Royal Ballet: Onegin review – Marianela Nuñez is a marvel of desperation and desire
Royal Opera House, London
John Cranko’s 1965 take on Pushkin’s romance demands real artistry, and an outstanding cast delivers it
A yellow moon peers out of a misty dawn sky. Two proud men and two distraught women gather for an encounter in which one man dies. With high jumps and stretched arabesques, arms shooting heavenwards, the women lever themselves over the men’s bodies in a futile, fevered effort to stop a tragedy unfolding.
The duel between Onegin and Lensky, witnessed by the sisters Tatiana (who loves Onegin) and Olga (engaged to Lensky), forms the centre point of John Cranko’s balletic retelling of Pushkin’s 1833 novel, and everything about the scene gives it weight. The ballet, 60 years old this year, is a masterpiece of compressed storytelling, every element – from Jürgen Rose’s sumptuous, subtly coloured designs to Kurt-Heinz Stolze’s adaptation of Tchaikovsky – working to create atmosphere and clear narrative.
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