National Ballet of Japan's revival of Manon was devastatingly good

Ayako Ono as Manon and Yudai Fukuoka as Des Grieux in MacMillan's Manon

Ayako Ono as Manon, Kosuke Okumura as Lescaut and Masahiro Nakaya as Monsleur G.M. in Manon

National Ballet of Japan in Kenneth MacMillan's Manon

Ayako Ono as Manon in Kenneth MacMillan's Manon

Yuri Kimura as Lescaut's Mistress and Kosuke Okumura as Lescaut in Manon

Ayako Ono as Manon and Yudai Fukuoka as Des Grieux in Kenneth MacMillan's Manon

Par Naomi Mori, 26 mars 2026

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“Her fluid upper body, eloquent arms and musicality that melts into Massenet's score”

Critique faite à New National Theatre, Tokyo: Opera House, Tokyo, le 19 mars 2026

L'Histoire de Manon (Sir Kenneth MacMillan)

National Ballet of Japan

Martin Yates, Direction

Nicholas Georgiadis, Décors, Costumes

Yuji Sawada, Lumières

Tokyo Symphony Orchestra

Ayako Ono, Danse

Yudai Fukuoka, Danse

Kosuke Okumura, Danse

Masahiro Nakaya, Danse

Yuri Kimura, Danse

La danse macabre de Mayerling entre au répertoire de l'Opéra de Paris

Jade Larine, 25th October

Drame sulfureux en trois actes s’inscrivant dans la veine des grandes fresques narratives léguées par MacMillan, Mayerling laisse un goût d'inachevé malgré la belle prestation du Ballet de l'Opéra de Paris.

***11

Manon MacMillan à l'Opéra de Paris

Laurine Mortha, 20th April

Désormais véritable chef-d’œuvre du ballet classique, L’Histoire de Manon nous emmène au travers des transports amoureux, du remord et de la trahison qui secouent la destinée tragique de deux jeunes gens, dans une trame simple mais restée très puissante.

****1

The Royal Ballet’s Mayerling: violent, feral, tortured dance

Graham Watts, 30th March

In this latest revival of Kenneth MacMillan’s Mayerling, The Royal Ballet presents a roster of powerful and vivid interpretations across the board.

****1

Ballet superstars in Frankfurt for a night to savour

Vikki Jane Vile, 30th November

For one night only, audiences in Frankfurt were treated to some world class ballet on the expansive stage of the Jahrhunderthalle.

****1

ENB’s The Sleeping Beauty: disappointing cuts skew the story

Jonathan Gray, 27th November

English National Ballet's revival of the Tchaikovsky classic The Sleeping Beauty, disappoints at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton.

***11

Ballet Nights makes an impressive and unforgettable Scottish debut

Kathy Elgin, 4th July

Ballet Nights is more than an evening of party pieces: it showcases emerging talent alongside older favourites and, in the case of this first Scottish outing, has an eye to local tradition.

****1

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Naomi Mori

Naomi is a blogger living in Tokyo and travels frequently to see ballet. She is a law graduate of Waseda University and a former film publicist, film critic and IT business researcher/strategist. She blogs at La Dolce Vita in Japanese. She tweets about ballet as @naomip_86. and takes ballet class regularly

National Ballet of Japan's revival of MacMillan's Manon was devastatingly good