Royal Ballet: Swan Lake Review

Last Monday, March 22nd I attended the Royal Ballet's production of Swan Lake at the Royal Opera House...for £6. There are a number of discounted seats with non-discounted views if you book well-ahead online, and they ROH also regularly sells student tickets for £10 in standing-only sections of the Upper Stalls. I was fortunate enough to have a front row seat! Swan Lake has sold-out this very quickly this year, in the wake of the film Black Swan. I have not seen the film but I think it's great people are taking an interest in the arts, especially in this age of austerity when the New York City Ballet is laying off dancers and I'm sure smaller companies are faring even worse. 

Alas...the show did NOT disappoint! The ROH is a beautiful building and Royal Ballet probably the best in the world at the moment. Casting for the evening featured American Sarah Lamb as Odette/Odile and Italian Federico Bonelli as Prince Siegfried. They were spot on all night minus one incident at the beginning of Act II, where Odile makes her first appearance...there is some lovely choreography that involves the two sort of "fluttering" around each other with Siegfried more or less chasing Odette, and Federico who is a powerful but less-than-graceful dancer KNOCKED Sarah down! They recovered quickly, however, and the rest of the production was abosolutely perfect. The set was amazing, by far the best I have ever seen. Swan Lake always makes me think of Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany, and their set and costumes really made you feel like you were watching the whole show play out in a Bavarian Forest. Any other ballet I see from now on is destined to be a disappointment after this! 

If you're not an avid ballet-watcher, I highly recommend Swan Lake as your first! It's a classic. I chose to attend on this particular evening because although I haven't been to as many ballets as I'd like, I got very wrapped up in reading about Sarah Lamb's 2009 injury shortly after I moved to the UK. She suffered a broken foot just before the start of the season, career-ending for a ballerina, and returned to her native Boston for a year to work with Nancy Kerrigan's physio-therapist.  In autumn 2010 she was healed and back dancing full-time! Incredible.

 Above: Lamb and Bonelli as Odette and Prince Seigfried. 

Below: Artsists of the Royal Ballet as Swans and students of the Royal Ballet School as Cygnets. 

Photos courtesy of ballet.co.uk

 Me, freezing outside the ticket holders entrance just before the show!

 Bronze ballerina in the courtyard outside.

As I said, the ROH is an incredible historic building, and they do give tours of the facilities including backstage, many of which are free! You do typically need to book, however. More information on tours can be found here. I highly recommend taking a tour, especially if you're going to see a show! When you get inside you'll want to know ALL about the building. The day I went there were FREE tours during the afternoon, but I did not know about it, how cool would it have been to learn all about the building before attending a show?! I'll definitely look into a tour before my next ballet.

Above and below: Interior of the Royal Opera House.

All other photos: author's collection.

Royal Collection: Merchandise Review

I think just about everyone buys SOMETHING when they travel...if you're at all interested in the British monarchy or are planning a trip to one of the Historic Royal Palaces, I highly recommend the Royal Collection shops located at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle (Buckinghamshire) and the Palace of Holyrood House (Edinburgh, Scotland). You can also shop online by clicking here.

I went in to the shop located at Buckingham Palace to check out the Official Royal Wedding china, seen below.

 The range includes a plate, tankard, pill box, Christmas tree ornament, crystal glass and tea towel. Quality was excellent, all pieces were made in England and "approved" by the couple. Pretty, but wouldn't match the china I've inherited, so I just went with the pillbox (£22) as it small and will fit nicely in a china cabinet :) Price-wise these pieces are very, very comparable to the "rubbish" versions imported from China and found ALL OVER London (especially Piccadilly Circus). I highly recommend spending your money here instead...if you're going to have a piece of history, at least buy a piece of "official" history. All pieces come in a sturdy gift box, which is also embossed with the gold C&W and makes it simple to transport home, even on an airplane. They also include an authenticity card.

 Above: Pillbox, my top pick. Below: Plate.

I also highly recommend their Christmas ornament range. My family bought our first of these back in 1996, and we have steadily added to the collection with every trip to the UK since. These soft ornaments are light weight so won't bear down your branches, and SO easy to get home in your luggage. Priced between £6-£12, they feature famous monarchs, royal icons, sites, etc. The bulk are made exclusively for the Royal Collection, but you can also find matching ornaments of the same style and quality at many other gift shops including the Roman Baths, Westminster Abbey, The Tower of London and the British Museum's shops. 

 Above: Lovely and intricate royal iconography. Below: Victoria & Albert (new for 2011!)

Top Picks for Kids:

      Kids are hard to shop for...they want everything they see, but wise gift buyers know it's better to get them one NICE gift they'll have forever than to buy a t-shirt from every site you visit. This miniature globe from the Royal Collection features the Thames at its "equator" with a (highly accurate!) map of all the major sites of London. Really great for small kids as well as older ones, something to put on the bookshelf and bring out to remember your trip! Also a great "shareable" gift if you have multiple children to buy for.

 I have ALWAYS loved stuffed animals, but it's hard sometimes to find really unique and good quality ones. This corgi is absolutely adorable (if you don't already know, Queen Elizabeth II has always had a large pack of corgis, she received her first in 1944, named Susan, and has since bred them).

This corgi is super cute and wears a coat with an embroidered crown on the back and even has an attached leash, and for only £7.95! His ear tag says Royal Collection in gold lettering, you might try to convince an older child to keep it attached. The only thing I don't care for is that it was made in Indonesia; most of the merchandise in the Royal Collection is manufactured in the UK (as it should be!). The only other corgi plush I have seen in London this year was £12 at Fancy That across the street from the British Museum and was slightly larger than this one.

 Above: Me with my Susan!

Other great gift ideas from the Royal Collection include iconic English treats like tea and shortbread, housed in lovely tins bearing the name of the site of purchase. There are several different colour schemes including a super cute hot pink with gold lettering range; one of these was purchased for me by a friend and after the shortbread was gone I converted the tin into a flower pot...j'adorable! 

A Royal Brunch

further to that last post about the Ritz package, apparently you can book brunch at the Ritz whether you're staying there the weekend of the wedding or not! For $244USD per person you get a buffet of themed food stations, outdoor grill on the terrace, a "decorative keepsake" and can watch their live stream of the event from 10:30-3:30 GMT. To book email enquire@theritzlondon.com

bon appetit!

The Ritz "Monarchy and Matrimony" package

If you're thinking of visiting London during the Royal Wedding, you should most definitely consider the Ritz's Monarchy and Matrimony package. Priced from £1460 excluding VAT (20% methinks!) guests checking in on Thursday 28 April and Friday 29 April will receive two nights accommodation in a Louis XVI inspired room, fresh flower and fruit, champagne and a special wedding day brunch in the Ritz Restaurant while they watch live coverage of the event. Full details here:

http://www.theritzlondon.com/promotions-en.html

If you can't quite afford the Ritz's offer, or live close to or in London and have too much common sense to put yourself in the middle of the madness on the day...fear not! You can visit the Ritz anytime for afternoon tea, dinner or cocktails! Just remember the dress code or you'll be asked to leave immediately!!! It is worth at least a peak inside, the hotel features in numerous films and TV shows and was the site of Queen Elizabeth II's 80th birthday party.

And if a trip to London is not in your future, go rent Notting Hill...there are some lovely scenes shot inside (Julia Roberts plays an American actress staying there while she films in London) and Hugh Grant is forced to disguise himself as a bellhop to get in to visit her. Also, a hilarious appearance of Mischa Barton who was about 10 at the time and not yet on drugs and stuff ;)

William Thacker, not allowed inside! 

Pippa Middleton, Kate's new EMPLOYEE??

Some think she will hire her sister to be her Lady-in-Waiting, or P.A. for all you commoners.
Read it here! :)

http://royalwedding.yahoo.com/blogs/what%27s-a-lady-in-waiting-115

Don't they know London taxis are SOOOO common?!

a ROYAL mistake

Either Camilla was hoping to replace Dumbledore in the Harry Potter franchise, or her stylist needs to be sacked.

Prince William's job is for real!

He works as a search and rescue pilot in North Wales. Anyway, he is about to go to New Zealand in the aftermath of the earthquake there...he is going in the place of his grandmother the queen (not sure why, but anyway). He has NOT asked for any time off from his job, apparently S&R pilots work 24 hour shifts with quite a long break in between scheduled shifts to recover, and he'll be working, heading to NZ to "work" and deal with that lovely jet lag, then come back to right back to work! Impressive, Wills!

Quite a "Top Gun" look?

source: RoyalReporter twitter posts :)