Royal Ballet: Romeo and Juliet, Autumn 2021

[JennyTaylor]

14 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

 

Is the ROH now allowing stage dooring? I thought I'd read that they'd banned it, but that was some time ago so have they now rescinded the ban?

 

I'm sorry that Natalie Harrison has definitely left. I thought she was very good as Lady Capulet 2 weeks ago & thought that, as she's no longer listed on the ROH's website, perhaps she was going to continue appearing in character roles for them occasionally. But I suppose they must have just removed her name from the website in anticipation of imminent retirement.

Kevin O'Hare said that there were some dancers who had left during the pandemic and they could not recognise their leaving publicly on stage due to said pandemic. Natalie had been invited back to reprise Lady Capulet and thus has proper recognition.  Really nice gesture and very good to have his special announcement to pay tribute to her

[ChrisG]

12 minutes ago, JennyTaylor said:

Kevin O'Hare said that there were some dancers who had left during the pandemic and they could not recognise their leaving publicly on stage due to said pandemic. Natalie had been invited back to reprise Lady Capulet and thus has proper recognition.  Really nice gesture and very good to have his special announcement to pay tribute to her

I thought she was terrific at the end of Act 2 - she really pulled out all the stops!

Edited October 23, 2021 by ChrisG

[Sim]

46 minutes ago, ChrisG said:

I thought she was terrific at the end of Act 2 - she really pulled out all the stops!

She certainly did.  And she seemed heartbroken in Act 3 when she had no choice but to leave Juliet to her fate.  Perhaps mirroring what had happened to her?  She gave her husband a couple of withering looks during this act, but there was no more she could do, and her sadness at not being able to save her daughter from being miserable was palpable.  
 

Natalie will be missed and I wish her every happiness in the future.  

[LinMM]

Am on train home at mo but was at matinee and think Kaneko is truly divine right down to the ends of her beautiful feet! 

[bangorballetboy]

A quick Fumi Kaneko shot for you (others can be seen on my Instagram)

 

[LinMM]

Gorgeous!!! 
I just had a quick look to see if she has been cast for Giselle but unfortunately not 😢

Id love to see her partnered with Reece Clark ....not that she wasn’t wonderful with Bracewell! But I think she would make a perfect Giselle and then Reece came into my thoughts as her Albrecht! 

[Sim]

Beautiful photo, Lee!

[Lizbie1]

16 minutes ago, LinMM said:

Id love to see her partnered with Reece Clark ....not that she wasn’t wonderful with Bracewell! But I think she would make a perfect Giselle and then Reece came into my thoughts as her Albrecht! 

 

They were lovely together in Sleeping Beauty.

[LinMM]

I was just checking something out about Fumi and discovered that Reece Clark is her real life partner! I had no idea! 
So would like to see them dance together at some point I don’t know why he flashed into my mind when thinking about her as Giselle. It does seem as if Reece mainly dances with Osipova at the moment.

[Silke H]

some photos added from 22 Oct (Naghdi, Muntagirov) and 23 Oct matinée (Kaneko, Bracewell)

 

Facebook R&J album

 

Instagram 22 Oct 21

 

Instagram 23 Oct 21 matinée

[Balletfanp]

I was very remiss in forgetting to mention David Donnelly’s Paris last night. I thought his acting was spot on and I really enjoyed his performance. About time he was promoted - this year, surely?

[Sim]

26 minutes ago, Balletfanp said:

I was very remiss in forgetting to mention David Donnelly’s Paris last night. I thought his acting was spot on and I really enjoyed his performance. About time he was promoted - this year, surely?

Agree!

[JennyTaylor]

I've just had one of the best days for months and months and months. No coincidence that my day comprised of 2 stellar performance of one of my favourite dramatic ballets, Romeo and Juliet. How I had forgotten the total joy that a live performance of a full length ballet can bring. I've been really grateful for all the streaming and the triple bills featuring loads of principal dancers and party pieces, but this was it! 

 

I've already waxed lyrical about this afternoon, so onto this evening with Francesca Hayward and Cesar Corrales plus a super "supporting" cast if you can call it that including Matthew Ball as Tybalt, Marcelino Sambe and James Hay as Mercutio and Benvolio, Mayara Magri as the Chief Harlot very ably supported by Olivia Cowley and Meghan Grace Hinkis.  Plus Gary Avis. What's not to like! 

 

This evening I found myself enthralled by the whole cast rather than the 2 main characters, so it became difficult to know where to look. Benvolio v Tybalt right at the start of Act 1 was fearsome and set the scene for the entire ballet. Wow, wow, wow. I love the extra touches Matthew Ball gives to Tybalt - a little kiss blown at his Montague protagonists in Act 1 and in Act 2 he actually managed to reach Romeo in his dying thrall.  He is certainly streets ahead of all other Tybalt's.  Mayara Magri brought huge energy to the Chief Harlot and so many extra touches again. I love Olivia Cowley in anything she does and the vibrant energy on the stage was extraordinary in the crowd scenes.    

 

The dancing was of super high standard too. So, what am I going to say about Romeo and Juliet themselves?  Well, a marvellous performance and extremely enjoyable. For me it didn't hit the heights of the Bracewell / Kaneko partnership in emotional dramatic depth but I still came out of the theatre buzzing because of the overall show experience. 

 

What a day. This is being a ballet fan is all about.     

[Scheherezade]

 

Bracewell and Kaneko's R&J on Saturday afternoon was heartrending, electrifying. And so very, very special.

 

The power of Bracewell's Romeo was that his was an ordinary boy made extraordinary by the power of his love for Juliet, a Romeo that we can all recognise, the boy next door, slightly laddish, with reactions that we can recognise too, and Kaneko's Juliet was the embodiment of a young girl in thrall to the hypnotic allure of an all-consuming first love. This was a Romeo and Juliet made rich by the little details as much as the grand gesture and it was that honesty that made those grand gestures so much more powerful.

 

There have been some defining performances in the recent runs of R&J. One was Matthew Ball's entitled, public school Tybalt. William Bracewell's Romeo is most definitely another. Ardent, free of artifice and so totally believable, his must surely be the Romeo for our time and how on earth he isn't yet a principal is beyond comprehension. Please, can that oversight now be rectified? Please?

[BeauxArts]

I agree with everything Scheheredzade has written above, and I would also mention the generosity of Bracewell’s partnering - exceptional. They lived the roles - a very special performance.

[annamk]

I also totally agree with Scheheredzade and BeauxArts. What exceptional interpretations of the roles, what a glorious partnership. Memories to treasure. 

[Scheherezade]

5 minutes ago, annamk said:

What exceptional interpretations of the roles, what a glorious partnership. Memories to treasure. 

They were indeed. I found it difficult, for some time, to record my impressions in case the act of doing so should in some way break the spell. I am happy to say it didn’t. 

[JohnS]

Double Romeo & Juliet on Saturday and one of those special days as Jenny Taylor eloquently highlights. I was very keen to see both performance having heard so much about the Kaneko/Bracewell earlier performances, including the General Rehearsal, and seeing the opening night with Hayward/Corrales thinking there’d probably be a little more in a second performance. I was very taken with Will Bracewell’s Romeo and agree with the lavish praise in a number of lists. I also very much enjoyed Cesar Corrales highly charged Romeo. His fight with Matthew Ball’s Tybalt is astonishing and I’m sure there’s always a collective sigh of relief that Corrales and Ball aren’t injured. I thought Corrales stronger last night than opening night and I do think the entire cast very well matched making for a fabulous ensemble. I found both Juliets exquisite and was delighted that Bloomsbury Flowers marked their performances in their unique way, hopefully another step taken on the return to more familiar ways.

 

Romeo and Juliet is such a wonderful production with so much going on and always new things that catch the eye (Benvolio’s returning of the snatched bouquet). And so good to see Joseph Sissens and James Hay - why doesn’t Benvolio get a solo curtain call? Here’s hoping next run we’ll see both of them dance Romeo. The production demands a huge, fully committed cast, with everyone playing their part. And, memorably, that’s what we had twice yesterday.

 

I couldn’t help but smile when having supper between the performances to see Matthew Ball securing his bicycle opposite the restaurant thinking in a couple of hours he’ll be the repellent Bullingdon Club Tybalt. And having finished supper I managed to have a few words with Fumi Kaneko in Floral Street, still chatting to audience members and posing for photos.

[Lizbie1]

Does anyone know if Fumi Kaneko's parents were able to make the journey to see her? I seem to remember that they've been at her previous big debuts.

[LianneEva]

I had a truly sublime evening last night watching the Corrales / Hayward cast in Romeo and Juliet. Francesca really is light as a feather - like a little dove, I thought! And perfectly cast as Juliet. 

 

Having not stepped foot in the ROH for almost two years, I was immediately teary-eyed from the overture. The orchestra were on excellent form, and it was really lovely to be back in the house. 

 

Like others have mentioned, the acting by the corps and various background flourishes really make these performances. I loved the harlots and the playful dynamic between them, the other townspeople and the Montague trio - some lovely details playing out, which makes you think you could watch these performances hundreds of times and always notice something new. 

 

I was a bit sad not to catch the Kaneko performances, as she is a favourite of mine, but have decided to make it up by booking to see her debut as Odette / Odile. 

[Mary]

A very emotional return to ROH and to R&J for me today- and it was all a bit overwhelming- I was not the only one weeping in my row and indeed on the train home.

For Steven McRae an amazing return to the stage, to a beautiful partnership wth beautiful Sarah Lamb-  and to the role - and for me a return to my old role as loo monitor in the Amphi Ladies ( 'come in- there are 3 free cubicles to the left and 2 to the right.....')

so like coming home really....

The performers..the orchestra ...all excellent and too much to take in- but must mention James Hay.

 

Other aspects less good - for another thread.

[LinMM]

It was a couple of years ago already that I saw Hayward and Corrales in R &J and I had never enjoyed a performance of this ballet so much. I don’t know whether it was just before this couple became partners in real life or just after but there was just something SO special about that performance. But it wasnt just about their wonderful dancing in the key moments it was little extra things that looked entirely spontaneous! And of course the whole company as well. All the parts were brilliantly played and I particularly liked the combination of Corrales Sambe and Hay and LOVED Ball as Tybalt still my favourite in this role now.  The sword fighting was almost frightening with the speed of it on that occasion 😳 All these things add up to make a memorable and unique occasion. I thought then I didn’t want to see R&J ever again lol! 
However yesterday afternoon I saw another wonderful performance of this ballet with Kaneko and Bracewell. What a treat ...if you can call R&J a treat! 
I couldn’t say it was better than two years ago but certainly equalled that experience which is why I can understand Sim saying she couldn’t go again immediately that evening to see it again. When a performance has been that powerful you need to stay with it for a while or at least I do! 
I first became aware of Kaneko in a Balanchine piece when there were a lot of dancers on the stage and suddenly I saw this dancer who had a special radiance and found out that it was Fumi. So have really liked her ever since then but she was injured for a while and this was the first really dramatic role I’ve seen her in and she lived up to every possible expectation of this role for me..... I liked every bit of her interpretation one of my favourite Juliets. 
Bracewell was the lad about town turned romantic lover rather than passionate for me but some wonderful dancing from him. 
I thought Hirano was excellent as Tybalt giving him a touch of class and both Acri and Sissens ( great to see him dancing in such a role) danced with terrific energy. I did particularly like the connection in the trio of the other cast though ....just a bit more of a “band of three” I thought. 
I thought it was a nice touch too that the retirement of Nathalie Harrison was announced by Kevin O Hare before the performance .....a sigh of relief though that it wasn’t an injured dancer!! And this could have been her best performance ever as Lady Capulet!! 
The curtain calls on Saturday afternoon were very emotional as well ....Kaneko and Bracewell seemed truly grateful to each other after such intense performances and Nathalies beautiful red flowers ( it’s usually Juliet who gets most of them) Natalie proudly indicating and these are for me!! 

Just a little rather nice aside to add to the afternoon I happened to be sitting next to a friend of William Bracewells mum who had come up from Swansea to see him and so at one point got to say a quick hello to her and she seemed genuinely pleased that people have chosen to come to see her son dance! She can certainly be rightly proud of him!! 
 

[Rob S]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dawnstar]

On 23/10/2021 at 10:28, Sim said:

Acri’s interpretation keeps getting better and better.  I have to admit that I asked myself why he was promoted to First Soloist.  These performances have answered that question! 

 

I hope this isn't veering too off-topic but this comment made me think about Acri as First Soloist compared to the other male First Soloists. Has the promotion actually benefitted him much in terms of roles? Has he ever danced the lead male role in any of the major 3-act ballets? He seems to be the only male First Soloist who's not dancing any of the 4 major roles (Romeo, Albrecht, Nutcracker Prince, Prince Siegfried) this season apart from Hay, & Hay at least has Prince Florimund in his repetoire. By contrast, Bracewell gets the lead in 3 of the 4 main ballets & Clarke in all 4 (he surely should have been promoted to Principal this season purely on the basis of workload!).

 

Back to R&J, can anyone say what McRae is like as Romeo? Unsurprisingly, most of the comments about him have focused on how well he's done to recover from injury & no-one's really said what he's like in the role. Does he still come over as convincingly young enough for Romeo?

[Mary]

A very reasonable question Dawnstar.

For me the age issue is never an issue ( they all look young to me😀) and it's all acting isn't it.

I saw Steven McRae's early Romeos and his interpretation has changed. This character begins as a great show-off ( something he's pretty good at)  but then changes into someone definitely more grown-up- and conveys a very intense and deep love, a quiet but intensely strong purpose after he meets Juliet, which was then very effectively contrasted by the most aggressive sword fight with Tybalt I've seen- ( perhaps some pent-up frustration getting unleashed there?). I remember Muntagirov's reluctant fighting  (an equally valid and effective approach) which others have commented on this time round- ; by contrast, this was really angry. The despair at the end felt very raw.

 

I really liked it and he has a great rapport with Lamb so the emotion was potent.

Although my favourite Romeo of recent times is possibly Matthew Ball- I have not seen any weak Romeos for  a long time. The role can work with  different approaches can't it.

 

 

[Dawnstar]

Thank you @Mary

 

I probably should have clarified that by age I meant playing age rather than actual age. I was thinking of the last run of Manons when among the Des Grieuxs I saw were Bonelli & Bolle, both over 40. I found Bonelli convincing as the young Des Grieux but Bolle for me came over as too mature for the role. (I've booked for Bonelli's Romeo in February on the strength of his Des Grieux.)

[Anna C]

Dawnstar, I’m convinced Bonelli has a portrait in the attic.  He never seems to age!  He is a wonderful actor though; one of the very best, so I’m sure that helps.  

 

I’ve had a couple of days to digest what I saw on Saturday afternoon, so I’ll try to write coherently now, despite only having had one cup of coffee this morning.

 

Firstly, WHY isn’t William Bracewell a Principal.  His dancing is beautiful, his landings are light, he’s a superb partner, and a very fine actor already.  It seems crazy to me that he hasn’t yet been promoted, and I hope Kevin O’Hare saw both Bracewell’s performances of R&J and rectifies this oversight ASAP.

 

The chemistry between William and Fumi Kaneko is off the charts.  I haven’t felt weepy at a studio rehearsal since 2014 (?) when Bonelli and Nuñez rehearsed the final pdd from Manon.  Yet watching the balcony scene rehearsal last week on World Ballet Day had me in tears, so an even bigger thank you to the person/s unknown who returned seats for Saturday’s matinée.  

 

As soon as the lights dimmed and the beautiful rich sound of the ROH orchestra began, I felt real joy at being back.  Wonderful goings-on in the marketplace with lovely acting by the younger artists in the company.  A super trio of Harlots was led by the astonishingly versatile Kristen McNally, who was so funny, proudly lifting her skirts to show her leotard “knickers” in order to shock the more prudish members of the Verona streets. 

 

Nice to see Ryoichi Hirano onstage as Tybalt but I do prefer him as Paris; his Tybalt was vicious and supercilious but rather one-dimensional, especially when compared to the great and nuanced Tybalts of Gary Avis and Matthew Ball.  Hirano did die very well though!

 

Joseph Sissens’ acting skills have really come on since I saw him as Lensky, and he will surely develop further to have even more presence as Benvolio in future.  He and Luca Acri were a good team and I felt a good bond between them and Romeo.  

 

Christopher Saunders is my favourite Lord Capulet so far so I was pleased to see him perform as quietly terrifyingly as ever.  The lovely Nathalie Harrison didn’t quite live up to Christina Arestis’s exceptionally dramatic Lady Capulet; her grief for Tybalt was heartbreakingly sad but without the abject fury shown by Arestis.  That said, I thought Harrison more sympathetic and genuinely sad for Juliet, looking reproachfully at her Husband in his treatment of their daughter, but knowing she was powerless to stop him.  It was a different but still excellent portrayal and I will very much miss Harrison onstage.  Lovely that she got such a huge cheer at the end, with gorgeous flowers.

 

Kaneko and Bracewell - well.  What can I say that hasn’t already been said in a better and more comprehensive way by my fellow forum members.  
These two are very, very special together.  Like Cuthbertson and Bonelli, Naghdi and Ball, this is a partnership I hope to see repeated again and again.  I had tears rolling down my face during the balcony scene, full-body chills at Fumi simply sitting on the bed - honestly - and actually wept* in Act 3.  Juliet’s scream was one of the most moving and heart-rending I’ve ever witnessed.  

 

I only had one tiny “criticism” - not really a criticism, but I wished for a little bit more desperation during the bedroom PDD, rather than just deep - almost resigned? - sadness.  But that was all that was missing for me in the whole glorious 3 hours.  

 

How I wish these two had been filmed so we could relive this exceptional chemistry again and again.

 

* If you know me in person, you will know that I’m usually concentrating so hard on managing my pain at the theatre that I very rarely weep.  It should be taken as a huge compliment to the performers when my tears flow. 🤭☺️

 

[Timmie]

14 minutes ago, Anna C said:

...her grief for Tybalt was heartbreakingly sad...

 

This was probably one of the most moving moments of the afternoon for me, raw emotion.

 

And it was lovely to see Kristen McNally dancing, I’ve only seen her in character roles for a few years now.

[AnnabelCharles]

Anna C has just put into words what I wanted to say about Saturday afternoon. I think R&J is a wonderful ballet and I have enjoyed watching many other dancers, but I was moved by Fumi Kaneko and William Bracewell's performance in a way that I haven't been before. I thought it might just have been me but the unaffected grace, beauty and connection between them seemed so real and so heart breaking that it was as though I was seeing the ballet for the first time.

[JohnS]

1 hour ago, Anna C said:

It should be taken as a huge compliment to the performers when my tears flow.

I’m very sorry to hear of your pain Anna C and it’s humbling to read of your  experience of Saturday’s matinee. I’ll always remember my wife finding relief from her sciatica, which could be so debilitating, when seeing Yasmine Naghdi’s and Matthew Ball’s Romeo and Juliet debut. She found such performances transcended pain and were indeed life enhancing. With the Royal Ballet in such good form, I do hope you’ll find future performances similarly uplifting and reduce the need for such concentration on pain management.

[Anna C]

44 minutes ago, JohnS said:

I’m very sorry to hear of your pain Anna C and it’s humbling to read of your  experience of Saturday’s matinee. I’ll always remember my wife finding relief from her sciatica, which could be so debilitating, when seeing Yasmine Naghdi’s and Matthew Ball’s Romeo and Juliet debut. She found such performances transcended pain and were indeed life enhancing. With the Royal Ballet in such good form, I do hope you’ll find future performances similarly uplifting and reduce the need for such concentration on pain management.

 

That’s so kind, John, thank you.  Like your Wife, I find ballet life-enhancing and an escape from pain, especially when the marriage of music, choreography and drama all blends so seamlessly and beautifully.  It’s one of the reasons I love MacMillan’s choreography so very much; when performed wonderfully by partnerships like Bracewell and Kaneko, Romeo and Juliet are not dancing steps, they’re *being*.   I can forget all pain, both physical and emotional, and live every moment with them.  

 

It’s an expensive means of pain relief, but definitely my favourite! ☺️

[JohnS]

26 minutes ago, Anna C said:

It’s an expensive means of pain relief, but definitely my favourite!

A shame it’s not prescribed by the GP. But I hear walking is sometimes prescribed and you never know what might be possible in the future. 

[JennyTaylor]

23 hours ago, Anna C said:

It seems crazy to me that he hasn’t yet been promoted, and I hope Kevin O’Hare saw both Bracewell’s performances of R&J and rectifies this oversight ASAP.

Yes, Kevin O'Hare was there for both performances and I might just have managed to mention to him my thoughts!  Putting that aside, Bracewell was chosen as Romeo for the BalletBoyz film plus the rehearsal was chosen for World Ballet Day so that must mean he is highly regarded in this respect?  Very interesting to choose a non Principal for the film.