Australian Ballet - Royal Opera House, 2-6 August 2023

[Sim]

The Australian Ballet's first visit to the ROH in 35 years begins on 2nd August, culminating on the 6th with a 60th birthday celebration gala.

 

All reports/reviews/discussion here please.  

[Emeralds]

Tickets (on device) - check

Opera glasses- check

Tfl journey planner train and tube schedule for the week long ASLEF industrial action, plus survival kit in case stranded- check, check, and check 📝📱🔦💳🍫🧭

All ready! 😄

[Sim]

5 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

Tickets (on device) - check

Opera glasses- check

Tfl journey planner train and tube schedule for the week long ASLEF industrial action, plus survival kit in case stranded- check, check, and check 📝📱🔦💳🍫🧭

All ready! 😄

Yep, me too!

[JNC]

I’m very excited to see Jewels for the first time tomorrow night ✨ looking forward to reading reviews! 
 

[Dawnstar]

Tomorrow evening will be my first time seeing Jewels live too. In full that is, I saw the RB's Diamonds last year.

[serenade]

Hope you all enjoy- I am going at the weekend and can’t wait!! I am going to Jewels on Saturday and the gala on Sunday…ballet-tastic 😀

[Peanut68]

Me too!! So excited (though still have to sort travel/accommodation…& ensure there’s enough ping food in fridge for family at home 🙄) 

[Peanut68]

Are there any train/tube strikes planned over the weekend? 
I usually just drive & park as even paying petrol, congestion charge & on street parking costs it id still way cheaper than train, tube & station parking from my neck of the woods even if it’s just me alone - isn’t that crazy?  & it’s quicker too! If it’s just me I’m looking at c. £120 to use public transport versus £55-65 to drive…. And if I share car well that’s a massive saving on 2 or more public transport costs. Crazy huh?

Edited August 2, 2023 by Peanut68

[zxDaveM]

yes, it is utter madness re costs of car vs public transport. No wonder people are so reluctant to use PT. Though living inside the TfL zones, and so have an ol' codgers pass, means it's free for me, and way more convenient (usually) to use the train into central London

As for this weekend, there are some on overtime bans, so some routes are reduced (or in my case, my usual route to London Bridge not running at all) - so check the National Rail website timetables. I believe they are up to date with this week's disruptions taken into account

[Peanut68]

Managed to book accommodation (admitting reducing the price considerably by using a Hotels.com reward night)in Ealing so easy tube or bus ride into town. I still think this - even adding the parking & tube - will cost much less than if 2 of us travelled by train….

[JNC]

Well tonight was a lovely, beautiful evening and I’m so glad I made an effort to see this.

 

I’d only seen Diamonds previously as part of the ROH bill last year and I have to say it was great seeing Jewels in full, as Balanchine intended.

 

First Emeralds, I wasn’t sure what to expect but this turned out to be my favourite of the evening. To me (someone who hasn’t seen this before and has a non technical eye) this was danced perfectly. It was beautifully lyrical, soft, and made me realise we really are lacking in lyrical/romantic repertoire and I want to see more of it.
 

The costumes were beautiful and sparkled wonderfully, and the costumes, set, dancing, choreography, music was just in perfect harmony. It’s really hard to say more than that as with abstract non-plot ballet I can’t describe particular movements but I just loved every minute of it. I thought Sharni Spencer was just wonderful. I thought whoever coached them must have done a very good job and the dancers all seemed to really embody the lyrical style so well. 

 

 

Rubies - this felt very fun and I loved that it captured Balanchine doing something new but you can see the beginnings of choreographers like MacGregor and Forsythe in these movements. The tall girl role was just fabulous and danced brilliantly and it was so quirky and fun. The audience seemed to really enjoy it with lots of applause and some laughs(popular opinion I sense preferred this to Emeralds).

 

my one minor gripe was I wonder if it could have been danced a little faster at points, and I wished some of the pas de deux dancing was a little spikier/sharper/sexier? But I’ve not seen this previously so it may not be a technique/style issue and more my preference. Overall though smashing performance. 
 

Diamonds - a beautiful piece but the opening scene I find a little dry. But I loved the pas de deux, with echoes of the Swan Lake Act 2 pas de deux, and then the following scene with four female dancers replicating some choreography from Raymond I think, or the Czardas in Swan Lake, and the dreamy music. And the grand finale which mirrors Sleeping Beauty Act 3 in both music and choreographic nods.

 

I have to say I prefer Balanchine’s Ballet Imperial and Symphony in C for his “white” classical pieces but I would happily watch Diamonds (and indeed Jewels in its entirety) many, many more times in future.

 

I thought Australian Ballet were a very strong company (in character and technique) and am very pleased they are here and perhaps they will return soon! (And would love to see Jewels return into RB rep soon).

 

For fun I thought about some dream RB casting for Jewels:

 

Emeralds

Hayward/Bracewell (or if anyone Morera please)

 

Rubies 

Tall girl - Melissa Hamilton or Yasmine Naghdi. I also think Kaneko would be very good here too.

couple - O’Sullivan and Sambe or McRae. Maybe also Luca Acri. I know Sarah Lamb has also danced this and could see that, to be honest I think lots of principals would suit this role!

 

Diamonds

well of course Nunez and Muntagirov, but I also think Kaneko and Clarke, Naghdi and Ball, again a wealth of talent here in the current company. 
 

As an aside the programme had lots of nice pictures and was very informative. It’s through the programme I got the hint to look out for Swan Lake/Raymonda/Sleeping Beauty and I got lots of internal ballet satisfaction from picking this up (which I hadn’t previously noticed in Diamonds last year) so it really demonstrated the value of good articles in programmes!

 

Overall an absolutely wonderful evening. I hope it’s not another 35 years before Australian Ballet is back here, or indeed before we see Jewels again! Would love to see Jewels in the 24/25 rep, or failing that certainly more Balanchine, he really is a genius. 
 

Oh and the Royal Ballet Sinfonia were excellent also! I’m not musical but they just created a wonderful atmosphere and to my ears not a note wrong.

[LACAD]

Initially I wasn’t super excited at the prospect of Jewels as I was for Kunstkammer - which would’ve been a UK premiere and something very radical and unique. But I quite like certain moments of Jewels, though I do find many points get a bit stagnant choreographically.

 

As for Australian Ballet in Jewels, what a great way to make a strong return to the ROH! Emeralds had some brilliant dancing from Sharni Spencer and Callum Linnane (the company’s newest principals), another standout was the second woman in the pas de trois (unnamed in the casting) who was exceptionally lush and romantic. Valerie Tereschenko had the unenviably long, albeit very gorgeous solo and had a wonderful port de bras, but her fatigue became perhaps a little palpable - but that’s probably more Balanchine’s fault; one of the elements I don’t like in Jewels is how durational  some of the sequences are.

 

Rubies was great fun and the energy was very palpable. Ako Kondo and Brett Chynoweth were especially cheeky and playful in their portrayal. While I hate to critique too heavily on a dancer, I do feel Isobelle Dashwood was swallowed up by her role. She seemed to be holding back and apprehensive, a little stiff, which is a shame since when she goes for it it’s really wonderful. She’s a bit too controlling of her long limbs (and I mean LONG, I passed her by the theatre afterwards and she is noticeably tall). Maybe my critique comes from seeing too many videos of NYCB ballerinas who generally take more risks in the role.

 

Diamonds does just go on for a bit too long. The pas de deux is wonderful but incredibly long. That being said - Benedicte Bemet, what a ballerina! She may seem young and fresh faced, but her physical technique, command, stamina, and artistry were spectacular. Her and the sorely missed Joe Caley were faultless in the pas de deux and the more virtuosic section that follows. The ending is also a real goosebump moment, perhaps I can see why Jewels was brought over Kunstkammer.

 

I must say the real heroes of the evening were the magnificent women of the corps de ballet. I can’t recall a recent time where I was so wowed by a corps de ballet. The port de bras and epaulement were exceptional, neat footwork done precisely. Jewels makes the corps really dance, and the women of the corps aced this test of a ballet. 

[bridiem]

A beautiful evening indeed. Sheer beauty throughout: music, costumes, sets, lighting, choreography and dancing. In the interval, I passed a young woman and caught her saying (American accent) 'Ballet is awesome!'. Couldn't have put it better myself. And The Australian Ballet were awesome too; beautiful, graceful and unforced classicism, admirable technique, and lovely presentation of this masterpiece. Diamonds brought tears to my eyes, and an incredulity and gratitude that such a thing should be possible. I felt I'd died and gone to Heaven; if I ever get there, I hope Jewels will be one of the ballets waiting for me.

 

David Hallberg spoke in front of the curtain before the performance. I loved the fact that he mentioned Dame Ninette de Valois and Dame Peggy van Praagh and their role in founding Australian Ballet 60 years ago. He said he was sure they were looking down on us this evening; I'm sure that Balanchine was too, and that all of them would have been well pleased with what they saw.

[Peanut68]

Thank you for these reviews - makes me ever more pleased to be seeing Saturday & Sundays performances!! Excited!!

[Sophoife]

1 hour ago, LACAD said:

another standout was the second woman in the pas de trois (unnamed in the casting) who was exceptionally lush and romantic.

 

If the man in the pdt was red-headed it was Drew Hedditch, in which case the two women should be Larissa Kiyoto-Ward and Katherine Sonnekus. HTH.

[LACAD]

6 hours ago, Sophoife said:

 

If the man in the pdt was red-headed it was Drew Hedditch, in which case the two women should be Larissa Kiyoto-Ward and Katherine Sonnekus. HTH.

Yes it was Katherine! She was sublime.

[Sim]

So, as one group of Australians left the UK, Ashes in hand, another arrives.  They might even have crossed each others' paths in the sky.  What the Australian Ballet borrowed from the sky was a bit of much-needed Aussie sunshine, brought to the stage of the ROH last night.  With their performance of Balanchine's Jewels, the gloom of a wet and soggy English summer's day was lifted.  Just briefly:

 

Emeralds.  I thought there were a few little shakes and wobbles to begin with, but then as the company settled into the performance and relaxed it flowed beautifully.  I can never watch this piece without thinking of Beatriz Stix-Brunell and now of course Laura Morera.  I do wish that the 'false ending' were actually the real ending; I don't see what the bit tagged on after that adds to the piece.  As mentioned above in the other reviews, the dancers were lovely.

 

Rubies.  This was a joyful performance; the dancers were having a great time and that was imparted to the audience.  I did miss a bit of the sassiness and pizazz that I have seen in other companies (NYCB of course, and the RB - in particular Natalia Osipova, Tierney Heap and Sarah Lamb), but this was a cracking lot of fun.

 

Diamonds.  I think this was my favourite piece of the night.  The dancers all sparkled like the jewels they embodied.  It was great to see Joe Caley dance again, and I really enjoyed seeing Benedicte Bemet dance.  My only slight quibble was that at the end, with the whole company onstage, I felt that she was a bit subsumed by the crowd...I think of Marianela Nunez or Lauren Cuthbertson standing out at the end and guiding the rest of the dancers to that wonderful crescendo finale.  But that takes nothing away from how beautifully Bemet danced this piece.

 

The costumes were as always sparkly and gorgeous, and I loved the backdrop.  It gave a modern twist to this ballet and worked really well.  The Royal Ballet Sinfonia, under the baton of Jonathan Lo, sounded lush and at one with the dancers.  I am now so looking forward to Sunday's gala with the variety that it promises. 

 

I am very pleased to have seen this company again.  I saw them on their last visit to the UK when they brought Graeme Murphy's Swan Lake to the Coli.  I loved it; so much so that I went straight back to see it again the next night.  I was mighty impressed with their dancers then, and I was once again last night.  I am sure David Hallberg will do great things with them.  A huge welcome to this lovely company from a land Down Under....the cricket team may have retained the Ashes, but the ballet company has retained my heart.  

 

 

 

 

[Sophoife]

3 hours ago, LACAD said:

Yes it was Katherine! She was sublime.

 

Oh good! 

[alison]

10 hours ago, Sophoife said:

 

If the man in the pdt was red-headed it was Drew Hedditch, in which case the two women should be Larissa Kiyoto-Ward and Katherine Sonnekus. HTH.

 

He didn't look red-headed to me (and I can't be sure from the photo in the programme whether or not it was him.  Not sure who else it might have been, though).  I liked him very much, though.  Really surprised to see that the trio weren't credited.

[Bluebird]

9 minutes ago, alison said:

 

He didn't look red-headed to me (and I can't be sure from the photo in the programme whether or not it was him.  Not sure who else it might have been, though).  I liked him very much, though.  Really surprised to see that the trio weren't credited.

 

It was definitely Drew Hedditch.

 

Edited to add that I think it's nothing short of disgraceful that the Company fails to credit the dancers in the pas de trois.  They might not dance quite as much as the two leading couples but they have an extremely important role in the ballet and are integral to its structure.

Edited August 3, 2023 by Bluebird

[annamk]

Was there a list of all the dancers somewhere ?

[Sim]

1 minute ago, annamk said:

Was there a list of all the dancers somewhere ?

Maybe in the programme, but certainly not on the digital version.  

[Benjamin]

15 minutes ago, annamk said:

Was there a list of all the dancers somewhere ?

You can find it on their website: https://australianballet.com.au/our-dancers  (still don’t know if I’m allowed to post links but this is ok, right?)

[Dawnstar]

3 hours ago, Sim said:

The costumes were as always sparkly and gorgeous, and I loved the backdrop.

 

I was quite surprised that the scenery for Diamonds was different to the RB's but the costumes were the same. I would have expected either both to be the same or both different. As I've not seen the RB's Emeralds or Rubies I don't know if that is the case for those parts too.

 

Last night was the first time I've seen the first two parts of Jewels live. I think I liked Diamonds the most, then Emeralds, then Rubies. Out of the dancers, all bar Joseph Caley unknown to me, I particularly liked the performances of Sharni Spencer and Callum Linnane in Emeralds and Benedicte Bemet alongside Caley in Diamonds. I agree it would have been nice to have casting information for more of the roles, especially as I imagine the majority of the audience was not familiar with the company.

 

My curtain call photos last night didn't come out very well but as no-one else has posted any (yet) these are a few of the less unsuccessful ones:

 

 

 

 

[Sophoife]

My favourite photo there @Dawnstar is the one of Rubies, with Isobelle Dashwood towering over Brett Chynoweth (no, it's not an optical illusion).

 

Also of course Callum Linnane, who when he was still in the school I picked as a future principal; John Neumeier agreed with me as he cast him as Vaslav in Nijinsky in only his second year with the company.

 

Casting information and the lack thereof is a continuing shame and irritation at AusBallet. If anyone has questions about who was who, please ask one of us 🇦🇺 or of course @Bluebird who's been watching the company regularly for quite some time 😘

 

[Emeralds]

2 hours ago, Sim said:

Maybe in the programme, but certainly not on the digital version.  

I have the programme but like the ROH ones, there’s no cast list inside.

 

2 hours ago, annamk said:

Was there a list of all the dancers somewhere ?

Only on the company’s own casting sheets in the studios and backstage, it seems ...certainly not anywhere we can (legally) get hold of. The digital company list is identical to the (very) brief printed list at the ROH.  

 

One could trawl each dancer’s Instagram to see if they have posted something like “Glad to be dancing Emeralds pas de trois/Rubies quartet/etc tonight” or some similar clue, but I am too busy to do it this week. (Can only just about get to the shows!) 

 

Wonder if anyone can write in to ask David (Hallberg) to humour us and get it on the cast lists. After all, it’s not like the pas de trois is more prone to injury and last minute substitutions than other roles in the ballet.

1 hour ago, Benjamin said:

You can find it on their website: https://australianballet.com.au/our-dancers  (still don’t know if I’m allowed to post links but this is ok, right?)

You’re certainly allowed to post that, Benjamin- thank you for trying- but I think she meant a full cast list of the roles, not just a brief list of the star roles. 

Edited August 3, 2023 by Emeralds

[Sophoife]

40 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

Wonder if anyone can write in to ask David (Hallberg) to humour us and get it on the cast lists. After all, it’s not like the pas de trois is more prone to injury and last minute substitutions than other roles in the ballet.

 

...um...I've spoken to him in person multiple times in the last three years regarding the disrespectful paucity of casting information.

 

It's gotten worse.

Earlier this year Don Quixote in Melbourne had no lead Romani, no lead bridesmaid, no fandango leads, and Kitri had no girlfriends. Sydney had the missing dancers. Not good enough.

 

Jewels in Australia had the pas de trois listed, both Sydney and Melbourne. Why not for London I have no idea.

 

Casting is made available to the audience 7-14 days now before the start of a run. For Swan Lake in December 2023, subscriptions opened in September 2022. Booking is done blind.

 

...and some of you lucky ducks in London don't want to book Nutcracker, six months out, because only SPF and Prince thus far named. Count your blessings 😘

[LinMM]

For several reasons I was in a slightly detached mood yesterday so went to this performance with no expectations whatsoever as have only seen Joseph Caley dance from the Company before. 
I also have to say I’m often a bit lukewarm to Jewels as well ….it’s never really been a particular favourite of mine so apologies to avid Balanchine fans in advance! 
Anyway was in a state of sort of relaxed detachment and in the end I did enjoy it with Rubies being just my favourite last night ( I usually gravitate slightly towards Emeralds) This was not because Emeralds wasn’t well danced far from it ….all the dancers in this Company  were well worthy of the ROH stage.. but all the Rubies dancers gave it some extra panache so I really started to try and notice who was who

In Emeralds as others have said one of the dancers in the pas de trois was particularly lush but not sure who she was but guess it was Larissa or Katherine. I will look up the cast photos and see if my memory can pick up or not. 
Diamonds looked very sparkly and Benedicte Bemet was a stand out perhaps even a little too warm for the role but would certainly like to see her in something else. 
Talking of warmth there was plenty of that around in the auditorium and the Company was given a good reception I thought they were definitely saying don’t let it be another 35 years before coming again we want to see you!! 
My only thought was they might need to gain strength in the males in the Company though I say this knowing that currently we are quite spoilt for male dancers in U.K. companies at the moment especially at RB. 
There was a wonderfully enthusiastic lady from Melbourne sitting in front of me who let out a loud cheer when Hallwood took the stage and we got chatting in the intervals and she is a regular attendee over there so knows the dancers well  and had diverted her route back to Aus from France especially to catch her beloved Company. She reminded me why they hadn’t brought over Kunstkammer which originally I had been keen to see …..much more so than to see Jewels …..I’d already forgotten all about that Goecke incident 🙄…she has seen it with Hallwood dancing and thinks it’s a great piece but she hadn’t seen Jewels before so excitement all round definitely her big night …Aus ballet at the ROH!!!! 
I left feeling very much better than when I went in so that was a big plus and I really do hope we can see more of this Company than once in every 35 years. 
 

 

[Dawnstar]

1 hour ago, Sophoife said:

My favourite photo there @Dawnstar is the one of Rubies, with Isobelle Dashwood towering over Brett Chynoweth (no, it's not an optical illusion).

 

When Chynoweth came onstage I did think "I was expecting him to be taller!", having seen him in a promo video clip the ROH tweeted the other day.

[annamk]

3 hours ago, Benjamin said:

You can find it on their website: https://australianballet.com.au/our-dancers  (still don’t know if I’m allowed to post links but this is ok, right?)

But did they all come to London ?

[Bluebird]

4 hours ago, Bluebird said:

 

It was definitely Drew Hedditch.

 

Edited to add that I think it's nothing short of disgraceful that the Company fails to credit the dancers in the pas de trois.  They might not dance quite as much as the two leading couples but they have an extremely important role in the ballet and are integral to its structure.

 

Maybe the powers that be at the Australian Ballet read this Forum?   The pas de trois are credited on tonight's cast list!

https://static.roh.org.uk/digital/cast-sheets/Jewels/TAB-Jewels-Cast-Sheet-03-08-23.pdf?_ga=2.188272552.1807131079.1690707539-1332193509.1615112770

 

Edited to add that they've also listed the demi soloists in Diamonds!

Edited August 3, 2023 by Bluebird

[LinMM]

Looking at the pictures I would say it was Katherine Sonnekus in Emeralds in the Trio but I also liked Valerie Tereshchenko in this piece! 

[alison]

20 minutes ago, Bluebird said:

 

Maybe the powers that be at the Australian Ballet read this Forum?   The pas de trois are credited on tonight's cast list!

https://static.roh.org.uk/digital/cast-sheets/Jewels/TAB-Jewels-Cast-Sheet-03-08-23.pdf?_ga=2.188272552.1807131079.1690707539-1332193509.1615112770

 

Edited to add that they've also listed the demi soloists in Diamonds!

 

What about the Tall Girl's "partners" in Rubies?