NEWS - Laura Morera to retire as Principal dancer of The Royal Ballet after 27 years

[MildConcern]

Terribly sad news but wishing Laura the best for the future! Her Tatiana in Onegin will always stay with me.

 

Morera's final performance on the Royal Opera House stage will be on Saturday 17th June in Kenneth MacMillan’s Anastasia Act III. She will also perform on The Royal Ballet’s tour to Japan in Frederick Ashton’s A Month in the Country with final performances at the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan on Sunday 25th June and at the City Cultural and Convention Centre in Himeji on Saturday 8th July.

 

Morera will return to stage and coach repertory for the Company, including overseeing the ballets of Kenneth MacMillan for the MacMillan Estate.

Laura Morera is regarded as one of the leading female dancers of her generation and during her career has distinguished herself across the full range of the Company’s repertory, particularly excelling as a dance-actor. She is a celebrated exponent of Frederick Ashton and Kenneth MacMillan ballets and has created numerous works with some of the world’s leading choreographers including Liam Scarlett, Christopher Wheeldon and Ashley Page.

 

Director of The Royal Ballet, Kevin O’Hare, comments:

 

‘Laura has enjoyed a remarkable career with The Royal Ballet for almost three decades and it is hard to think of any part of our repertory that she hasn’t enriched. Her fantastic facility across different styles has made her a wonderful fit for both classical and modern repertory, and the vivid theatrical qualities that infuse her every performance have been an inspiration for choreographers. Among her many striking roles, we shall remember the lyricism of pure dance in Asphodel Meadows and Viscera; her wit and technical mastery as Lise in La Fille mal gardée; her speed and attack in Chroma; and her dramatic presence, by turns outrageously funny as the Queen of Hearts in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and in The Concert and powerfully moving as Giselle, Manon, Mary Vetsera in Mayerling and Elizabeth Lavenza in Frankenstein. Beyond her final performances at the end of the Season, I am thrilled that Laura will return to the Company across the coaching and staging of various productions, bringing her artistry to the next generation of performers. Having valued working with Laura in this capacity, I know this augurs well for the future of The Royal Ballet.’

 

Lady MacMillan says, ‘I am absolutely delighted that Laura has agreed to take on the responsibility of the MacMillan ballets in the repertory of The Royal Ballet. She is a consummate MacMillan dancer, is prodigiously musical, and has performed almost all the female roles. She knows that every role, however small, is a vital and integral part of the whole. She completely understands the “ensemble” heart of Kenneth’s work. I have watched her performances with pleasure and her generosity in helping younger dancers understand the work.’

 

Morera comments, ‘From the moment I first performed with The Royal Ballet in Swan Lake aged 12, I saw how great and deeply moving this art form could be and fell in love with the Company and the British style. I knew then that this was where I wanted to develop as an artist. I feel grateful to have worked with so many incredible individuals throughout my career who are not only great at their craft but who have shown me such kindness, love and support during the more challenging times. I have loved every moment of the journey. This next move will provide more freedom to pursue other passions of mine, from completing artistic projects close to my heart to working closely with dancers on the MacMillan, Ashton and Scarlett repertoire. I am also excited about creating a system of support with the unique approach I used throughout my career with the hope to create positive change for the lives of dancers and for the industry itself. I will miss everything about performing at the Royal Opera House but am excited about the next stage in my life. Thank you everyone on both sides of the curtain for the love and support you have shown me throughout the years, and thank you Kevin O‘Hare for so much, for allowing me to retire with such dignity and welcoming me back to continue my work as a coach in this company that I love so much.’

 

Morera was born in Madrid and trained locally before joining The Royal Ballet School aged 11. She joined The Royal Ballet in 1995 and was promoted to Principal dancer in 2007. During her long career with the Company she performed numerous roles across a multitude of ballets, including 19th-century classics and works by Frederick Ashton, George Balanchine, Kim Brandstrup, Mikhail Fokine, William Forsythe, Kenneth MacMillan, Cathy Marston, Wayne McGregor, Ashley Page, Jerome Robbins, Liam Scarlett, Twyla Tharp, Will Tuckett and Christopher Wheeldon.

 

Her classical repertory includes the title role in Giselle, Swanilda in Coppélia, Effie in La Sylphide, the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Gamzatti in La Bayadère and Kitri in Don Quixote. She performed lead roles in many Frederick Ashton ballets, including Rhapsody, Symphonic Variations, Titania in The Dream, the Gypsy Girl in The Two Pigeons, Natalia Petrovna in A Month in the Country and Lise in La Fille mal gardée for which she won the Critics’ Circle National Dance Award in 2015. Her dramatic prowess came to the fore as Tatiana in Cranko’s Onegin and in MacMillan ballets including Manon, Mayerling, Las Hermanas, Winter Dreams and Anastasia.

 

She created many roles in ballets including Room of Cooks for Ashley Page, Puirt-a-beul for Will Tuckett, Rushes – Fragments of a Lost Story for Kim Brandstrup, Qualia for Wayne McGregor, Asphodel Meadows, Hansel and Gretel, Sweet Violets, The Age of Anxiety and Frankenstein for Liam Scarlett, Tryst and, most recently, Mama Elena in Like Water for Chocolate for Christopher Wheeldon.

[zxDaveM]

I suppose that news had to come eventually, still sad though. Good to hear that Laura will be passing on all that skill and understanding to her successors, so all not lost...

[J_New]

Very sad to hear this but as Dave says, good news that she will still be part of the RB. I will miss her on stage - I’ll not forget her stunning performances with Bonelli in Onegin and Mayerling. 

[bridiem]

So sad to hear this - I'd hoped we might have one more season with her. She's an amazing dancer, and someone in whom technique, acting and musicality are seamlessly blended to thrilling artistic effect. I'm so glad that she will continue working with the dancers who can only benefit from such talent. (I'm also slightly peeved in that I will now have to book for the Anastasia triple bill! I was glad to give it a miss; but not now.)

[capybara]

The last performance of this RB season, Laura being cast as Cinderella and the insight featuring her tonight were all signals that she would retire from the stage in 2023.

But all the more regrettable therefore that her Natalia Petrovna in Month last spring (with Vadim) was not filmed.

(Ditto her performances with Bonelli as already mentioned above.)

[Geoff]

Perhaps this is an appropriate moment for a personal story I have told here before? Some five or so years ago I had cause to discuss the current era of the Royal Ballet with Clement Crisp (he was not overly positive). When I asked him for his particular favourites among those in the company he thought for a while and then picked just one name, Laura Morera: “she has everything”, he said.

[Bruce Wall]

Here gifts given have been as spontaneously monumental as they have been bright .... and to hear her speak in an interview session is to feel laughter from the soul.  A rare breed in need not only of celebration but cherishing.   May her example live on in the hearts of all who have the privilege to remember.  

[PatC]

Inevitable once Anastasia was announced - the last sight will be her on a bed aimlessly moving around the stage - yes it’s  a great dramatic role but it’s a shame she could not have a more pleasing ‘end of a career vision.’

[J_New]

1 minute ago, PatC said:

Inevitable once Anastasia was announced - the last sight will be her on a bed aimlessly moving around the stage - yes it’s  a great dramatic role but it’s a shame she could not have a more pleasing ‘end of a career vision.’

I agree - I wasn't going to go to this - I really dislike it - but will now have to. I can't miss her last performance, even if it is such a non-uplifting end to a stellar career ....

[Sim]

7 minutes ago, J_New said:

I agree - I wasn't going to go to this - I really dislike it - but will now have to. I can't miss her last performance, even if it is such a non-uplifting end to a stellar career ....

I will go too....most probably sit in the bar for the first two pieces and then pay my respects to this most wonderful dancer.  I still think that she was underused throughout her career but am so happy that she will be imparting her vast knowledge on to the generations to come.  

[alison]

I suspected this was going to be the case, and deliberately bought tickets for her last performances, but am very sorry to have it confirmed  

[J_New]

45 minutes ago, Sim said:

I will go too....most probably sit in the bar for the first two pieces and then pay my respects to this most wonderful dancer.  I still think that she was underused throughout her career but am so happy that she will be imparting her vast knowledge on to the generations to come.  

Oh no - I've just realised that I'll be away for her last performance - so Sim, you'll have to have a drink in the bar for me!! I agree with you that she's been underused, but I do so value my memories of her very special performances. A unique dancer!

[Naomi M]

So Laura’s very last performance will be in the Japan tour, A Month in the Country, in Himeji. (Which is quite far from Tokyo so I don’t think I will see that but I will see her in this role in the Tokyo gala performance A Month in the Country) 

[Sim]

32 minutes ago, J_New said:

Oh no - I've just realised that I'll be away for her last performance - so Sim, you'll have to have a drink in the bar for me!! I agree with you that she's been underused, but I do so value my memories of her very special performances. A unique dancer!

It will be my pleasure, Jackie, although I'm sad you can't be there. 

[Emeralds]

Sob! I will miss Laura, who has become such an incredible dance actress and makes every role she dances unforgettable. And...to this day, remains the only dancer that I have never ever seen wobbling or falling off pirouettes, fouettes, jumps....or anything. She is a phenomenon. (I hope I haven’t jinxed her by saying that! But am sure she knows how to rescue it any potential wobble and fix it. One day I must ask her how she does it. 😊 I have seen everyone else succumb at some point, but not her.)

 

A pity they aren’t presenting the full length Anastasia instead of the one act version. She has danced the title role in the full version, and it would have been great for her to have her farewell performance with that.

Edited February 9, 2023 by Emeralds

[Chiari]

It's very sad but expected. I congratulate on an incredible career and I'm so happy she will continue to work with RB! 

I'm also very happy she will receive a warm farewell from both the UK and Japanese publics

[Emeralds]

On the ROH website, only the first 2 shows of the Anastasia triple bill has been cast.....Laura first night, Natalia second. Does anyone else have the rest of the casting for the remaining performances? (Eg Friends mailing list, etc). I presume last night of the season might be Laura’s?

[alison]

It was three performances each, IIRC - hence my earlier comment about why they hadn't provided a third cast with Cuthbertson being unavailable.  I hope Morera has the last night.  Is it being broadcast?  We might actually get her Act III if so - which would be better than nothing.

[JNC]

Does anyone know if (principal) dancers retiring have a bit of say in what their last performance is?

 

I think in Paris they do give etoiles a bit of choice over their retirement performance?

 

I haven’t seen Anastasia in any form but imagine it’s not my thing, I agree it’s a shame her retirement performance couldn’t be something like Giselle, Mayerling or an Ashton work (Lise!). I may have to see the mixed bill now, although imagine her final performance will be a scramble for tickets so perhaps will go for an earlier one. 
 

did she ever dance Odile/Odette? Given swan lake is namechecked as her first performance (but obviously not as lead if she was 12!) 

 

 

[Emeralds]

7 minutes ago, JNC said:

Does anyone know if (principal) dancers retiring have a bit of say in what their last performance is?

 

I think in Paris they do give etoiles a bit of choice over their retirement performance?

 

I haven’t seen Anastasia in any form but imagine it’s not my thing, I agree it’s a shame her retirement performance couldn’t be something like Giselle, Mayerling or an Ashton work (Lise!). I may have to see the mixed bill now, although imagine her final performance will be a scramble for tickets so perhaps will go for an earlier one. 
 

did she ever dance Odile/Odette? Given swan lake is namechecked as her first performance (but obviously not as lead if she was 12!) 

 

 

Darcey Bussell said she was allowed to choose, and was actually offered a full length ballet, but said she would prefer Song of the Earth. I think they get to choose when and which ballet, provided they’re offered the role, but they can’t ask that a specific ballet is programmed just for them, if you know what I mean. As far as I know (am 95% certain as I missed a few seasons) she didn’t dance Odette/Odile, at least not with RB.

 

I loved her Lise too-one of the best of all time. Her most incredible role....the Wife in The Concert! The looks she gave the Husband and every other character! She has us literally rolling about laughing. Or the Queen in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.......😂😂😂

Edited February 9, 2023 by Emeralds

[Emeralds]

Just checked- ah yes, 17 June, as per the announcement, is indeed the last show of the RB season at ROH and hence Laura gets last night, even if the website does not say it at the moment.

[bangorballetboy]

33 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

On the ROH website, only the first 2 shows of the Anastasia triple bill has been cast.....Laura first night, Natalia second. Does anyone else have the rest of the casting for the remaining performances? (Eg Friends mailing list, etc). I presume last night of the season might be Laura’s?

 

See the casting thread.

[zxDaveM]

3 hours ago, J_New said:

I agree - I wasn't going to go to this - I really dislike it - but will now have to. I can't miss her last performance, even if it is such a non-uplifting end to a stellar career ....

 

ditto in every respect!

[Blossom]

I did wonder when tonight’s event went in the ROH schedule. I am so sad that I couldn’t make it but tonight was always going to be impossible. I can’t make her Cinderella performance either. 

[JohnS]

A personal note if I may. When my wife Lynn died quite unexpectedly in 2017, one of the many things requiring my decision was what to do with her jewellery. It struck me that Lynn would have liked her favourite dancers to have some of her jewellery as we’d occasionally leave gifts at the Stage Door, particularly when up and coming dancers were multi tasking, taking on many roles during a major run. I put together some small gifts of Lynn’s jewellery for the start of the new season. For Laura it had to be Lynn’s pearls. A few months later Laura was dancing Masha and she let me know she’d be wearing the pearl earrings on stage. An astonishing gesture which I found extremely touching and I was delighted to be able to see her second performance albeit through rather teary eyes.

 

Laura: not only the consummate ballerina but one of the kindest, most generous people I’ve met, surely the most lustrous of pearls.

[Meetmeatthebarre]

10 minutes ago, JohnS said:

A personal note if I may. When my wife Lynn died quite unexpectedly in 2017, one of the many things requiring my decision was what to do with her jewellery. It struck me that Lynn would have liked her favourite dancers to have some of her jewellery as we’d occasionally leave gifts at the Stage Door, particularly when up and coming dancers were multi tasking, taking on many roles during a major run. I put together some small gifts of Lynn’s jewellery for the start of the new season. For Laura it had to be Lynn’s pearls. A few months later Laura was dancing Masha and she let me know she’d be wearing the pearl earrings on stage. An astonishing gesture which I found extremely touching and I was delighted to be able to see her second performance albeit through rather teary eyes.

 

Laura: not only the consummate ballerina but one of the kindest, most generous people I’ve met, surely the most lustrous of pearls.

What a lovely story, JohnS. I'm sorry for your loss. 

 

I had thought that this morning's announcement was perhaps timed to avoid speculation/questions at tonight's Insight (which I am gutted to not have been able to attend). 

It was just over ten years ago when I was converted into an uber-fan after her Tatiana and vowed never to overlook her on casts lists again. And I've appreciated the interpretation she has brought to everything I've seen since. I'm glad her final company performance will be in Month, though sad that I won't be there in Japan. I've double-booked for her Cinderella, however, and will fight high waters to be at her final Anastasia. 

[bridiem]

45 minutes ago, JohnS said:

A personal note if I may. When my wife Lynn died quite unexpectedly in 2017, one of the many things requiring my decision was what to do with her jewellery. It struck me that Lynn would have liked her favourite dancers to have some of her jewellery as we’d occasionally leave gifts at the Stage Door, particularly when up and coming dancers were multi tasking, taking on many roles during a major run. I put together some small gifts of Lynn’s jewellery for the start of the new season. For Laura it had to be Lynn’s pearls. A few months later Laura was dancing Masha and she let me know she’d be wearing the pearl earrings on stage. An astonishing gesture which I found extremely touching and I was delighted to be able to see her second performance albeit through rather teary eyes.

 

Laura: not only the consummate ballerina but one of the kindest, most generous people I’ve met, surely the most lustrous of pearls.

 

How absolutely wonderful.

[Dawnstar]

9 hours ago, PatC said:

Inevitable once Anastasia was announced - the last sight will be her on a bed aimlessly moving around the stage - yes it’s  a great dramatic role but it’s a shame she could not have a more pleasing ‘end of a career vision.’

 

Is Anastasia Act III the one where she's in a lunatic asylum? I've never seen the ballet & am not at all familiar with it. I was planning to skip the triple bill but I guess now I'll be joining in what will now probably be a major scrum for tickets. The ROH has ensured they're going to sell out one performance of a modern mixed bill!

 

I'm very sorry, though not at all surprised, to read the announcement of Morera's retirement. I am now kicking myself all over again for not managing to see her as Mary Vetsera earlier this season. I also regret having started seeing the RB live too late to see her as Tatiana or Lise. Oh well, I suppose I should be glad that I've managed to see her in 11 ballets in the last few years.

[jmhopton]

I'm afraid I can't face seeing the last act of Anastasia even for Laura's farewell so my final memory of her will be dancing Cinderella.  However, I suspect my most enduring memories of her will be In Mayerling with Bonelli and Month in the Country with Vadim.  Why those amazing, searing, heartbreaking performances were never filmed I can't imagine. A terrible shame. An irreplaceable artist we will all miss so much, though it's good to know she will live on in the RB,  imparting her valuable knowledge to the next generation of dancers.

[balletfanatic]

Did Laura ever dance juliet? I can't see it listed as one of her roles. What a shame if not 

[Sim]

No.  A real shame.  I never understood why.  

[Fonty]

Noooooooo!  I am so upset, she was my first choice for just about everything.  I knew it had to be coming relatively soon, I was hoping she  would have one more complete season and retire next year.  In the meantime I will cherish the memory of her delightful Swanhilda, her genuinely funny performances in the Concert, and above all her last Giselle with Bonelli.  That in particular displayed technical brilliance from both dancers, and showcased her superb dramatic gifts.  She was that very rare dancer, one who has the ability to perform both tragic and comic roles and be fantastic in both.  And so musical as well. 

 

Thanks Laura.  It has been a pleasure to watch you. 

 

 

[Odyssey]

I can only recall two filmed performance - Elizabeth in Frankenstein and Chroma.  I think her Queen of Hearts may have also  been  streamed, but others here will be better informed. What a travesty that so many of her unique interpretations of major roles will apparently be lost to future generations. A remarkable performer.