Philadelphia Ballet’s The Merry Widow: a Belle Époque dream

Yuka Iseda, Ashton Roxander and Russell Ducker in Ronald Hynd's The Merry Widow

Mayara Pineiro with Artists of Philadelphia Ballet in Ronald Hynd's The Merry Widow

Mayara Pineiro and Sterling Baca with Artists of Philadelphia Ballet in The Merry Widow

Mayara Pineiro in Ronald Hynd's The Merry Widow

Artists of Philadelphia Ballet in Ronald Hynd's The Merry Widow

Yuka Iseda and Ashton Roxander in Ronald Hynd's The Merry Widow

By Leigh Donlan, 07 March 2026

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“the men carry the women across the room like floating musical notes from Lehár’s score”

Reviewed at Academy of Music, Philadelphia on 5 March 2026

The Merry Widow (Ronald Hynd)

Philadelphia Ballet

Peter Docherty, Set Designer

Roberta Guidi di Bagno, Costume Designer

ENBS Summer Performance highlights versatility and technical skill

Maggie Foyer, 11th July

English National Ballet School presented a full summer programme with excerpts from traditional ballets and new works showing the technical proficiency of the students as they aim for jobs in the profession.

****1

Hungarian National Ballet: a tremendously witty Merry Widow

Deborah Weiss, 12th February

Hungarian National Ballet strike a delightful balance between lighthearted comedy and technical assurance in Ronald Hynd's The Merry Widow.

****1

Czech National Ballet shine in Ronald Hynd's Coppélia

Maggie Foyer, 16th May

Czech National Ballet are well suited to Ronald Hynd's delightful production of Coppélia.

****1

La Scala's home-made tribute celebrates Carla Fracci's legacy

Silvia Poletti, 9th April

The first Fracci Gala at the Teatro alla Scala celebrates the memory and the stature of a child of the house, who not always considered so in life.

***11

Australian Ballet is back with a bang in its Celebration Gala!

Chantal Nguyen, 25th November

After two years of pandemic disruptions, the Australian Ballet celebrates its return to the stage with this gala of impressively-chosen showstopper pas de deux.

****1

Solstice: ENB closes its season with a midsummer gala

Graham Watts, 16th June

A mixed bag from the ENB repertoire to greet the summer solstice at the Royal Festival Hall.

***11

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Leigh Donlan

Former ballerina Leigh Donlan trained in Russian technique and a variety of folk and modern dance techniques, was Children’s Ballet Mistress at the Washington School of Ballet in Washington, D.C., Director of the Athenaeum School of Ballet in Alexandria, Virginia, and studied English at the University of Oregon and Public Relations at Georgetown University. She has been writing for Ballet to the People since 2014, and is currently on the faculty at Princeton Ballet School.