An atmosphere of celebration pervaded the Royal Opera House for the opening night of ‘Marianela – Timeless’, an evening curated by The Royal Ballet’s reigning ballerina, Marianela Nuñez, who, at the age of 44 and after 28 years with the company, shows no sign of slowing down. It was an exhausting evening for her, given that she appeared in no fewer than four of the pieces presented, including two demanding pas de deux showstoppers. She was surrounded by friends, not least among whom four dance partners with whom she has given some wondrous performances. As an evening, it recalled the ‘good old days’ at Covent Garden, a truly generous evening of a pleasing variety of works, Director Kevin O’Hare, please note. Yet, as an evening at the ballet, it stood close inspection; this was most definitely not the time to suspend critical faculties, given that we were seeing the cream of The Royal Ballet.
Jerome Robbins’ 1970 In the Night bears many similarities to his Dances at a Gathering (thankfully returning to Covent Garden in the autumn), but its focus is a little less wide-angled, presenting three contrasting couples at differing stages of their relationships. It is a finely conceived work of exceptional fluency and lyricism, and the sextet assembled did the choreography proud, with perhaps the ‘youthful’ pairing of Fumi Kaneko and Vadim Muntagirov just taking the laurels. Nuñez herself took the passionate third duet, most ably partnered by Matthew Ball. With four Chopin nocturnes rising from the pit, and the stage background of a starry night, all was well in the ballet world.
There followed five pas de deux, all linked to the ballerina, and mostly expertly danced. The stand-out was a seamless performance of a duet from Christopher Wheeldon’s 2005 After the Rain, Lukas B. Brændsrød alongside a seemingly weightless Fumi Kaneko. The coordination of their movements, their shared musicality and impeccable lines made for a performance during which a silent Opera House held its collective breath. Calvin Richardson and Akane Takada made much of a duet from Wayne McGregor’s generally dislikable 2008 work Infra, while Mayara Magri and Matthew Ball emoted powerfully in an excerpt from Kenneth MacMillan’s ever-present 1965 Romeo and Juliet. The two show-off pas de deux which bookended this section were both well danced, although a nagging thought that the princely Muntagirov would have been an even better fit in the Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, while the fizzing Patricio Revé would have been ideal for the virtuoso pyrotechnics of Le Corsaire pas de deux, could not be dispelled. Nuñez appeared in both, and was her cool, confident self, although it was perhaps here that one caught sight of the effort needed to achieve the dazzling effects.
To close, a performance of Frederick Ashton’s romantically unbridled Marguerite and Armand from 1963, perhaps the most famous vehicle made for the ballet partnership of Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev. No-one else danced the title roles until a decision was made in 2000 to revive it; since then, several ballerinas have measured themselves against Margot, several men against Nureyev. Some have come close, perhaps the most successful assumption being that of the great Tamara Rojo alongside an explosive Sergei Polunin, then at the height of his extraordinary talents. Nuñez is not in her league, but she gave a faithful and sincere performance even if she lacks that last degree of ‘spontaneous artificiality’ which characterised Fonteyn in all her roles – the conceit of ballet and all its rules and conventions simply fell away for her, making her movements seem as natural as taking breath. Nuñez was, however, particularly affecting in the third scene where, at a soirée, Armand publicly humiliates Marguerite and in the last when the dying courtesan is reunited briefly with him before expiring. William Bracewell took Nureyev’s role of the farouche Armand, and impressed greatly. He brought a tempestuous, almost unbridled quality to his dancing and partnering, and demonstrated long legs and an elegant line which surpass Nureyev’s.
This was, cavils apart, an extremely satisfying evening of ballet. That it was in celebration of a dancer who has brought her considerable artistry to The Royal Ballet and so much joy to the audience for so long, meant that it was doubly welcome.
