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The Sleeping Beauty, Royal Ballet 2023


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36 minutes ago, Fonty said:

Is there some reason why the photos have been removed?  They were freely available on the web.

 

Apart from the fact that none of the photographers have been credited there would be copyright issues.  For example I have just done a search and found a Pinterest site which had photographs of quite a few of the costumes with a note "these photographs may be subject to copyright".

 

Photographs taken by members of this site (eg Rob S) who choose to publish them on this site are fine. Photographs included with press releases are fine because they have been authorised.  These have not.

 

For anyone who is interested in what the costumes are like they can be accessed using google images.  I used the criteria "American ballet theatre sleeping beauty costumes Willa Kim".

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Oh ok.  I think the copyright issue is usually solved by not allowing the picture to be copy and pasted anywhere.  I've often found that when I have tried various things in the past, they are locked off.  However, I don't pretend to be an expert on these issues!  The photos are freely available on line if anyone does a simple search.  

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2 hours ago, Blossom said:

I’d like to know about the previous costumes for Royal Ballet’s version. I have a gorgeous DVD with Alina Cojacaru from around 2007 where costumes are completely different, but I had thought the current design was introduced around then. Marianela Nunez is the Lilac Fairy but costume is quite pale,  somewhat insipid esp vs current costumes. However, I had thought the timing of the production meant that this was the version which reopened the ROH around then.

 

Can anyone familiar with the production shed any light? Haven’t found anything in the ROH online archive which helps…

 

IIRC correctly, the designer, Peter Farmer, was unwell during the run-up to the premiere and unable to realise his original intentions properly, so rather insipid tutus were used instead.  It's why Catalabutte's (and the King's?) costumes look so out of keeping with all the others.

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2 hours ago, alison said:

 

IIRC correctly, the designer, Peter Farmer, was unwell during the run-up to the premiere and unable to realise his original intentions properly, so rather insipid tutus were used instead.  It's why Catalabutte's (and the King's?) costumes look so out of keeping with all the others.

Thank you, 

There is a lot of shiny insipid fabric in that version, although it is wonderful for seeing dancers earlier on in their careers, or those who have since retired….

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On 19/01/2023 at 18:04, MJW said:

Although giving four stars, Mark Monahan is another reviewer not overly keen on SB! Also rather harsh on Claire Calvert.

 

Harsh and entirely wrong in my opinion - I thought she was extremely good as she always is. It also seems quite rude, especially as he didn't even explain clearly why he had that opinion! I wish critics would refrain from making derogatory comments that seem to be age related - "past lustre sadly dimmed"?!

 

As we all know, age doesn't have that big of a bearing on a dancer's brilliance, especially now. As we can see from many experienced female dancers continuing their careers for longer than expected, and with the increased consciousness around physical health and well being, this can only improve further.

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3 hours ago, art_enthusiast said:

 

Harsh and entirely wrong in my opinion - I thought she was extremely good as she always is. It also seems quite rude, especially as he didn't even explain clearly why he had that opinion! I wish critics would refrain from making derogatory comments that seem to be age related - "past lustre sadly dimmed"?!

 

As we all know, age doesn't have that big of a bearing on a dancer's brilliance, especially now. As we can see from many experienced female dancers continuing their careers for longer than expected, and with the increased consciousness around physical health and well being, this can only improve further.

I think that with this particular critic if you’re not Francesca Hayward you might as well not bother going onstage.   
 

Claire is having an excellent season and I can only hope that if she reads this kind of thing she doesn’t get downhearted.  Of course as a performer part of the job is having to deal with negative criticism (which everyone is entitled to make as their opinion), but as @art_enthusiast said, some kind of explanation might be helpful and appreciated by reader and performer.  

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3 hours ago, art_enthusiast said:

 

I wish critics would refrain from making derogatory comments that seem to be age related - "past lustre sadly dimmed"?!

Yes, and I dare say those same critics would be the first to point out the shortcomings of younger less experienced dancers in their first soloist roles.

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Hang on, Claire Calvert is only in her early 30s, isn't she?  Past lustre?  Good heavens, he makes it sound as if she is in her 50s.  

Edited to add that the clip of Osipova shows the Rose Adagio being done at a faster tempo than the RB's production, doesn't it?  My only complaint about that is the very high side extensions at the start means that she has to have a very high arm line as well.  To me, this doesn't look very elegant.  But then I have never been in favour of high extensions when the dancer is wearing a tutu......

Edited by Fonty
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17 hours ago, Fonty said:

Hang on, Claire Calvert is only in her early 30s, isn't she?  Past lustre?  Good heavens, he makes it sound as if she is in her 50s.  

Edited to add that the clip of Osipova shows the Rose Adagio being done at a faster tempo than the RB's production, doesn't it?  My only complaint about that is the very high side extensions at the start means that she has to have a very high arm line as well.  To me, this doesn't look very elegant.  But then I have never been in favour of high extensions when the dancer is wearing a tutu......

 

Some of the extensions seem a bit overextended and it kind of ruins the beautiful classical line.

Sometimes just because it CAN be very high, doesn't mean it SHOULD be....

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There aren’t many dancers who can do one of those really high developpe’s to second position and still keep it looking good! If the body hasn’t really got the natural facility for that it can look rather ugly. Not everybody is Sylvie Guillem lol. 

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Another blow to Sleeping Beauty as awful as Carabosse’s curse- my station and two train companies have confirmed that the ASLEF strikes are definitely going ahead on 1 & 3 February (and the morning trains of 2 & 4 Feb will be affected too- reduced in number and later than usual) so no Marianela & Vadim in SB this year for me. Will put the DVD (of them both in this production) on and look forward (fingers crossed) to the May performances. I’m not free to attend the other February performances unfortunately. Happily for ROH, that performance remains 99.9% sold out still- my tickets resold very quickly after they were returned! 

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On 21/01/2023 at 12:02, Emeralds said:

I too don’t really like these height “rules” but they’ve been around for over a century so examples include Monica Mason, Zenaida Yanowsky, Deborah Bull, etc not being cast as Aurora, although I don’t think they’d have done worse than some shorter dancers who have been cast. Likewise the shorter ballerinas don’t get cast as Lilac Fairy even though you might feel they could easily manage the technical and acting demands (eg we’re very unlikely to see Akane Takada, Meaghan Grace Hinkis or Francesca Hayward as LF). The unwritten rule also exists in other companies, although if you have a company that’s very tall to begin with eg Mariinsky Ballet, then everyone has a more equal chance. Likewise, Myrtha in Giselle generally also has to be a tall dancer to look imposing next to both Albrecht and Giselle- but she doesn’t have to be taller than Albrecht.

 

The LF also can’t look significantly  shorter than Carabosse as they are supposed to be equals in their powers and authority/status. Otherwise you could end up with a Thumbelina-versus-Goliath effect....probably not what Petipa intended! The original LF was actually a mime role like Carabosse is (still preserved in Peter Wright’s production for BRB, Dutch National Ballet, etc) and they still cast dancers who are not very short so that Carabosse and LF look similar in height and authority. 

Actually the Lilac Fairy did dance in the 1890 production, there is a photo of Marie Petipa in her Prologue costume.

 

It's a common misperception that the Lilac Fairy didn't dance in the original production - she definitely did and the reconstruction by Alexei Ratmansky shows that she had a very difficult and detailed Prologue variation.

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On 20/01/2023 at 14:40, JNC said:

Also I know it’s minor but it didn’t appear to have any new essays or content. Programmes are an easy way to get revenue, I presume some would be willing to write a short critical essay for ROH for free, and so new pictures and essays are relatively low cost and could encourage regulars to buy programmes each time. Whereas if you reuse the same pictures and essays all but the most committed aren’t going to buy! 
 

This is all very minor I know in the grand scheme of things but I’ve always felt ROH programmes are well presented and good value for money with the content (photos/essays) compared to other theatre/west end productions so I hope they do keep on top of it. 


Slightly off topic here but are ROH programmes worth buying? I haven’t really purchased any before due to the expense, and I didn’t feel the need as I’m familiar with the plots of most productions. I would like to get one for one of the upcoming operas as a souvenir, but not if the content isn’t that great.

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39 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said:


Slightly off topic here but are ROH programmes worth buying? I haven’t really purchased any before due to the expense, and I didn’t feel the need as I’m familiar with the plots of most productions. I would like to get one for one of the upcoming operas as a souvenir, but not if the content isn’t that great.

 

Most of them are - but others (including last year's programme for the RBS summer performance was very poor). I have a whole pile of them at home and they are a nice memento of a visit. I usually keep a copy of the cast list with it.

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I only buy one programme per new production or for the first ballet being shown in a season ….for example I’m going to Sleeping Beauty twice but will only buy the programme once. The same with Wolf Works. I’m seeing Cinderella 3 times ( a record this year) but will only buy the programme once. 
I always buy one for RBS performance.  As although that one can be rather thin it does still have useful information in like the contracts the leaving students have taken up. 

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1 hour ago, MJW said:

 

Most of them are - but others (including last year's programme for the RBS summer performance was very poor). I have a whole pile of them at home and they are a nice memento of a visit. I usually keep a copy of the cast list with it.

 

My old programmes were stuffed with the cast sheets from the performances I went to - nice reminders! As I don't have a printer, I can't do that now - and only buy a programme these days for brand new productions

 

One really good thing about the programmes currently, is that they have all the company members' photos in the back (though those are sometimes a bit 'anonymous') which are missing on the website at the moment

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2 hours ago, art_enthusiast said:


Slightly off topic here but are ROH programmes worth buying? I haven’t really purchased any before due to the expense, and I didn’t feel the need as I’m familiar with the plots of most productions. I would like to get one for one of the upcoming operas as a souvenir, but not if the content isn’t that great.


compared to other programmes yes - there’s a decent amount of content, including photos, synopsis and usually a few articles about the production.

 

I tend to buy and keep programmes for most shows I see, but for example having gone to the Sleeping Beauty more than one season, I don’t think I need two (near identical) programmes on it. The exception is if it’s a production I really like and they have updated photos (I particularly like the rehearsal photos of those debuting) and or have new articles inside. But disappointingly it seems the current sleeping beauty programme is content-wise the same, and it’s not worth me getting for a small variety of new/different photos and layout. I also wouldn’t get two slightly different programmes for the same production but across two seasons as I find this quite sneaky from roh for those that do like to keep programmes!
 

I also don’t tend to buy/keep programmes from the performances I haven’t enjoyed. For example I didn’t get a programme for Mayerling (I know controversial but I’m not a fan!). But having said that I didn’t love Dante project but I did get a programme as it was a new production and I was interested in the aspects that go into a new creation.

 

It’s basically a personal choice and you’re not missing out not having one, but I enjoy them and they look nice on the shelf as they remain consistent in their red colours/size. I do flick back through them if I’m going to see that production again, and it’s nice to see the dancers rise through the ranks as well!
 

I would only buy them for ones I do wish to keep and wouldn’t buy a programme just to have it on the evening to then recycle. So yes as souvenirs they’re good, not necessary for synopsis as usually that should be on the cast list online. 

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16 hours ago, art_enthusiast said:


I would like to get one for one of the upcoming operas as a souvenir, but not if the content isn’t that great.

The opera programmes are often more substantial than the ballet programmes and usually have a number of varied and interesting articles in them.

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16 hours ago, art_enthusiast said:


Slightly off topic here but are ROH programmes worth buying? I haven’t really purchased any before due to the expense, and I didn’t feel the need as I’m familiar with the plots of most productions. I would like to get one for one of the upcoming operas as a souvenir, but not if the content isn’t that great.

 

you can try getting a sneaky peak in the ROH shop, where they sell all programmes currently in production

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20 hours ago, JNC said:


compared to other programmes yes - there’s a decent amount of content, including photos, synopsis and usually a few articles about the production.

 

I tend to buy and keep programmes for most shows I see, but for example having gone to the Sleeping Beauty more than one season, I don’t think I need two (near identical) programmes on it. The exception is if it’s a production I really like and they have updated photos (I particularly like the rehearsal photos of those debuting) and or have new articles inside. But disappointingly it seems the current sleeping beauty programme is content-wise the same, and it’s not worth me getting for a small variety of new/different photos and layout. I also wouldn’t get two slightly different programmes for the same production but across two seasons as I find this quite sneaky from roh for those that do like to keep programmes!
 

I also don’t tend to buy/keep programmes from the performances I haven’t enjoyed. For example I didn’t get a programme for Mayerling (I know controversial but I’m not a fan!). But having said that I didn’t love Dante project but I did get a programme as it was a new production and I was interested in the aspects that go into a new creation.

 

It’s basically a personal choice and you’re not missing out not having one, but I enjoy them and they look nice on the shelf as they remain consistent in their red colours/size. I do flick back through them if I’m going to see that production again, and it’s nice to see the dancers rise through the ranks as well!
 

I would only buy them for ones I do wish to keep and wouldn’t buy a programme just to have it on the evening to then recycle. So yes as souvenirs they’re good, not necessary for synopsis as usually that should be on the cast list online. 

I have a similar strategy. I have a collection of ROH programmes going back to 1966 which are wonderful reminders of casts etc. But now I only buy them for things I have never seen before or if the content has been properly updated.

I learned a lesson in the last but one run of Mayerling (2018 maybe?) when I purchased the programme and read a strangely familiar essay about the Hapsburgs. It turned out to be a reprint of the one in the original run’s programme (1978) which I already had at home! 
seriously though, I do think a lot of the ROH content is well-informed and worth reading. 

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I used to buy a programme per production but, as prices have risen, for the last few seasons I have only bought one per season. I have yet to buy one for this season because I haven't decided which to go for. My first thought was Cinderella, as that's a new production, but then I thought that as it's new there probably won't be any production pictures so I might go for Sleeping Beauty instead & get a Cinderella one when the production gets its first revival.

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2 minutes ago, alison said:

Standing waiting 15 minutes for a bus: would be nice to know whether the supporting cast is worth the hassle 😞

They can list the cast for the new Pam Tanowitz for tomorrow night but not what is due to happen in 2 and 1/2 hours 

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Yes, this is about the time the cast lists appear on the website, useless on the days I go!

 

I've got ROH programmes going back to 1965, like AnneL, I usually only buy new productions, but I will get the Cinderella one hopefully for some rehearsal photos.

 

 

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A positively magisterial Rose Adagio from Marianela Nunez tonight - she luxuriated in the music and the choreography, and seemed to be powered by an unseen force that propelled her joyfully through every turn and every balance with absolute confidence and clarity. Incredible. And she and Vadim Muntagirov both dominate the stage with effortless authority whether separately or together. He danced an achingly beautiful Act II solo and a thrillingly virtuosic Act III variation. With Fumi Kaneko the epitome of grace and goodness as the Lilac Fairy and Kristen McNally a histrionically evil Carabosse, this was a wonderful performance.

 

It was also graced by Christopher Saunders as King Florestan on the 40th anniversary of his joining the RB; Kevin O'Hare gave a speech before the performance thanking him for all his years of service to the company, and it's the first time in my experience that the King has been greeted by as much as applause on his entry as that which greeted Aurora and the Prince!  

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59 minutes ago, JennyTaylor said:

Ah, Marianela this evening. Was that as close to perfection Rose Adagio as you could ever wish to see?

 

I'm not sure, I think I preferred the opening night.  But that could be because of my different location - it's difficult to know when you view it from such different angles.

 

That was an exceedingly enthusiastic audience, though!  I kept thinking, Don't clap for too long, or you'll push the performance into overtime!

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