The Royal Ballet: Romeo and Juliet, Spring 2019

[capybara]

Last night's performance did not work for me, I'm sorry to say.

Osipova was as interesting as ever and I especially loved her 'child', her journey into love-borne maturity and the way she related to her Romeo. Maybe she overdoes things at times but I can absorb that and admire her overall artistry.

Hallberg made his first entrance facing the audience as if he was expecting applause (none came!) but his early dancing was little more than marking the steps. [Yes, I know that Romeos have to save themselves for later exertions but this was way too obvious.] He was not helped by the height mismatch with Hay and Dyer but his dancing was not in sync. with theirs, nor did it have their 'stage energy'. In later sequences, Hallberg either finished early or adapted the choreography. I found his partnering laboured, his acting wooden and his commitment half-hearted (witness the contrast with Hirano in the Romeo/Tybalt fight).  He has been rehearsing with the RB for weeks, knows the MacMillan ballet well, being a guest with the RB is, surely, an honour and an expectant audience had paid high prices - so there was no excuse.

I have to admit to missing the last act (for personal reasons) and I accept that the Osipova/Hallberg partnership could have shown to advantage in Act 3 but both of them self-publicise it as special to such an extent that I was expecting something truly amazing throughout. She related wondrously to him  but chemistry is not a one-sided thing. He may feel something inside but he failed to show it to me.

Hallberg is due to dance Beliaev in Month in the Country but, on this showing, I don't think that the Royal Ballet needs him for anything else - certainly not at the expense of providing prized opportunities to the RB's own dancers.

[Jamesrhblack]

10 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

I think it’s because they’re both “marmite” dancers, and I’m not sure whether each holds great obvious appeal to the other’s admirers.

Probably much truth in this. In the opera world, debate swirled, often aggressively, about the relative merits of Maria Callas and Renata Tebaldi for example ...

[annamk]

5 minutes ago, capybara said:

Hallberg is due to dance Beliaev in Month in the Country but, on this showing, I don't think that the Royal Ballet needs him for anything else - certainly not at the expense of providing prized opportunities to the RB's own dancers.

 

Exactly what I was thinking last night - and the possibility looms large that he might be invited back next season, I really hope not. 

[Lizbie1]

1 minute ago, Jamesrhblack said:

Probably much truth in this. In the opera world, debate swirled, often aggressively, about the relative merits of Maria Callas and Renata Tebaldi for example ...

 

Sorry I probably wasn’t very clear - I meant that an Osipova fan might not naturally be expected to be a Hallberg admirer.  Like pairing Tebaldi with Peter Pears perhaps!

[alison]

Well, let's face it, recent casting history has indicated that the RB was seriously short on viable Romeos, so I guess I've no particular objection to Hallberg being brought in.

[Anna C]

Slightly off topic, but following on from a couple of previous posts, I wish Osipova would hot-foot it to Freed and get different pointe shoes.  I find hers very distracting; they’re much too narrow in the box.  This makes them look wrinkled and exaggerates her bunion.

The reason they look as if they’ve been “attacked by dogs” is that because she has straight feet (you can see fake arches when she wears tights), she cuts the vamp of the shoe down so that it’s not pulling her back off pointe, but then she sews it up again.  A v or u shaped vamp that doesn’t come up so high in the first place would be much better.

 

Thank you for the reviews, by the way - fascinating to see how Osipova and Hallberg divide opinion!

[Rob S]

A photo or two to come when Flicker has finished its maintenance.

 

Maybe it was because I was in the amphitheatre  but I thought David Hallberg was thoroughly underwhelming. I felt Timofej Andrijashenko did a far better job as a guest. 

Edited May 23, 2019 by Rob S

[HelenLoveAppleJuice]

3 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

 

Sorry I probably wasn’t very clear - I meant that an Osipova fan might not naturally be expected to be a Hallberg admirer.  Like pairing Tebaldi with Peter Pears perhaps!

I had only seen a short clip of Hallberg&Osipova's Giselle interview in Bolshoi of Hallberg dancing before last night. So at the opening I was a little surprised to see his dancing style.

But after Act 1 I felt a great passion between them and I saw a sense of self-destructive on both of them. 

[Lindsay]

I thought last night's performance was an astonishing feat of theatre.  Both Osipova and Hallberg are theatrical animals to their core and they took the story by the scruff of its neck and gave it new life.  I found myself thinking of Shakespeare's lines  again and again during their performance, it seemed to me that they had captured the essence of the play and I far prefer that level of commitment to "nicer" and "prettier" interpretations, particularly when it comes to Juliet. They make you think about the characters rather than just accept a simple girl-meets-boy story with a tragic ending.  Like an earlier poster I found myself thinking that I might for the first time be seeing what Macmillan intended when he created the piece on Lynn Seymour's dramatic energy (first night casting controversy notwithstanding...)

 

Agree that the casting of James Hay and Tristan Dyer alongside Hallberg was a mistake - the size difference was comically ridiculous (no criticism of any of the dancers - they were all good, just didn't belong together).  I felt it was more balanced when Hallberg took on Hirano in their swordfight.  

 

But I am quite surprised that people spent so much time being put off by Osipova's shoes. The only time I really focussed on her feet was to admire the incredibly slow and controlled rises to pointe she did a couple of times in her scenes with Paris.  Simple and yet incredibly expressive of her initial shyness and later reluctance to engage with him.   And yes the balcony scene was not "smooth" but it was something far more risky and thrilling - the lightness and speed of both their movements generated an excitement that I haven't felt from more conventionally lyrical interpretations.  The moment near the beginning where they hold hands and walk forward and the desperate lingering at the end followed by Osipova's outright sprint back up the stairs were super-charged with emotion.  And the third act was even more sublime.  The poster that  thought there was no emotional connection between them must have been watching a different performance or maybe one becomes accustomed after a while to the "usual" RB interpretation so that any change is simply jarring?

 

It's never smooth sailing with Osipova but she is an absolutely unique dance actress - her performance are really in a different category from other (very good in their own right) ballerinas.  Clearly not for everyone but I'm incredibly glad that we have her at the ROH!

 

Main downside of last night for me was the brass section - who should be taken out and shot.  It is the kindest thing to do.

[penelopesimpson]

The problem with Osipova as Juliet is that she s always what I think of as a ‘knowing’ dancer, sophisticated, been around. I find the same quality in Nunez which is why I love her as Mitzi in Mayerling where, for me, she is at her best.  Osipova is wilder (fab Vetsera), Nunez always sunny.  That are not Juliet’s for me.

[Lindsay]

Gosh! Have you seen Osipova's Juliet penelopesimpson? It was the polar opposite of 'knowing' or sophisticated last night. She began Act 1 as a bouncing tomboy who looked about 11.  Not sure I could think of two dancers with more different stage presences than Nunez and Osipova.  Maybe Watson and McRae?

[penelopesimpson]

No, Lindsay I haven’t and it was great to read your review and others with different reactions. I am, by the way, a huge fan of Osipova.  Should have added that I do not say Osipova and Nunezare the same.  Patently they are not, it’s just that for me they share a degree os sophistication.  One thing they do have in common is that one always feels in safe hands with their confident dancing.

Edited May 23, 2019 by penelopesimpson

[Lindsay]

Me too (as I think is evident).  And agree with you about her 'wildness' but I don't think that is at all incompatible with Juliet.  Shakespeare's Juliet is headstrong and passionate and, as the play progresses, it is absolutely her rather than Romeo who is in the driving seat.  It was just the "sophistication" and "knowing" points that I had trouble recognising.

[bridiem]

10 minutes ago, Lindsay said:

I thought last night's performance was an astonishing feat of theatre.  Both Osipova and Hallberg are theatrical animals to their core and they took the story by the scruff of its neck and gave it new life.  I found myself thinking of Shakespeare's lines  again and again during their performance, it seemed to me that they had captured the essence of the play and I far prefer that level of commitment to "nicer" and "prettier" interpretations, particularly when it comes to Juliet. They make you think about the characters rather than just accept a simple girl-meets-boy story with a tragic ending.  Like an earlier poster I found myself thinking that I might for the first time be seeing what Macmillan intended when he created the piece on Lynn Seymour's dramatic energy (first night casting controversy notwithstanding...)

 

Agree that the casting of James Hay and Tristan Dyer alongside Hallberg was a mistake - the size difference was comically ridiculous (no criticism of any of the dancers - they were all good, just didn't belong together).  I felt it was more balanced when Hallberg took on Hirano in their swordfight.  

 

But I am quite surprised that people spent so much time being put off by Osipova's shoes. The only time I really focussed on her feet was to admire the incredibly slow and controlled rises to pointe she did a couple of times in her scenes with Paris.  Simple and yet incredibly expressive of her initial shyness and later reluctance to engage with him.   And yes the balcony scene was not "smooth" but it was something far more risky and thrilling - the lightness and speed of both their movements generated an excitement that I haven't felt from more conventionally lyrical interpretations.  The moment near the beginning where they hold hands and walk forward and the desperate lingering at the end followed by Osipova's outright sprint back up the stairs were super-charged with emotion.  And the third act was even more sublime.  The poster that  thought there was no emotional connection between them must have been watching a different performance or maybe one becomes accustomed after a while to the "usual" RB interpretation so that any change is simply jarring?

 

It's never smooth sailing with Osipova but she is an absolutely unique dance actress - her performance are really in a different category from other (very good in their own right) ballerinas.  Clearly not for everyone but I'm incredibly glad that we have her at the ROH!

 

Main downside of last night for me was the brass section - who should be taken out and shot.  It is the kindest thing to do.

 

I didn't really notice/mind the size difference between Romeo and his friends - it was an usual dynamic, but I saw it as this Romeo being a bit older/more mature than his friends, which made it all the more moving that he was drawn away from them so powerfully into this new love.

 

Completely agree re Osipova; there were times when she seemed to be in a 100m race rather than doing ballet steps. Which did make me thing of MacMillan's wish for Juliet not to be too balletic.

[alison]

Once again, I'm wondering how much location in the theatre (and/or presence/absence of binoculars/opera glasses) makes a difference to how people perceived this performance.

[Lindsay]

Could be a factor.  i was at the back of the Stalls Circle last night (no binoculars, surrounded by people unwrapping cough sweets and other people shushing the unwrappers) so probably didn't focus on Osipova's shoes to the same extent as people who were closer/looking through binoculars.  But I thought the drama was such that it "read" very well, even from a distance.

[Jamesrhblack]

2 minutes ago, Lindsay said:

Could be a factor.  i was at the back of the Stalls Circle last night (no binoculars, surrounded by people unwrapping cough sweets and other people shushing the unwrappers) so probably didn't focus on Osipova's shoes to the same extent as people who were closer/looking through binoculars.  But I thought the drama was such that it "read" very well, even from a distance.

It was certainly completely involving from the Balcony...

[bridiem]

1 minute ago, Lindsay said:

Could be a factor.  i was at the back of the Stalls Circle last night (no binoculars, surrounded by people unwrapping cough sweets and other people shushing the unwrappers) so probably didn't focus on Osipova's shoes to the same extent as people who were closer/looking through binoculars.  But I thought the drama was such that it "read" very well, even from a distance.

 

Well I was near the back of the amphi, using opera glasses much of the time, and having to lean far to one side because of very tall man in front of me (and so being in increasing pain from my neck and back!). I didn't notice the condition of her shoes at all. Too much else going on!!

 

(I was so far back because it was a Friday Rush ticket - I couldn't go on the date I originally booked for this cast, 1 June, because of Liverpool's magnificent progression to the Champions League final that evening. So any extra back/neck pain was entirely worth it, in both balletic and footballing terms!).

[HelenLoveAppleJuice]

20 minutes ago, Lindsay said:

Could be a factor.  i was at the back of the Stalls Circle last night (no binoculars, surrounded by people unwrapping cough sweets and other people shushing the unwrappers) so probably didn't focus on Osipova's shoes to the same extent as people who were closer/looking through binoculars.  But I thought the drama was such that it "read" very well, even from a distance.

Haha

I sat at K row on the floor but I never really care that much of the shoes...

In my view I hope them all wear safe and comfortable shoes. I struggle and suffer a lot not in dancing but in everyday life because my feet are a bit flat . So I am very open mind on this.

[annamk]

1 hour ago, Lindsay said:

The poster that  thought there was no emotional connection between them must have been watching a different performance or maybe one becomes accustomed after a while to the "usual" RB interpretation so that any change is simply jarring?

 

I am as baffled by those who felt an emotional connection between them as you are by my not feeling it but I don't think the answer is about a "usual" RB interpretation, it's entirely about the individual pairs, I find some RB couples have chemistry and others don't. I think the performance would have worked better for me if Osipova had had a different partner - although I didn't really like some of the wilder aspects of Osipova's performance it did have a power and Hallberg was unfortunately not an emotional match for that. 

 

I was at the back of the stalls circle and I had binoculars which I used intermittently. 

 

 

[Lindsay]

The way I saw it was that Hallberg's Romeo started off cocky (I liked the interplay with the harlots) and became increasingly uncertain as the narrative progressed.  That meant that, especially after Tybalt's death, Romeo more and more needed Juliet to make plans and drive them forward.  I thought Hallberg portrayed exactly that, which is entirely consistent with Osipova's forceful Juliet (and also with Shakespeare's text).  After all, if Romeo is more romantic/protective/powerful after the balcony scene, it doesn't really leave space for Juliet's character to develop.   And I thought his performance in the final scene was by far the most moving I've seen in a long time - the way he carefully rearranged Juliet's "body" on the tomb was heartbreaking.

Edited May 23, 2019 by Lindsay
Correcting typo

[zxDaveM]

2 hours ago, Lindsay said:

 

Main downside of last night for me was the brass section - who should be taken out and shot.  It is the kindest thing to do.

 

you can hear street buskers making a better fist of playing a brass instrument some evenings. Makes me wince, as it jars so much with the atmosphere (and not just in R&J), and can be an unwelcome distraction, for sure

[Lindsay]

42 minutes ago, zxDaveM said:

 

you can hear street buskers making a better fist of playing a brass instrument some evenings. Makes me wince, as it jars so much with the atmosphere (and not just in R&J), and can be an unwelcome distraction, for sure

 

Well quite.  I find it just about ignorable when it's Minkus they are ruining but to butcher that Prokofiev score is really unforgivable.  

[HelenLoveAppleJuice]

41 minutes ago, Lindsay said:

 

Well quite.  I find it just about ignorable when it's Minkus they are ruining but to butcher that Prokofiev score is really unforgivable.  

I found them doing well last year with La Bayadere also Minkus. 

What happens now...

 

[LinMM]

I've seen Osipova before ( though not last night) in this role and found her convincing then not at all sophisticated!

The only two dancers whose shoes have suddenly somehow come to my attention are Osipova and Cojocaru....who does have a bunion I just wondered with dancers who have pronounced bunions whether their shoes would ever make their feet look good!! Not that either of them needs to worry about their feet! 

 

I did go to the Romeo and Juliet Insight before the performance though and we were very lucky to have Sambe and O 'Sullivan .....what a lovely pair they are .....and Ross McGibbon who was very amusing! A really enjoyable Insight.

Edited May 23, 2019 by LinMM

[Scheherezade]

Ok, thrilled or disappointed? Some thrilling bits, as always, from Osipova, and an extremely moving final act which, for me, massively redeemed the performance but overall, sadly, I am in the disappointed camp, which is a shame because I wanted to be blown away by Hallberg but I just wasn’t. I longed to be swept away by that fabled ‘chemistry’ but where was it?

 

On a personal level, there clearly was abundant chemistry between Osipova and Hallberg, witness his down-on-one-knee tribute to her at the curtain calls, so why couldn’t he bring some of that to his performance? This was Romeo and Juliet, for heaven’s sake! And Hallberg is an esteemed and accomplished performer who shouldn’t have needed two acts comprising one hour and thirty five minutes performance time to warm up. What happened to passion and spontaneity? Where was that coup de foudre that stopped time and changed both of their destinies?

 

For me, the disconnect started right at the start and, yes, the height difference between Hallberg on the one hand and Hay and Dyer on the other, did not help one bit, with Hallberg donning the mantle of a much older cousin doing his unsatisfactory best to get down with the kids. No ‘three amigos’ here but two amigos and their vaguely uncomfortable mentor. And he had none of the braggadocio, nous or stage presence of the fabulous James Hay and an impressive Tristan Dyer, both of whom managed to colour their performances with convincing characterisation that, for much of the performance, Hallberg sadly lacked. One of my friends remarked on the way home that she would have loved to have seen Hay as Romeo and I couldn’t help but agree.

 

So, not the best start. I did wonder, to begin with, whether my impressions might not have been influenced, on a subconscious level at least, by an element of rooting for the home team but I don’t think so. I really did try to be objective but objectivity ruled that the home team came out on top.

 

On, then, to Juliet and, as expected, Osipova gave it her all and then some. Her Juliet was invested with passion a plenty but, as has already been said by some, her Romeo was disappointingly bland. Apart from an initial “Ooh, he’s dreamy!” what was there to hold her? I couldn’t help feeling that this Juliet would have given her Romeo short shrift pretty soon.

 

I didn't find Osipova's Juliet particularly sophisticated but, especially in Act 1, I did find her a little too knowing.There was that sense that I wasn’t seeing Juliet but, rather, Osipova’s portrayal of Juliet and whilst that portrayal was vivid, highly watchable and, yes, compelling, I found it a fraction over-wrought, the emotions a little too contrived. There was a worrying sense of artifice, a lack of innocence, to this Juliet that made me think that if a better looking candidate, Romeo, hadn’t shown up when he did, Paris would have been in with a real chance. There is, of course, nothing wrong with this portrayal but I find that the initial lack of innocence tends to diminish the terrible tragedy that is to follow and I couldn’t help but compare the effect with the searing, heart-breaking Hayward/Corrales partnership that left me in pieces only a week ago.

 

On, finally, to a particularly fine Tybalt. Hirano really is quite superb in certain roles and this is very definitely one of them. Completely different from Matthew Ball’s sneering, entitled public schoolboy, this Tybalt was a fully-formed adult: angry, dangerous and utterly gripping. And, I’m afraid to say, in his scenes with Romeo, Tybalt was the one who drew my eye and held my attention on every occasion.

[HappyTurk]

I think it is all a matter of what style one is accustomed to. I, for one, am still trying to get accustomed to the RB style. And because I tend to use Osipova as the standard of dancing, I tend to find the RB style too reserved and am left dissapointed -- wishing the RB dancers would take more theatrical liberties when I do visit (especially in R&J, Mayerling, Giselle, and Don Quixote). For those accustomed to the RB style, I would imagine that one would find her theatrical style too much. So, honestly, I do think it just comes down to what one is used to viewing as a ballet watcher over the course of their watching "tenure." :) 

[annamk]

10 minutes ago, HappyTurk said:

I think it is all a matter of what style one is accustomed to. I, for one, am still trying to get accustomed to the RB style. And because I tend to use Osipova as the standard of dancing, I tend to find the RB style too reserved and am left dissapointed -- wishing the RB dancers would take more theatrical liberties when I do visit (especially in R&J, Mayerling, Giselle, and Don Quixote). For those accustomed to the RB style, I would imagine that one would find her theatrical style too much. So, honestly, I do think it just comes down to what one is used to viewing as a ballet watcher over the course of their watching "tenure."

 

I do see more of the RB than other companies but I also travel to watch dance and see visiting companies here in London and Paris. I absolutely don't agree that the RB style is "too reserved" .... could anyone who saw Matthew Ball's recent Tybalt call that reserved ? Or Marcellino Sambe's Mercutio ? Or Cesar Corrales Romeo ? Or Laura Morera's Mary Vetsera with Federico Bonelli's Prince Rudolf ? Or Lauren Cuthbertson's recent Kitri ? Personally, I think it's far more a question of what the individual dancer is about. Vadim Muntagirov is more often reserved as is Sarah Lamb but surely not the RB as a company. 

 

I haven't always found Osipova's theatrical style too much; I certainly think she has become more theatrical and I think last night was the most theatrical I've seen her but as I said I think it would have felt to me like a more balanced performance with a more charismatic Romeo. 

[LinMM]

Hay for Romeo for me too!!

[MJW]

7 hours ago, Rob S said:

A photo or two to come when Flicker has finished its maintenance.

 

Maybe it was because I was in the amphitheatre  but I thought David Hallberg was thoroughly underwhelming. I felt Timofej Andrijashenko did a far better job as a guest. 

 

Do you make your wonderful pictures available on Flickr as well?

[Anna C]

2 hours ago, Scheherezade said:

There was a worrying sense of artifice, a lack of innocence, to this Juliet that made me think that if a better looking candidate, Romeo, hadn’t shown up when he did, Paris would have been in with a real chance. 

 

Apologies if I’ve missed it but who was dancing Paris?

[Bruce Wall]

19 minutes ago, Anna C said:

 

Apologies if I’ve missed it but who was dancing Paris?

 

T. Mock  - who has done a goodly number in this run.

Edited May 23, 2019 by Bruce Wall

[Jan McNulty]

8 hours ago, alison said:

Well, let's face it, recent casting history has indicated that the RB was seriously short on viable Romeos, so I guess I've no particular objection to Hallberg being brought in.

 

Even though they have a dancer who had previously danced the role to great acclaim with BRB!