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I think everything on stage - sets, costumes, props, has to be made flame-retardant, regardless of whether there is an open flame or not. Given how close the cloaks sweep next to the candles (they look real to me?), I doubt they'd leave it to chance!

 

Loved Rojo and Acosta yesterday - they just seem so "right" together. I had planned to see another cast but switched out of sentimentality, and I was so pleased I did. I agree, it's hard to get McMillan's choreography out of head - the pdds don't soar quite as much, act 3 is less pacy, and the sword fights underwhelmed me a little (I thought there was space for a few more swords!). But R&J in the round feels so intimate, the music sounds magnificent, and it is wonderful to watch Tamara up close - her final scene made me a little teary-eyed. I hope her directing duties don't keep her from dancing for many more years. 

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Gosh, I'm surprised that you were underwhelmed by the sword fights. I thought that they were really exciting and realistic and benefited from having much more space than they usually do on a conventional stage. It just shows how we all see things differently. I preferred Friedemann to Carlos and I preferred the Alina/Friedemann partnership which I found much fresher and more convincing. I have to admit a preference for taller, willowy male dancers though and I like a fairly large height difference between the male and female partners. I thought that Carlos looked fractionally too small for Tamara yesterday in some of the lifts.

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I'm sorry to have missed Cojocaru-Vogel (though I think I saw Vogel's Romeo at the RAH a few years back). From the rehearsal videos on the ENB website, I can imagine how dynamic the lifts between Cojocaru and Vogel might have been. During Cojocaru's partnership with Kobborg and with other dancers, she seems to have always pushed for that extra dynamism with her partners - more height, more speed, more danger - and her small frame and long legs accentuate it all the more. :-)

 

I think only Romeo, Mercutio and Benvolio seemed to have swords, everyone else was throwing punches? I thought with more space, we'd get more swords, but I can see how it would get a bit messy in the arena and dangerous. 

 

Btw, who created Romeo alongside Rojo's Juliet?

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Ballet, at its best, is an emotional exchange.   Derek Deane’s ROMEO AND JULIET as performed by the English National Ballet at the Royal Albert Hall is just one such confabulation played out within the ‘Brigadoon’ of a whale’s mouth.  The field of our surround is made especially muscular by the haunt of Howard Harrison’s spectral lighting.  It supports the movement of Deane’s picturesque tongue; one propelling bones through the fibre of its teeth in order that the ENB performing artists – amid the dramaturgical marshalling of both dance and music – might add suitable flesh.  Each aspect skilfully frames a precisely oiled machine rolling out in the midst of a civil war.  The audience is here engaged against the shifting regimen of its watery verse.  Tides rise up from the well deployed stairwells, insisting that we too should settle within the ironic intimacy of our own imagination’s surround.  The three hour traffic of the world of this first Sunday matinee lived in a balletic circus.  It was a heady trick of many moments; a shadow play supreme.
 

It was the epoch of many moments that most profoundly cast this entirety’s spell.  Such I know would have been different for every patron depending on where they sat within defining swirl of the Royal Albert Halls’ fulsome compass.  For myself I found much to snatch:

 

I delighted in the occasion of the parent/child exchanges so vividly given in evidence here.  Unlike the Shakespeare, Deane’s audience had a chance to play witness to an early glimpse of the possessive pride that Lady Montague (so skilfully rendered by that fine choreographer, Stina Quagebeur) stole in her confidential parade aside her son.  The command of her determined smile spoke volumes.  Indeed so much so that the later reticence of Romeo’s quietude (as buried in Carlos Acosta’s soulful eyes) became entirely understandable as a humane act of outrage. 
 

On another familial hand Judith Haworth as Lady Capulet was masterful in her full rendering of the Bard’s detail.  Having herself been strapped unto a marriage of social convenience this Lady Capulet was a woman entirely motivated by internal bitterness.  She would never relent.  Her ‘old girl’ revenge – as brilliantly buoyed by Haworth - was to do unto her children as had been wrought unto her.  The pulsating sneer that passed for a grin at the forward march of Daniele Silingardi’s innocent of a Benvolio unto her daughter’s initial throng entirely encapsulated her own built-in hurt.  Haworth was never frightened of being ugly.  She was always more than courageous.  Deane wisely left her still during the turmoil of her husband’s latterly dry spin (blazingly enforced by the always brave James Streeter).  Deane knew well that this Lady Capulet could by then no longer care to force herself to propel in his name or anyone else’s.  She was crippled.  Not so of course when she alone scrambled to greet the horror of Tybalt’s death.  This had, after all, been a death wish NOT of her making.  Tybalt’s demise had been quick; her own internal violence was still drawing out.  Half of her glory having there been slaughtered, the blood stained anguish of this Lady Capulet held rightful prominence at the end of the second act even if Romeo’s exile (that which makes Shakespeare’s play in the strictly classical sense a tragedy) had not.  Whereas Juliet’s scream in the crypt would later cry shrill, that of this Lady Capulet was forced silent in the stuffing of Haworth’s riveting sublimation.  Both were blood curdling in terms of their own realisation but Haworth’s especially so due to the surprise of its blazing focus.  By the time she entered her daughter’s crypt entirely veiled (indeed hermetically sealed) she was in black mourning for herself alone, her mind now always turned at least slightly askance.  Hers would be a living death …. and Haworth was magnificent in this masterful assimilation.  Indeed it was quite the BEST balletic interpretation I have EVER seen of this role and that includes the fine work of such stellar artists as Celia Franca, Marcia Haydee, Martine van Hammel and, on one occasion with La Scala Ballet, Margot Fonteyn.     
      

It was, in fact, the supporting details that made the dilemma of the title characters all the more poignant, giving this production a wealth of flavour:  (i) Yonah Acosta - most frequently answering others with the bouffant twist of his Mercutio’s open palm (and some stellar light brises) – not only shared his jocular bonhomie with Junor Souza’s buoyant Benvolio but bravely gilded his characterisation under the light of a muse of immaturity; all but up to his final fear-fuelled seconds.  This Acosta made his audience instinctively understand that he believed such might well distract Mercutio’s world away from its class.  It didn’t.  Indeed, the very fact of that sudden loss of seeming insolence – when this Mercutio suddenly realised there could be no more flippant answers - made his finality all the more atrociously cruel; more sadistically searing.  Suddenly we ourselves were left holding his bag of his second childishness.  It stung.  (ii) When Fabian Reimair’s diehard zealot of a Tybalt slew his Mercutio it was every bit as much with the force of his protuberantly bulging eyes as with as with any rapier.   The skill of this exceptional artist enabled all to share in the slow stealth of his churn of Mercutio’s innards and to feel the gibbous pull of his birthright buried inside the meticulously slow withdrawal of his side sword.  (iii) It was every bit as much a joy to be able to behold Luke Heydon’s benevolent Friar Lawrence giving pastoral guidance to his communal flock at the opening as it was to be able to share in the charitable apportionment of his gifts within the chapel.  As in all the balance of these effects was abundantly cumulative.  (iv) Nowhere was this more so than in the handsome case of Tamarin Stott’s nurse who embodied the innocence, earthy joy and humanity of this extraordinary creature without a shred of the fussiness one can sometimes observe bunched inside the detail of such depictions.  I found it riveting to witness her discover with horror the vial of sleeping potion enwrapped in Juliet’s bed covers but minutes after it had been hastily shielded there by her charge.  Stott’s face told all.  In today’s world she might well have been a long-term contract cleaner discovering cocaine buried in the desk drawer of one her young trader managers.  Shakespeare’s line: “Were I to tell this who would believe me?” rang in my ears.  Later when Stott discovered her charge’s seemingly lifeless limbs we knew – as did she - that this was not an altogether unexpected event.  Somehow that made Lord Capulet’s cloying desperation all the more perilous.    
 

There was so much detail to revel in.  Shakespeare IS, after all is said and done, fundamentally about community and here Deane ensured that such was celebrated from the children of Verona upwards.  Even the harlots had individual identities away from the over-riding nomination of their trade.  The lightest haired of the vividly talented four (the others being Laurretta Summerscales, the ever radiant Ksenia Ovsyanick and Araminta Wraith) was one Nancy Osbaldeston.  As ever the joy of her bountiful eyes and prodigal feet flashed ripe with the urgent warmth of her generous spirit.  I pondered if this might be the last time I had the joy of watching her stand out from amongst the crowd – which she always undoubtedly does given that her charisma ensures such - before moving on to the oh, so lucky Royal Ballet of Flanders as a demi-soloist.  It will be a loss for us certainly – most especially after VERA – but then one knows that in THIS house – the ENB house that Rojo continues to so beautifully etch - there will ALWAYS be many more such joys to behold.   Rojo has already shown us that she wont let us down.  The courage of her fine taste must be cherished.   The current burgeoning ENB canvas deserves our national pride. 

 

Age itself cannot I think wither the Romeo and Juliet of Carlos Acosta and Tamara Rojo.  The rich history of their artistic heritage brings their depiction of these youths to bloom without skittishness.  For that we should all be grateful.  Nay better, through enhancing such both alone and together allows us to remember the past fruition of our own hearts. 
 

No longer ensnared by the duties that his magnificent brute force may once have en-fettered – or certainly clouded the depiction of his own theatrical soul - Carlos Acosta now both reveals and revels in a newfound and bountiful stillness.  That he plies such today with perhaps an even greater force is much appreciated.  Just as it is now easier to believe in the current rooted balcony (unlike the one that originally motored about the Albert Hall in 1998) there is now more time/space through which to feel the beat of this particular Romeo’s happy grin of approbation and sense the crease of his various passionate concerns.  Nothing is ever overstated in Acosta’s hands and yet everything looms in the aforementioned light.  His caring support of – at first -  a warmly crystalline Rosaline (the glow of Begona Cao encircling all) and then his Juliet were never – EVER - in doubt.  The generosity of such a gift serves bounteously.
 

More than one book about Rojo’s Juliet has no doubt been written.  Indeed several volumes of worthy critical praise may well have been already scrawled about just this specific undertaking such as was created for this tumescent luminary when she was but a tender 21 years of age.  I will notate but one chapter I witnessed on Sunday.  It came in the last act after Romeo had fled unto (here unacknowledged) exile and Paris – in an equal squall of bewilderment no doubt - had been well and truly ushered out for the first time.  Rojo’s Juliet – after breaking her stilted gaze from a trap of paralyzed fear – suddenly dashed ahead towards the looming primary door and struck a forward – almost contemporary - splay of fingers.  This Juliet held her youth in riveted upstage sway – or so we were left to imagine.  She did so until she turned and suddenly we saw someone quite different; the profile of a woman.  No longer a girl, here was a woman in much more certain command of the dignity of her own destiny.  In those upstage moments clearly a decision had been taken.  That was key.  As she advanced towards the head of her childhood bed (the same in which her youthful passion had only just been consummated) it was if we were privileged to watch Shirely Temple Black materialize into Audrey Hepburn;  to glimpse Gigi progress unto Jacqueline Kennedy before our very eyes.  No formal step of ballet had been taken during this revelation.  None had been needed.  This magic had revolved entirely unto itself.  It was but a force of nature.  No accompanying fireworks were required.  Like the music itself it was tremendous. 
     

Indeed the music here both literally and figuratively loomed over all as it should.   Prokofiev ruled.  He defined all space under the skilful baton of that extraordinary maestro, Gavin Sutherland.  I found myself wishing that this extraordinarily colourful orchestra – the ENB Orchestra - surely the best ballet orchestra in this country – might hold solitary sway over a deserved Prom for themselves at this same address.  What a treat that would be.
 

But then I remembered – with thanks - just how lucky I had been to celebrate the glory of this particular and very special whole during that Sunday afternoon.  I was, as all there should be, grateful.

Edited by Bruce Wall
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Off Topic:

 

It makes me quite envious when I read all these enthusiastic reviews. I wish I could just pop over to London again but for this year I’ve had my share already…

 

I know and love MacMillan’s, Cranko`s and Nureyev’s versions (I’ve never seen a Russian R+J) but I never even knew there was a R+J by Derek Deane!

 

Do you Londoners even know how lucky you are to have two fabulous companies… yes, I’m sure you do!

 

*greenwithenvy*

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Her ‘old girl’ revenge – as brilliantly buoyed by Haworth - was to do unto her children as had been wrought unto her.  The pulsating sneer that passed for a grin at the forward march of Daniele Silingardi’s innocent of a Benvolio unto her daughter’s initial throng entirely encapsulated her own built-in hurt.  Haworth was never frightened of being ugly.  

 

Sorry, a silly mistake.  Daniele Silingardi (in his first role with ENB) portrayed PARIS.  Would that I could go in and correct it.  Much thanks for your kind understanding.  

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Petunia, we Londoners are indeed fortunate because BRB, NB, SB and BB all perform in London on tour and many overseas companies come to London as well. However, the rest of the country, with some exceptions, is also well served as because all the companies with the exception of the RB (BRB is the reincarnation of that company's touring wing) tour widely each year. 

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Petunia, we Londoners are indeed fortunate because BRB, NB, SB and BB all perform in London on tour and many overseas companies come to London as well. However, the rest of the country, with some exceptions, is also well served as because all the companies with the exception of the RB (BRB is the reincarnation of that company's touring wing) tour widely each year. 

 

And now of course there is the RB electronic touring with their Opus Arte cinema relays (albeit with frequent repetitive offerings)  and sometimes tv offerings  :) be they on the BBC or Sky Arts 2.

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I have just returned home from Elena Glurdjidze’s one and only performance of Juliet at today’s matinee but, before I wax lyrical about that remarkable artist, I would like to mention a few other highlights of this afternoon’s performance. The first was the debut of Ksenia Ovsyanick as Rosaline.  Accompanied by her equally elegant quartet of friends, from the moment she appeared her naturally aristocratic bearing and grace made her perfect for Romeo’s current infatuation and I was pleased that the role of Rosaline is extended in this production so that she appears in the ballroom scene where there was a charming rapport between her and Juliet.  Also making his debut was Vitor Menezes as Benvolio.  Although he and Fernando Bufala as Mercutio did not quite measure up to Junor Souza and Yonah Acosta in the same roles, they nevertheless danced with great gusto and plenty of charm.  It was nice to see Grant Rae, a stalwart of the corps de ballet, given his chance to shine as one of Tybalt’s friends, the other being the always impressive Nathan Young.  And a word of praise for the quartet of harlots for being delightfully ‘unslutty’ goodtime girls: Laurretta Summerscales, Marize Fumero, Araminta Wraith and Nancy Osbaldeston who will be much missed when she leaves at the end of the season.  Stina Quagebeur’s brief appearance as Lady Montague also caught my eye for her perfect Renaissance posture and her ability to glide around the stage whilst conveying her hatred for the Capulets in the tilt of her chin and her blazing eyes.  Fabian Reimair’s Lord Capulet was a breath of fresh air as he convinced from his first scene with Juliet that she was the apple of his eye and his incomprehension of his beloved daughter’s rejection of the suitor he had obviously lovingly chosen for her grew into almost uncontrollable rage.  His devastation when he believes she is dead was tangible.  Daniele Silingardi impressed once again as the noble and kindly Paris.  Max Westwell as Tybalt gave a searing portrait of a hot-headed teenager spoiling for a fight and taking every opportunity to provoke one.  His final sword fight with Romeo was spine-tingling even if Romeo’s fatal blow was not entirely convincing.  Romeo was danced by Arionel Vargas who is not my idea of Shakespeare’s dreamer in love with love, being more suited to the impishness of Mercutio, but he has oodles of charm and brings a joyousness to the part which makes the love-at-first-sight moment with Juliet entirely plausible.

And so to Glurdjidze’s Juliet which incredibly was her debut in the role in this production.  Hers was a highly intelligent, beautifully thought out interpretation yet utterly spontaneous in delivery and with a youthful radiance.  She did not make the mistake of some Juliets by pretending to be a little girl in the first scene with her friends (the same lovely group of eight that I saw at the dress rehearsal) but was most definitely a carefree 13 or 14-year-old so that she was visibly flattered by the attentions of Paris.  I was lucky enough to have a view of her back when Paris first took her hand and the frisson that ran down it as she pulled her hand away in shocked delight was a master-stroke.  Considering that Glurdjidze has not danced a classical role since Christmas, her dancing was remarkable for its superbly clean technique and melting beauty and there was something about the way she moves in this particular role that reminds me of Ulanova in the classic film of Lavrovsky’s production, especially her beautiful run around the arena on her way to see Friar Lawrence.  Two other moments that particularly impressed me were in Act III.  When she dismisses the Nurse after agreeing to marry Paris, there is no anger as she almost absent-mindedly waves her away because we can see on her face she is already focussed on retrieving the phial she has hidden. Finally, when she discovers Romeo is dead, not just her face but her whole body screams with grief, making it the most heartbreaking moment of the ballet. 

Glurdjidze made her debut last night as Lady Capulet and repeats the role on Friday and Saturday evening.  I cannot wait to see what revelations she will bring to this role!

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And so to Glurdjidze’s Juliet which incredibly was her debut in the role in this production. 

 

Possibly not so incredible: would she have been on maternity leave last time around?  It's been a long time since we've seen this production.

 

Although I haven't actually seen Alina Cojocaru in this run, there were a lot of points where Glurdjidze's interpretation made me think of her (sort of mentally superimposing on her performance what I've seen Cojocaru do in the MacMillan, if you see what I mean).  Has anyone seen both of them?  Could you compare?

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Its sounds a though quite a lot of posters on here will be at Daria's farewell performance on Sunday. Please could we all try to clap her on when she makes her first entrance through the double doors at the back, surrounded by her 'friends'?

 

ENB audiences do not, alas, have a strong tradition of welcoming Principals onstage and the Albert Hall, especially, needs more than just a few of us to be 'on the case'. No doubt we shall all be cheering to the rafters at the end.

 

If you haven't already seen the Daria/Vadim cast, you are in for a treat. If you haven't bought a ticket, please try to come.

 

[i am going to put this on the Daria retirement thread as well so as to catch as many readers as possible.]

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Its sounds a though quite a lot of posters on here will be at Daria's farewell performance on Sunday. Please could we all try to clap her on when she makes her first entrance through the double doors at the back, surrounded by her 'friends'?

 

ENB audiences do not, alas, have a strong tradition of welcoming Principals onstage and the Albert Hall, especially, needs more than just a few of us to be 'on the case'. No doubt we shall all be cheering to the rafters at the end.

 

If you haven't already seen the Daria/Vadim cast, you are in for a treat. If you haven't bought a ticket, please try to come.

 

[i am going to put this on the Daria retirement thread as well so as to catch as many readers as possible.

I hope we can also do the same for Vadim's entrance! People may not realise but it does mean a lot to a dancer to have his/her entrance applauded, although I realise it is not appropriate in every ballet. But wasn't it lovely how the matinee audience, although not applauding Elena's entrance, did not sit on their hands for the rest of the performance and applauded every scene, particularly after her beautiful run round the stage!  I hope it was the same last night. 

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Me too.  I felt some of yesterday's applause was actually ill-timed and detracted from what was actually happening on stage.  But then, R&J has always been a difficult one to know when to applaud: if you do it just when the music stops, that doesn't work, and if you hold back so as not to break the narrative tension that sometimes feels niggardly.  I'm not sure I've ever got it "right", myself.

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I share Billboyd caution. I do not like applause until the end. It does break any tension created on stage when the principals "take a bow" before the next bit of the action. The end of the act is fine when followed by an interval. Indeed is there is a case in this show for some of the cast to get their applause at the end of Act 2 as the final act is mainly just the principals and two or three others, so the boys and girls of the corps and the four harlots don't get a bow at all. Hope that is not contradictory but in general no applause during the performance for me.

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[i am going to put this on the Daria retirement thread as well so as to catch as many readers as possible.]

That's where (with my personal hat on) I've added my response.

 

With my mod's hat on, I will remind posters that spamming the board (i.e. multiple postings with the intention of reaching more people) is not permitted.

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I agree that some of the applause, particularly at yesterday's matinee, has been ill-timed in the RAH run. But Juliet's entrance has become quite a traditional moment for applause and there is no dramatic tension to break.

 

Romeo enters down the central steps in this production and it is a more difficult moment to recognise.

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I'm often too engrossed in the ballet to remember to applaud; particularly in R&J. Mind you, during Nuñez and Soares' performance at the ROH I also kept forgetting to breathe. :-)

 

I will try to remember to applaud at an appropriate moment on Sunday.

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I've now seen two performances (I wanted to catch both the Acosta/Rojo and Klimentova/Muntagirov casts).  

 

I would agree with other commenters that the choreography is not the strongest point of the production - I would describe it as serviceable, i.e. it gets the job done in a production which is mainly about the epic spectacle rather than the most refined ballet movement.  I will forgive that however as the performance overall really works, and I think is very engaging for audiences who don't see much dance. 

 

Of the casts, I thought Tamara's dancing was technically better than Daria's, but overall I much preferred the Daria/Vadim partnership.  Tamara and Carlos were very good, but Daria and Vadim really sparkled - they projected their emotions throughout the whole Albert Hall!  You could tell that they have a genuinely close bond, and they brought the whole performance to life.  I wasn't the only one leaving a bit teary-eyed!

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Whereas Nureyev tried to cram too much of Shakespeare’s plot into Prokofiev’s score, Deane gives us little more than the bare bones and, with rather routine choreography, the success of his production depends on the dramatic qualities of the dancers.  To my mind, Friday night’s performance was therefore a monumental success with an absolutely superb cast.  With the dancers having to take on multiple roles throughout the run, it seems a miracle that they can switch from one to the other so easily and not confuse the choreography!  Last night we had Thursday matinee’s Mercutio as Tybalt, Tybalt as one of his friends, and Juliet as Lady Capulet, not forgetting the first night cast’s Tybalt as Lord Capulet and Benvolio and Rosaline as the star-crossed lovers. Fernando Bufala’s Tybalt was rather sketchy in comparison to Max Westwell and Fabian Reimair but he came into his own in the sword fight with Romeo.  New to me last night was the Benvolio of James Forbat, a truly elegant dancer who shone in the trios with Romeo and Mercutio and one who made a distinction between Benvolio’s gentle nature and the extrovert Mercutio of Yonah Acosta.  Also new to me was Desiree Ballantyne, taking a night off from being one of Juliet’s friends, as Lady Montague, played very much according to Shakespeare.  Here was a mother who deplored violence as much as her dreamer of a son but was prepared to face up to the more volatile Capulets with great dignity.  She is a petite dancer but proved the perfect foil to Elena Glurdjidze’s magnificent Lady Capulet.  From the moment Glurdjidze sailed onto the stage, skilfully manipulating the huge purple cloak so that it billowed around her as a statement of power, she was in complete command of the role.  In her first scene with Juliet, there was a warmth towards her but a determined lack of physical contact, leaving that to the wonderful nurse of Tamarin Stott. On the death of Tybalt, Glurdjidze did not indulge in the histrionics adopted by so many Lady Capulets but portrayed a shock and raw grief that was so real, it was heartrending.  And kudos to her for only giving the merest hint that there might be anything more to her feelings for Tybalt than familial love.  Her moment alone in the red spotlight was magical.  She carried on this portrait of a woman numb with grief throughout the scenes with Juliet and Paris so that, when she and Lord Capulet find Juliet supposedly dead her broken body spoke volumes that the sudden death of two loved ones was more than she could bear.  Sitting directly opposite the ‘plinth’ in the crypt scene last night, I noticed Fabian Reimair’s Lord Capulet plant the gentlest of kisses on Juliet’s forehead as  leaves her for the last time, a beautiful little detail I missed the previous day.

And so to the dream team of the long-limbed Junor Souza and Begoña Cao, perfectly in tune with each other both physically and temperamentally.  I have admired Souza since I had the pleasure of working on Albrecht with him four years ago during his second year in the corps de ballet.  His ability to completely absorb the character and bring a multi-layered, superbly nuanced character to life, along with his formidable dancing skills, never ceases to amaze me.  Here was Shakespeare’s Romeo, a lovestruck adolescent, and, as he made his entrance in pursuit of Rosaline (a charming debut by Madison Keesler), I was reminded of the words to the minstrel’s song in Zeffirellis’s 1960’s film:  “What is a youth? Impetuous fire!”.   He could not take his eyes off Rosaline and it was clear that he was only crashing the Capulet’s ball to be near her, following her around with his eyes fixed on her so that it seemed logical that he was not aware of Juliet until the fateful moment, perfectly timed by the couple to look like a complete accident, when their eyes met and an almost visible electric shock ran through their bodies.  London born and trained Cao made her debut as Juliet in Nureyev’s production a couple of years ago with Souza as her Romeo. With her slender legs and delicate footwork, she always reminds me of a gazelle.  Here, with less busy choreography, she can give free rein to her astonishing passion while making something truly beautiful out of the rather workmanlike pas de deux. Like Souza, once she has seen Romeo, she never takes her eyes off him and is truly bewildered by her family’s reaction.  After Romeo has been banished from the ball, she stands bewildered and unnerved by the glares of her family and reaches out for her Nurse’s hand before running off stage – only one of the beautifully conceived touches of humanity she brings to the role.  The all-too-brief marriage scene was a delight, with the couple barely able to keep their hands off each other (a very nice touch was Romeo crossing himself as he entered the ‘chapel’) and rushing back to each other after they have been gently prised apart by Friar Lawrence and the Nurse.  It is this Romeo, drunk on love, who returns to the marketplace and Souza makes much of not wanting to fight Tybalt, as Shakespeare directs.  Even after Mercutio has been killed and the crowd urges Romeo to avenge him, Souza takes up the sword unwillingly and fights with a visible numbness until anger finally overtakes him and he stabs Tybalt in the most uncontrived manner that I have seen so far in this production.  The following bedroom pas de deux is full of tenderness and regret with Cao at her most passionate in trying to prevent him from leaving her.  The following scene with her family and Paris was heartrending and her run around the arena on her way to Friar Lawrence was breathtaking.  She also managed to make something very moving out of the awkward choreography before she takes the potion and her physical pain as it takes effect was beautifully judged.  As if we had not been put through the emotional wringer enough, when Romeo finds her body in the crypt he makes sense of manipulating it as if trying to bring her back to life rather than dancing with a corpse as it so often appears. It was enough to reduce even the hardest heart to a blubbering wreck. Like Glurdjidze yesterday, when Cao discovers Romeo is dead, her whole body screamed with grief and, while the production dictates that she must stab herself away from the plinth and then crawl back to it, she did this in such an understated way that it looked completely natural, as did her very gentle collapse onto Romeo, bringing this performance to an end with the audience stunned into silence.  The applause and cheering thereafter was tumultuous and richly deserved.

It is sad that three of the company’s loveliest ballerinas have only been given one performance each as Juliet but it certainly brings an extra frisson of expectation which both Glurdjidze and Cao rose to, as no doubt will Takahashi this afternoon whose performance sadly I cannot attend.      

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I haven't skill to write at length as Bruce Wall and Irmgard have above but I wanted to record that there was another beautiful interpretation of Juliet this afternoon from Erina Takahashi.

 

Longish runs of the same show like this certainly display the strength of ENB's dancers to the full - 7 different lead couples in the space of 11 days and all of them outstanding.

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Did anyone else see Wednesday night's performance (Souza and Oliveira)? I am better informed on the doing dance side of things than the viewing side (through lack of opportunity rather than choice!) but from a layman's perspective on all matters except technique, I was suitably impressed by Souza's Romeo debut. Any further thoughts?

 

Wish I'd been able to see the Rojo/Acosta and Klimentova/Muntagirov casts. And just maybe the others to compare!

 

Edited to add last line

Edited by FullContretemps
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For my third visit this week (Saturday night), I was sitting in the fourth row of the Stalls and, although people around me experiencing it for the first time loved being so close, I did find it irritating to have my view of various crucial moments obscured by townsfolk and guests.  There were times when I would have loved to have asked them to move out the way!  Also, on my fourth viewing of this production, the deficiencies in the choreography of the street scenes in particular are becoming more apparent. Sadly, for this production it is easy to spot the dancers who have been brought in to swell the numbers as most of them are just not up to the standard of the company dancers and do tend to indulge in my pet hate, superfluous arm gestures. However, being so close did have the advantage of feeling the full force of Lady Capulet’s grief at Tybalt’s death –another magnificent performance by Elena Glurdjidze.  The rest of the main cast was almost the same as Friday night with the exception of that night’s Juliet, Begoña Cao, giving us another immaculate Rosaline and Saturday afternoon’s Romeo, Arionel Vargas, as, surprisingly for him, a rather charmless Paris.

Saturday night was Brazilian night at the ballet with compatriots Junor Souza and Fernanda Oliveira in the title roles.  Souza, amazingly fresh after his performance on Friday night, once again gave a passionate account of the role and was completely unfazed by his two Juliets being onstage at the same time in the ballroom scene. Oliveira’s is a completely innocent and tentative Juliet who does not instinctively know how to react to the sudden male attention from both Paris and Romeo.  Although mesmerised by Romeo, she is clearly bewildered by the awakening of her emotions.  In the balcony scene, she longs to see him and yet is unsure of him.  Every time he touches her is a delicious surprise for her, running through her whole body, and most of all her extremely expressive face, until she completely yields and the second half of the pas de deux takes on a reckless abandon which was breathtaking to watch.  Oliveira is a dancer who knows how to rack up the tension which she gradually builds during the scene with Paris and her parents to an unbearable level which is broken only by her exquisite run around the arena where she seems literally to fly to Friar Lawrence.  The second scene where she finally capitulates is even more unbearable as every time Paris lifts her, she pleads with her father not to let this happen. The reactions of the Nurse (Tamarin Stott), Capulet (Fabian Reimair) and Lady Capulet are masterful.  Oliveira puts her own stamp on Deane’s awkward choreography before taking the potion, with a mixture of rage and anguish.  In the crypt scene, Souza again pulls at the heartstrings as he tries to revive his beloved and then clasps her to him as he takes the poison.  Oliveira, who gives the most believable awakening yet as she tries to shake off the effects of the potion, is unforgettable as she realises Romeo is dead and we actually see her shock and pain as she stabs herself and then stumbles back to die by his side.  Another outstanding performance from ENB, richly deserving the tumultuous applause that followed.

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I didn't see Souza on Wenesday evening but I saw him on Friday evening dancing with Begona Cao. His dancing was beautiful and his partnering was smooth and I thought that he and Begona made a lovely couple. He came across as very young and boyish; he is young, of course, but is not a teenager. Interestingly, in the last scene he dropped his cape before running past the candles. I don't know whether it was something to do with where I was sitting but the lighting seemed different on Friday night. There seemed to be a sort of haze near the orchestra early on and at one of the standoffs between the two families the arena was quite dark with two squares of light at either end. I didn't think that the fights were quite as exciting as at previous performances; Yonah didn't jump off the bench but vaulted over it. Bufala was not as menacing as Max and Fabian as Tybalt. I much preferred him as Mercutio. It was pretty steamy in the RAH on Friday and so it will probably be like an oven this afternoon. On Friday you could see the sweat flying off Souza and after one of the intervals one of the stage hands came on and mopped up what appeared to be some pools of water. Btw, I don't think that anyone has mentioned it: Begona had loads of flowers thrown onto the 'stage' for her and she and Souza received huge applause. I'm looking forward to Daria and Vadim this afternoon.

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A big 'thank you' to everyone who contributed towards the two big yellow baskets of flowers presented to Daria today from people in the audience. For those too far away to read the plaques, they were on both sides of each basket and said, variously, "thank you", "goodbye", "with love" and "good luck" "from all your fans".

 

After an emotion-charged performance and massive cheers, flowers were thrown from the aisles by members of the company and Juliet's 'friends', Rosaline's 'friends' and Harlots (not in costume) came down the central aisle with a long procession of individual bouquets; four others carried 'our' baskets on. Having received them all, Daria took off her pointe shoes and threw them into the audience to even louder cheers.

 

An afternoon to remember and a lovely send-off for Daria.

 

Now that this splendid R & J run is over, I will try to write a 'retrospective' sometime soon.

Edited by capybara
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Well, what an unforgettable afternoon at the Royal Albert Hall!  Before talking about the extraordinary Daria Klimentova and Vadim Muntagirov, I would like to pay tribute to all the other dancers who helped to make it such a special event. As well as people I have already mentioned in other posts, I was delighted to see Alison McWhinney as a charming Rosaline, James Forbat as a warm and dignified Paris, and Anton Lokovkin who must have been born to dance the mercurial Mercutio.  There was also the endearing Nurse of Amber Hunt who shed real tears at the discovery of Juliet’s body, as did the lovely set of Friends, including Nancy Osbaldeston making her last appearance with ENB.  Stina Quagebeur’s Lady Capulet was the epitome of aristocratic elegance, full of repressed emotions to which she gave way like a dam-burst over the body of Tybalt, played to perfection with a lethal combination of arrogance and hotheadedness by James Streeter.  His swordfight with Romeo was the most exciting I have seen all week. 

And so to the golden couple:  Muntagirov was a genial, lovable Romeo provoked beyond endurance by the murder of Mercutio when that lovely, smiling face of his turned into an almighty thundercloud as he slashed at Tybalt with his sword, perilously close to those in the front row!  It goes without saying that his dancing was superb in every way.  Klimentova’s Juliet was eternally youthful, radiant and refreshingly honest like the lady herself.  How wonderful to see her leave her audience with this unforgettable image of an artist at the peak of perfection.  For me, the bedroom pas de deux seemed to sum up the afternoon.  It was not full of overt passion, as might have been expected, but loaded with sadness and an inevitability that Romeo must leave his Juliet as art imitated life, and all the more moving for that. 

Then came the company’s personal tribute to Klimentova.  The dancers themselves had insisted that they present the flowers and perform the flower shower for her and it was fitting that the first bouquet was presented by ballerina Erina Takahashi, herself celebrating 18 years with the company, joining in 1996 like Klimentova.  Juliet’s friends brought on baskets brimming with flowers (thanks to Capybara for organising these from Daria’s fans in the audience) and then a long line of dancers presented further bouquets to her, all receiving one of Daria’s special bearhugs.  Even the orchestra, who have played so magnificently throughout the season in their extremely widespread ‘pit’ on different levels, got in on the act and showered her with flowers from above while more dancers tossed flowers from the sides of the arena.  It was typical of Daria to remove her pointe shoes with a huge sigh of relief and toss them into the audience.  Happily she still has some galas to perform in the coming months but sadly none in England.  Tributes to Daria from company dancers past and present started appearing on Facebook first thing this morning and continue to be posted, showing how cherished she is by all who have had the pleasure and privilege to work with her, me included.

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I went this afternoon and am still feeling completely blown away. Surely this was one of the most definitive performances of R&J ever. Daria and Vadim hit incredible heights. I felt the choreography lent itself to even more emotion, and knowing the McMillan ballet so well, I preferred both main pdds and the death scene to his version. Never did I think I would utter this heresy.  Of course, in the round there is so much more to see and more capacity for extended movement. which adds to the drama, but Daria could not have had a better final performance. It was the stuff of dreams. Loved Mercutio and Benvolio, loved everything really.  

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