mshovelt Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 So, having had the privilege of seeing Anna Tsygankova and Matthew Golding on Monday, I had the opportunity, last night, to see Marianela Nunez and Thiago Soares. Aside from the fact that seeing the same ballet twice in the space of three days has simply strengthened the belief, in my wife, that I am insane, this was fantastic. Having been blown away from the moment Anna arrived on stage on Monday, I was a little underwhelmed by Marianela's entrance and opening scene (maybe I went in with higher expectations). However, after a slow start, Marianela got stronger and stronger and her second and third acts were near perfection, in my eyes; she just seemed a lot more comfortable once she got into her tutu :-). In the third act, her balances were exquisite and her fouettes faultless - Anna T seemed to drift quite a distance during her fouettes; so much so that I wondered whether it was meant to be like that. Marianela corrected me on this point! Thiago put in a decent enough performance, but he is no Matthew Golding - the gulf in power and technique between them was plain to see. I liked Nehemiah Kish and Claire Calvert as Espada and Mercedes but, in my opinion, Ryuichi Hirano and Laura Morera own those roles; there's just no touching them. Talking of Hirano, he surprised me greatly as Gamache - I thought he was excellent and showed another side to his considerable abilities. Finally, my thoughts on the music: Seligman conducted on Monday and Yates last night. To my somewhat uneducated ears, I honestly couldn't distinguish much of a difference between them. I though the pacing was more or less the same and the orchestra played fantastically on both nights. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mousem40 Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 I also thought T&G were a wonderful paring, ill certainly be looking out for them again and Ryuichi was excellent. I disagree about Morera however, did you not notice her very average performance during the 'cup' scene where she knocked one over? Watch 21:27 onwards for how it should be done. In my opinion this Mariinsky performance is in a different league to Acostas production which I've now seen twice (last year Acosta/Nuñez and Monday) http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-4EDhdAHrOg Who was the girl on Monday wearing the blue tutu in the Dryad scene? She was so sprightly, confident and technically proficient. She was the stand out performer for me and certainly deserves a more prominent role in future ballets (if she hasn't had one already) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 That would be Amour. I still don't know what she's doing in a tutu - hard to give the impression of being Cupid in a tutu, I think. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mshovelt Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 (edited) I did spot that she knocked a cup over but I was going to forgive her that small indiscretion when set against the overall way she projects the role :-). Francesca Hayward played Amour on Monday - I agree, she was fantastic. The YouTube link doesn't work for me - can you check it? Edited January 8, 2015 by mshovelt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 That's got me wondering: can Mercedes actually see where she's going, or do the flounces get in the way, in which case I guess she's dependent on the matadors positioning the cups accurately. I still miss the old days when the men used to stick daggers into the floor, although I can appreciate why that's no longer popular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nina G. Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 That would be Amour. I still don't know what she's doing in a tutu - hard to give the impression of being Cupid in a tutu, I think. I had exactly the same thought Alison. I was at Don Q. a few weeks ago and saw Yasmine Naghdi's beautiful interpretation of "Amour" and wondered why on earth she was dancing in a tutu? The costume designer(s) should have a good look at some Renaissance paintings and make note of how "Amour"/Cupid is dressed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 I didn't see Naghdi : I've only seen Hayward and Hinkis in the run. That reminds me to say that I really liked Nehemiah Kish as Espada last night - thought he owned the role - and Hirano as Gamache, which was unexpected. (Which in turn reminds me that I thought I'd seen a reference to Stepanek performing Gamache, but he's not noticeably down on the casting on the website to do it. Was I mistaken?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beryl H Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 I would have liked to have seen Nehemiah Kish as Espada, thanks for mentioning him, I did see Johannes Stepanek as Gamache and he was my favourite so far, wonderful comic timing, it was with the Takada/Campbell cast. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLOSS Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 I think that we should assume, until the contrary is proved, that the designs, as with everything else in this ballet, reflect Acosta's taste and wishes.The designer is rarely in a position to go off on a frolic of his own when it comes to deciding what the audience will see on the stage unless of course you are asked to design a production of the Sleeping Beauty. Anyone interested in seeing Francesca Hayward in something else could always try to get a ticket for Alice on the 15th January. I assume that she will turn up in Swan Lake but as management assumes that no one needs to know who is dancing the pas de trois or the Neapolitan dance because that sort of minor casting information would never influence ticket sales we shall have to wait and hope that some of us strike lucky in the ballet casting lottery.I understand that, as the Opera House no longer has booking periods covering two months at a time, it may not be possible to give details of the casting for divertisements when booking opens but I should have thought that it would pay to divulge that information when rehearsals begin as it might shift a few more tickets without the need to discount them. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangorballetboy Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 but as management assumes that no one needs to know who is dancing the pas de trois or the Neapolitan dance because that sort of minor casting information would never influence ticket sales... Given that there is only one ticket left on sale for the entire run of Swan Lake, I don't think management mind... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mousem40 Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 I did spot that she knocked a cup over but I was going to forgive her that small indiscretion when set against the overall way she projects the role :-). Francesca Hayward played Amour on Monday - I agree, she was fantastic. The YouTube link doesn't work for me - can you check it? Sorry that link was for the mobile version of the video, here is the full version. Sarafanov is exceptional in this production, really in another league. This is my reference for all DonQs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zf_n5bATF9w&index=7&list=PLaT1HFBc0s889Rrctv-jKTxJ9aDdmzwNG Thanks for letting me know her name, it seems Francesca is making quite a name for herself, and is being touted as the next great British Ballerina by the Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/oct/19/francesca-hayward-next-great-ballerina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nina G. Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 I hope Mr Acosta will take note of the above comments (assuming he is reading this Forum topic ) before the RB takes it on Tour this summer. If only the ROH website would show the names of those who will dance soloist roles besides the principal ones. I guess the Swan Lake pas de trois will be danced by dancers such as Choe, Takada, Maguire, Naghdi, Hayward,... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beryl H Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 I hope Mr Acosta will take note of the above comments (assuming he is reading this Forum topic ) before the RB takes it on Tour this summer. If only the ROH website would show the names of those who will dance soloist roles besides the principal ones. I guess the Swan Lake pas de trois will be danced by dancers such as Choe, Takada, Maguire, Naghdi, Hayward,... I've read somewhere that Marcelino Sambe will dance in the pas de trois but it didn't mention any girls' names. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petunia Posted January 14, 2015 Share Posted January 14, 2015 I know I'm a little late with this. But for everybody who liked Anna Tsygankova's Kitri so much - here she is with Matthew Golding and her home company, the Dutch National Ballet in the complete Don Q. (If you can stomach more Spanish stuff ) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4VtUk43vBk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balletfanp Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Not sure how to embed this properly, so apologies for my technical ineptitude, but ROH put up this video of Carlos rehearsing Vadim and Akane in the Act 2 pas de deux. Wonderful to watch - Vadim and Akane are just lovely, and what a character Carlos is! Very interesting and entertaining. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balletfanp Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Oh. It worked! Good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harwel Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 How lovely! Thanks balletfanp. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 I know I'm a little late with this. But for everybody who liked Anna Tsygankova's Kitri so much - here she is with Matthew Golding and her home company, the Dutch National Ballet in the complete Don Q. (If you can stomach more Spanish stuff ) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4VtUk43vBk A black screen appears saying that the video is unavailable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 A black screen appears saying that the video is unavailable. Could it be because Sky broadcasts this with some frequency and they may have purchased the UK broadcasting rights? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mallinson Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Presumably it was a commercial recording that should never have been there in the first place. Can't imagine why it has World Ballet Day as a caption since Dutch National was not part of that. There is an (official) Het Nationale Ballet promo with Tsygankova and Golding talking about Don Q. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Thanks for posting the link to the rehearsal clip, balletfanp. Carlos has so much personality and is a great coach: with a clear vision, sympathetic and fun all at the same time. I wonder whether Akane and Vadim will actually dance this in the US tour as Akane is not a principal and I imagine that US audiences expect to see principals. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balletfanp Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Perhaps they'll promote Akane in time for the US visit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bangorballetboy Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Perhaps they'll promote Akane in time for the US visit I doubt it; she was only promoted to first soloist last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petunia Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 A black screen appears saying that the video is unavailable. What a pity. It's strange because I'm watching it right now... . It is a work of Ratmansky and Jerome Kaplan and the music is played exceptionally well by Holland Symfonia. I didn't know Minkus could sound so beautiful - not in this awfully crashing circus music style. Anna Tsygankova is stunning in it, a very warm and funny Kitri, technically brilliant and with such a relaxed musicality! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mousem40 Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 Great video, thanks Balletfanp. Does anyone know how to be part of the audience at such rehearsals? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 What a pity. It's strange because I'm watching it right now... . Perhaps it's a rights issue or something? I know there was something recently that you couldn't watch because you were in Germany, whereas we in the UK could. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billboyd Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 Steven McRae and Iana Salenko - as good as it gets. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted January 20, 2015 Author Share Posted January 20, 2015 fab Don Q tonight - Steven McRae and Iana Salenko were superbly matched, each raising the other's game, with plenty of sparks a-flying! Backed up by great performances all round e.g. Fumi Kaneko was a lovely, utterly beautiful Dryad Queen, Anna Rose O'Sullivan a perky, light and quick footed Amour, in fact the whole corps were a delight in that Dryad scene. Will definitely miss this fun after this week! 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arky Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Couldn't agree more, Bill & Dave. A superb performance. Steven McRae and Iana Salenko were phenomenal! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beryl H Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 The only disappointment last night was not seeing Valentino Zucchetti as Espada, otherwise a great performance to end my run of Don Quixote, knew Iana Salenko and Steven McRae would be outstanding and of course they were, what a lovely surprise to see the Dryad Queen solo of Fumi Kaneko danced the way it should be at last! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Thanks for the video John. Those two look great together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balletbob69 Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 Couldn't agree more, Bill & Dave. A superb performance. Steven McRae and Iana Salenko were phenomenal! I can only agree with this 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted January 20, 2015 Share Posted January 20, 2015 I wonder whether Salenko is going to join the US tour for Don Q as there are a lot of performances to cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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