Royal Ballet Casting for Autumn 2023-24

[San Perregrino]

57 minutes ago, zxDaveM said:

 

I don't think anything beyond heavy discounting and/or 'papering' the auditorium, are going to boost ticket sales

 

Just about every performance of opera and ballet at the ROH is suffering from reduced ticket sales. Prices hiked vs empty pockets.  Across the West End theatres there are deeply discounted tickets on an almost daily basis. Pricing models have changed with tickets going onsale at, to me, inflated prices and then, for those of us who hold their nerve, who don't get fooled by the pre-sales publicity hype, or have flexibility to attend 'last minute' there are incredible bargains to be found. The ROH has less, if any at all,  'public reductions' than elsewhere it has to be said but, the majority of sets still have bums on them 'on the night'.

 

I know that Dante isn't well-liked by many on this forum and it is 'put down' a lot.  Ditto for Anemoi & The Cellist.  I like the first two with The Cellist personally being my least favourite of the three.  Also, I don't think it a very clever move to programme these relative 'unknowns' back to back.

 

However, IIRC, after a slow start initially, Dante played to full houses at the end of it's first run and it had become a 'hot ticket'.  Again, IIRC, The Cellist also played to full houses and was a 'hot ticket'.

 

The ROH needs to harness or re-harness the buzz & the momentum it achieved for The Cellist & Danté at the end of their initial runs last time but it needs to do it NOW rather than later.

[art_enthusiast]

1 hour ago, capybara said:

I agree that the announcement of further cast members for Dante (e.g. Lamb and Kaneko) would help to boost sales.

Yep, totally. Or even if they’re not cast, I would like to know who the potential Beatrices are regardless (was hoping for Akane but now that won’t be happening!)

 

And young Dante - I’m hoping for Marco Masciari in the role again, or another unexpected debut.

[capybara]

11 hours ago, Emeralds said:

Sarah Lamb danced Kitri in the premiere run of Don Quixote with Federico Bonelli in 2013 when Carlos Acosta staged the production. She also danced in the second run in January 2015, with Federico Bonelli and Steven McRae as Basilio (she couldn’t dance the December 2014 performances as she was dancing Alice in a number of the December performances of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland; it was one of the few seasons in recent times where there was no Nutcracker for Christmas.) 

I’m really sorry to have got my statement about Sarah dancing Don Q so wrong. I only looked at my own records and it appears that it was simply that I didn’t see her - which is very strange as she and Bonelli together would have been a great pick.

 

But we are now nearly 8 years on …..

[JNC]

2 hours ago, zxDaveM said:

 

I don't think anything beyond heavy discounting and/or 'papering' the auditorium, are going to boost ticket sales

I’ve received a 25% off code for the cellist mixed bill. Only applicable on the top 5 price bands (!) and only on select dates (20, 21, 23 October). 
 

For context I’m not a friend, and I haven’t booked any performances of this bill - a combination of I’m not that interested in it, prices, and not living in London anymore. This was sent to me a few days ago but I only saw it now.

 

I guess sales are slow. I hope they learn from this that there is a pricing limit. Slightly annoyingly from this point Don Quixote seems to have sold reasonably well, although I note a stubborn unsold block of the £67 (!!) side amphitheatre tickets for many performances, which is quite obvious as to why…the Nunez and Osipova performances are really the only sell outs. 
 

edited to say I’ve just actually checked the prices for the cellist bill and they seem (dare I say) fair so it’s likely the programming that is why this is selling so terribly. It’s quite a short bill (only two works). Perhaps if they did Anemoi plus some Balanchine, or the Cellist plus maybe some MacGregor (instead of Dante Project), and or some Robbins as well it would have had broader appeal. 

Edited October 10, 2023 by JNC

[capybara]

The volume of unsold seats for the three performances of Don Q this Friday and Saturday is surely unprecedented, especially as the casts are of established stars.

If the ROH is indeed “able to fill the seats somehow”, they must have a bottomless pit of people and avenues to call on.

I hope they do, though, out of courtesy to the wonderful artists involved - including someone who, for me, is a bonus Espada on Saturday afternoon but doesn’t think he’s allowed to say!!!

 

[bridiem]

1 hour ago, capybara said:

The volume of unsold seats for the three performances of Don Q this Friday and Saturday is surely unprecedented, especially as the casts are of established stars.

 

Interesting that a lot of the unsold seats are in the same areas at each performance. I hope that the ROH learns from that where they have got it wrong (or most wrong) in terms of pricing.

[San Perregrino]

2 hours ago, capybara said:

bonus Espada on Saturday afternoon but doesn’t think he’s allowed to sa

 And there will quite likely be a top of the range sporty Mercedes too 

Edited October 10, 2023 by PeterS

[annamk]

2 hours ago, JNC said:

I’ve received a 25% off code for the cellist mixed bill. Only applicable on the top 5 price bands (!) and only on select dates (20, 21, 23 October). 
 

For context I’m not a friend, and I haven’t booked any performances of this bill - a combination of I’m not that interested in it, prices, and not living in London anymore. This was sent to me a few days ago but I only saw it now.

 

I guess sales are slow. I hope they learn from this that there is a pricing limit. Slightly annoyingly from this point Don Quixote seems to have sold reasonably well, although I note a stubborn unsold block of the £67 (!!) side amphitheatre tickets for many performances, which is quite obvious as to why…the Nunez and Osipova performances are really the only sell outs. 
 

edited to say I’ve just actually checked the prices for the cellist bill and they seem (dare I say) fair so it’s likely the programming that is why this is selling so terribly. It’s quite a short bill (only two works). Perhaps if they did Anemoi plus some Balanchine, or the Cellist plus maybe some MacGregor (instead of Dante Project), and or some Robbins as well it would have had broader appeal. 

 

I'm sure the reason for the slow sales is entirely to do with the programme; I wouldn't go if I was given a ticket. Neither myself nor a single one of my regular ballet going friends has booked any performances for this mixed bill, we can't be unusual. If it had been a mixed bill with made up of some of the following: Ashton, Balanchine, Bournonville, Forsythe, Ratmansky just to pick a few, I'd have gone to every performance. 

 

IMO The Cellist/Anemoi is a bill for The Linbury theatre. 

 

[Sim]

2 hours ago, capybara said:

The volume of unsold seats for the three performances of Don Q this Friday and Saturday is surely unprecedented, especially as the casts are of established stars.

If the ROH is indeed “able to fill the seats somehow”, they must have a bottomless pit of people and avenues to call on.

I hope they do, though, out of courtesy to the wonderful artists involved - including someone who, for me, is a bonus Espada on Saturday afternoon but doesn’t think he’s allowed to say!!!

 

It is ridiculous that the two secondary roles are treated like state secrets, especially considering the slow ticket sales. I would have gone to one of the shows I didn’t have tickets for last week had I known the Espada more than a few hours in advance.  Why not just announce him and Mercedes at the same time as the leads?  I just don’t understand.   

[Vanartus]

10 minutes ago, annamk said:

 

I'm sure the reason for the slow sales is entirely to do with the programme; I wouldn't go if I was given a ticket. Neither myself nor a single one of my regular ballet going friends has booked any performances for this mixed bill, we can't be unusual. If it had been a mixed bill with made up of some of the following: Ashton, Balanchine, Bournonville, Forsythe, Ratmansky just to pick a few, I'd have gone to every performance. 

 

IMO The Cellist/Anemoi is a bill for The Linbury theatre. 

 

Completely agree! I’d have made it a triple bill with Enigma Variations 

[Emeralds]

There are a lot of factors at play when it comes to marketing a performance that the current Sales team don't seem to realise. It's not just a case of plonk the name of the ballet on the website, hike up seat prices in the areas that sold well last time, get lots of pictures and videos on social media, and watch the money come in. It might work like that for Nutcracker and (for now) Swan Lake, but not for other ballets and programmes.  

 

Incidentally, even non ballet aficionados will be pointing out that the fact that some areas of Don Q are more expensive than Nutcracker and the fact that they tried to sell standing places at over £20 are completely ludicrous.

 

The only way that Don Q will sell out at prices like this is if either Nunez, Muntagirov or Osipova danced the lead in every single show (am sure the marketing team would love that) but that's not how a ballet company works - and would lead to serious injuries! That's not because other dancers are not good, but simply because the three of them are very well known among a lot of patrons around the world who would travel for dance (whether it's from abroad or from far corners of the UK) and would pay higher prices for the rare treat of seeing a full length classic with their favourite star. 

 

There seems to be a reluctance recently to pair Nunez and Muntagirov with anyone other than each other in the classics (Don Q, Nutcracker) which does not seem to concur with the dancers' own views - both certainly dance with a multitude of different new and familiar partners from different companies when guesting in full length ballets. Giving both different partners (mostly not new since they would have already danced together in various mixed bills, galas, etc) would spread their box office pulling power into six shows rather than just three.

 

Since ROH no longer do different pricing for different leads within the same production (like they used to when Pavarotti or Domingo shared roles in a run with other tenors) then they either have to price it at the level of performances if Nunez, Osipova and Muntagirov weren't in the cast, or price it at Nunez/Osipova/Muntagirov level and offer patrons a discount for booking Don Q and other hard-to-shift ballets at the same time.

 

Their subscription packages used to be successful at selling hard-to-shift programmes and it's also disingenuous not to bring them back when other companies are doing so, with success. A reduction of 5% to 20% for your loyal regulars brings in more revenue than desperately reducing those tickets by 25% or 50% 2 days before the show, or worse still, "papering" the house by giving away high priced tickets for free.

 

When the prices for Don Q, Dante and Anemoi/Cellist went up, it was already obvious to quite a lot of us that this (the poor sales) would happen. The pairing of Anemoi & Cellist without the help of a big name ballet in the programme (not even a well known pas de deux like Thais or Voices of Spring which there is more than enough time for?) further weakened its box office prospects, and the lazy release of only one name for an ensemble work like Dante Project doomed its sales. Especially since the dancer who dances Dante actually does more partnering than dancing in the ballet- the role is not exactly a Basilio or Albrecht type role (more like a Prince Gremin sort of role).

 

For an ensemble work, the casting for Beatrice, Francesca, Paolo, Virgil, Satan and young Dante at least should be released by now. It's hard to believe that they wouldn't know who is rehearsing those roles. It's difficult to believe that even if approval by McGregor were required, they can decide on Manon and Nutcracker so far in advance but not on DP. (Isn't McGregor based in London- what's the delay?)

 

Edited October 10, 2023 by Emeralds

[capybara]

17 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

There seems to be a reluctance recently to pair Nunez and Muntagirov with anyone other than each other in the classics (Don Q, Nutcracker) which does not seem to concur with the dancers' own views - both certainly dance with a multitude of different new and familiar partners from different companies when guesting in full length ballets. Giving both different partners (mostly not new since they would have already danced together in various mixed bills, galas, etc) would spread their box office pulling power into six shows rather than just three.

 

The other advantage in 'mixing and matching' the pairings is that audience members who might not be familiar with other RB dancers would thereby get to know them, appreciate how good they are too and book specifically for them going forward.

In that respect, the Kaneko/Muntagirov pairing for Manon is great news. But an opportunity is being missed by having a guest (Bolle, who certainly does not need further exposure at the expense of the home team) dancing with Nunez in Manon.

[Lindsay]

5 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

The other advantage in 'mixing and matching' the pairings is that audience members who might not be familiar with other RB dancers would thereby get to know them, appreciate how good they are too and book specifically for them going forward.

In that respect, the Kaneko/Muntagirov pairing for Manon is great news. But an opportunity is being missed by having a guest (Bolle, who certainly does not need further exposure at the expense of the home team) dancing with Nunez in Manon.

I could NEVER think of a Robert Bolle appearance as an "opportunity missed" capybara!  🤯🤣

[Dawnstar]

I've decided to rearrange the Don Q performances I attend and to (try to) go to both this Saturday rather than seeing the two casts on separate days, in order to save on train ticket costs. However with the ticket prices as they are I can't just book any of the masses of unsold seats because everything left near enough the stage for me to be able to see is far too expensive for me, so I'm holding out nervously for £52 Friday Rush tickets. It's rather depressing.

 

By the way, does anyone know what the correct pronunciation is for Anemoi? A-ne-moy? A-ne-mwah (last syllable like the French moi)? Something else? I thought I had better check in advance given I was blithely pronouncing Les Noces the wrong way & had no idea until a pre-performance chat with @LinMM when she pronounced it completely differently!

[capybara]

4 minutes ago, Lindsay said:

I could NEVER think of a Robert Bolle appearance as an "opportunity missed" capybara!  🤯🤣

 

🤣 I hear you @Lindsey 🤣

 

But did you see him dance Des Grieux in the 2019 run? Have you seen him dance recently in his 'and Friends' galas? 

If we're talking 'gorgeousness' and/or pulling power here, 1) there is an abundance of handsome, talented men in the RB already; and 2) the need to develop and 'big up' members of the home team in the public's perception would take precedence for me.

 

Talking to The London Ballet Circle last night via Zoom, the new AD of ENB, Aaron Watkin, responded to questions about recruiting Principals from outside the company and bringing in star guests by explaining that he would do so (and I paraphrase) only if the presence and experience of an individual (he mentioned Polina Semionova's appearance in Dresden) added to the artistic development of the Company as a whole.

 

I can identify with that view.

[Sim]

33 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

I've decided to rearrange the Don Q performances I attend and to (try to) go to both this Saturday rather than seeing the two casts on separate days, in order to save on train ticket costs. However with the ticket prices as they are I can't just book any of the masses of unsold seats because everything left near enough the stage for me to be able to see is far too expensive for me, so I'm holding out nervously for £52 Friday Rush tickets. It's rather depressing.

 

By the way, does anyone know what the correct pronunciation is for Anemoi? A-ne-moy? A-ne-mwah (last syllable like the French moi)? Something else? I thought I had better check in advance given I was blithely pronouncing Les Noces the wrong way & had no idea until a pre-performance chat with @LinMM when she pronounced it completely differently!

A-ne-moy.  From the Greek. Hope to see you on Saturday, Dawnstar!

[Dawnstar]

21 minutes ago, Sim said:

A-ne-moy.  From the Greek. Hope to see you on Saturday, Dawnstar!

 

Thank you. That is how I've been mentally pronouncing it so I'm glad I got it right. I'll wander up to the Floral Hall & see if you aren't too busy!

[Lindsay]

30 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

🤣 I hear you @Lindsey 🤣

 

But did you see him dance Des Grieux in the 2019 run? Have you seen him dance recently in his 'and Friends' galas? 

If we're talking 'gorgeousness' and/or pulling power here, 1) there is an abundance of handsome, talented men in the RB already; and 2) the need to develop and 'big up' members of the home team in the public's perception would take precedence for me.

 

Talking to The London Ballet Circle last night via Zoom, the new AD of ENB, Aaron Watkin, responded to questions about recruiting Principals from outside the company and bringing in star guests by explaining that he would do so (and I paraphrase) only if the presence and experience of an individual (he mentioned Polina Semionova's appearance in Dresden) added to the artistic development of the Company as a whole.

 

I can identify with that view.

Yes, I sympathise with that view and was partly joking.  But I also feel (as someone who, like most here, has watched an unreasonable amount of ballet over the years) that I am more and more drawn to watching dancers at the absolute 'top of their game' whenever I get the opportunity, and for me Bolle is in that category.  A few years ago I would have jumped at the opportunity to watch a debut from an up-and-comer, but with a few exceptions (for example Francesca Hayward's debut in Rhapsody which was an absolute revelation) I find that when you have seen a ballet dozens of times, the most enjoyable performances come from those like Nunez, Muntagirov and Osipova, who can manage the technique in their sleep and have had an opportunity to really develop their interpretation in their 'best' roles and show you why they are considered so 'special'.  I am also off to see Smirnova's Giselle in Amsterdam this week for exactly that reason.

[capybara]

6 minutes ago, Lindsay said:

Yes, I sympathise with that view and was partly joking.  But I also feel (as someone who, like most here, has watched an unreasonable amount of ballet over the years) that I am more and more drawn to watching dancers at the absolute 'top of their game' whenever I get the opportunity, and for me Bolle is in that category.  A few years ago I would have jumped at the opportunity to watch a debut from an up-and-comer, but with a few exceptions (for example Francesca Hayward's debut in Rhapsody which was an absolute revelation) I find that when you have seen a ballet dozens of times, the most enjoyable performances come from those like Nunez, Muntagirov and Osipova, who can manage the technique in their sleep and have had an opportunity to really develop their interpretation in their 'best' roles and show you why they are considered so 'special'.  I am also off to see Smirnova's Giselle in Amsterdam this week for exactly that reason.

 

Oh, how fabulous that you will see Smirnova's Giselle. I am green with envy.

 

I very much take your point about wanting to see "the best" but, even when he was more agile, Bolle has never been in that category for me, I'm afraid. My relatively recent viewings of him suggest that, while he is in remarkable physical shape for someone approaching 50, his forte is partnering rather than dancing.

 

And, in that regard (abroad - in Italy mainly - not in the UK) he is introducing some star RB dancers to a wider audience - Hamilton over many years; Kaneko and Naghdi more recently. That is the kind of 'model' (and positive outcome) which might be replicated at the RB if the pairings had more variety.

 

 

[Lindsay]

9 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

Oh, how fabulous that you will see Smirnova's Giselle. I am green with envy.

 

I very much take your point about wanting to see "the best" but, even when he was more agile, Bolle has never been in that category for me, I'm afraid. My relatively recent viewings of him suggest that, while he is in remarkable physical shape for someone approaching 50, his forte is partnering rather than dancing.

 

And, in that regard (abroad - in Italy mainly - not in the UK) he is introducing some star RB dancers to a wider audience - Hamilton over many years; Kaneko and Naghdi more recently. That is the kind of 'model' (and positive outcome) which might be replicated at the RB if the pairings had more variety.

 

 

Agree that he has been an excellent ambassador for ballet and I wouldn't see Bolle in 'just anything' these days (and he would frankly never have been my first choice for Petipa in any case).  However, I do think that he is still well suited to Manon - Des Grieux is really not a physically virtuoso role but it does require a degree of sensitive partnering and acting which I don't think 'just anyone' can deliver.

[Sim]

42 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

 

Thank you. That is how I've been mentally pronouncing it so I'm glad I got it right. I'll wander up to the Floral Hall & see if you aren't too busy!

Never too busy for you!  Please say hello. 

 

[Dawnstar]

2 hours ago, Sim said:

It is ridiculous that the two secondary roles are treated like state secrets, especially considering the slow ticket sales. I would have gone to one of the shows I didn’t have tickets for last week had I known the Espada more than a few hours in advance.  Why not just announce him and Mercedes at the same time as the leads?  I just don’t understand.   

 

I completely agree with this. Since seeing the Don Q rehearsal stream 3 weeks ago I've been hoping that at some point it would come to light when Buvoli & Braendesrod would be performing but there still seems to be no information. What is the point in the RB spending an hour showing us 2 dancers rehearsing but not then telling us when we can see them performing?

 

As for Bolle, it's not his dancing that disinclines me to see him as Des Grieux but that when I saw him in 2019 I didn't feel he came over as young enough for the role and 4 and a half years more is hardly going to have helped that. Which is a pity, because when I saw Nunez doing the bedroom pdd with Acosta in July it made me want to see her as Manon again, but with her being paired with Bolle again it moves her a lot lower down my list than if she had been partnered with several of the possible RB men. This isn't to say I definitely won't see Nunez/Bolle but at the moment I'd probably rank them as 6th on my list of upcoming Manon pairings so that's a lot of other Manon tickets I'll have to pay for first before considering them.

[Henry]

Wasn't the last run of Dante Project filled out with people from the ROH list?  I seem to remember some very bad behaviour in the auditorium...

[Richard LH]

6 hours ago, PeterS said:

The ROH has less, if any at all,  'public reductions' than elsewhere it has to be said but, the majority of sets still have bums on them 'on the night

Yes I have noticed this..... performances that have appeared to have plenty of unsold seats up until the day, have looked full by the time they took place. Some last minute discounting that isn't widely advertised, or a favoured group? Interesting to see if this will be the case again Saturday lunchtime.

I suppose the problem for the ROH with too much discounting is that it becomes a vicious circle, with people not buying tickets initially expecting a discount later, leading in itself to poor sales and the need for a further discount, fuelling more expectations of later discounts etc etc....

[capybara]

25 minutes ago, Lindsay said:

Agree that he has been an excellent ambassador for ballet and I wouldn't see Bolle in 'just anything' these days (and he would frankly never have been my first choice for Petipa in any case).  However, I do think that he is still well suited to Manon - Des Grieux is really not a physically virtuoso role but it does require a degree of sensitive partnering and acting which I don't think 'just anyone' can deliver.

 

Unfortunately, Bolle has never delivered for me on the acting front, but I'm happy for others to 'read' him differently.

[capybara]

Sticking my neck out here but isn't it likely that the tall Lukas B Braensrod will be on alongside the slightly taller Reece Clarke?

Annette Buvoli appears to be busy at the moment with the Queen of the Dryads, Dulcinea and Gypsy couple (the latter with Lukas) so an appearance as Mercedes later in the run looks to be indicated for her too.

[capybara]

14 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

Yes I have noticed this..... performances that have appeared to have plenty of unsold seats up until the day, have looked full by the time they took place. Some last minute discounting that isn't widely advertised, or a favoured group? Interesting to see if this will be the case again Saturday lunchtime.

I suppose the problem for the ROH with too much discounting is that it becomes a vicious circle, with people not buying tickets initially expecting a discount later, leading in itself to poor sales and the need for a further discount, fuelling more expectations of later discounts etc etc....

 

I suppose the way to find out whether or not the ROH is hiring attendees via 'rent-a-crowd' or some such means is to ask people in the apparently empty areas of the house how they came by their tickets and what they paid.

A delicate manoevre, admittedly, but worth a try to assuage our curiosity.

 

I don't think that people are moving into better positions from other areas of the House as the Ushers chased away two couples who tried to occupy the vacant seats next  to me on opening night.

 

 

 

Edited October 10, 2023 by capybara
addition of last paragraph

[Sim]

24 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

Unfortunately, Bolle has never delivered for me on the acting front, but I'm happy for others to 'read' him differently.

Neither has Nela, for me.  The exception was her incredible Juliet in the last run when she had been coached by Miss Ferri.  So this is one of two casts I'm not seeing.  I do hope that, at the time, everyone will tell me that I was an idiot to miss it as it was amazing!

[Lindsay]

6 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

I suppose the way to find out whether or not the ROH is hiring attendees via 'rent-a-crowd' or some such means is to ask people in the apparently empty areas of the house how they came by their tickets and what they paid.

A delicate manoevre, admittedly, but worth a try to assuage our curiosity.

 

I don't think that people are moving into better positions from other areas of the House as the Ushers chased away two couples who tried to occupy the vacant seats next  to me on opening night.

 

 

 

Back in the day (late 90s/early 00s when I was a penniless ballet goer) it used to be via via staff/volunteers word of mouth.  Friends who worked at the House would call around 'on the day' and a posse of those of us with nothing else to do would find ourselves anywhere from the Slips to the Grand Tier (am I right in thinking it was the Vilar Grand Tier before his fall from grace, or was that just the Floral Hall?).  I do know that at least three of us who benefitted from those freebies have 'grown up' into regular paying attendees for opera and ballet, so it may not be the worst way in the world to develop future audiences...

[San Perregrino]

Just running down the list of available dancers raises a couple of questions:

1. Would the cinema screening of Don Q warrant a principal dancing the role of Mercedes?

2. Has Melissa Hamilton danced Mercedes in a previous run and/or might she be a candidate for later in the run?

3. Might Meaghan Grace Hinkis also be dancing Mercedes as she may have already been cast before having to step in to cover Takada as Kitri?

Edited October 10, 2023 by PeterS

[Sim]

I would love to see Isabella Gasparini get a crack at Mercedes, especially since she isn't getting Kitri.  

[San Perregrino]

24 minutes ago, Sim said:

I would love to see Isabella Gasparini get a crack at Mercedes, especially since she isn't getting Kitri.  

Per her IG, IG has been awarded a BA 1st Class Honours degree in English Literature & Creative Writing. Congratulations 👏🏻 

[Sim]

13 minutes ago, PeterS said:

Per her IG, IG has been awarded a BA 1st Class Honours degree in English Literature & Creative Writing. Congratulations 👏🏻 

Yes I saw that earlier.  I messaged her and said 'brains, beauty and talent.  Brava!'   Great achievement, and English isn't even her first language.