Comments for Mark Ronan

Comment on Hansel and Gretel, Royal Ballet, ROH Linbury Studio, May 2013 by Simon

Simon — Mon, 13 May 2013 09:30:52 +0000

Love the new website design Mark! Looks fantastic! Fresh and clear and easy to read. All the better for reading your excellent reviews.

Comment on Die Walküre, Staatsoper Berlin, Schiller Theater, April 2013 by DAVID MAY

DAVID MAY — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 20:07:21 +0000

I came to the Berlin Ring from Sydney, Simon because,at A$2000 for a ticket to the Melbourne cycle, it was a cheaper option (flights and hotel included). I was not disappointed. It was extraordinary.

Comment on Götterdämmerung, Staatsoper Berlin, Schiller Theater, April 2013 by DAVID MAY

DAVID MAY — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 19:46:09 +0000

Cassier’s Ring has been roundly condemned for the dancing. This is a shame because I found it full of interesting and confronting ideas as well as the most beautiful visual imagery I have seen on a theatre stage. The musical quality of the performances was outstanding and there was a tangible mood that we were experiencing something very special.

I would even go so far as to say that the dancers provide some enlightening dramatic perspective as well. The big problem was their intrusion in the orchestral interludes. These should go (though the audible “boo’ during the music in Rheingold was unwarranted and intrusive in itself). However the concept of the living tarnhelm was quite inspirational, often at times reminding me of an “Alien” like SF monster. I also felt that the dragon episode in Siegfried was tasteful and effective as opposed to the pantomime puppet in the Met’s Lepage Ring.

Comment on Das Rheingold, Staatsoper Berlin, Schiller Theater, April 2013 by markronan

markronan — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 22:40:01 +0000

This must have been the Siegfried performance on 18 April. I would have objected at the time, but I suppose you were too far away to tap him on the shoulder. It seems the ushers were not doing their job!

Comment on Das Rheingold, Staatsoper Berlin, Schiller Theater, April 2013 by Renske Mann

Renske Mann — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 14:28:52 +0000

Is this a first? Last night, a man diagonally in front of my row in the balcony was reading the Siegfried libretto on his iPad during the second act. He looked hurt and surprised when I asked him to turn it off for the last act. The reflected light from the computer and its turning pages were distracting and ruined the performance for me and several of my neighbours. There were German subtitles anyway, so why did he need to use his iPad? I hope I’ll never come across this problem again.

Comment on Siegfried, Staatsoper Berlin, Schiller Theater, April 2013 by Allan McFadyen

Allan McFadyen — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 10:55:30 +0000

I wasn’t terribly impressed with Lance Ryan. I know that genuine Wagner tenors are thin on the ground but Mr Ryan has a fairly pronounced vibrato (wobble) that gets alarmingly broad when he forces his voice. A good singing coach can probably do something to adjust his technique but I fear that in a few years he will be completely unlistenable in much the same way that Gwyneth Jones became. I didn’t notice the problem with Andreas Schager in Act 1 but sad to say he seems to have developed much the same fault which showed on quite a few occasions in Gottedammerung. It is just as easy to sing on the note all the time as it is to introduce a vibrato that can get out of control and become a real wobble and hopefully both of these singers will address this. Cheers.

Comment on Das Rheingold, Staatsoper Berlin, Schiller Theater, April 2013 by Allan McFadyen

Allan McFadyen — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 22:21:00 +0000

I loved the performance but agree that the dancers are completely superfluous. Also I felt for Donner as he only has one big moment for which he completely fluffed the entry and had to miss out a phrase to get back on track. Such a pity as he had a pretty good voice.

Comment on Siegfried, Staatsoper Berlin, Schiller Theater, April 2013 by waldteufel

waldteufel — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 10:51:53 +0000

Saw this production at La Scala with exactly the same cast (save that Lance Ryan sang all three acts). I thought the first act one of the very best productions I’ve ever seen. Act two began the same way – and then those wretched ‘dancers’ appeared and ruined the rest of the act. Just cannot understand Barenboim (or the singers) tolerating these ludicrous and totally distracting interventions. I also thought the ‘Valkyrie rock’ an unfortunate design especially with those voluminous costumes. No complaints about the singing, playing and conducting. If only Cassiers would have the humility to revise his concept it could become one of the ‘great’ Ring productions.

Comment on Nabucco, Royal Opera, Covent Garden, March 2013 by David Allen

David Allen — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 20:53:31 +0000

THis is exactly what I thought. Couldn’t agree more. Glorious musical Verdi night but the most non directed show i have seen for years. Moved or shoved round the stage might have been a selection of words. Sorry folks but NOT GOOD enough for Covent Garden. Thanks God for the singers etc!!!

Comment on Peter and Alice, Noël Coward Theatre, March 2013 by Joy Braithwaite

Joy Braithwaite — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 15:01:56 +0000

I think the meeting was intended to be the one in Bumpus bookshop in Tottenham Court road in 1932 where Alice Hargreaves is the main event alongside an exhibition celebrating the centenary of Lewis Carrol’s birth . However the two are also supposed to have met at a similar event in Columbia University in 1932 ( depicted in Dennis Potter’s Dream Child’ 1985 ?) as they held the version of Alice in Wonderland that was sold by Alice in 1928.
My family and I saw the play this week and although fascinated by the casting, we were equally in awe of the connection between these two icons and how the books/plays that depicted them created so many circles within circles that explain why Peter Llewelyn-Davies finally took his own life. As Ben Whishaw says, he is further compounding the phenomena of the JM Barrie effect on P L-D’s life and has to show that complexity .Yet another link to that story made even more remarkable by John Logan