Ashton's Cinderella - new Royal Ballet production

[Fonty]

15 hours ago, zxDaveM said:

 

The ROH gets the 'Royal' tag, and the Royals get free tickets.

No money flows from the royal coffers into the Opera House...

 

I assume you mean officially.  For all we know, the various Royals who are ballet lovers may very well be private sponsors.  I know that Princess Margaret used to frequently attend the ROH unofficially, sitting in seats with a much better view than the Royal Box.  And she didn't get those for free.  

[bangorballetboy]

10 hours ago, jmhopton said:

every performance you go to there is an announcement from Kevin O'Hare that cast lists are on the website but they're not easily accessible.

 

I type "ROH cast sheets" into google and I'm there in seconds (also my work computer auto-fills this so I only have to type "ROH"!).

[LinMM]

Usually a week or so before attending any performance you’ve booked the ROH send out two emails. The first is a reminder about “your up and coming visit” and the second contains the ticket itself.  It’s the first email which has quick access to all the cast lists….though of course the performance you are about to attend may not come up until the day of the performance.
I store everything I need from ROH in a specially named ROH mailbox so can quickly access at any time. I can then go into any “important reminder” email and the cast list link is there to ALL onstage performances to the current date. For example last nights Mayerling casting is the latest there with all the other Mayerling performances. 
I find this the quickest and easiest way to see cast lists for me though I agree it should be easy to access from the website itself. 

 

[art_enthusiast]

4 hours ago, Fonty said:

For all we know, the various Royals who are ballet lovers may very well be private sponsors.  I know that Princess Margaret used to frequently attend the ROH unofficially, sitting in seats with a much better view than the Royal Box.  And she didn't get those for free.  

 

I naively assumed that the RB received some sort of official financial grant from them. It's good to know that they do contribute in other ways. I certainly hope they are anyway, during this difficult time for the ROH and the arts world in general.

[art_enthusiast]

On 24/11/2022 at 11:42, Emeralds said:

Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Nutcracker will sell well because of their names and partly because the public vaguely know these three have good stories and memorable music.

 

Does the public really know Cinderella as a ballet that well though? I actually wasn't aware that it was part of the RB repertoire until they announced it for this season. Compared to the Tchaikovsky main three it seems rather less well known.

[Emeralds]

23 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said:

 

Does the public really know Cinderella as a ballet that well though? I actually wasn't aware that it was part of the RB repertoire until they announced it for this season. Compared to the Tchaikovsky main three it seems rather less well known.

I think the general public just sees the names Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty and think, “that’s a fairy tale, I recognise that, should be family friendly”, and buy tickets for a family of four (or three or five etc). Compared to people only going on their own for Giselle, Mayerling or Manon, unless they find a friend who also loves ballet, you can see why tickets sell out for shows deemed to be family friendly. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the Ashton, Ratmansky, Wheeldon, Stevenson or Bintley production, Cinderella will sell, especially during school holidays (RB has scheduled theirs over Easter school holidays-smart move). Just don’t present it during the first two weeks of June.

 

(I assume you’re referring to my comment about good stories and memorable music - it’s true that the general public probably knows Nutcracker for its music, Sleeping Beauty & Cinderella for their stories, even if fans know the music scores and stories are good for all three.) 

 

PS You’ve hit the nail on the head, art_enthusiast- for 11 and a half years it has not been part of the RB repertoire, despite many fans begging for it to be reinstated. 😉

Edited November 25, 2022 by Emeralds
For clarity

[Fonty]

1 hour ago, art_enthusiast said:

 

I naively assumed that the RB received some sort of official financial grant from them. It's good to know that they do contribute in other ways. I certainly hope they are anyway, during this difficult time for the ROH and the arts world in general.

 

I don't pretend to be an expert on these matters.  However, the Monarchy has to tread a very careful line and maintain a strictly neutral stance on so many issues. I suspect an official public backing for something like ballet at the Opera House would produce howls of outrage from the press  along the lines of "All the starving/freezing/sick people in the UK and they are wasting money on elitist things such as ballet....."  I think we can all imagine the headlines. 

[art_enthusiast]

1 hour ago, Emeralds said:

(I assume you’re referring to my comment about good stories and memorable music - it’s true that the general public probably knows Nutcracker for its music, Sleeping Beauty & Cinderella for their stories, even if fans know the music scores and stories are good for all three.) 

 

Yes, indeed I was - just curious to know what the Cinderella musical equivalent is to Waltz of the Flowers or the Sleeping Beauty Garland Waltz, which I think most of the general public are familiar with in some capacity! 

I am looking forward to hearing the score live for the first time.

 

Just listened to this for the first time, very beautiful - 

 

Edited November 25, 2022 by art_enthusiast

[FionaM]

2 hours ago, art_enthusiast said:

 

It's good to know that they do contribute in other ways. I certainly hope they are anyway, during this difficult time for the ROH and the arts world in general.

I have no doubt they contribute in other ways … one would be in encouraging sponsorship from their network of wealthy contacts.  That in itself is worth many free seats.  

[art_enthusiast]

1 hour ago, Fonty said:

I suspect an official public backing for something like ballet at the Opera House would produce howls of outrage from the press  along the lines of "All the starving/freezing/sick people in the UK and they are wasting money on elitist things such as ballet....."  I think we can all imagine the headlines. 

 

Indeed - thanks for explaining.

It's a shame they would take that one-dimensional viewpoint. More funding for the ROH would not only help them but also allow them to employ more workers within the theatre space as well as artists, offer training opportunities, improve employment prospects overall etc. I used to be part of Arts Council England's Youth Advisory Board about 5 years ago when I was still a teen. Can't remember the specific details but I was able to look at funding applications for dance/theatre craft training schemes, youth programmes etc and give input as to their value. To think of all that being cut as well is really depressing.

Edited November 25, 2022 by art_enthusiast

[Emeralds]

On 25/11/2022 at 16:32, art_enthusiast said:

 

Yes, indeed I was - just curious to know what the Cinderella musical equivalent is to Waltz of the Flowers or the Sleeping Beauty Garland Waltz, which I think most of the general public are familiar with in some capacity! 

I am looking forward to hearing the score live for the first time.

 

Just listened to this for the first time, very beautiful - 

 

When I first heard the score as a teen, I was actually struck by how sad, dissonant and even....sarcastic or harsh much of the score sounded, although they often resolve in a happy chord (major key) at the end, eg the end of the pas de deux at the ball, or the music at the end of the ballet. It sounded so unlike the Disney film or fairy tale book accounts of Cinderella I previously knew. 

 

Later on, I was reading about Prokofiev’s thoughts on the ballet, and he’d said he didn’t want to write a simplistic fairy tale. He was living under government repression in the Soviet Union, his foreign born wife also suffered, and he wanted to emphasise how harsh Cinderella’s living conditions really were, that she was aware her one evening of bliss would end quickly, and she would have to snap back to reality in several hours. I suppose that’s why Disney didn’t use any of his score for their film, unlike Tchaikovsky’s music for Sleeping Beauty. But conversely, a number of choreographers have found inspiration in the music being more nuanced and complex to create a ballet to. I now actually like the score a lot after discovering the different details in it.

 

For me, Ashton’s Waltz for the stars (ah, it’s part of the YouTube clip you posted) at the end of act 1 and another group dance for the stars at the end of the ballet are among the most gorgeous choreography for a corps de ballet, which most other productions don’t have,  focusing more on the individual characters instead. The costumes by David Walker with the wands that lit up were truly magical- I hope the new designs replacing Walker’s ones for the Royal Ballet will be just as if not more magical. 

Edited November 27, 2022 by Emeralds

[Tango Dancer]

On 25/11/2022 at 16:21, Fonty said:

 

I don't pretend to be an expert on these matters.  However, the Monarchy has to tread a very careful line and maintain a strictly neutral stance on so many issues. I suspect an official public backing for something like ballet at the Opera House would produce howls of outrage from the press  along the lines of "All the starving/freezing/sick people in the UK and they are wasting money on elitist things such as ballet....."  I think we can all imagine the headlines. 

 

You're right but it's so sad.  When people howl about money spent on supposedly "elitist" activities like opera or ballet or classical music, I am always reminded of the song "Bread and Roses."  We must nourish the body (which is why I regularly donate to a food bank) but it's also important to nourish the soul (which is why I support dance and music charities).   It's so wrong to try and do one but not the other, if possible.  "Hearts starve as well as bodies, give us bread but give us roses."

[capybara]

I have spoken to many young people on £25 tickets. I really approve of the scheme but many have seemingly been foreign students or others who have said they will not be attending the ROH in the future.

[Emeralds]

If more money goes on the arts to pay for training and to create better paid jobs (and jobs with more secure contracts than zero hours contracts at online retailer warehouses or factories), then people get both bread and roses. 

 

I am sad that we no longer see school groups going to the ballets as much as we used to. I see groups going to musicals, plays at the National Theatre and a few other venues, occasionally classical music concerts (although those seem to be mostly music students in the school that go, as their chatter often indicates they are already knowledgeable about it). None to the ballet, whether it’s weekday or weekend, matinee or evening shows. I hope it is because I’m not going to the same shows they are, but I also don’t see school teachers arranging the trips- plays, musicals, yes. Maybe I should ask them why ballet is off the programme. 

Edited November 27, 2022 by Emeralds

[bridiem]

1 hour ago, Emeralds said:

If more money goes on the arts to pay for training and to create better paid jobs (and jobs with more secure contracts than zero hours contracts at online retailer warehouses or factories), then people get both bread and roses. 

 

I am sad that we no longer see school groups going to the ballets as much as we used to. I see groups going to musicals, plays at the National Theatre and a few other venues, occasionally classical music concerts (although those seem to be mostly music students in the school that go, as their chatter often indicates they are already knowledgeable about it). None to the ballet, whether it’s weekday or weekend, matinee or evening shows. I hope it is because I’m not going to the same shows they are, but I also don’t see school teachers arranging the trips- plays, musicals, yes. Maybe I should ask them why ballet is off the programme. 

 

There are special schools matinées, aren't there?

[jmhopton]

2 hours ago, bridiem said:

 

There are special schools matinées, aren't there?

I attended a performance of Jewels at the ROH a number of years ago where there were several classes of young secondary school pupils. I wondered what they would think of it, as judging by their chatter, quite a few had never been to the theatre before,  let alone ballet. They were so excited I wondered if they'd talk through the performance but when the curtain rose many gave a sharp intake of breath at the beauty of the setting and were really well behaved. In a way this surprised me as Jewels,  especially the opening Emeralds,  doesn't have a lot to hold the attention of a young teen,  especially the boys there.  When the curtain came down there was wild applause and shouting and feet stamping as they made their approval known. It was wonderful to hear young people showing such love and appreciation for an art form many had never experienced before.  If only a few developed a love for ballet and returned it would be worth it. It was funny seeing them in the interval as well.  The boys riding up and down the escalators  exploring the building and the girls trying to get en pointe in their clumpy school shoes. They had a great time but you wonder today with the emphasise on timetables, and worries about health and safety, if there is the same will to take classes of children out and about. Such a shame as this is the best way to ensure the arts aren't perceived as elitist. Even if most of them never returned it would be more of an informed choice rather than just thinking the arts and the ROH are elitist and not for them.

[alison]

5 hours ago, Emeralds said:

I am sad that we no longer see school groups going to the ballets as much as we used to. I see groups going to musicals, plays at the National Theatre and a few other venues, occasionally classical music concerts (although those seem to be mostly music students in the school that go, as their chatter often indicates they are already knowledgeable about it). None to the ballet, whether it’s weekday or weekend, matinee or evening shows. I hope it is because I’m not going to the same shows they are, but I also don’t see school teachers arranging the trips- plays, musicals, yes. Maybe I should ask them why ballet is off the programme. 

 

I don't think the Royal Opera House gets much, if any, sponsorship to fund schools' matinees these days, does it?  I do note that ENB have a schools' matinee for their Swan Lake at the Coliseum, though.

[Mary]

8 hours ago, jmhopton said:

They had a great time but you wonder today with the emphasise on timetables, and worries about health and safety, if there is the same will to take classes of children out and about. Such a shame as this is the best way to ensure the arts aren't perceived as elitist.

Absolutely agree- it's so vital to catch them young!

 

The will is defnitely there in schools,  but the money definitely isn't.

[Lizbie1]

Whether schools are interested in going to the theatre, let alone the ballet or opera, has probably always been highly variable: at my primary school - getting on for forty years ago now 😳 - I don't think we saw so much as a pantomime.

[Jan McNulty]

1 hour ago, Lizbie1 said:

Whether schools are interested in going to the theatre, let alone the ballet or opera, has probably always been highly variable: at my primary school - getting on for forty years ago now 😳 - I don't think we saw so much as a pantomime.

 

It seems to depend on whether the teacher who would be responsible for the children is prepared to take on the responsibility involved with a school trip.

 

I think, these days (and I'm not saying it's perfect) that some of the ACE grant awarded to a company is to support the outreach work.

[San Perregrino]

8 hours ago, alison said:

 

I don't think the Royal Opera House gets much, if any, sponsorship to fund schools' matinees these days, does it?  I do note that ENB have a schools' matinee for their Swan Lake at the Coliseum, though.

the RB Nutcracker has two schools performances on 7th & 14th December (which I think may be increased from one performance in previous years ?) plus the Paul Hamlyn Christmas Treat performance on 17th December.

 

Speaking to a teacher friend, the challenges lie in persuading the school to take the pupils away  from ‘core syllabus’ teaching and in the health and safeguarding concerns involved. Also the inability of some families to fund the related costs such as  coach travel and meals for their child(ren) means that with levelling out, no trip for all is better than a trip for some.

I have another friend who, on learning the latter about a proposed a school trip (museum in this case, not to the ballet) gave the school enough money to cover the travel & meal costs of the poorer pupils so that the trip could go ahead. ”

 

For information:

PAUL HAMLYN CHRISTMAS TREAT

 

 

Each year, thanks to the generosity of the Helen Hamlyn Trust, we invite an audience of people who have not experience ballet or opera at the Royal Opera House before to fill our Main Stage auditorium. This has included partnering with the National Federation of Women’s Institutes, Girlguiding UK and a network of arts and health charities. We have also welcomed an audience of teachers and their families to the Royal Opera House.

Last year we were thrilled to welcome NHS key workers to the Royal Opera House, as part of our ROH Thanks the NHS programme.

On 17th December 2022, the Royal Opera House doors will open on a magical Christmas adventure for nurses, midwives and healthcare support workers and their families. There will be a morning of interactive workshops and creative activities. This will be followed by a gala performance of the classic ballet The Nutcracker.”

 

Edited November 28, 2022 by PeterS

[Emeralds]

On 28/11/2022 at 00:17, alison said:

 

I don't think the Royal Opera House gets much, if any, sponsorship to fund schools' matinees these days, does it?  I do note that ENB have a schools' matinee for their Swan Lake at the Coliseum, though.

 

On 27/11/2022 at 19:59, bridiem said:

 

There are special schools matinées, aren't there?

I think they only seem to get it from the Hamlyn Trust and possibly one other benefactor (can’t remember the name), but these could well be limited to just certain schools eg state schools in Westminster, central London, or Zones 1 -2 of London. As it’s private sponsorship, there may be conditions attached to the donation, eg the donors may feel the need to cover only state schools in their “patch” ie central London, which makes sense in terms of transport costs and accessibility to the ROH local (as in their own borough) community. Certainly friends who are teachers in Greater London (outside Zone 1) and the Home Counties say they’ve not been told that their school is eligible for these schools’ matinees; conversely, they have been invited by email to performances at Shakespeare’s Globe, which they take older pupils to. 

 

It’s both access and interest I guess. If an affordable  school rate isn’t offered or publicised to all schools, one cannot assume that opening it up to only the young in a limited geographical area (who may or may not have the income to attend ballets as adults) is sufficient to keep the art form supported in future.

 

I don’t know if West End musicals or Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre are enthusiastically sending brochures or emails to schools, but certainly the prices offered by them are not cheaper than the normal patron price- the only difference is that occasionally a free ticket is offered to one school teacher (eg for every 10 pupils) who has to supervise and look after the children/teens. Most schools I know of are taking students to these venues (eg Matilda, Come from Away, Wicked etc) from as far away as the Home Counties (requiring cost of a hired coach bus and driver) but not to the ballet nor opera, even though some ballet companies eg ENB, BRB and some opera companies eg ENO are offering substantial discounts for children. ENO and Wigmore Hall even have free tickets for children at some performances. It is good that one school made it to Jewels at ROH though! 

Edited November 29, 2022 by Emeralds

[bangorballetboy]

3 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

 

I think they only seem to get it from the Hamlyn Trust and possibly one other benefactor (can’t remember the name), but these could well be limited to just certain schools eg state schools in Westminster, central London, or Zones 1 -2 of London. As it’s private sponsorship, there may be conditions attached to the donation, eg the donors may feel the need to cover only state schools in their “patch” ie central London, which makes sense in terms of transport costs and accessibility to the ROH local (as in their own borough) community.

 

It’s both access and interest I guess. If an affordable  school rate isn’t offered or publicised to all schools, one cannot assume that opening it up to only the young in a limited geographical area (who may well mostly not have the income to attend ballets in future) is sufficient to keep the art form supported in future.

 

 

 

There are no restrictions on schools applying to attend ROH matinées, although the ROH does indicate for which key stage(s) a performance is appropriate.  Travel grants are also available (but not guaranteed) for schools outside London.

 

For the 22/23 season, tickets for schools matinées are £7.50 each.

[Emeralds]

8 minutes ago, bangorballetboy said:

 

There are no restrictions on schools applying to attend ROH matinées, although the ROH does indicate for which key stage(s) a performance is appropriate.  Travel grants are also available (but not guaranteed) for schools outside London.

 

For the 22/23 season, tickets for schools matinées are £7.50 each.

Thanks, that’s useful info- I’ll let my teacher friends know. The travel costs aren't usually a problem as children get substantially discounted public transport tickets, or if they are coming from further afield and the numbers are sufficient, a coach might work out to be more cost effective. 

Edited November 29, 2022 by Emeralds

[bangorballetboy]

4 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

Thanks, that’s useful info- I’ll let my teacher friends know. 

 

Applications for 2023/24 are due to open in Spring 2023 (I assume once the season programme has been announced).  The schools matinées details page is here.

[Emeralds]

19 minutes ago, bangorballetboy said:

 

Applications for 2023/24 are due to open in Spring 2023 (I assume once the season programme has been announced).  The schools matinées details page is here.

Thank you for posting the link.

 

Now that I’ve seen it again, I do remember reading the page some time ago now- the other benefactors are the Taylor Family Foundation and the Gail Ronson Family Foundation. Going down the page, I see that they do indicate that not every school who applies will be allocated tickets- they prioritise schools that have not attended before (even with completely different pupils) and schools with more children on free school meals. Which is fair enough from the philanthropy, maximising access to all schools, and helping more children that are deserving of assistance, points of view.

 

But of course that’s a different aim to that of introducing all young people to the arts and growing the audience of the future. I don’t think all pupils need £7.50 tickets as the West End venues are charging their standard prices of £32 to £40 (the seats are quite high up and far back) and parents still sign up for those and pay it. (The logic being that if only one child wants to attend, you can pay just £35 to £45 and the school takes care of transport and childcare for that child, whereas if you did it yourself, your whole family has to go which can mean paying for tickets for 3 to 5 or more depending on how many offspring one has, plus transport).

Edited November 29, 2022 by Emeralds

[annamk]

I had this message from the box office today about SCS for the Cinderalla gala. I think they're incorrect to say that they don't traditionally sell SCS for galas. 

 

Traditionally, we have not sold Stalls Circle standing tickets for gala performances. However, I have been in touch with the team involved, and they have advised me that these tickets may become available to book in the week or two before the performance. Please feel free to contact us at that time if you have any enquiries.

 

 

[Guest oncnp]

20 minutes ago, annamk said:

I had this message from the box office today about SCS for the Cinderalla gala. I think they're incorrect to say that they don't traditionally sell SCS for galas. 

 

Traditionally, we have not sold Stalls Circle standing tickets for gala performances. However, I have been in touch with the team involved, and they have advised me that these tickets may become available to book in the week or two before the performance. Please feel free to contact us at that time if you have any enquiries.

 

 

Thank you. They seem to have changed their minds since I contacted them earlier

[Guest oncnp]

Trailer

 

[annamk]

I just noticed on the RoH website that Nicol Edmonds replaces Marcelino Sambe as The Prince - dancing with Akane Takada - for all his dates in April. 

[capybara]

AND THE SISTERS AND FAIRY GODMOTHERS ARE LISTED NOW AS WELL (until the 19th April, but not beyond)!

The Sisters pairings are:

Avis/Acri

Gartside/Hay

Whiteside/Junker

Arestis/McNally

 

 

The Godmothers are:

Kaneko (who is also dancing Cinderella)

Mendizabal

Magri

Hamilton

Buvoli

 

 

 

Edited March 14, 2023 by capybara

[annamk]

While looking at those additions above I see Cesar Corrales has been replaced by Matthew Ball on 29th March - w Yasmine Naghdi.

 

[capybara]

2 minutes ago, annamk said:

While looking at those additions above I see Cesar Corrales has been replaced by Matthew Ball on 29th March - w Yasmine Naghdi.

 

 

and on the 15th and 18th April.