{"id":1235,"date":"2020-06-27T21:29:15","date_gmt":"2020-06-27T21:29:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/manon-review-english-national-ballet\/"},"modified":"2023-12-26T17:47:01","modified_gmt":"2023-12-26T17:47:01","slug":"manon-review-english-national-ballet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/manon-review-english-national-ballet\/","title":{"rendered":"Kenneth MacMillan \u2018Manon\u2019 Ballet Review: English National Ballet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Manon<\/em>, like many beloved ballets (Giselle<\/em>, Romeo and Juliet, Carmen <\/em>and Swan Lake<\/em>, for example), is laced with romance but ends in tragedy. The scandalous Manon <\/em>ballet synopsis is based upon the book, Manon Lescaut<\/span> by Antoine Francois Prevost, published in 1973. Manon falls in love with Des Grieux, before dabbling with the wealthier Monsieur GM. When she falls out of favor with him (through her own meddling misdeeds), Manon is arrested. Manon and Des Grieux journey to the Americas, but the stressful ordeal takes such an extraordinary toll on the flawed heroine, she shortly passes away. The English National Ballet<\/a> showed their performance of <\/strong>Kenneth MacMillan\u2019s Manon<\/em><\/em> ballet at the Manchester Opera House <\/a>in 2018 on the ENB Facebook <\/a>and YouTube<\/a> channels from June 24 – 26 T. The ballet lasts about 1 hour and 55 minutes without intervals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read <\/em>where else you can watch dance shows online<\/em><\/a> and about other<\/em> entertaining virtual dance activities<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Dancers Joseph Caley and Alina Cojocaru of English National Ballet play lovers in Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon <\/em>ballet.
Photo credit: Laurent Liotardo<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Manon<\/em> Ballet Review<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Act I<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a good ten minutes dedicated to scene setting before we meet Manon Lescaut \u2013 illustrating the difference between the white-wigged men and women in full-bodied skirts with petticoats, and the dirt-smudged others, begging with cupped hands. MacMillan often stages performers in the background to create ambiance, but the area feels overcrowded. The two large tables probably don\u2019t help; and the busyness distracts from the main small group choreography.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Manon (Alina Cojocaru) arrives, she uniformly delights her peers \u2013 and she revels in her new-found sense of power. After she enchants an old man and the lecherous Monsieur GM (James Streeter) in his red, long-tailed coat, Des Grieux (Joseph Caley) becomes the next casualty. The two share a joyous pas de deux with playful balances before stealing away in a carriage for a scintillating duet at Des Grieux\u2019s quarters \u2013 the seduction similar to scenes from MacMillan\u2019s The Mayerling, <\/em>but altogether less ominous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Lescaut (Jeffrey Cirio) shows off his mistress (Katja Khaniukova) in the English National Ballet’s Manon<\/em>, choreographed by Kenneth MacMillan.
Photo credit: Laurent Liotardo<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Manon\u2019s brother, Lescaut (Jeffrey Cirio), swoops in accompanied by Monsieur GM as soon as Des Grieux exits. The love-struck Manon all too quickly snaps out of her reverie to sample material luxuries financed by the unsavory Monsieur. But our annoyance at her fickle nature subsides during a curious pas de trois. Lescaut proffers his sister as bait for money, while Monsieur GM worships Manon, kissing her feet and animalistically heading north. Manon endears herself, just enough, without letting the Monsieur get too close \u2013 fan kicking over him, just out of reach. Still, she departs with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A dismayed Des Grieux quarrels with Lescaut when he hears Manon has left. Apparently, the golden coins can\u2019t console him, like they do Manon\u2019s brother. Des Grieux can\u2019t get the upper hand in the physical fight with Lescaut (obviously, because he uses a moment of escape to sit woodenly at his desk); and this duo departs the apartment as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Alina Cojocaru and Joseph Caley share a duet in Manon<\/em> as Manon and Des Grieux.
Photo credit: Laurent Liotardo<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Act II<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The second act delivers a bit of bawdy fun with pretty girls in pastels and an inebriated Lescaut. It\u2019s a pleasure to see Lescaut dance more, instead of solely pacing with a hand under his chin to illustrate his scheming. The Mayerling<\/em> springs to mind, again. But the ladies in this <\/em>second act are less edgy and more comical as they jockey for male patrons. The courtesans upstage each other and compete for the more attractive suitors. They also drop all sense of decorum when a trinket falls to the ground; they drop, too \u2013 scrambling on their hands and knees for a payout.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Time seems to stop when Manon arrives in her glamorous coat and dress with gorgeous lace applique. Beguiled men carry Manon like a prize trophy, her leg pointing skyward as tantalizing as Ralphie\u2019s dad\u2019s fishnet stocking-ed leg lamp from A Christmas Story<\/em> movie. The doting crowd kiss her hands, and Manon only falters when she encounters Des Grieux, hands nervously clasped at her front. His continual prostration eventually wins her over \u2013 just before his poorly executed con job, which results in a short sword fight, Lescaut\u2019s execution and Manon\u2019s arrest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Women
The courtesans in colorful tutus show off for the gentleman on the other side of the room in Manon<\/em>.
Photo credit: Laurent Liotardo<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Act III<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The third act also takes time to set the scene. Fine ladies in powder blue outfits dance in a dockyard with young men wearing tricorn hats. Finally, our bedraggled heroine disembarks from the ship, her forced transatlantic journey ended; although she returns barely recognizable with short hair (and this abrupt makeover seems similar to the last scene of MacMillan\u2019s Anastasia <\/em>ballet). The number on Manon\u2019s back identifies her as a prisoner; and despite Des Grieux\u2019s attempt to protect her, she is seized by a pair of officers. She is left with the lustful Gaoler (Fabian Reimair), who forcefully subjects her to his abrasive desires and returns Manon\u2019s diamond-studded bracelet as \u2018payment\u2019. After Des Grieux stabs him, she chucks it by his corpse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although this would have been a powerful ending, we follow the lovers to a mist-filled landscape, where we meet a mysterious handful of ladies in and characters from earlier scenes: Lescaut and his plucky mistress (Katja Khaniukova), a contented Monsieur and the brothel\u2019s Madame (Jane Haworth). In Manon\u2019s mind, the Monsieur and other mistresses happily carry on with their lives. Meanwhile, Manon\u2019s physical body is exhausted, even with a sturdy Des Grieux to raise and support her. Manon frantically runs into a lift and snatches at the air with her arms; but her body goes limp before she even touches the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
The Gaoler (Fabian Reimair) sets his sights on Manon (Alina Cojocaru) in Kenneth MacMillan’s ballet.
Photo credit: Laurent Liotardo<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Des Grieux grieves for his lover, and the audience is left to wonder how else Manon\u2019s life could have played out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[yasr_overall_rating null size=”large”]<\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Alina Cojocaru brings an interesting dimension to our misguided heroine, Manon; she\u2019s not an innocent fairy tale princess \u2013 but she\u2019s not as devilishly devious as Carmen (from Bizet\u2019s famous opera.) Sure, she was foolish, but did she really deserve her fate? Some of the choreography was very impressive; if only the whole was as captivating as the woman for which the ballet was named.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Manon<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Kenneth<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Manon<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Did you see the English National Ballet perform Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon<\/em> ballet \u2013 whether in person or online? Which was your favorite act or scene? Let us know in the comments field below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Manon, like many beloved ballets (Giselle, Romeo and Juliet, Carmen and Swan Lake, for example), is laced with romance but ends in tragedy. The scandalous Manon ballet synopsis is based upon the book, Manon Lescaut by Antoine Francois Prevost, published in 1973. Manon falls in love with Des Grieux, before dabbling with the wealthier Monsieur GM. […]\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1032,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[79],"tags":[81],"class_list":["post-1235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-show","tag-ballet"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Joseph-Caley-and-Alina-Cojocaru-in-Manon-c-Laurent-Liotardo-4.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1235"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1235\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1243,"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1235\/revisions\/1243"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dancedispatches.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}