Osipova & Vasiliev - Coliseum August 2014

[bangorballetboy]

Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev are doing at show called Solo for Two at the London Coliseum from 6 to 9 August 2014. Details here.

[MAB]

Thanks for the 'heads up', As they will be performing new works, I'll certainly go to see them, wonder how the ticket sales will go?

[alison]

Well, given that the Balcony is closed and the bottom price elsewhere is £39, I doubt that a lot of the ballet regulars will be able to afford to go

[Bruce Wall]

The pricing is, I agree, Alison, distressing in terms of access ... but that may well not be the producers' current concern.  I have a feeling that some discounting will have to be wrought ... and they may simply be wishing to cash in on advance as much as possible.  In terms of the renters that is understandable.  Still, I can only feel that a goodly portion of these ticket fares have been set with discounting being an expected option - especially at that time of year - and given the ENO's disturbing ( to be read: truly shocking) established history in terms of their concerted lack of marketing at the Coliseum on behalf on ANY productions short of their own.  The latter actions surely speak for themselves.  

Edited May 7, 2014 by Meunier

[Beryl H]

Well, given that the Balcony is closed and the bottom price elsewhere is £39, I doubt that a lot of the ballet regulars will be able to afford to go

 

 

I imagine this is the first time the cheapest seats at the Coliseum are £39 for ballet,  when they closed the Balcony for BRB there were £17.50 seats available in the Upper Circle.

[LinMM]

Will definitely have to find a way to see them and glad to hear that Osipova is obviously recovering well from her recent injuries.

 

This is a good week for last minute tickets as shall be in London all that week.....if fit myself!......to do the Chelsea Ballet summer school.

 

However I had been thinking about trying to see Lopatkina in Swan Lake on that Monday and not sure if will be able to afford both as will be queuing for returns and don't like restricted views or back of Amphi. .......so will have to stretch a bit!

Perhaps go for a cheaper one at the Coli or postpone holiday till Christmas!!!

[Bruce Wall]

I imagine this is the first time the cheapest seats at the Coliseum are £39 for ballet,  when they closed the Balcony for BRB there were £17.50 seats available in the Upper Circle.

 

This commercial production comes without the UK subsidy given to BRB via the extraordinary largess of the British taxpayer.  I remember the back row of the balcony for NYC Ballet being set at £35, then the cheapest fare - and that was set by the juncture of the Coliseum overseers and Sadlers Wells, again two entities who enjoy hearty subsidy (NYCB itself playing against an established guarantee as per established tradition.)  Certainly those producers as noted had copious discounting late in the day for these performances and even then NYCB played to sadly ... and wholly undeserved ... diminished houses.  Peter Martins himself remarked that he was dumbfounded at the logistics employed.   It had then been a quarter of a century since NYCB last appeared in London.  I suspect it may be as long again - if indeed not longer - before a British dance audience will again see NYCB - or perhaps other world class ballet companies short of the Russian ones - on their home turf.  Entire generations of dancing careers will have been sadly lost to their greater enjoyment/erudition.   

Edited May 7, 2014 by Meunier

[alison]

This commercial production comes without the UK subsidy given to BRB via the extraordinary largess of the British taxpayer.  I remember the back row of the balcony for NYC Ballet being set at £35, then the cheapest fare

 

Was it really the cheapest?  In that case, I must have got half-price tickets or something, because I went to a couple of performances, and even back then £35 was way out of my budget.

 

I realise that companies like BRB are subsidised, of course, but it has to be pointed out that the Hochhausers manage to make a number of tickets available - in a slightly smaller theatre - for rather less than £39, and they, of course, aren't subsidised either.  Plus they are bringing over a whole company and, presumably orchestra.  This habit of closing the balcony which is starting to emerge is very unfair on the ballet-going public, since it either greatly restricts or makes totally unavailable the cheap seats on which so many of us depend.

[aileen]

I feel that it might have been wiser for Osipova and Vasiliev to take their production to Sadler's Wells. They are big stars though and Carlos Acosta managed to fill the Coliseum last summer even though he was competing with the Bolshoi. I can't remember whether this has been mentioned before, but ENO has announced that it will be staging musicals at the Coliseum in the future which may reduce the availability of the Coliseum for dance companies.

[aileen]

I've just seen that Sylvie Guillem is bringing Push to the Coliseum this summer, for five performances.

[Beryl H]

This commercial production comes without the UK subsidy given to BRB via the extraordinary largess of the British taxpayer.  I remember the back row of the balcony for NYC Ballet being set at £35, then the cheapest fare - and that was set by the juncture of the Coliseum overseers and Sadlers Wells, again two entities who enjoy hearty subsidy (NYCB itself playing against an established guarantee as per established tradition.)  Certainly those producers as noted had copious discounting late in the day for these performances and even then NYCB played to sadly ... and wholly undeserved ... diminished houses.  Peter Martins himself remarked that he was dumbfounded at the logistics employed.   It had then been a quarter of a century since NYCB last appeared in London.  I suspect it may be as long again - if indeed not longer - before a British dance audience will again see NYCB - or perhaps other world class ballet companies short of the Russian ones - on their home turf.  Entire generations of dancing careers will have been sadly lost to their greater enjoyment/erudition.   

 

 

I certainly remember sitting up in the Balcony for NYCB as it was expensive, didn't realise tickets were £35 though, it had a strange benefit as between the Saturday matinee and evening I went to Harrods and bought a marvellous pair of opera glasses, what a difference in the evening, think it was the last night!  Terrible shame about the small audiences.

 

As for expected offers, this is so unfair to the poor people who pay the full price, I always think this and is one of the reasons I am trying to keep away from the Coliseum as much as I can!

[Bruce Wall]

Was it really the cheapest?  In that case, I must have got half-price tickets or something, because I went to a couple of performances, and even back then £35 was way out of my budget.

 

As mentioned, Alison, the £35 figure was when they first announced it .... There was huge discounting well in advance of their opening ...

 

I realise that companies like BRB are subsidised, of course, but it has to be pointed out that the Hochhausers manage to make a number of tickets available - in a slightly smaller theatre - for rather less than £39, and they, of course, aren't subsidised either.  Plus they are bringing over a whole company and, presumably orchestra.  This habit of closing the balcony which is starting to emerge is very unfair on the ballet-going public, since it either greatly restricts or makes totally unavailable the cheap seats on which so many of us depend.

 

This kind of practice is happening all over the place I fear .... I see that NYCB frequently choose to close the 4th Circle at the Koch (formerly NY State) Theater .... Can't believe that would ever happen during Balanchine's life time.  All I can say is thank heavens I developed my taste for ballet decades ago ... and was able to thrill to the end of the so-called dance boom before such seeming greed had taken more frequent and obvious hold (not, of course, that I don't understand and appreciate the reasoning behind it.)  Still, I've frequently felt that you have to give a little in order to meaningfully take. 

[Shade]

So pleased that Osipova and Vasiliev are dancing together again - that is very exciting. I hope to attend this if I can. Agree that the Coli is a large venue to fill but I must say that I find it very much convenient for me to travel to so I don't mind!

[Don Q Fan]

Well I've got my front row seat in the Upper Circle and I thought  the ticket price of £49 very reasonable/on a par compared to ROH/Birmingham Hippodrome.  Pleased it coincides with the Mariinsky so makes a trip to London worthwhile - I'll throw in Buckingham Palace now too ;-)

 

Re NYCB that was a crying shame when they came to London and when I went to see them in Paris the following year (?) the Opera Bastille - largest Opera House in Europe - was full to capacity - some difference!  It was great. 

[Coated]

....and there goes one of my Mariinsky Swan Lake tickets. I considered resisting for about 8 seconds, but with those two and a Pita piece I never stood a chance. Bit grumbly about the price, but with only one possible date I wouldn't have the nerve to hang around for potential offers

[Bruce]

A weird thing is this. 3 Days ago Ballet San Jose sent out this press release:

 

############################################
FOR RELEASE MONDAY, MAY 5

BALLET SAN JOSE  ANNOUNCES INTERNATIONAL TOUR WITH NATALIA OSIPOVA AND IVAN VASILIEV

FEATURING ROLAND PETIT’S CARMEN IN ORANGE COUNTY, CA, MOSCOW AND LONDON JULY 25-AUGUST 9

San Jose, CA, May 5, 2014 – Ballet San Jose  Artistic Director José Manuel Carreño has announced that the Company has been invited to tour with celebrated former Bolshoi Ballet stars Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev in performances in Southern California, Moscow and London this summer. The tour repertoire will feature Osipova and Vasiliev’s debuts in Roland Petit’s Carmen with Ballet San Jose  with the balance of the program comprising pas de deux to be performed by the former Bolshoi artists. Performances will be given July 25-27 at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, CA; July 31 and August 1-3 at the Stanislavsky Theatre in Moscow, Russia; and August 6-9 at the London Coliseum in London. The tour is presented by Ardani Artists. For more information, visit www.balletsj.org or www.ardani.com.

“We are all thrilled to have been invited to join Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev on this international tour,” says Mr. Carreño. Ballet San Jose concludes is current season May 9-11 at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts with performances of Roland Petit’s Carmen and Twyla Tharp’s In the Upper Room.

############################################

 

And 2 days later I get the Solo for Two press release from the UK PR folks and there is no mention of Carmen, or Ballet San Jose. The www.ardani.com site currently has a page about the Solo for Two project but no details at all.

 

You can See the Coliseum page on the bill here: http://www.eno.org/whats-on/other/solo-for-two

In Words they say:

"The pair will dance two world premieres commissioned by the Segerstrom Center for the Arts for them. The first of the world premieres will be Passo by Ohad Naharin, artistic director of Batsheva Dance Company, with music by Autechre and Greensleeves English traditional folk music. It will be followed by a new work by Arthur Pita called Facada, danced to music by Frank Moon, Phil King and traditional Portuguese fado."

The London Press Release (but not the Coliseum site) says there is still a "PIECE TO BE ANNOUNCED" before the 2 premieres and I'm hoping that is Carmen.

The Segerstrom currently list the bill that is being performed in July as:
"The Kingdom of the Shades scene from Petipa’s La Bayadere
Roland Petit’s Le Jeune Homme et la Mort"

and of course that is not in agreement with the BSJ release either.

All very Russian!

Conclusion Re London:
1) Coliseum site just talks about the bill title and two premieres - there is no mention of any other work and that is what you are buying.
2) There may be more presented in London, but there is nothing official in London on this.
3) If there is another work in London it may be Carmen. Possibly!

Edited May 8, 2014 by Bruce

[Bruce Wall]

You pays your money and you get ????? !

 

Caveat Emptor.

 

T'was ever thus I believe ... 

 

Sometimes there is more calculation in the risk than in others ... and certainly it fits in with the proliferation of gambling shops on the high streets ... 

Edited May 8, 2014 by Meunier

[billboyd]

I've read 'somewhere' on Facebook that they are doing Carmen.

[bangorballetboy]

Bruce, the Coliseum page yesterday mentioned Petit's Carmen and BSJ.  I wonder why it no longer does.

[Bruce Wall]

But then Petit's Carmen is not - if memory serves - a solo for two.  

 

I thought, too, I read somewhere an indication that Jose Manuel Carreno himself would be appearing with the San Jose Ballet (of which Carreno is AD) as the supporting players ... and the scenery borrowed from ENB.  ..... But perhaps I imagined this too .... 

 

Might be prudent to hold off any purchase until production content realises a little more sustainable clarity. 

Edited May 8, 2014 by Meunier

[Beryl H]

This might help, I've been doing some sleuthing and this programme is on the Stanislavsky Theatre's website, as part of the tour, and the programme  is Carmen, Passo, and Facada, with the San Jose Ballet. They start at Costa Mesa in July, then the Stanislavsky, then the Coliseum.

[Ian Macmillan]

Beryl:  I'm not at all sure that this does help.  The Stanislavsky site only appears to go as far as 3 August, and I see nothing that offers clarification about what's to be put on in London from 6 August - which, if I read him rightly, is Bruce's question.  (Indeed, and perhaps I was being naive, but I read the ENO announcement yesterday as meaning that the whole show would involve only the Russian pair.)

[Bruce]

Update: Don't know why but heard that Carmen is not being danced in London. Something extra will be in but not known yet.

[alison]

There was definitely a mention yesterday of sets for Carmen being borrowed from ENB.

 

Oh well, it's all pretty academic if you can't afford the tickets in the first place, I guess, so I'll just wait and see what transpires.

[Don Q Fan]

I am not really bothered what pieces are on offer what matters to me is that it is an opportunity to see Natalia and Ivan dance together (although I do no think they can ever eclipse their Don Q performances with the Bolshoi at ROH in 2009 or was it 2010?!)

[John Mallinson]

At the end of Allan Ulrich's Ballet San Jose review in today's Links there is mention of a Carmen tour including London (and O & V):

 

…this "Carmen" production (with Russian stars Natalia Osipova and Ivan Vasiliev in the leads) and the company will tour to London, Moscow and Southern California this summer.

[LinMM]

I will be up in London tomorrow and can call in at the Coli in person to see if they can clarify anything but often they don't seem to know themselves much about all productions about to be put on there.

[aileen]

I'd love to see Osipova and Vasiliev in Carmen with the dancers of Ballet San Jose but I won't book unless and until this is definite. I don't want to see a gala type performance.

[alison]

There's a review of SJB in Carmen in today's links: http://bachtrack.com/review-ballet-san-jose-carmen-may-2014

[LinMM]

Needless to say the Coli had no idea what the programme would be. They just said they probably haven't decided yet!!

So not much help I'm afraid.

[RobertL]

From the ENO website:

The pair will dance two world premieres commissioned by the Segerstrom Center for the Arts for them. The first of the world premieres will be Passo by Ohad Naharin, artistic director of Batsheva Dance Company, with music by Autechre and Greensleeves English traditional folk music. It will be followed by a new work by Arthur Pita called Facada, danced to music by Frank Moon, Phil King and traditional Portuguese fado.

Edited May 17, 2014 by RobertL

[Mary]

I would love to see them, but, like others, am very unsure about the content-( and like others I am finding  there is so much to see this year that the ballet ticket fund is getting a bit low)

...so this is most helpful, and if anyone can advise on what these pieces might be like, all information gratefully received!

[MAB]

For me the words 'new work' tend to trump all other considerations, if I'm in London I'll definitely go.