Lucy Goes To The Ballet

So I promised a review of Sleeping Beauty and here it is!
Needless to say I was so ecstatic to just to be inside the Royal Opera House watching the Royal Ballet that I probably would have enjoyed anything that came on stage, but I was particularly looking forward to this show because Tamara Rojo danced Aurora. I have watched her countless times on youtube and she is unarguably stunning. Plus there are rumors of her imminent retirement so I knew it was a once in a lifetime experience. Thankfully my high expectations were fulfilled and the performance was exactly as I knew it would be; just gorgeous.
The dancing was of course of the highest caliber, Rojo especially. She could simply walk on stage and pointe her feet and make an audience gasp. Thankfully she doesn't rely on flexibility or tricks and played the role with as much depth as you could find in a story as flimsy as the Sleeping Beauty. Her first act solo was my favorite of the performance because she showed such a contrast between the slow and controlled beginning and the lightening fast, show off ending.
Frederic Bonelli in the role of the prince was also quite good. The role is not particularly exciting for men but he performed the solo adagio in Act II quite beautifully. I think this is the one portion of the ballet that the Royal does best of all; how often in classical ballet do you get to see a man alone on stage dancing an adagio? His other solos were nice but forgettable in comparison to Rojo; this is the one ballet in which the girls get to show off more than the boys!
I was not overly impressed with Itziar Mendizabl's Lilac Fairy. Her technique was immaculate but her performance rather bland. I have to say I remember her giant purple tutu more than I remember most of her dancing! Perhaps the costume was too interfering, I know from experience that an ill fitting tutu can all but ruin a performance.
The rest of the costumes were just fantastic. Lots of pink and sparkles...which is what most people come to the ballet looking for I think. The Queen definitely go the best of it, all her dresses glittered even for those of us up in the back of the theater. Her hats were very grand and succeeded in drawing as much attention to her as the dancing roles. Even the corps de ballet shone thanks to some fine work in the costume department. I think we often forget how important this aspect is to ballet! Especially for a show like Sleeping Beauty which is more of a visual spectacle than anything else.
Melissa Hamilton stood out in the best way possible from the corps of Aurora's friends in Act I. I sincerely hope I have the opportunity to see her dance a more prominent role in the future. It is very easy to picture how easily she must slip into the more contemporary roles. The company as a whole I think must be very well adapted to switching back and forth between sparkling perfection and gritty emotion as the other ballet currently running at the Opera House in the tragedy of Manon. I will aim next time to see something that allows the dancers to stretch their performing muscles a bit more, but for a birthday treat The Sleeping Beauty was absolutely delicious!