Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Roméo et Juliette, set to Prokofiev’s dramatic score, and staged by Gaby Baars, Bernice Coppieters, Giovanna Lorenzoni, offers stunning performances from dancers and musicians, but also striking scenic (Ernest Pignon-Ernest) and lighting design (Dominique Drillot), as well as exquisite costuming (Jérôme Kaplan).
Lucien Postlewaite and Clara Ruf Maldonado, in the title roles, dominate the performance—as did the intense, solitary Christopher D’Ariano as Friar Laurence and the lithe Elle Macy as Lady Capulet. Macy, a risk taker, leaves nothing to the imagination—her grief is agonizing and almost unbearable to watch as she throws herself into the dance set to Prokofiev’s jarring music.
Kyle Davis soars in the character of Mercutio, his portrayal marked by singular ease. Jonathan Batista is a most athletic Tybalt, Miles Pertl an imposing Paris, Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan, as the Nurse, is a provider of welcome comic relief. The corps excels in giving the ballet the evocative shape that mirrors the score’s haunting themes.
From parody to passion, this spectacular production offers foreshadowing, fear, and foreboding alternating with tenderness and humor. The technically and theatrically mature cast delivers the performance with exceptional skill and spectacle. A case in point is Maldonado herself. Every thrilling position—the startling drop of her arms, extreme arch of her feet, deep sweep of her torso, loose swing of her legs, gives credibility to her Juliette as a young romantic, unbound and impulsive, resting comfortably in Postlewaite’s embrace, giving in to his stirring overtures to her, no matter the consequences.
