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Post by ctas on Mar 30, 2019 14:36:13 GMT
Dawnstar I’m here right now for the matinee!
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Post by ctas on Mar 29, 2019 23:34:27 GMT
It’s been a while but back tomorrow for Don Quixote and then again on Wednesday for, uh, Don Quixote. I’d been reading this excellent interview with Marcelino Sambé ( www.pointemagazine.com/marcelino-sambe-ballet-2633056877.html ) and “accidentally” grabbed a rush ticket to see him perform in the week. Very excited to give this production a try again.
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Post by ctas on Mar 21, 2019 14:07:27 GMT
The bit that gets me about this story is that the cloakroom at the ROH is free...
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Post by ctas on Mar 18, 2019 22:02:02 GMT
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Post by ctas on Mar 15, 2019 18:12:53 GMT
Not exactly the same thing... The ENB are doing the Wheeldon production, which I enjoyed when I saw the Dutch ballet but it’s not the Ashton. Which I desperately want back in the ROH!
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Post by ctas on Mar 14, 2019 9:03:35 GMT
My ballet wish list is the same as it is every year:
• Cinderella instead of the Nutcracker at Christmas. Please, Kevin O’Hare, please please please please. It’s been so long.
And this year I’m adding: • Onegin. So Thiago Soares can have one last run of it as his career winds down now he’s stepping back from being a principal. • Symphonic Variations • Les Patineurs. It was a beautiful Christmas alternative this year!
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Post by ctas on Mar 14, 2019 8:55:05 GMT
It’s been about a year since I won I haven’t entered daily since but occasionally I’ll open the app and enter anyway.
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Post by ctas on Mar 14, 2019 8:50:58 GMT
Interestingly nobody has mentioned dance or ballet. Being a contemporary dance watcher predominantly it's harder to clock up repeats but fans of ballet surely must rack up a long list of Swan Lake etc over a lifetime? I have racked up a few repeats of Matthew Bourne shows already, and the odd Hip Hop dance show that rolls around. Alright, I’m here now 😂. I genuinely haven’t/can’t bring myself to count numbers of times over the years because I’ve been a semi-regular at the Royal Ballet since I was very young but my most repeats of the same production in a season is probably the four Sleeping Beautys I witnessed a few years ago at the ROH. I had tickets to see as Aurora: my favourite (Nuñez), an exciting debut (Hayward), a guest performer (Salenko) and a ballerina who stepped in as injury replacement (Takada) when I greedily tried to book a second Hayward performance. As a general rule I will repeat view within the same season if it’s a ballet or a performer I particularly love, or if there’s a guest performer as you don’t get as much opportunity to see them. So, the upcoming run of Romeo and Juliet is getting rather expensive for me even if I restrict myself to cheap seats! This general rule of who/what I book for has actually changed my opinion on a few ballet productions, as the first time I saw Manon I was underwhelmed but the second time I saw Roberto Bolle using my “guest performer” rule and his performance made me love the ballet so much I booked again to see him the very next week. I saw three Manons in that particular run! As for plays and musicals, my most is anything Kander and Ebb. I saw Chicago in every West End home it had and also go whenever it hits Wimbledon, I’ve seen a fair amount of Cabaret, I’m already seriously considering two visits to Curtains in one week when that tour starts and the biggest would be the 17 times I saw The Scottsboro Boys. I saw it once at the Young Vic, tried and failed to get a ticket for later in the run as it was already sold out and raved about it to enough people that a year later when the Garrick run started I’d been gifted four sets of tickets within the first ten days of the run. They also ran an excellent 25-and-under scheme for £10 tickets that I miss being the right age for! The show had a drop off in attendance in the middle (although towards the end of the run audiences filled right back up again!) and I felt compelled to keep supporting it as it moved me so much every time. And at £10 a go who can argue with that?! When I counted up and realised it was 16 times in a 20 week run it felt a little ridiculous but I loved every performance.
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Post by ctas on Mar 13, 2019 16:23:45 GMT
In contrast, dayseats for last Wednesday’s matinee were a breeze. Strolled up at 9:30, about seventh in line, finished my coffee and purchased my seats. Great experience!
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Post by ctas on Mar 6, 2019 23:07:31 GMT
Katherine McPhee, she originated the role. It depends who the producers nominate, Mel C was somehow eligible and nominated for taking over in Blood Brothers. It's bloody weird. As recently as this decade they’ve had different people nominated in consecutive years for the same role. Kyle Scatliffe and Brandon Victor Dixon in 2014 and 2015 respectively and a few years before that was Ruthie Henshall & Maria Friedman both as Velma Kelly one year after the other. I’d love to know what the official rule is.
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Post by ctas on Feb 23, 2019 7:49:02 GMT
Well, I’d blanked out that awkward period where Alfie Boe was part of that show. Does it count as original cast if you were actually a replacement?
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Post by ctas on Feb 13, 2019 14:04:24 GMT
Thank you for sharing! My mother saw Fonteyn in the 60’s I believe and the opera house programme is one of her prized possessions!
Leading on from this, what do people think of the planned Fonteyn celebrations? The ROH are doing a performance that so far includes the Firebird but I’m not sure what else. Predictions, anyone?
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Post by ctas on Feb 13, 2019 13:56:40 GMT
Saw this last week and absolutely loved it, although from the upper circle the volume was incredibly high. Is that just a curse of being near the speakers thing?
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Post by ctas on Feb 13, 2019 13:54:47 GMT
I haven’t seen the show (and likely won’t) but the Dawn plot always unsettled me in the film. Especially given what happened to the brilliant Adrienne Shelly who played the role in, wrote and directed the film. It seems really distasteful to have not only retained that but (judging by comments here and “star casting” as Ogie) padded the plot out more too.
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Post by ctas on Feb 10, 2019 7:32:33 GMT
What a fun story! Thank you for sharing.
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Post by ctas on Feb 9, 2019 21:23:01 GMT
The ROH doesn’t like impromptu flower throws (messy, could cause damage to instruments) but the ones that do happen are permitted at “occasion” performances and with permission agreed before the performance. So they’ll know and sometimes take part if there’s not enough, I believe.
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Post by ctas on Feb 9, 2019 15:18:20 GMT
I’ve been present for two full flower throws at the ROH: the first night of the new Swan Lake last year, and a couple of years ago for Carlos Acosta’s final full-length ballet appearance. It’s an incredible sight!
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Post by ctas on Jan 31, 2019 20:23:02 GMT
It’s very much of the French “spectacle” style. I once saw a spectacle about Cleopatra and it had everything but the kitchen sink in the show in terms of acrobatics, dance and the singers front of stage.
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Post by ctas on Jan 30, 2019 18:30:30 GMT
OOH. If anyone knows the story behind *that* then please do share! 👀
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Post by ctas on Jan 27, 2019 21:41:47 GMT
Denis O’Hare at Hadestown last night, Alex Gaumond, Arlene Phillips at Notre Dame de Paris today.
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Post by ctas on Jan 27, 2019 20:51:14 GMT
I’m still on cloud nine after this afternoon’s performance. Tried my luck at the box office and managed to get a dress circle ticket for £30 and was enthralled from start to finish. Can’t quite believe I’ve finally seen this show! I’ve been a fan for so long and never had the chance before.
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Post by ctas on Jan 26, 2019 23:09:45 GMT
It was an emotional final performance tonight. I’m going to miss this show a lot.
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Post by ctas on Jan 22, 2019 21:59:35 GMT
Hello, I’m an unashamed Ashton fan. Not seeing this until the 2nd of February but very excited to catch it again!
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Post by ctas on Jan 20, 2019 15:58:06 GMT
Anyone else find that the tickets for this are criminally expensive? Apart from the brief todaytix offer of £15 seats for that awful balcony (which I’ve booked) I’ve been refreshing the site trying to find something on the days I could go for under £40 Worth turning up to the box office and trying my luck? That said, I’m really excited to see this finally!! Amazon video also has the 1999 live video so I’ve been watching that today in preparation.
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Post by ctas on Jan 9, 2019 22:28:32 GMT
I saw it on the 4th also. Patineurs was just wonderful, and I’d like to echo how fantastic Sambé is but also add a word for Anna Rose O’Sullivan and Yuhui Choe as the blue girls also who were excellent! Three very talented dancers that I always enjoy watching.
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Post by ctas on Dec 29, 2018 15:31:44 GMT
For me, this didn’t quite have the magic I was really hoping for. There was something a little off (and not just the americanisms in the script) and I enjoyed it a lot but still felt a little underwhelmed when I left. My favourite parts were hearing the original songs in the orchestration, and I enjoyed the animated sequences a lot!
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Post by ctas on Dec 29, 2018 15:24:08 GMT
Was Zizi Strallen ever confirmed for this? Because either she’s part of the cast or was just attending the cast Christmas party/spending time with them on set according to social media...
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Post by ctas on Dec 22, 2018 7:43:44 GMT
I had the same reaction to the On The Town section, Bernstein’s score is far superior to the replacement songs. The presenter was also expressing that the musical was about the post-war sentiment of optimism when it was actually written and premiered on stage before the end of the Second World War.
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Post by ctas on Dec 20, 2018 18:34:23 GMT
5 - Fiddler on the Roof, Menier Chocolate Factory 4 - Sondheim on Sondheim. 3 - Manon, the Royal Opera House - the cast with Nuñez/Bolle. Incredible. 2 - Hadestown 1 - Swan Lake, the new Royal Ballet production - Nuñez/Muntagirov cast.
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Post by ctas on Dec 16, 2018 13:31:09 GMT
On Your Toes has a gloriously scored ballet. fantastic music. Excellent shout! I have very fond memories of the Adam Cooper-starring and choreographed revival in 2003 that had Irek Mukhamedov (a Russian ballet dancer) playing a marvellous parody of a Russian ballet dancer.
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