English National Ballet - Manon - National Tour & London, 2018/9

[Pulcinella]

I have to agree with both the previous posters about Cojocaru’s performance, there were so many nuanced details in Act 1 that I’ve never noticed before in anyone else. Perhaps the fact I was at the front of the stalls rather than in the Amphi at the ROH helped but I’ve seen this ballet over the years since it’s premiere performance and I would rate Cojocaru as one of the best Manon’s ever. Really heartbreaking at the end, she just looked so defeated. I felt that when she picked the knife up after the gaoled had been killed that she wanted to use it on herself and only the fact that des Grieux was there stopped her. Good performances from all the company and I think Joe Caley is a really good partner for Cojocaru, they complement each other so well. I saw Jenna Roberts (Joe’s wife) with Tyrone Singleton as I came out. Good to see a previous colleague making the journey to see the performance.

[Odyssey]

I fully agree with the praise for Alina’s portrayal of a Manon. Surely hers is one of the most nuanced interpretation of the role, and this, combined with the exquisite nature of her dancing, makes her for me, one of the greatest Manons over the years. I was initially less convinced by Joseph Caley’s des Grieux, but by the third act, his characterisation came alive and the despair of those final moments cradling Manon’s lifeless body reached out to us all. I was quite impressed with Cirio. He nailed the nonchalant, devil-may-care attitude and the drunken foolery didn’t become at all tedious. The orchestra were indeed tremendous and the production an interesting change from the familiar staging at Covent Garden. Not sure that the bright, clean colours worn by the courtesans in act 2 quite belong to the atmosphere of the brothel, but perhaps I am so used to the Royal’s production. Such a pity then that the upper circle was closed off and the circle showed some significant gaps.  Meanwhile on a cold, wet Saturday afternoon, the Milton Keynes’  centre was heaving with shoppers....

[capybara]

This was, indeed, yet another astonishing performance from Cojocaru and different in so many ways from the Manon she gave in Manchester last week. She simply is the character and reacts and phrases her dancing 'in the moment'. Superlative.

 

[BTW, current and former BRB principal were out in force to support Joseph Caley: Jenna Roberts (of course) and Tyrone Singleton (as mentioned above) but also Cesar Morales and someone else, perhaps Momoko Hirata.]

[alison]

I'd originally hoped to catch this matinee and then Mayerling at the ROH in the evening, but ultimately couldn't due to circumstances beyond my control   In retrospect, I think I'd have preferred to revise my day's schedule, return my Mayerling ticket and go for the Manon matinee - but then I'd have missed seeing Akane Takada as Mary Vetsera. Frustrating  

[Irmgard]

I went to Milton Keynes last week to see three performances of three different casts but before I talk about them, I would like to make a few comments on the production overall.  I was sad to read in a previous post the company’s 2008 staging being described as having “bombed” when the company was under Eagling’s directorship.  Tickets may not have sold but the performances themselves were outstanding.  Lack of ticket sales was due to the abysmal, almost non-existent publicity by a publicity department that failed to realise that “Manon” is not a familiar ballet to the general audiences outside of London. As for Eagling, although he was Artistic Director, he did not have overall control and was, indeed, answerable to the General Manager, as was the publicity department, so he should not be held  responsible for the publicity debacle.  Even though the publicity department personnel have changed under the new regime and had hundreds of thousands of pounds thrown at them, they seem to have made the same London-centric mistake again, creating a not particularly interesting poster, describing the ballet as a “lusty tale” of doomed love.  “Lusty” hardly describes this most heartbreaking of stories!  Bizarrely, they have used an action shot from 2008/9 on the company’s website to advertise the supporters’ events, which would have been a far more eye-catching image to advertise the ballet.  Having travelled to Oxford, Southampton and London in 2008/9 to see each of the fabulous six casts once and a few several times, in my opinion it was superior to the current staging.  At that time, it was staged by Monica Parker, who was assistant to MacMillan in 1974 when he created the ballet, full of the beautiful ports de bras and épaulements instilled in both choreographer and dancers steeped in the Ashtonian tradition of pliant upper bodies and exquisite footwork.  In the current staging, apart from the principals, there was not much evidence of these lovely details except from dancers, such as Adela Ramirez, who had been in the production ten years ago.  I was also struck ten years ago by the wonderful dramatic qualities of the whole company so that each person on stage was real and contributed to the story.  There were, of course, some silly moments even then but this time I found there was too much reliance on pantomime acting and silly walks amongst the plethora of beggars, harlots and gentlemen.   One of the scenes I had previously found very moving was the arrival of the deported prostitutes.  Considering that, in real life, these girls would have had a sea voyage lasting several months and would have been kept in the hold like cattle with little exposure to sunlight and fresh air, plus being half-starved, the vulnerability and pathos depicted by the dancers as they alternately collapsed from exhaustion or pleaded with the townspeople was deeply touching.  This time round, I felt the girls were too upright and did not imbue their dancing with enough pathos.  In 2008/9, the Georgiadis designs were not available to the company and so they had to make do with those used by the Royal Danish Ballet.  The minimalist sets lend themselves admirably to touring, allowing all concentration to be on the stage action, but the costumes are harder to take, with the curious dichotomy of the gentlemen in period costume complete with wigs and the white make-up of the time, while the courtesans and harlots are dressed in net skirts, paying no heed to the period and, in the case of the cutaway puffball skirts, not complementing the choreography.  Finally, the company now has to use the orchestration recently done for the Royal Ballet instead of the exquisite original by Leighton Lucas and Hilda Gaunt.  Massenet’s music is delicate and elegant but capable of great emotion, as for example his haunting opera “Werther”, and Leighton Lucas did an admirable job of orchestrating various songs and pieces from Massenet’s more obscure operas to create one of the great ballet scores of the 20^th century.  However, it seems someone decided it was too subtle for 21^st century audiences and, when I heard it at the Royal Opera House when the new orchestration was first used, I was very disappointed by how overblown it was.  Luckily Maestro Gavin Sutherland conducts it lovingly and he and the orchestra bring out all by Massenet that is beautiful, delicate and passionate so that it sounds almost as sublime as the original.  My gripes aside, this is still a ballet to be treasured and I would urge anyone who can get to Southampton this week or London in January to do so as you will see some extraordinary performances on offer.  I doubt that the London casting will be announced until after the casting for all the ‘Nutcracker’ performances has been sorted out (and what a nightmare that must be, even if the company has reduced its performances to twenty-three performances in eighteen days this year) but, if you book before casting is available, I am sure you will not be disappointed by whichever cast you end up seeing.

 

And so to the individual performances.  Jurgita Dronina learned the role of Manon about ten years ago when she was a very young principal with the Royal Swedish Ballet but she never had the opportunity to perform it.  On Wednesday night, it was clear that she was delighted to be performing a role which she seemed born to dance.  Bearing an uncanny resemblance to Olivia Cooke as television’s latest incarnation of the ultimate material girl, Becky Sharpe, Dronina enchanted as soon as she stepped out of the carriage.  Abbé Prévost describes Manon as “very young” and Dronina looks no more than fifteen years old, with wide-eyed wonderment at everything and everyone she encounters.  There is a childlike innocence to her first encounters and even the old man who has befriended her on the journey is treated like a pet dog rather than a possible conquest.  It is only in the magical moment when, Monsieur GM, Lescaut and Madame having placed their hands on her, her demeanour changes and she realises her allure as she shakes them off, although it seems she still cannot believe in her charms completely.  It therefore makes the moment so special when, left alone, Des Grieux dances for her because, her face and body, seen in profile as she is sitting on the chair, gradually light up as she falls in love with him.  It comes as no surprise that, after an ecstatic pas de deux, this very young girl impulsively suggests they run away together without thinking of the consequences.  With his boyish good looks, Isaac Hernandez should be a natural for Des Grieux but, at this performance, he seemed too intent on the mechanics of the choreography to respond to Dronina’s exceptional characterisation. He looked uncomfortable in the dreamy choreography for Des Grieux’s solos, with their requirements for a beautiful arabesque line and expressive footwork.  His partnering was very secure but I hope it will take on a more rapturous quality in later performances.  Fabian Reimair was previously an unforgettable Lescaut whose drunken pas de deux with the superlative Sarah MacIlroy was a masterpiece of comic timing but now he has taken on the role of the dangerous Monsieur GM.  Continuing the comparison with “Vanity Fair”, like Lord Steyne he is a charismatic aristocrat who does not hesitate to wield his power to get exactly what he wants. He is also someone for whom only the best will do and shows no interest in the courtesans on offer but, as soon as Manon appears, it is clear he is besotted.  When he and Lescaut  find Manon alone at the lodgings, he places a necklace seductively around her neck and, as the diamonds touch her skin, Dronina’s face expresses complete rapture.  In the pas de trois that follows, Reimair is riveting as the usually proud, aloof lord whose facade gradually crumbles with desire for Manon, quivering with lust each time he touches her foot or leg.  As Lescaut  and Manon leave him centre stage, he loses all composure  so that, when Manon lures him to the bed, he is like a man possessed and would have devoured the startled Manon had Lescaut not stopped him.  He dominated the gambling den scene in Act II, showing off the beautiful Manon who seemed genuinely attached to him although aware of his dangerous side, as evidenced by the fright on her face each time Des Grieux tries to dance with her.  Dronina was glorious in this scene, especially revelling in tantalising the other men as they manipulate her, and in her seductive solo. And so to the final Act when, having killed Lescaut in a frighteningly cold act of vengeance to punish Manon for betraying him, GM has her arrested for prostitution and deported to the New World with Des Grieux bribing the guards to allow him to accompany her.  Dronina was exceptional here, in her portrayal of a fragile, broken woman who finds herself powerless against the brutal Gaoler (an unrecognisably evil James Streeter), who abuses her and discards her, and then she descends into delirium as she and Des Grieux escape.  As her body fails her, it is as if she cannot bear to be parted from Des Grieux for even a second as she hurls herself into his arms with all her remaining strength - a truly wonderful  performance from a remarkable artist.  At this performance, Lescaut was performed as a loveable rogue with a dangerous streak by Ken Saruhashi whose clean, elegant technique made his fiendish solos, including the drunken one, look smooth as silk.  His dramatic qualities made him totally believable as a manipulative chancer who could sell not only his mistress but his sister to the highest bidder and still retain our sympathy.  His long-suffering Mistress was the charming Crystal Costa whose exquisite footwork and ports de bras made her Act II solo especially lovely.  She also created a wonderfully sympathetic character and the haunted look on her face in Act I as she realises the tumbril of imprisoned prostitutes could foretell her own future will stay with me for a long time.

 

The Thursday matinee was memorable for the sublime partnership of Erina Takahashi and Jeffrey Cirio as Manon and her Des Grieux.  From the moment he first saw her, Cirio could not take his eyes off Manon and, once he has manoeuvred bumping into her, she cannot take her eyes off him.  Cirio’s beautiful, elegant dancing was in the best Anthony Dowell tradition and he knows how to imbue every movement with emotion and dramatic intent, with every solo being directed towards Takahashi.  Their initial pas de deux had such a youthful freshness to it that it was the embodiment of young love and this continued in the bedroom pas de deux.  Monsieur GM was danced by Dmitri Gruzdyev, whose performances as Des Grieux in 2008/9 with Fernanda Oliveira as an incandescent Manon were electrifying.  His GM is a lecherous predator who, from his eyeing up of all the other girls at the coaching inn and in the gambling den, would have been happy with any or all of them, had Manon not appeared.  Once Manon succumbs to him, it is clear from her entrance in Act II that it is only because of his wealth.  Her face is almost expressionless and her movements mechanical as he parades her round the room, faltering only slightly after she realises Des Grieux is there.  Takahashi is exultant as she is aerially passed around from man to man but there is always an awareness of Des Grieux and, when he falls at her feet when they are finally alone, her façade crumbles and she quickly concocts a plan so that she can return to him.  At the start of Act III, Takahashi’s fragility and her hesitant bourrées, always supported by the loving Des Grieux was intensely moving.  The Gaoler at this performance was Daniel Kraus who played him with a quiet, calculating authority. He does not immediately force himself on Manon but, when she rebuffs his advances, it is clear he is not used to being rejected and the inevitable happens.  The final pas de deux of the dying Manon and her distraught Des Grieux was stunning, and his reaction when he realises she is dead was heartbreaking.  Giorgio Garrett, as her scheming, manipulative brother, gave us a beautifully danced Lescaut.  Rina Kanehara was his delightfully youthful mistress who was always eager to please.  Even when being manhandled by him in the drunken pas de deux, she still had a smile on her face! 

 

Thursday evening brought stunning performances from Begoña Cao, Aitor Arrieta and Junor Souza.  Cao’s Manon is definitely modelled on Prévost’s, who is being sent to a convent by her family to keep her safe from her already budding desire for wealth and attention.  However, she is not completely aware of her allure until the moment when she waves away the hands of her admirers in Act I and her body language subtly becomes more sensuous and even more attractive to the ruthless, arrogant but oh so elegant Monsieur GM of Junor Souza.  But although she is curious about him, the chemistry between her and Des Grieux is palpable as their eyes meet over the dropped money bag. (And there was a wonderful touch here by Cao who, when given the bag to guard by the old man, shakes it gently and, obviously hearing the money clink inside it, hugs it to her chest like something very precious.)  Des Grieux is a huge role both dramatically and technically for such a young dancer but Arrieta surmounts all its challenges with his elegant, secure dancing and his youthful passion to give such an extraordinarily nuanced performance it was hard to believe this was only his second one.  With Cao’s beautifully pliant body and his ardent partnering, the bedroom pas de deux was lifted to new heights of sensuality and abandon.  The pas de trois which followed with Lescaut (played by Daniel McCormick whose dark good looks made him totally believable as Cao’s brother) and GM was truly erotic, with Manon tantalising GM with her seductive, long legs.   McCormick’s Lescaut, so well danced, grew in character throughout the piece and he was especially effective in the brutal way he forced Des Grieux to accept GM’s payment for the departed Manon.  In Act II, as Manon and GM paraded around the gambling den, it was clear she was revelling in her allure both for GM and the other men in the room and GM was happy to indulge this.  Her solo, to a beautiful Massenet song, “Nuit d’Espagne” was a marvel of sensuality with lovely épaulement and languorous leg movements and this was followed by a spectacular aerial manipulation by all the men during which she looked completely triumphant.  As she was lowered to drape herself against GM’s knees, she immediately held out her wrist for her reward and, having put the bracelet on her, Souza looked at all the men gathered behind him and smiled arrogantly as if to say “that’s all you are going to get of her because she’s mine”.  When Des Grieux implores her on his knees to come back to him, Cao’s Manon visibly crumbles in a moment of great tenderness and their pas de deux of reconciliation back at his lodgings was very moving.  The intrusion of GM with Lescaut as his prisoner was particularly violent, and Souza showed a malevolent pleasure in wreaking his revenge on Manon and her brother.  In Act III, Cao’s naturally thin body and some excellent eye make-up made her look very fragile and exhausted as she and Des Grieux disembark, he distraught as he tries to hold up her collapsing body.  The Gaoler was again played by Daniel Kraus who, when frustrated by her rebuffs, wrapped her legs around his body so forcefully that it seemed they might break.  And, as he lets her fall to the floor after he has assaulted her, she appears totally broken.  When Des Grieux arrives and stabs the Gaoler in the back, he and Manon turn the Gaoler over and their fear when they realise he is dead was wonderfully dramatic.  It was again Cao’s pliant body, coupled with her wild, pained eyes, Arrieta’s distraught, bewildered attempts to comfort  her and his anguish when he realises she is dead which made this one of the most moving endings to this ballet I have ever seen.  It was therefore wonderful to see Cao and Arrieta spontaneously applauded by all their colleagues onstage when they stepped forward again after the company bow. 

 

This is a very long post but I hope it may encourage more people to make the trip to Southampton to give the performers the full audiences they so richly deserve.

 

[Minder]

Following Irmgard's comments on publicity there was one -and possibly only one - bus in Milton Keynes with a poster on the nearside (not the best place to get wide coverage).

[Jan McNulty]

Irmgard thank you for your detailed and fascinating review.  I wish I had been able to attend more of the performances but I had been away and was only able to go to the Saturday evening.

 

Re "bombed", I have always myself used this to mean that the tickets didn't sell not that it wasn't a good production or performance.  Indeed the performance I saw in Manchester first time around with Daria Klimentova and Friedemann Vogel was truly exceptional.  I was there on the first night of that run, which was the ATG cardholders half price night, usually guaranteeing good attendance, and I was shocked at how not full the auditorium was.

 

I personally applaud Tamara Rojo for keeping the faith and bringing fantastic works out of London and not just feeding us a diet of Swan Lake and Coppelia.  At the time I thought it was wonderful that Wayne Eagling had introduced Manon to the rep.

[John Mallinson]

Don't think this has been posted before but Graham Watts in his review for DanceTabs includes a link to a 34 minute rehearsal video with Viviana Durante and Irek Mukhamedov coaching Jurgita Dronina and Isaac Hernández.

 

[annamk]

10 hours ago, Irmgard said:

 

This is a very long post but I hope it may encourage more people to make the trip to Southampton to give the performers the full audiences they so richly deserve.

 

 

It has, I just booked my train ticket  

 

Can anyone tell me about the stalls ?  The first row is E, the others are taken out for the orchestra. Would you see the dancers feet in Row E or is it better to be in row H back where the rake starts or even L ? I prefer to be near the stage rather than say front row dress circle where I guess you need binoculars ?

[Irmgard]

I

17 minutes ago, annamk said:

 

It has, I just booked my train ticket  

 

Can anyone tell me about the stalls ?  The first row is E, the others are taken out for the orchestra. Would you see the dancers feet in Row E or is it better to be in row H back where the rake starts or even L ? I prefer to be near the stage rather than say front row dress circle where I guess you need binoculars ?

It is a few years since I have been to the Mayflower but I would recommend slightly further back in the stalls rather than the front row as I doubt you will see the feet properly there.  I have sat in the front row of the dress circle  before and that was also a good view (not far enough away for binoculars unless you are short-sighted).  I'm delighted to hear that you will going to a performance in Southampton.  I am also catching a few more shows there, especially as there are only seven at the Coliseum!

[Timmie]

Thank you Irmgard for your review of Thursday's MK matinee. You describe what I saw in a way that I never could.

[alison]

46 minutes ago, annamk said:

 

It has, I just booked my train ticket  

 

Don't imagine you've found any cheap tickets now half-term is over?  

[northstar]

Quote

I was sad to read in a previous post the company’s 2008 staging being described as having “bombed” when the company was under Eagling’s directorship.  Tickets may not have sold but the performances themselves were outstanding

 

Thanks everyone for the continued comments on this production as it tours, it is wonderful to hear the praise,  and the obvious enjoyment and pleasure it has given people. For me it is paricularly interesting to hear of Cojocaru/Caley's continued performances since this was the one cast I saw. But also the details of the other casts cause me some regret I did not attend at least one other performance.

 

On the 'bombed' comment, as Janet McNulty has already commented I only meant poor ticket sales in the last ENB Manon in the north. It was no comment on the quality of production or on Eagling's directorship. In fact I was referring in part to a Telegraphs interview with Eagling himself (easily findable via google search and with no paywall) from 2010 when he described the thin audience for Manon in Manchester as as small as "a dog and a cat, ", but that the people who did come gave a standing ovation.

 

Likewise on the Manchester Manon I saw, there were great cheers, someone crying next to me, and it's a night I will never forget. I am so grateful for ENB bringing this and other masterpieces (Song of the Earth, La Sylphide, Le Corsaire ..) with their fabulous company and dancers I never thought I would see live, to theatres near my home.

[AnneMarriott]

Yesterday's matinee at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton was well attended and very much appreciated by the audience, although there were a few sharp intakes of breath at some of the more bawdy moments from the largely mature members, not least the grandmother escorting her little grandson in the seats in front of us. 

 

 I had forgotten how colourful the women's costumes were and this time I found them a little distracting, but otherwise I quite like the designs.  The beggars were excellent and I found their antics entertaining for the first time in ages, and how nice to see Three Gentlemen who could take off and land in unison while still portraying recognisable personalities.  James Streeter's vile gaoler was just as vile as I remember (I'll never forget Louise Levene's take on his notorious simulated oral rape: "Most gaolers make do with a modest clench of the buttocks.  James Streeter's satisfaction was so complete that it's a wonder he didn't lie down and light up a cigarette.")

The orchestra was on fine form - lovely to hear the brass sounding accurate and enthusiastic.

 

Several debuts, not least Lescaut's Mistress (Jung ah Choi) very fetching and obviously a girl who is happy in her work, and Emma Hawes as Manon - mischievous, winning and seductive, which made her ultimate downfall all the more poignant.  But I confess that the main reason for making the journey to Southampton was to see Rupert Pennefather, on stage again for his debut as Des Grieux with ENB.  Well, he hasn't lost his beautiful line, his fine technique or his secure and courteous partnering.   He was never rated as the world's greatest actor, but he convinced me as Des Grieux and I found his sorrow and despair at the end really very moving. I don't know what he's been up to since he left the Royal Ballet, but it hasn't done him any harm.

Edited November 2, 2018 by AnneMarriott
Delete repetition.

[alison]

All good to hear, Anne, thank you - I wish I'd been able to join you  .  Pennefather actually did some very good performances as Des Grieux with the RB.

[AnneMarriott]

1 hour ago, alison said:

All good to hear, Anne, thank you - I wish I'd been able to join you  .  Pennefather actually did some very good performances as Des Grieux with the RB.

Yes, I remember it well!  Incidentally we were very lucky with trains - via Reading, all connections on time and with booked seats for added comfort, all for £19.75 return (with senior rail cards).

[alison]

GRR.  Actually, I remember > Paddington > Reading > Soton coming up as a cheaper option, but it was ridiculously convoluted (and long) for someone living where I do.  I did consider the coach, but that wouldn't have got me back in time for Fille.

[linda.ballet]

Haha yes she could lol....... Dame Darcey gives this production a....7!!!

[AnneMarriott]

16 hours ago, linda.ballet said:

Haha yes she could lol....... Dame Darcey gives this production a....7!!!

You've lost me - which post are you responding to please, so I can look back at it?

[Irmgard]

I am always keen to see new dancers in roles so, as I was travelling to Southampton for the Thursday evening performance of “Manon”, I decided to go earlier and watch the matinee as well.  MacMillan created this ballet on the two quintessential Ashton dancers, Antoinette Sibley and Anthony Dowell, and his choreography for “Manon”, more than any other of his works, pays homage to Ashton’s style.  Unfortunately Emma Hawes, in her debut as Manon, appeared to still be coming to terms with the style of the choreography, leaving little room for dramatic interpretation of this most complex of characters and lacking the pliancy in her upper body which is so integral to the role.  Her Des Grieux, Rupert Pennefeather, partnered her in true chevalier fashion but I did not sense any chemistry between them or, if there was, it did not carry across the footlights and therefore I felt no emotional involvement in the pas de deux.  His own solos were cleanly danced but, again, were curiously lacking in emotion.  However, with somewhat underpowered performances in the leading roles, it did give me the chance to observe what else was going on around the edges of the stage.  I still feel there are too many cartoon characters onstage in all the scenes, particularly as the gambling den scene descends into drunken debauchery, but there are the occasional flashes of excellent characterisation.  Having now seen four different Beggar Chiefs, only the experienced Pedro Lapetra manages to present a fully-rounded character whilst sailing through the complexities of the choreography but the other dancers, all new to me, certainly acquitted themselves admirably of the choreography.  I found the dance for the deported prostitutes in Act III the most moving at this matinee performance as more of the dancers found a way of physically expressing pathos but I feel they are still too upright, especially the girl who breaks out of the group in a series of temps levés.  Fabian Reimair gave another chilling portrayal of Monsieur GM and James Streeter was the brutal Gaoler.  The gambling den scene was enlivened by the warring antics of Courtesans Katja Khaniukova and Anjuli Hudson and by Daniel McCormick’s increasingly drunken Lescaut and, making her debut as his Mistress, Jung ah Choi.  She is a dancer I have long admired in small solo roles and for her very powerful performances as Myrtha in the Skeaping “Giselle” in 2017.  In fact, so powerful was she in this role that, due to a colleague’s injury, she ended up giving two breathtakingly dramatic performances in one day in Belfast of this most taxing and longest version of the role with its fiendish choreography, including an extended first solo.  Choi’s Mistress was radiant and her solos were flirtatious and distinctly feminine with effortless, secure pirouettes in attitude, and she made full use of the ronds de jambe en dehors and en dedans to show off her shapely legs to prospective clients.  I particularly enjoyed the flirtatious interplay between her and GM before Manon arrives in Act I.   So, despite my disappointment in the two leads, there was still much to enjoy in this performance.

 

With Nureyev’s Juliet, Skeaping’s Giselle and now MacMillan’s Manon, Alison McWhinney has scored a hat-trick of outstanding performances as a young girl who dies for love.  McWhinney is the sweetest of Manons who takes some time to realise the power of her charms. Manon’s signature step in the ballet is a series of walks forward and back on pointe, sometimes with relevé and sometimes with a small passé just above the ankle before the foot closes delicately in 5^th in front or behind.  It is set to her musical motif which is the hauntingly delicate Massenet song “Twilight”.  When Manon has waved away the arms of GM, Lescaut, Madame and the Old Man in Act I, she moves forward with this step and McWhinney performed it so dreamily that it appeared she was floating above the ground and literally took my breath away with its beauty.  It was also a delight to see her beautiful use of quicksilver épaulement, a hallmark of Sibley’s dancing which Ashton exploited to the full in Titania’s choreography, as did MacMillan for his mercurial Manon.  Her Des Grieux was the passionate Francesco Gabriele Frola who impressed me very much in “No Man’s Land” at the beginning of the season.  Although his dancing is not quite as elegant as Jeffrey Cirio’s, he also has the same ability to imbue every movement with emotion, never taking his eyes off Manon, and the chemistry between the two of them was electrifying.  Their pas de deux in the courtyard was one of great tenderness and led to the bedroom pas de deux which went from playfully affectionate to the awakening of a deeper love to rapturous abandonment, perfectly mirroring the beautiful playing of the orchestra.  Orlando Jopling conducted this performance, as well as the matinee and Friday evening, and at each performance I did find his Act I a bit wan (even pianissimo Massenet needs intensity) until halfway through the courtyard pas de deux but then the music took off with all the dramatic colour I have come to expect from this orchestra.  To side-track, I found it very interesting to hear audience members, on entering the auditorium and seeing the pit open, exclaiming with delight that there was to be a live orchestra – perhaps the ENB publicity department missed another marketing opportunity here!   Daniel Kraus played Monsieur GM at this performance as a much younger man but still with the ruthless streak of an aristocrat used to having his own way.  With Giorgio Garrett as Manon’s mercenary brother, instructing her how to behave towards GM, the pas de trois was a rather chilling display of grooming.  When Des Grieux returns to find Manon gone, Frola’s despair was so volatile that Lescaut really had his work cut out to make him accept the money, making this a very dramatic ending to Act I.  In Act II, Rina Kanehara was once again a delightfully young, silly Mistress, getting almost as drunk as Lescaut so that their pas de deux was genuinely funny without them ever becoming caricatures.  McWhinney made a glorious entrance, luxuriating in her jewels and her allure.  What I really loved was the way she imbued her signature step with Manon’s new-found sophistication which she carried through into her seductive solo followed seamlessly by the adage of aerial manipulation which had a dreamlike quality to it, especially when she dives into the arms of the waiting men.  Frola, meanwhile, was the picture of despair, always trying to get her attention.  Before the start of the interlude when Manon and Des Grieux are left alone together, Des Grieux has to remove his coat for the practical reason of not restricting his ports de bras in the ensuing solo.  In his exceptional characterisation, Frola almost tore his coat off and loosened his neckcloth as if he was being suffocated by his despair.  When they have escaped and are back at the lodgings, both McWhinney and Frola brought great dramatic depth to the pas de deux as he tries to get her to take off her bracelet, and McWhinney’s struggle to give up her life of luxury was evident, ending with her shock when he throws her to the floor.  GM bursting in with Lescaut as his prisoner was truly dramatic and McWhinney was very moving as she tried to reach her brother after he had been shot. When McWhinney’s Manon arrives in the New World and we see her signature step for the final time, she imbued it with a quiet, resigned dignity.  Her Gaoler was Francisco Bosch who, especially in the scene in his office, was like a cat with a mouse, toying with her and enjoying inflicting pain so this was probably the most distressing sexual assault of all the performances I saw.  The final scene between Frola and McWhinney was heartbreaking as, before the pas de deux started, they clung to each other with great intensity as she sank further into delirium.  As Frola realised she was dead, his body was literally wracked with sobs and I am sure there were very few dry eyes in the audience as the curtain fell on this emotional rollercoaster of a performance.

 

I could not resist staying to see Cao, Arrieta and Souza again in their final performance of the tour which reached even greater heights than the one which enthralled me the previous week.  They had wonderful support from Daniel McCormick giving yet another darkly powerful performance as Lescaut and Daniel Kraus as the calculating Gaoler.  There were also some wonderful characterisations, in particular from Adela Ramirez and Crystal Costa as the competing Courtesans who were genuinely funny in their dance-off while still displaying their gorgeously clean technique for which I always admire both of them.  Katja Khaniukova and Anjuli Hudson also caught my eye as Townswomen on the quayside because of their lovely dancing (and especially their use of épaulement) and their concern for the collapsed prisoners.  But the evening really belonged to the three leads and Cao in particular. She is a dancer at the height of her artistic and technical powers and I have to confess finding it incomprehensible that the ENB website does not list her for any performances of “Swan Lake” on tour although I am hoping that one of the ‘TBC’ performances in Bristol is being reserved for her as it is a ballet which fits her to perfection.  Instead of finding new words to describe the performance, I can only say that her first pas de deux with Arrieta, who was the embodiment of youthful passion, was even more ardent, their bedroom pas de deux even more rapturous and the pas de trois for her with Souza’s arrogant GM and Lescaut was even more erotic.  In Act II, Cao was exultant in her own luxuriant sensuality, especially in her solo which was a miracle of beautiful technique and allure, and her serenity as she was carried on high by her admirers was hypnotic.  Cao and Arrieta are perfectly paired in this ballet as they both use their formidable technique as a means to an end in creating real characters that we care about, and nowhere was this more in evidence than in Act III.  Every once in a while, an audience is privileged to watch a performance of such greatness that words cannot adequately describe it but, from the moment Cao stepped tentatively off the boat, through her assault by the Gaoler to her tragic death, this was just such a performance, with her body taking on such fragility that, when she sank to the floor after her brutal assault, it seemed it would not be possible for her to get up again.  With her all the way was Arrieta, whose all-consuming love and despair as she fades away was heartbreaking.  There is always a moment I wait for just before Manon’s death when she runs downstage on a diagonal and throws herself into an off-balance arabesque which Des Grieux must catch to stop her falling on the floor.  This was done with such abandon by Cao and caught so perfectly at the last moment (and completely on the swell in the music) by Arrieta that it made me catch my breath.  As Arrieta sobbed over her dead body, the audience broke into spontaneous applause quite a few bars before the orchestra finished but which seemed entirely appropriate for this unforgettable performance.  Indeed, my football-fan cousin who had never seen a ballet in his life before declared he would be very happy to see another one as he had enjoyed the performance so much!

[capybara]

This is a great review, Irmgard. I too saw Cao with Arrieta and was truly blown away by her Manon. She gave herself totally to the role and those around her yet managed, at the same time, to project her tragic story to the audience. I am so glad that there were many people standing to cheer at the end. Extraordinary.

 

That is not, however, to take anything away from the other wonderful performances from ENB on tour: Cojocaru and Dronina both seem born to dance Manon, and Frola to 'be' Des Grieux. [I didn't manage to catch Takahashi/Cirio or Hawes/Pennyfather, unfortunately.]

 

London - you have some real treats in store. Hopefully, the casting will be out soon.

 

[Guest]

Agree with Capybara. Great review, Irmgard! Thank you.

[alison]

Glad to hear Cao is still as good a Manon as ever  

[penelopesimpson]

I don’t often go to The Colisseum but this was Alina Cojocaru.

 

it was good.  There was a lot to like but for me it was not more than the sum of its parts.  Alina is still wonderful, as sinuous as molten chocolate.  Loved Josephm Caley who had humanity and an appealing vulnerability - shades of Muntagirov.  Jeffrey Cirio, bone thin,  danced like a rapier on speed and is one to watch.

 

But...the set for Act 1 is too bare and looks sparse on The Colisseums vast stage, and the huge auditorium doesn’t give it the claustrophobic feel that I think Manon and Mayerling both need.

 

I am still in mourning for Cojocaru and Kobborg so it is painful for me to say I was disappointed.  Alina was wonderful with sublime dancing but the lady I always thought of as her successor, Francesca Hayward, is now the real deal forManon..  Nothing wrong with Alina, it’s just that she doesn’t seem to have developedsince she left RB.  Is it too late for KOH  to invite her  back so that she can fulfil her full potential?  She needs to be challenged, I think.  For anyone thinking of getting tickets, you will not be disappointed.  She is still light as air and on another level to most.  It is probably unfair that I was expecting more...

[RuthE]

You haven’t mentioned Katja Khaniukova, whose Mistress I thought was very alluring and witty.

[Sim]

58 minutes ago, RuthE said:

You haven’t mentioned Katja Khaniukova, whose Mistress I thought was very alluring and witty.

Interesting....I didn't get anything from her at all.  I thought the other three leads were marvellous, and when danced like this, MacMillan's choreography sings and speaks for itself.  The lack of a sumptuous set and costumes didn't detract a jot from tonight's performance.  It has on previous occasions, but not tonight.  

 

More thoughts tomorrow!

[penelopesimpson]

No, me neither.  It wasn’t that the set was not detailed enough, rather more that the dancers seemed dwarfed by the auditorium. That is probably me because I am such an I frequent visitor.  I do agree with you that one noticed the choreography so much more.

[Irmgard]

Having seen so many visceral, heartrending performances (five out of six) during the company’s autumn tour, about which I wrote extensively, and of course the thrilling final performance of “Swan Lake” on Sunday, I was surprised to be somewhat underwhelmed by Alina Cojocaru’s and Joseph Caley’s opening night performance.  I am sure there will be many who disagree with me, as luckily most of the near-capacity audience loved them and therefore the company received the rousing ovation it richly deserved, even if the houselights were brought up far too early. I felt there was not enough chemistry between the leads and, although I cannot fault the dancing (except to say that Cojocaru’s unflattering pointe shoes distracted from the filigree footwork of the choreography), I felt both pas de deux in Act I lacked the rapturous abandon I saw from the other casts, and even the final pas de deux was a bit too carefully danced for my taste.  However, Cojocaru’s eye make-up in Act III was superb and really opened up her eyes, making them appear huge which added to her already gamine-like appearance.

 

It took a while for me to warm to Jeffrey Cirio’s Lescaut in Act I (having immediately fallen for his Des Grieux previously!) but his characterisation deepened and, with his flawless technique, the drunken solo in Act II was nothing short of brilliant, as was his pas de deux with his long-suffering but indulgent mistress, Katja Khaniukova.  From her first appearance in Act I, she was a very high class courtesan with her particularly elegant yet seductive and vivacious dancing which certainly caught the eye of James Streeter’s Monsieur GM.  Her characterful and stylish solo in Act II, when she is trying to distract Des Grieux, demonstrated her exceptionally exquisite footwork.

 

It was extraordinary to see a full house of other Lescauts and Mistresses in the ensembles and, in the very elegant trio of dancing gentlemen, Thursday night’s Des Grieux, Aitor Arrieta, along with Ken Saruhashi and Daniel McCormick who will both be dancing Lescaut. There was also the loveliest line-up of Courtesans: Crystal Costa, Adela Ramirez, Rina Kanehara, Jia Zhang and Anjuli Hudson, and it was wonderful to see the sublime technique and vibrant personalities of Costa and Ramirez given full comic rein in their warring duet in Act II.  In fact, watching the vivacious Ramirez, I find it curious she has not been cast as Lescaut’s Mistress!

 

In Act III, the beginning of the dance of the deported prostitutes was full of the pathos and hopelessness I remember being so moved by ten years ago although it was not sustained throughout and I was more conscious of the choreography rather than the emotion by the end.  However, Act III benefitted from the chilling Gaoler of Fabian Reimair, oozing power and lust as he inspected the new arrivals and chose Manon for his pleasure, resulting in a particularly brutal assault, and the look of shock and surprise on his face as he is stabbed (probably only visible to those of us on the left side of the auditorium) was unforgettable.

 

Although overall this performance showed the company in top form, it was the sublime music, so superbly played by the orchestra under the miraculous baton of maestro supremo Gavin Sutherland, which touched my soul and tugged at my heartstrings.

[penelopesimpson]

Glad it wasn't just me, Irmgard!  It is almost sacrilege to not be wowed by Alina and, in many ways, I was.  But the overwhelming emotion she usually evokes in me just didn't happen.  However, I did like her partnership with Caley and thought there was a lovely connection.

[Sim]

I am one of those people who disagrees with you, Irmgard!  I loved both interpretations last night, as well as that of Jeffrey Cirio (Lescaut).

 

As when I watch Onegin, I have to work very hard to banish Cojocaru/Kobborg from my mind when I watch Manon;  as far as I'm concerned, there was them, and then everybody else.  So watching Alina with different partners these past few years has taken quite an adjustment on my part, but such is the reality of loving ballet: things change, people change. 

 

I liked Alina's partnership with Joseph Caley in Sleeping Beauty earlier this year.  I loved his partnership with her in Manon last night.  I thought he had just the right balance between puppyish young boy and protective lover;  he really does make a journey from Act 1 to Act III.  His dancing was excellent, as was his partnering. They had a profound chemistry, and he was so convincing as the sensitive young man in love for the first time, and intent on doing everything he could to keep and protect this miracle that has happened to him, totally unexpectedly.  I found their final pdd full of emotion, not pedestrian at all.  I was very moved at the end of it, although the curtain came down way too quickly.  As a matter of act, everything seemed a bit rushed;  the tempi of the music was often faster than I am used to (but lushly played as always), the curtain came down way too quickly at the end of each act so that the audience didn't have time to absorb what was happening, and the curtain calls in that theatre are always rushed to the point where it's almost insulting.  Anyway, I digress...Alina's portrayal of Manon is multi-layered and finely nuanced;  a Manon for the 21st century.  For a second, just before her first pdd with Des Grieux, she hesitates, wondering whether or not she should proceed with this.  Lescaut has made very clear that this is not the guy for her because he has no money.  (Cirio's Lescaut was very clear from the start:  we knew exactly who he is and what he is.  He too makes a very convincing dramatic journey from start to finish.  His dancing was brilliant, his drunk scene very funny (but it was one-sided funny;  had he had a Mistress at the same comic level it would have been even better) and his death scene very real).  But once she's in, she's in all the way.  However, that one shadow that passed over her face gave me a real sense of foreboding.  When she goes off with M. GM at the end of Act 1, it is not as a little minx who's out for everything she can get.  She isn't happy, but she knows that she doesn't have much choice, being goaded and pushed by her pimp of a brother.  In the Act 2 party scene, she is passed, pushed and pulled, pawed and prodded...and she finally has enough.  At one point we see her pushing the abusive GM away, glaring at him as if to say "I am what I am, but you don't own me, and you have no right to treat me like this. Lay off."  I have never seen that before, and I liked this feisty approach.  In the final act, those oh-so-expressive eyes told Manon's final chapter.  It was heartbreaking to watch as poor DG was momentarily filled with hope, trying to encourage her to keep going so that they could move on.  She tried so hard to do what he wanted her to do, and watching her fade by the minute was incredibly realistic.  I found this pdd incredibly moving, and beautifully danced by both. 

 

James Streeter and Fabian Reimair (M. GM and the Gaoler) both relished their performances as the nasty, power-hungry, abusive men of the piece.  Excellent actors both, they were the perfect reminder that opposite love, there is evil.  This made for a very convincing tragic tale. 

 

The support from the rest of the cast was excellent;  without the sumptuous sets of the RB version of the ballet, they are much more exposed and they made a great job of it.  Unencumbered by huge sets and costumes, the company really had to make the choreography speak for itself, and they did....this choreography spoke to me on all kinds of levels.  My slight disappointment was Miss Khaniukova as the Mistress;  as I mentioned in my post last night, I just didn't get anything from her.  Her dancing was ok, but I just didn't feel it.  Interesting that Irmgard said she portrayed her as a high-class courtesan;  a friend of mine said that she thought she was playing her like a street-walker!! 

 

All in all I loved this performance more than I was expecting to, and for me, Miss Cojocaru goes from strength to strength and seems to have found a depth and maturity to her roles that is different from her equally wonderful portrayals when she was younger.  Long may it continue;  she is a real jewel in our ballet crown.  And huge kudos to Joe Caley, who has taken to partnering this wonderful artist on an equal footing in all respects.  I hope that this partnership will flourish as it will benefit them both.  Most of all, it will benefit us, the audience. 

 

Many congratulations to all on a fine start to this short London run. 

[penelopesimpson]

An exquisite review, Sim, beautifully expressed.  

[Sim]

55 minutes ago, penelopesimpson said:

Glad it wasn't just me, Irmgard!  It is almost sacrilege to not be wowed by Alina and, in many ways, I was.  But the overwhelming emotion she usually evokes in me just didn't happen.  However, I did like her partnership with Caley and thought there was a lovely connection.

Not sacrilege at all....there have been quite a few times before this year where I was disappointed with her performances;  I think that's why I have been particularly bowled over this year, as she seems to be back to where she was (as much as is possible without Kobborg partnering her;  that was once-in-a-generation special).  As a matter of fact, if I hadn't happened to see her Sleeping Beauty earlier this year, I might well have skipped her Swan Lake and Manon....and boy am I glad I didn't! 

[Richard LH]

Thanks for these reviews! Looking forward to Dronina and Hernandez this afternoon.