First Loves—Romeo and Juliet at A.B.T.

Well, that’s it, the New York ballet season is officially over. On Saturday (July 10),

David Hallberg as Romeo. Photo by Gene Schiavone.

American Ballet Theatre held its final two performances of Kenneth MacMillan’s “Romeo and Juliet,” with Natalia Osipova and David Hallberg in the morning, and Diana Vishneva and Marcelo Gomes in the evening. I saw the matinée—Osipova’s début in the role—as well as the Thursday cast, Paloma Herrera and Gomes.

Generally speaking, the production is beginning to feel a little bit loose around the edges. The outdoor scenes lack vitality, the characterizations of many of the secondary characters are a bit flat. It could all use a bit of sharpening. But it still works. MacMillan’s ballet is an absolutely effective theatrical machine: it takes you to another place, makes you feel the social and sexual dynamics, gives you lots to look at, and pulls, very powerfully, at your heartstrings. It’s difficult not to be moved. The sumptuous sets and costumes help, as does Prokofiev’s sweeping, multi-hued, dramatic and dreamy score.

MacMillan’s choreography has a bit of everything: lively character dancing, displays of virtuosity (especially for the men), quite a bit of acting (some naturalistic, some, like Lady Capulet’s, decidedly not), and intense, rapturous, and highly muscular pas de deux. One of my favorite moments is the Capulet ball where, with a very limited set of movements—walking, turning the head side to side, deep pliés—the brutality that defines this society is clearly laid out. It is a world ruled by humorless, rather violent men, in which there is no possibility of argument or change. When the women join in the dance, their bodies are tilted backward, their fingers elegantly curved, their knees bent in surrender. There is no room in this family, or this city, for Romeo and Juliet to fall in love, or even to breathe.

Design for Romeo and Juliet, by Nicholas Georgiadis*

The brutality is brought home even more blatantly in the scene in Juliet’s bedroom in which her father forces her to accept Paris’s offer of marriage. He will brook no challenge to his authority. This introduces one of the ballet’s most harrowing moments, Juliet’s “forced” dance with Paris, which has all the violence of a rape, and is a foreshadowing of Romeo’s dance with her limp, lifeless body in the final scene. Paris, a young nobleman, steps into his role of tyrant with relative ease, pulling her toward him, grasping her arm (not her hand) roughly, pushing her torso downward into submission. He seems to take pleasure in his power. He is well on his way to becoming another humorless, brutal Capulet. On Thursday, the transformation was particularly stark, as Alexandre Hammoudi began as a sweet, rather love-struck Paris. Sascha Radetsky, at the Saturday was rather more a more sophisticated character, an older man who is enchanted, but not impressed, by Juliet’s charms.

Paloma Herrera and Marcelo Gomes. Photo by Rosalie O'Connor.

One of MacMillan’s most effective choreographic tools is stillness. He knows when to stop the action and simply allow the dancers’ faces, especially the eyes, to work their magic. Romeo and Juliet’s overpowering attraction is palpable mainly in the way that they cannot stop looking at each other. When they see each other at the ball, they simply cannot move. The quality of this stillness changed dramatically with the different casts. Herrera was more cautiously curious, more composed. She was a pensive, well-bred girl, caught up in a situation beyond her control. As is her wont, she focused more on the dancing. Her bourrées were delicious, like shimmering pearls poured across the stage. But the kind of high-voltage drama that characterizes MacMillan’s choreography does not particularly suit her character or her highly-polished technique. Osipova, performing the role for the first time, was much more child-like, almost a waif. She was skittish and confused and shy, without the slightest touch of coquettishness. She seemed far too delicate and naïve a girl for this terrible society. Consequently, she was completely bowled over by Romeo; he held the upper hand from the moment they laid eyes on each other. (By comparison, Gomes and Herrera were on a much more equal footing). It was interesting to see Hallberg, who is still very boyish himself, taking the senior role, holding Juliet in his power, leaving her no option but to abandon herself to him. It made him seem even more

reckless in his passion, rushing headlong into trouble, and taking her with him. It helps that Hallberg has gained enormous confidence as an actor, and was interacting with everyone onstage, giving and receiving energy all around. The wildness that lies just below the surface with him was very much in evidence, especially in the balcony scene and his fatal swordfight with Tybalt. Marcelo Gomes, in comparison, was more composed, more Romantic, more at ease, perhaps, and less crazed.

And speaking of the sword-fight, Isaac Stappas’s rendition of Tybalt, on Thursday night, was riveting, and quite terrifying. It was difficult to take one’s eyes off him. The way he mercilessly kicked Mercutio to the ground after stabbing him, and enjoyed his death-throws, turned one’s blood cold. This is great character dancing, and the company could use more of it.

Isaac Stappas danced the role of Tybalt on July 8. Photo from the company website.

Osipova is not yet a very nuanced actress, nor is this the type of role that plays to her strengths—incredible jumps, lightning-fast turns, dynamism—, but she transcended all this and poured her heart and soul into the role. With time, she’ll find more complexities, perhaps see Juliet as less child-like, with some will of her own, but there was something very touching about watching her experience this ballet for the first time. She and Hallberg seem to be forging quite a partnership. The audience was moved, and gave them a tremendous reception. They seemed a bit overwhelmed by it at their curtain calls, and this, too, was touching. With all their accomplishment, and all their virtuosity, they looked a bit like two children, holding on to each other, taking it all in.

Hallberg and Osipova at their curtain call. Photo by Len Zernov.

Photo by Len Zernov.

*The Georgiadis design comes from the Kenneth Macmillan website, http://www.kennethmacmillan.com