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ENGLISH NATIONAL BALLET: RAYMONDA


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34 minutes ago, Sim said:

If I bring both vaccination cards and my drivers license is that enough to get me in the Coli?  The last couple of times I have tried the NHS app it couldn’t log me in because of a fault.   🤦🏻‍♀️

 

I used the NHS website, rather than the app. Saying that, I had it all lined up ready to show on the iPad, but when it was my turn it had timed out, so I had to go through the logon process again, darn it! It did work though

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Ah yes, the dreaded NHS website - is that the one that suddenly moves onto a "book a drive-in" appointment error when you're trying to record your result?  I've found that either refreshing the page or going back a page seems to work.  But yes, my vaccination cards were accepted without question, and with no need for further ID.

 

I think Irmgard has captured my reservations about the production very nicely in her first couple of paragraphs (I don't claim any sort of expert knowledge of the score), but it has to be said that there is lots - and lots, and lots - of great dancing in it.

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1 hour ago, Rob S said:

Just got a questionaire about my visit last night....although they are interested in my opinion on the relevance, rigour, distinctiveness, challenge, captivation levels of the performance, my three words to describe my experience, how I describe my gender ('with a grin' not being an option) etc they don't ask for any other things I'd like to tell them. I feel like I need to answer a questionnaire about the questionnaire now

 

Just like the ROH ones, then, in fact?

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2 hours ago, Sim said:

If I bring both vaccination cards and my drivers license is that enough to get me in the Coli?  The last couple of times I have tried the NHS app it couldn’t log me in because of a fault.   🤦🏻‍♀️

 

Someone in front of me in the queue to get in last night showed 2 vaccination cards and her ID.

I show an LFT result because that's quicker - although not in every case as some people stand at the head of the queue searching for ages for the NHS notification.

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I don't know if they were trying to speed these checks up but instead of having the covid related checker at the front doorway they had multiple security people asking people in the queue so you ended up showing, in my case, to three different security people.

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It’s much easier having the printed out letter I’ve had since October and easy to apply for. At the moment it won’t show the booster if you’ve had it but you don’t have to have had the booster to get in at mo though no doubt that will come. My letter took only 4 days to come after applying. 

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Last night’s Cast Sheet dropped the reference to Act III being in “the grounds of Raymonda’s Hungarian estate” calling it simply “Raymonda’s estate”, thus allowing the audience to decide for themselves if she had returned to the English home of Act I or was celebrating elsewhere, perhaps at another overseas estate belonging to her (family). 
The workers were still Hungarian and we decided that as this is staged pre-Brexit, they were probably seasonal economic migrants, or alternatively experts in the production of Tokai wines brought over to try viticulture in England. 

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I didn't want to risk any app problems so got a letter sent to me. When it arrived it turned out to be 3 pages so I was waving a sheaf of papers at the FOH staff last night! @LinMM I ordered a new letter last week so mine does now have my booster listed on it.

 

I have very mixed feelings about last night as while I thought the performances were excellent & the production reasonably visually attractive, I found the changed plot decidedly unsatisfactory. I've not seen a production with the original plot live but I have seen video streams of both the Bolshoi & Mariinsky productions in the last few years so I know what it "should" be like. Frankly I think I would have enjoyed it more if the original plot had been used as I thought the changed version caused more problems than it solved while still, disappointingly, allowing most of the dancing to be irrelevant to the plot. Once the first few minutes had established the setting, done more through video than dance (I did like the cartoon of the Russian bear bear-hugging a turkey!), most of the dancing in the first main scene could have taken place anywhere. In fact the checked dresses worn by many of the women put me rather in mind of productions of Oklahoma & Seven Brides For Seven Brothers. It was no wonder that Raymonda was happy being a nurse, since there seemed to be a ratio of about 2 nurses to each patient & duties seemed to consist of nothing more arduous than some light brow mopping! Usually I am not particularly keen on white scenes/acts in ballets but on this occasion I thought it was the best part of the act, as it did make some contribution to the plot. I don't recall having ever seen a white scene with a male as well as a female corps de ballet.

 

I found the context of Act II rather baffling. Why would Abdur throw a party with a couple of dozen dancers to entertain guests when the guest list appeared to consist only of 5 nurses? Given the men seem to have been away fighting until the end, why didn't he put off the party until after the battle? I'm also not at all sure, given the strict social standards of the 1850s, that a small group of respectable, unmarried women would have attended a party thrown by a man they barely knew, and a foreigner to boot, without respectable male escort. I had hoped that John, no longer thousands of miles away on a crusade, would have been at the party & had some dancing but alas no, he still only arrived at the end of the act & actually had even less to do as he didn't fight Abdur.

 

I didn't expect Act III to have all the dancing that the ROH's version has, given they borrow some of the music from elsewhere - while I'm not that familiar with the score, I did recognise music danced to by Sister Clemence in Act I as one of the ROH's Act III variations. However I was disappointed that Raymonda & John did not have a full pas de deux together & that John did not have a manege as part of his solo. (I know he does in the ROH's version because I vividly recall seeing Bonelli & Muntagirov doing it on the same day & being surprised that they circled round in opposite directions.) I was glad to know what the ending was in advance because I think I would have been completely shocked otherwise. As it was I felt quite angry. It seemed to come out of no-where & I didn't find it at all plausible, given in the several minutes leading up to it Olivera's Raymonda was dancing away with a big smile on her face. Given Raymonda had accepted John's proposal not once but twice, and the second time after she'd met & been fascinated by Abdur, it was utterly baffling that she'd then leave him only hours after their wedding. (Yes, they must have already had the ceremony because the lighting clearly indicated the party was taking place in the evening & weddings in England at that time had to take place in the morning.) Even nowadays I think most people would consider a woman deserting her husband just after the wedding ceremony to be pretty unacceptable behaviour; back then she would have surely been castigated as a contemptible jilt, even more so because she had married a soldier just back from war. As for Abdur, he may be supposed to not be a villain in this version but turning up, apparently uninvited (Raymonda was clearly shocked to see him), to his friend's wedding & still trying to attract his friend's bride is caddish to say the least. I was too busy thinking about all the aforementioned to have much time to ponder on the plausibility or otherwise of the Hungarian aspect of the act, although I can't say that I've ever heard if England imported Eastern European farm workers in the 19th century in the way it has in recent years. Having a lifelong interest in fashion history, I was also slightly irked by Raymonda wearing a wedding dress with short sleeves and a low neck, as until well into the 20th century wedding dresses had to have long sleeves & high necks. I consoled myself with the thought that sometimes women had dresses made with two bodices, one with long sleeves & one with short, so maybe Raymonda had changed bodices between the ceremony before the party!

 

I see the choreography is credited as Rojo after Petipa. I can only say that some of the choreography looked to be quite some time after! However it was all in the classical idiom so therefore I was much less bothered by the choreography changes than the plot changes. I would far, far prefer to see something like this than a new ballet by McGregor or any similarly modern-style choreographer. The set design, if not lavish, was attractive enough & the costumes were similarly attractive. The one time I missed tutus was for Raymonda in Act III when she was doing the steps where she repeatedly lifts up each foot to the knee of the other leg (I don't know if there's a name for this step) as rather than being able to see what her legs were doing all you saw was her feet alternately disappearing into her skirt.

 

I choose to see this cast because since fortuitously seeing Francesco Gabriele Frola in Manon 3 years ago - at that time I didn't know who any of the ENB dancers were, apart from Cojocaru - I've booked to see him each time I've subsequently seen ENB (Cinderella & Le Corsaire, plus Margueite & Armand with Cojocaru at Sadler's Wells). I was very pleased to see him for the first time in nearly 2 years last night. I thought his dancing was just as excellent as previously & only wished he'd had more to do, especially in Act II. I wouldn't say the role of John required much acting but he's certainly handsome enough that I was baffled why Raymonda wouldn't unhesitatingly choose him over any other man, & certainly over nursing! I'm busy praying he & Emma Hawes stay with ENB after Rojo's departure.

 

I'd not seen Fernanda Olivera dance before last night but would happily see her again in the future as I thought she danced very well. I presume I've seen Erik Woolhouse in ENB's ensemble before but this was the first time I've seen him in a lead role & I thought he was very good as Abdur. (I can only imagine what Cirio must have made of the role though.) It was likewise the first time I'd see Francesca Velicu, Henriette, in a lead role & I can understand why she is considered an up-and-coming dancer. I had rather hoped Alison McWhinney would be on as Sister Clemence, as she's been shown in the role in some of the rehearsal photos, but it was Precious Adams. Given the only other major role I've seen Adams do was the nastier of the two stepsisters in Cinderella, it was rather a jump to then see her as a saintly nurse! I was pleased to see Daniel McCormick as one of John's friends & thought Noam Durand was also good as the other friend. Henry Downdon & Emily Suzuki were very good as the lead Hungarian couple. (Has she always been blonde? For some reason I thought she was dark haired, but I might be mixing her up with someone else.)

 

It was nice to have a chat with @Rob S in one of the intervals & I also spoke to two ladies who recognised me from the ROH & who I think are on here but whose usernames I don't know. And now I just have to pray I don't get covid, as there were a lot of people not wearing masks near me in the audience, & I have 2 R&J performances booked in the first 10 days of February that I really, really don't want to miss.

Edited by Dawnstar
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@Dawnstar  The name of the step you mentioned with the feet disappearing under the skirt is relevé en passant.  Shame you couldn't see Oliveira's feet in this as they are the most beautiful in the company!  Emily Suzuki is known for changing her hair colour quite often!  She is blonde at the moment but has to wear a black wig when she does the Ratchuli dance ☺️

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17 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

The set design, if not lavish, was attractive enough & the costumes were similarly attractive.

 

 

A great review which I shall enjoy reading again later....it came right after I saw a review Tamara Rojo had reposted which stated 'the set was some of the most advanced I've seen'....my thought last night was that it had been optimised for carriage to Southampton in no more than two transit vans.....he continued 'the costumes were utterly dazzling'...if even one person from the RB's Raymonda Act 3 had shown up everyone else at that party would be blinded. The military outfits would've been shown up by the child soldier costumes from the RB's Nutcracker. I think your description is far more accurate, Dawnstar. 

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Thanks @Irmgard. I'm afraid my technical knowlege of ballet steps is minimal. I'll try to remember that one for the future. I guess I must have previously noticed Suzuki when she was in a brunette phase then!

 

A couple more points I've thought of, having just read a few more reviews. Did anyone else think that the cimbalon in Act III sounded as though it was amplified? I wasn't certain but it sounded to me as if the sound was coming from the direction of the speakers on the proscenium arch rather than from the back of the stage where the musician was sat.

 

Was the photographer supposed to be in the employ of either Raymonda or John's family? If not then its a heck of a conincidence that the same photographer should be photographing them in England at the start of Act I & Act III and in Turkey later in Act I & Act II. He also appeared to have decidedly more advanced photographic equipment than was actually available in the 1850s, given he was taking near-instantaneous photos whereas I believe that cameras back then required the subjects to stand still for some time!

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2 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

A couple more points I've thought of, having just read a few more reviews. Did anyone else think that the cimbalon in Act III sounded as though it was amplified? I wasn't certain but it sounded to me as if the sound was coming from the direction of the speakers on the proscenium arch rather than from the back of the stage where the musician was sat.

 

I spent much of my time watching him play rather than watching the action trying to decide if he was playing it or miming very well...it seemed so loud given the lack of striking force he was putting in

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6 minutes ago, Rob S said:

 

 

A great review which I shall enjoy reading again later....it came right after I saw a review Tamara Rojo had reposted which stated 'the set was some of the most advanced I've seen'....my thought last night was that it had been optimised for carriage to Southampton in no more than two transit vans.....he continued 'the costumes were utterly dazzling'...if even one person from the RB's Raymonda Act 3 had shown up everyone else at that party would be blinded. The military outfits would've been shown up by the child soldier costumes from the RB's Nutcracker. I think your description is far more accurate, Dawnstar. 

 

I'd assumed the set had been designed to a reasonably strict budget & dazzling is not the word I'd use for the costumes. Though I'd like to thank the costume designer for the generous use of gold braid on the front of John's uniform jacket as it made it light-coloured enough for me to get decent photos of Frola at the curtain call! Given all the covid financial losses I wasn't expecting a lavish production & I'm certainly not blaming ENB for not spending vast amounts.

 

1 minute ago, Rob S said:

 

I spent much of my time watching him play rather than watching the action trying to decide if he was playing it or miming very well...it seemed so loud given the lack of striking force he was putting in

 

I couldn't see him very well from my angle so was just going by the sound. I was sat on the left hand side of the stalls centre block & the sound seemed to be coming more from my left, whereas the musician was to my right.

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6 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

 

I couldn't see him very well from my angle so was just going by the sound. I was sat on the left hand side of the stalls centre block & the sound seemed to be coming more from my left, whereas the musician was to my right.

 

And for me, sat righthand side of the dress circle, it was coming from my right so clearly amplified with some sort of primitive 1850s microphone...if indeed it was him playing.

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1 minute ago, Rob S said:

 

And for me, sat righthand side of the dress circle, it was coming from my right so clearly amplified with some sort of primitive 1850s microphone...if indeed it was him playing.


I was near the small loudspeaker to the right above the orchestra and the sound seemed to be coming from there.

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1 hour ago, RobR said:

I’m sorry if I’ve missed an earlier post but I’m afraid I’ve come late to this thread and am wondering if anyone has a link to a cast list, similar to that posted at the ROH?

 

As far as I know ENB isn't doing online cast lists. There are free paper copy cast lists available at the theatre so you don't have to buy a programme (unless you want to, of course).

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2 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

 

As far as I know ENB isn't doing online cast lists. There are free paper copy cast lists available at the theatre so you don't have to buy a programme (unless you want to, of course).

That’s great, thanks 😊 

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3 hours ago, RobR said:

I’m sorry if I’ve missed an earlier post but I’m afraid I’ve come late to this thread and am wondering if anyone has a link to a cast list, similar to that posted at the ROH?

 

 

They were doing that at the Festival Hall in the summer, I think, but I haven't seen any signs of it since.  Not that I've been looking very hard, mind you.

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On 19/01/2022 at 13:28, Angela said:

 

Maybe it would bother Mr. Glazunov. Without having seen the ENB production, this partitura was written long after Minkus or Drigo, even after Tchaikovsky - composers were still aware that balletmasters/choreographers might change the order and succession of the numbers in the score, but they composed whole, integral works with a structure, an architecture. Like Tchaikovsky, Glazunov works with leitmotifs, too much cutting and rearranging might certainly disturb the symphonic character of his score. Would you do that to Stravinsky's ballet partituras, too? They are not so far away from Raymonda, not even 20 years. Somehow it humiliates this beautiful music if you think it's ok to use it for self-service.

 

 

 

Actually, Angela, Stravinsky’s music does get cut.  Balanchine himself has cut Stravinsky’s music - the most famous example being Apollo (also called Apollon Musagete), which he has previously staged without the birth scene and hence without the music for it. For a time, Balanchine has cut the first variation for Apollo as well! In any case, Stravinsky’s ballets are short compared to the full length works of Tchaikovsky and Glazunov- most are one act only; there’s not much editing required.

 

The actual original scores for Raymonda, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake and many full length ballers would run into more than three hours without intervals or intermissions (over four hours if you count intermissions), more if the adagios are performed at a slower tempo to show off the dancers’ lines. That would present significant problems with some audiences not being able to get there from work or dinner if they started early, and if they started at the normal time many would not be able to get home on trains, buses or other public transport, and they would just walk out before it ended. 

 

It would also also make ballets much more expensive to stage, as all the staff - from musicians to stage crew to ushers as well as dancers - would have to be paid overtime rates. And for many adults at the end of a long work day, that would simply be too tiring. Although audiences in imperial Russia during dark winters might have enjoyed a long show and the middle class or moneyed set been able to leave work early when it got dark, I don’t think most audiences are as privileged nowadays.

 

And this may come as a surprise to many of us who feel classical composers are like gods (well, their best compositions may be heavenly to listen to) but actually in those days, they had a more pragmatic approach to their work, and they accepted that sometimes certain sections would not be used for the final stage performance.

 

For example, what many think of as the definitive version of Swan Lake by the Mariinsky (also in Anthony Dowell’s long running version from 1987 for the Royal Ballet), much of the first half of Act 4 wasn’t Tchaikovsky’s music for Swan Lake either. Drigo took out Tchaikovsky’s music and inserted two piano works of Tchaikovsky’s that he re-orchestrated, Valse Bluette and Un Poco di Chopin. Obviously done without Tchaikovsky, as he had died by then. I’m not saying that I approve of it, simply that Tamara Rojo isn’t the first person to do it, and won’t be the last. I’m sure she and Maestro Sutherland would prefer Glazunov to edit it or rewrite it for them himself, but he’s no longer alive either. 

Edited by Emeralds
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Last piccie worth posting as does show most of the creatives on stage with the dancers from the Premiere on Tuesday. 
Thankyou Dawnstar for that website suggestion as well ....will try that out and see if it works as well for another occasion. 

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On 19/01/2022 at 22:53, Meetmeatthebarre said:

The RAD attributes it to the "Lute" variation and a few major opera houses still portray it as a lute (from a quick google - it's not as if anything but Act 3 is regularly on the roster!) but I have also heard it as the lyre variation for the reasons you state above!

Thanks! Interesting choice of name by the RAD. (I did their Elementary/Intermediate/Advanced Syllabus after grade 4, and we had different music).

 

I wonder if they chose the name from the stage or choreography directions written in French on the score (I presume this was copied from Petipa’s notes to Glazunov): the variation is marked “Raymonda passes  her lute to one of her companions and comes to show a variation.” (It’s named after the one thing she doesn’t have when she dances!) The music itself is marked simply as “Prelude and Variation”. Most dancers and artistic directors/coaches call it the Pas de Châle - shawl variation.

 

You’re right- in the La Scala reconstruction, Raymonda actually plays the lute before handing it to her friends and starting her dance. The music is clearly for a solo harp on the score with accompanying woodwind instruments at the end, and sounds more like a medieval harp rather than a lute. (If one listens/watches some of the recitals by lute specialist Thomas Dunford on YouTube or Wigmore Hall’s website, the difference is evident.) I guess it’s  not meant to be literal as there are no woodwind musicians with Raymonda, Henriette, Clemence et al either. 

 

LinMM, sorry my replies (wasn’t here yesterday so just catching up) seem to have interrupted your flow of lovely photos. They look great! Thanks for posting! 

Edited by Emeralds
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On 20/01/2022 at 15:35, Rob S said:

Just got this reply from customer relations after emailing to ask if I can take curtain call pics with a camera (like I can at ROH)

 

Thank you for taking the time to get in touch with your enquiry. We do not permit the use of any recording equipment inside the auditorium, however, you are welcome to take photographs (no filming) of the curtain call only using a mobile phone.

 

I hope that you enjoy your visit to the London Coliseum later today.

 

I took curtain call pictures with a medium sized digital camera (discreetly) several years ago with no problems. Maybe they mean ‘not photoshoot equipment’ eg a big flash and long lenses.

 

I saw someone doing that at the ROH Nutcracker on 10 Dec- a woman went to the front of the Grand Tier/ Stalls Circle and started doing  these pouty poses and her companion had what looked like a paparazzo’s camera with a bright flash clicking loudly away at her. A bit weird, but thankfully they stopped after 2 minutes and it was before the house lights went down. 

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8 hours ago, Sim said:

If I bring both vaccination cards and my drivers license is that enough to get me in the Coli?  The last couple of times I have tried the NHS app it couldn’t log me in because of a fault.   🤦🏻‍♀️

Sim, for their Nutcracker I did my Covid pass on the NHS website and took a photo of the QR code they emailed me. (But I did bring my vaccination card  just in case my battery died or my phone had a problem.) They were fine with it. 

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4 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

I took curtain call pictures with a medium sized digital camera (discreetly) several years ago with no problems. Maybe they mean ‘not photoshoot equipment’ eg a big flash and long lenses.

 

I know there are plenty of gatekeepers that say things like 'no professional cameras' at venues...they don't really know what they are talking about re cameras. The customer relations person simply repeated the mention of 'recording equipment' mentioned on the website T&Cs which I personally regard  as video cameras for getting footage of the performance. I was quite clear about what I wanted to do and said that I do it at the ROH but repeating an already mentioned T&C does save brain power for what must be a busy department right now.

 

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For anyone who has LFTs in hand, I'd strongly recommend doing a test on the day and then registering it online as in the instruction booklet.

 

This is both because if you're concerned about spreading the virus it's the safest way; and because they can send you an email and text confirmation of the result - I find the text much easier to bring up in a hurry than the NHS App proof of vaccination status

Edited by Lizbie1
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