The Sleeping Beauty, Royal Ballet 2023

[Rob S]

 

[ctas]

Very much enjoyed tonight’s performance. I saw Anna Rose’s debut a few years ago and thought her performance as Aurora was very confident then, and even more so now. I think she actually cut one of the balances in the first round of the rose adage but did it in such a self-assured way that it looked seamless, and I think that’s a far better option than taking a risk and have to applaud that confidence. McRae is a very good partner for her, and a pairing I’d be interested in seeing again. I saw him opposite Salenko in this role a while ago, but he really gives such a display of strength and acting while seeming effortlessly energetic. So glad to finally see him perform again after missing out on his shows for a while!

 

As for others in the cast; absolutely loved Hamilton and Richardson as Florine and the Bluebird and how effortlessly light they were, and truly enjoyed Mendizabal as Carabosse. Her interactions with her rat (mice?) henchmen were delightfully creepy! 
 

Two great performances of Sleeping Beauty this week and memories I will absolutely cherish. 

[CatherineTheMediocre]

Thanks Rob!  I found a picture on his Instagram account of him as Bluebird from an earlier performance and he wasn't wearing earrings then.

[Dawnstar]

Richardson definitely wasn't wearing earrings on 8th February, see photo below. Maybe he just forgot to take his own earrings off before last night's performance? He does wear earrings offstage - when I spoke to him at the stage door after his Nutcracker Prince in December he was wearing an attractive dangly silver filigree pair - so I imagine it would be quite easy for him to forget to take them off. I've certainly noticed performers who have forgetten to remove their wedding ring before coming onstage.

 

[MoVR]

Maybe a little off topic, so remove this if necessary, but in big ballets with "court" scenes like sleeping beauty, R&J, etc: are the court people always danced by like the lowest ranked artists? Or do they throw anyone who isn't dancing anything else on for those parts (so like some soloists as well)? It's not the most glamorous of roles and they mostly sit at the edges of the stage for like 30 minutes at the time, but it seems enjoyable cuz you get to watch the dancing up close. I've always wondered this.

[JohnS]

Apologies for the delay but I wanted to say how much I enjoyed the three Sleeping Beauty performances over the weekend 10/11 February - Hayward/Campbell; Lamb/Sambe; and O’Sullivan/McRae. All three principal pairs were hugely impressive and very well matched.
 

Francesca Hayward I think presents a very touching and convincing Aurora: a girl on the cusp of womanhood whose journey to princess we share. As Hayward’s young Aurora retains a sense of vulnerability, her Rose Adage seems ever more emphatic, a deserved triumph. And there’s a real arc to her performance through the Act 2 vision and awakening to the Act 3 grand PDD. I very much liked Alex Campbell’s Prince and I’ve always enjoyed their stage performances together, their Giselles unforgettable.

 

The matinee was Sarah Lamb and Marci Sambé. I imagine Aurora is a real test for Lamb but there’s something particularly rewarding in seeing her professionalism on stage, how she manages her resources to maximum effect enabling her to present such a well crafted performance. And does anyone lavish so much care in how she takes her four carnations and places them immaculately at her mother’s feet? Such a contrast from some Auroras (not this weekend I should add) who can end up throwing the flowers in the general direction. Sambe’s Prince was excellent and Lamb and Sambé I thought had great rapport.

 

Anna Rose O’Sullivan and Steven McRae were fabulously effervescent, a delight to see such fireworks from both of them. A hugely enjoyable evening although I didn’t find Aurora’s arc quite so differentiated as on the Friday and McRae’s Prince in Act 2 is a shade too haughty for my liking albeit delivered with such panache.

 

Having seen three Sleeping Beauties in 27 hours, on reflection I was a little disappointed with the Prologue as there were some weaknesses in all three performances. The Prologue is the perfect aperitif to the three Acts but cruelly exposed and unforgiving when things are not quite just so. Some dancers were excellent but there was a degree of inconsistency both on stage and in the pit which I found a bit disconcerting. I wasn’t convinced by some of the fairy solos and I’ve seen straighter corps lines and jumps more in time. Carabosse’s entrance is always spectacular but I want it to provide a contrast to the fairies, rather than almost kick starting the performance. I’d have liked to have seen some of the fairies showing a little of the stage presence Kristen McNally brought to her Carabosse and Queen. And I thought some of the inconsistencies in the Prologue were carried over to the Act 3 characters. But there was still much to admire and I’m very much looking forward to seeing further performances when hopefully there’ll be greater consistency and a stronger impact.

 

The three principal pairs really were on top form and made for a great first Royal Ballet trip this year and I must say Anna Rose’s exuberant reaction to Steven’s bouquet was priceless, a wonderful end to my Sleeping Beauties weekend.

 

[Emeralds]

3 hours ago, MoVR said:

Maybe a little off topic, so remove this if necessary, but in big ballets with "court" scenes like sleeping beauty, R&J, etc: are the court people always danced by like the lowest ranked artists? Or do they throw anyone who isn't dancing anything else on for those parts (so like some soloists as well)? It's not the most glamorous of roles and they mostly sit at the edges of the stage for like 30 minutes at the time, but it seems enjoyable cuz you get to watch the dancing up close. I've always wondered this.

In the big companies like RB, BRB and ENB, they are a mix of ballet students and corps members. Occasionally some injured soloists and first soloists have done those parts as they’re not able to jump or dance but can walk and move about. 

Edited February 22, 2023 by Emeralds

[JNC]

Not sure if this has been covered before but I think they’ve changed Carabosse’s prologue exit? I remember it used to be very dramatic with her going down the trapdoor with a bit of a bang and some smoke, and now it is the same except she just sort of runs off the side of the stage instead which is much less dramatic/visually entertaining and also seems a bit more like she’s running away rather than sort of exiting with style/magic disappearing…?

 

I don’t suppose anyone knows why the change was made - either health and safety or maybe cost of the trapdoor set up?

[Guest oncnp]

6 minutes ago, JNC said:

Not sure if this has been covered before but I think they’ve changed Carabosse’s prologue exit? I remember it used to be very dramatic with her going down the trapdoor with a bit of a bang and some smoke, and now it is the same except she just sort of runs off the side of the stage instead which is much less dramatic/visually entertaining and also seems a bit more like she’s running away rather than sort of exiting with style/magic disappearing…?

 

I don’t suppose anyone knows why the change was made - either health and safety or maybe cost of the trapdoor set up?

@bangorballetboy has mentioned a couple times in a different thread that the stage at the ROH is having issues. Perhaps that's the problem

[alison]

That was what I'd assumed - she definitely used to disappear down a trap, with flash/smoke effects, if I remember rightly.  I wonder when the trap problem is going to be sorted out - it's certainly affected an unfortunately large number of ballets this season.

 

I think you mean Act I, not the prologue, don't you?  She needs to "freeze" the princes so they can't attack her.

[JNC]

11 minutes ago, alison said:

That was what I'd assumed - she definitely used to disappear down a trap, with flash/smoke effects, if I remember rightly.  I wonder when the trap problem is going to be sorted out - it's certainly affected an unfortunately large number of ballets this season.

 

I think you mean Act I, not the prologue, don't you?  She needs to "freeze" the princes so they can't attack her.

 
oh yes sorry getting it all confused 

[Angela Essex]

1 hour ago, JNC said:

Not sure if this has been covered before but I think they’ve changed Carabosse’s prologue exit? I remember it used to be very dramatic with her going down the trapdoor with a bit of a bang and some smoke, and now it is the same except she just sort of runs off the side of the stage instead which is much less dramatic/visually entertaining and also seems a bit more like she’s running away rather than sort of exiting with style/magic disappearing…?

 

I don’t suppose anyone knows why the change was made - either health and safety or maybe cost of the trapdoor set up?

Yes I’ve got the Marianela/ Vadim DVD from 2017 and Kirsten McNally as Carabosse disappears into a trapdoor covered in dry ice. 

[Sim]

20 minutes ago, Angela Essex said:

Yes I’ve got the Marianela/ Vadim DVD from 2017 and Kirsten McNally as Carabosse disappears into a trapdoor covered in dry ice. 

Yes, at the end of Act 1 that is how she usually disappears.  It's much more dramatic, but as has been indicated above there are issues with the mechanisms of the trapdoor which was also why in Mayerling at the beginning of the season Vetsera's coffin is not buried as it normally is.  Apparently the stage needs to be free for a whole week for the repairs to be done, so I assume August or early September will be the earliest such repairs can be effected.  

[Dawnstar]

Yet another cast change up on the ROH website now. Not good for Takada or Sambe but it must be good for Magri to get another performance in her first run of doing the role.

 

[Sim]

I am sad not to be seeing the original cast for which I got the tickets, but very glad that this is the replacement cast as I couldn't get tickets for their 14/2 performance.  Yabadabadooooo!

[Dawnstar]

@Sim I'm the other way around: I'm pleased I saw them on 14th as I can't make 4th March!

[MoVR]

On 23/02/2023 at 00:36, Emeralds said:

In the big companies like RB, BRB and ENB, they are a mix of ballet students and corps members. Occasionally some injured soloists and first soloists have done those parts as they’re not able to jump or dance but can walk and move about. 

Thanks!

[Rob S]

Does anyone know if this is Felix Mendelssohn’s debut as Carabosse? 
 

 

[LinMM]

😂😂

[Rob S]

Isn’t he normally Puss in Boots!? 🤔

[Suffolkgal]

Oh that’s hilarious so easily done and probably shows not enough time or checking! Except, yesterday I heard about a marketing team member who put up an image of Beethoven against a piece by Bach. Raised with team - colleague response: will anyone notice? So it may possibly be ..... fill in the blanks! 

[Emeralds]

1 hour ago, Rob S said:

Does anyone know if this is Felix Mendelssohn’s debut as Carabosse? 
 

 

In this life/afterlife? .....yep, definitely his debut. 😂😂😂

 

Wonder if he is outraged at not being invited to the christening or not being given the commission to write the music for the ballet. “But Maestro Mendelssohn, we couldn’t contact you, what with you being deceased for 42 years and all.” 😉

 

Perhaps Kristen McNally is busy writing a new score for A Midsummer Night's Dream....or Fingal’s Cave. The show must go on! 😆

 

[Emeralds]

Well, the trapdoor issues should pose no problems tonight, as this Carabosse should be able to vanish into the floorboards..... 👻

[Linnzi5]

2 hours ago, Rob S said:

Does anyone know if this is Felix Mendelssohn’s debut as Carabosse? 
 

 

How I wish there was a 🤣 option for us to use on posts! This made me laugh out loud!!!

[Sim]

Maybe they should cast him as Myrthe next time they do Giselle.  Or as Oberon so that he can dance to his own music!  😂😂

[jm365]

Has April come early this year?

[jmhopton]

With all this talk about Mendelssohn and Hayward/Sambe/Bracewell having performed 2 stunning Dream pas de deux recently I'm taking this as a definite omen that The Dream will be re-scheduled next season.

[AnneL]

2 hours ago, jmhopton said:

With all this talk about Mendelssohn and Hayward/Sambe/Bracewell having performed 2 stunning Dream pas de deux recently I'm taking this as a definite omen that The Dream will be re-scheduled next season.

Hope so!

[LinMM]

I do hope so especially as I think Hayward would be perfect in this …though did not see her perform in the gala. Takada is another one I’d love to see in the Dream. 

[alison]

You could buy the DVD, then ...

[Rob S]

 

 

 

[Linnzi5]

4 hours ago, jmhopton said:

With all this talk about Mendelssohn and Hayward/Sambe/Bracewell having performed 2 stunning Dream pas de deux recently I'm taking this as a definite omen that The Dream will be re-scheduled next season.

I really hope so!  

[LinMM]

Is there a DVD of Hayward in the Dream then? 
At the moment we can’t watch DVD’s anyway as don’t have a DVD recorder since we’ve had  this “Smart” TV!! 
It was built into the Pioneer recorder of our last TV. 
Though coincidentally my partner said he’d literally just been researching today DVD players which might go with the computer ….so perhaps on the cards for the future!