Royal Ballet/Swan Lake, Covent Garden, WC2 - review

New star Marianela Nuñez steps into the spotlight with real-life husband in classic Swan Lake
Swan Lake performed by the Royal Ballet Pic: Alastair Muir
20 November 2012

When leading dancer Tamara Rojo left the Royal Ballet this summer, there was suddenly a star-sized gap in the upper ranks of the company. Who would fill it? Step forward Marianela Nuñez. The 30-year-old Argentinian has been a principal with the Royal for a decade but in the last few years has become a stand-out performer and audience favourite.

Opening the autumn season, Nuñez shows she has mastered ballet’s best-known work. Anthony Dowell’s 1987 production is a maximalist one, with a large cast (including children), at least one superfluous character (the tutor) and lots of mime (novice Swan Lakers should read the synopsis beforehand) but it’s a visual feast, with a tightly drilled corps de ballet and Yolanda Sonnabend’s luscious and distinctly Russian designs.

Nuñez is partnered by her real-life husband Thiago Soares. He is good but, frankly, is outclassed by his wife. To be fair, the twin role of Odette/Odile (the white/black swans) gives a girl a lot to get her teeth into. After the folksy shindig that is Act I, Nuñez’s arrival moves things into a different dimension. She’s a glacial swan maiden, stretching out her crystal-clear lines to fill every corner of the music, with a stillness at the centre as if her heart is locked in a block of ice. In Act III she switches personalities to play the trickster Odile with wicked relish and a glint in the eye; you can almost see her salivating.

Swan Lake has come to represent a few things that are frustrating about ballet: the outdated image that it’s all fairytales and music-box ballerinas; the reliance on old masters preserved in aspic to keep the box office happy. But when you find yourself holding your breath watching the exquisite extension of Nuñez’s leg or the flicker of her swan’s wing, all is forgiven. There will be many more leading swans throughout the run — including a guest appearance from intense ex-Bolshoi dancer Natalia Osipova — but Nuñez is a bird worth catching.

Until November 24 (020 7304 4000, roh.org.uk)

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in