Mashinka

I second your concerns, I was shocked at Alexandrova's demotion too.

There can be little argument regarding the awful productions that the Royal Opera inflicts on it's audiences, but I dislike this word 'Eurotrash' intensely and believe it is highly misleading. So far I've seen nine operas in continental houses this year and although one production was dull and unimaginative, it wasn't thoroughly unpleasant in the way so many are in Bow Street. The problem seems to be with whoever commissions these monstrosities, not the nationalities of the directors. On the plus side the RO's recent Salome looked very good in a straight comparison to the bilge currently on offer at ENO, apparently a feminist interpretation by one Adena Jacobs, not European but Aussie. My pal at the Coliseum tells me around a dozen walk out in disgust every night. On Friday night when I saw it, three people behind me called it a day when the giant headless pink horse made its appearance. I notice it's the subsidised houses that present these horrors, the hits to misses ratio is far more positive in places like Garsington and Glyndebourne.

A beautiful voice, will be playing one of her CDs tonight.

One of the ways of achieving a reduction in regular attendance has become apparent now that the ROH redevelopment is complete. The opera house has opened up to the general public with the result that the amphitheatre bar areas have become instantly popular as an upmarket watering hole for the well heeled. The terrace has stunning views of the London skyline, a popular place for patrons to sit in during intervals, but now you'd be lucky to find a place to sit and the seating area of the inside bar has reduced (tough luck if you happen to have been in a standing place for the performance). Of course the amphi has the cheapest seats in the house, so presumably the comfort of the less affluent is of little consequence. The ballet hasn't opened yet, so those that don't do opera have no idea what they are about to experience, but in the intervals of The Ring my friends and I got the message and left the building in search of refreshment elsewhere only to discover we were far from alone with fellow Wagner fans finding alternative places to perch. At least the surrounding area is well served by pubs and coffee shops. Getting away from physical comfort/discomfort, the arrogance of the ROH management is astounding, the claim that they are presenting the best in opera and ballet needs to be challenged as the RB performs far fewer programmes than in the past and the opera commissions such lousy productions they regularly get booed. For the ballet fans there is little classical dance outside ROH other than the brief London appearances of ENB, but opera fans have other options with ENO, Welsh National (doable if you have a car) and in summer the 'country house' opera seasons, and for us really keen ones cheap flights make continental houses a tempting alternative. Of course forcing regular patrons to look elsewhere may be the least of the problems. Inexplicably they have stopped bag checks on the door at the same time all and sundry are being allowed to come in and make themselves at home. There is dismay over this policy and it is frankly unwise as places of entertainment have proved prime terrorist targets from Moscow to Paris and to Manchester. One last observation, for years now the stalls area has been populated by corporate organizations and the empty seats on sell out nights are testimony to the lack of any real interest in the arts for those with tickets, if the ROH is keen to increase this demographic at the expense of a regular enthusiastic audience, what's in it for the artists performing for those just there to be seen?

All that is true and it is pertinent that Anthony Dowell never touched the role, nevertheless it has become a role that dancers aspire to. Ivan Vasiliev in particular was keen to dance Rudolf, whether he has I don't know but I don't think he would be entirely suitable. Ironically his namesake Vladimir Vasiliev could have danced it, so too could Maris Liepa and therein lies a paradox, is the role for a dancer with the strength to perform it or is it for a dancer with the acting skills to bring the role to life? Royal Ballet dancers should in theory be physically stronger today than previous generations due to the great range of styles they are obliged to perform, The kind of stamina required to dance Macgregor is beyond anything required in the past. Rudolf really needs a first class actor even more than a ballet strongman to bring the role to life. It is telling that when Bennet Gartside, basically a character dancer, stepped in to dance Rudolf at short notice and gave the performance of a lifetime still talked about today, it proved to be a one off. My guess is that the ordeal was too much to be willingly repeated despite receiving near hysterical applause from an audience that had actually gone to see someone else. Mayerling is a ballet that needs a degree of research to understand who's who and what's going on, the bewildering long list of named characters on the cast sheet is daunting and I remember going to see it with the mother of an ROH employee who was so confused by all the names and relationships I spent both intervals explaining. Clearly MacMillan never heard/chose to ignore Balanchine's famous quote about mother-in-laws. I consider the ballet to be very much a vehicle for the male dancer though it's a work I'm fairly ambivalent about as it's on the whole an evening spent watching a bunch of very unsympathetic people. To some extent it's carried by Liszt's wonderful music and the RB's artists work wonders to bring the ballet to life, but like Manon it is performed far too often and choreographically there is nothing in either ballet to match the artistry of any of Ashton's.

If we Ashton fans are insecure it's because in the UK he appears to be relegated to the status of a minor figure. Only outside of Britain can we see the heartening signs of a growing interest in his work. I've always considered the NYCB and RB the home of dancers with the best musicality, not sure if it is innate or whether it can be taught. Having said that if I had to nominate the most sublimely musical dancer around it would be a Russian: Osmolkina.

After Monaco having employed him and his links with Princess Caroline. So, biting the hand that fed him too.

My memories of Farrell with the Bejart company are all positive, not a mismatch at all. She looked good with male star Donn and one of my keenest ballet memories was sitting almost alone in a Belgian theatre as they rehearsed Sonate pas de deux, not a run through but a complete uninterrupted performance. I think Bejart understood her uniqueness and cast her where she could be admired to greatest advantage.

That's very true, it's Sutherland all the way for me. You may be interested to hear I've just been given a ticket for a singing hologram of Callas, future for performing arts? Mind you if they could create a hologram of Fonteyn and Nureyev.....

I'm bitterly disappointed they are not bringing the Nureyev work particular after the taster in the Russian Icons gala, however the Hochhausers always get to decide the rep. To be blunt the last London Bolshoi season was sub standard, with a number of performances under par let down by some of the ballerinas so I very much hope they announce who they are bringing in advance. In addition to Krysanova I'm hoping for Alexandrova and Obraztsova, and a friend who went to Milan is positively raving about Alyona Kovalyova so I'm hoping she'll repeat her Nikiya here. As far as Swan Lake is concerned with the RB producing another dud, my memory of Grigorovich's Swan Lake turns golden in comparison, so if they field a good enough O/O I'd like to go back to it. Like to add I'm surprised to hear Mikhail Lobukhin dances Spartacus. With his amazing acting abilities I would have thought him better cast as Crassus. Who has danced both roles in that ballet? Off the top of my head I can only think of one.

I'll start with a disclaimer and say that despite having seen countless productions of Swan Lake I do not claim to be an expert on Swan Lake. St Petersburg Ballet Theatre sadly doesn't credit anyone with staging their version, but it is closest to the Kirov in choreography and spirit in spite of minor differences, many purely logistical. The company's St Petersburg base means it has always relied on Vaganova School dancers, e.g. Kolesnikova, Glurjidze, Kolegova and the teaching staff from the beginning has been made up of ex Kirov A-listers. For example Alla Osipenko was a long time coach with the company, and my guess is one of them did the staging. It is always possible to contact Konstantine Tatchkin, the company's very amiable founder, on social media and ask him directly if he could supply details.

After the Giselle that he was forced to abandon half way, this was a chance for me to see what the Osipova/Hallberg partnership actually looks like and I have to say they suit each other very well. Osipova has an almost impetuous element to her dancing that contrasts well with Hallberg, a cool dude by comparison. Since Acosta left the RB Osipova has danced with a variety of partners with varying degrees of success, I see no reason why Hallberg shouldn't partner her at the RB in the future as this is a partnership that deserves to be nurtured. As far as the programme goes, I had a few reservations about a couple of items, but they all showed off Osipova's versatility very well, the piece by Ratmansky was the audience's favourite judging by the volume of well deserved applause it received. A well balanced evening and a pleasure to see some Tudor danced in London again at long last.

Delighted about Bright Stream, surprised they're bringing Bayadere in the same season the RB's dancing it . What do we have to do to see Raymonda again?

Birdsall, thanks so much for giving us your thoughts, and thanks also to Laurent for some historical background. I recently read a theory that these old 'forgotten' operas are being revived to provide the opera audience with 'new' works as there is not much take up with contemporary discordant works. In London this summer we got to see the world premiere of Donizetti's L'Ange de Nisida (1839) in a concert version with professional singers. When the opera was first written the theatre company in Paris due to perform it went bankrupt the opera was never performed. Donizetti went on to use the best bits in later works. I sometimes go to student performances but they lack the polish of professionals, the odd choreography can't have helped the overall impression either, operas of that period were so dependant on lengthy ballet sequences. Agree Medee is wonderful.

They change the name of the country but nothing else changes. Remember the Panovs?

If you would be so kind as to comment also on Ali Baba, I would be very, very, grateful.

Looking at the present Bolshoi line up, I don't see a natural Spartacus in the ranks. A guest might be a good idea, Brooklyn Mack perhaps? Agree about Carlos Acosta, by far the best Spartacus this century.

Haters? Rather a loaded term. Ballet is now too much of a minority art form to produce legends and though it would be fun to compile a list of present day performers that might have become legends in another era, I think the valid and objective views of others here would exclude Stepanova from such a list.

That was not my point at all, but I'm aware that there are now more travelling fans that support various dancers. It has always been the case that criteria differs between ballet centres, what cuts no ice in London may go down a storm elsewhere and vice versa. Fonteyn by the way was born in 1919, so to have seen her when she was in her forties you would need to have been an adult by 1969, e.g. 70+.

I'd opt for the RB.

Trust me, people who saw Fonteyn (most dead by now) loved line and musicality something in which Stepanova is mostly lacking. Funny the survivors from those days don't post. Looking at her IG profile, she appears to be from South Africa, I think I've made my point.

Possibly, but a Londoner?

In London? I very much doubt it.

Except Kochetkova was ignored in the company when she was there, though that may have been before O'Hare arrived.

News from London and of interest to her fans here is that Yulia Stepanova is dancing in Swan Lake. I wasn't aware she was coming, not sure if she is in addition to or replacing Anna Nikulina who was scheduled to dance. I understand the season has been extended somewhat as there are now three princes Kim. Rodkin and Volchkov so perhaps Stepanova was roped in as third cast.