18 December 2013 at 3.12pm | 8 Comments
@RoyalOperaHouse @TheRoyalBallet #ROHJewels Fantastic performance last night-exhilarating Rubies, sublime Diamonds, thank you!
— Sue Sloan (@sue_sloan) December 18, 2013
Day from hell on trains yesterday, nearly six hours of travel just to get to London and back, but #ROHJewels was worth it.
— Rosie Cox (@RosieCox007) December 18, 2013
Emeralds needs Diamonds and Rubies to work, couldn't see it on its own. Laura Morera was fab though! #ROHJewels
— Juliet Ashdown (@JulietAshdown) December 17, 2013
#ROHjewels was a great night out. Highly recommended. Nunez and Soares were breathtaking in Diamonds.
— Lucy Alker (@ihaveantlers) December 17, 2013
What a sparkling evening with #ROHjewels !! Emeralds where beautiful, but Rubies & Diamonds are the best :) Nela & @_TSOARES - what a duet!
— Irma F (@TheSavyel) December 18, 2013
A mixed bad #ROHJewels: emeralds didn't come off, rubies had an accident but saved by McRae and Marianela sparkled in diamonds...
— Fedja Hadrovich (@Hadrovich) December 17, 2013
#rohjewels Emeralds fell flat, Rubies picked up sparkles and Diamonds were gorgeous!
— Yosh M (@yoshkosh10) December 17, 2013
Nuñez and Soares stunning together in #ROHJewels
— Mark Ronan (@mark1ronan) December 17, 2013
Marianela Nunez and @_TSOARES just transformed a horrible day into a sparklingly beautiful one. The power of ballet, people. #ROHJewels
— Jane Lawes (@jane_lawes) December 17, 2013
What did you think of The Royal Ballet's Jewels?
Jewels runs until 7 January 2014. Tickets are still available.
The production is staged with the generous support of the Friends of Covent Garden
18 December 2013 at 3.12pm
This article has been categorised Ballet and tagged by George Balanchine, Diamonds, Emeralds, Jewels, Production, review, Rubies, Social Media, twitter, your reaction
This article has 8 comments
Emeralds were dull, except for Laura Moreras expressive efforts, I saw a cast from heaven last time I saw this so I suppose it was bound to be disappointing. The competitive and fun partnership of Lamb and McRae lifted the spirit in Rubies, especially thrilling were McRaes insanely fast turns off the stage, which Sarah Lamb tried to match! Nunez is always a true ballerina with her flair and command of the stage. All other main performers fell flat either literally or with a general lack of pointed feet, straight knees from the men and real presence from the ladies! this piece needs some pizzazz! The corps were very good, some lovely costumes and headpieces for the corp, the sets looked poor this time? esp from in the ampitheatre, something to see from lower down, not that I'll be going to see this again.
As a retired American dancer and an Alumni from Balanchines' School of American Ballet, I was pleased to see the Royal Ballet doing a magnificent job performing one of Balanchines iconic ballets, Jewels. It is meant to be viewed together as a trilogy, seperating this ballet to fit into a program would seem disjointed. Some of the critiques above fail to understand that the ballet represents three very different styles- Emeralds seems to always be criticized , yet Faure's music is so dreamy and ethereal, and so very French and a perfect prelude for what is to come, the jazzy and and distinct Rubies , which then culminates with the grand and majestic Diamonds.
I have seen the Royal Ballet attempt Balanchines choreography in previous years and being very disappointed- yet this year they surprised me- the corpe de ballet was precise and energetic- especially during Rubies where Balanchine's signature style and speedy technique is required to achieve the corrrect timing and look of the choreography. Sarah Lamb, Zenaida Yanowsky and Steven McRae did not disappoint- all demonstrated polished performances. Marianella Nunez is a fabulous ballerina and I've seen her many times produce flawless performances , especially with Carlos Acosta- she is a seasoned ballerina and delivered another memorable performance in Diamonds- however Soares, although a marvelous partner, falls short technically as a soloist.
However, well done to Patricia Neary's staging and to the company!
Jewels is good, brilliant rubies Diamonds fantastic: Not much Time when you are at the Ladies or the Restaurant the set for rubies was Nice!
Saw jewels on opening night - from the amphotheatre.
Emeralds: what an odd medley of monotonous Fauré music - overtones of sitting comfortably and listening with mother. Unflattering jackets for the men. The green is the green of dyed glass rather than emeralds. Ultimately, this section stands or falls with the dancers - and it stood. Thanks to the elegance and the precision of the cast.
Rubies: fun Stravinsky music. Men's jackets belong to Hawaii beaches. But the dancing was fab, ouf and wow!
Diamonds: Tchaikovsky 3 not my favourite. Costumes good. Dancing very stylish, the true grand manner.
Jewels is NOT my favourite ballet. I don't care for Karinska and I don't care for Balanchine (or at least most of Balanchine). I saw it some 30 years ago with NYCB and listed it as "not worth a second visit". It is still not my favourite ballet. But if you want to find out about a company's dancers (or do a health check on a ballet company), go and see it, and, depending on the cast, see it again! My companion thought the costumesn the glitter and the dancing were great. So if you don't know it, find out. It is worth at least one visit.
not since seeing the dream with fonteyn and nueyev have i seen such an awe-inspiring performance than that of nunez and soares.
i loved the whole show
Marvellous evening. Emeralds outshone by delightful dancing of Sarah Lamb and Stephen McRae and Yanovsky in Rubies. Thrilling from beginning to end. Nunez superb in Diamonds. The Corps were excellent throughout. Altogether a great and memorable evening.
I was interested to see a Balanchine ballet after discovering more about him through a documentary on skyArt. The Rubies section is why I love Balanchine. It still feels contemporary and a timeless piece. Emerald was also beautiful in a more classical way. The stage design, costume and the pianist during rubies was a joy and a pure delight of scenography.
I hesitated about travelling from Scotland to see this abstract ballet, having not found it very inspiring on DVD. However, I'm so pleased that I did make the effort to be there last night. The stage sets and lighting were so simple yet breath-taking, the costumes delightful, and the performance of all three parts was inspiring.
My only disappointment was that Alexander Campbell was sadly unable to dance in 'Emeralds' due to injury, and I was so looking forward to seeing him again after his superlative and laudable performance in "Nutcracker". May I wish you a speedy recovery, Alexander. This comment is not intended to in any way detract from David Trzensimiech's fine performance as Alexander's replacement. Ryoichi Hirano never fails to please!
It was sheer pleasure and joy to watch Steven McRae in 'Rubies' with Natalia Osipova and Melissa Hamilton. Finally 'Diamonds' really did sparkle with Lauren Cuthbertson & Rupert Pennefather at their best. The Corps de Ballet were deserving of praise, too, for their energetic and 'spot-on' performances throughout, and particularly noteworthy in 'Diamonds'.
A big "Thank you!" to all for a memorable evening at the Royal Ballet.