AnneL Posted February 15, 2023 Share Posted February 15, 2023 Last night I finally got to see the Royal Ballet in full performance for the first time since November after some frustrating cancellations due to rail strikes and other problems. So it was a special evening for me and the Sleeping Beauty is always extra special for me as it was the first live ballet I saw as a child. I thoroughly enjoyed the performance. The fairy ensemble at the start, to the beautiful Tchaikovsky score was lovely as ever. Magri might have been a little bit nervous in the Rose adage ( who would blame her) but it all went very well and she sparkled in the later solo. All the pas de deux in Acts II and III were perfect to my admittedly inexpert eyes. So a memorable night all round, for the best reasons. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted February 15, 2023 Share Posted February 15, 2023 21 minutes ago, oncnp said: Apologies if already mentioned 25 FEBRUARY 2023 SATURDAY, 1PM MAIN STAGE CAST CHANGE PRINCESS AURORA Sarah Lamb replaces Akane Takada PRINCE FLORIMUND Steven McRae replaces Marcelino Sambé No, not already mentioned. I hope Sambé isn't injured I suppose it could just be that Lamb/McRae is a more comfortable fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted February 15, 2023 Share Posted February 15, 2023 17 hours ago, alison said: Grr. The one I miss ... I'd been going to ask whether he'd done any Bluebirds, because I hadn't seen any mention of him. Was I imagining it, or was Hay dancing Bluebird last time around with Meaghan Grace Hinkis? If so, and she's not fully fit, so they needed to find him another Florine, that might be an explanation for his absence thus far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oncnp Posted February 15, 2023 Share Posted February 15, 2023 1 minute ago, alison said: No, not already mentioned. I hope Sambé isn't injured I suppose it could just be that Lamb/McRae is a more comfortable fit. That's what I'm guessing. If Takada is still ill/injured it might be easier to replace both with established partners Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted February 15, 2023 Share Posted February 15, 2023 18 minutes ago, oncnp said: That's what I'm guessing. If Takada is still ill/injured it might be easier to replace both with established partners But Lamb and Sambé danced it together on Saturday. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted February 15, 2023 Share Posted February 15, 2023 2 hours ago, zxDaveM said: I always thought it was 'saying a curse' (or casting a wicked spell) No….it just means talk, tell, or say. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmarose Posted February 15, 2023 Share Posted February 15, 2023 1 hour ago, alison said: No, not already mentioned. I hope Sambé isn't injured I suppose it could just be that Lamb/McRae is a more comfortable fit. They were the established pairing though, he just danced it with Sarah. I hope he's not injured and Akane too, I thought she had recently come back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToThePointe Posted February 15, 2023 Share Posted February 15, 2023 (edited) If I was a dancer, I would love to play Carabosse. Her entrance and mime gives me chills! I actually find it frustrating in this production that in the last two acts she is more muted and not given as much to do. When the prince is finding his way to Aurora, I don't find Carabosse's presence scary at all. Her demise in the mirror also falls really flat for me, especially if I'm sitting or standing on the left of the theatre as it's so difficult to see what's going on. I just don't get the feeling that the prince has to struggle much at all to defeat Carabosse - strange for a story about good overcoming evil! Edited February 15, 2023 by ToThePointe 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted February 15, 2023 Share Posted February 15, 2023 25 minutes ago, emmarose said: They were the established pairing though, he just danced it with Sarah. I hope he's not injured and Akane too, I thought she had recently come back. Steven just danced SB with Anna Rose not Sarah. Sarah’s scheduled partner is Ryoichi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted February 15, 2023 Share Posted February 15, 2023 3 hours ago, ctas said: I think after last night I’d absolutely love any opportunities to see Ball and Magri dance together again. They were just beautiful in their pas de deux. I completely agree with this. I wish they were paired together more often. I'm trying to work out if last night was the first time they've danced the two leading roles in a major ballet together? I know they did Mayerling & La Bayadere but in those instances she was playing the "other woman" in a triangle. I hadn't intended to see Ball live in SB this season, as he's doing the cinecast, but I'm very pleased that I now have as I thought he gave an excellent performance. Not only the dancing but also the acting, which considering how little Prince Florimund has to work with dramatically must take some doing! (I also realised during the performance that, assuming he does Cinderella as intended, he's going to be the only dancer who I'll be seeing in all 4 Prince roles this season.) 3 hours ago, AnneL said: Magri might have been a little bit nervous in the Rose adage ( who would blame her) but it all went very well and she sparkled in the later solo. I certainly wouldn't blame her as after the Rose Adage glitch in her opening performance I was nervous just watching her last night & was very relieved when both sets of balances went off well! 3 hours ago, alison said: Was I imagining it, or was Hay dancing Bluebird last time around with Meaghan Grace Hinkis? If so, and she's not fully fit, so they needed to find him another Florine, that might be an explanation for his absence thus far. I did think last night that Maeda wasn't the ideal partner for Hay. Not that they didn't dance well together but en pointe she did look rather too tall for him. So I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't the originally intended pairing. Gasparini might have been better height-wise out of this season's Princess Florines. I was pleased to see Melissa Hamilton as the Fairy of the Golden Vine last night as I hadn't previously seen her as any of the fairies. I still can't see why she's considered not to have very good classical technique as she always looks fine to my inexpert eyes. I likewise can't see anything obviously wrong with Gina Storm-Jensen's Lilac Fairy solo but in that instance each time I see it, and I've seen her 3/3 SBs this season, something just seems slightly not at ease with it. Any expert opinion? Having been a bit nervous about possibly being the only single person in an audience of couples, I was relived to find the audience mix looked similar to usual. There were a couple of pairs of children fairly near me but both were pretty well-behaved with no more occasional whispering than some of the nearby adults. Although at the start of Act III as the fairytale characters made their entrances a young voice did audibly exclaim "Cat!" 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maryrosesatonapin Posted February 15, 2023 Share Posted February 15, 2023 20 minutes ago, Dawnstar said: ...at the start of Act III as the fairytale characters made their entrances a young voice did audibly exclaim "Cat!" Now that sounds like the kind of interruption we can enjoy. Re Storm-Jensen as the Lilac Fairy, I found her technique insufficient a couple of years ago (to the point it really spoiled the performance for me) but having seen her in other roles since then I feel she has improved. She does have a lovely calming smile which suits the role, anyway. I do wish that RB wouldn't give dancers the role of Aurora unless they are fully confident about the Rose Adage. It isn't pleasant to watch and is unprofessional for a company that likes to think itself to be one of the best. (I've not seen Magri - this is a general comment.) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard LH Posted February 15, 2023 Share Posted February 15, 2023 4 hours ago, emmarose said: They were the established pairing though, he just danced it with Sarah. I hope he's not injured and Akane too, I thought she had recently come back. Akane came back from injury in time for Like Water For Chocolate last year, but as previously mentioned, unfortunately she sustained an injury again at the beginning of this year. I understand she hopes to be back for Cinderella in April. I don't know whether Sambe is injured... hopefully it's just a casting tweak. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted February 15, 2023 Share Posted February 15, 2023 (edited) Hope Akane and Marcelino recover very soon from injury and any other problem keeping them off the stage next week. That’s the second Bluebird pairing I’m sad to have missed- first Richardson/Hamilton, now Hay/Maeda (not to say that the other casts are missable but simply that I’ve seen them a lot in other roles already). Long time ago (80s,90s), the casting announcements before the booking began for The Sleeping Beauty used to consist of casts for Aurora,Florimund, Lilac Fairy, Carabosse, Florine, Bluebird. Even if injury or other issues necessitated a cast change for Florine or Bluebird, it was ok. At the start of this run it would certainly have helped the ROH box office considerably if they’d done that. Edited February 15, 2023 by Emeralds Clarity 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted February 15, 2023 Share Posted February 15, 2023 3 minutes ago, Emeralds said: Long time ago (80s,90s), the casting announcements before the booking began for The Sleeping Beauty used to consist of casts for Aurora,Florimund, Lilac Fairy, Carabosse, Florine, Bluebird. Even if injury or other issues necessitated a cast change for Florine or Bluebird, it was ok. At the start of this run it would certainly have helped ROH considerably if they’d done that. I recall booking to catch different Lilacs and Bluebirds. However, this season, those roles are being danced by so many newcomers to them that it was probably necessary, as a first step, to see how things worked out in rehearsal. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted February 15, 2023 Share Posted February 15, 2023 (edited) 8 minutes ago, capybara said: I recall booking to catch different Lilacs and Bluebirds. However, this season, those roles are being danced by so many newcomers to them that it was probably necessary, as a first step, to see how things worked out in rehearsal. I did the same too! 👍 I think they could have announced the casting for the newcomers the week before or the day before- would assume that by the day before they would know who is going on stage (barring the usual last minute caveats), and if they knew several days in advance and could announce it, I think it would have helped sell many of the higher priced seats that remained unsold. Edited February 15, 2023 by Emeralds 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted February 15, 2023 Share Posted February 15, 2023 Have just realised that Steven is dancing Prince Florimund at consecutive performances - on Friday evening (with Anna Rose O’Sullivan) and on Saturday afternoon (with Sarah Lamb). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted February 15, 2023 Share Posted February 15, 2023 4 minutes ago, capybara said: Have just realised that Steven is dancing Prince Florimund at consecutive performances - on Friday evening (with Anna Rose O’Sullivan) and on Saturday afternoon (with Sarah Lamb). But a week apart (Friday 17th then Sat 25th)....for a moment I thought it was the same week and went to check, as I got a bit worried for his Achilles’ tendon! Interesting though....it’s like all the other Florimunds (except Campbell, who is dancing in the evening show) are all due to vanish for one week. 😆 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted February 15, 2023 Share Posted February 15, 2023 (edited) I just noticed that under “Guidance”, where they warn you about whether there is strobe lighting, gunshots, suitability for over 12 only etc, there now seems to be an additional phrase at the end which I don’t recall seeing a few weeks ago:- GUIDANCE: Content suitable for all, subject to House rules Could this have been as a result of several disruptions in this run, as experienced by some forum members....? (It is now on all the ballet and opera productions described as “Content suitable for all”, but not in the productions that say “Suitable for age 8+” and other minimum age guidance.) I think it’s good that it’s been added in. Edited February 15, 2023 by Emeralds 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted February 15, 2023 Share Posted February 15, 2023 1 hour ago, Emeralds said: But a week apart (Friday 17th then Sat 25th)....for a moment I thought it was the same week and went to check ….. My misunderstanding! Marci has been replaced much further ahead than is usual. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florine Posted February 16, 2023 Share Posted February 16, 2023 On 10/02/2023 at 06:38, Pas de Quatre said: There was a RB production in the 1960s shown on TV where the fairies each seemed to enter down a sunbeam. Absolutely magical! That was the 1968 Frederick Ashton production, set vaguely in the Middle Ages, and featuring his sublime 'awakening pdd'. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted February 16, 2023 Share Posted February 16, 2023 Aha I wonder if it’s that pas de deux that I saw Fonteyn and Nureyev do which was so beautiful and now seems not to be there any more. I was beginning to think I’d imagined it. So was just in a different RB production. A shame it has been removed though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odyssey Posted February 16, 2023 Share Posted February 16, 2023 Is there an archive recording of this production - perhaps is the possession of The Aston Foundation- or has it been lost for good? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted February 16, 2023 Share Posted February 16, 2023 15 hours ago, Emeralds said: I just noticed that under “Guidance”, where they warn you about whether there is strobe lighting, gunshots, suitability for over 12 only etc, there now seems to be an additional phrase at the end which I don’t recall seeing a few weeks ago:- GUIDANCE: Content suitable for all, subject to House rules Could this have been as a result of several disruptions in this run, as experienced by some forum members....? (It is now on all the ballet and opera productions described as “Content suitable for all”, but not in the productions that say “Suitable for age 8+” and other minimum age guidance.) I think it’s good that it’s been added in. Hi Emeralds. This new sentence is being discussed in the Audience Behaviour thread. 😃 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Posted February 16, 2023 Share Posted February 16, 2023 2 hours ago, Odyssey said: Is there an archive recording of this production - perhaps is the possession of The Aston Foundation- or has it been lost for good? My memory is that there is a recording in the BBC vaults. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pas de Quatre Posted February 16, 2023 Share Posted February 16, 2023 I clearly remember seeing it on BBC more than once, so hopefully they didn't wipe the tape to reuse it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane S Posted February 16, 2023 Share Posted February 16, 2023 1 hour ago, Pas de Quatre said: I clearly remember seeing it on BBC more than once, so hopefully they didn't wipe the tape to reuse it. According to the Radio Times Archive a film of the complete production was shown twice - but curiously the usually very reliable catalogue of the BBC Film and Video Library describes what they have as 'Acts 2 and 3 from a complete performance' - so have they lost the rest of it, or what? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odyssey Posted February 16, 2023 Share Posted February 16, 2023 I’m just drooling at the cast. So many wonderful dancers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted February 16, 2023 Share Posted February 16, 2023 6 hours ago, Sim said: Hi Emeralds. This new sentence is being discussed in the Audience Behaviour thread. 😃 Thanks, Sim! I noticed-it was quite sweet that 2 members referenced my comment, and now I’ve also found out what being linked means! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted February 16, 2023 Share Posted February 16, 2023 12 hours ago, Florine said: That was the 1968 Frederick Ashton production, set vaguely in the Middle Ages, and featuring his sublime 'awakening pdd'. The Awakening pas de deux is beautiful! A lovely use of the entracte music. (For those who haven’t seen it, I think YouTube may still have a couple of clips- it’s previously been danced at ROH galas). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Posted February 16, 2023 Share Posted February 16, 2023 52 minutes ago, Jane S said: According to the Radio Times Archive a film of the complete production was shown twice - but curiously the usually very reliable catalogue of the BBC Film and Video Library describes what they have as 'Acts 2 and 3 from a complete performance' - so have they lost the rest of it, or what? That is my understanding, yes, the Prologue and Act 1 are lost. One can keep fingers crossed and hope something turns up somewhere one day. Odder things have happened, as film archive researchers know only too well: as just one example of a miracle, the missing second reel of a hundred-year-old Laurel and Hardy two-reeler turned up less than ten years ago (for those who might be interested, the title is The Battle of the Century and it is now restored and on YouTube). 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jm365 Posted February 16, 2023 Share Posted February 16, 2023 (edited) Sadly that reel was re-used - videotape was very expensive in those days and nobody put in the request to keep the whole thing - we are lucky that the other two tapes survived. Unless someone made an unofficial recording off air, there is very little likelihood of getting hold of a copy. Edited February 16, 2023 by jm365 corrected a mistake 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatherineTheMediocre Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 Calvin Richardson was wearing earrings tonight (Friday). Is that part of the Bluebird costume? I haven't noticed it before. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 3 minutes ago, CatherineTheMediocre said: Calvin Richardson was wearing earrings tonight (Friday). Is that part of the Bluebird costume? I haven't noticed it before. Neither have I. I don’t think I would risk wearing earrings if I had to do those lifts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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