LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE: RB June 2022

[San Perregrino]

30 minutes ago, capybara said:

With ENB, Cesar was everything you say of him now - except that he didn’t have much opportunity to partner.

However, that element of his performances has come on in leaps and bounds with the RB. Great to see.

My regular ballet going and being able to name dancers and mark their progress probably dates from about the time CC joined the RB. I didn’t know of him before RB but, as I say, he has definitely made an impression in 2022. 

[Scheherezade]

I am more than a little relieved at the positive reviews for the 2nd cast. My first viewing will be Thursday 9th (1st cast) then Wednesday 15th (2nd cast) and I was distinctly worried by the lukewarm impressions on opening night.

 

Whilst, obviously, I can’t yet comment on any of the performances, how good it is to read of Cesar Corrales’ triumph in both casts.  Following on from his revelatory Siegfried, and an equally impressive showing in the Ashton triple bill, this certainly seems to be his season. And he and Naghdi seem to be developing a wonderful on-stage chemistry. Long may it continue. 

[Suffolkgal]

Oh lord I wrote its not it’s and the predictive text changed it! 

[art_enthusiast]

2 hours ago, JennyTaylor said:

I saw her in the area below the Orchestra Stalls with a couple of friends.  

 

Wow - sad to have missed a glimpse of her.

I thought she would also make a fantastic Mama Elena (in addition to the ones who have been cast - all are superb!)

[Sim]

3 hours ago, capybara said:

As was Xander Parish!

 

And Joseph Caley.  

[Silke H]

the Facebook album is growing

 

IG - 04 June 2022 matinée

 

IG - 04 June 2022 evening

 

still everyone moving rather quickly for their bows but I was ever so slightly better prepared for it

[Swan]

My companion and I had fun spotting the various ballet and showbiz ‘celebs’ yesterday although we missed Marianela Nunez. 🙄 We both enjoyed the ballet and I thought this cast was terrific. Like others on the forum, I think that Cesar has had a great season and I’m really looking forward to seeing him dance other roles. Enjoyed Yasmin, Meghan Grace, Fumi, Christina, William and Luca as well but thought that Claire’s dramatic portrayal was magnificent. Both Kevin O’Hare and Christopher Wheeldon were sitting near me and I hope they were as impressed as I was! I now have to make a decision whether to travel to London to see it again but I’m not sure I will…

[art_enthusiast]

Having seen both casts yesterday, I think both are phenomenal - each have something different to offer in their own unique way. The standing ovation on Saturday night was significantly widespread!

[FionaM]

I can’t seem to access the cast sheet on ROH website for tonight?   Hannah Grennell to debut as Gertrudis she says on iG

[art_enthusiast]

24 minutes ago, FionaE said:

I can’t seem to access the cast sheet on ROH website for tonight?   Hannah Grennell to debut as Gertrudis she says on iG

 

also getting a 500 error

[MJW]

From the ROH's Flickr  -

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/royaloperahouse/albums/72177720299568950

[Bluebird]

45 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said:

 

also getting a 500 error

 

The casting is now up on the production page. 

 

https://www.roh.org.uk/tickets-and-events/36/like-water-for-chocolate-by-christopher-wheeldon/cast-list/49229

 

I'll paste it in here:

Tita Akane Takada

Mama Elena Melissa Hamilton

Rosaura Itziar Mendizabal

Gertrudis Hannah Grennell

Pedro Alexander Campbell

Dr John Brown Reece Clarke

Nacha Annette Buvoli

Juan Alejandrez Benjamin Ella

Don Pasqual Gary Avis

Chencha Ashley Dean

Nacha's former lover Harris Bell

Jose Lukas B. Brændsrød

Elena's mother Christina Arestis

Elena's father Bennet Gartside

Elena's brothers Kevin Emerton, Tomas Mock

Juan De la Garza Nicol Edmonds

Esperanza Jade Johnstone, Katharina Nikelski

Alex Isaac Morgan, Harrison Lee

Priest Philip Mosley

Ranch Workers

Sophie Allnatt, Leticia Dias, Ginevra Zambon, Mariko Sasaki, Téo Dubreuil, Calvin Richardson, Joseph Sissens, David Yudes

 

Edited to remove strange format

Edited June 6, 2022 by Bluebird

[capybara]

I can never understand why, apart from the Conductor and very significant solo playing, the ROH lists the musicians ahead of the dancers.

[bridiem]

9 minutes ago, capybara said:

I can never understand why, apart from the Conductor and very significant solo playing, the ROH lists the musicians ahead of the dancers.

 

And, why they don't then leave a line space before they list the dancers. 

[Jamesrhblack]

Is Kristen McNally injured? She gestured prominently in the Insights but it’s been Christina Arestis in the first two casts and now Annette Buvoli.

[capybara]

1 minute ago, Jamesrhblack said:

Is Kristen McNally injured? She gestured prominently in the Insights but it’s been Christina Arestis in the first two casts and now Annette Buvoli.

She was the choreographer for the Jubilee ballet. Maybe that explains her absence from the stage over Thursday - Saturday.

[alison]

I was assuming that she'd been rather busy elsewhere over the past few days ...

[Jamesrhblack]

Ah, of course. I’ll try to do joined up thinking in the future 

[alison]

[Richard LH]

2 hours ago, Bluebird said:

Tita Akane Takada

 

2 hours ago, Bluebird said:

Pedro Alexander Campbell

Dream Team!😊

[Jamesrhblack]

1 hour ago, Richard LH said:

 

Dream Team!😊

They certainly are in this. Absolutely magical 

[Richard LH]

What a brilliant spectacle! So great to see Akane back, and absolutely on top form....with fantastic partnering from Alex...as well as from Reece. 

[Sophie_B]

Such a great performance! I was sad not to get to see Akane Takada in Swan Lake, so very happy to see her in this. Such an expressive actress and delicate, beautiful dancer, and a great partnership with Alexander Campbell. I'm not sure all the smaller roles reached the heights of last Thursday's first cast, but overall a thoroughly enjoyable performance. I did have (much) better seats than last week, so was able to appreciate some of the nuances better. For instance, I didn't realise that in the first part of Tita and Pedro's PDD in the laundry room, they don't actually ever touch, I really liked what that added to the tension.

[Rob S]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sophie_B]

Thank you as ever for the great photos Rob! I forgot to mention that my "celebrity spotting" yesterday was Kevin O'Hare catching up with Federico Bonelli over refreshments from the cafe in the interval. (Unless I'm much mistaken. I tried very hard not to stare too much

[Richard LH]

12 hours ago, Sophie_B said:

Such an expressive actress and delicate, beautiful dancer

Isn't she just ! So lovely to see her, fully recovered....I feared she would be missing until next season, and I am so pleased  that she made it back in time for what will be my last visit to the ROH this season. 

 

I was previously dubious about how LWFC,  as adapted here and  summarised  in the extensive synopsis, could be successfully translated into a ballet - but I was forgetting how wonderfully eloquent dance can be, with the right choreography and dancers. What seems convoluted or contrived when written down, can be made simple, obvious and beautiful  when shown through consummate   movement,  posture and facial expression, and this was achieved in spades last night - from the representation of a beating, loving heart, to the cessation of another heartbeat and the departure of the soul. 

 

In fact I found watching the ballet immeasurably more satisfying and rewarding than reading the book!

 

The staging was superb - lovely costumes, design, and lighting, and such clever movements and timing of the dancers (and the "behind the scenes" crew)  in keeping everything on track, given that there were so many  moments and devices  that could have gone wrong (one or two  did, but the cast were very adept at recovery)! The fantastical ghost of Mama Elena (Mellissa Hamilton on fine form) suddenly appearing and disappearing everywhere, the slick costume changes (or disrobing), the clever use of the multiple tables and chairs, and drapery...all part of the "magical realism" in their own way.    

With repeat viewing , I am sure people will  be able to pick out all sorts of motifs and elements  that are repeated through the ballet and bind it together - it was  lovely,  for example, to have Tita and young  Esperanza, in Act III,  go through  the exact same joyful cooking/dance/splash sequence that beloved cook Nacha and the young  Tita had performed at the start of Act 1. In fact the ghost of Nacha (an excellent Annette Buvoli) is allowed to be another thread, appearing and reappearing  as a sort of Mexican fairy godmother for Tita.  Also the  music (which I didn't realise  until I read the  programme) uses different instruments for each of the main characters.  Whilst some have criticised Joby Talbot for "sameness" and lack of memorable themes, I thought the musical worked very well if regarded more along the lines of an accompanying  film score than a stand-alone work - I felt there was a very successful correlation  between the music and the action throughout, with a very moving solo sung at the end. 

 

All in all, a  worthy addition to the repertoire - well done Christopher Wheeldon, and everyone else involved, for bringing  this work to the stage, and performing it so brilliantly. 

 

[Richard LH]

22 minutes ago, Sophie_B said:

I forgot to mention that my "celebrity spotting" yesterday was Kevin O'Hare catching up with Federico Bonelli over refreshments from the cafe in the interval.

My own spotting, when leaving the orchestra stalls at an interval, was Francesca Hayward nearby.  

[art_enthusiast]

Akane and Alexander were brilliant, a very well matched pair. Melissa Hamilton was extremely chilling as Mama Elena.

 

I also thought Reece's partnering with Akane was lovely.

Edited June 7, 2022 by art_enthusiast

[Lindsay]

I made a mistake by picking up a last minute ticket for this evening’s show.  I did not enjoy either Alice or Winter’s Tale so wasn’t planning to see this but found myself with an unexpected spare evening and decided to give it a go.  I really wish that Wheeldon would go back to good music and abstract ballet for grown-ups.  I could watch Polyphonia ten times in a row and not be bored.  But today I had to force myself to stay until the end in case it got interesting (spoiler - it didn’t).

 

Pretty sets and costumes, beige music, bland choreography (what there was of it), way too much vague emoting but absolutely no imagination.  So literal and earthbound.  Which is quite a feat when your material is a magic realist novel.  To be relying so heavily on the make up and lighting teams for impact (they did sterling work by the way) is not where a top ballet company should find itself…..

[bangorballetboy]

On 06/06/2022 at 18:38, Jamesrhblack said:

Is Kristen McNally injured?

She is indisposed.

[Terpsichore]

I returned to the Royal Opera House this evening for the first time since lockdown. It was quite a homecoming. Seldom have I been imore thirlled by a new work.  I was particularly impressed by Pedro's duet with Tita and the final conflagration.  Excellent performances by all, particularly Naghdi, Corrales, Kaneko and Bracewell.  I liked Talbot's score, Crowley's desighns and Katz's lighting.   I shall review the ballet properly in Terpsichore when I return to the North. 

[JohnS]

8 hours ago, Lindsay said:

I made a mistake by picking up a last minute ticket for this evening’s show.  I did not enjoy either Alice or Winter’s Tale so wasn’t planning to see this but found myself with an unexpected spare evening and decided to give it a go.  I really wish that Wheeldon would go back to good music and abstract ballet for grown-ups.  I could watch Polyphonia ten times in a row and not be bored.  But today I had to force myself to stay until the end in case it got interesting (spoiler - it didn’t).

 

Pretty sets and costumes, beige music, bland choreography (what there was of it), way too much vague emoting but absolutely no imagination.  So literal and earthbound.  Which is quite a feat when your material is a magic realist novel.  To be relying so heavily on the make up and lighting teams for impact (they did sterling work by the way) is not where a top ballet company should find itself…..

I’m sorry to read how disappointing you found Like Water for Chocolate. It’s good of you to set out your forthright views.
I’m looking forward to seeing a second performance as first viewing left me with a host of questions. For example why do we see Elena as Queen of Hearts - unless there’s a dramatic reason for such a reference it seems self indulgent. And I’m also hoping I’ll find the choreography more revealing of the characters’ emotions/motivations, particularly Elena and the elder daughters where on first viewing I found them at best unsympathetic and at risk of being simply caricatures. That said, there’s much that impressed and I’m keen to see tonight’s performance. 

[ctas]

I really enjoyed last night’s performance! I read the book in advance which felt like good preparation as I could often pick out motifs in the design and storytelling that were lifted from the book, but also didn’t feel essential. I think the story was told very well, I enjoy and appreciate (as someone pointed out earlier in this thread) the way of repeating the different passages of dance showing the passage of life, the cyclical nature of tradition and (sadly) how abuse can be handed down from generation to generation. One moment I especially loved was Gertrudis and her partner doing matching steps in sync, it gave me a sense that they were seen as equals in that piece.

 

I was definitely glad they chose to cut some more questionable plot beats from the book, and far more interesting to have a ballet with so many scenes about sex being about love and pleasure rather than the dark sexual violence of something like Mayerling. 
 

I thought the design was really gorgeous, not too busy but there was a enough to look at and interesting details to catch your eye. Act Two was a real highlight, from the gentleness of the scene with the doctor to the energy and vibrancy of the scene with the revolutionaries. I’m no expert on choreography but again I found the use of different motifs interesting and particularly enjoyed the movement of the scenes with larger numbers of dancers involved. 
 

Corrales and Nagdhi danced beautifully, and the final pas de deux was very moving. Calvert did a great job of the older sister, especially in her final scene where you really see the echoes of her mother take over her person. Kaneko was great, especially in her flashback sequence but also in capturing this otherworldly sense when she had the ghostly appearances.

 

I think there’s definitely a few things I would change — act one was very long and dense in terms of story and I didn’t really find myself getting behind the characters until act two— but on the whole think there’s a lot to like about this. 

Edited June 9, 2022 by ctas