ENB Mary Skeaping Giselle January 2024

[annamk]

12 minutes ago, FionaM said:

I think the Balcony might not be open for sales … rather than being sold out.

 

I think the Balcony has sold out for this evening - I was speaking to someone this morning who is going this evening and is in the front row of the balcony. She said the balcony looked sold out online but she rang the BO and bought 2 very cheap restricted view Balcony tickets over the phone. 

[Lizbie1]

1 hour ago, PeterS said:

That said, even though the tickets were reasonably priced at full face value, they didn’t sell quickly. Even with generous discounts of up to 50% it has been a struggle to shift 100s of seats until recent days. I think the blanket advertising on public transport plus 4 star reviews have really helped this week. Perhaps there’s been some papering, perhaps not.

 

My impression is that it has sold better than the 2017 run, when I was able to buy up a balcony seat for Cojocaru on a Saturday night at short notice.

[alison]

45 minutes ago, FionaM said:

I think the Balcony might not be open for sales … rather than being sold out.

 

Oh, it was open for sales until recently, just that there weren't many seats left.  Now none at all.  They were promoted very heavily months ago by certain of the ticketing websites, but I don't think there were any discounts.  (In fact, I think said websites were probably adding on some sort of admin fee)

[alison]

34 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

Treat yourself to a more comfortable seat, Alison? Still cheaper than ROH for similar unrestricted views.

 

I know, but still more than I'm comfortable affording at the moment.  And "comfortable"?  Don't make me laugh.  I had to move seats the other day because it wasn't physically possible for me to sit in the seat I'd booked.  Not marked as "restricted legroom" on the Coliseum website.  And I'm usually very reluctant to book Upper Circle until just before the performance, so that I stand a reasonably good chance of having some extra legroom through having nobody sitting immediately adjacent to me.

[Blossom]

4 hours ago, Roberta said:

Latest on Twitter / X  from ENB.

 

 

Thanks for this- checked in specifically for this. More so to check Alison McWhinney is still dancing!

[Emeralds]

8 minutes ago, alison said:

 

I know, but still more than I'm comfortable affording at the moment.  And "comfortable"?  Don't make me laugh.  I had to move seats the other day because it wasn't physically possible for me to sit in the seat I'd booked.  Not marked as "restricted legroom" on the Coliseum website.  And I'm usually very reluctant to book Upper Circle until just before the performance, so that I stand a reasonably good chance of having some extra legroom through having nobody sitting immediately adjacent to me.

It may depend on which row you pick. I get far more legroom than some of the £80-£100 amphitheatre seats I was browsing for Manon and Don Quixote at ROH. It may be that you're more willowy and slim than I, but a recent bugbear has also been one or two male attendees in ROH trying to sit on my actual seat or even lap as well as their own because there's no arm rest to deter them! Yuck. No such problem at Coliseum. A friend of mine picks the end of row seats to get more legroom but it misses out either Giselle or Albrecht's cottage- he doesn't mind. 

[CCL]

5 hours ago, Irmgard said:

Arrieta has graciously stepped aside to allow Frola to have a second performance, as he had to miss his show last Friday.  Khaniukova would have done the same for Oliveira but she is still injured

How lovely! 

[FionaM]

Lovely of Aitor to step aside from his scheduled show.

 

Did he not gain a show or more at the beginning of the run?   So this is a kind of sharing. 
 

It’s especially kind to Frola who must be keen for performance opportunities as I think he missed all of Nutcracker due to injury.  

[JohnS]

A very special bonus Giselle for me this evening having made a weather enforced late change to my London trip, travelling a day early to ensure I made tomorrow’s Manon GR/opening night. I wonder if tonight will provide the highlight of my Giselle/Manon/Elektra performances?

[San Perregrino]

1 hour ago, alison said:

 

Oh, it was open for sales until recently, just that there weren't many seats left.  Now none at all.  They were promoted very heavily months ago by certain of the ticketing websites, but I don't think there were any discounts.  (In fact, I think said websites were probably adding on some sort of admin fee)

 

1 hour ago, alison said:

 

I know, but still more than I'm comfortable affording at the moment.  And "comfortable"?  Don't make me laugh.  I had to move seats the other day because it wasn't physically possible for me to sit in the seat I'd booked.  Not marked as "restricted legroom" on the Coliseum website.  And I'm usually very reluctant to book Upper Circle until just before the performance, so that I stand a reasonably good chance of having some extra legroom through having nobody sitting immediately adjacent to me.

 

the SOLT Get Into London Theatre New Years Sale still had tickets available earlier today  in Stalls, Dress & Upper Circles for tonight, tomorrow and Thursday evenings discounted to £30, £40 & £50 depending on the seat. (not balcony)

[Emeralds]

There are still a small numbet of tickets left but one will need to contact the box office directly by phone or the Website chat facility. Tonight's performance seems to be turning into a hotter ticket than their traditionally more popular weekend matinées and evenings (we know why!)  😀

Chookas and toi toi toi to tonight's cast, crew and musicians!

Edited January 16 by Emeralds

[CCL]

7 hours ago, Emeralds said:

 

PS those of you with tickets tonight (you are very lucky either way!) and those not going, have a look at Aitor's incredible coda in Grand Pas Classique on ENB's social media yesterday. I swear he has wings there

Hello Emeralds, where is this please? I couldn’t find it on FB or IG and would love to see it!

[Fonty]

2 hours ago, PeterS said:

 

 

the SOLT Get Into London Theatre New Years Sale still had tickets available earlier today  in Stalls, Dress & Upper Circles for tonight, tomorrow and Thursday evenings discounted to £30, £40 & £50 depending on the seat. (not balcony)

 

Now you tell me!  Oh well, never mind, I had a Christmas present to use up.

 

[CHazell2]

I love this production and I think that it should be filmed for posterity.

 

I wonder why Cojocaru didn't like the production? Maybe it was too different to the Royal Ballet version.

 

 

[Roberta]

This is new today, Alessandra Ferri Masterclass on  Mary Skeaping's Giselle, from ENBs YouTube 

 

"16 Jan 2024 #EnglishNationalBallet #giselle

Now in the midst of our Giselle performances here is a look back at those golden moments when the extraordinary Alessandra Ferri transformed the studio into her canvas and coached Katja Khaniukova. A masterclass we're still in awe of!"

 

 

[Linnzi5]

Thanks to everyone who has posted their reviews and thoughts. I've not been able to get to see Giselle this time, but the insights, information about the production and reviews (and photos @Dawnstar) have been much appreciated.  

[Lizbie1]

38 minutes ago, CHazell2 said:

I wonder why Cojocaru didn't like the production? Maybe it was too different to the Royal Ballet version.

 

 

 

I'd be surprised if that's it - as I commented above Peter Wright had a similar experience. 🤷‍♀️

[alison]

That was really ... rather special 😍

[annamk]

Oh yes it really was ! 

[bridiem]

1 hour ago, Lizbie1 said:

I'd be surprised if that's it - as I commented above Peter Wright had a similar experience. 🤷‍♀️

 

I don't know what he has said elsewhere, but in his autobiography he said that Cojocaru 'was a great Giselle when she first did it with me in 2001. We worked well together and she won rave reviews, but later when she went off onto the guest artist circuit she never recaptured the original impact of her early performances'. Though I have to say that her later performances had no less of an impact on me than her stunning 2001 début.

[Rob S]

 

 

 

 

 

Well that was lovely ☺️ 

 

I was a bit too close to get a decent pic of the corps🤷🏻

 

[Tango Dancer]

32 minutes ago, bridiem said:

 

I don't know what he has said elsewhere, but in his autobiography he said that Cojocaru 'was a great Giselle when she first did it with me in 2001. We worked well together and she won rave reviews, but later when she went off onto the guest artist circuit she never recaptured the original impact of her early performances'. Though I have to say that her later performances had no less of an impact on me than her stunning 2001 début.

I didn't see her in 2001 but I thought she was amazing with the United Ukrainian Ballet.  For some reason that performance really touched me and she seemed to be so emotionally engaged and captivated by what she was doing.  

[Blossom]

Tonight was an absolutely fabulous evening and I will endeavour to this time spell Katja Khaniukova correctly…
 

First of all it was a very Ukrainian night, due to Miss Khaniukova but also due to a new find on Bedford Street a short walk away, a beautiful (gluten free) pastry shop owned and run by Ukrainian refugees where the soundtrack is Ukrainian pop and the cakes are delicious. It also happens to be vegan but don’t let that put you off, incredible flavour in every bite and a business worth supporting. Look up Cream Dream (yes really) on Instagram.

 

Giselle was an emotional evening, there is something about this ballet which just sets me off- the heartbreak for Giselle at the end of act 1, followed by the heartbreak for both Giselle and Albrecht in act 2, particularly at the end as Albrecht is left alone on stage and the curtain comes down.  The ballet -and the dancers- has the ability to stir up such  feelings despite having seen it numerous times. I was almost brought to tears at the end, a feeling I thought was only reserved for Osipova’s Giselle. 

 

Khaniukova made a perfectly sweet and gentle Giselle, with a beautifully soft port de bras and she conveyed a sense of innocencr and experiencing love for the first time. Frola is a personal favourite both in terms of his dancing and acting ability and I was not disappointed to see him as Albrecht tonight! The pair seemed to have a good connection on stage and it was possible to fall in love with them falling in love.The peasant pas de deux was well danced by Ivana Bueno and Miguel Angel Maidana- here I was disappointed not to see the initially billed Daniel McCormick but Angel Maidana delivered what appears by no means to be an easy collection of solos. The role strikes me as the equivalent stamina wise of Swan Lake’s Neapolitan three times over, one of those roles which a dancer might just be pleased to get through, so if a little imprecise in places, all was entirely forgiven. 
 

In act 2, a strong and chilling performance was delivered by Alison McWhinney who achieved the balance of heart-hardened Willi with a ghostly lightness. She toyed with her human prey like a cat with a mouse. 
 

Khaniukova beautifully hit the right notes in terms of the Romantic style of Giselle - to me Giselle’s entrance solo feels like going back in time and it’s another emotional high point for me. My one criticism is that in the jumps in this solo, particularly what I am thinking retrospectively are sissones (maybe someone can correct me if not), did not have the lift of my 2 favourites from ‘the top 5’, but this wasn’t a deal breaker for me in this emotionally intelligent performance.

 

The tension was high as Albrecht tried to connect with the spirit Giselle and I felt my heart ache for them as they did come together and dance once again.

Frola’s solo hit every high note.

 

The company as a whole made this a performance to enjoy, particularly the Willis led by Kinju Kang and Chloe Keneally as Moyna and Zulma. 
 

Overall left in  love with Giselle so glad to have DNB to watch on Sunday and this was a brilliant performance to also feel lots of love for ENB who really delivered.
 

A note about popcorn and audience: Despite the mentions on the forum I was still quite shocked to see the cinema sized proportions on offer and was very glad not to see or hear any in the stalls this evening. There did seem to be a large group of guests, or dare I say high value ENB supporters, in this area this evening who did not look like the popcorn sort! Overall a well behaved audience and a perfect night out and left on a high. 

[Blossom]

12 hours ago, Roberta said:

 

Just to draw to everyone's attention there is a really good photograph of the court ladies in their utterly beautiful Tudor dresses in the Gramilano review (see yesterday's Links From @Jan McNulty) by Jann Parry https://www.gramilano.com/2024/01/review-english-national-ballet-giselle/ Click on photos to enlarge. (One for @Blossom whose query it was.)

View from the stalls this evening allowed me to get a better look than at the dress rehearsal and I am on side, but made a note to look up ladies Tudor hats. 

[Roberta]

9 minutes ago, Blossom said:

ladies Tudor hats. 

 

Bonnets and caps images here as a starter!  https://www.uvm.edu/~hag/sca/tudor/bonnet.html

 

 

[Irmgard]

3 hours ago, CHazell2 said:

I love this production and I think that it should be filmed for posterity.

 

I wonder why Cojocaru didn't like the production? Maybe it was too different to the Royal Ballet version.

 

 

It was not that she did not like the production, it was just that there were elements she did not embrace, such as the mime scenes, preferring to do her own thing which could be rather disconcerting for her colleagues onstage. It would be lovely to have a proper film of the production - the late, great Eva Evdokimova planned to do so in the 1980s but sadly it never happened. 

[CHazell2]

4 minutes ago, Irmgard said:

It was not that she did not like the production, it was just that there were elements she did not embrace, such as the mime scenes, preferring to do her own thing which could be rather disconcerting for her colleagues onstage. It would be lovely to have a proper film of the production - the late, great Eva Evdokimova planned to do so in the 1980s but sadly it never happened. 

Could you ask for it to be filmed?

[alison]

It would indeed.  I assume there's quite a bit of film of it from last time around, given that various segments appeared in the programme "Giselle - Belle of the Ballet".

[Buru]

On 15/01/2024 at 10:35, LinMM said:

Indeed it can Buru. It can definitely make magical moments in time. 
But then I’ve always loved Giselle particularly and know the music so well now that if the sound is turned off on videos of dancers performing it I can supply the correct music …mostly lol! 
 However I might be a bit flummoxed by this Skeaping version as it has the extra music in the second Act which I like but am less familiar with. 

Please ENB bring Giselle back in 2-3 years not 7 as last time!!  

I felt the same way on Sunday.   Was almost ready to “sing” along. There was a bit of extra music in Act 1, I believe. Thanks to the forum for all these helpful details!

[Blossom]

7 hours ago, Roberta said:

 

Bonnets and caps images here as a starter!  https://www.uvm.edu/~hag/sca/tudor/bonnet.html

 

 

This is really interesting! I would argue a little artistic license has been taken with the aristocratic ladies’ hats which seem to have a larger brim but it does have the desired effect on stage. 
Wish I could do last night all over again but Manon tonight…

[Emeralds]

11 hours ago, CCL said:

Hello Emeralds, where is this please? I couldn’t find it on FB or IG and would love to see it!

I should have said it's under "Emerging Dancer" - Aitor Arrieta and his partner in the livestreamed performance, Julia Conway, were past winners (from different years). I've posted the YouTube link for the  ENB video so that everyone can see it fairly easily. (It was Monday's FB post from ENB.)

 https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DGB5lP-vnDiY&ved=2ahUKEwiyoabS7uODAxV6T0EAHVNgB-sQwqsBegQIARAG&usg=AOvVaw0sVzFOF4S47vIOvk8ynrpm

Edited January 17 by Emeralds

[Emeralds]

The Act 2 lighting was brighter for the Hilarion scenes (I can pick out what he's saying now!) last night. 🙂 Hurrah! 👏 Hopefully that will continue till end of the run! The reaction of the audience around me suggested it didn't affect their perception of the wilis frightening the gamekeepers off in the dark, and that's how the scene looked to me. (No flashes of phones being turned on during Act 2 this time from where I could see.)

Edited January 17 by Emeralds

[Emeralds]

11 hours ago, CHazell2 said:

I love this production and I think that it should be filmed for posterity.

 

I wonder why Cojocaru didn't like the production? Maybe it was too different to the Royal Ballet version.

 

 

I found that Cojocaru (like Sylvie Guillem a decade before her) danced Giselle in her own way once she was a veteran principal regardless of the version! However, Guillem in her debut with RB aged 22 in the role of Giselle took fewer liberties than she subsequently did (including  costumes). I didn't catch Cojocaru's Giselle debut with RB; only saw her in her last Giselle before leaving RB. I found Cojocaru's interpretation at RB even more radical- it was like she was in a 21st century ballet while the rest of the villagers and wilis were in the 19th century - which was still impressive but quite distracting as one spent about 20 minutes wondering what she was up to before adjusting to it. She seemed to fit in more with the Ratmansky production for UUB in 2022 although by then I was fully expecting her not to stick to what others had danced.  😂 

 

Last night must indeed have been a hot ticket- even @Rob S (aka Forum Official ROH Photographer!) came to the Coliseum and took photos. (Lovely photos, Rob S- thank you.) I especially liked the ones of Minju Kang and Chloe Keneally (Moyna & Zulma) in the foreground and Ivana Bueno with Emily Suzuki behind her. Fun to see the  Myrthas from other nights- Precious Adams, Angela Wood, Emily Suzuki - and another Moyna/Zulma pair - Francesca Velicu, Ivana Bueno- in the wilis corps last night. 

 

More veteran dancegoers in the audience last night and relatively fewer newbies, as expected from its midweek slot. No giggling at the veil lifting part; instead there were appreciative "ooohh"s behind me in the scene at the cross where Giselle appears to be flying/hovering in the air above her grave when she drops flowers to Albrecht to warn him to leave the area to avoid the wilis. It was indeed beautifully done. 

Edited January 17 by Emeralds