Romeo and Juliet at the Met Opera House

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Parent Category: Film and the Arts

Category: Reviews

Published on Saturday, 22 July 2023 20:13

Written by Jack Angstreich

Isabella Boylston and Daniel Camargo in Romeo and Juliet. Photo: Rosalie O’Connor.

At the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center on the evening of Wednesday, July 19th, I had the exceptional pleasure to attend a superb performance of American Ballet Theater’s excellent production of Romeo and Juliet.

The marvelous choreography is by Sir Kenneth MacMillan—who, after George Balanchine and Frederick Ashton, was one of the finest twentieth-century choreographers. It is set to the glorious score—one of the greatest in the repertory, here expertly conducted by David LaMarche—by Sergei Prokofiev. The attractive scenery and costumes were designed by Nicholas Georgiadis and the effective lighting is by Thomas Skelton.

The title roles were fabulously danced by principals Daniel Camargo—who is relatively new to this company— and Isabella Boylston. At least equally impressive, in a scene-stealing part, was Jonathan Klein as Mercutio. The secondary cast was also remarkable: Patrick Frenette, here replacing Sung Woo Han, was delightful as Mercutio and Tybalt was played by Roman Zhurbin; the wonderful Three Harlots were danced by Isadora Loyola, Scout Forsythe, and Betsy McBride. The main non-dancing roles included Eric Tamm as Paris, Luciana Paris and Alexei Agoudine as Lady and Lord Capulet, Carlos Lopez as Escalus, Prince of Verona and as Friar Laurence, Courtney Lavine as Rosaline, Nancy Raffa—here replacing Susan Jones—as the Nurse, and Chloe Misseldine and Clinton Luckett as Lady and Lord Montague. The extraordinary corps de ballet was characteristically brilliant.

Performances of this production close Ballet Theater’s indelible—if all too brief—summer season.

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