached to this post.

bp1-casting-2021.pdf 122.38 kB · 47 downloads

Thank you.