DON QUIXOTE - ROYAL BALLET AUTUMN 2023

[Candleque]

45 minutes ago, HopelessMummy said:

I loved the way the ROH was made more accessible. I don't like the snobbery about the etiquette. Ballet should be accessible to all.

Agree. I didn't attend last night but imo these amazingly talented dancers always deserve cheering.

Personally I feel the often repeated words from the ROH management about expanding their audience usually don't match their actions or marketing. It is weird to think that some hardcore ballet fans also don't really want a more diverse audience, unless the newbies somehow know these unwritten rules about how to behave. 
 

[NikkiB]

1 hour ago, capybara said:

Looks to me as if there are at least 3 there of interest to you @NikkiB

Thank you 😊 

[alison]

3 hours ago, zxDaveM said:

 

I'd give the audience a break - the make-up of it probably had a large number of non-regular theatre/ballet goers for whom it would have been a marvelous novelty (first time attendance?), so can hardly blame them for being excitable

 

Not to mention the added royalty, perhaps.

 

1 hour ago, bangorballetboy said:

Have you seen the pictures on Daily Mail website?

 

Are there any in any of the other papers?

 

1 hour ago, Rob S said:

Lovely to see the extended video of the King meeting the dancers backstage 🙂

 

Where was this, please, Rob?

 

1 hour ago, Blossom said:

and Mayara's horizontal leaps into Matthew's arms in act 3 (not a fish dive and no idea what the technical 'throw yourself horizontally for partner to catch' is called)

 

You mean those reverse-stag-leap-catch-thingies?  I'm always amazed at how simple the ballerina makes it look, though I'm sure it can't be.

 

Quote

I absolutely adore Annette Buvoli and Queen of the Dryads was perfect for her.  She has the strength but also the fluid port de bras to make a tough solo look incredibly easy and beautiful to watch.

 

Yes, best Dryad Queen I've seen in this run, definitely.

[Rob S]

9 minutes ago, alison said:

 

 

 

Where was this, please, Rob?

 

 

On the Daily Mail link near the top, press the 'watch the full video' button

[alison]

[Scheherezade]

31 minutes ago, Candleque said:

It is weird to think that some hardcore ballet fans also don't really want a more diverse audience, unless the newbies somehow know these unwritten rules about how to behave. 

 

I don’t think it’s that, Candleque, and I’m all in favour of people expressing their appreciation which, I think, makes all of us feel good, but when, in the manner of the standard TV audience audience who, as we know, are told when to yell and clap, you get the same crescendo of whoops and screams for the unexceptional as for the exceptional, it does tend to diminish the impact of the exceptional, not to mention the effect that it may have on the dancers’ concentration. 
My daughter is a natural whooper. She also suffers from misophonia, which she usually manages to control, but the level and frequency of the noise, often at wholly inappropriate times, was so bad that she almost had to get up and leave. 

[Richard LH]

1 hour ago, Dawnstar said:

 it's never nice to see a dancer fall on stage but especially not for them when it's being filmed.

True enough but  she had essentially finished the fouettes very well (but perhaps a little too fast given the outcome)  and just slipped down at the very end. She was back up straight away with no obvious sign of a resulting problem, and finished like a true pro. If you were to close your eyes at the very end you wouldn't know about it  (apart from some possible gasps from anyone nearby)!

Edited November 8, 2023 by Richard LH

[Richard LH]

Being more positive and less picky  about last night, it was clearly  a very special  event for the Company and their guests, and a  great advertisement for the general standard of ballet dancing and production at the ROH.  Following on from some of the plaudits above for specific dancers, I agree Annette Buvoli is a super Queen of the Dryads, and that Sae Maeda has particularly shone this run, as a Friend (last night) and also as Amour. I have also loved Mica Bradbury in various roles (leading Fandango lady last night). 

[Silke H]

22 minutes ago, Scheherezade said:

 

I don’t think it’s that, Candleque, and I’m all in favour of people expressing their appreciation which, I think, makes all of us feel good, but when, in the manner of the standard TV audience audience who, as we know, are told when to yell and clap, you get the same crescendo of whoops and screams for the unexceptional as for the exceptional, it does tend to diminish the impact of the exceptional, not to mention the effect that it may have on the dancers’ concentration. 
My daughter is a natural whooper. She also suffers from misophonia, which she usually manages to control, but the level and frequency of the noise, often at wholly inappropriate times, was so bad that she almost had to get up and leave. 

I agree with @Scheherezade - we sat a few seats apart in the Amphi and the disruption by filming, feet shuffling, people talking to their friends (across empty seats as they had roomily spread out), audience members coming and going as they pleased, drinking from crinkly plastic bottles...  all this added to the over-enthusiastic clapping and whooping did not make for a pleasant viewing.

I actually stayed with friends in stalls circle for the 3rd act, where at least the whooping was less

[JohnS]

2 hours ago, Rob S said:

 

I'm trying to think of a good name for it that ends with '....or dive trying' 

When there was a Song of the Earth Insight some years ago now, I thought there were a few references to ‘Laura’s leap’ albeit Laura Morera was caught by both Ed Watson and Nehemiah Kish.

[Dawnstar]

18 minutes ago, Silke H said:

people talking to their friends (across empty seats as they had roomily spread out)

 

Empty seats? Was it not full? Given many of the seats were presumably either free or greatly reduced in price then it seems odd if it wasn't full.

[Silke H]

6 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

 

Empty seats? Was it not full? Given many of the seats were presumably either free or greatly reduced in price then it seems odd if it wasn't full.

yes, definitely empty seats in the main part of the Amphi, and only a handful of occupied slips seats (upper and lower).  I can't really speak for the rest of the auditorium but I think I also spotted a few empty seats in the orchestra stalls

[maryrosesatonapin]

I haven't seen a live performance of Don Q this season, but enjoyed the cinema relay last night.  I think Kitri is a natural role for Magri, whose warmth and vigour were infectious - although she did seem to be wearing an awful lot of rouge!  However unlike it seems almost everyone else on this forum I didn't think Ball was particularly good.  He is elegant and charming, but I wasn't otherwise impressed by his performance.  Avis' Don was really touching, and Hay was great as was Gasparini.  I thought the corps in the dream sequence didn't look as uniform as I would like (in height/appearance) although their dancing was great, which is the main thing.

It's interesting to note that Lukas BB is getting more prominent roles lately and I suspect he will be promoted again soon.

The orchestra and conductor were sparkling.  I do like this production although I prefer BRB's wonderful windmill.  What a shame that the cinema was mainly empty.

Edited November 8, 2023 by maryrosesatonapin

[Dawnstar]

6 minutes ago, Silke H said:

yes, definitely empty seats in the main part of the Amphi, and only a handful of occupied slips seats (upper and lower).  I can't really speak for the rest of the auditorium but I think I also spotted a few empty seats in the orchestra stalls

 

It seems a great pity if the ROH can't fill the house even when giving seats away!

[Scheherezade]

25 minutes ago, Silke H said:

I agree with @Scheherezade - we sat a few seats apart in the Amphi and the disruption by filming, feet shuffling, people talking to their friends (across empty seats as they had roomily spread out), audience members coming and going as they pleased, drinking from crinkly plastic bottles...  all this added to the over-enthusiastic clapping and whooping did not make for a pleasant viewing.

I actually stayed with friends in stalls circle for the 3rd act, where at least the whooping was less

Yes, I caught the ushers asking people not to film on more than one occasion; the constant chattering was, to channel Grace Willows, enough to drive a saint to madness or (perhaps appropriately here) a king to his knees; and someone clattered their way through my part of the amphitheatre noisily and at length during the quietest part of the dream sequence. Oh, and after the interval I noticed large numbers of attendees at the amphitheatre bar making their way back to their seats with full or barely drunk glasses, although I can’t say whether or not they were allowed to take them in or had to knock back the contents before re entering. This is not an exclusive list. These are just some of the examples of the general level of behaviour. 

[Scheherezade]

6 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

 

It seems a great pity if the ROH can't fill the house even when giving seats away!

They wouldn’t have any problem if they offered the tickets to the right people at the right price. 

[Blossom]

8 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

 

It seems a great pity if the ROH can't fill the house even when giving seats away!

I wonder if this was to manage the guest list and ensure people got a decent seat. I was wondering from my seat in the stalls circle whether those zero viewability seats might have been completely excluded. I can't imagine standing tickets were supplied to the invited guests, so would only have been accessible on one side of the auditorium to friends who were able to access booking before the performance booking was closed.

[RobR]

2 minutes ago, Scheherezade said:

They wouldn’t have any problem if they offered the tickets to the right people at the right price. 

Who are the right people and who are the wrong people?
 

Just asking 

[LinMM]

I’m not sure I really understand the difference between an official and unofficial visit especially when the official visit was kept so secret even box office staff apparently didn’t know about it 24 hours before!! 
Why do they have to close the theatre for security reasons when it’s official but they can apparently turn up when the mood takes them without any fuss whatsoever. 
Im not sure I’ve understood this correctly but was the whole of the Grand Tier closed to audience apart from Charles and Camilla ( and their private entourage)? 
And was the downstairs cafe out of action for the whole performance or just pre performance? 
Im not sure I understand the comment about making the ROH more accessible? Does that mean price wise ( eg: were seats cheaper last night for the invited audience?) 

We’d all like cheaper seats!! 

 

As a one off gesture occasionally in the year it’s nice to honour NHS staff and other charities especially in a 75th anniversary year etc but I have several friends who work for the NHS and as a general rule they expect to pay their way like everybody else!! 
It does depend on what is meant by accessible though and who should have it! 
Im in a bit of a grumpy mood today but am still annoyed with ROH for not being more transparent about what was going on yesterday regards the invited audience…..there was no need to be SO secretive about that at least!! 
 

[Fonty]

Warning This is possibly a controversial post but:

 

Why were Magri and Ball chosen as the leads for this very special occasion?  Surely the obvious choice would have been Nunez and Muntagirov? There must have been sufficient notice about this for a swap around of casts if necessary?  

I am not saying the principals performing last night were not capable.  But the other two are an extremely experienced and established paring.  They seem the obvious choice for a performance where an extra touch of nerves might have have been expected.  Not to mention wildly popular.   

[Beryl H]

16 hours ago, Richard LH said:

Same for us (Bedford Vue where only about 20 people attended) and not for the first time for these ROH cinema screenings. Did others suffer the same  poor lighting?

 

My experience at the Brighton Odeon was similar, very short breaks in the sound at times and gloomy lighting . Also I counted about 20 people in the audience, and no ticket checks, could have walked in without one.

[Guest oncnp]

6 minutes ago, Fonty said:

Warning This is possibly a controversial post but:

 

Why were Magri and Ball chosen as the leads for this very special occasion?  Surely the obvious choice would have been Nunez and Muntagirov? There must have been sufficient notice about this for a swap around of casts if necessary?  

I am not saying the principals performing last night were not capable.  But the other two are an extremely experienced and established paring.  They seem the obvious choice for a performance where an extra touch of nerves might have have been expected.  Not to mention wildly popular.   

Supposed to be Magri/Corrales if I remember correctly. Ball was replacement.

 

 Muntagirov currently in China. So even if they wanted to change the casting, and no reason they should have, he's pretty unavailable 

Edited November 8, 2023 by oncnp

[Dawnstar]

9 minutes ago, Blossom said:

I wonder if this was to manage the guest list and ensure people got a decent seat.

 

If that is the case I would ask that if the ROH doesn't consider seats good enough for invited guests then why are they happy to sell them for ever increasing amounts of money to the general public!

 

7 minutes ago, Fonty said:

Why were Magri and Ball chosen as the leads for this very special occasion?  Surely the obvious choice would have been Nunez and Muntagirov?

 

Nunez was already filmed when the production was new in 2013 and the ROH usually avoids filming the same Principals in the same production twice. (Hopefully Muntagirov will eventually get filmed as Basilio if he ever dances Don Q with someone else.)

[LinMM]

I usually go to the Duke of Yorks for the ballet cinema screenings in Brighton and so far no problems ( just can’t stand that Odeon cinema to be honest) 
Unfortunately the Duke of York is not showing the encore on Sunday as usual but midweek next week which is no good to me as I’m in London. 
I did look up the Curzon in Mayfair which is a nice cinema but Sod’s Law they are showing their encore on the Sunday as usual. 
So guess will just have to miss this Don Q but so wanted to see Mayara especially as I told her in the summer that I was really looking forward to her Don Q ( before the ROH closed off the 7th performance!!….And a very good job she wasn’t dancing with Corrales too as would have felt even more annoyed after not seeing him dance for so long ( no offence to Ball) ……I will let this go eventually!!!! 

Edited November 8, 2023 by LinMM

[capybara]

Returning to this thread after a few hours, I'm loving the fact that, having been to the cinema, there are now so many more people expressing their views about Don Q on here.

 

I think that Doug and Ceri King sponsored this particular evening, so it is possible that tickets were distributed free of charge.

 

Hopefully, the members of the audience who were being somewhat rowdy last night will have loved it so much that they will return of their own volition - and thereby 'catch' slightly more restrained behaviour from those around them.

 

Upsetting that there were empty seats.

[Scheherezade]

20 minutes ago, RobR said:

Who are the right people and who are the wrong people?
 

Just asking 

The right people: those who enjoy the ballet enough to want to attend. And to pay a reasonable price to do so. On that premise, we could start with Friends, people on the general email list, anyone recorded as having bought tickets in the past, pensioners, past and present dance school attendees and, depending upon the production, school parties generally. 
The wrong people: other than an occasional offer (ie not like this season’s mass giveaway due to initial unrealistic pricing), those who are considered as deserving purely on account of their employment or their friendship with the staff. Inequitable distribution aside, people without a demonstrable interest in the arts who are given free, or largely free, tickets are also less likely to turn up if something they consider better or more enjoyable comes along. 

Edited November 8, 2023 by Scheherezade

[LinMM]

If the accessibilty  a previous poster is referring to is via free tickets for a whole audience with lots of empty seats then I couldn’t agree with that happening too often. 

[art_enthusiast]

20 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

Nunez was already filmed when the production was new in 2013 and the ROH usually avoids filming the same Principals in the same production twice. (Hopefully Muntagirov will eventually get filmed as Basilio if he ever dances Don Q with someone else.)

 

Hopefully he does at some point. The Carlos/Marianela 2013 one certainly is glorious, I love their chemistry together.

I was thinking Kaneko/Bracewell may have been an obvious filming choice, but maybe there's a rule that it can't be someone debuting, as I believe Bracewell was this year?

 

But it's good they weren't on yesterday as many members of the public wouldn't have been able to see them otherwise! I unfortunately was unable to see them this run but have booked Fumi for Manon (and may book Bracewell for Dante if there are any potential offers... hopefully)

 

I find it frustrating when couples I really want to see don't get a public performance, or only get one public/one for Schools (for example, Sissens and Sasaki in Swan Lake). Makes it harder to get tickets for the one performance!

[art_enthusiast]

1 hour ago, Richard LH said:

 she had essentially finished the fouettes very well (but perhaps a little too fast given the outcome)  and just slipped down at the very end. She was back up straight away with no obvious sign of a resulting problem, and finished like a true pro.

 

Good to know that there were no resulting issues for her! The fall in her first performance with Sambe had me worried about a potential injury, I recall quite a lot of gasps from that but her Act 2 and 3 with him were brilliant. I so admire how well dancers get up and carry on in these situations.

[San Perregrino]

57 minutes ago, maryrosesatonapin said:

It's interesting to note that Lukas BB is getting more prominent roles lately and I suspect he will be promoted again soon

 

i agree. it's unfortunate that he tripped over last night and i hope that this doesn't affect him..

[Linnzi5]

8 hours ago, bridiem said:

 

I don't know, but if so he was right! Unfortunately, however, a fall breaks the spell of the performance - you're suddenly reminded that this is a human being doing something that is in fact immensely difficult, and not the character and world that they and everyone else have been busy creating through both acting and technique. So sadly I think it does matter, and risk-taking does have to be tempered with good judgement about when to rein back to avoid disaster. But these are split-second decisions made under huge pressure, a pressure that would have been much higher even than usual last night because of the occasion. (And, in my experience the audience is always immensely sympathetic when someone falls, and they get even more applause than if they'd stayed upright!! Which is I think a very heart-warming tribute to human nature at its best.)

I totally agree with this. The loud gasps from my fellow audience in the cinema, plus the conversations directly after, did break the spell for me at the end. I also felt so sad and left the cinema wishing it had been different and feeling a bit deflated, but mostly so, so, disappointed for Mayara. 😢I think the audience are so supportive of dancers when things go wrong - in my experience they do indeed clap much louder, as do I. Mistakes happen - that’s live performance, but I also agree that risk-taking is just that 😊

[Linnzi5]

11 minutes ago, PeterS said:

 

i agree. it's unfortunate that he tripped over last night and i hope that this doesn't affect him..

He did but I thought he recovered like a true pro. I was so impressed! How these dancers carry on with such aplomb is just so inspirational. I know they are professionals and at the top of their league, but they have my admiration. 

[Dawnstar]

13 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said:

Hopefully he does at some point. The Carlos/Marianela 2013 one certainly is glorious, I love their chemistry together.

I was thinking Kaneko/Bracewell may have been an obvious filming choice, but maybe there's a rule that it can't be someone debuting, as I believe Bracewell was this year?

 

But it's good they weren't on yesterday as many members of the public wouldn't have been able to see them otherwise! I unfortunately was unable to see them this run but have booked Fumi for Manon (and may book Bracewell for Dante if there are any potential offers... hopefully)

 

I find it frustrating when couples I really want to see don't get a public performance, or only get one public/one for Schools (for example, Sissens and Sasaki in Swan Lake). Makes it harder to get tickets for the one performance!

 

I have no idea if there is a rule about not filming someone debuting but it does feel like it would cause extra stress to a dancer which probably isn't ideal for a debut. I was actually rather surprised they had a debutant Espada for the cinema cast. Also in terms of spreading cinecasts among the RB Principals Kaneko & Bracewell had last year's Nutcracker whereas Magri hasn't before had the lead for a cinecast as far as I can remember. (I know Ball had last year's SB but he wasn't originally scheduled for Don Q.)

 

Dancers not getting a single public performance is certainly annoying (I still haven't forgiven the RB for only giving Hamilton a Schools matinee as Manon in 2019 so I'll have waited 5 years to see her in the role!). One public performance I'm usually okay with but this season I do wish Buvoli's sole Sugar Plum Fairy wasn't on New Year's Day, as I really want to see her but my trains are going to be screwed.