RB 'Onegin' reviews 'Onegin' reviews Cooper in reviews Rojo in reviews recent RB reviews

I really liked Onegin. It is a very subtle introspective ballet in contrast to Macmillan who verges on gross overstatement! Some scenes were a bit flat esp the grand ball room dance at the start of Act 3. Also the brooding solo for Lensky before the duel (a direct conversion to dance of Lensky famous aria in the opera) could have been helped by some better music. Tchaikovsky wrote many great operas (far better then Verdi in my view!) so there is plenty of fine music to choose from - It was a pity they used a mish mash of his rather slight piano music.

It would be hard to find a better cast for the performance I saw. Adam Cooper is perfect for rather darkly attractive Onegin. Rojo gives a remarkably powerful dramatic performance. The scene where Onegin tears up her letter is heartbreaking. There can be no doubt from this performance that Olga is the younger sister! Alina was absolutely delightful in this role. She also demonstrates her brilliant technique to the full. Steiffel might be the best dancer on the stage but he does not have the stage presnece of Adam Cooper. But he really comes into his in his solo variation.

I was very impressed by Cranko's choreography. The integration of dance and drama was more effective then MacMillan. There seem to be far less padding esp in the corp de ballet dance. But the pas de deux, superb as they are, are not quite as good as the best of MacMillan. But I often find that MacMillan goes in for overstatement. I found Manon quite over the top in sleaze and squalor. Onegin in contrast was subtle, introspective and more human

I am very surprised why this ballet has not been done before by the RB. It is perfect for a very strong dramatic company with a relativey small auditorium. What would I give to see the likes of Viviana Durante, Leslie Collier and Irek Mukhamdevetc in these terrific roles.