San Francisco Ballet Review: Romeo & Juliet
May 7, 2021 | Digital
Sergei Prokofiev’s score for Romeo and Juliet is perfect. With sweeping and weeping strings accompanied by menacing horns, it is William Shakespeare’s story told by instruments.
Inaugurated at Lincoln Center at the Movies: Great American Dance in 2015, San Francisco Ballet’s Romeo & Juliet choreographed by Helgi Tomasson matches the template Prokofiev has laid out. Prokofiev’s score was written in 1935 and performed in ballet form in 1940 by the Kirov Ballet, choreographed by Leonid Lavrovsky.
The adaptations to follow would often emulate that version. Tomasson takes the same classic approach to the score by setting it in 16th century Verona and including memorable scenes like the gate dance, balcony and bedroom pas de deux, sword fights, etc. First appearances convey a middle-of-the-road approach, but subtle tweaks intertwined throughout help kick the storytelling up a few notches.
Tomasson achieves this by bringing something to the table which other productions lack: logic.
Instead of hearing of Tybalt’s (spoiler alert) death through the grapevine, Tomasson places Juliet in the square, a witness to the tragedy only expounding the fretful emotions in the bedroom pas de deux.
When Mercutio (double spoiler alert) is killed, Tomasson has him use his cloak to cleverly hide the wound, making the cover up more believable.
Another moment negated from other productions is the (okay, last spoiler) undelivered note from Friar Lawrence to Romeo. In a brief scene, we watch Romeo and the messenger just miss each other in the square; perhaps also a foreshadowing of what is to come.
These minuscule moments build up a reality which allows for a much more devastating blow when things culminate.
Pristine sets designed by Jens-Jacob Worsaae (also the costume designer) add flavor to the narrative. He makes a typical Verona square atypical with a horizontal bridge running across mid-stage. At the ball in the house of Capulet, a back-facing balcony, stairs, pillars, and painted walls are impressive. But most glorious is the crypt set; huge, ornate metal gates shut Juliet in her tomb. Blue daylight on the other side of the gates leaves one with an uncomfortable feeling, knowing the couple are destined to never feel the just-out-of-reach sunshine on their skin again.
Maria Kochetkova and Davit Karapetyan as Juliet and Romeo, make a lovely pair. He portrays a perfect balance of naïve and romantic, while still having the ego of a young teenager in love. Boasting impressive turns and allegro, he is also a talented, reliable partner who not only lifts with strength, he will do it while also gazing into his partner’s eyes.
Kochetkova embodies the part of Juliet, easily achieved by her petite stature and sweet dimples. The character arc of Juliet is almost incomparable to other roles. She starts as a playful child, happy and willing to dance with her betrothed and progresses to a woman charting her own course, answering to no one, and eventually reaching a turning point when she demands even her sweet nurse to leave her be.
Kochetkova is Juliet from limb to limb. Everywhere she looks, Juliet is seeing for the first time. Her kiss with Romeo is truly her first and we can feel the weight of it brimming with hope but also sealing in both their fates.
Benvolio and Mercutio hold their own as well. In fact, all three gentlemen looked capable of switching roles on any night. Pascal Molat, playing Mercutio, was athletic and spot on with his comedic timing. The gate scene, famously a nail-biter for the gentlemen (try doing that in leather boots) is achieved successfully in choreography and execution. Consisting of some jazzy passés and beveled ankles, it is a slightly new take on a tough number. The dancers, Molat, Karapetyan, and Joseph Walsh as Benvolio, are impressive in their unison movements and break out moments.
Special mention to the dancers playing the Harlots who refrained from over-acting, making their appearances in the square believable.
And if you are not sure which characters are which, check out the bonus “Who’s Who” section of the digital program where you can learn all the characters’ names plus likes and dislikes:
“Friar Lawrence: This man has seen one too many Montague/Capulet funerals…Likes: Dark-colored clothing. The people of Verona. The Vatican. Dislikes: Family feuds.”
At the start of the ballet, Tomasson’s version seems like a perfectly nice and classic take but it becomes clear that fine detail has been sewn into this production.
Those fine points culminate with the epic score of the crypt scene and an ending we know is coming. Relatable because we all understand the heated burn of a first love, the desperate grasps of passion and the deep emptiness which comes after it ends. Juliet’s final “scream” (the strings bellowing out her anger for her) is one of the most effective uses of contemporary pantomime and Tomasson keeps it in this version as he should.
The story of Romeo and Juliet transcends time because it is a story of love, pain, innocence, revenge, and uncontained devotion. Tomasson’s version allows these truths to breathe as they settle like dust on the jacket of a book we have all read several times over.
San Francisco Ballet Romeo & Juliet is streaming May 6th – 26th.
San Francisco Ballet Romeo & Juliet Trailer
Featured Photo for this review of San Francisco Ballet Romeo & Juliet of Maria Kochetkova and Davit Karapetyan in Tomasson’s Romeo & Juliet // © Erik Tomasson
