Culture Lovers

With the expectation that it was not going to be one of MacMillan's absolute masterpieces, I was grateful for the opportunity to finally see 'The Prince of the Pagodas' in the flesh yesterday evening, and very much enjoyed a lot of the performance. A big part of that was due to Marianela Nuñez's Princess Rose. I thought she was on top form, and particularly loved her solos and her contributions to the PDDs. Her technique was breathtaking as always. She really moved me too, such as in the way she interacted with the Salamander at the end of Act 2. A very complete performance. I was very glad I had my binoculars with me last night to see all of the nuances and catch every detail. Princess Epine is given less to do, but Tamara Rojo was utterly captivating last night. She has such stage presence and really commanded my attention. I thought she got the characterisation spot on, and like Nuñez, was more than a match for the technical challenges. Nehemiah Kish's Prince didn't elicit such an emotional response, but registered most as the Salamander in Act 2. I thought the leads were ably supported by much of the key supporting cast, particularly Alexander Campbell and Steven McRae. I was also impressed by the participants in the Grand Pas D'Action, which I felt really contributed to a very rousing ending. Overall, I really enjoyed much of the choreography, especially the PDDs between Rose and the Prince, the solos for Rose and Epine, the interactions between them and the kings, and the Grand Pas D'Action. However, there were other elements that didn't do anything for me, particularly the baboons, and I also couldn't help wondering what MacMillan would have done differently if he had more leeway with making changes to the score. I also had mixed feelings regarding the score itself, the design and the costumes. Nonetheless, I am looking forward to watching this cast again to see how their interpretations develop, and also seeing the Stix-Brunell / Mendizabal / Hirano cast later in the month.