Manon – 04/05, 12/05 and 23/05/2011

Manon is my absolute favourite ballet; to me this is a perfect meld of plot, choreography and music - Macmillan at his absolute best.

It tells the story of young girl Manon Lescaut, who journeys over the course of the three acts from being on the point of entering a convent, through falling in love and eloping with the young student Des Grieux, then being tempted and manipulated into leaving him for the wealth and splendour offered by rich Parisian Monsieur G.M, and then once again returning to Des Grieux and consequently being deported accused of being a prostitute. No mean feat for the ballerina dancing Manon to traverse, but providing a rich plot – love, drama, sex, violence and despair – for the audience to get their teeth into. The plight of Manon in Parisian society, partly her own ondoing, partly the gross exploitation of women in general, can leave few unmoved.

However, the reason that this is such a firm favourite for me and for many others is the love story, between Manon and Des Grieux. The various pas de deux between Manon and Des Grieux are, when danced well, utterly exhilarating. You should be on the edge of your seat, feeling every heart beat, every leap, every turn as though you are on stage dancing with them. Macmillan cleverly establishes the choreographic staples of the whole ballet in the first two pas de deuxs – just after they have met and then back at Des Grieux’s lodgings. In subsequent dances between Manon and Monsieur G.M, Lescaut (Manon’s brother) and his mistress, we see echoes of the steps set up in the first love dances of Manon and Des Grieux. This works two ways – firstly to suggest that there are elements of the relationship between Manon and Des Grieux in the relationships of the other characters (and vice versa), but also to remind you of those first pas de deux, of the eagerness and exhilaration of Manon and Des Grieux in their newfound love. Hence as we see Manon hurling herself into what can only be a downward spiral, we are ever reminded of what she has left behind, and to what we know she will ultimately return, leading to her downfall. The references back to those initial dances are never stronger than in the climactic final dance, in the Louisiana Swamp – similar steps danced more desperately, more exhilaratingly, the music similarly ramped up for this spectacular heartrending finale. I remember the very first time I saw Manon, when the curtain went down, I was almost as devastated that they had stopped dancing as I was at the story!

I could go on for hours about the wonders of those pas de deux, but really anyone who hasn’t seen it, should. The RB are doing an extended run of Manon, through into the autumn, so there are plenty of opportunities! The rest of the ballet balances out the intensity of those pas de deux with comedy (a particular highlight being the ‘drunk’ pas de deux between Lescaut and his Mistress in Act II), large group numbers, and a wonderful attention to detail in the depth of the staging.

As for the performances this time round – on the 23rd Federico Bonelli won my heart as Des Grieux, his solos utterly beautiful – with well controlled extensions and lovely lines, he conveyed a romantic sincerity in his initial wooing of Manon and a heartbreaking sadness in his Act II solo. Laura Morera was giving it all and the kitchen sink as his Manon, in the final dance literally throwing herself almost to the floor before Bonelli could catch her at one point. A wonderful performance from this pair. Equally impressive were Tamara Rojo and Carlos Acostas, in the pas de deux anyway, if not in Acostas's solos. When Rojo is on stage you simply cannot take your eyes off her. Utterly stunning, and this duo seemed slightly more comfortable with the choreography than Bonelli and Morera, which gave them space to develop the roles yet further. The first performance by Acostas that I have rated so highly since his La Fille Mal Gardee with Marianela Nunez. Sadly Nunez was not up to her usual standards as Manon (04/05) partnered by Nehemiah Kish, but as (I think) they are both relatively new to this role and to dancing with other, I'm hoping they may warm up to it.

That’s enough raving from me. This is an utter feast of a ballet. I don’t think I will ever tire of watching it!

Rhapsody, Sensorium, ‘Still life’ at the Penguin Café 23/03/2011

This was a long time ago, so I’ll keep it brief. One of the Royal Ballet’s most successful triple bills in the last year – a well balanced trio of varied styles, and different emotional levels.

Starting things off the evening was Ashton’s ‘Rhapsody’ to Rachmaninoff’s ‘Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini’, with Sergei Polunin dancing the central role originally choreographed for Baryshnikov. His fantastic elevation and now well-controlled turns made this performance a pleasure watch. And with Laura Morera bringing all her musicality and vivacity to the stage as his female counterpart, there was very little, if anything to gripe about after this performance. Following this Ashton triumph, was Alastair Marriott’s 2009 creation ‘Sensorium’. This is pleasant enough to watch – something strangely tactile about the movement – but in all honesty looking back two months later, I can’t remember too much about it, so not a ballet that leaves a lasting impression.

The evening’s finale was David Bintley’s ‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Café, and an unexpectedly good (in my case anyway) end to the evening. Choreographed at a time when awareness of the threat posed to many endangered species was just beginning to grow, a series of animal characters dance us through to the music of the Penguin Café. Liam Scarlett’s Texan Kangaroo Rat and Iohna Loots’s Hog-nose Skunk Flea were a particularly amusing delight, with the audience chuckling away. Then followed surprisingly moving numbers – Ed Watson’s Southern Cape Zebra and the trio ‘Now Nothing’ (Kristen McNally, Nehemiah Kish and Minna Althaus) – the haunting emptiness and hollowness of this last trio particulary spellbinding. ‘Still Life’ was certainly an unexpected treat to end a very successful evening.

Alice in Wonderland, The Royal Ballet 02/03/11 & 10/03/11

Following my disappointment at Anna Nicole, I was slightly nervous about the next big new thing to arrive on the opera house stage. However, after one fantastic insight evening with choreographer Chris Wheeldon, designer Bob Crowley and composer Joby Talbot, the nerves were replaced by excited anticipation. And I was not disappointed.

This is a ballet stacked full of treats, in all respects; dancing, staging and music. Joby Talbot’s intricate and textured score is spine-tingling magic, modern yet accessible, with some memorable melodies – entirely successful in helping you dive with Lewis Carroll into Alice’s Wonderland. The choreography if not ground-breaking in innovation is effective in conveying character, humour and vivacity, and works beautifully with Talbot’s music. The designs are simply FABULOUS and never more so than in Act II when the playing cards appear – tutus in the shape of all the suits, topple-able houses of cards, a heart shaped maze – wonderful stuff. And yet, remarkably, the choreography and the characters do not get lost among all the brightness and business of the staging. Combining classical steps with elements of more contemporary dance works well within the constraints of the story and is rightly unobstructive to the narrative of the ballet. Which is a good thing as the narrative is already the only slightly weak element of this production.

‘Alice’ is by nature episodic, and lacking in plot to steer the audience through the evening. Wheeldon, with the help of Nicholas Wright, has rather cleverly tweaked the scenario such that Alice is older than in the book and is beginning to have romantic interests, namely in Jack the gardener’s boy/knave of hearts. The trip to wonderland is also preceded by a prologue, introducing all the characters that Alice encounters on her trip as characters at a Victorian dinner party. Jack is fired by Alice’s mother, accused of (you guessed it) stealing a jam tart, and Alice’s trip with Lewis Carroll (the White Rabbit) into Wonderland is driven by her desire to see him again. However, while this helps to a certain extent, it is underdeveloped as a plot, and doesn’t succeed as an antidote to the episodic. That said I still very very much enjoyed the whole thing. It doesn’t matter that Alice’s adventures are almost unrelated – there are enough delights and surprises along the way, and just about sufficient plot to keep things rolling. I think the right balance was struck in keeping this as a child’s adventure rather than playing too much to the potential for more sinister interpretations a la Tim Burton.

So what of these delights and surprises? Clever visual effects to help Alice grow and shrink, a caterpillar of ballet dancers, a tap dancing mad hatter, a trampoline victoria sponge cake, a laugh-out loud jam tart adagio pastiche of the Sleeping Beauty Rose Adagio, adorable spiky ballet school hedgehogs…I could go on. Act One is long at 70 minutes, so needs pruning – perhaps the Caucus race could be shortened – at the first viewing I didn’t really know what was going on here. Other than that though, they’ll be hard-pushed to cut something! Act Two, is hilarious and fast-paced from start to finish, with a lovely twist at the end.

As far as individual performances go, they were almost universally strong. Lauren Cuthbertson was clearly in her element as Alice, and coped admirably with the almost constant stage presence, never once appearing tired. Sergei Polunin was a sweetly romantic Knave, although this was a small part for him. In the second cast, Sarah Lamb was not as at home as Cuthbertson with the steps, but was better at keeping the narrative moving. Steven McRae’s tap dancing Mad Hatter was a real treat, even if he was hidden beneath such a garish costume that I would never have guessed it was him were it not for the cast list! A particular star for me though was Zenaida Yanowsky as the Queen of Hearts. Not a dancer I have ever particularly warmed to, she pulled out all the stops; absolutely hilarious, throwing herself into the part, and yet somehow amongst all the tomfoolery retaining some gracefulness. The only miscast was the decision to cast Simon Russell Beale as the Duchess – I wonder whether this might have been more for the media than anything else – he was OK but the role could have been done better by one of the regular character artists.

All in all though, an absolute treat. So much to delight in here, and the collaboration of Christopher Wheeldon, Joby Talbot and Bob Crowley has me marvelling at their collective creative genius. If only Alice had got the headlines that it deserved, like those thrown at Anna Nicole…I guess it comes down to that it’s simply the enchanting story of young girl, a rabbit and some jam tarts, rather than a large-breasted playboy model, and which will sell more papers? A great success in my eyes – I can’t wait to see it again next year.