LinMM Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 Perhaps she does have an injury but is not sure yet how bad it is so doesn’t want to say anything till she’s seen the relevant health professionals. Or she could just be under the weather enough to know she just needs a week off!!! I suspect it’s the former if she hasn’t said anything yet. Im not booked to see her but hope she can do some performances as great for people to see her in this role if haven’t already. From a couple of comments I’m guessing the rehearsal went well with Corrales and Magri today!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyTaylor Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 2 minutes ago, LinMM said: From a couple of comments I’m guessing the rehearsal went well with Corrales and Magri today!!! It did! For @Dawnstarbenefit though, there were also several examples of marking of steps, so it was a rehearsal, not a performance. I have a ticket for their debut, so really looking forward to it. If I hadn't, I'd be trying to buy one. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 Thanks @JennyTaylor. A query for those who have a experience of attending a rehearsals: will the supporting cast in a rehearsal usually be the same as for those leads' performances? I see Calvin Richardson is on the rehearsal cast list as Benno, & after being very impressed by his Romeo I'd love to see him in SL, so is he likely to appear in the performance on 11th? Also, are there only 3 Von Rothbarts in the RB's casting pool: Gartside, Avis & Whitehead? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyTaylor Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 12 minutes ago, Dawnstar said: Thanks @JennyTaylor. A query for those who have a experience of attending a rehearsals: will the supporting cast in a rehearsal usually be the same as for those leads' performances? I see Calvin Richardson is on the rehearsal cast list as Benno, & after being very impressed by his Romeo I'd love to see him in SL, so is he likely to appear in the performance on 11th? Also, are there only 3 Von Rothbarts in the RB's casting pool: Gartside, Avis & Whitehead? It's not always, but I'd say there's a high chance. Gartside was Von Rothbart today. Those are the only 3 of which I am aware, but who knows, there could be more. It's a long run As an aside, it was interesting to see how many dancers took the opportunity to watch today. I think I spotted William Bracewell, Matthew Ball, Francesca Hayward and Nicol Edmonds. I think there were undoubtedly more, but they were right over the other side of the theatre from me so it was difficult to spot them all. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 A good point. I had forgotten how much Benno there is, too....which the rehearsal has reminded me of. Also was reminded of the black tights on black background problem.... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaM Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 Ah yes the Black tights on black background design fault … you’d think they’d have fixed that for this run. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 24 minutes ago, FionaE said: Ah yes the Black tights on black background design fault … you’d think they’d have fixed that for this run. I have been moaning about this for years! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 29 minutes ago, FionaE said: Ah yes the Black tights on black background design fault … you’d think they’d have fixed that for this run. Especially when, in Acts 1 and 2, Benno is more brightly clad and, in the former, has more dancing. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oncnp Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 Just now, capybara said: ....in the former, has more dancing. That's what I really wish they'd fix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 2 minutes ago, oncnp said: That's what I really wish they'd fix. Yes. Initially, when introducing his concept, Liam Scarlett was talking about it being Siegfried’s story. So the prominence of Benno is a puzzlement. He even intrudes on the start of Act 2. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 Perhaps Scarlett would have made revisions for the next run. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 7 hours ago, bridiem said: Perhaps Scarlett would have made revisions for the next run. There was a second (truncated) run in 2020 with no discernible change. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 1 hour ago, capybara said: There was a second (truncated) run in 2020 with no discernible change. Wasn't that when Scarlett had been suspended or had left? Perhaps after a breathing space some sort of co-operation could have been achieved so that changes could have been made if wanted. Perhaps changes wouldn't be possible now - I don't know. All very sad. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 Watching it again after 2 years.. I did feel Benno seriously unbalanced things. His character is a cipher: carries no emotional weight. So to give him so much dancing while the Prince stands by does make the whole ballet much lighter and weakens the narrative. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 I only saw this production in the cinema and didn't really care for it. However, Benno is similar in character and in the amount of dancing to that role in SPW's production for BRB. It's always struck me that he is very protective of Siegfried (perhaps a childhood companion?) and perhaps that is why he has such prominence. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyTaylor Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 Personally, I SO wish they would change the ending, but I suppose there is no chance of that now. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 Good point ...I see that Jan: but not sure enough is done to really show their relationship. On the plus side it's all very pretty. Such lovely sets and atmospherics. And a feast of dancing..and the corps is stunning and well handled. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToThePointe Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 I really like the addition of Benno and the princesses in Scarlett's production and I love all of their choreography, especially in Act 3. Sometimes I wonder if Benno was introduced because at that time a lot of the Principals dancing Siegfried were later in their careers (bar Vadim etc) and Benno gave some of the 'younger' dancers a big opportunity. That seems a bit redundant now considering the youth and energy of the Principals we have! I also wonder whether having Benno in there was Scarlett's way of putting the men more at the forefront of this ballet as typically it's Odette/Odile and the swans that take centre stage. Of course BRB also have Benno's character in their production but his friendship with Siegfried is part of the story and culminates in a tragic ending... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninamargaret Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 Am I right in thinking that in some of the older and very traditional productions Benno actually appeared in Act 2, even muscling in on the pas de deux? Just a vague memory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 1 minute ago, ninamargaret said: Am I right in thinking that in some of the older and very traditional productions Benno actually appeared in Act 2, even muscling in on the pas de deux? Just a vague memory. Heaven forbid ............. 😱 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 49 minutes ago, JennyTaylor said: Personally, I SO wish they would change the ending, but I suppose there is no chance of that now. If you are going to end with two Odettes you need to correctly work out which version should appear as the vision and which should be the dead body. In my opinion it is currently the wrong way round. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 Anyway..as it stands, we really need Benno casting in advance. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToThePointe Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 7 minutes ago, Rob S said: If you are going to end with two Odettes you need to correctly work out which version should appear as the vision and which should be the dead body. In my opinion it is currently the wrong way round. I agree! This really confuses me. Siegfried always dances with 'tutu' Odette, which is her under the spell and still in a swan guise, but then when she dies she's 'dress' Odette, so she's reverted back to being a woman under no spell. Has Siegfried been dancing with a swan this whole time...?!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 5 minutes ago, Mary said: Anyway..as it stands, we really need Benno casting in advance. It would be nice but it's no different to not being told Mercutio in advance, I suppose. What I want to know is why Siegried's sisters are not in the curtain call when Benno is....nowhere to be seen in the curtain call pics from yesterday that I saw. They only seem to appear if the performance is filmed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesrhblack Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 27 minutes ago, capybara said: Heaven forbid ............. 😱 Doesn’t that go back to the first performances of the Petipa / Ivanov Swan Lake… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 13 minutes ago, ToThePointe said: I agree! This really confuses me. Siegfried always dances with 'tutu' Odette, which is her under the spell and still in a swan guise, but then when she dies she's 'dress' Odette, so she's reverted back to being a woman under no spell. Has Siegfried been dancing with a swan this whole time...?!! I think so. I have no problem with the body of a dead spellbound person reverting to their original form when fished out the water....but you don't then have the vision of the spellbound person appear on the rock. We don't have enough time to bond with original Odette so we can't really have her appear as the vision even if it's the correct way round when you have two Odettes on stage. Siegried should see the vision of tutu Odette on the rock when he wakes up. Or he should fish out dead tutu Odette with no vision. Or they should both die and appear as a vision like the old version. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyTaylor Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 33 minutes ago, Jamesrhblack said: Doesn’t that go back to the first performances of the Petipa / Ivanov Swan Lake… I'm sure I have seen very old photos where that occurs - in the ballet books I had as a child Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 1 hour ago, ninamargaret said: Am I right in thinking that in some of the older and very traditional productions Benno actually appeared in Act 2, even muscling in on the pas de deux? Just a vague memory. Yes. Wasn't the role of Siegfried created on (I think) Pavel Gerdt, who was very old in dancer terms at the time, so Benno was roped in for some of the partnering? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninamargaret Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 41 minutes ago, Jamesrhblack said: Doesn’t that go back to the first performances of the Petipa / Ivanov Swan Lake… Not quite that old James!I can only go back to the 50s 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninamargaret Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 8 minutes ago, alison said: Yes. Wasn't the role of Siegfried created on (I think) Pavel Gerdt, who was very old in dancer terms at the time, so Benno was roped in for some of the partnering? Thanks Alison - that would explain it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 To me it makes sense to have the tutu vision. My interpretation is that although Siegfried picks up human Odette, it is the spirit of the woman he fell in love with who will always watch over him … a bit like how the spirit of Giselle will always be with Albrecht. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 8 minutes ago, Rob S said: I think so. I have no problem with the body of a dead spellbound person reverting to their original form when fished out the water....but you don't then have the vision of the spellbound person appear on the rock. We don't have enough time to bond with original Odette so we can't really have her appear as the vision even if it's the correct way round when you have two Odettes on stage. Siegried should see the vision of tutu Odette on the rock when he wakes up. Or he should fish out dead tutu Odette with no vision. Or they should both die and appear as a vision like the old version. I think the fundamental problem for me is introducing Odette in her original form - if you're going to do that on the grounds that the spell has been broken by her death/sacrifice, to make coherent dramatic sense on a human level (which seems to have been the aim of this production) all the other swan maidens should surely also revert to their original form. (Which would of course be neither practicable nor desirable.) I do think there could also be a vision of the swan maiden Odette, representing the spirit of the dead girl who would be watching over Siegfried. But as is, I find the ending confusing. (But then, I'm easily confused...). 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 4 minutes ago, Sim said: To me it makes sense to have the tutu vision. My interpretation is that although Siegfried picks up human Odette, it is the spirit of the woman he fell in love with who will always watch over him … a bit like how the spirit of Giselle will always be with Albrecht. I guess the ending won't change and so that's how we have to force ourselves to look at it but that means Siegfried fell in love with and continues to see only spellbound Odette, not the real one.....Albrecht fell in love with real Giselle 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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