Royal Ballet's Swan Lake (Spring 2022)

[Ulla]

Fulham Broadway Vue cinema says start 6.45 

[alison]

Not unless they've got some sort of reverse time-slip machine, I think!

[RobR]

Tonight’s cast sheet link
 

https://www.roh.org.uk/tickets-and-events/36/swan-lake-by-liam-scarlett/cast-list/49157

[Johnny]

[Johnny]

2 minutes ago, Johnny said:

The flower throw only happens once in a while, so I hope everyone, especially those at the ROH tonight, will be flooded with emotions. Congratulations, Lauren Cuthbertson!

[alison]

Slightly delayed due to Covid?

[MJW]

Just back from the cinema and what a fantastic evening - everyone superb and what a lovely tribute to Lauren Cuthbertson on her 20 years with the Royal Ballet.

 

Its always very interesting to see a production from a completely different viewpoint and to pick up details which one can't see "live" so to speak.

 

I do hope that the video with Lauren that was screened during the interval will be available again to watch - I thought that was very moving.

[Dancing unicorn]

Went to see this in Llandudno Cinema this evening! I don’t know about other cinemas but was very disappointed with the screening! The dancers were cut off at the knees when in full screen! Not what you want to see at a ballet 😡

So a lot of detail was missed, I love watching the feet, not tonight! 
Apart from that a fabulous performance from Cuthbertson  and bracewell! And a delightful short film of Lauren and Peggy! 
Please get the filming right next time Cinemas!!!! 🤣

[Rob S]

I assume the video will be shown somewhere so people that went to the performance can see it

[LianneEva]

Well that was a gorgeous evening.

I'll start with a tiny grumble... Did the wide shots appear out of focus to everyone? The picture seemed to be at its sharpest when it was focused on individuals, which took the edge off some of the beauty of the corps and the sets. Not a deal breaker, but didn't quite do justice to the whole picture!

 

I will never tire of this production... The staging, sets and costumes are just breathtakingly gorgeous. I have watched the 2018 recording to death, and could quite happily go for performance after performance for the different casts.

I think Gary Avis' characterisation of Rothbart is fantastic - he brings such expressiveness to the role with his facial range. His Rothbart is sneering and played with a certain arrogance, rather than straight up-brooding and stony faced, which I think is the more common portrayal.

 

Ditto for William Bracewell who gave us a fully fleshed-out Siegfried. I particularly liked his complete captivation with Odile after all of the Act III fireworks, with his jaw on the floor..!

I thought Nadia Mullova-Barley was fantastic in the Spanish dance - she really looked like she was loving every moment, and was certainly giving passion.

 

Lauren is a lovely Odette / Odile. I thought that her vulnerable and nervous Odette; fluttering away from Siegfried at the first encounter was a lovely point of characterisation. She has such a beautiful, fluffy petit battement 🤩
Her Odile isn't quite the terribly malevolent creature we got from Nela's portrayal, but I thought she was regal and self-assured and arrogant which are also perfectly fine Odile qualities! 

Really enjoyed Meaghan Grace and Isabella as the sisters. I think the perfect synchronisation between the characters during the Act III PDT is really exciting to watch. 

 

Corps and the cygnets were in better sync (to my eye) than ever before. 

 

I may have gotten something in my eye at the end...😢

 

[Ian Macmillan]

No problems with the screening where I was.  A good night.

[alison]

1 hour ago, LianneEva said:

I'll start with a tiny grumble... Did the wide shots appear out of focus to everyone? The picture seemed to be at its sharpest when it was focused on individuals,

 

That's what I thought when I was watching the DVD recently.  The close-ups seemed a lot sharper than the "crowd scenes".  At least we didn't (seem to?) have as many weirdly sideways-on shots as in the 2018 recording.

 

I can't say I registered a lack of full-length shots of dancers: I wonder if it was a problem with the individual cinema?  Wouldn't be the first time.

 

Oh, and when watching Cuthbertson last week I was stunned to realise that the only previous time I'd seen her dance Odette/Odile was on her debut.  I'm guessing 2008 or thereabouts?  Every other performance of hers I booked, she missed, for one reason or another.  Thanks to whoever it was who posted about them celebrating her 20th anniversary - I might otherwise have dashed out pretty quick to make my bus and missed the on-stage celebration.

 

The cast sheets were pretty useless, though ...

[DanJL]

I haven't had much time to post recently, but just to say that I enjoyed two wonderful performances this week - Lamb / Hirano on Tuesday and the cinema relay last night. Both were incredible, for the fantastic yet different interpretations of the leads and the ever impressive supporting cast. 

 

Last night I found Cuthbertson's characterisation of Odette extremely moving, but found myself more impressed by Lamb's fiery Odile. Fine margins though - I thought both were amazing in the two roles. My first time seeing Bracewell in a classical role and I was very impressed - will look out for more of his performances in future.

 

And just to echo that Gasparini and Hinkis were lovely as the sisters last night - I think the best of the four performances I've seen since March. Three of which happen to have featured Gasparini - always great to watch but she seemed to particularly excel herself last night. 

[FionaM]

6 hours ago, Dancing unicorn said:

Went to see this in Llandudno Cinema this evening! I don’t know about other cinemas but was very disappointed with the screening! The dancers were cut off at the knees when in full screen! Not what you want to see at a ballet 😡

 

We had the same problem in my cinema (Vue Cribbs, Bristol).  I went out to complain and it was a local setting that was wrong,  It got fixed halfway through Act 1

 

We had other problems too … the cinema lighting was left on for the intro and interval fillers.  That again turned out to be a local settings mistake.   
 

In addition the entire relay was unfocused … like the difference between TV of the ‘80s and HD clarity now.  Also the colours and brightness were washed out / muted compared to previous relays.  
 

And then the unprofessional microphone issues that Kevin experienced onstage at the end.  
 

Nil points from me for the technological experience this time.  
 

Lauren & William were magnificent !!!

[Mary]

I was lucky to have no technical problems and seeing this close-up was so rewarding. I always sit in the front row and immerse myself in the performance.

It was ideal for seeing the faces- as I thought we had quite exceptional characterisation from Cuthbertson and Bracewell, and lyrical dancing, especially in Act 2- possibly the best Act 2 I have seen for a while (though I did not think the Prince's solo was on a  par with the best I have seen.)

Acri was an excellent Benno again and my eye was much taken by Melissa Hamilton's big swan as well.  But  the standard throughout was very high - the corps one of the wonders of the world.

 

Well done all- it was a joy.

 

Oh- except for - the horns.

 

[Fonty]

40 minutes ago, FionaE said:

 

We had other problems too … the cinema lighting was left on for the intro and interval fillers.  That again turned out to be a local settings mistake.   
 

In addition the entire relay was unfocused … like the difference between TV of the ‘80s and HD clarity now.  Also the colours and brightness were washed out / muted compared to previous relays.  

 

 

We had exactly the same thing at the Picturehouse in Greenwich with regard to the muted colouring, and the lights being left on  during the interval fillers.  During the first act, the camera angle was very odd, it was as if the camera was in the orchestra pit and looking up at the stage.  Fortunately this seemed to be adjusted for act 2.  

 

@RobRThanks for putting up the cast list, the QR code on the cast sheets given at the cinema simply said "Cast coming soon."  

 

Unfortunately, I had to leave as soon as the performance finished, and missed all the curtain calls.  What did they do to celebrate Lauren's 20 years?  

 

 

[bridiem]

I went to the livestream last night. I'm clearly in a minority (maybe of one!) in not being blown away by Lauren Cuthbertson's performance. She's a beautiful and very talented dancer, but I didn't believe in her as anything more than that. She remained herself throughout. Maybe I just don't 'connect' with her because I've always found that when watching her - I admire her rather than believing in the character she's portraying. (So in fact this is the first time I've seen her Odette/Odile, apart from the section at the Ukraine fundraiser recently.) But I did believe in William Bracewell's Siegfried, and his dancing was magnificent too. I also thought that Luca Acri was a briliant Benno, as he has been throughout the run. Isabella Gasparini was indeed a wonderful and expressive sister, but I don't enjoy watching Meaghan Grace Hinkis - she's obviously very capable but I find no beauty or poetry in her dancing.

 

There were no technical issues with the ballet itself at my showing, but it was a shame that the film about the score/orchestra couldn't be shown, and that Kevin O'Hare's microphone kept failing. I also thought that Darcey Bussell (of whom I am very fond) was even more nervous than usual and it was quite painful to watch. The interviews were unilluminating and very awkward and the introductions very poorly delivered. Please, don't put her through this again! She has other wonderful talents that could be much better used during these broadcasts.

 

The snippet of Bussell talking about the corps of swans from the wings was fun but was a repeat from the last live screening. And the film about Cuthbertson having become a mother was baffling; she spoke a few sentences, and then danced quite a long solo by Didy Veldman (very well) that seemed to have no relevance at all to anything. Of course Peggy is extremely cute, but I really didn't feel that this film was the best way of associating ballet and motherhood.

[zxDaveM]

for those that experienced technical difficulties, complain! (politely). You paid for an upmarket experience which wasn't delivered.

My Vue cinema (when I went there some years back), was terrible at the live streams. They would set the screen size from the pre-amble stream, then walk away. When we went live, the size was different; eg in A Winter's Tale, when Hermione was 'dead' on the stage, all you could see was her nose peeping above the bottom of the screen, and none of the dancers' feet. When interval complaints were fielded, this was fixed, though the screen didn't look as high-res as it should have. They cut off early for Giselle, so you missed him picking up the flower at the end and all the curtain calls (a timer problem, with no one minding the shop). After the interval for Fille, the 'forgot' to turn down the houselights. After each occasion, I complained, and was given a voucher for the price of my ticket. Though why I kept going back is a bit of a mystery (except to use said vouchers!)

[Dancing unicorn]

Thank you, didn’t think to complain at the cinema just thought it was the relay! But when I got home I had a ‘how was your experience’ email from the cinema so I complained there! I await their reply 😩

[zxDaveM]

8 minutes ago, Dancing unicorn said:

Thank you, didn’t think to complain at the cinema just thought it was the relay! But when I got home I had a ‘how was your experience’ email from the cinema so I complained there! I await their reply 😩

 

I would use their 'contact us' link to make a complaint. Just explain what was wrong and that it spoilt your enjoyment, etc

[DoctorDerry]

I feel very fortunate after reading other peoples’ experiences that the showing in CineWorld Cheltenham was nigh on perfect. I was disconcerted when entering to see Darcey Bussell on screen and no sound, but the management sorted it out before the performance began. Phwee! Wonderful view. I loved being able to see the facial expressions expressions and bits I had missed when seeing a live performance in mid March.

I absolutely loved Lauren  in both roles, totally convincing for me ,and William Bracewell! What an actor, what a dancer. How he is not a principal is beyond my understanding. Loved the swans ,the sisters ,Benno and loved to hate von Rothbart. I just did not want it to end.

I was really happy to hear they will live stream all future ballets and opera next season. Wonderful. I can even watch in Spain

[Guest oncnp]

9 minutes ago, DoctorDerry said:

 

I was really happy to hear they will live stream all future ballets and opera next season. Wonderful. I can even watch in Spain

They are going to live stream as well as broadcast to cinema? 

[alison]

12 minutes ago, DoctorDerry said:

William Bracewell! What an actor, what a dancer. How he is not a principal is beyond my understanding.

 

I'm sure he will be soon.  It can only be a matter of time, surely?

[taxi4ballet]

6 hours ago, Fonty said:

 

During the first act, the camera angle was very odd, it was as if the camera was in the orchestra pit and looking up at the stage.  Fortunately this seemed to be adjusted for act 2.

 

 

That's pretty much where the camera was sited - in between the pit and the first row of seats, and very low down. We were in the Amphi and could see the camera from where we were sitting, and I think they did raise it up a bit.

 

The cygnets were spot on and got a great cheer - my daughter's comment was "Well, that was crisp!". 

[LianneEva]

6 hours ago, Fonty said:

 

Unfortunately, I had to leave as soon as the performance finished, and missed all the curtain calls.  What did they do to celebrate Lauren's 20 years?  

 

 

 

There was a flower throw, a very nice short speech from Kevin O'Hare (albeit with mic difficulties) and they presented her with the dance award that she originally won during lockdown (the ceremony for which was previously held on Zoom)  

[emmarose]

1 hour ago, alison said:

 

I'm sure he will be soon.  It can only be a matter of time, surely?

 

Agreed, it's been said many times (by me too), but it has to be soon.

This season he has danced more Principal roles than a lot of principal dancers. Being given the cinema show and one of the four given the honour for the Ukrainian special, he's one of the top Principals they have and he's not even a principal!

[Ian Macmillan]

oncnp:  My recollection is that Kevin O'Hare mentioned increased use of cinema broadcasts but not, I think, internet streaming.  But I'm open to correction on that.

[capybara]

1 hour ago, emmarose said:

 

Agreed, it's been said many times (by me too), but it has to be soon.

This season he has danced more Principal roles than a lot of principal dancers. Being given the cinema show and one of the four given the honour for the Ukrainian special, he's one of the top Principals they have and he's not even a principal!

 

There can be no doubt that William Bracewell was heading for the top from the moment he moved from BRB to the RB (and before that as far as I was concerned!). However, two things got in the way: firstly, he had seasons when he was 'off' through injury; secondly, the pandemic disrupted his opportunities, just as it did for others.

 

This year's RB promotions are doubtless going to include several reasons for rejoicing, with William's 'good news' right up there.

 

[alison]

I'd say even before he moved to BRB  

[JennyTaylor]

It seems that his ballerinas value him. That's another bouquet for him from Lauren last night!

[MJW]

I'm sure a lot of people have seen this, but for those who have not, a lovey picture of Lauren from last evening

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cdxy2xesOrJ/

Edited May 20, 2022 by MJW

[capybara]

16 minutes ago, alison said:

I'd say even before he moved to BRB  

 

Yes - agreed!!!! Many of us 'spotted' William at the RBS but that wasn't too difficult as, during his time there, he won both the Young British Dancer of the Year and the Grand Prix at the Youth America Grand Prix.

 

Watching Angela Wood dance in ENB's Emerging Dancer last night brought back memories of her and William leading the RBS end of year performance 2010 in The Lilac Garden. Both of them super; neither of them taken into the RB.

[emmarose]

3 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

Yes - agreed!!!! Many of us 'spotted' William at the RBS but that wasn't too difficult as, during his time there, he won both the Young British Dancer of the Year and the Grand Prix at the Youth America Grand Prix.

 

Watching Angela Wood dance in ENB's Emerging Dancer last night brought back memories of her and William leading the RBS end of year performance 2010 in The Lilac Garden. Both of them super; neither of them taken into the RB.

 

As he did so well, why didn't the royal offer him a contract (assuming they didn't)?