Royal Ballet's Giselle - Autumn 2021

[alison]

Just caught up with this - and just in time.  I really appreciated the closeups in Act II, with the ability to look at Ball and Nunez's interpretations in detail, but ... I don't know whether it was just me, but I frequently found that there seemed not to be much of a link between the music and when the steps were occurring throughout the ballet.  I did wonder whether the audio track had "come adrift" from the video, or something.

[JohnS]

I think both Macbeth and Jenufa had problems of sound/vision not being fully synchronised but I didn’t notice any great issues in Giselle (the Act 2 lifted steps where Albrecht supports Giselle and time is suspended before Giselle touches the floor on pointe seemed to me as in time with what I recall from a number of performances in the theatre). What did strike me was how slow some of the music was taken. I’m quite sure in the theatre the later performances I saw (particularly Hayward and Morera), tempi seemed much more cohesive. I recall a number of posters making these comments. I very much enjoyed the livestream and hope to see it again this evening.

[Anna C]

I watched the stream again yesterday and loved it even more.

 

Naghdi is such an exceptionally beautiful dancer; her lines are never less than exquisite and her arms and hands are so perfectly expressive.  Although I find her Juliet almost too classical, for me she can rarely be bettered in the romantic ballets (her Aurora in particular is spectacular) where the role demands pure classical technique.

 

Her partnership with Ball is always special and one that I almost always try to see live, and they didn’t let me down in Giselle.  Ball was only mildly cad-like (cad-ish??) to start off with but I felt that he really did adore Giselle and would be quite happy to play dress-up indefinitely.  

 

I’d describe Naghdi as “broken” rather than “mad”; she plays the scene differently to Osipova and I think that’s a good call.  Osipova is so convincing as a Peasant girl with a hint of instability, if that’s the right word? She seems to feel every emotion to the nth degree, so the thought that something in her has “snapped” is very believable.

 

Naghdi’s Giselle is much gentler, more shy and naive, fragile, and believable as the possible daughter of nobility, so to go all out into wild-haired madness wouldn’t necessarily suit her.  The way she drooped like a dying flower, heartbreak in her every gesture, seemed a natural continuation of her character.  It therefore linked nicely with Act 2; she was still gentle and loving but death had taken the fragility and replaced it with the power of love so strong it continued from beyond the grave.

 

I thought Ball was terrific; so convincing in his exhaustion in Act 2, his acting really stood up to the close camera work, beautiful technique and an obvious love for dancing with Naghdi.  I particularly liked his interactions with Wilfred (Harry Churches?); frustration, then remorse at snapping at his Squire and friend.  A wonderful Albrecht all round.

 

It was a joy to see Nuñez as Myrtha again - absolute perfection; you could see where she had taken on board Monica Mason’s rehearsal notes on board (“panther feet”) and was living every moment as a powerful, vengeful Queen, shocked and shaken when the bells chimed the coming of dawn.

 

I agree re. Acri’s Hilarion - what a fantastic portrayal.

 

I too wish we could keep the recording of this cast; I’d happily pay a bit more to keep it, but as there are already several different DVD recordings of Giselle (I own 3 myself), I suppose the ROH would say there’s not the demand for another. 🙁

 

 

[Sim]

Lovely review, Anna, and I agree with all of it!  

[LinMM]

Great Review AnnaC 

I haven’t been using the ROH streaming facility as at moment can still only watch on my phone ( still haven’t bought the new IPad) 

but this review made me feel I’ve definitely missed something!! 

 

[Anna C]

23 minutes ago, LinMM said:

Great Review AnnaC 

I haven’t been using the ROH streaming facility as at moment can still only watch on my phone ( still haven’t bought the new IPad) 

but this review made me feel I’ve definitely missed something!! 

 

 

Do you have an iphone, Lin? With an Apple TV box, I can “mirror” my iphone onto my TV.  If not, you can watch ROH streams on a PC or laptop if you have one.

 

It really was a lovely cast - I forgot to mention Gary Avis and Christina Arestis who, as always, brought such life and three dimensional character to the Duke and Bathilde.  

[FionaM]

I watched Act 2 again last night and really adored it.  Great atmosphere from all.  
 

Matthew and Yasmine hit both of those really difficult overhead horizontal lifts perfectly and he has super strength to lower her gently and smoothly.  Bravo indeed.  
 

Special mention to Olivia Cowley as 1 of the 2 deputy Wilis.  Super quality of both ethereal beauty and firm steeliness.  

 

[DanJL]

2 hours ago, Anna C said:

 

I too wish we could keep the recording of this cast; I’d happily pay a bit more to keep it, but as there are already several different DVD recordings of Giselle (I own 3 myself), I suppose the ROH would say there’s not the demand for another.

I remember similar comments after Naghdi and Ball's Romeo and Juliet, but that made it to DVD so maybe there's hope 🙂 different cast and higher quality video image could help justify it. Plus I'm sure there would be a market for it. 

[emmarose]

1 hour ago, FionaE said:

I watched Act 2 again last night and really adored it.  Great atmosphere from all.  
 

Matthew and Yasmine hit both of those really difficult overhead horizontal lifts perfectly and he has super strength to lower her gently and smoothly.  Bravo indeed.  
 

Special mention to Olivia Cowley as 1 of the 2 deputy Wilis.  Super quality of both ethereal beauty and firm steeliness.  

 

 

Well be watching Act 2 again tonight as well! I just adore it so, so much.

[CCL]

I was at the ROH for the performance which was streamed. I also saw Nunez and Muntagirov on the 8th and although both performances were superb and I loved them both,  I’d say it was Naghdi and Ball who touched my heart the most. It is all so subjective I know and could even relate to how I was feeling that day or indeed, the fact that I was in a different part of the house - but for me, the performance on the 20th was a piece of magic which moved me deeply. I daren’t watch the stream - I just want to keep that memory intact!

[Sim]

2 hours ago, DanJL said:

I remember similar comments after Naghdi and Ball's Romeo and Juliet, but that made it to DVD so maybe there's hope 🙂 different cast and higher quality video image could help justify it. Plus I'm sure there would be a market for it. 

I would be first in the queue to buy it!

[alison]

Well, I've been trying to re-view this, but just as we got to the interesting part we got an attack of the dreaded revolving circle, and it's still going an hour or so later   Hopefully I'll be able to catch up with the rest before it goes offline again.

 

I must say that, watching this transmission, I realise how much of the detail I missed when I saw this cast.  I think I was only in the Balcony then, but I'm definitely picking up rather more from this streaming than I did that day.

[JohnS]

I very much enjoyed seeing the live stream for a final time yesterday. There’s so much to admire in this lovely performance. All the principals illuminate their characters and the performance reveals more in subsequent viewings, always a good sign. As regards niggles, I don’t think this was the strongest PD6 and I still find some tempi too lugubrious - I’m sure we had more convincing PD6s and cohesive tempi in later performances. Everyone will have their own favourite Giselles and Albrechts but I’d welcome this livestream released as a DVD, not only for this performance but to remind me of a string of wonderful performances in the theatre - a fabulous run of Giselles.

[alison]

Sort of linked - I've just received an email from Opera Holland Park about this screening of Puccini's Le Villi (The Wilis) tonight at 7 pm:

 

"Recorded last summer as part of the Delius and Puccini double-bill, Martin Lloyd Evans’s production was the surprise hit of the 2022 Season, and starred Anne Sophie Duprels, Peter Auty and Stephen Gadd. It was hailed in The Stage as ‘dramatically convincing and gripping’, and described in The Guardian as ‘very creepy and thoroughly entertaining’.

A dynamic performance from the Opera Holland Park Chorus and City of London Sinfonia under conductor Francesco Cilluffo was enhanced by Jami Reid-Quarrel’s vivid choreography of the Villi: the undead spirits of abandoned brides who take their revenge on unfaithful suitors by dancing them to their deaths. Simon Wall’s film brilliantly captures the live theatrical experience in Holland Park and the alluring effects of takis’s set designs and Jake Wiltshire’s lighting."

 

https://operahollandpark.com/online/le-villi-screening/?