Public Booking for BOOKING PERIOD FIVE opens 21/5/02. I thought it would be useful to put all the information in one place.

Phone: +44 (0)20 7304 4000
Online Booking
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THE ROYAL BALLET 2001/02 SEASON

ONEGIN
15, 16, 17, 18, 19 July at 7.30pm/
20 July at 2pm and 7pm

John Cranko's full-length ballet Onegin returns for the Summer Season. The ballet danced to the music of Tchaikovsky, is inspired by Pushkin's great verse-novel Eugene Onegin which takes as its central themes unrequited love and heartbreak. Designs are by Jürgen Rose and Charles Barker conducts.

15, 18 July
Rojo, Cooper, Cojocaru, Putrov, Saunders*

16, 19 July
Tapper, Tewsley, Nuñez, Stepanek, Tuckett

17, 20 (eve) July
Cojocaru, Kobborg, Bond, Persson, Gartside

20 (mat) July
Galeazzi, Harvey*, Nuñez, Stepanek, Cooper

Synopses from the ROH website
Critical Dance News and Issues and Reviews

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DON QUIXOTE
22, 24, 26, July, at 7.30pm, 25 July at 2.30pm and 7.30pm
27 July at 2pm and 7pm

The season continues with Don Quixote, a heady mixture of Spanish dance, pure classicism, and comic farce. The ballet follows the adventures of Kitri, the adventurous peasant girl, who runs off to a gypsy encampment with her sweetheart, the local barber Basilio, rather than follow her father's wish that she marry the outrageously silly, and wealthy Gamache. After romantic and comic complications including a sword-fight, tilting at the windmill and a moonlit pas de deux, chivalrous Don Quixote resourcefully ensures a happy ending. With the music of Ludwig Minkus (arranged by John Lanchbery), décor by Anne Fraser and costumes by Barry Kay, with Charles Barker conducting.

22, 26 July
Rojo, Acosta

24, 27 (mat) July
Cojocaru, Kobborg

25 (mat) July
Yoshida, Urlezaga*

25 (eve), 27 (eve)
Bussell*, Cope

Synopses from the ROH website
Critical Dance News and issues and Reviews

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COPPÉLIA
29, 30, 31 July, 2 August at 7.30pm, 1 August at 2.30pm and 7.30pm
3 August at 2pm and 7pm

Coppélia sits on the toy-maker's balcony, oblivious to the world around her. Her young and lively neighbour, Swanilda, is annoyed at Coppélia's indifference to overtures of friendship and then becomes alarmed when her fiancée, Franz takes more than a passing interest in the girl. However,
when she and her friends break into the toy-maker's house to confront her rival, Swanilda realises that Coppélia is not quite what she seems!

29 July, 1 (mat) August
Benjamin, Kobborg

30 July, 2 August
Yoshida, TBA

31 July, 3 (eve) August
Nunez, Acosta

1 (eve) August, 3 August (mat)
Tapper, Urlezaga

No synopses for Coppelia yet
Critical Dance Reviews and a little discussion here

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Sorry this has taken so long. Quite a few changes to the BP5 booklet, most interestingly Robert Tewsley has been shifted to Jamie Tapper's Onegin while Martin Harvey will make his Onegin debut with Mara Galeazzi. I'm definitely going for the latter. And it doesn't look as if Johan Persson will be fit for the summer season - does anyone want to bet that Ivan Putrov is partnered with Miyako in his place?

<small>[ 08-11-2002, 06:06: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

AUSTRALIA TOUR
Info is here.

<small>[ 08-11-2002, 06:07: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

<B>VISITING COMPANIES TO THE MAIN STAGE<P>A CELEBRATION OF ST PETERSBURG</B> <BR>28, 29 May at 7pm <BR>Presented by the Markinsky Theatre Trust <BR> <BR>To launch the 300th anniversary year, Valery Gergiev and Maiinsky Theatre will present two special programmes celebrating the cultural riches of Russia's most European city through its music, operas, ballets, artists and writers. The two evenings are the only staged perfermances in the UK by the Kirov Opera and Kirov Ballet during 2002 and both include extract from several Mariinsky productions never seen before in London. Some 300 members of the Mariinsky Theatre, including leading stars of the opera and ballet will come to London especially for this unique celebration. <P>The 28 May programme will feature the combined opera and ballet in the spectacular Polovtsian Act from Borodin's Prince Igor. The Kirov Ballet will perform the Tchaikovsky/Balanchine Serenade and highlights from Act III of Raymonda with Igor Zelensky, Daria Pavlenko, Svetlana Zakharova, Veronika Part, Maya Dumchenko, Danila Korsuntsev and Vikto Baranov. <P>Conductor: <BR>Valery Gergiev <P>Kirov Ballet: <BR>Zhanna Ayupova <BR>Maya Dumchenko <BR>Veronika Part <BR>Daria Pavlenko <BR>Diana Vishneva <BR>Svetlana Zakharova <BR>Viktor Barnov <BR>Igor Kolb <BR>Anton Korskov <BR>Danila Korsuntsev <BR>Igor Zelensky <P>From the ROH website. More info <A HREF="http://www.royalballet.org/Calendar/Index.cfm?cls=44&cDay=1&cWeek=22&cMonth=6&cYear=2002&atf=w" TARGET=_blank><B>here</B></A><P>For further information: Caroline Smith 0207470 8705

ENGLISH NATIONAL BALLET
Presented by Victor Hochhauser
31 May 7.30pm, 1 June at 2.30pm and 7.30pm

Apollo
George Balanchine

A neo-classical masterpiece exploring the mythological youth of the god Apollo who instructs the muses of poetry, mime and dance. Set to Stravinsky's thrilling score, Apollo was created by the legendary George Balanchine, the single most influential figure in 20th Century Ballet.

Apollo/Terpsichore/Polyhymnia/Calliope

Fri eve – Edur/Oaks/Celis/McIlroy
Sat mat – Gruzdyev/Maley/Clarke/Barbera
Sat eve – Edur/Oaks/Celis/McIlroy
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Double Concerto
Christopher Hampson

Double Concerto, the ballet by the exciting young choreographer Christopher Hampson premiered last Autumn to universal acclaim, has been hailed as a classic for the future. The beautiful Poulenc score and ravishing tutus set the tone for a stylish, musical and thoroughly classical ballet.

Fri eve – Klimentova/Wikstrom
Sat mat – Peregro/Bubnov
Sat eve – Klimentova/Wikstrom
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Who Cares?
George Balanchine

Who Cares? is a dazzling homage to George Gershwin, the big band era and all the razzmatazz of the 1930s. Feature some of Gershwin's best-know tunes, including The Man I Love, S'Wonderful and I Got Rhythm, this is a brilliant balletic tribute to the genius of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers

Fri eve – Gruzdyev/Cao/Peregro/McIlroy
Sat mat – Edur/Oaks/Celis/Clarke
Sat eve- Gruzdyev/Cao/Peregro/McIlroy
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From the ROH website. More info here

Critical Dance Info and Reviews from the Coliseum

<small>[ 08-11-2002, 06:11: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

<B>RAVI SHANKAR AND ANOUSHKA SHANKAR</B> <BR>The Full Circle Tour <BR>23 June at 7.30pm <P>Ravi Shankar, the sitar maestro, dubbed "the godfather of world music" by the late George Harrison comes to the Royal Opera House, as part of his ongoing ‘Full Circle’ world tour. This performance features Shankar’s 20-year-old daughter and disciple, Anoushka, assisting him on sitar, and the tabla players, Bikram Ghosh and Tanmoy Bose. <P>More on the <A HREF="http://www.royalballet.org/Calendar/Index.cfm?cls=46&cl=473&cDay=1&cWeek=22&cMonth=6&cYear=2002&atf=m" TARGET=_blank><B>ROH website</B></A><BR>For further information contact: Ben Keane on 020 7467 2218 <BR>Email: ben.keane@emic.co.uk<BR>

And finally Critical Dance Info on the Royal Ballet Golden Jubilee Gala

<small>[ 08-11-2002, 06:12: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

What a pain telephone booking is! It took an hour of dialing an redialling before I even got through, though the wait on hold was pretty short.<P>Anyway, there's very little left of Onegin, and the Busell/Cojocaru/Rojo Don Qs are selling extremely well too. Availability for Coppelia is still fairly good though - highly recommended by me!

It's certainly boring at the ROH. I wonder how many more seats they would sell if people could get through reliably.

I guess they would sell some more seats. Due to the trouble getting through I tend to try my luck directly at the box office for performances I suspect will be highly in demand. Unfortunately people not living in London usually cannot resort to this option.<P>If this is caused by some kind of technical problem why does it not seem to get addressed? Surly the ROH must realise that their phone system is not up to handling the number of incoming calls especially when public booking opens. Should this not be a 'customer service' consideration?<BR>

Stuart, what do you mean by boring? Just today, or the summer season in general? <P>I did question the operator this morning about how many people they had on hold at any one time. She didn't know, but she did mention there were 30-40 telephone operators working which I guess is pretty healthy. Maybe more isn't really feasible since the phonelines aren't really this nuts except when booking opens. <p>[This message has been edited by sylvia (edited May 21, 2002).]

You know very well that i meant the ROH phone system Sylvia!<P>However, the Summer season doesn't have me jumping for joy. It will be good to see another 'Onegin' and perhaps Cojocaru in the other wise dreary production of 'Don Q'. 'Copplia' is not one of my favourites, being one of those ballets, like 'Don Q' that gets dance a bad name with lovers of other art forms, but Nunez, Acosta sounds interesting.

Just a minute. Where's Yanowsky? She was stellar stuff in In the Middle. But not a dicky bird in this latest line up. I'm glad Galeazzi has a lead role, and Nunez too. But doesn't Yanowsky deserve a bit more?

Stuart, I realize that 'Don Q' is not exactly Petipa's finest accomplishment and I have not even seen 'Coppelia' yet but isn't '... these ballets are among those giving dance a bad name among lovers of other art forms' a bit too harsh?<P>I am sure that on the other side of the spectrum some people might find certain contemporary works so inaccesible that they might conclude dance is a lost cause as well.<P>Nino ,that is a good point about Yanowsky. I guess we probably get to see her as Street Dancer and Queen of the Dryads in Don Q but am I the only one wondering why she has not had any real principal roles all season? She seems to be firmly stuck with the kind of roles she already had as a First Solist. Having seen her splendid performances I just cannot understand why that is.

IMO I'm pleased that Onegin's being repeated. I'm only seeing one this time (Galeazzi & Harvey's - I've already seen the other casts many, many times!) and I think there must be many who caught on a bit late and given the size of the returns queues, missed out. <P>I kinda agree with your thoughts on Don Q though Stuart. If I do go, it'll be solely for the dancers. I like the new partnerships much better. But the idea of sitting through that production again makes my stomach hurt - it works much better for me on video. I keep thinking back to the Don Q discussion on the BBC's News Night. Germaine Greer among others, absolutely castigated it - the plot, the sets, the frivolity of it all. I was fuming at the time because they barely said a word about the quality of the dancing. But of course they aren't dance critics and they were telling it like it is. Didn't even Stretton say the production may have been a mistake? (I'm sure he did, but I can't remember were!) Given the bad reviews I'm willing to bet it's a long long time before we see it again if ever, so we may as well 'enjoy' it while we can.<P>Coppelia's one of my favourite ballets though! I think everything about this ballet is perfect - the bright cheery colours, the quaint toy-box houses and beautiful costumes. The corps dancing is a delight. Delibes' music is one of my favourites. And I think Act II with the dancing dolls and Swanhilda's impersonation of Coppelia is one of the most perfect Acts in ballet there is. Incrediby funny and very touching. Lovely, lovely dancing. I just smile and smile when I think of this ballet - I really do urge everyone to see it. Probably the only weakness for me is that himbo Franz doesn't have a whole lot to do dance-wise and the pdd at the end is a little disappointing. I so badly wanted to see Sarah Wildor do this with Kobborg but she was injured last time. I wasn't impressed with Nunez back then but her partner was flown in at the last minute so I'll give her another go. I think Miyako should be pretty special as well. Again, we should catch her while she can - she's danced next to nothing this year, what, 4 roles in total?<P>As for Zenaida, I'm disappointed too. I can think of reasons why she's still stuck in soloist roles though - she was promoted just before Stretton came in and perhaps Stretton hasn't figured out yet what to do with her. I think if Reid Andersen had wanted her to dance Tatiana she would be doing it. She's definitely not Swanhilda. And her height makes it difficult to find a suitable partner - in Don Q Cope's dancing with Darcey and I don't know what's going on with Inaki. The RB has flown in a lot of guest males (6 in total) perhaps they can't afford anymore (more pessimistically maybe they think it's only worth the expense for Darcey, Sylvie, Tamara and Alina). And we have so many talented female dancers already it's hard enough to share the performances out between them. I guess if there were a pecking order Zenaida would be at the bottom since she was made principal the most recently. Just my 2 cents. I do hope we see more of her next season.<p>[This message has been edited by sylvia (edited May 22, 2002).]

Odile, these ballets were created as spectacles for the aristocracy and were despised by the Russian intellegensia of the period. In a BBC4 Critics programme this season, the group savaged the RB 'Don Q', not so much for the lack-lustre production as for the lack of any emotional or intellectual content and commented how such a work did little for the credibility of ballet.<P>From my own perspective, I can enjoy these works as a dancing display, but they can never have the resonance for me of emotionally powerful works like 'Giselle' or 'Manon', witty ones like 'Fille' or beautiful non-narrative works like 'Concerto'. <P>If all this sounds a bit grumpy, perhaps I had better confess to a great liking for the kitsch hockum of 'Scheherazade'.<P>