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Royal BalletJuly 2002 London, The Royal Opera House by Jane Simpson |
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Laura Morera made her debut as Kitri at today's matinee, replacing... well, I've long lost track of who was originally supposed to be doing what; but Morera certainly wasn't on the original list. She's had a good season, though, and was clearly going to get a big role sooner or later. For those who know her work, her Kitri was almost exactly like you'd expect: clean, lively dancing, especially in her solos, and with a sparky, amusing characterisation already nicely established. Of course she doesn't yet dominate the ballet as a more experienced dancer can: confidence is everything in Don Q, and I'd bet she'll already be noticeably better at her second go, on Saturday. She can be proud of herself, though, and she had lots of flowers and a very warm reception. I suppose that given the lack of men at the top of the company, it's no use complaining that it would have been kinder to give her a more secure partner: Ivan Putrov just isn't enough in control of his own performance yet to be able to give a debutante the solid support she ideally should have. The desperate shortage of leading men is perhaps felt even more in secondary roles than in the leads, where the gaps can be filled by guests. Thomas Whitehead had a go at Escamillo but like Martin Harvey he just doesn't have enough confident glamour for the role - how could he? If I was Ross Stretton I'd send Jonathan Cope on a time or two.
Pleasures of the afternoon included Jonathan Howells, actually managing to find a bit of humanity in the caricatured Sancho Panza, and Mara Galeazzi, Jenny Tattersall and Belinda Hatley all bringing something individual to their classical solos. I wonder if we'll ever see this production again after this week?
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