ROH Winter Casting

[Emeralds]

(Jonathan Goddard and Tommy Franzen are listed as guest artists but of course will be familiar to readers who followed the premiere of the Phaedra/Mintotaur double bill at Bath, contemporary dance  performances, and other dance genres). 

Edited August 27 by Emeralds

[Jan McNulty]

6 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

(Jonathan Goddard and Tommy Franzen are listed as guest artists but of course will be familiar to readers who followed the premiere of the Phaedra/Mintotaur double bill at Bath, contemporary dance  performances, and other dance genres). 

 

Jonathan Goddard was the first contemporary dancer to win Dancer of the Year at the Dance Circle Critics' Awards a few years ago.  He was a MAJOR star with both Richard Alston's much lamented company and subsequently with Rambert.

 

Tommy Franzen first came to my notice when he was in one of those TV dance thinks and has danced in a number of styles since - he has the most amazing stage presence.

[Silke H]

1 hour ago, Candleque said:

This will be the pair I book for if I can only see one cast. (Forgot who was Yasmine's Onegin last time?)
 

I think Yasmine Naghdi danced with Federico Bonelli if I remember correctly.

 

2 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

Is anyone else surprised that all the Gremins are cast so young? Or is it just me because of coming from a perspective of having seen several productions of the opera before a first saw the ballet. For me Gremin is a bass in his 50s! So to have several good-looking dancers in their 20s cast in the role feels odd to me.

In the 2010 run Rio Hirano, Johannes Stepanek and Bennet Gartside danced Gremin, and in the 2020 run we had Tomas Mock, all of them probably not much older at the time than this run's Gremins.  And I am never going to complain about a good-looking Gremin, after all he truly cares for Tatiana.

[Emeralds]

32 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

Jonathan Goddard was the first contemporary dancer to win Dancer of the Year at the Dance Circle Critics' Awards a few years ago.  He was a MAJOR star with both Richard Alston's much lamented company and subsequently with Rambert.

 

Tommy Franzen first came to my notice when he was in one of those TV dance thinks and has danced in a number of styles since - he has the most amazing stage presence.

They're both brilliant, aren't they? I am so pleased that Minotaur/Phaedra is coming to Linbury! (Probably just coincidental but perhaps Kevin O'Hare and Emma Southworth saw my comment "please bring Minotaur to London" and obliged-if so, a big thank you to them). I did attempt to check if I could travel to Bath and back just to see the production in 2022 or the revival of Minotaur in February but I would have had to clone myself....so am very delighted it's coming to ROH.

 

Love Kim Brandstrup's work and enjoyed Jonathan Goddard's recent performances at Sadler's Wells. Haven't seen Tommy Franzen dancing for so long- he's such a versatile dancer, a legend in my book. (6 performances in the Linbury doesn't seem to be enough tickets to go round....I'll have to be quick off the mark when booking opens to avoid being stuck in a restricted view seat half blocked by a railing again.) I am happy to see Onegin back and liked Light of Passage at the first run but actually am the most thrilled about Phaedra/Minotaur for Jan-Mar 2025! 

Edited August 27 by Emeralds

[Tango Dancer]

3 hours ago, FionaM said:

 

For me the top pick of the first run is Lauren Cuthbertson and Ryo Hirano. 

 

Definitely.  I saw Ryo in it last time and I think he really understands the role.  

[FionaM]

9 minutes ago, Tango Dancer said:

 

Definitely.  I saw Ryo in it last time and I think he really understands the role.  

I remember Ryo was performing at the general rehearsal in the last run where I could overhear Gary Avis giving verbal notes (whether to someone else writing them or to a device … I couldn’t see).   Fascinating.  By that point in the process the notes were mostly about where he was placed on stage than his portrayal.  
 

Lauren excels in dramatic roles for me.  I’ve been thinking back to her heartbreaking performances in A Month in the Country, and Winter’s Tale (the original Hermione).  Also as Jacqueline du Pré in The Cellist, which IIRC clashed with Onegin rehearsals explaining why it’s her debut this time around.   

[Paco]

Regarding the absence of Natalia Osipova, I don't think it is related to the recent ankle surgery, as she is scheduled early October in a gala in Tokyo with Vladimir Shklyarov, for nothing less than the Corsaire PDD and Manon PDD. So four months before Onegin, and at the time she was announced for this gala she already knew there would be a surgery this summer.

So there must be another reason, and let's hope that she will be in Spring cast!

Edited August 27 by Paco

[Paco]

4 hours ago, ellyb said:

still interesting that Clarke will be with Nunez, I know they have done galas together but I think it's the first time they've been paired for a full-length at ROH? I may very well be wrong though.

They are scheduled in Sleeping Beauty next month in Rome. Not at ROH, but in a full-length 😉

[FionaM]

Nunez and Clarke partnered each other in Diamonds in the Diamonds Celebration programme.  They were super together.  
 

Reece has matured in huge steps since first dancing Onegin in early 2020.  This could be really something special. 

Edited August 27 by FionaM

[JaneHartley]

1 hour ago, Paco said:

They are scheduled in Sleeping Beauty next month in Rome. Not at ROH, but in a full-length 😉

I also saw Nunez and Clarke do this ballet last time when she stood in for Osipova and I thought they were very good together. 

[JaneHartley]

1 hour ago, Paco said:

Regarding the absence of Natalia Osipova, I don't think it is related to the recent ankle surgery, as she is scheduled early October in a gala in Tokyo with Vladimir Shklyarov, for nothing less than the Corsaire PDD and Manon PDD. So four months before Onegin, and at the time she was announced for this gala she already knew there would be a surgery this summer.

So there must be another reason, and let's hope that she will be in Spring cast!

ROH know that their two biggest bankers are Nunez and Osipova, both who are strong leads for this particular ballet, it makes sense to split them between the two runs.

Muntagirov also pulled out last time because he didn't feel ready to make his debut in the role, so again seems sensible to give him longer to prep the ballet and put him in the second run. 
 

At least this is what I am hoping for  

p.s. surely Viola Pantuso is due a bigger promotion, they have cast her again in a role otherwise done by a principal

Edited August 27 by JaneHartley

[Sim]

3 hours ago, Silke H said:

I think Yasmine Naghdi danced with Federico Bonelli if I remember correctly.

 

You remember correctly!

[alison]

I'm just delighted to see Phaedra/Minotaur.  Having (still) not read the season announcement properly, I hadn't realised it was coming.

[Anna C]

11 hours ago, Silke H said:

I think Yasmine Naghdi danced with Federico Bonelli if I remember correctly.

She did indeed, and what a wonderful performance it was.

 

I have the age-old dilemma of which cast to choose, as Onegin won’t be streamed in the cinema.  I’d love to see Hayward and Corrales together, but I promised myself I’d see Ball and I know his partnership with Naghdi will be wonderful.

 

If I can afford a second cast I think I’ll try to see Cuthbertson and Hirano.  Cuthbertson is such a wonderful actress, I’m amazed she’s never danced Tatiana.

 

 

[OnePigeon]

12 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

Jonathan Goddard was the first contemporary dancer to win Dancer of the Year at the Dance Circle Critics' Awards a few years ago.  He was a MAJOR star with both Richard Alston's much lamented company and subsequently with Rambert.

 

Tommy Franzen first came to my notice when he was in one of those TV dance thinks and has danced in a number of styles since - he has the most amazing stage presence.

 
I caught a tiny bit of the rehearsal for the Mad Hatter’s and I couldn’t stop watching Tommy Franzen: he is the most exciting and dynamic performer.

 

the Onegin casting is a bit of a mixed bag and continues the trend of giving lower ranked dancers prominent roles.  I wonder how those dancers in higher ranks feel about being overlooked in favour of those with less experience?  It must be pretty gutting, though I guess that’s the risk of being in a ballet company.  However, we don’t know the casting in the later runs, so perhaps it will all level out.
 

I’m happy with the Clarke and Nunez pairing - he physically makes a wonderful Onegin and was one of my fingers crossed casting choices, though I was also hoping for Bracewell to be Onegin too, though I’m very pleased to see him as Lensky.  I’m always thrilled to see Lukas BB on stage and he’s always excellent in character roles, but Gremin is a general and Prince and should be much older than Tatyana, not a tall, gorgeous young man who is as handsome as Onegin, otherwise her decision to remain a faithful wife and spurn Onegin despite her love feels far less of a tragic sacrifice and perfectly understandable.  The other dancers cast as Gremin are far too young - how could a man in his early 20s be a general?  For the story to make proper sense and for Tatyana’s moral sacrifice to be fully understood, I do think Gremin needs to be older and less appealing than Onegin.

 

Fingers crossed for Muntagirov and Osipova in the next run.

[Silver Capricorn]

1 hour ago, OnePigeon said:

 
I caught a tiny bit of the rehearsal for the Mad Hatter’s and I couldn’t stop watching Tommy Franzen: he is the most exciting and dynamic performer.

 

the Onegin casting is a bit of a mixed bag and continues the trend of giving lower ranked dancers prominent roles.  I wonder how those dancers in higher ranks feel about being overlooked in favour of those with less experience?  It must be pretty gutting, though I guess that’s the risk of being in a ballet company.  However, we don’t know the casting in the later runs, so perhaps it will all level out.
 

I’m happy with the Clarke and Nunez pairing - he physically makes a wonderful Onegin and was one of my fingers crossed casting choices, though I was also hoping for Bracewell to be Onegin too, though I’m very pleased to see him as Lensky.  I’m always thrilled to see Lukas BB on stage and he’s always excellent in character roles, but Gremin is a general and Prince and should be much older than Tatyana, not a tall, gorgeous young man who is as handsome as Onegin, otherwise her decision to remain a faithful wife and spurn Onegin despite her love feels far less of a tragic sacrifice and perfectly understandable.  The other dancers cast as Gremin are far too young - how could a man in his early 20s be a general?  For the story to make proper sense and for Tatyana’s moral sacrifice to be fully understood, I do think Gremin needs to be older and less appealing than Onegin.

 

Fingers crossed for Muntagirov and Osipova in the next run.

Pairing Nunez and Clarke is the only thing interesting to me. Paradoxically, it made the situation easier for me, because at the same time, i.e. in February, Onegin will also be performed in ONP (19 performances) and it would be difficult for me to coordinate trips to London and Paris in such a short period of time. The casting of the main roles in ONP has not yet been published, but given the practice there, it is much more predictable. In ROH, I will probably see a more interesting cast in the period May - June. I hope that the casting of Romeo and Juliet in March will be more favorable for me and that perhaps one of the reasons for the spring casting of Onegin is the closely related run of Romeo and Juliet.

[art_enthusiast]

17 hours ago, Mora said:

According to her instagram account she's recovering from her ankle surgery. 

 

So does that mean she'll be off until March then? I hope to see her back for the next lot of Onegin shows, I really want to see her as Tatiana.

[oncnp]

2 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said:

 

So does that mean she'll be off until March then? I hope to see her back for the next lot of Onegin shows, I really want to see her as Tatiana.

 

She is still scheduled for Cinderella in December 

[Mora]

16 minutes ago, oncnp said:

 

She is still scheduled for Cinderella in December 

Indeed. But it's hard to believe that she'll be able to perform in such a short time. Apparently the surgery was in July/August.

[oncnp]

5 minutes ago, Mora said:

Indeed. But it's hard to believe that she'll be able to perform in such a short time. Apparently the surgery was in July/August.

 

@Paco mentioned above she is also scheduled for a gala in Japan in early October (along with, although not dancing with, Muntagirov - nice to see he's keeping busy) 

 

Star dancers gather in Tokyo for the Superstar Gala | Super Stars Gala (super-stars-gala.com)

 

Thank you @Silver Capricorn for the link. 

[oncnp]

13 hours ago, Paco said:

They are scheduled in Sleeping Beauty next month in Rome. Not at ROH, but in a full-length 😉

 

It looks like that has changed...she's now listed with Victor Caixeta (Dutch National Ballet). Sleeping Beauty | Teatro Dell'Opera Di Roma (operaroma.it)

[Silver Capricorn]

34 minutes ago, oncnp said:

 

@Paco mentioned above she is also scheduled for a gala in Japan in early October (along with, although not dancing with, Muntagirov - nice to see he's keeping busy) 

 

Star dancers gather in Tokyo for the Superstar Gala | Super Stars Gala (super-stars-gala.com)

 

Thank you @Silver Capricorn for the link. 

Yes, and the 12th -13th. October Vadim Muntagirov performs with Marianela Nunez in Swan Lake in Tokyo with Asami Maki Ballet Tokyo ( https://www.ambt.jp/pf-swan-lake2024)

[Paco]

27 minutes ago, oncnp said:

 

It looks like that has changed...she's now listed with Victor Caixeta (Dutch National Ballet). Sleeping Beauty | Teatro Dell'Opera Di Roma (operaroma.it)

Oh nooooooooo .... I was so much looking forward to seeing Nunez & Clarke together in that Sleeping Beauty (and am not a great fan of Caixeta...).

[Mora]

Coming back to Oneging, something that surprised me is that Roberto Bolle wasn't cast with Nunez this run. And I don't think they'll be cast for the second lot since she is scheduled to perform in Hong Kong in May/June. 

Edited August 28 by Mora

[LinMM]

Well am very disappointed to say  I will have to miss the one performance of Hayward and Corrales….and he in the role I thought he would be good in (though others said he must do Lensky first!!) 

Saturday nights in winter are not a good option as travelling can be very difficult on both Saturdays and Sundays. 
Also my days in London will be slightly different this next year so Saturday night would mean staying two extra nights in London! A Saturday matinee is just about manageable but the evenings definitely not as staying two extra days in London when already up there for two mid week ish just can’t work for me. 
However it’s very good to see Akane is back dancing again so will probably book that cast this time and hope Hayward and Corrales do get another outing especially as the summer months are easier for travelling anyway. 
I would like to see the Ball cast as well but just have to see financially wise……why on Earth are they not doing a cinema run of Onegin ….. it’s such a good way to be able to see an additional cast. 

[Don Q Fan]

I'm very surprised at the Onegin casting. There's no Vadim or Fumi?! Nothing really grabs me plus we dont know ticket prices yet,  so I'll probably give that early run a miss, how disappointing.  Hopefully the Balanchine run will be better cast. 

[oncnp]

5 minutes ago, Don Q Fan said:

....we dont know ticket prices yet,  so I'll probably give that early run a miss, how disappointing. 

Prices are in another thread but no seat maps as yet

Edited August 28 by oncnp

[oncnp]

29 minutes ago, LinMM said:

……why on Earth are they not doing a cinema run of Onegin ….. it’s such a good way to be able to see an additional cast. 

 

I suspect for the same reason the rehearsal is not being filmed....the Cranko estate

[zxDaveM]

7 minutes ago, oncnp said:

 

I suspect for the same reason the rehearsal is not being filmed....the Cranko estate

 

indeed - they appear to have a mortal dread of ANY performance getting out into the wild, that they didn't have rigid control over

[zxDaveM]

16 minutes ago, Don Q Fan said:

I'm very surprised at the Onegin casting. There's no Vadim or Fumi?! Nothing really grabs me plus we dont know ticket prices yet,  so I'll probably give that early run a miss, how disappointing. 

 

this is only half of the bills for the season - they will probably be cast in the summer.

[Lizbie1]

59 minutes ago, Mora said:

Coming back to Oneging, something that surprised me is that Roberto Bolle wasn't cast with Nunez this run. And I don't think they'll be cast for the second lot since she is scheduled to perform in Hong Kong in May/June. 

 

I don't really understand why this is a surprise. It seems fixed in some minds that Bolle is a regular Nunez partner at the RB but it's only an occasional thing.

[jmhopton]

I was so pleased when I saw the casting was announced, and in plenty of time for a late September booking. But when I saw it I had to check several times. Why no Vadim, especially after the disappointment of 2019? It's great to see Coralles dancing with Hayward (why only one performance?) but makes Vadim's absence even more inexplicable as he's a far more experienced principal and must have rehearsed it a lot in 2019. I'd hoped he would dance with Marianela in winter and Fumi in summer but now will have to wait for summer. So he seems to be dancing 3 Cinderella's in autumn and probably nothing in the winter season; very disappointing. No wonder he guests abroad so often. Will hope to see Marianela and Reece and Matthew and Yasmine and of course Hayward and Coralles, but still feel very disappointed as Onegin is the one role I've wanted to see Vadim in since he came to the RB, especially after so enjoying his wonderful, lyrical Lensky which I'd love to see again if we can't see his Onegin but even that denied us.

[zxDaveM]

Looking forward to Yasmine Naghdi, Francesca Hayward (especially with Viola Pantuso as Olga) and Lauren Cuthbertson as Tatiana. Lots of fizz there.

Lots of things with Kristen McNally is never going to be bad as far as i'm concerned, though there are annoying clashes between the main and the Linbury stages, darn it!