The Royal Ballet: Romeo and Juliet, Spring 2019

[JennyTaylor]

8 hours ago, Nogoat said:

So that brings me nicely to the difficult bit - Romeo and Juliet.

The afternoon performance didn’t leave me ‘cold’ like RuthE, but neither did I see the ‘great chemistry’ that Sim did. It popped and fizzed in places, but to me it never became a self-sustaining fire – it never ‘caught’.
The evening performance was much better, but again I didn’t get the impression it ‘caught’. I was moved, but not to tears.

I'm with you there 100%.... and BTW I LOVE your reviews.

I didn't see  any extraordinary chemistry with either R&Js and I've seen rather a lot in my time.  So compare Vadim in his last performance with Daria Klimentova, Cope/Guillem, Soares/Nunez in this particularly ballet - and there is no comparison.  In other ballets Hayward had electric connection with Campbell, but the RB management seems to have robbed us of this particular partnership.

So, for me, yesterday: the supporting dancers, if one can call them that, were of equal, if not more interest than R&J, but like you, I was most impressed with Sarah Lamb who surpassed my expectations. The other 3 principals, met my expectations.  

[Dawnstar]

2 hours ago, Balletfanp said:

They are tons better than mine!

 

You haven't seen all the ones I had to delete because they were blurred to the point of unrecognisability!

 

7 minutes ago, JennyTaylor said:

In other ballets Hayward had electric connection with Campbell, but the RB management seems to have robbed us of this particular partnership.

 

I did find myself wondering yesterday why it is that Ball is dancing both Romeo with 2 Juliets & Tybalt and Sambe both Romeo & Mercutio with 2 casts yet Campbell isn't dancing at all...

[JennyTaylor]

11 hours ago, J_New said:

Who’s Tybalt on Monday, does anyone know?

No, no one does it seems. I will say no more but I did find this surprising when I asked 

[capybara]

By deduction, it could be Nehemiah Kish.

I think Luca Acri will be Mercutio.

[Richard LH]

17 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

I don't know how close you were sitting or if you were using opera glasses but I have seen, over the years, many Juliets (and Romeos) smiling through their tears.  After the first couple of rows people didn't necessarily notice the tears, only the smiles.  I've also seen dancers still so much in role they were beyond smiles initially till they managed to come back to themselves.

Jan I am sure you are right. Actually my particular comparisons  were not only based on my viewpoints at the time, but also on videos/pictures, later aired on social media. I imagine  how Juliets feel at the end can also vary from performance to performance, based on all sorts of factors we can only guess at. Certainly Akane, for one,  has looked pretty distraught at the end of her performances,  and indeed beyond smiles to begin with, which for me showed  how much she inhabited the role, as well as being  appropriate for the  initial mood of all of us at first curtain call !

[Richard LH]

16 hours ago, Irmgard said:

This was certainly a performance to treasure from these lovely dancers

 

Irmgard that is a great review.

There is nothing  I can add about Hayward's wonderful dancing and acting!

I definitely  agree that the three amigos  were great together, although I felt  their pas de trois tended to emphasise that  if anything Hay and Sambé  somewhat had the edge over Corrales.

I am not quite as sure as you, just yet, about him. He can spin very very fast, for example, but of course we need a lot more than that.  I thought he was not quite there with all the partnering and all the acting, and I feel Hayward may  have been better served by others in the Company with whom she has previously formed great partnerships - indeed Hay and Sambé  spring to mind, as well as Campbell. 

That said, this is the first time  I have seen Corrales in a lead role, he is only 22 I believe, and  he did very well for a lead debut at the ROH after a long period out through injury. He is clearly a very talented young man who now  hopefully can  only get better and better. 

[annamk]

43 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

 

I definitely  agree that the three amigos  were great together, although I felt  their pas de trois tended to emphasise that  if anything Hay and Sambé  somewhat had the edge over Corrales.

 

I think when you are Romeo AND you have been off stage for many months you need to be very careful to pace yourself, rather than trying to dance full throttle from the outset. 

 

43 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

I feel Hayward may  have been better served by others in the Company with whom she has previously formed great partnerships - indeed Hay and Sambé  spring to mind, as well as Campbell. 

 

I would love to have seen James Hay as Romeo but with the MacMillan partnering I am resigned to it never happening. 

 

17 hours ago, Irmgard said:

.  I remember from my original viewings of MacMillan’s first scene my irritation at the ladies constantly sweeping the square with their brooms and this has not gone away!  Nureyev gives us the much more dramatic, clearly delineated Capulet servants versus Montague servants firstly exchanging insults before escalating into physical combat, and I would have loved more of this boisterousness turning to dangerous physical aggression from the townsfolk in this scene.  I missed the sense of menace that used to be the hallmark of the Dance of the Knights in MacMillan’s production.  I remember this as testosterone seething away under a very thin veneer of respectability, reflecting the violence of renaissance Italy, with weight being given to every step by the men, and then the ladies sweeping forwards in an equally aggressive manner, as if saying “we are the Capulets, mess with us at your peril”.  The steps were there, but not the intent.  In fact, I found there was a surprising casualness to most of the supporting roles, from the rather ineffectual Prince of Verona to Lord Capulet who seemed to stroll around the stage, even his exit after Juliet has refused Paris, rather than move with any sense of purpose.  (Michael Somes was never a great actor in romantic roles but I do remember his wonderful, commanding presence as Lord Capulet!).  My definitive Paris was the late, lamented Julian Hosking.  This golden-haired Adonis was a born aristocrat who radiated charm and he bestowed such loving tenderness on Juliet that, in some performances, I would wonder why she chose the Romeo on offer instead of him!  Tomas Mock started well, in the little scene before the ball, showing a genuine tenderness towards Juliet, but then seemed to retreat into himself and made little impression after that.  I am all for different interpretations of roles, but the laid-back Tybalt of Matthew Ball did not do it for me.  I did not get the feeling from him of Shakespeare’s hot-headed youth always spoiling for a fight, especially when he discovers Romeo at the ball, nor did he appear to be seething the following day when he seeks out Romeo in the town square.

 

 

I loved your entire review Irmgard and I was as captivated by the leads as you were. 

 

I was particularly interested in your comments about some of the ensemble dancing and the orchestra. I wasn't watching MacMillan's Romeo before the 1990s so I cannot compare and I have never seen Nureyev's version but I will track down some DVDs. Maestro Sutherland is a treasure !

 

I liked Ball's interpretation of Tybalt but I can also see that he did not appear to be seething as you say. 

 

 

 

Edited May 13, 2019 by annamk

[Sim]

I don’t think that Tybalt has to seethe for the interpretation to be believable.  Simmering, repressed anger is just as dangerous as fully-expressed anger!  I thought Ball’s take was fascinating and it worked for me.  

[JohnS]

And (apologies if this is repeated) but I thought it worked incredibly well having such a matching set of lead men - all looking young, fabulous dancing, unrestrained sword fighting, and real energy/charisma/stage presence.  I may well be wrong but haven’t Tybalts tended to be older dancers?  To my mind the matinee seemed so refreshingly young and balanced for the quartet.

[Dawnstar]

2 hours ago, annamk said:

I would love to have seen James Hay as Romeo but with the MacMillan partnering I am resigned to it never happening.

 

Is that because of height (lack of) or if not then what?

 

Anyone else glued to the ROH website & their email today in case of news on Clarke or is it just me?

 

(Further to my last post above, I've also realised that Clarke would have danced Romeo to 2 Juliets plus Paris if not for being injured & Hirano is doing so. Quite apart from any issues of favouritism, career opportunities, etc. I would have thought that concentrating lots of work on only some dancers would make injuries more likely & goodness knows the RB men seem to be getting quite enough injuries this season already.)

[capybara]

1 hour ago, Sim said:

I don’t think that Tybalt has to seethe for the interpretation to be believable.  Simmering, repressed anger is just as dangerous as fully-expressed anger!  I thought Ball’s take was fascinating and it worked for me.  

 

I liked Ball too. Actually all the Tybalts this run have worked for me. Very different readings but all believable. I think that Ball will show us something different in his next performances.

I appreciate that it is difficult to take performances away from a dancer but I have felt that Hirano's Paris shows could have been given to a young dancer - Donnelly? - once he collected 5 shots at Romeo.

[JohnS]

Just received this from ROH:

 

“... due to injury, Reece Clarke is replaced by guest artist Jacopo Tissi as Romeo on Friday 17 May, Thursday 23 May and Wednesday 29 May.”

 

Very sorry for Reece.

[bangorballetboy]

Reece Clarke is replaced on Friday (and 23rd and 29th) by Jacopo Tissi, a guest artist from the Bolshoi.

[bridiem]

Have received an email to say: 'We are contacting you to let you know that, due to injury, Reece Clarke is replaced by guest artist Jacopo Tissi as Romeo on Friday 17 May, Thursday 23 May and Wednesday 29 May.'

 

Post crossed with BBB above.

Edited May 13, 2019 by bridiem

[Richard LH]

Wow you lot are quick off the mark, I was just going to post this. 

[annamk]

I wondered what Tissi was doing in London ...... I don't think he has this version in his rep ? 

[Dawnstar]

Having looked up Tissi on the Bolshoi website https://www.bolshoi.ru/en/persons/ballet/3575/ Romeo isn't mebtioned in his repertoire but it is in the bio that's now up for him on the ROH website so presumably he's added it recently, as the Bolshoi rep list only goes up to 2018. Born 1995 - he's certainly a lot younger than Nunez! He looks the part alright. However I wonder why, given Clarke got injured a month and a half ago, they didn't get one of the other RB men to learn the role? Surely a dancer can learn a leading role in that time?

[Petunia]

Tristan Dyer will be replaced by Teo Dubreuil tonight .

[annamk]

Tissi danced Romeo this year in Ratmansky's version. 

[RuthE]

48 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

However I wonder why, given Clarke got injured a month and a half ago, they didn't get one of the other RB men to learn the role? Surely a dancer can learn a leading role in that time?

 

Reece Clarke’s height makes him very hard to replace. All the other tall possibilities are surely either all overcommitted already, no longer dancing the role, or appearing in their own scheduled performances too close to the dates Clarke was scheduled for.

[penelopesimpson]

Sorry to repeat myself but anyone know who is doing the male roles on Tuesday?  I am sure Hirano can't do all of them!!

[Sim]

The same cast as described in imy review of the Saturday matinee.  Brilliant!  

[penelopesimpson]

Whoopi Doo!!!  Can't wait.  I am also coming with a friend who has never seen R&J.  

[bridiem]

7 minutes ago, RuthE said:

 

Reece Clarke’s height makes him very hard to replace. All the other tall possibilities are surely either all overcommitted already, no longer dancing the role, or appearing in their own scheduled performances too close to the dates Clarke was scheduled for.

 

But Nunez isn't particularly tall, is she? Why would she need a tall partner?

[Dawnstar]

12 minutes ago, RuthE said:

 

Reece Clarke’s height makes him very hard to replace. All the other tall possibilities are surely either all overcommitted already, no longer dancing the role, or appearing in their own scheduled performances too close to the dates Clarke was scheduled for.

 

I meant could they not have got one of the men who hasn't danced it before & wasn't originally scheduled to dance it to learn the role in a month and a bit. I realise that tall, experienced Romeos are in short supply.

[JennyTaylor]

10 hours ago, capybara said:

By deduction, it could be Nehemiah Kish.

I think Luca Acri will be Mercutio.

Yes, Luca Acri is Mercutio, Ben Gartside is Tybalt,  Nicol Edmonds is Benvolio

[Sim]

24 minutes ago, penelopesimpson said:

Whoopi Doo!!!  Can't wait.  I am also coming with a friend who has never seen R&J.  

Wow what a great way to start!!

[alison]

I'd assumed Tissi might have danced Romeo at La Scala (I am thinking of the right dancer, aren't I?)

[LinMM]

Although he was at La Scala it doesn't list Romeo as one of his roles( just looked!) 

But perhaps he is a very quick learner! 

[alison]

It seems such a shame that with such a lot of talent in the company the RB can't field its own replacement Romeos   I know they've been pretty unlucky so far, but even so ... 

[Odyssey]

Meanwhile there is an ''embarrassment of riches' for the role of Juliet.

[Balletfanp]

Finally getting around to my thoughts on my first ever double ballet day on Saturday, seeing both the matinee and the evening performance.

 

I really enjoyed both performances - both wonderful in their own ways. For me the evening performance had the edge but I should point out that I was sitting in the Amphi for the matinee and the front row of the stalls in the evening, so I did get two very different perspectives!

 

Hayward was wonderful as Juliet. She has a very youthful and childlike look in any case, which suited the character perfectly, but more than that, she “projected” right up to the Amphi - I was never in any doubt as to her emotions, both from her face and every movement of her body, which seemed to express everything she was feeling just in terms of its movement.

 

I had come to the matinee specifically to see this cast - I wanted to see Hayward’s Juliet - but had also heard so much about Corrales and really wanted to see him too. I wouldn’t hesitate to see him again, but I did find myself wondering if he was fully recovered from his injury yet, because he did seem a little more cautious in his dancing than I had expected - although “cautious” is possibly too strong a word. Also, I didn’t really “feel” him from right up in the Amphi as I did Hayward, but, as several people have already said, the mop of hair was probably at least partly responsible for that as it obscured his features - and any facial expressions - too much. I did think that they made a lovely pairing although I’m not sure the chemistry was really buzzing as yet, but I think that could well develop if they continue to dance together.

 

Hayward’s terror and revulsion as she contemplated taking the potion was palpable and pitiful and one of the highlights of the performance for me.

 

I thought Ball’s Tybalt portrayal was very good, although I preferred Whitehead in the evening, if I’m honest - more menacing.

 

The supporting cast were all wonderful - Hay in the afternoon, Ella in the evening - and I don’t think I can really add to the plaudits already given to Sambe - brilliant dancing, engaging characterisation, and a special round of applause from me for doing it twice in a day! I even felt that he was even more on fire in the evening, although that may have been partly the effect of proximity!

 

I love Lamb’s Juliet. Possibly a more restrained, gentler, shyer portrayal than Hayward’s, but just as effective. I don’t see the coldness/coolness that some say she has, she has the most expressive face, particularly her eyes, which she uses to great effect. I loved her adoring, smiling looks at Romeo, although hardly surprising when that Romeo is Muntagirov!

 

One of the (many) things I love about Muntagirov’s performances is his sheer exuberance and love of dancing that he always projects, and it’s irresistible when combined with the portrayal of a young man in love as Romeo is. His ecstatic smile could light up the darkest of days, and his dancing was, of course, a thing of beauty.

 

I didn’t find this performance too “tidy,” as someone suggested. The passion was there in spades. And both portrayed the tragic downward spiral as events overtook them so well. Muntagirov emotions dancing with Juliet’s “dead” body felt heart-wrenchingly real - Lamb’s scream of realisation and despair was visceral and ugly. No wonder they both looked wrung out with emotion when first taking their applause.

 

I love the ballet itself but it always bothers me that nowhere does it hint that Friar Laurence sent a message to Romeo to explain the situation, but it never reaches him - to me, quite a crucial point. It does explain it in the synopsis but there is no indication of it in the ballet itself. But that’s just me nit-picking! The practical part of my mind takes over too much sometimes and I always find myself wondering why Juliet doesn’t stab herself on the bed rather than having to drag herself on to it and over it to reach Romeo.... but I’d better stop that now! 😂

[Rob S]

Beatriz is doing brilliantly 🙂