****
Royal Opera House

Creating a ballet out of a literary work can always be a challenge – how do you transform a complicated narrative where words take the reader on a journey, into choreography which must do the same job, but entertain the audience in an entirely different way? Christopher Wheeldon succeeded in his Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and The Winter’s Tale, and now he has turned to Laura Esquivel’s modern Mexican classic, Like Water for Chocolate.

Wheeldon worked closely with Esquivel to bring her magical story to the stage. He has also reunited with composer Joby Talbot and designer Bob Crowley who collaborated with him on the previous full-length ballets to create a ballet which is rich in drama but short on dance.

The story is complex – you must read the detailed programme notes to have an idea of what is going on – and concerns the forbidden love of Tita and Pedro. Instead of marrying, Tita is doomed to follow the family tradition and care for her mother until she dies. When Pedro is betrothed to another, Tita’s emotions spill over into her cooking, tainting anything she prepares.

At times, Wheeldon strays far from the usual vocabulary of classical ballet: legs and arms contort in sharp angles through grief and rage, feet flex in anguish, backs arch in sexual ecstasy. (This is a ballet definitely not for the under-12s.)

The cast is outstanding, with Laura Morera as the cold and controlling Mama Elena (and we find out why she is like that in a powerfully moving scene), and Anna Rose O’Sullivan as Tita’s sister, overcome with lust thanks to Tita’s food. Stripping down to a sparkly leotard which leaves little to the imagination, she lights up the stage with erotic moves – a far cry from her Odette danced earlier this season.

There is a strong feeling of magic and spirituality throughout the ballet, with ghosts making appearances and influencing the living characters. At one point, I was reminded of Fruma Sarah from the dream sequence in Fiddler on the Roof, when a large spectre looms across the stage.

On opening night, the role of Tita was beautifully danced by Francesca Hayward, with Marcelino Sambe as her beloved Pedro. Their pas de deux were touching but too short; only in the final duet does their passion catch fire (literally). It is an astonishing and extraordinary end to a powerful ballet.

The orchestra was conducted by Mexican Alondra de la Parra who ensured an authentic flavour to Talbot’s score and Crowley’s minimalist designs cleverly managed to evoke the heat and light of Mexico.

Like Water for Chocolate is at the Royal Opera House until 17 June