art_enthusiast Posted June 10 Share Posted June 10 11 minutes ago, Dawnstar said: I'm completely confused by the Puck casting allocations. I was expecting it to be Ikarashi tonight, as he did the first night. Same, I thought it was Ikarashi with Hayward and Sambe, Masciari with Cuthbertson and Muntagirov, Boswell with Naghdi and Richardson and Nakao with Osipova and Bracewell. I guess there is some shuffling around to be expected! I would certainly like to see Lench - I had no idea he was going to be cast but very glad he has been. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balletfanp Posted June 10 Share Posted June 10 I’ll be happy to see Caspar since he really caught my eye in the Act 2 corps in Winter’s Tale. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted June 10 Share Posted June 10 Even the lady who is working in the cloakroom area today remembers Caspar from a recent Friends rehearsal!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard LH Posted June 10 Share Posted June 10 Excellent casting all round tonight, it seems. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blossom Posted June 10 Share Posted June 10 It’s particularly interesting that Caspar Lench is in such a big role given he is currently an apprentice - quite unusual? 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted June 10 Share Posted June 10 (edited) 1 hour ago, Blossom said: It’s particularly interesting that Caspar Lench is in such a big role given he is currently an apprentice - quite unusual? Not unprecedented although maybe slightly different circumstances-Marco Masciari was picked by Wayne McGregor at the end of his Prix de Lausanne apprentice year to dance a featured role on first night and also to create the role: Young Dante, in the second act (Purgatorio) of The Dante Project, partnering Francesca Hayward (the ballet was the first of the season). I understand Aud Jebsen dancers are technically full time salaried dancers of the corps de ballet as opposed to apprentices, although their contracts are only for one year. (It's possible there's a thread somewhere in the past that details differences between a PdL apprentice and AJ scheme dancer- "job spec" and way in which each is selected?) Puck is a big role though, even though tonight is not the first night. Edited June 10 by Emeralds 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blossom Posted June 10 Share Posted June 10 Y 49 minutes ago, Emeralds said: Not unprecedented although maybe slightly different circumstances-Marco Masciari was picked by Wayne McGregor at the end of his Prix de Lausanne apprentice year to dance a featured role on first night and also to create the role: Young Dante, in the second act (Purgatorio) of The Dante Project, partnering Francesca Hayward (the ballet was the first of the season). I understand Aud Jebsen dancers are technically full time salaried dancers of the corps de ballet as opposed to apprentices, although their contracts are only for one year. (It's possible there's a thread somewhere in the past that details differences between a PdL apprentice and AJ scheme dancer- "job spec" and way in which each is selected?) Puck is a big role though, even though tonight is not the first night. Yes this did cross my mind. Speaking of Marco Masciari, he had quite a presence on stage tonight, such beautiful style. Turns out although he managed Les Rendezvous, he is injured so won’t be dancing Puck. Sad for him as much as us but hopefully he will be fighting fit next season! Felt rather frivolous to pop in just for Les Rendezvous, even for SCS, but glad I did. 7 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy M Posted June 10 Share Posted June 10 Will write more later but two words for now: Caspar Lench!!!!! 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balletfanp Posted June 10 Share Posted June 10 My thoughts precisely!! 🤩 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmhopton Posted June 10 Share Posted June 10 Glad you've made it at last, Dawnstar. I'm sure you'll love the performance. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted June 10 Share Posted June 10 The Dream. 10 June 2024. Breathtakingly brilliant performance from the whole cast. Beyond skill, talent and artistry to another plane altogether. Couldn't believe what was happening. More later, if I can find words. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DelphiumBlue Posted June 10 Share Posted June 10 Yes !!!! Quite breathtaking . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
engagedfig Posted June 10 Share Posted June 10 1 hour ago, Blossom said: Y Yes this did cross my mind. Speaking of Marco Masciari, he had quite a presence on stage tonight, such beautiful style. Turns out although he managed Les Rendezvous, he is injured so won’t be dancing Puck. Sad for him as much as us but hopefully he will be fighting fit next season! Felt rather frivolous to pop in just for Les Rendezvous, even for SCS, but glad I did. Gutted to hear that Marco is injured! Hoping for fast and full recovery - along with a number of other company dancers! I saw Caspar Lench as Puck in the General Rehearsal on Friday - he was absolutely spectacular. I also saw Daichi Ikarashi in the same role the night before (opening night), who was breathtaking as well. Enviable technique from both. Insane pirouettes from Daichi, but the height of Caspar's jumps were particularly impressive too, especially given that I was sitting in Balcony (higher up). Very convincing characterisation from both - Daichi on the 'cleaner' side, and Caspar perhaps more theatrical! Overjoyed to see such a great line-up of young talents ready to tackle bigger roles! 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scheherezade Posted June 10 Share Posted June 10 (edited) 1 hour ago, Lucy M said: Will write more later but two words for now: Caspar Lench!!!!! And fairly safe to say that those same two words were likely to be on the lips of virtually everyone in the house. Without a doubt one of those “I was there” moments. 1 hour ago, bridiem said: The Dream. 10 June 2024. Breathtakingly brilliant performance from the whole cast. Beyond skill, talent and artistry to another plane altogether. Couldn't believe what was happening. More later, if I can find words. I so agree, Bridie. Superlative all round. Edited June 10 by Scheherezade 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucy M Posted June 10 Share Posted June 10 I'm going to do a bit of a double review - I was lucky enough to see the triple bill with the short works segment on Friday last week and thought that that would be my final outing to the ROH this season, as I'm off on holiday for a couple of weeks on Friday. However, as the self-proclaimed President of the Vadream fan club, I decided on my lunch break today I had no choice but to snag a last-minute return to see him and Fumi in Les Rendezvous tonight! As a whole package, I think the triple works MUCH better as an overall coherent experience with Les Rendezvous than it does with the short works. As much as I enjoyed seeing the variety, it didn't really work for me as well on Friday as an overall triple bill. I also think it would've almost been better opening with the short works, and then having The Dream and Rhapsody back to back as they did tonight... What a delight Les Rendezvous is! Marco Masciari particularly stood out to me tonight, and Sophie Allnat was really lovely too. Fumi and Vadim were both delightful, and Vadim masked his slight stumble very well - I hardly even noticed! Such a lovely ballet, very pleased I made the decision to see it tonight. The Dream has possibly been the highlight of this season for me at the ROH, I absolutely loved it. I thought Vadim and Marcelino both brought very different approaches to Oberon, and I enjoyed both immensely. Lauren and Francesca were both great Titania's, again quite different interpretations - I think Marcelino and Francesca's is closer to the original, whereas Vadim and Lauren's was a bit more romantic. Liam Boswell and Caspar Lench's 'Puck' portrayals were the highlights of both performances for me - both fantastic, but Caspar's unbelievable jumps and cheeky characterisation were just sensational - a star of the future methinks! Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody is one of my all-time favourite pieces of music and the ballet was just lovely. Sae and Daichi and Mayara and Luca were both great - I think I slightly preferred Sae and Daichi's cast overall, it felt a bit more polished than tonight... There was a funny moment at the end of the PDD where Mayara's skirt got completely caught over Luca's face for a couple of seconds which elicited some chuckles from where I was sat! But both casts were really great, a wonderful end to the evening. All in all, a fantastic triple bill showcasing the very best of Ashton, and a great way to wrap up my first (sort of) ROH season since moving to London earlier this year! 17 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted June 10 Share Posted June 10 (edited) Edited June 10 by Rob S 20 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missfrankiecat Posted June 10 Share Posted June 10 (edited) Wonderful, uplifting evening at the triple tonight. What talent showcasing stunning choreography. Rendezvous was every little girls' ballet dream - swishy dresses and swoon worthy patterns of lyrical upper body positioning and busy feet. I am sometimes less enamoured with Fumi Kaneko's acting skills than many on here but in this technical, non-narrative painting of a ballet, she was just perfect with her radiant smile and gloriously flexible back and arms. I could have watched her for hours more. Vadim was, by his high standards, having a bad day at the office, recovering quickly (with a smile) from a slight stumble but also landing much more noisily several times than his usual soundless descents, but he still looked a dream in his Jasper suit. The high point of the evening was The Dream - to my eyes, a masterpiece. You could remove all the gorgeous costumes and scenery and the music and choreography are so perfectly aligned to character - whether fairy, rustic or lover - and story, that the narrative would still be clear as a bell. Caspar Lench did indeed steal the show with his sinuous, athletic and other-worldly Puck - what a roar there was from the audience when a bouquet was brought out for him after the principals - but everyone was superb. I have no difficulty in believing Sambe and Hayward come from another dimension. Sambe's slightly puzzled Oberon hinted to me that his wistful bewilderment at the human lovers muddled fates was a motivation to reconciliation with his wilful queen. Hayward, with her exquisite hands and arms and supple waist is just the perfect Ashtonion fairy queen (although I would like to see some of the other castings - as she gracefully ceded her changeling boy to Oberon, I wondered how Osipova would play that!). Rhapsody is the piece I am most familiar with. I thought Luca Acri was a little low key, almost camp in some of his movements at the beginning and I don't think he and Magri are particularly well-paired, less due to the lack of height differential and more that she is much longer-limbed than he, so, with the best will in the world the lifts did not soar as ecstatically as they should in the climatic pas de deux. I am puzzled, as others have noted, that such a fiercely technical challenge also requiring bravura charisma is being danced exclusively by soloists and first soloists. Bottom line though, an evening of Ashton does not put any audience member through any emotional wringers but delivers a warm blast of euphoric pleasure at the sunny side of life. Edited June 10 by Missfrankiecat 18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted June 10 Share Posted June 10 What a glorious evening of Dance and Music! And agree The Dream is one of Ashtons masterpieces. All three main characters were convincing as from the Fairy Realm …Caspar a mischievous little elf great rendition of Puck probably best I’ve seen since Wayne Sleep!! I thought Hayward and Sambe were just perfect together. All the other characters were so well cast though and couldn’t believe that was Joshua Junker as Bottom!! Mayara was particularly lovely in Rhapsody …though thought Vadim would have suited the main male role in this in fact…Im not sure whether he’s dancing in Rhapsody but think he should. Acri was fine but I was spoilt by seeing Corrales in this last time who sort of really brought the role to life. I had the pleasure of sitting next to a young lady who looked every inch a dancer and it turned out she was one of the Sarasota dancers. I thought I had recognised her and then put my big foot in it by saying (when she’d told me she was with Sarasota) “are you Jessica Assef” Well she wasn’t she was Gabriella Schultze! However she did say one of her relatives had once mistaken her for JA when dancing on stage so perhaps there is a likeness! Had a very interesting chat with her and she seemed thrilled to be here and at the ROH. She asked me if I’d heard of Sarasota Ballet before now and had to admit that until last Autumn I hadn’t! But they were definitely on my radar now!! She seemed pleased that I had actually once seen Margaret Barbieri in Giselle though!!! So all in all quite a magical sort of evening. 20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
li tai po Posted June 10 Share Posted June 10 Rhapsody may be a fiercely technical challenge, but every abstract ballet by Ashton has an underlying story, as we saw with Valses Nobles last week. Where Luca Acri scores highly is to use his maturity and experience to convey not bravura, but a passionate and romantic relationship. Just look at how he conveys a rapt reverie, when the girl enters behind him. This is a true "rhapsody". 15 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAB Posted June 10 Share Posted June 10 Also Acri didn't drop his partner onto her toe from the high lift which I saw in the last run. It must have been agony. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bridiem Posted June 11 Share Posted June 11 A night to remember. Les Rendezvous was an absolute joy. Incredible that this was so early in Ashton's career (1933) - it's so confident, so perfect! And so entertaining. I agree that Muntagirov was uncharacteristically a little below par, but since his par is sky high he was still wonderful; and Kaneko was beautiful. I just love that pas de trois and it was very well danced by Sophie Allnatt, Liam Boswell and Marco Masciari; but it did look absolutely exhausting! I loved the new designs by Jasper Conran and am very glad that the gate has been retained; gateway to Heaven, if you ask me. The Dream. Quite early on, I began to realise that something special was happening. A world was being created in front of our eyes, so that before long it ceased to be a merely an excellent performance by talented dancers. Instead, we saw Oberon, Titania, Puck, Bottom et al, in their own world, a world of fairies, a world where a magic flower can make people (and fairies) fall in love, and where all is resolved through the power of magic. Sambé/Oberon was imperious, strange, fleet of foot; Hayward/Titania was wilful, playful, beautiful, and with the most perfect Ashtonian bend and sway; Caspar Lench was so slight that he was literally like a sprite flitting round the stage rather than a flesh and blood dancer, and his mischievous curiosity and joy as he caused chaos poured out into the auditorium; Joshua Junker was very funny and very touching as he lived out his fantastic romance and then lost it again. The lovers were very amusing and the fairies and rustics played their essential roles with brilliance. I found I had tears in my eyes - tears of gratitude and of astonishment. That a whole new and separate world could be created as we watched; that is more than great art, it's akin to a miracle. And as Oberon and Titania came together again and were reconciled, in the most beautiful and sensual pas de deux, and Puck then took centre stage to bring the proceedings to a close, his final gesture seemed to acknowledge that; a kind of shrug, a bright-eyed gaze, as if to say 'this is our world - this is how things happen here'. I found it quite difficult to concentrate of Rhapsody after that, but I did think that Luca Acri and Mayara Magri danced strongly and with more authority than Friday's cast, and that the performance as a whole was smoother. A lovely way to end an evening I will never forget. 26 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophoife Posted June 11 Share Posted June 11 Oh I'm so envious of all of you. We did have our Ashton double bill last year (Marguerite and Armand with The Dream) but all this luxury casting, teamed with ballets I've either never seen or not seen in over thirty years...I think I'd better start trying to win the lottery so I can privately sponsor Sarasota Ballet to come to Australia! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted June 11 Share Posted June 11 Hello @engagedfig and welcome to the Forum! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted June 11 Author Share Posted June 11 Dave is already trying, Sophoife! (although not for Australia, admittedly) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted June 11 Share Posted June 11 8 minutes ago, alison said: Dave is already trying, Sophoife! (although not for Australia, admittedly) I am indeed! 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAB Posted June 11 Share Posted June 11 I'm inspired to try too! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard LH Posted June 11 Share Posted June 11 The first time I have seen Les Rendezvous - what ballet joy! Style, inventiveness and wit in every sequence of steps, movement and line, executed brilliantly by all, I thought. Viola Pantuso and Ella Newton Severgnini were again very noticeable, this time as two of the ladies' foursome, and Fumi Kaneko was naturally superb and lovely in her white dress. Surely we are seeing some after-wedding celebrations in a nearby park...was that the original idea? The Dream was performed better all round, I thought, than it was on Friday. It is such a magical, perfect work, but everything has to come together to bring that magic and perfection, and I am not sure that Hayward and Sambe, though very good, and clearly popular, quite reached the full potential of the roles in terms of characterisation and execution. The Corps ladies again stood out, as did Joshua Junker as Bottom, but Caspar Lench's Puck was a revelation and judging by the applause, the audience agreed he was the star of the night. It was also lovely to see Romany Pajdak back on stage and I thought the lovers' interchanges worked much better than on Friday...the audience loved the humour of it all. Rhapsody was another triumph for Ashton and the cast again did him real credit last night....Acri displaying wonderful style and aplomb, and Magri excellent in her speed, positioning and grace. Really mature performances from both in terms of stage presence, I thought. For me Ashton's genius is in showing how ballet can tell stories, or just convey moods, so much better than words alone. These three works exemplify this to perfection. 18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry Posted June 11 Share Posted June 11 Sorry to be the dissenting voice on Les Rendevous, but I didn't like the new Jasper Conran designs. The mauve sky, the grey railings and dresses. "Oh no! Another cloudy, rainy day" I thought. The three-quarter length dresses, the mens' cut-away coats, their 1750's queues. Surely this looks more like a ballroom than meetings in the park? It's not that I didn't like the costumes per se, just I didn't think they added to the mood in this ballet. I would have preferred something that conjures up a walk on a, hopefully, sunny day. I really liked the ballet. The pas de trois with Sophie Allnat, Liam Boswell & Marco Masciari was wonderfully danced. I would go back again just to see those three. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard LH Posted June 11 Share Posted June 11 9 hours ago, bridiem said: gateway to Heaven, if you ask me With Stairway to Heaven being the one at the end of Ashton's Cinderella? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard LH Posted June 11 Share Posted June 11 1 minute ago, Henry said: Surely this looks more like a ballroom than meetings in the park? The designs were beautiful but I agree they are not what you would expect from casual meetings in a park...that's why I suggested the concept seemed to be more akin to an after-wedding celebration when the formal dress would make more sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry Posted June 11 Share Posted June 11 Just been looking at the @Rob S photos of Les Rendevous. It looks like it's going to be a heavy downpour of rain at any minute. Ah British weather... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Posted June 11 Share Posted June 11 Very interesting point of view, Henry- I did like the costumes myself but you have made me think, and wouldn't it be lovely to have an alternative 'sunny day version' alongside the rainy one and not know which one you were going to get, just like this summer indeed....(I don't suppose the budget would run to that alas) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candleque Posted June 11 Share Posted June 11 10 hours ago, bridiem said: I just love that pas de trois and it was very well danced by Sophie Allnatt, Liam Boswell and Marco Masciari Can't believe that was Marco dancing through an injury. It was gorgeous. Sad to miss his Puck, but was delighted to see this cast in Rendezvous. 1 hour ago, Richard LH said: Caspar Lench's Puck was a revelation and judging by the applause, the audience agreed he was the star of the night. It felt magical to be there for this Dream of a show. How amazing to get the biggest roar of the night as part of such a talented cast. In your first year with the company 💐 🌟 💐 This triple bill has been a treat as I've gotten to see so many principals, including some I don't normally book for (but who are of course huge talents). But even better is so many younger dancers getting their moment to shine. Does anyone else now have a wishlist cast in their head of Marco Masciari as Romeo with Liam Boswell and Caspar Lench as his mates? 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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