Manon, Royal Ballet Winter 2024

[Richard LH]

12 minutes ago, bridiem said:

Btw, I did go down to the Floral Hall at the first interval to see if I could find any Forumites, but the usual table wasn't there and I couldn't see anyone familiar. Apologies if there was a gathering and I didn't see it!

That's a shame @bridiem; I did the same thing and wandered around for a bit in the Floral Hall before finding a group in little  corner between the main stairs (up to the Crush Room etc and down to the old foyer) and the window overlooking Bow Street. Maybe next time ?!

[bridiem]

20 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

That's a shame @bridiem; I did the same thing and wandered around for a bit in the Floral Hall before finding a group in little  corner between the main stairs (up to the Crush Room etc and down to the old foyer) and the window overlooking Bow Street. Maybe next time ?!

 

I think that's about the only direction in which I didn't look! That's a pity. Yes, I hope next time @Richard LH 😊

[Richard LH]

What an exemplary, emotional display of artistry from Alex and  Frankie, supported by a great cast....such a fitting tribute to Alex's final performance.  So wonderful to be able to see this, and witness all the love and respect shown by his colleagues on stage at the end. A very special night...

[Missfrankiecat]

1 hour ago, lady emily said:

Pantuso stood out for me as well. Happy I’ll be seeing her in Winter’s Tale 

She has palpable star quality.  I always notice her.

[Sim]

Just now, bridiem said:

 

I think that's about the only direction in which I didn't look! That's a pity. Yes, I hope next time @Richard LH 😊

If the usual table is given over to formal dining, then we sit wherever we can, usually to the right of the little stairs (as you are looking at them in the FH) either in that corner by the door that leads out onto the terrace, or next to it.  Do come and say hello next time.  @Richard LH, thanks for finding us; it was great to see you again! 

 

[Linnzi5]

1 hour ago, bridiem said:

Btw, I did go down to the Floral Hall at the first interval to see if I could find any Forumites, but the usual table wasn't there and I couldn't see anyone familiar. Apologies if there was a gathering and I didn't see it!

So did I. As I couldn't see anyone,  I left. So I'm really sorry not to see everyone  Last night was wonderful. Very special. Lots of wonderful things to say but I'm still processing it all! Lovely speech from Alex.  

Edited March 9 by Linnzi5

[Sim]

Just now, Linnzi5 said:

So did I. As I couldn't see anyone so I left. So I'm really sorry not to see everyone  Last night was wonderful. Very special. Lots of wonderful things to say but I'm still processing it all! Lovely speech from Alex.  

I saw you going down the little staircase and called your name but you didn't hear through the noise...I was sitting in the middle so couldn't dash out to grab you.  Next time.  x

[Linnzi5]

Just now, Sim said:

I saw you going down the little staircase and called your name but you didn't hear through the noise...I was sitting in the middle so couldn't dash out to grab you.  Next time.  x

Oh no! I didn't hear or see anyone - sorry! Next time I will look around more carefully!  

[capybara]

I have other comments for the parallel thread but I wanted to say what a pity it was that, last night, the Ushers began to throw flowers so soon after Manon and Des Grieux had stood up after their heart-rending pas de deux in the swamp. 
 

I don’t think that I was alone in needing to stay in the story (as usual), with a brief drop of the curtain drawing a close to the story and a start to the celebrations. 

[Beaker]

47 minutes ago, capybara said:

I have other comments for the parallel thread but I wanted to say what a pity it was that, last night, the Ushers began to throw flowers so soon after Manon and Des Grieux had stood up after their heart-rending pas de deux in the swamp. 
 

I don’t think that I was alone in needing to stay in the story (as usual), with a brief drop of the curtain drawing a close to the story and a start to the celebrations. 

It is funny you should say this as I also felt this - it didn’t really matter in the bigger scheme of things but I’d have appreciated a quick curtain drop as it was quite jarring to come out of the ballet. 

[FionaM]

I noticed Lukas BB was the client in green who does most of the lifting in the ballroom scene where the clients keep Manon aloft.  In all the previous shows it has been David Donnelly.  I wanted to  recognise and applaud both these dancers for their strength and confident partnering.  It is a considerable supporting role.  This role is also the 4th man in the card game with Des Grieux, Lescaut and GM.  
 

Later as the party really gets going I got distracted by Lukas partnering his real-life fiancée Mariko Sasaki (she was 1 of the 2 fighting courtesans) in the waltz with the sliding splits  They were having so much fun together!   Wonderful ❤️

[Beaker]

As I mentioned previously I am coming back to ballet after a number of years. I ended up seeing this with Campbell/Hayward on both the Saturday and this Friday ( it quickly got its hooks into me!). 
 

One thing that really struck me as I said re swan lake is the depth and breadth of the whole company now. The corps, soloists are all dancing beautifully. It really feels like a world class company at the peak of its powers. 
 

I love Manon and always tend to book it for Des Grieux as much as ( if not more than) Manon. For me he is the emotional heart of the story, the one who changes the most. I also find his choreography one of the best examples of the steps themselves saying everything, when danced well the acting is truly through the dance. Others have said it way better than me but I found Alexander Campbell had such artistry in the role, so much depth and compassion. I actually particularly loved his Act 2, that he shows the frustration and anger at Manon who continues to want the riches - one of the tragedies of course being that Manon can never be the person he wants her to be, she does stay true to herself, and that moment after his outburst when he pulls her back apologising. I was really deeply moved by him ( and feel genuinely sad I missed the middle part of his dancing career!).

 

For me Manon ( and Lesceut) are survivors in a difficult world. Manon knows that riches are the way to survive, I always tend to see her and her brother as a team, with disdain for those around them. I actually think in many ways her brother is her true love for much of the ballet and the person who fully knows her. I loved Hayward’s grief when he died, the way she ran to him when injured and reached out. To my mind his death and her descent into poverty are what breaks Manon - she has become what she always feared and fought against. 
 

[ctas]

What a beautiful performance last night! I’ve seen three Manon casts this time around and they were all wonderful, but it was a special treat to see yesterday’s. Francesca Hayward’s acting is so wonderful throughout, and the final pdd was very moving. It will be one I’ll treasure for a long time! 

[Cescablue]

2 hours ago, FionaM said:

I noticed Lukas BB was the client in green who does most of the lifting in the ballroom scene where the clients keep Manon aloft.  In all the previous shows it has been David Donnelly.  I wanted to  recognise and applaud both these dancers for their strength and confident partnering.  It is a considerable supporting role.  This role is also the 4th man in the card game with Des Grieux, Lescaut and GM.  
 

Later as the party really gets going I got distracted by Lukas partnering his real-life fiancée Mariko Sasaki (she was 1 of the 2 fighting courtesans) in the waltz with the sliding splits  They were having so much fun together!   Wonderful ❤️

At all of the performances I've seen the client in green has been Lukas! I was beginning to wonder if anyone else had danced the role - and you've answered that question, thank you!  (Though I had thought that at least one other person must do as he has been the gaoler in some casts!)

 

Lukas and Mariko caught my eye dancing together too!

[Silke H]

4 hours ago, FionaM said:

I noticed Lukas BB was the client in green who does most of the lifting in the ballroom scene where the clients keep Manon aloft.  In all the previous shows it has been David Donnelly.  I wanted to  recognise and applaud both these dancers for their strength and confident partnering.  It is a considerable supporting role.  This role is also the 4th man in the card game with Des Grieux, Lescaut and GM.  
 

Later as the party really gets going I got distracted by Lukas partnering his real-life fiancée Mariko Sasaki (she was 1 of the 2 fighting courtesans) in the waltz with the sliding splits  They were having so much fun together!   Wonderful ❤️

I believe that character's name is Poodle

[Silke H]

2 hours ago, Cescablue said:

At all of the performances I've seen the client in green has been Lukas! I was beginning to wonder if anyone else had danced the role - and you've answered that question, thank you!

This run Poodle was shared between Lukas BB, David Donnelly and Giacomo Rovero

[Cescablue]

1 hour ago, Silke H said:

This run Poodle was shared between Lukas BB, David Donnelly and Giacomo Rovero

Yes, I've heard that name mentioned! Thanks for confirming who has danced in this run, Silke, much appreciated!

[Dawnstar]

15 hours ago, nycitybird said:

And Gary Avis's acting is just next level. I was having a hard time looking away from his interactions with Frankie at the table.

 

I pretty much didn't look away from them. I was riveted by the drama going on between Manon & GM. It was completely different not only from the other GMs & their Manons but also from Avis with the other Manons he's appeared opposite. Hayward's Manon was unhappy & withdrawing from GM far earlier in the scene than any other Manon. Avis's GM was exasperated & not understanding her behaviour. Just before her solo it felt like he was saying "You don't want to play with me? So what do you want to do? Dance?" Even the diamond bracelet only seemed to make her happy for a minute. Afterwards I felt like I should apologise to the Gentlemen & Courtesans, whose dancing I barely noticed, and Campbell, given I should really have been focusing on him.

 

Further to the discussions a few days ago about the Beggar Chief, Lescaut & GM's watch, it was interesting to see last night that Zuchetti not only watched the Beggar Chief picking GM's pocket but immediately afterwards they had a short conversation. Which I felt indicated that they were plotting something together about the watch so the giving it back to GM & getting money in return could have been pre-planned. It also looked like the lucky Beggar Chief might have got 2 coins off GM this time, as there was the sound of one hitting the stage but it also looked like Masciari caught one!

Edited March 10 by Dawnstar

[capybara]

@Rob S ‘s curtain call images of all the Manon/Des Grieux on his IG account have caused me to reflect further on the performances I saw.

 

Each was wonderful in its own way (what a run!) but, for me, three transcended the heights because of the way the two leads used the movement and every inch of their bodies to tell the story and convey the emotion.
 

A very special instance of this was Des Grieux’s beautiful desperation solo towards the end of Act 2. In three cases, the way this was danced was ‘off the scale’ amazing and tore at my heart strings like never before; in the others, the anguished facial expression was there but the movement itself felt more contained and so didn’t ‘speak’ the turmoil as effectively. (Isn’t the music at that point ‘to die for’?).

 

However, overall, I feel we’ve been very spoiled, with every performance reaching a particular kind of height, and this grateful fan is going to take a while to ‘come down’ to earth.

[Jamesrhblack]

“…the anguished facial expression was there but the movement itself felt more contained and so didn’t ‘speak’ the turmoil as effectively.”

 

That’s such a good observation. It is when the dance is expressive not just the face that the art form “sings.” 

[FionaM]

@capybara do say who, please 🙏

[Beaker]

@capybara - thank- you this is what I was trying ( and failing!) to express. When the acting is truly at one/through the dance it is something so special. Watching it can make you feel as if you understand the character completely in that moment. 

[Jamesrhblack]

Which is where Alexander Campbell, and before that Laura Morera, always seemed to be so particularly special.

[Dawnstar]

I can only think that I am less discerning than @capybara about movement because I found all the Des Grieuxs I saw (six live plus Clarke at the cinema) to be very moving in the Act II Scene I solo. I couldn't pick just three of them. I feel we've been very spoilt by Des Grieuxs this run (though admittedly I did skip seeing the two who I didn't think would do it for me). My mother asked me after Friday's performance who my favourite leads had been in this run and while, after some thought, I said that Lamb just edged it for me among the Manons, I couldn't even begin to try to select a favourite Des Grieux.

[Sim]

Now that a few days have passed since the emotional final night of Manon on Friday, I have been trying to collect my thoughts about the whole run.  Which was my favourite?  Which moved me the most?  The answer is...I can't answer!!  I saw seven of the nine casts and each of them brought something wonderful to the MacMillan table.  Both debutants and established interpreters of the roles moved me beyond measure, and each brought their own touches and interpretations to their performances.  Part of MacMillan's genius is that he leaves so much room for just such variances in portraying the characters that they are all interesting; none are right or wrong.  50 years after its premiere, Manon never fails to touch my heart, and the constant roster of RB artists who dance it never cease to amaze me with how deeply talented they are.  And I never stop being awestruck and grateful for how lucky we are to have these incredible artists in our midst.

[LinMM]

I believe Francesca Hayward said something like this that she loved Manon because it was like starting her dancing career all over again so obviously there’s something about actually dancing  this role which gets to the depths of one’s being. 

[Linnzi5]

6 hours ago, Sim said:

Now that a few days have passed since the emotional final night of Manon on Friday, I have been trying to collect my thoughts about the whole run.  Which was my favourite?  Which moved me the most?  The answer is...I can't answer!!  I saw seven of the nine casts and each of them brought something wonderful to the MacMillan table.  Both debutants and established interpreters of the roles moved me beyond measure, and each brought their own touches and interpretations to their performances.  Part of MacMillan's genius is that he leaves so much room for just such variances in portraying the characters that they are all interesting; none are right or wrong.  50 years after its premiere, Manon never fails to touch my heart, and the constant roster of RB artists who dance it never cease to amaze me with how deeply talented they are.  And I never stop being awestruck and grateful for how lucky we are to have these incredible artists in our midst.

I agree. The performances touched me deeply and I can pick out bits from each different interpretation that I loved. Because the nuances were often slightly different, I am not sure I can choose between them. Even if there were some little things that I didn't love as much in comparison to other performances, there was always something else I loved to counterbalance that. I loved seeing the dancers different interpretations and connections with each other. I thought the debutants did such an amazing job and the non-debutants brought different interpretations to the roles they were revisiting, so they were fresh and exciting. 

 

The standard was so high from the Principal dancers, particularly, that I am in awe of them. 

 

What a brilliant run. The RB at their best. 

[Missfrankiecat]

I would echo what @Sim@LinMMand @Linnzi5 have recently written about the Manon run.  I would not usually dream of seeing 4 casts in the same production over a matter of a few weeks, but can honestly say each of the different casts completely transported me on the night: I noticed different nuances and appreciated slightly different interpretations of the roles.  Such high standards from all taking part.  

Overall I too had no favourite cast, but I will say Osipova and Campbell's interpretations of Manon and Lescauts'  interactions made me reflect more about their sibling relationship and how central it might be to the plot.  Their acting really made me think about a back story to their characters.  Quite an achievement to layer that on such superb dancing.

This thread has also been a rich source of information and insight into the other performances I missed, so thanks to all who have contributed.

[MildConcern]

While I didn’t see as many casts as some (only managed Kaneko and Lamb casts live and Osipova on replay) I agree that the principal standard was exceedingly high in this run.

 

That being said, the corps were more ragged than I’ve seen previously - in particular, uneven 3 ‘gentlemen’ in Act 2, and the beggar boys didn’t fare much better. One of my favourite (?) parts of choreography is the women from boat at the start of Act 3 (where they clutch their heads), but I found some of the emoting in this sequence a bit half hearted in the casts I saw, compared to previous runs. And I think we are in desperate need of new inspiration at the Monsieur GM role (Avis can’t be on every night!)
 

 

[Dawnstar]

59 minutes ago, MildConcern said:

And I think we are in desperate need of new inspiration at the Monsieur GM role (Avis can’t be on every night!)

 

I thought it was a pity Whitehead only got to do 2 performances of Monsieur GM. He only did 2 performances as the Gaoler too. I know he did one of the Clients & the Old Gentleman as well but it still felt like he was rather under-used in the two larger character roles, which was particularly surprising given there were only 3 available GMs. (Looking back at the 2019 casting, performances were a lot more evenly spread with 4 GMs getting 3 or 4 performances apiece.)

[FionaM]

17 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

 

I thought it was a pity Whitehead only got to do 2 performances of Monsieur GM. He only did 2 performances as the Gaoler too. I know he did one of the Clients & the Old Gentleman as well but it still felt like he was rather under-used in the two larger character roles, which was particularly surprising given there were only 3 available GMs. (Looking back at the 2019 casting, performances were a lot more evenly spread with 4 GMs getting 3 or 4 performances apiece.)

It’s sad that Thomas Mock left the company.  He’d have been great in this role.  Seems like the company is in need of more male principal character artists.  But who?   I was thrilled to see Aiden O’Brien added to the Drosselmeyers this last season.
 

It’s not easy being a character artistic and still having strength for lifts.   As I mentioned elsewhere I noticed the better fluidity of lifts when Lukas BB performed Rothbart last week.

[Scheherezade]

8 minutes ago, FionaM said:

 

It’s not easy being a character artistic and still having strength for lifts.   As I mentioned elsewhere I noticed the better fluidity of lifts when Lukas BB performed Rothbart last week.

He made a great gaoler too. 

[Sim]

18 hours ago, MildConcern said:

And I think we are in desperate need of new inspiration at the Monsieur GM role (Avis can’t be on every night!)
 

 

Having seen Lukas BB as a very sinister Von Rothbart and an evil Gaoler, I think he could make a very nasty GM in the next run.