Romeo and Juliet, The Royal Ballet 13/02/2010

Kenneth Macmillan's first full length work, Romeo and Juliet has been a staple in the Royal Ballet's repertory since it premiered in 1965. Combining the traditional with the contemporary, this ballet houses heavy costumes, character dancing and mime, with weighty emotions and a decent dose more grit than your average Swan Lake. The performance I saw was the day before Valentine's day, and boy could you tell - couples everywhere, all dressed up to the nines.

The first scene of Act 1 attempts to establish the enmity between the Montagues and Capulets. The fight scene completely lacks any real bloodlust. Perhaps this is deliberate and an attempt to unveil it all as a bit of a farce, but either way, it's tedious to watch, and while the dramatic tableau created at the end of the scene is impressive, it feels a little as though the entire scene was building up to the final pose. However, things pick up when we travel to Juliet's bedroom and meet the young Juliet (Marianela Nuñez) for the delightfully amusing dance with her nurse, immediately prior to meeting her suitor Paris, in which Juliet becomes aware for seemingly the first time that she is no longer a child.

Into the ball, and I always feel a little disappointed by the Dance of Knights, which is set to Prokofiev's most famous piece of music from this ballet. While it certainly feels austere, the choreography is repetitive and lacks any real drama, as with the first scene. However, Juliet, Paris and Romeo (Thiago Soares) weave intriguingly through the dancers which fits perfectly with Prokofiev's mesmerising score. From this point forth the romance takes off in a frenzy, and spirals onwards brilliantly towards the tragic finish. In the second act Gary Avis is, as always, spectacular as Juliet's cousin Tybalt, and Ricardo Cervera and Kenta Kura flashingly brilliant as Mercutio and Benvolio, outdancing Thiago Soares in some of the pas de trois.

This was the first time I've seen Nuñez dance a more dramatic role, and she threw everything and the kitchen sink into her rendition of Juliet. She was better partnered than normal by her Romeo (Thiago Soares), who despite a wobbly first solo (which is just after they've met and is supposed to woo her!) was suitably lyrical and romantic for the rest of the night. His acting at Juliet's tomb was heart-rending, and he outperformed Nuñez at this point. While they are not the best Romeo and Juliet I have seen by quite some margin, throughout the night I was very struck by how accurately Soares and Nuñez timed their acting with the music, despite the fact the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House were not having a stellar night. They used the space between them, and their positioning on the stage perfectly to almost paint emotion and tension onto the stage.

Romeo and Juliet is a slow starter, but once it gets going it's fabulous. It's a shame I won't see any other partnerships dance it this run. Nuñez and Soares pulled off the frenzied romance and tragedy very well, and I will definitely see them dance other dramatic roles in the future.

La Fille du Régiment, The Metropolitan Opera, New York City 09/02/2010

 

As I've said before, I am no opera buff, but I didn't need to be to appreciate this wonderful performance. The almost uniformly brilliant vocal performances combined with with tastefully over-the-top acting made for a thoroughly entertaining night.

Donizetti's La Fille du Régiment has, like many operas, a fairly ridiculous storyline, and this was handled perfectly by the star-studded line up of the Met Opera. While emotion was certainly not lacking, you never got the impression that any of the characters were taking themselves too seriously, which made for a very humourous performance. Diana Damrau made Marie the perfect boisterious tom-boy heroine, while Juan Diego Flórez was sublime as the smitten Tonio, his top notes simply gorgeous. In the smaller roles, Meredith Arwardy's voice was not my favourite of the night but she certainly made her presence felt as the Marquise of Berkenfield, and Maurizio Mauro was a very solid Sulpice - the dynamic between him and the Marquise very comic.

The set too was creative, beginning with a barricade built out of furniture that put me in mind of 'Les Miserables', and the floor of the stage covered in huge unfolded maps. While costumes were still period, this more modern setting laid the backdrop for the more contemporary feel of the acting, and further abolished any illusions that the story being enacted was in anyway realistic!

I really don't have a bad word to say about this production, other than that maybe Kiri Te Kanawa hammed up her cameo as the Duchess of Krakenthorp a little too much. It was the first time I have heard dialogue in opera, but it didn't intrude or jar. Donizetti's music is catchy and provides ample oppportunity for the lead roles to show off their vocal prowess - which they did with considerable gusto! It was only a shame that heavy blizzards had kept away much of what should have been a full house at Lincoln Center - what a treat they missed! Flórez is in London doing the same role at the ROH this season, and I am very tempted to go to see him again.