Cescablue Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 The ROH has just announced Giacomo has been promoted to soloist. 14 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cescablue Posted January 5 Author Share Posted January 5 https://www.instagram.com/p/C1uKE42tXxn/?igsh=dTZleDVuYzI1YWh2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 Oh that’s lovely news and well deserved!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cescablue Posted January 5 Author Share Posted January 5 I agree - noticed him in the Thieves section of The Dante Project and then was so lucky to see him in the Nutcracker Insight with Marianna Tsembenhoi. Looking forward to seeing what he does next! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiari Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 Lovely news! Congratulazioni Giacomo!! Looking forward to see more of him 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 Great news. After having seen him as Hans Peter a couple of weeks ago I thought that he would be promoted to Soloist very soon...but I was not expecting it to be THIS soon! Very unusual to promote someone mid-season these days. Interesting.... Many congratulations to Giacomo. Very well deserved. 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 That's great for Rovero. I wonder why they've done it mid-season? Could it mean he's got some biggish roles coming up? I seem to recall the last mid-season promotion was Reece Clarke a few years ago just before he debuted Onegin (not suggesting that Rovero is going to be dancing any role that big!). 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 What lovely news.🙂 Interesting that it's a) in the middle of the season and b) we've been given a month's notice of it 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 The ROH website already shows him as a soloist and says that he was promoted in 2023. ? Presumably a typo re the date, but you'd think they'd wait anyway since they've given a specific future date for the promotion. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaM Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 The ROH moves in mysterious opaque ways! Delighted by this promotion and hope to see him in more featured roles soon. Benno perhaps? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 Obviously huge congratulations to Giacomo. But a mid season promotion does rather create an air of mystery. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linnzi5 Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 Congratulations! Very well deserved! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blossom Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 Absolutely delighted for him. Very much enjoyed seeing Giacomo rehearse and perform as Hans Peter. Looking forward to seeing him in some soloist roles. 49 minutes ago, bridiem said: The ROH website already shows him as a soloist and says that he was promoted in 2023. ? Presumably a typo re the date, but you'd think they'd wait anyway since they've given a specific future date for the promotion. You must have caught this mid update as it now says 2024! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silke H Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 (edited) 1 hour ago, Dawnstar said: That's great for Rovero. I wonder why they've done it mid-season? Could it mean he's got some biggish roles coming up? I seem to recall the last mid-season promotion was Reece Clarke a few years ago just before he debuted Onegin (not suggesting that Rovero is going to be dancing any role that big!). That was exactly my thought process. are there any meatier roles in Manon or Swan Lake where casting etiquette requires a certain rank? I'm delighted with these surprising news nonetheless. Edited January 5 by Silke H 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 Just now, Silke H said: That was exactly my thought process. are there any meatier roles in Manon or Swan Lake where casting etiquette requires a certain rank? 46 minutes ago, FionaM said: The ROH moves in mysterious opaque ways! Delighted by this promotion and hope to see him in more featured roles soon. Benno perhaps? Benno was the first possible role that came to my mind too, given the upcoming rep. However I'm pretty sure that in the last run the role was danced by at least one dancer then still at First Artist level, Joonhyuk Jun, so it doesn't seem to be a role that would require a dancer to be promoted to Soloist. Maybe Rovero will be dancing a significant role in the MacMillan triple bill, as we still have no casting for that. I can't think of anything major he's likely to be doing in Manon, as even if a replacement was needed in a hurry for either of the 2 main male roles there must be about a dozen men who'd be ahead of him in the queue. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 Are those ballets really subject to strictly conditions re the rank of the dancer in particular roles? I can imagine the Cranko estate insisting on that kind of thing for Onegin though😄 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaM Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 I think the soloist title might work in a different way. I.E. once a dancer is a soloist they are not expected to do corps de ballet group work. This does not preclude corps de ballet from being cast in soloist roles. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silke H Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 1 minute ago, Rob S said: Are those ballets really subject to strictly conditions re the rank of the dancer in particular roles? I can imagine the Cranko estate insisting on that kind of thing for Onegin though😄 which is why I phrased it etiquette and not condition 😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 54 minutes ago, Blossom said: You must have caught this mid update as it now says 2024! That's good; but wouldn't it be better to proof-read an update before it goes live on the website? Just saying. (And yes, I know it's the promotion that matters not the website... but it's just annoying that they're so sloppy.) 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 It's early days in January yet - maybe someone forgot? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 (edited) 21 minutes ago, alison said: It's early days in January yet - maybe someone forgot? No doubt - that's what proofreading (before going live) is for. Edited January 5 by bridiem 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 (edited) 1 hour ago, Rob S said: Are those ballets really subject to strictly conditions re the rank of the dancer in particular roles? I can imagine the Cranko estate insisting on that kind of thing for Onegin though😄 In the last Onegin run Donnelly & Sissens both danced Lensky while still First Artists so the Cranko estate evidently doesn't insist all the leads are at Soloist or above level. ETA To drag my post back on topic, I could imagine Rovero making a good Lensky. Edited January 5 by Dawnstar Added 2nd paragraph. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 16 minutes ago, Dawnstar said: In the last Onegin run Donnelly & Sissens both danced Lensky while still First Artists so the Cranko estate evidently doesn't insist all the leads are at Soloist or above level. That's so Artistist though!!😄 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJW Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 Also mentioned in this evening's Friends ENews PROMOTION FOR GIACOMO ROVERO The Royal Ballet is delighted to announce that Giacomo Rovero has been promoted to the rank of Soloist, with effect from the beginning of February. Congratulations Giacomo! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Perregrino Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 (edited) Perhaps the promotion, rather than being in advance of a possible role, is a delayed one that is in recognition of Giacomo’s wonderful dancing to date and could be given once he had proved himself as the Nutcracker. It also makes it possible, in theory at least, for him to be promoted again at the end of the season. Edited January 5 by PeterS 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophoife Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 (edited) Congratulations to Giacomo Rovero! Maxim Zenin danced Siegfried as a corps de ballet member in late 2023 and has been promoted to soloist (skipping coryphée) at AusBallet. Misha Barkidjija danced the same role as a coryphée and has been promoted to soloist. Yuumi Yamada danced Odette-Odile, Titania and Kitri as a soloist and has been promoted to senior artist. Edited January 5 by Sophoife Added last paragraph 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DVDfan Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 I'm sure there are people on this forum who know more than me about these things, but I'm sure I read years ago that, at ROH, roles are labelled as principal, soloist etc. When a soloist dances a principal role, they receive an extra payment, when an artist dances a soloist role they receive a bonus payment and so on. Depending on the details, this might mean it is actually cheaper to promote than keep on with extra payments, but in any case it must be simpler, besides having been well earned. Watching Giacomo's partnering, stamina, dramatic ability and general lovely dancing at the insight, I was surprised to see that he was not already a soloist looking towards promotion to the next rank. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawnstar Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 I've had another thought on the mid-season timing: could it be because Tomas Mock retired in December, thereby leaving a vacancy at Soloist level? 11 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 23 hours ago, FionaM said: I think the soloist title might work in a different way. I.E. once a dancer is a soloist they are not expected to do corps de ballet group work. This does not preclude corps de ballet from being cast in soloist roles. At RB,ENB and a number of other companies, only principals are excluded from corps de ballet duties. I've seen first soloists and soloists dancing as anonymous (but very valuable) members of the corps as wilis, courtiers, dryads, male and female gypsies, swans (not the cygnets or Big Swans but the corps), the "group" in Requiem, etc. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizbie1 Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 Is there anything formally known or understood on good authority about the rank at which RB dancers are excused corps work? I've seen a number of versions asserted with confidence on various threads, another being that first soloists would only be pressed into the corps in extremis (and possibly only with their consent). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 1 hour ago, Emeralds said: At RB,ENB and a number of other companies, only principals are excluded from corps de ballet duties. I've seen first soloists and soloists dancing as anonymous (but very valuable) members of the corps as wilis, courtiers, dryads, male and female gypsies, swans (not the cygnets or Big Swans but the corps), the "group" in Requiem, etc. There is often not much I like about Wayne McGregor's choreography, but one of the things I like every time is that no-one has to worry about this stuff....Principals dance with Artists on a level playing field. The most recent example I can think of is Giacomo Rovero dancing a pdd with Mayara Magri in Dante, and holding his own confidently and with panache (something which may well have contributed to his promotion). 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mona Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 3 hours ago, Lizbie1 said: Is there anything formally known or understood on good authority about the rank at which RB dancers are excused corps work? I've seen a number of versions asserted with confidence on various threads, another being that first soloists would only be pressed into the corps in extremis (and possibly only with their consent). Here Isabella Gasparini writes (in 2020) about what her promotion to Soloist meant in terms of roles and workload: https://www.isabellagasparini.com/post/from-corps-de-ballet-to-principal-dancer 4 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 (edited) Not sure how in extremis the situations I saw were, but as examples I've seen (when they were at First Soloist and/or Soloist level) Matthew Ball, Luca Acri and James Hay in the corps of the Swan Lake Act 1 Waltz, Yuhui Choe in the Requiem corps, Akane Takada, Helen Crawford and Beatriz Stix-Brunell as corps dryads in Don Quixote (Akane also dancing Kitri's friend in other acts), Yasmine Naghdi and Tierney Heap as corps Snowflakes, lots of soloists as corps Swans etc etc. (Also similar examples at ENB). Many of these RB dancers also did the same corps duties in the cinema broadcast so it wasn't just a one off. I did read one dancer mentioning that it's only when you become principal that you will no longer get asked to do corps/ensemble work at all. It looks like the soloists and first soloists probably do less corps work than artists and first artists but I don't think they get completely exempt as that would mean they actually don't dance all that much during the whole season if dancers of other ranks are also dancing solo roles some of the time. PS Congratulations to Giacomo! Certainly at the performance of The Nutcracker I saw him in, he looked very much like a soloist/first soloist/principal calibre dancer with excellent dancing (such smooth finishes and great musicality too), sensitive partnering and depth of interpretation. His performances in other ballets in 2023 also marked him out to me as "rising talent who will go far"! Edited January 6 by Emeralds 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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