Fonty Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 There is a clip of Durante on Youtube, doing a terrific RA. I think it is the one where the whole ballet was filmed by the ROH. And of course, as I mentioned on another thread, there are several clips of Margot Fonteyn :sigh: How I wish I could have seen her in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Best Rose Adagio I've seen recently at RB was Hikaru Kobayashi. Yes, I think so, too. Am desperately keeping fingers crossed, hoping, praying, whatever, that nothing happens to upset that casting in the next run. Who did I see with BRB last year? I think it was Sakuma, but it might have been Hirata. Anyway, it was a great pleasure to sit and watch in absolute confidence that nothing was going to go wrong with the RA I think Cuthbertson was having a bit of an off night: I remember sitting in the cinema and thinking what a shame it was that it had to happen in a live broadcast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MargaretN7 Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 And of course, as I mentioned on another thread, there are several clips of Margot Fonteyn :sigh: How I wish I could have seen her in it. I did see her in it, tho' my first Aurora was Svetlana Beriosova. With both of them, no high extensions or excessive balances, and impeccable manners towards and sweet smiles for each of the suitors in the Rose Adage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 It's interesting that these former dancers, who were not thought to be as technically proficient as today's dancers, seem to have had fewer problems with the Rose Adagio. Perhaps, in striving for higher extensions and longer balances, today's dancers are making it harder than it needs to be and sacrificing the character and feeling of this iconic set-piece. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nina G. Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 I share Pas de Quatre's view and I was totally underwhelmed with Miss Cuthbertson's performance in SB. She is a Principal after all but her weak (televised) performance did not reflect her rank, nor did it reflect well on the RB. I realise all dancers have "off days" but there were just too many wobbles and falling out of her pirouettes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patsomerset Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 I totally agree. I was very disappointed with Lauren Cuthbertson's performance when SB was first transmitted live to the cinemas and I think I said so on this site. It did not reflect at all well on the RB considering it was transmitted world wide. I wondered at the time why this performance had been chosen for live transmission particularly as there were other Principals in the RB at the time who I would have thought could have represented them rather better. Lauren had after all appeared in one live transmission in R&J. It seemed strange to select the same Principal twice 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capybara Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Lauren had after all appeared in one live transmission in R&J. It seemed strange to select the same Principal twice It might be 'that English thing' rearing its head again! More generally, let's wait to see how Lauren fares as Aurora this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 I think that dancing when one's performance is being transmitted live must put the dancer under an incredible amount of pressure and that it would be better to cast the very strongest dancer in the particular role (even if it ends up being Marienela every time!). It's not far to the dancer otherwise. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fonty Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 It's interesting that these former dancers, who were not thought to be as technically proficient as today's dancers, seem to have had fewer problems with the Rose Adagio. Perhaps, in striving for higher extensions and longer balances, today's dancers are making it harder than it needs to be and sacrificing the character and feeling of this iconic set-piece. I assume that if you take the attitude higher, it tends throws your weight further forward? This means a greater adjustment has to be made to get your balance. I've not noticed any of the modern dancers going for longer balances, at least not when I've been watching. Aurora usually takes ages to get to the stage where she can throw her arm up to join its companion for a brief moment, before grabbing the next suitor's arm with visible relief! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 I'm so sorry that our London-based members did not get the opportunity to see Momoko Hirata and Maureya Lebowitz in the recent BRB run - their balances were breath-taking! Well actually their whole performances were breath-taking... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 Lauren had after all appeared in one live transmission in R&J. It seemed strange to select the same Principal twice Actually, that was 3 months after Sleeping Beauty. But yes, I did wonder at her being selected twice. Mind you, at the rate the RB are currently going, quite a few principal couples ought to get a cinema outing in the major ballets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmie Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 (edited) I've not yet watched the Xmas RB Sleeping Beauty broadcast but I'm enjoying this discussion on the Rose Adagio . Nicely wetting my appetite for the upcoming Royal Ballet run. Edited January 8, 2014 by Timmie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shmendrick Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 I quite like the Cuthbertson/Polunin SB. The vision scene is particularly lovely. Also the fairy variations in the prologue were all well danced, though I thought Choe, Kaneko and Maguire stood out there. The new fairy costumes look much nicer than on the Cojocaru/Bonelli dvd as do the Lilac's attendants and the cavaliers. Kristen McNally made an excellent Carabosse. The maids of honour dance in Act 1 was well done and I thought Lauren's entrance was good. The balances in the RA weren't the best but other than that I thought it went well, does anyone know why Kish was one of the suitors? It seems like odd casting for a Principal. Really the pirouettes in the solo should be doubles not triples, I'd rather see clean doubles than flubbed triples. I thought she got better as the ballet went on though. The dances at the wedding were all well done, I hate the cat pas de deux with a passion but even I have to admit it was well danced. The Bluebird pas de deux was truly lovely, Choe and Campbell dance well together, I'd like to see them cast in a longer ballet. I must say I didn't really warm to Polunin in this, I felt Bonelli did a much better job on the dvd. I don't think Polunin quite interacted with the rest of the cast as well as he could, his performance felt a bit disconnected almost, though he partnered very well in the vision scene and grand pas de deux. I'm not sure Cuthbertson/Polunin were really the best partnership, they have very different styles. I didn't like the changes to Aurora's Act 1 tutu and lord only knows why they thought that shade of pink was a good colour for the Lilac Fairy's tutu. I also dislike the choreography used for the first part of the grand pas coda. Overall I liked the production and the supporting dancers but I think it could've benefitted from a different partnership at the centre. (Rojo/Polunin or Cuthbertson/Bonelli would've been fabulous). I also watched the Kish/Yanowsky Swan Lake. I'd sincerely love to see those two live in this ballet, it seems to suit them really well. Kish makes a wonderful prince and Yanowsky really came into her own in Act 3 when she could plot to her heart's content, although her heartbreak in Act 4 was beautifully done. Gary Avis makes a wonderfully malevolent Von Rothbart and Itziar Mendizabal and Hikaru Kobayashi were lovely as the lead swans. The Act 1 pas de trois was well done, Campbell and Choe again, although Helen Crawford did well Yuhui Choe really stood out, her arms are just so beautiful and she never over-does them as some do. Love the Nunez/Soares dvd but this one is equally good, in my eyes anyway. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shade Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 There is a lovely YT clip of Evgenia Obratzova as Aurora with Olga Smirnova as the Lilac Fairy in the Bolshoi production. I would have loved to have seen that performance. I am though looking forward to seeing the RB production this season. I have not seen it since I saw Viviana Durante in the previous production. She was marvellous but the scenery made my head swim! This production seems much improved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted January 8, 2014 Share Posted January 8, 2014 I don't think that Prince Desire is Polunin's type of role. As someone said above, it's a difficult role to make interesting as there's not a lot of bravura dancing. I think that only the most elegant dancers can really pull it off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmie Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 I also watched the Kish/Yanowsky Swan Lake. I'd sincerely love to see those two live in this ballet, it seems to suit them really well. Kish makes a wonderful prince and Yanowsky really came into her own in Act 3 when she could plot to her heart's content, although her heartbreak in Act 4 was beautifully done. Gary Avis makes a wonderfully malevolent Von Rothbart and Itziar Mendizabal and Hikaru Kobayashi were lovely as the lead swans. The Act 1 pas de trois was well done, Campbell and Choe again, although Helen Crawford did well Yuhui Choe really stood out, her arms are just so beautiful and she never over-does them as some do. I totally agree, I though Act 4 was superb. I was quite misty eyed come the end! The beautiful mime in this act really makes it for me, SL without mime is OK, but not the same. I'm also noticing Itziar Mendizabal more and more these days, in this, in Don Quixote and in the recent run of Jewels (Emeralds). And, is there any particular reason why eight of the swan maidens are in black tutus? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmie Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 I think that dancing when one's performance is being transmitted live must put the dancer under an incredible amount of pressure and that it would be better to cast the very strongest dancer in the particular role (even if it ends up being Marienela every time!). It's not far to the dancer otherwise. I’m reading the Faber Pocket Guide to Ballet at the moment and in it Deborah Bull says “It is, quite simply, the most terrifying dance in the ballet repertoire”. With a live broadcast it must be totally terrifying! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Timmie, I've got the same book, I think. Deborah Bull's commentaries are really interesting. Have you read the one about the 32 fouettes in Swan Lake where she says that, in order to deal with the lactic acid, she had to warm up almost to the point of exhaustion before she went on stage. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmie Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Timmie, I've got the same book, I think. Deborah Bull's commentaries are really interesting. Have you read the one about the 32 fouettes in Swan Lake where she says that, in order to deal with the lactic acid, she had to warm up almost to the point of exhaustion before she went on stage. I think that warm up was for Symphony in C (?), either way the book gives a good insight as to the fact that some pieces are not necessarily hard in themselves but hard because of where they come in a performance. The book is definitely a fascinating read with the ballet descriptions by Luke Jennings then the 'view from the wings' by Deborah. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odyssey Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Although any ballet on television is welcome, I must admit to being a little disappointed with the dancing in the Prologue -a couple of the fairy variations and Act 1 where I agree about Laura Cuthbertson's Rose adagio - she didn't have an assured set of balances. However, overall I enjoyed her performance. I was interested in Janet's comment about Sandra Madgwick's ( BRB) Aurora, because I have similar memories of a very secure adagio, also Yoko Ichino who was guesting with BRB. The footage of Fonteyn is a treat to watch because although her leg in attitude is not so high as we currently see, she projects a confidence in that position which suggests she could hold the balance indefinitely. Dowell's solo in Act 2 ( thankfully filmed) is so beautifully controlled, it is the yardstick for me . Polunin I guess being a different type of dancer, didn't have the impact I was anticipating. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Although any ballet on television is welcome, I must admit to being a little disappointed with the dancing in the Prologue -a couple of the fairy variations and Act 1 where I agree about Laura Cuthbertson's Rose adagio - she didn't have an assured set of balances. However, overall I enjoyed her performance. I was interested in Janet's comment about Sandra Madgwick's ( BRB) Aurora, because I have similar memories of a very secure adagio, also Yoko Ichino who was guesting with BRB. The footage of Fonteyn is a treat to watch because although her leg in attitude is not so high as we currently see, she projects a confidence in that position which suggests she could hold the balance indefinitely. Dowell's solo in Act 2 ( thankfully filmed) is so beautifully controlled, it is the yardstick for me . Polunin I guess being a different type of dancer, didn't have the impact I was anticipating. Now you are making me jealous Odyssey! I never had the pleasure of seeing Yoko Ichino dance but one of my friends saw her and David Nixon dancing with NBoC many years ago and never shut up about it! That is the main reason I knew who David Nixon was when he became AD of NB! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odyssey Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 I think it was the first season of the BRB . And yes I was lucky to see both Yoko Ichno and David Nixon. I have just looked at my cast list from that performance and Miyako Yoshida, Karen Donovan and Ravenna Tucker were amongst the fairies. Happy days. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Q Fan Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 (edited) I saw DQ and thought that a lot of Act 2 was far too dark; there were some parts where you could hardly see the dancers and, in the case of the Vision Scene, the striking set. I assume that this was the filming as I don't remember any of the live performances which I saw being that dark, although they were a bit dark in places. It's a shame as I thought that the Vision Scene in particular lost much of its magic in the transmission. Alternatively, perhaps there was a problem with my parents in law's television! I liked the lilac dresses for Kitri's friends even less on the television; I thought that the shiny material looked a bit cheap and nasty. Precisely my thoughts too about being dark - the cinema relay was dark as well and the beautiful big pink flowers in the Dream Scene were lost :-( Hope they can tweak this for the forthcoming DVD otherwise I will pass on it. it's about time the Bolshoi DQ DVD came out too although I really did not like the extra bit with the mini cupids in the relay version which is what i believe they are releasing to DVD. Suppose I can fast forward. Edited January 12, 2014 by Don Q Fan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pas de Quatre Posted January 12, 2014 Author Share Posted January 12, 2014 That is the trouble with filming live performances. What looks atmospheric live on stage can become very gloomy on film or tv. Normal filming or tv transmission uses very bright lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 12, 2014 Share Posted January 12, 2014 Yes, you should have seen the big-screen live relay of Onegin: really, really dark, certainly in the bedroom scene. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shmendrick Posted January 13, 2014 Share Posted January 13, 2014 And, is there any particular reason why eight of the swan maidens are in black tutus? I may be confusing Swan Lake and Swan Princess again but are they something to do with Odile? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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