Sonja

Has anyone been to Baden Baden? Shame I couldn't make it, but would love to read any reviews!

"La Fille" was the very first ballet I saw when I moved to Munich six years ago - and I fell in love with it, too. It's the only Ashton ballet that has been in the repertoire here - and it does not sell well. All those I know who have seen it loved it - it's just that it is so unknown here in Germany, as is Ashton. Ballet has only a very small platform compared to opera (like in so many countries), and IF opera goers happen to watch a ballet, it "must" be something "classic" like Swan Lake or Sleeping Beauty. But my personal opinion is that many of those "ballet newcomers" would be happier with "La Fille" as a start than with the white acts that I heard some of them find quite - sorry! - boring... Since we don't get "La Fille" here, I have to get back to London in Feb!! This time I am going to take my mum there, and I am looking forward to a great time at ROH!

CygneDanois, thanks for those very interesting "insight views"! I have never got that far in dancing to even approach a Balanchine ballet, but I have often wondered if that focus on extremely speedy footwork and "powerful" movements of the legs had no effect on the body...

Funny enough, I finally got to watch a snippet from an interview with John Neumeier (Chieko, this is for you!) who was asked if he was greatly influenced by Balanchine. Neumeier said, while he admired Balanchine's choreographies, his work did not really touch him - who really touched him was Anthony Tudor! (Sorry, have no idea when this interview was made...) Here in Munich we are lucky that we get to see some on Balanchine's works, and they produce a bit mixed feelings in me - depending in what mood I come to watch the ballet. Many of his ballets are so pure, I need to be fully awake to fully enjoy them. Please don't get me wrong - I consider his style as unique and many of his works as masterpieces (we don't get the unknown ones here, anyway). It's just that after a day of work, it's easier for me to follow a story telling ballet that an abstract one. When in Edinburgh last summer, I learnt from the programme that he was influenced a lot by the glamourous Broadway girls, and this note helped me understand that "Balanchine type of dancer" a bit better. However, I prefer companies whose dancers get a chance to do a great variety of ballets and styles - although they are probably not as "perfect" in Balanchine as they "ought" to be. Only recently I saw "Who Cares" - and this one I really fell in love with! And I would love to see "Jewels" sometime.

That would be almost too nice to be true! ALthough I have never seen Sarah dance with Igor, I always dreamed of seeing her Juliet!

Shirley - yes, I am still planning to come over for the 23rd, no matter who'll be dancing. Plus for La Fille on 21 and 24 - I heard that Ethan Stiefel was injured, any news on that topic? (Sorry, this does not really belong to Darcey's great news...) After I had posted my previous reply, I felt almost ashamed to have regretted that Darcey won't be on - after all, I am so happy that for her there is "life outside dance", and isn't it most wonder-ful thing of the world when a child is born? All the very best for Darcey and Angus!

Thanks, Shirley - wonderful news for Darcey! But sad news for us - we were dreaming she might be dancing "Manon" in Munich with Igor Zelensky in April - she's been announced two or three times already, but never could come... So it's probably not meant to be... Sorry also about "Romeo" which I hoped to see on 23 Feb - I'm curious who will replace her, and if Igor will be dancing then at all... BUT I'm every day more happy I caught a ticket for that ***special*** Swan Lake on 2 December!

Two more links on reviews: http://www.sueddeutsche.de/aktuell/?sectio...yTime=977482351 and http://www.nzz.ch/2000/12/22/fe/page-article72FHO.html Sonja

Thank goodness, a lovely review in www.muenchner-merkur.de - "Volltextsuche", type "Manon" - sorry, only in German... No English speaking critics seem to have been there...

Wendy, thanks for this post! There's also a video of Pankova in "Les Sylphides" (Chopiniana) that shows off how lightly she "flies" across the stage. Merry Christmas to all of you!

As promised, notes on premiere II - sorry, I tried to limit myself, but when I start writing it always becomes long... Manon - Elena Pankova; Des Grieux - Robert Tewsley; Lescaut - Alen Bottaini; Lescaut's Mistress - Maria Eichwald Quite a different performance from the one yesterday - and from the dress rehearsal where noone obviously fully danced out! Pankova's Manon is different from Lisa-Maree Cullum - she knows from the beginning how attractive she is - and makes use of it. She plays with everyone, even with Des Grieux's honest love. There are only very few moments when she hesitates or seems to start thinking if it is right what she is doing. She and her brother Lescaut are a team of bandits - Pankova and Bottaini have danced a lot together in the past, and there is always a nice rapport. Personally in this cast I find it also quite visible Manon and her brother seem to be "more than good friends". Robert Tewsley IS Des Grieux - he's handsome, lovely arabesques, nice technique (those chainés when he crosses the stage to the dead gaoler - sizzling!) and a good partner. He seemed to be really happy to dance this role, and also to dance it with Pankova - while at the curtain calls she was almost a bit cool (as often), he looked totally happy, kissed her, put his arms around her. A note on Lescaut and his mistress - they are a great team, too. Maria Eichwald is technically strong, light as a feather and amazingly quick on her feet, with high extensions -and she looked very very beautiful. Alen Bottaini has great fun when he is drunk - he's one of the dancers who can turn pirouettes with the upper body and head off-balance. I guess I will never understand how that works! Lots of applause also for this cast as well. So we are happy that "Manon" has finally arrived in Munich, too - and I believe this company will do the ballet justice in their own way - not to be compared to RB or Kirov level, but still very convincing and worth a visit (or two or three or more... - if one's living here like me and cannot afford permanent trips to London, Paris, etc.!) PS: I found one review - again in German, but have hesitated to add it here: It is in Munich's most "demanding" newspaper, but sometimes I wonder why this lady still has her job. She is always (really always) putting new ballets into pieces, praising her personal favourites but hating all of the rest. I admit that reviews always reflect a single person's opinion, but this lady I think is just terribly negative. Both premieres were not sold out - and I hope people won't be pulled off by this review! If you want to have a go anyway - http://www.sueddeutsche.de/aktuell/?sectio...yTime=977396147

Thanks, Wendy and Alexandra, for this encouragement! Regarding second premiere last night - detailed report will follow later, but: MR ROBERT TEWSLEY, I BEG A PARDON FOR WHAT I WROTE ABOUT THE DRESS REHEARSAL! Last night FULLY convinced me!

Some impressions from last night's premiere for those who might be interested in it: Cast Manon - Lisa-Maree Cullum; Des Grieux - Oliver Wehe; Lescaut - Kirill Melnikov; Lescaut's Mistress - Judith Turos First of all, there are the technical difficulties every cast has to cope with. "Manon" is the first MacMillan ballet in Munich since the mid-Eighties, so all of the cast needed to familiarize with his special style - and I thought it was amazing how well they did! Manon In an interview, Lisa-Maree Cullum said she thought Manon was not at all a very sympathetic character, and very different from her own personality. She added she still had not found "her" Manon - but what we saw on first night I thought was very promising. At the beginning, this Manon is almost a child, innocent, timid. But when she realizes her effects on men, she makes use of them. She and Lescaut were not so much a team - this Manon can look after herself and knows very soon what she wants. But still, she remains open and sensitive for Des Grieux' real affection. This true love makes her start thinking - but then she still clings to her jewels... Technically, everything looked effortless - and at the end, this Manon is really broken (and heartbreaking!) Des Grieux Oliver Wehe not only has the "right look" for Des Grieux (tall, blond, handsome) - his arabesques are also beautiful, and although he is not what I would call a "bravoura dancer" it was amazing how secure his dancing was. Between both principals there is a wonderful rapport - Lisa trusts his partner in all those tricky lifts, so they made them look "natural" even as early as in the premiere. There was no careful "extra grabbing", it was all smooth and flowing - at least that is how I regarded it, but I must admit I was swept away by their rapport and so not fully objective. Lescaut and his mistress were good, too - very funny in the drunk scene! And a shorte note on settings and costumes - a friend who came from Vienna recognised them instantly as from "their" production! Tonight is the "B" premiere, with Elena Pankova and Robert Tewsley - in the meantime, I am sure they did not act fully at all on Monday (dress rehearsal), so this performance should be very interesting, too. Will report more tomorrow. And also check for links to reviews - sorry, I have no idea how the translation service works either...

Please see also the "links" section, 19 Dec, for an article (only in German, sorry) about Robert Tewsley!

Tomorrow, Munich will (FINALLY!) see the premiere of "Manon" - ust a short note from today's dress rehearsal (I've just rushed back to work): Cast Manon was Elena Pankova - the Manon of our B-premiere, partnered by Robert Tewsley as guest from Stuttgart. She was not naive at all, but a very tricky girl, hungry for luxury and wealth. Robert Tewsley has beautiful arabesques, and the pas de deux went quite well (with some corrections, but it was only a rehearsal!) - I believe it is first time they dance together, so I hope they will develop an even better rapport. To be very honest, for the first time I did not leave the theatre in tears - but to be even more honest, the Manons I have seen in London so far were Viviana Durante, Sarah Wildor and Darcey Bussell... Lescaut and his mistress were Alen Bottaini and Maria Eichwald - they have danced a lot together, and they were really good. At end of first act, I really HATED this Lescaut - he was so convincing! Settings and costumes I knew only the ones from London (last time I saw this ballet there was Easter 2000) - Munich looked quite different: Especially in first act, Manon's and Des Grieux's costumes looked more ice-blue and white - quite a contrast to the dominant brown and beige of the rest. They look like a very different couple, not fitting in the world surrounding them, I found. Lescaut's mistress doesn't have to wear that "special" wig - she looks more natural that way. Madame's "girls" - some of them wear white (!) dresses, with only a little bit of colour - a strange contrast to the five girls in first act - it makes the whole scene look quite bright... Settings looked different to me, too - but I am not able to pick out a lot of details (yet), sorry! I read somewhere Munich now has costumes and settings from a VIENNESE production dating back to 1993 - I would love to hear comments from people who know "Manon" in Vienna! As far as I know, it's still "on" there - so what settings/costumes are used there now?? Tomorrow (Tuesday) will be the A-premiere - I will try to write a more detailed report then!

Intuviel, thanks for the information - glad to know a little bit more about ballet terms and positions! And I am still on that high, too!!

Hi Shirley, yes, I did enter the competition - not the direct way, as I cannot send emails from Internet (using netscape), but I tried and sent a direct mail to the address given on Darcey's website - hope that will count, although I never have won anything so far...!

Kate, glad you enjoyed Saturday night as much as I did. I found that the day seats (provided you get one...) in the Stalls Circle are a fairly good option - if you don't mind missing about a third of the stage. Generally I like to see full stage, especially in a ballet like Swan Lake - but this time I was very happy to be quite close to the stage. As I am not a frequent visitor to Covent Garden (lack of money, not of interest!), other people's opinions would be very interesting! Maybe you should start a new topic on that? PS: The Amphitheatre can be VERY far away - I remember I saw one Swan Lake with Viviana Durante and Irek Mukhamedov from there - felt almost like on TV, and I remember I spent at most of the time stuck to my opera glasses...!

Wendy, thanks for your nice posts - glad you are feeling the same about Darcey's performance! I am still on a high thinking of it - and it was certainly worthwhile the efforts! To me, it seemed she was so happy to be able to perform again, especially as Odile - and wow, what a pas de deux!! Thanks also for the link to Darcey's website - you need not worry, I NEVER ever win anything (except that ticket for Saturday night, seems like a lottery to me!), but I may try, though... (we could then share the pair, provided both shoes are signed...)

First of all a note on "how to get a ticket" - I have never experienced anything the like before at ROH: I arrived at 10 to 9 to queue for a day seat - well, there were already 80 people in front of me. At about 10.30 we were told that the evening performance had just been sold out. I wanted to see both performances, so I remained in the queue for the matinee and was lucky enough to get a ticket for it. Returned in both intervals of the matinee to check the queue, and after the performance I ran straight out without even getting my coat back to join in the queue again for returns. There were about 10 people in front of me, but I was determined to wait until 7 to see if there was really no chance of getting in. Someone arrived with two tickets - and was told by opera house staff to go outside again to sell them there! So there was a bit of uproar in the queue - what are we queuing for, if people can just arrive outside and get tickets?? Anyway, to cut a long story short, I got a single ticket (ironically a day seat!) for the evening as well - and the performance was worth the efforts! Matinee Deborah Bull - Inaki Urlezaga I like Debbie Bull - but must admit that like for many others, for me she's more a modern type of dancer than a "swan". She was good, though, and there was some nice rapport between her and Inaki Urlezaga. Inaki surprised me a lot in those two days - he has improved so much since I saw him last time - or maybe it was just the gaiety of Franz in Coppelia that did not suit him that much? He was a very young prince, a bit naive, and feeling soo sorry when realizing he was cheated... Felt like running on stage and telling him: Boy, it's only a performance, you will be alright! Cast included many of the young/new dancers I had hoped to see: Pas de trois with Marianela Nunez, Rachel Rawlings and Ivan Putrov (?) - they all looked very good. Marianela is one of the very few young dancers who not only seem to consist of "bones", and what an energy and joy she presents! Rachel was very good, too - sometimes a bit out of control in the pirouettes when her partner turned her, so I think this is something Ivan will work on. But boy, his jumps were already amazing! Neapolitan Dance led by Leana Palmer (?) and Justin Meissner - very vivid, full of joy. Evening Bussell - Bolle Darcey was brilliant - I think this must be one of her favourite roles. I loved her soft Odette (wonderful arms and arabesques!), and her Odile was technically brilliant - I cannot remember such a long balance on point - must have been about 10 seconds, and the audience seemed to stop breathing! The fouettés she did without visibly using her arms - she kept them sort of down, to the side (no classical position I would know the name of) and spinned as if it was the easiest thing on earth... Her partner Roberto Bolle looked a bit pale, no special rapport - but he is a good and reliable partner, good looking, with a solid technique. The Pas de trois was like totally different from the matinee - Jaimie Tapper, Belinda Hatley and Johann Persson again a class of their own, making this a sparkling piece within the ballet!