RB Autumn 2024 Casting

[Mary]

To have yet more Wheeldon in the autumn,  without the most well known dancers,  at huge prices, is not looking such a great idea.

 

Personally I am very disappointed with Alice as opening ballet - and can hardly believe there will be no classical ballet with the likes of Muntagirov, Nunez, and the other star Principals, to open the season.....BUT , I would gladly live with  it, if it made lots of money and filled the coffers, and yes it is great to give chances to all the dancers.

 

But  I am not sure it will work and with no Nutcracker as well, I start to worry for them a bit.

 

 

[The Sitter In]

Agreed. Alice is a children’s ballet in essence and that is largely reflected in the casting… Nice for corps de ballet to get lead roles but VFM for patrons paying £190?

And what will all the ‘big’ names be doing until November/December?Muntagirov is unlikely to appear in the dreadful contemporary evening and he is not a ‘McGregor dancer’, so nothing before Cinderella?

[art_enthusiast]

1 hour ago, Mary said:

But  I am not sure it will work and with no Nutcracker as well, I start to worry for them a bit.

 

Yep - I think Cinderella was reasonably popular last time but was that mainly because it hadn't been seen for 10 years? And as it was on so recently, I don't know if it will be as successful in terms of selling out this time.

[alison]

Alice has been used as a season-opener before - last time it was on, perhaps? Is it a relatively gentle way of easing the dancers back in?

[bridiem]

1 hour ago, alison said:

Alice has been used as a season-opener before - last time it was on, perhaps? Is it a relatively gentle way of easing the dancers back in?

 

I don't think that's generally used as a criterion though; think Mayerling! I think that Alice is a distinctly odd choice to open a season, made worse by the extremely high prices. The only thing that's attracting me at all about it is the casting.

[FionaM]

3 hours ago, art_enthusiast said:

 

Yep - I think Cinderella was reasonably popular last time but was that mainly because it hadn't been seen for 10 years? And as it was on so recently, I don't know if it will be as successful in terms of selling out this time.

Cinderella didn’t sell well … I used a 25% discount offer in March 2023

[LinMM]

Can somebody explain how they know what the prices are for Alice? 
I know public booking doesn’t open until July 10th so has some tier of Friends booking opened already? 

 

[oncnp]

11 minutes ago, LinMM said:

Can somebody explain how they know what the prices are for Alice? 
I know public booking doesn’t open until July 10th so has some tier of Friends booking opened already? 

 

or

 

65752ff0-0d57-4a8a-baea-8137db4caa09.pdf (app-us1.com)

Edited May 19 by oncnp

[Sim]

2 hours ago, bridiem said:

The only thing that's attracting me at all about it is the casting.

With perhaps the exception of Hayward, casting won't be a reason for the general public to buy tickets simply because the dancers are still unknown out there.  WE know how good they are, but the general public does not.  So, unknown casts, high ticket prices....it will be interesting to see what happens.

[art_enthusiast]

25 minutes ago, Sim said:

With perhaps the exception of Hayward

And Sambé, he has a large fan base. Partnering a more unknown dancer (Pantuso) with him definitely makes sense.

[Scheherezade]

Whilst I will be happy to see Cinderella back, I don’t think that its potential as a big seller can be guaranteed in the least and I don’t know who they are expecting to flock to Alice, or to the other Wheeldon works, particularly given the number of scheduled performances. Is this on the basis of a perceived fan base bleeding out from MJ The Musical? 

 

And on the topic of scheduling, why can they never strike a happy medium? It’s either insufficient performances to meet even the slightest level of interest or runs that go on interminably and, inevitably, on endless repeat. 
 

 

Edited May 19 by Scheherezade

[Richard LH]

38 minutes ago, Scheherezade said:

And on the topic of scheduling, why can they never strike a happy medium? It’s either insufficient performances to meet even the slightest level of interest or runs that go on interminably and, inevitably, on endless repeat. 
 

Has the RB ever pulled a run, or reduced the number of performances, because of poor sales?! If not, could this year be the first that this happens?

[FionaM]

I predict the new Nutcracker by ENB will be the winner out of this mess. Audiences looking for their annual Nutcracker fix will book out the London Coliseum.  

[Tony Newcombe]

1 hour ago, FionaM said:

I predict the new Nutcracker by ENB will be the winner out of this mess. Audiences looking for their annual Nutcracker fix will book out the London Coliseum.  

I’ll settle for the BRB Nutcracker at the Albert Hall

[Dawnstar]

12 minutes ago, Tony Newcombe said:

I’ll settle for the BRB Nutcracker at the Albert Hall

 

I'm thinking it might be a good season to take a trip to Birmingham to see the full BRB Nutcracker production again. Especially tempting at the start of the run in November when the RB will be doing the new McGregor.

[Emeralds]

2 hours ago, Richard LH said:

Has the RB ever pulled a run, or reduced the number of performances, because of poor sales?! If not, could this year be the first that this happens?

Good question, but in all my years of attending performances and nowadays, anyone with internet access being able to scrutinise ticket availability (not necessarily an accurate indication of sales revenue of course), the auditorium has always been papered over (how much or how successfully will vary) by giving tickets away for free if discounting and heavy discounting don't work, but they won't cancel. The show has always gone ahead even if sales are so bad that the auditorium is almost half empty.

 

The Coliseum, Royal Festival Hall and Barbican Hall have sometimes closed their top level/s and given new seats to the displaced patrons but never cancelled the show. (That's great if the new seat is better, but one complaint re: Coliseum giving us worse seats in the Dress Circle for an ENB triple bill on the excuse that it was same price - ahem, second last row of the Dress Circle is no way as good as front row Upper Circle!) I think only non-subsidised shows eg West End shows, the occasional arena show, etc would close early due to poor sales. 

[JNC]

5 hours ago, FionaM said:

Cinderella didn’t sell well … I used a 25% discount offer in March 2023

interesting I had assumed it was a sell out! was the discount offered quite last minute, and for the stalls I assume?

 

Re Cinderella I think the Christmas timing will help it. Unless you’re dead set on the Nutcracker, the ROH is a “fancier” venue for a treat experience (not that the Coli isn’t nice or anything but ROH has a certain prestige. The Albert Hall is impressive on the outside but the ROH inside with the red velvet and glass hall and chandeliers has a certain atmosphere I think it’s hard for other venues to top.) But I agree Nutcracker is the traditional Christmas ballet, so many would choose this over Cinderella, I presume the Coli will be cheaper (?) so it will be tough competition, and ROH may have overestimated how willing people will be willing to fork out at these prices when they could go to the Nutcracker down the road or across town! 

 

Many won’t necessarily be able to afford Alice and Cinderella (certainly for a family treat) so close together. If you’re going to pick one, Cinderella has the “tutu” element and closer to Christmas, and it’s not like Alice wins on price either really! 
 

Will be interesting to see what sales look like on booking day, although it seems more people hold off on booking closer to the time now anyway! 

[FionaM]

@JNC I can’t remember all the details of the Cinderella discount last time around.

 

I do know it was a 25% discount offer sent to Friends.  Maybe shared elsewhere too.  It’s possible it was only for the more expensive sections, as I booked row A of stalls circle (non-restricted) with less than 10 days before the performance date.  
 

I think the fact that row A of stalls circle had vacant seats tells you everything you need to know about the level of sales.

[art_enthusiast]

11 minutes ago, FionaM said:

@JNC I can’t remember all the details of the Cinderella discount last time around.

 

I do know it was a 25% discount offer sent to Friends.  Maybe shared elsewhere too.  It’s possible it was only for the more expensive sections, as I booked row A of stalls circle (non-restricted) with less than 10 days before the performance date.  
 

I think the fact that row A of stalls circle had vacant seats tells you everything you need to know about the level of sales.

 

I remember they didn't do any young ROH offerings for Cinderella, but at the very end of the run they did for a couple of performances that hadn't sold as well. Was grateful as that's how I was able to see Akane in the role..

[Paco]

15 hours ago, Sim said:

With perhaps the exception of Hayward, casting won't be a reason for the general public to buy tickets simply because the dancers are still unknown out there.  WE know how good they are, but the general public does not.  So, unknown casts, high ticket prices....it will be interesting to see what happens.

This is globally true, but there are notable exceptions. When I look at Winter's tale for instance, shows with Nunez are sold out or almost sold out, while the other ones had to be discounted...

I remember it was the same for Don Quixote last autumn, with significant gap btw the Osipova/Nunez performances and the other ones.

These exceptions are for dancers whose notoriety is phenomenal. There are very few dancers like that in the World (and fortunately the Royal Ballet has two of them in the company).

There starts to be a buzz about Magri outside the UK, thanks to a few galas in Germany, Italy and France where she stole the show. But this buzz still remains within the restricted circle of ballet-addict.

Edited May 20 by Paco

[Paco]

17 hours ago, FionaM said:

Cinderella didn’t sell well … I used a 25% discount offer in March 2023

Yes I remember it was disappointing in terms of box office. That's why I don't understand its programming for a long Xmas run. But perhaps, as mentioned in another post, the Xmas timing will help (though I remember that Coppelia was not sold out)

[Sim]

1 hour ago, Paco said:

This is globally true, but there are notable exceptions. When I look at Winter's tale for instance, shows with Nunez are sold out or almost sold out, while the other ones had to be discounted...

 

Yes, this was exactly my point.  If the well-known dancers are performing, they have a much better chance of selling tickets to the wider public, especially at the higher prices.

[Scheherezade]

10 minutes ago, Sim said:

Yes, this was exactly my point.  If the well-known dancers are performing, they have a much better chance of selling tickets to the wider public, especially at the higher prices.

 

Agreed. The wider public may not have in-depth knowledge of individual dancers but it does seem to me to be somewhat disingenuous to assume that, as a corollary, the identity of the dancers does not matter. If they are interested enough to book tickets - particularly highly priced tickets - they are sufficiently interested to research the casts, and if they are not regular attendees, they are more likely to want to see a recognised 'name'.

[San Perregrino]

most people are just booking to see a show, any show that appeals, on a date they are free which is why promotion and publicity together with reviews are important.

for example, my friends from outside London look to see what is on on a particular date across the spectrum of entertainment ie. ballet, west end, off west end, subsidised theatre and concerts, cinema and sports even.  then they choose what is best for them.  as the actors in a cast might sway them in favour of a particular choice, so might a dancer but to a much lesser extent.

I have cousins who watched and thoroughly enjoyed New Adventures 'Swan Lake' over 20 years ago.  they admit to loving the Tchaikovsky music, but, even though I have suggested it to them multiple times to try RB, BRB or ENB versions, they have no inclination to see another Swan Lake preferring to see "something new" with the limited leisure time that they have. 

[Scheherezade]

3 minutes ago, San Perregrino said:

most people are just booking to see a show, any show that appeals, on a date they are free which is why promotion and publicity together with reviews are important.

 

I agree that promotion is important along, of curse, with a show that appeals, but going beyond that, I have a number of friends who come to London to the theatre, ballet or opera maybe two or three times a year at most. They would not call themselves afficianados of the arts but they will always check casting details and choose carefully before booking. 

[lady emily]

To be honest I quite like the idea of having the young dancers premiere with Alice. I often feel like I can't get too excited waiting for promotions, because I have no idea which dancers I think are skilled carrying a full length ballet. While I don't like the Russian practice of putting girls in their first year in the company into major classical roles, I do think there could be slightly more leading opportunities for those in the ranks below First Soloists (though, with the number of principals on the roster, this is a problem of their own creation) I really liked that Sasaki was given the opportunity to dance Swan Lake, for example. Alice is a ballet fairly light on dancing but heavy on acting and I think it's a good test for dancers. I do always find it hard to balance my picks of the season between the seasoned, mature performances and the debuts! 

[The Sitter In]

We should remember that last time, in their infinite wisdom, the RB scheduled Cinderella for…March. At Christmas, it has a far better chance of selling out, even at greedy prices.

[taxi4ballet]

On 18/05/2024 at 15:15, Jamesrhblack said:

I could imagine all of Cuthbertson, Lamb, Magri, Naghdi, Nuñez and Osipova having a joyous time as Queen of Hearts…

Why can I not get Dawn French out of my head?!🤣

[HelenHelen]

Has this been mentioned already? I was just doing my diary and noticed that Cinderella casting is live: https://www.roh.org.uk/tickets-and-events/cinderella-dates No Cuthbertson or Hirano from the principals, and only Sissens and Richardson from the (current) first soloists.

 

Hayward/Corrales

Nunez/Muntagirov

Kaneko/Bracewell (yay)

O'Sullivan/Sambe

Naghdi/Ball

Osipova/Clarke

Takada/Sissens

Magri/Richardson

Lamb/McRae

[Linnzi5]

1 minute ago, HelenHelen said:

Has this been mentioned already? I was just doing my diary and noticed that Cinderella casting is live: https://www.roh.org.uk/tickets-and-events/cinderella-dates No Cuthbertson or Hirano from the principals, and only Sissens and Richardson from the (current) first soloists.

 

Hayward/Corrales

Nunez/Muntagirov

Kaneko/Bracewell (yay)

O'Sullivan/Sambe

Naghdi/Ball

Osipova/Clarke

Takada/Sissens

Magri/Richardson

Lamb/McRae

Thank you! I hadn't seen this. Kaneko/Bracewell (yay!) and for the live cinema relay (double yay!)! I am delighted. Rest of the casting looks really interesting too. I'd better start saving!!!

[Sim]

I won't be going to more than one or two of these, so it'll be Kaneko/Bracewell (yay) and Naghdi/Ball for me.  I am saving O'Sullivan/Sambe and Hayward/Corrales for what I hope will be them cast together in R&J....

[Mora]

2 minutes ago, Linnzi5 said:

Kaneko/Bracewell (yay!) and for the live cinema relay (double yay!)! 

I do hope the same combination for R&J, with cinema relay if possible 😭

[Linnzi5]

Just now, Mora said:

I do hope the same combination for R&J, with cinema relay if possible 😭

I hope for R&J pairing too,  but I'm thinking Hayward/Corrales for the live relay of R&J?