Marianela Nuñez, at 44, remains one of the most perfect ballerinas, demonstrating superlative technique and absolute command in her first solo show, Timeless, at the Royal Opera House. The performance, running until 2 August, features a carefully chosen repertoire that pays tribute to the Royal Ballet and its choreographers, including Frederick Ashton, Kenneth MacMillan, Christopher Wheeldon, and Wayne McGregor.
Frictionless Technique and Egoless Self-Possession
Nuñez's performance includes a fiendish string of fouettés from Le Corsaire, where she whips her leg in circles before coming to a gentle standstill with the smoothest brakes. Her dancing is described as frictionless, combining beauty, capability, and egoless self-possession. While some might ask for a little grit, her perfection is undeniable.
According to the review, Nuñez offers an amazing showcase of the company's dancers, generously allowing them to shine. Matthew Ball and Mayara Magri dance the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet, with Magri giddy as she watches her Romeo swoop manfully around the stage. Akane Takada and Calvin Richardson are tender in a duet from McGregor's Infra, and Fumi Kaneko and Lukas B Braendsrød dance Wheeldon's serene After the Rain, though they cannot fill the long phrases in the exquisite way Nuñez once did with Thiago Soares.
Highlights of the Repertoire
For herself, Nuñez chooses Jerome Robbins' In the Night, set to Chopin's Nocturnes, a grownup piece for three couples full of simple, breath-holding elegance. She dances with Ball, with super-smooth take-offs into jumps and lifts and tortuous indecision about their relationship status. Ashton's Marguerite and Armand is the opposite, a melodrama featuring Nuñez as a TB-stricken courtesan coughing on the chaise longue. However, her reserve and containment make this a dance of resistance and surrender rather than passion and fire.
Her textbook classical and neo-classical pas de deux are among the most arresting, including Balanchine's Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux with the Royal's new principal Patricio Revé, a promising partnership for the future.
Conclusion
While one could ask for more, the review concludes that you cannot fault Nuñez. Timeless is a testament to her peerless technique and generous spirit, making it a must-see for ballet enthusiasts.
