alison Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Well, it's good to hear from you on this, Kathy, and thank you for posting. I think the problem this year has been that there are some very major Boxing-Day engineering works - virtually nothing running south of the river as far as I can see - whereas in previous years there have at least been some trains available. I don't know what the situation was with Tubes and buses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annamicro Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Well, it's good to hear from you on this, Kathy, and thank you for posting. I think the problem this year has been that there are some very major Boxing-Day engineering works - virtually nothing running south of the river as far as I can see - whereas in previous years there have at least been some trains available. I don't know what the situation was with Tubes and buses. Lazy Britons :-) : I was able to be there from Milan landing in Gatwick at 17. Excellent back up service by Southern railway and I was lucky that all my travel plan went as schedul. A stressful afternoon but it was well worth it: Tamara Rojo was wonderful and I loved also Laurretta Summerscale, a great Ballerina in the making. Great performance by the whole company! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted December 27, 2013 Author Share Posted December 27, 2013 Well, it's good to hear from you on this, Kathy, and thank you for posting. I think the problem this year has been that there are some very major Boxing-Day engineering works - virtually nothing running south of the river as far as I can see - whereas in previous years there have at least been some trains available. I don't know what the situation was with Tubes and buses. You mean to say there is public transport in London on Boxing Day????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annamicro Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 (edited) Darling, I was travelling from Italy: everybody has her term of comparison. We call it Santo Stefano but it's the same mess. :-) The tube was excellent, I cannot say about buses. Sorry on the mobile I didn't notice it was a reply to Alison, anyway the transport I used were excellent :-) Edited December 27, 2013 by annamicro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted December 27, 2013 Author Share Posted December 27, 2013 Glad you made it over OK and enjoyed the performance. Are you seeing any more while you are here? Weather permitting I'm back to Leeds tomorrow and, if all goes to schedule, Miss Solari as Cinderella! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annamicro Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Glad you made it over OK and enjoyed the performance. Are you seeing any more while you are here? Weather permitting I'm back to Leeds tomorrow and, if all goes to schedule, Miss Solari as Cinderella! Of course Alina today! Enjoy Cinderella and Lucia! I am crossing my fingers for you (and me: tomorrow I have my flight back to Milan and on Sunday La Scala Ratmansky mixed bill! ) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Lazy Britons :-) : I was able to be there from Milan landing in Gatwick at 17. Excellent back up service by Southern railway Really? According to my information, they were one of the companies who weren't supposed to be running trains yesterday. You mean I could have got up there had I seen the information in time? Grrr. Or perhaps they were just running a daytime service and no evening one. Alina looked on very good form - and very happy - the other day when I saw her. I think the height difference between her and Muntagirov is perhaps a bit much for this ballet, though, and may have contributed to a muffed shoulder-sit in the pas de deux. Unfortunately, the production is doing the opposite of growing on me, whatever that is, which is a great shame considering the company are dancing it so well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stirrups36 Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 We really enjoyed our unplanned evening, good to see the differences between the different company versions as we have seen the BRB version previously. Tamara was indeed on super form. The dress circle was far from full, but when I looked online yesterday the upper circle and the balcony were pretty much full up. As for travel, we drove and parked just round the corner, something not possible on a normal day. As a North Londoner, I shall refrain from making any comment about South Londoners having difficulty travelling north across the river... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
annamicro Posted December 27, 2013 Share Posted December 27, 2013 Really? According to my information, they were one of the companies who weren't supposed to be running trains yesterday. You mean I could have got up there had I seen the information in time? Grrr. Or perhaps they were just running a daytime service and no evening one. Alina looked on very good form - and very happy - the other day when I saw her. I think the height difference between her and Muntagirov is perhaps a bit much for this ballet, though, and may have contributed to a muffed shoulder-sit in the pas de deux. Unfortunately, the production is doing the opposite of growing on me, whatever that is, which is a great shame considering the company are dancing it so well. What I know is that yesterday Victoria was closed, but the replacement for Gatwick is arriving at Bridges, so everything was apparently regular. I will see today, but I didn't think that the difference of height was a problem in Le Corsaire. I even think that, excluded Kobborg if course, Cojocaru dances better with tall dancers, being "long", dancing grand, and extending herself on the music. This was sadly evident in many shows at the ROH, when she was cast with shortish and compressed dancers. Luckily the one who makes the cast at ENB agrees with me, so I am looking at the future with hope and confidence. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 A fabulous performance yesterday afternoon by ENB, particularly the Snowflakes. As with Sleeping Beauty last year, the ENB Corps impressed me with their synchronicity and the Snowflakes were a joy to watch. Poor Nancy Osbaldeston almost came a cropper in the final lift of the Chinese dance but thankfully seemed unscathed and as always her dancing was superb. Many truly excellent performances but highlights for me were the Spanish Dance with particular flair and verve, and Barry Drummond as adult Freddie who does get dragged around in the Arabian dance. Vadim was glorious. No other word for him. It was wonderful to see Alina and yes, there is a height difference but she and Vadim were beautiful to watch. My only slight criticisms were the lack of transformation scene (nothing changes size and it's an extended battle - seems such a waste of that glorious music), the strange garish purple-tinged light in Act 2 (almost like UV light in a fairground ride) - I dislike it every year. I was distracted by how young (and small) "Clara" was - too short for Vadim and no taller than her younger brother Freddie (in fact they could have been twins in terms of height). She looked like a little girl and not a young teenager on the verge of becoming a young woman. I much preferred it in previous years when the Young Clara was played by dancers who were taller and looked more like 14/15 year olds. No criticism of the hugely hardworking ENB dancers and Orchestra though who did not look at all "Nutcrackered out" - impressive given how many performances they do! :-) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Yes, both Claras are smaller, and therefore looked younger, this year. I don't know whether they actually are younger or whether they are just very small for their age. Of course, they looked even smaller next to Vadim who is very tall (he must be over 6 foot). I agree that an older looking Clara is preferable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwimum6 Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 The current young Clara is in 3rd form , the first cast Clara in second form. They are not using older girls as the older children are focussing on their academics. I agree the story works better if the girls look old enough to teem burgeoning passion. Young Freddie's were from 1st and 2nd form this year. I think this works well as my lad looked a bit tall last year. ( he was just about to embark on a huge growth spurt and grew 7 inches in as many months. Insane!) The current child cast has some very young dancers in it and I love that diversity. The age variations make it look like a real party IMHO. Only a few performances to go! My little girl will be too tall next year ( she already looks tall in this cast) so I will probably have my first normal Christmas after seven consecutive Nutcrackers . 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Are these girls very small and young-looking for their age? The first cast Clara looked about 11 (but she must be at least 13) and the second cast Clara looked about 10 (but must be at least 12). The latter was the same size as Freddie who has usually been quite a lot smaller than Clara in previous years. I thought that Wayne Eagling intended the part to be played by a 14 year old girl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 I'm pretty sure we saw your lovely dd, Kiwimum (27th matinee?) and if so, she was one of the taller girls BUT actually I thought she looked just right and that, in fact, "Clara" looked too small. I remember when your older dd danced Clara and she looked perfect in both age and height. :-) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 (edited) A great curtain call at this afternoon's performance for what was rumoured to be Daria's last ever Nutcracker. Vadim carried her on aloft to applause from the assembled company and she came forward many times to receive the acclaim of an enthusiastic audience. A sad moment but...... THANK YOU DARIA FOR ALL THOSE SHOWS. ENB'S NUTCRACKER STAGE WON'T FEEL THE SAME WITHOUT YOU.......... Edited January 3, 2014 by capybara 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted January 3, 2014 Author Share Posted January 3, 2014 Daria tweeted this morning: "Last Nuts of the season - a ballet I've done the most shows and productions in 25 years. I still love it and i'll definitely miss it xx" @DKlimentova Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 Oh, I wondered whether it might be (thank goodness I was there this afternoon), but I had thought that she might retire following a performance of The Nutcracker next Christmas. It's good to hear that she loves it. I wonder how many versions she's done in the 25 years. Everyone seemed to be on top form this afternoon (although the Tring choir was not as tuneful as it should be). From the balcony the Waltz of the Flowers looked particularly good as you could see the patterns very well. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwimum6 Posted January 3, 2014 Share Posted January 3, 2014 The trouble I is they audition the kids for their dancing, not singing and a third of them are not full time students anyway..... Not to mention some ill with a virus ( inuding my dd) that precluded singing. Very young children used this year including a 7 and 8 year old! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnross Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Well this afternoon they were fine. In Tune and together. And the dancing was fine. The view from the Upper Circle is not ideal but when six of us were there it is too costly to go dress or stalls. The two juniors were excelent and deserved their call. Elena Glurdjidze, Arionel Vargas, Fabian Reimair and Anton Lukovkin brought the season to a close with great credit. The orchestra were excelent. My two grandchildren from Australia were thrilled. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 And the season ended with some fun: the three Chinese dancers took their curtain calls on hobby horses and two of the participants from the Russian dance let off some party sparklers. Then, after many a bow, when the curtain finally came down, a big celebratory cheer went up from the company. Including Liverpool, ENB performed Nutcracker 44 times this year yet today's performance still felt fresh and energetic. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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