alison Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 More personal taste: I think I may love the Cinderella music more than the R&J! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAB Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 I agree with you, Fonty. I never go to this ballet because I dislike the music. I love R&J to bits though! Almost all of Cinderella is written in minor keys, I wonder if that might be the reason. I find it extremely melancholic myself. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 Masks. Anything with the use of masks generally gets the thumbs down from me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesrhblack Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 I would not have booked any tickets to see Sleeping Beauty were it not for the two debutantes Yasmine Naghdi and Francesca Hayward; having seen the wonderful Marianela Nunez several times... it's really the young upcoming talent I am now excited to see! I hadn't seen Beauty for a while and was struck afresh at yesterday's matinee (admittedly, headed by a truly magical pairing in Hayward and Campbell) at the sheer beauty of the choreography and the wonder of the music. The arching line of the 'cello in the Vision Scene is perhaps my favourite moment musically and the choreography with the Lilac Fairy instructing Prince Florimund how to woo his Princess touched me deeply yesterday (possibly because Alexander Campbell was so extraordinarily intense and expressive in a role than I'd remembered as potentially a vacuum) whilst Aurora's Vision Scene Ashton Solo is one of my favourite solos for ballerina in the RB repertoire. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesrhblack Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 Only some. Two Pigeons, Wedding Bouquet, parts of Enigma Variations, parts of Cinderella, large parts of Ondine, Daphnis and Chloe, the goats in Sylvia, immediately spring to mind without recourse to text books. Whereas Symphonic Variations, Scenes de Ballet, Monotones, Fille (even with the chickens), Month in Country, La Valse, most of Cinderella, most of Sylvia etc etc, are sublime. There are a good few I've seen (names elude, without looking them up) that neither annoyed the twee out of me, nor drew a gasp of admiration (that some in the list above did) Just saying and I'm not saying I'm right in this - just what appeals to my weird sense of taste i guess. I took a friend to see Fille and see found the chickens highly appropriate to the love story of the piece with the cock being a fertility symbol, reiterated through the one handed lift and the Maypole. These things are rarely as simple as we might think which probably accounts for the durability of the ballet ... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesrhblack Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 Possibly not the most tasteful goose bump but the moment when Larisch and Vetsera emerge from the coach in Act 2 of Mayerling performing the same movements and you realise Larisch has been grooming her (we see something similar in Act 1) definitely creates a frisson... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 Almost all of Cinderella is written in minor keys, I wonder if that might be the reason. I find it extremely melancholic myself. Yes, so do I, MAB - I hadn't realised about the minor keys so that's interesting. But it's one of the reasons I love it - melancholy, wistful, mysterious etc... 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northstar Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 Yes, so do I, MAB - I hadn't realised about the minor keys so that's interesting. But it's one of the reasons I love it - melancholy, wistful, mysterious etc... I also hadn't realised about the minor keys in Cinderella, and like bridiem I think that must be part of the appeal to my tastes. In R&J too there is melancholy and mysteriousness in places, but something about the main motifs really grate with me - to my ears they sound kind of 'slushy' and too cinematic, despite the undeniable fact of their richness and originality. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Pigeons Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 I think one of the reasons I prefer Cinderella to R&J is that we see the ballet and hear the score far less frequently. I love the main waltz in Cinderella and I think the overall score has a sort of sense of magic and wonder which fits the story very well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 If you want to learn about minor keys being sad and melancholy, just watch 'This Is Spinal Tap'..... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 I felt very negatively about Alice, but it didn't seem like a ballet at all to me so maybe it doesn't count.....I remember feeling that strange sense of disconnection when everyone else is having fun and you just don't understand what they are doing...or why... I just crept away and waited for it all to be over. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 Almost all of Cinderella is written in minor keys, I wonder if that might be the reason. I find it extremely melancholic myself. The subject of major and minor keys reminded me of a clip I found on youtube a while ago regarding Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. From about 2.20..." Takes Paganini theme / Turns it upside down / Puts it in the major / Slows it down "........Ahhhhh 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyTaylor Posted February 18, 2017 Share Posted February 18, 2017 RB - the Crucible - worst thing I have ever seen. Closely followed by Raven Girl - appalling Then, if we go into individual pieces of ballets: Coppelia - I used to love this but now find it very uncomfortable to see the old man being mocked Cinderella - the Ugly Sisters - oh dear - just completely outdated now Sleeping Beauty - the Prologue - agree this can be somewhat dull. The older ballets are not good value in terms of Principals being on stage so to have to wait a whole act for Aurora to appear and then another act for the Prince, seems to me unacceptable Ondine - I hate the music which really spoils the dancing 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fonty Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 Coppelia - I used to love this but now find it very uncomfortable to see the old man being mocked Yes, I find that uncomfortable as well. But the last time I saw it, which must have been ages ago, the Swanhilda reacted to the old man's distress, and went back and comforted him. I can't remember exactly what she did, but it made a very touching end to the ballet. Otherwise, it seems as if everyone behaves in a very callous way at the end, and it leaves a nasty aftertaste. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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