Different lovers, identical fates…

Joelle Bouvier’s Romeo and Juliet goes straight to the matter. No time for Princes, friars or nurses in her 1 hour 20’’ version, just the doomed heroes and their tragic fate.
Created in 2009 for the Geneva Ballet, the piece operates as a flashback, opening with the corpses of the star-crossed lovers (Madeline Wong and Damiano Artale).
Thankfully these are gradually brought back to life, first as human marionettes, then as independent dancers.
The French choreographer (who sprung to fame in the 80’s with the company L’Esquisse, co-founded with Régis Obadia) favours a universal and timeless approach with settings and costumes revealing no particular era or place. Her concise and minimalist adaptation remains nonetheless both dense and highly stylized. The minutely choreographed fights between Tybalt (Loris Bonani) and Mercutio (Nathanaël Marie), then between Tybalt and Romeo build up the dramatic tension, translating the underlying violence in the city and the acute sense of urgency
. Equally memorable is the night encounter between the two lovers. An exquisitely lit scene with a white sheet dropping from the ceiling becomes the setting of a rapturous pas de deux. Full of lyricism and grace, it captures a moment of perfection before the very acceleration of the tragedy. One would have wished for time to stop, be it only for the sheer beauty of the duet.

Nureyev’s three-act ballet Roméo et Juliette at the Bastille Opera is worlds apart. His is a flamboyant Renaissance Verona with its lively street market, bawdy entertainers and a sumptuous masked ball; one that is fit for a Hollywood production. Choreographed in 1977 for the London Festival Ballet and reworked for the Paris Opera in 1984, it is considered by many his best ballet. It certainly is one that does not seem to age.
The spectacular production showed off a company in startling shape, mastering to perfection the notoriously difficult choreography, so aptly suited to the complex notes of Prokofiev. Mathieu Ganio has all the great qualities of an impetuous noble Romeo whereas Laetitia Pujol grows from an innocent spoilt child into a passionate and poignant heroine. As she hears of her cousin’s death, her pain and despair slowly unveil both the strong will and the single-mindedness that ultimately lead her to choose death.

Simona Gouchan