The Birmingham Royal Ballet’s short season at Sadler’s Wells this week included performances of Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s modern classic, Romeo and Juliet.
On the opening night, Momoko Hirata was an eloquent Juliet, changing swiftly from a child playing with her doll to young woman swept away by love. The petite Hirata has the advantage of looking exceptionally young, and Cesar Morales – an ardent Romeo – had no trouble with any of the exacting lifts in all the pas de deux, as Hirata is obviously extremely light. Both dancers brought a real passion to their roles.
MacMillan’s choreography does not rely on mime to move the story along, but, in a few economic movements, he explains a lot. How telling is the moment when the Nurse places her hands on Juliet’s burgeoning breasts to illustrate that the young girl is growing up and must put aside her dolls; and when Juliet is contemplating what to do when faced with marriage to Paris, she just sits on her bed as Prokofiev’s wonderful music soars around her – a choreographic case of less is more. (Was there ever a more moving ballet score? The Royal Ballet Sinfonia, under Paul Murphy, played with passion, leaving me in tears during the final scene.)
At the performance I saw, Maureya Lebowitz led the harlots with a feisty performance and exceptionally speedy footwork – the eye is constantly drawn to her. Tzu-Chao Chou was a swift and witty Mercutio and Rory Mackay was an icy, very masculine Tybalt (this role needs a dancer with a strong physical presence, and Mackay certainly fits the bill).
Choreographically, the ballet is identical to the version performed by its sister company at Covent Garden, but this one has designs by Paul Andrews more suited to the smaller stages on which the BRB often performs.
The costumes are beautiful – at times it is like watching a Renaissance painting come to life. My only quibble is the strange outfits for the Mandolin dance – the dancers look like creatures from a colourful Yeti convention and are the only off note in what is otherwise a wonderful evening.
If you missed the opportunity to catch the London performances, there is still plenty of time to see it, as it will be danced in Birmingham later this month.
Romeo and Juliet will be performed at the Birmingham Hippodrome from 26 – 30 June. Click here for details.
