Romeo et Juliette From PNB at Home

If true love is the one that makes you throw away your own rules, it must hold true for art as well as relationships. Story ballets are supposed to be the easy one to get into, but to be honest, they’ve never really been my thing. And yet, Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Romeo et Juliette is one of my favorite ballets and one of my favorite adaptations of the Bard’s much misunderstood tragedy.

My Maillot

The first time I saw Maillot’s Romeo et Juliette was in 2013. I took my daughter. It made for a few embarrassing moments. Even though I maintain R&J is not at its core a love story, and I believe Maillot agrees, this is basically the sexiest ballet I’ve ever seen. It is also one of the most intense.

{I didn’t take the time to request photos from PNB, but they have some gorgeous ones that you should check out.}

The cast that time was James Moore and Kaori Nakamura as the title characters with Karel Cruz as Friar Lawrence and if memory serves, Ariana Lallone as Juliette’s mother. But then, in my memory, Noelani Pantastico has always been Juliette. Memory is as unreliable as immoderate emotion. But I remember that I loved this ballet immoderately.

Maillot’s Shakespeare at Home

Available for five days only, this PNB at Home program presents an archival recording of (I believe) the 2016 production. I think it’s even the same cast I saw in 2016, although I didn’t write about that one, so I can’t confirm.

I think by now there is not much left to be said about the experience of watching filmed stage ballets at home. It offers the delights of being able to see details that are not visible from even the best auditorium seats – not least of which are close-up facial expressions, which are very important in this particular ballet. It also offers the convenience of a comfy chair etc. that comes from watching at home. And there is much to be said for the opportunity to rewatch favorite scenes or the whole thing as many times in one weekend as you want without having to buy multiple tickets.

But you lose the immediacy of being there. And while the absence of stage sounds and other film-editing miracles can create a different sort of transcendence, Romeo et Juliette is such a visceral experience (even when you’re just watching) that I particularly missed the thereness of a live performance. My husband felt that too. He gladly gave up his seat at the ballet years ago so the kids could join me. After watching Romeo et Juliette he proclaimed that he would absolutely attend the next time it was performed live.

Thus With a Kiss

Watching on tv is not the same. But Maillot’s Romeo et Juliette is so beautiful, so powerful, and every bit as nuanced as the original. He tells a story through the dance, not with a bunch of prancing and mime, but genuinely evoking emotions and narrative directly through movements that are unlike anything else you see in ballet and yet entirely balletic. Everyone with even the slightest interest in dance or Shakespeare or human experience should take any opportunity to watch this ballet. I loved it immoderately in 2013, and watching it again in 2021, I am slain.

Details

Roméo et Juliette is available through Monday, Feb. 15
Music: Sergei Prokofiev (Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64, 1935-1936)
Choreography: Jean-Christophe Maillot
Staging: Gaby Baars, Bernice Coppieters, and Giovanna Lorenzoni
Scenic Design: Ernest Pignon-Ernest
Costume Design: Jérôme Kaplan
Lighting Design: Dominique Drillot
Premiere: December 23, 1996: Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo
Pacific Northwest Ballet Premiere: January 31, 2008
Digital Running Time: One hour and 50 minutes

Cast

PNB’s digital performance of Roméo et Julietteis an archival recording from February 4, 2016. Select casting includes:

Juliet:               Noelani Pantastico
Romeo:            James Yoichi Moore
Friar Laurence:  Miles Pertl
Nurse:              Margaret Mullin
Lady Capulet:   Laura Tisserand
Tybalt:              Seth Orza
Mercutio:         Jonathan Porretta
Benvolio:          Benjamin Griffiths
Paris:                Joshua Grant
Acolytes:           Kyle Davis and Price Suddarth

{I purchased season tickets for access to PNB’s virtual programming, and I highly recommend that you do, too. You can do that here.}