"Romeo and Juliet"
American Ballet Theatre
Metropolitan Opera House
New York, NY
July 7, 2010 matinee
By Carol Pardo
Copyright ©2010 by Carol Pardo
Performances of full-length ballets programmed by American Ballet Theatre require a principal—if not star—couple to invigorate familiar productions and fill seats. So it was surprising that Kenneth MacMillan’s production of "Romeo and Juliet" went on with no principal dancers and only one star, Frederic Franklin now 96, as Friar Laurence.
Whatever their rank, "Romeo and Juliet" depends mightily on its two leads to convey the story and overcome the longeurs of the production: death scenes, crowd scenes, harlots. The task fell to Hee Seo and Cory Stearns who first danced Juliet and Romeo, respectively, only a year ago. Not yet consummate actors, they relied on formal means to carry the day.
This approach was most successful in three pas de deux which, taken together, convey the consequences
of inter-family hatred, passion, and resistance, that lie at the heart of "Romeo and Juliet." It was obvious, as soon as they found each other in the Capulet’s ballroom, that these two people, possessed of the cleanest, purest classical lines in Verona, were destined for each other. During the final act, in her pas de deux with Paris, one dangling arm turned this Juliet from a joyful newlywed into a broken doll, a pawn in service to others, for whom death didn’t seem like such a lousy alternative. Throughout the duet in the tomb, Seo seemed to give Stearns no help as he slung her around in an effort to revive his love while he gave every impression of partnering someone as animate and responsive as a sack of potatoes. The moment was real.
The performance was also fortunate in its Paris and Mercutio. Tall, elegant and born to the purple, anyone but Juliet would consider Alexandre Hammoudi’s Paris a more than eligible catch. He is taken with his prospective wife, initially forbearing in the face of her resistance, standing in easy contrapposto in the best Renaissance tradition. Later, determined and suspicious, he stood, feet apart, firmly planted at center stage, his eyes never leaving Juliet. In seasons past, Craig Salstein relied on his technique and love of being on stage to define his character. But Mercutio’s death scene--one of the longest, and often most tedious demises in the current repertory-- was deeply moving. Near the end of his death throes, Salstein looked up, wide-eyed, toward the heavens. This initially read as an in-joke and out-take from Giselle’s mad scene. But it became clear that Mercutio was seeing the future now lost to him, and we felt his grief.
This may not remain a cast of non-principals for long. Hee Seo has just been promoted to soloist, effective August 10. Cory Stearns has had the lead in every full-length ballet in rep of this Met season thrown at him, and seems well on the way to becoming a principal. Looking back on this performance, one can say, "I saw them when."
Photograph © Rosalie O'Connor
