© Warner Music Vision RB 'Manon' reviews 'Manon' reviews Royal Ballet reviews Janet McNulty reviews

Manon is one of my favourite ballets, but I had never quite got round to getting a copy of this 1982 performance on video. The release of the DVD has given me the chance to rectify the situation.

This is a live recording from 1982, featuring three of the great stars of the Royal Ballet from that era. The quality of the dance in the performance is superlative - my one slight reservation being that Jennifer Penney is more mature in her manner than I would expect from a girl arriving from her convent school. This becomes less important as the ballet progresses and by the end I was utterly carried away. Anthony Dowell and David Wall are splendid throughout.

The performance is superbly presented for the small screen; indeed I watched it on the very small screen of my laptop. All the major pas de deux are filmed showing the dancers' whole bodies and you get a real impression of sitting in the audience watching the live performance. The essence of the crowd scenes is very well captured without ever moving too far from the main action. There are many relevant close-ups that do not in any way detract from the dance action (a common complaint of mine in dance films). I particularly enjoyed Gerd Larsen's look of disgust at Lescaut's drunken antics, and this scene perfectly illustrates the art of the close-up while showing the broader picture of the dance.
 

© Warner Music Vision

To sum up, I feel as though I could have written this review in one line:
This DVD is a must for any ballet lover - go out and buy it!