Royal Ballet Romeo and Juliet (Rehearsal) Royal Ballet & Opera, 4 March 2025, 12:30
I have been a Friend of the Royal Ballet & Opera off and on for nearly 60 years, but I had never attended a Friends' rehearsal before 4 Mar 2025. That is because I have spent most of my life outside London, and Friends' rehearsals tend to take place on weekdays during working hours.
On 23 Feb 2025, I was invited to give a talk to the students at King's College at 18:30 on 4 Mar 2025. As this was an evening event, I felt justified in taking the afternoon off in lieu. I checked the Friends' page of the Royal Ballet & Opera's website. There seemed to be a few spare seats scattered about the auditorium, but the website would not let me book any of them. I called the box office and was told that the rehearsal was sold out, but a few returns might come back on sale. That proved to be the case and I secured the very last standing room only place at the very top of the auditorium.
The view of the stage from that eyrie was surprisingly good. I have always enjoyed good eyesight, and I could recognize some of the more distinctive dancers and follow their movements, though obviously not their expressions. Had I been casting the show, I would have selected Francesca Hayward and Cesar Corrales for the title roles. It was they whom we got. Of all the principals in the Royal Ballet, they are the ones who most closely look the part. I remember Christopher Gable and Lynn Seymour in those roles when I first took an interest in ballet. Though I have never seen a better Romeo than Gable or indeed a better Juliet than Seymour, several other dancers have come close. Hayward and Corrales are among the closest.
The rest of the cast was also impressive. Christopher Saunders was an imperious Lord Capulet full of gravitas and swagger. Also full of swagger was Benet Gartside as Tybalt. Even though everyone in the audience knew the outcome, Tybalt's sword fights with Mercutio (Daichi Ikarashi) and Romeo were gripping. Mercutio's death throes as he stumbled around the stage, mistaking his sword for a lute or mandolin, were poignant. The role of the nurse is often overlooked in many productions, but it is important. It is she who shares Juliet's excitement at her first grown-up ball. She delivers Juliet's note to Romeo and is mobbed by the Montagues for her pains. She accompanies Juliet to Friar Lawrence. She tries to defend Juliet from a bigamous marriage. Kristen McNally discharged that role perfectly.
It had been some years since I had last seen the Royal Ballet's Romeo and Juliet, and one of the features that I remember from previous times was a gorgeous backcloth by Nicholas Georgiadis that reminded me of the work of Leon Bakst. I was looking out for that backcloth, but couldn't spot it. That made me wonder whether Georgiadis had redesigned the set or whether I had imagined that backcloth.
As always, the orchestra was magnificent. The conductor on this occasion was Koen Kessels.
I was unable to return to London to see a live performance of Romeo and Juliet at Covent Garden, but I did see a recording of the live broadcast on 23 March 2025 at the Leeds Showcase. That was another polished production with a different cast. Fumi Kaneko was Juliet, Vadim Muntagirov was Romeo, Benet Gartside was Lord Capulet, Ryoichi Hirano was Tybalt, Francisco Serrano was Mercutio, Thomas Whitehead doubled as Friar Lawrence and Lord Montague and Olivia Cowley was the nurse. Kessels also conducted the orchestra.
As I said in Swan Lake at the Leeds Showcase on 30 May 2024, a screening is not the same as a live performance (probably because there is no interaction between artists and audience) but there are compensations. We could follow Juliet's emotions through the expressions on Kaneko's face. It was clear from her interview that she understands Juliet very well. It was also good to hear Lady MacMillan. The Friends' rehearsal combined with the film was the next best thing to seeing the ballet live on stage.
