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Royal Ballet - Swan Lake 2024


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And I still haven’t received a cast change email re 17th, despite the fact that I have a ticket and the website is now up to date.

 

I’m in two minds now! I know I would love a Kaneko/Muntagirov performance, but I really could do with my Monday evening back!

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There are different reasons for booking to see performances. Sometimes it’s to see the particular ballet and sometimes you particularly book to see certain artists so if they are not performing you may not want to see that particular ballet again in the season!! 
So understand why you might want your Monday evening back!! 
I’ve just said on another thread I’m a bit Swan Laked out this season now and so am now feeling glad I didn’t book the 25th as Akane Takada is not dancing now and particularly wanted to see her dance rather than go to Swan Lake again itself. 

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The dearth of classical ballet next season has prompted me to buy a ticket for the surprise Kaneko / Muntagirov performance on the 17th as I've just realised that I will likely only see one other RB performance in the remainder of 2024 (being one performance of Maddadam)! Which makes me somewhat sad, but it does save the pennies for Onegin casts....

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53 minutes ago, MildConcern said:

The dearth of classical ballet next season has prompted me to buy a ticket for the surprise Kaneko / Muntagirov performance on the 17th as I've just realised that I will likely only see one other RB performance in the remainder of 2024 (being one performance of Maddadam)! Which makes me somewhat sad, but it does save the pennies for Onegin casts....

That’s a very good point - I’ve got my favourite standing place too…

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3 hours ago, LinMM said:

There are different reasons for booking to see performances. Sometimes it’s to see the particular ballet and sometimes you particularly book to see certain artists so if they are not performing you may not want to see that particular ballet again in the season!! 
So understand why you might want your Monday evening back!! 
I’ve just said on another thread I’m a bit Swan Laked out this season now and so am now feeling glad I didn’t book the 25th as Akane Takada is not dancing now and particularly wanted to see her dance rather than go to Swan Lake again itself. 


Exactly. I’m so busy this month, I’m only managing to fit in *one* Ashton performance, I’ve seen two Swan Lakes this run already (one of them with Muntagirov) and it was very specifically Calvert that I broke my no-booking-tickets-for-Monday-evenings rule for. (Though Covent Garden is actually much nicer on a Monday than other days of the week, on account of most of the other theatres being shut!)

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3 hours ago, LinMM said:

I didn’t realise other theatres shut on Monday!! 

They all used to shut on Sundays many years ago, but now many of them have Sunday matinées as it's the weekend and a lot of theatregoers seem to prefer that, so they make Mondays their rest day instead of Sunday. Not all theatres though. 

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6 hours ago, Lucy M said:

Is anyone going to see Osipova tonight? Sadly can’t make it, but interested to read reviews later…

Not me either although I wish I could- what a great cast! Acri dancing in the waltz and Czardas, Allnatt and Boswell in the Neapolitan, Hamilton and Buvoli as the Two Swans, Gasparini and Hinkis as Siegfried's sisters, with Richardson as Benno...what a treat! I chatted with a few Sarasota Ballet audience members who had flown from abroad or travelled from out of town for the weekend Linbury performances - they had also booked to see Osipova and Clarke tonight so lots of enthusiastic and knowledgeable fans in the audience tonight! Toi toi toi to all the dancers! 

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Don’t know what’s going on with the Italians in act 3 but we had the usual Italian ambassador’s dad…and the two lads that catch the tambourines were Caspar and Luc rather than the usual (RBS?) chaps 

 

Natalia didn’t do fouettés this evening, instead a super fast manège 

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9 minutes ago, Rob S said:

Don’t know what’s going on with the Italians in act 3 but we had the usual Italian ambassador’s dad…and the two lads that catch the tambourines were Caspar and Luc rather than the usual (RBS?) chaps 

 

Natalia didn’t do fouettés this evening, instead a super fast manège 


Perhaps their tambourine catching skills are second to none? 😁

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1 hour ago, Rob S said:

Don’t know what’s going on with the Italians in act 3 but we had the usual Italian ambassador’s dad…and the two lads that catch the tambourines were Caspar and Luc rather than the usual (RBS?) chaps 

We had that before in the earlier part of the SL run.

I presume RBS students are either preparing for their summer shows or possibly away auditioning.

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1 hour ago, Rob S said:

Don’t know what’s going on with the Italians in act 3 but we had the usual Italian ambassador’s dad…and the two lads that catch the tambourines were Caspar and Luc rather than the usual (RBS?) chaps 

 

Natalia didn’t do fouettés this evening, instead a super fast manège 

It was Caspar Lench  and Luc Foskett too in Act 1 who brought on the crossbow rather than the RBS lads. Possibly keeping the RBS at a distance if Covid is in the House to avoid cross-contamination. I felt Calvin Richardson was under par as Benno, hope he’s not feeling ill. 
 

Natalia Osipova was on fire throughout Act 3. 
 

 

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Stunning Swan Lake on 12th. Both Natalia Osipova and Reece Clarke were on excellent form. Great connection between them, real chemistry. A lot of softness and poetry in the Odette, great clarity in Act 2 and very moving in Act 4.. But in Act 3 they were both on top form. He is a wonderfully expansive dancer with that fabulous long line. No fouettes for Odile as stated above but a manege tour of the stage of piques and chaines at absolutely breathtaking speed. The audience was in seventh heaven I think and it raised the roof. 

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1 hour ago, Richard LH said:

Can't go tonight but I'm still interested in the casting. 😀

 

Is Neapolitan Dance a role debut for Bomin Kim and/or Joshua Junker? (I haven't been keeping track of the zillions of Swan Lakes before and after the one I attended.... haha)

 

Also, great to have Valentino Zucchetti in the Czardas- he makes it a fun highlight. Enjoy the show, @Richard LH!

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50 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

Is Neapolitan Dance a role debut for Bomin Kim and/or Joshua Junker? (I haven't been keeping track of the zillions of Swan Lakes before and after the one I attended.... haha)

 

No, they've both danced it previously in this run & as far as I recall in 2022 as well.

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Really fine show this evening. 
 

Joseph Sissons on top form. His jumps were really light and his footwork is very fast and accurate.He does look extremely young with his new haircut though! Is it supposed to be Siegfried's  21 birthday? If so, he looks the part . But why is his mother grey haired? She is probably only about 40!

 

Mariko Sasaki was a revelation to me. A very, very good dance actress. The best coquettish smiles to Rothbart in Act 3 that I have seen for a while. And she pulled off the fouettés with musicality and panache.

 

They made an excellent partnering.

 

Yu Hang was a remarkably striking Spanish princess. One to watch.

 

I love Liam Scarlett's production and always regret  we as an audience can't thank him now . But I have some plot questions:

what does Rothbart want with Odette? The prologue suggests something sexual but that doesn't go anywhere.

And what does he want with the Swan maidens?

and if he is such a great magician and wanted to snare Siegfried for some power purpose indicated by the snatching of the crown why didn't he just create an Odette lookalike in the first place?

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5 minutes ago, Finnbarr said:

 But why is his mother grey haired? She is probably only about 40!

 


Well her kids are Joseph, Leticia Dias and Sae Maeda so she’s probably had to juggle three different dads!!! 😆

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Gorgeous Mariko Sasaki tonight, she clearly had all the fun in act 3.

I just wish she was paired with a better counterpart.  There was more chemistry between Odette/Odile and von Rothbart than O/O and Siegfried.  Sissens started out okay in act 1 but got rather sloppy and unclean afterwards, especially in act 3, he also needs to work on his partnering.  I believe Mariko Sasaki is deserving of a better partner to have her shine even brighter.

Lukas B. Brændsrød has fabulous stage presence and his von Rothbart is quiet and powerful.

 

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Very fine evening overall. Personally, while I thought Sasaki and Sissens were both very beautiful, they also demonstrated heaps of potential that I hope will mature with more experience, especially in terms of partnering and acting. Sissens had such gorgeous lines, and Sasaki’s fouettés were particularly impressive, though both had moments when I wished they were just a tad sharper musically.

 

Really enjoyed Chisato Katsura in the two swans! Liam Boswell was a star even if only dancing in the corps. This performance also really piqued my interest in seeing Yu Hang (cygnet) and Viola Pantuso (corps) as potential Odette/Odile’s. Yu Hang’s swan had a mesmerising purity of lines and sense of fragility (visible in Rob’s photo above), whereas Viola’s swan showed incredible details and expressiveness in the upper body (would be refreshing to just see a more petite O/O too). 

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7 hours ago, Finnbarr said:

what does Rothbart want with Odette? The prologue suggests something sexual but that doesn't go anywhere.

 

 

he is 'kingdom gathering' I believe.

But as with all ballets with a supernatural tilt, I'd take the 'plot' with a whole cellar of salt - not a mere pinch

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7 hours ago, Silke H said:

  There was more chemistry between Odette/Odile and von Rothbart than O/O and Siegfried. 

I thought that too,  but then they are real life partners! I agree Mariko's  Odile characterisation was very well delivered, whereas her Act 1 Odette was sound but perhaps rather one dimensional. Better in Act 4 though.

 

I am afraid I do agree with the reservations about Sissens as a partner at this level.

 

Privileged to sit at the front last night and see the amazing Corps Swans in full flow, almost as if I was among them...they stole the show for me. I agree with @engagedfig about the dancing  of Yu Hang and Viola Pantuso, one relatively tall, one petite, but both always worth looking out for.

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Hello, apologies if this is the wrong place to ask. Seeing the Naghdi/Ball cast in cinema was the first time(and I loved it) I had seen Swan Lake and although I had been following the Royal Ballet for a few years I had no idea until just before Swan Lake I can see it in my country. I was wondering what the likelihood is that a DVD will be released? Also how is it decided if something will be released on DVD. Thank you

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