Ashton Mixed Bill, with Yanowsky and Bonelli, Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, February 2013

This review is for the cast on the second night, and what a treat it was again to have Emmanuel Plasson as maestro for this delightful mixed bill of short Aston pieces. As a serious conductor who is happy to perform ballet music he showed a sure touch with orchestra, instrumental soloists and dancers.

La Valse, ROH image/ Johan Persson

Musically, Plasson is ideal for a French work such as Ravel’s La Valse, and under his direction the dancers produced elegant flowing movements to Ashton’s choreography. Plenty of attack from the men, and Tara-Brigitte Bhavnani and Valeri Hristov made a superb central couple.

In the ‘Meditation’ from Thaïs Sarah Lamb, beautifully partnered by Rupert Pennefather, showed exquisite arm, head and body movements. The lifts were serenely executed, and their poetry in motion was an example of how glorious this pas-de-deux can be. Then from the sublimeness of Massenet’s music, lovingly played on the violin by Vasko Vassilev, to the bounce of Johann Strauss’s Voices of Spring. This came through with wit and joy from Yuhui Choe and Alexander Campbell, who were both, if possible, even better than the previous night.

Hirano, Arestis, Kish in Monotones II, ROH image/ Tristram Kenton

After the interval, Satie’s Gnossiennes and Gymnopédies, which Ashton used for Monotones I and II, came over beautifully under Plasson’s direction, and Christina Arestis, Ryoichi Hirano and Nehemiah Kish were in excellent harmony in the heavenly Part II.

Yanowsky and Bonelli, ROH image/ Tristram Kenton

Then to Marguerite and Armand where it was the turn of Zenaida Yanowsky and Federico Bonelli to perform the five tableaux from La Dame aux Camélias. There are those who say that since Ashton wrote this specifically for Fonteyn and Nureyev, no one else should perform it, but Yanowsky gave a very moving portrayal of the beautiful, consumptive Marguerite. Gliding with perfect grace, yet distracted by her fatal disease, she brought out the soul of this misunderstood young woman, with Bonelli showing the joy, tension and aggression that finally turns to quiet despair as she dies. Again an excellent portrayal of the father by Christopher Saunders, and very sensitive piano playing by Robert Clark.

These Ashton pieces form an unmissable evening — call for returns on the day of the performances, which continue with various casts until February 23 — for details click here.

Romeo and Juliet with Rojo and Acosta, Royal Ballet, Covent Garden, January 2012

This was stunning. MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet is full of wonderful choreography, and on the opening night of the present run it was superbly danced by the whole company, with the lead roles gloriously performed by Carlos Acosta and Tamara Rojo.

Tamara Rojo and Carlos Acosta

She was among the finest Juliets I have ever seen, so shy and playfully girlish when she first appears with her nurse, yet seeming to float through the air in the main pas-de-deux with Romeo at the party in Act I. Acosta as Romeo was a powerful presence throughout, and his solo in the Act II public square was magnificent. His partnership with Rojo glowed with passion, and just the right amount of cheekiness when they wave goodbye as he and his friends leave the party. Her body language was quite remarkable: the scenes with Romeo where she walks on air, the scenes with Paris whom she quickly grows to detest, and the anguish as she decides to use the potion given her by Friar Laurence.

Yet it was not all Acosta and Rojo. The rest of the cast was superb, with Gary Avis a restrained Tybalt, so provoked by the Montagues that he finally loses it. This is surely the right way to play Tybalt, rather than being almost out of control from the word go, which I’ve seen sometimes. Johannes Stepanek made a wonderfully wimpish Paris, Christopher Saunders a brutally forceful Capulet, and Elizabeth McGorian a suitably emotive Lady Capulet. José Martín was a fine Mercutio, and some of the smaller parts glowed with inspiration. Right at the start Christina Arestis gave a lovely portrayal of Romeo’s initial flame Rosaline, and both she and Tara-Brigitte Bhavnani as Lady Montague moved with natural grace, getting the épaulement and head tilting to perfection.

The Capulet Ball in Act I

With designs by Nicholas Georgiadis this looks perennially fresh, and then of course there is Prokofiev’s wonderfully emotional music, which was played with huge energy and verve by the orchestra under the direction of Pavel Sorokin. The musical side of things does not always come off so well, but this performance got the present run off to a terrific start — not to be missed.

Further performances with various casts continue until March 31 — for details click here.