The first mixed programme of the new Royal Ballet season is also a first revival pairing of two tried and tested one-act ballets that were back-to-back winners of the National Dance Award for Best Classical Choreography: Valentino Zucchetti’s Anemoi (a helpful programme note identifies the correct pronunciation as “anemee”) won in 2021, a year after Cathy Marston’s success with The Cellist. Although they shared the same honour, the significant contrast between Zucchetti’s free-flowing, ethereal non-narrative dance and Marston’s sensitive biopic of Jacqueline du Pré and her Stradivarius cello, made for an excellent double-bill.
Anemoi appears to be an insider’s love letter to his colleagues. Zucchetti joined The Royal Ballet in 2010 and has been a First Soloist since 2014. His first main stage ballet for the company (it was originally made for the much more intimate space of the Clore Studio) is danced by a dozen dancers from the corps de ballet, supporting two pairs of soloists. It is an unusually egalitarian ensemble but one where each dancer is given an equal right to shine and, as dancers not normally in the spotlight, their individual identity was helped by Jean-Marc Puissant’s varied costumes in different, largely muted, colours (each reflecting Zucchetti’s view of the dancers’ personalities) including t-shirts, skirts and even a hoodie.
Both Anemoi and The Cellist begin in stillness, the former in a tableau of silhouettes that suggest Greek statues – the title comes from the ancient Greek wind gods, each representative of a direction from which their respective wind comes – and whilst there is no narrative to occupy the audience’s consciousness, Anemoi is driven by two fundamental forces of nature: one is the passage of the sun, a hazy ball of golden energy imperceptibly moving from left to right against the backdrop of a neutral sky so that the complete passage matched the work’s half-hour duration; and the other being represented in Zucchetti’s gently swirling choreography that portrays the relentless restlessness of the wind.
The two lead couples were expressions of cold and warm winds although it’s only their costumes that hint at the relevant temperatures (Mariko Sasaki wore the most vividly warm costume in a deep pink halter neck dress, partnered by Lukas B. Braendsrød in an open turquoise shirt while Taisuke Nakao and Leticia Dias both wore costumes with icy sparkle). In amongst a fluid relay of mixed dances, Zucchetti provides these lead couples with elegant duets that are particularly easy on the eye. The final pas de deux for Sasaki and Braendsrød is especially beautiful. Anemoi is a brief work but one that allows the spotlight to shine on members of the company more often in the background.
The first revival of The Cellist brought Lauren Cuthbertson back into the spotlight, a principal dancer who has been mostly absent from the main stage since this title role (a thin disguise for du Pré) was created on her in February 2020 (just beating lockdown), during which time she has twice become a mother. It was a very emotional return in a cast that was virtually identical to the pre-pandemic opening night, one that took an unprecedented clean sweep of choreography and performance trophies in that year’s National Dance Awards. In addition to Marston’s success, Cuthbertson won the Outstanding Female Performance and Marcelino Sambé won the male equivalent for his embodiment of her cello. Both leads reprised their roles with just the same panache and chemistry as the first time around and Marston’s choreographic motifs for Sambé are tremendously effective (both rigid in form, one leg outstretched and one arm lifted to form the cello’s neck, his flexed hand as the scroll; and delightfully fluid in his duets with Cuthbertson). Cuthbertson and Sambé have a symbiotic relationship that manages to replicate the unique intimacy between du Pré and her precious instrument.
The supporting cast collaboratively bring the evocative aura of du Pré’s tragic life into a sharp focus with Matthew Ball, suitably charismatic as The Conductor (another anonymised but clear reference to Daniel Barenboim, du Pré’s husband); Thomas Whitehead, Christina Arestis and Ashley Dean as du Pré’s parents and sister. Gary Avis is a charismatic early cello teacher and both Ayla Orsborn and Filippa Deegan gave endearing performances as the young du Pré sisters.
The music for both works was the evening’s great bonus. Zucchetti chose some luscious and romantic extracts from Rachmaninov’s compositions (including music from either end of his life) while Philip Feeney stitched together a score of existing compositions with his own linking music. His great achievement is making the whole sound as a holistic score that is highly descriptive of the action. Koen Kessels conducted the Orchestra of The Royal Opera House to great effect and Hetty Snell reprised her solo instrumental role that is so crucial to the success of The Cellist.
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