Bachtrack logo

Wheeldon’s Like Water for Chocolate for The Royal Ballet is sumptuous but complex

Francesca Hayward as Tita and Marcelino Sambé as Pedro in Wheeldon's Like Water for Chocolate
© Foteini Christofilopoulou
Viola Pantuso as Gertrudis with the Company in Wheeldon's Like Water for Chocolate
© Foteini Christofilopoulou
Fumi Kaneko as Elena with the Company in Wheeldon's Like Water for Chocolate
© Foteini Christofilopoulou
Marcelino Sambé as Pedro and Francesca Hayward as Tita in Wheeldon's Like Water for Chocolate
© Foteini Christofilopoulou
Fumi Kaneko as Elena and Francisco Serrano as José in Wheeldon's Like Water for Chocolate
© Foteini Christofilopoulou
Francesca Hayward as Tita and Marcelino Sambé as Pedro in Wheeldon's Like Water for Chocolate
© Foteini Christofilopoulou
The Royal Ballet in Christopher Wheeldon's Like Water for Chocolate
© Foteini Christofilopoulou
Loading, please wait...
See full listing
“as Tita and Pedro, Francesca Hayward and Marcelino Sambé are, quite simply, perfect”
Reviewed at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 1 October 2025
Like Water for Chocolate (Christopher Wheeldon)
The Royal Ballet
Jonathan Lo, Conductor
Bob Crowley, Set Designer, Costume Designer
Natasha Katz, Lighting Designer
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden
Francesca Hayward, Dancer
Marcelino Sambé, Dancer
Fumi Kaneko, Dancer
Viola Pantuso, Dancer
Isabella Gasparini, Dancer
Francisco Serrano, Dancer
Matthew Ball, Dancer
Atlanta Ballet shines in a mixed contemporary program
*****
NYCB: Ratmansky’s The Naked King is not satire, but good fun
****1
Ballet Nights makes an impressive and unforgettable Scottish debut
****1
ABT in Wheeldon’s The Winter’s Tale: CliffsNotes Shakespeare
***11
Wheeldon’s Alice: The Royal Ballet shines in a vehicle of excellence
****1
Wheeldon's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland dazzles again in Tokyo
****1
More reviews...
Related articles
Loading image...
Oral history project Voices of British Ballet launches new podcast
Loading image...
Miyako Yoshida brings the National Ballet of Japan to London for the first time in its history
Loading image...
Ralph Fiennes to direct new staging of Eugene Onegin at Opéra de Paris
Loading image...
All in the balance: Bachtrack’s Classical Music Statistics 2024
Amanda Jennings