ABT The Winter’s Tale Review
July 5, 2025 | Metropolitan Opera House – New York, NY, USA
“Exit, pursued by a bear” is an objectively hilarious stage direction, written somewhat unexpectedly by William Shakespeare in Act III, Scene III of The Winter’s Tale. Capriciously concise, the direction has long challenged the theatrical world.
Enter Basil Twist’s silk effects for the brief scene in Christopher Wheeldon’s ballet version. Twist’s fabric bear towers over its victim, rippling from floor to ceiling, beautiful and frightening, not hilarious at all.
It was one of several striking elements amongst Bob Crowley’s set designs, whose operatic quality emerged a highlight amidst safe, formulaic choreography.
Jealousy, atonement, forgiveness, and finally, redemption and hope, are the overarching themes of The Winter’s Tale.
King Leontes’ unfounded jealousy leads him to believe his wife Hermione’s unborn child is not his but King Polixenes’, resulting in the deaths of their firstborn son and then Hermione’s. Their newborn daughter is abandoned but survives, and sixteen years later, unknowingly, falls in love with Polixenes’ son. The family is reunited, the friendship mended, and the king’s penance is rewarded – his wife had only been in hiding; she returns to his grateful arms.
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ABT The Winter's Tale Review
The Winter’s Tale is commonly referred to as one of Shakespeare’s “problem plays” given that it abruptly changes in tone, from psychological drama to a pastoral, buttoned-up romance in the final act.
This tonal shift exists in the ballet as well, though it feels more natural in a medium often inclined to redemptive endings and doubly helped by Joby Talbot’s percussive score.
Wheeldon stitches the story together nicely, although it is most successfully portrayed in Act 1, where we see the king’s jealous rage boil over. The pace is brisk, avoiding unnecessary lingering while also respecting the space needed for the most powerful emotions.
Leontes’ jealousy is strikingly portrayed in the form of salacious vignettes sprinkled amongst a harmless sculpture tour Hermione gives Polixenes. The distrusting king crawls over the statues, following the pair, embodying the snake that has infected his mind.
However, the snappy tempo of the first act did not remain for the second and instead featured lengthy “village” dance sequences, in this case Spring Maidens and Shepherds, in too simple, repeated circular patterns.
Still, their grounded, sweeping movement felt like a welcome contrast to the abundant gestural upper-body work, a Wheeldon signature that dominated Act I, where the overused gestures gradually lost impact.
The real gem of the ballet is the canvas it laid out for the dancers, who shone through the “problem” plot and familiar choreography, elevating the story with deep commitment to the emotional arc.
Herman Cornejo, soon to be the “last one standing” from an iconic era at American Ballet Theatre after Gillian Murphy’s upcoming farewell, fuels his Leontes with the ego and corruption of Shakespeare’s more well-known characters Othello and Iago in dramatic introspective moments. At other times, it looks as if he is shouting through flexed palms and piercing leg lines.
James Whiteside is a no nonsense Polixenes, proud and confused by his friend’s distrust. When his steward, steeped with force and clarity by Patrick Frenette, gives him a disguise for spying, Whiteside’s comedic eye roll is perfectly timed.
Paired up as the young lovers, Skylar Brandt and Jake Roxander embody youthful infatuation with beaming smiles and just about perfect technical precision.
Brandt is a force of athleticism but always complements her approach with a lithe gentleness. Roxander, I am convinced, can fly, his jumps call to mind Baryshnikov’s famously levitating leaps.
For Winter’s Tale, it’s all in the chemistry though. Brandt and Roxander are throwing sparks while Cornejo and Whiteside brandish emotional daggers.
Claire Davison’s Paulina, head of Hermione’s household, brims with devastation and comfort whether dancing opposite Cornejo or Cassandra Trenary’s heart shattering Hermione.
Trenary is known for her deeply moving dramatic work. Whatever role she takes on seems to wash over her like a delicate scrim, allowing for full emotional embodiment.
Her Hermione melted into Cornejo’s embrace, her eyes closing with tenderness. Later, her brow furrowed in raw anguish as her son died before her.
July 5th marked her last show with ABT before she moves on to the Vienna State Ballet under the direction of Alessandra Ferri. She will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the ABT’s most fearless dramatic interpreters.
As the story unfolded, it was the combination of a large production team including Twist’s silks, Natasha Katz’s high-contrast lighting, projections by Daniel Brodie, Crowley’s ambitious set design (the riveting boat chase a standout), and the dancers’ deep commitment to character that gave the ballet its depth.
Featured Photo of American Ballet Theatre’s Cassandra Trenary and Herman Cornejo in Christopher Wheeldon’s The Winter’s Tale. Photo by Marty Sohl.
