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Manon has been a regular in the Royal’s repertoire in the last few years, and is perennially popular at the box office. MacMillan’s narrative begins with Manon’s initial introduction into worldly society, where her beauty is readily assessed as a commodity: her brother effectively acts as her pimp, willing to sell her off to the rich and powerful Monsieur G.M. Manon initially confounds his plans by running off with the penniless student des Grieux, but is rapidly won round by GM’s jewels and furs. The second act presents us with Manon as the purchased object, resplendent as the kept woman. Des Grieux’s attempts to in her back end in tragedy. The third act gives us Manon transported as a prostitute, propositioned again by her gaoler and finally meeting her death in the swamps of Louisiana. It’s the story of the degradation of a woman, and yet Manon as a character in the hands of dancers stubbornly refuses somehow to be a victim and somehow escapes classification and commoditification.

As Sylvie Guillem matures, her Manon appears to have become younger. She is not a schemer. Everyone else on stage had a plan, a plot, a scheme to get rich or to survive. Guillem’s Manon lives entirely in the present, with no thought for the future. Her delight in the meeting with Des Grieux and the ecstatic pas de deux of Act 1 is transparently sincere. Yet she can leave him with scarcely a backward glance. She is impulsive, bewitching, inconsistent, charming and maddening. Guillem was all this and more. Her approach to her roles is often so carefully thought out and planned through that it can lack the little touches of spontaneity which bring it all completely to life, but not at this performance. It had a natural and unforced freeness to it that made almost everyone else on stage look as if they were acting. Yes, her dancing was of course astonishing in terms of its technical facility, but that almost wasn’t the point: it was integrated into what she wanted to tell you about this woman.

It was Dowell, playing the role of G.M, the ageing roué who buys her as his plaything, who held his own best against her. Their little teasing exchanges over a proffered diamond bracelet in Act 2 were a delight to watch. Dowell’s previous performances in this role had tended towards the overripe. It’s less pungent this time, more of an icy decadence. He inspects Manon’s proffered foot in Act 1 with sudden hunger, a jaded appetite awoken.

Jonathan Cope as des Grieux was ardent, and dazzled by his partner. His des Grieux used to cut a more youthful and vulnerable figure, carried away by his passion for Manon. He’s not so youthful now, but his horror at the murderer he has become by Act 3 has become more marked. His dancing is perhaps not so smooth and clean as it once was, but he is still a fabulous partner, and he and Guillem mesh together in the great pas de deux as if the bodies had been expressly designed with no other purpose. The final Act 3 pas de deux was a wild and terrible experience, pushing at the limits of what can be achieved.

While the leading roles were in the hands of the experienced, younger artists also got their chance. Lescaux, Manon’s brother was danced by Thiago Soares, winner of Outstanding Male Artist at the recent Critics Circle dance awards. This performance didn’t quite come together. There is much to admire in what he does, but the acting and the dancing have not quite gelled together yet. In time he could be excellent. Right now he doesn’t seem to be quite under the skin of the role, quite sure how dark he wants the character to be, or how likeable. The chemistry with his partner, Mara Galeazzi, seemed rather lacking. She seemed to be uncharacteristically subdued. Tuckett, as the gaoler, has enough stage experience to ensure that just a few moments on stage leave a powerful impression.

Manon is mainly about its principals, and the corps does not have many chances to shine. They seize hungrily on what they can, with much spirited detail in the brothel scenes. Even the beggar’s dance in Act 1, once notable for its glitches, came across well. But it was Guillem and Cope’s night, and the audience response was passionate and heartfelt. They are amazing, and how lucky we have been to have them.