The Royal Ballet: Anemoi/The Cellist a well-balanced double bill

Mariko Sasaki and Lukas Bjørneboe Brændsrød in Valentino Zucchetti's Anemoi

Lauren Cuthbertson as The Cellist and Marcelino Sambé as The Instrument in Marston's The Cellist

Lauren Cuthbertson as The Cellist and Marcelino Sambé as The Instrument in The Cellist

By Graham Watts, 22 October 2023

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“Zucchetti provides these lead couples with elegant duets that are particularly easy on the eye”

Reviewed at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 20 October 2023

Anemoi (Valentino Zucchetti)

The Cellist (Cathy Marston)

The Royal Ballet

Koen Kessels, Conductor

Jean-Marc Puissant, Set Designer, Costume Designer

Simon Bennison, Lighting Designer

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden

Hildegard Bechtler, Set Designer

Bregje van Balen, Costume Designer

Jon Clark, Lighting Designer

Hetty Snell, Cello

Lauren Cuthbertson, Dancer

Marcelino Sambé, Dancer

Matthew Ball, Dancer

Gary Avis, Dancer

NEBT’s Nutcracker: pared down, efficient and exuberant

Deborah Weiss, 18th December

Valentino Zucchetti's Nutcracker for New English Ballet Theatre's may be economical on numbers but the cast make up for it in commitment.

***11

The RB's Romeo and Juliet: electrifying on-stage chemistry

Deborah Weiss, 5th May

A compelling performance of MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet from an excellent cast, proves to be a triumph for Patricio Revé, debuting with the Company and paired with Natalia Osipova.

*****

Myth meets Shoreditch: a rewarding Handel double bill

Dominic Lowe, 29th March

Part of this year's London Handel Festival, Apollo e Dafne and The Choice of Hercules are transported to the stage in a captivating production that blends music and dance.

****1

Naghdi’s Juliet pierces the heart as MacMillan’s masterpiece returns

Mark Pullinger, 4th March

“But, soft, what light through yonder window breaks?” Yasmine Naghdi reaches new interpretative depths in this revival of Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s classic Romeo and Juliet.

****1

NEBT in Genesis Dance Project: a mixed set of offerings

Graham Watts, 2nd November

A curate's egg of dance.

***11

Zucchetti premiere and Beauty top and tail the RB's mixed programme

Graham Watts, 26th June

Marianela Núñez possesses a shimmering, celestial radiance and Vadim Muntagirov is a Prince in his prime.

****1

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Graham Watts

Graham Watts is a freelance dance writer and critic writing regularly for Dancing Times, Dance Europe, Danza Europa, and many more publications. He regularly writes features for Sadler’s Wells, London Coliseum and La Scala. Chairman of the Dance Section of the Critics’ Circle in the United Kingdom and of the UK National Dance Awards he has interviewed many of the greatest names in dance including Maya Plisetskaya, Vladimir Vasiliev, Boris Eifman, Alexei Ratmansky, Andris Liepa, Sir Peter Wright, David Bintley and Dame Gillian Lynne. When not involved in dance Graham is a keen fencer, and has captained the British Sabre team.