Review: ROMEO & JULIET at San Francisco Ballet Concludes the Season on a Gloriously Romantic High Note

Prokofiev's score for Romeo & Juliet is easily one of the greatest masterworks of the 20th century. The composer just keeps tossing off theme after enchanting theme amidst all the drama, hijinks, humor and tragedy, culminating in perhaps the most ravishing love theme ever written. Even the transition music between scenes merits listening to on its own. But more importantly, the music also acts as a perfect springboard for some of the most stunningly romantic dancing you're ever likely to see.

Romeo & Juliet is almost unique among classic ballets in that virtually all of the dancing is in service of illuminating character and advancing the narrative. When Romeo leaps across the stage at the Capulet ball, it's because he wants to attract Juliet's attention, not just show off for the audience. There are no sequences where an identically-dressed group of peasants dance a paean to the harvest, no ethnic dances of dubious authenticity to fill out the evening.

San Francisco Ballet's production choreographed by former Artistic Director Helgi Tomasson in 1994 holds up remarkably well, aside from some of Jens-Jacob Worsaae's otherwise handsome set designs that now look a little wan around the edges. The operative point here is that Tomasson's choreography serves the score well and tells the familiar Shakespeare story clearly and effectively. This tale of two feuding families feels even more relevant in our current times when we seem to have lost the ability to get along with each other. If you aren't at least a bit of a wreck by the tragic conclusion, you might want to get your pulse checked.

SFB is offering no less than five different pairings in the lead roles over the course of the run, and I really don't think you can go wrong with any of them given the depth of talent within the company. I was unable to attend opening night, but the cast I saw the following afternoon was so strong it made any notion of first vs. second or third cast irrelevant. Nearly every dancer onstage was doing superlative work.

Cavan Conley was marvelous in the role of Mercutio, etching a portrait of a high-spirited young man who doesn't grasp the consequences of his behavior until he's in too deep. Conley has been on quite a roll all season, showing a new technical mastery, and I was particularly impressed by an unending series of pirouettes that slowed down in the middle only to speed up again at the end, all the while never losing center. Daniel Deivison-Olveira as his adversary, Tybalt, was the most menacing I've ever seen which escalated the tension between them. Their sword fight crackled with a hotheaded antagonism that was truly frightening to witness.

One of the delights of Tomasson's production is seeing what two of the women can do with the featured roles of the Harlots. Although they're basically a matched set, Elizabeth Powell and Thamires Chuvas contrasted with each other marvelously. Powell was the genteel coquette while Chuvas was lusty and fearless, and definitely not someone you'd want to cross.

A special note of praise for the ageless Anita Paciotti as Juliet's Nurse. I've been watching Paciotti perform this role ever since the production's world premiere in 1994 and I swear she just keeps getting better, always digging deeper and finding new details in her character so that she seems utterly alive and in the moment. This time, I was particularly taken by how girlish she suddenly became as she basked in the attention of Romeo and his young friends in Act II.

Best of all, Misa Kuranaga and Joseph Walsh made a sensational pair in the title roles. Both had many technically impressive moments, but what I especially loved was how artfully they employed their spectacular technique to illuminate their characters. Early in Act I, Kuranaga's sustained balances on one toe gave the impression of an adolescent girl delighting in her newfound ability to take command of her own body. And the speed and crispness of her leg movements spoke of the rambunctious energy that lay beneath Juliet's refined, patrician exterior.

After Nurse delivered Juliet's note to Walsh's Romeo in Act II, he circled the stage in a series of grand jetés that felt like a manifestation of his utter joy in that moment. Walsh's fully thought-through delineation of his character's emotional journey later in Act II was also immensely moving. After Tybalt killed Mercutio, we saw nice-guy Romeo become so unhinged with sheer rage that he seemed to terrify even himself. And then when he stabbed Tybalt in revenge, his entire body wracked with remorse as he suddenly grasped the enormity of what he had just done. I've seen dozens of performances of various versions of Romeo & Juliet over the years, and the utter tragedy of that moment has never before resonated so deeply.

Kuranaga and Walsh also danced gorgeously together as a pair falling in love. The astonishing apogee of the famous balcony scene occurred when Kuranaga rushed into his arms only to be lifted and flipped around 180 degrees, then held aloft as Walsh crossed the length of the stage in romantic rapture. It was like one seamless, unbroken swoon, an ultimate expression of their love for each other. Later on in the final scene in the Capulet tomb as the orchestra reprised a slower, sadder version of that same love theme, we could feel the depth of their loss as it contrasted with their earlier dreamily optimistic pas de deux. When the dying Juliet reached out to enfold herself in the still-warm body of her dead Romeo is when the tears really started flowing.

Take Note: Romeo & Juliet is the final program in SFB's richly rewarding 2023 season. Miss it at your own peril.

(all photos by Chris Hardy)

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Performances of San Francisco Ballet's Romeo & Juliet continue through Sunday, April 30th at the War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, CA. Running time is approximately 2 hours 35 minutes, including two intermissions. For tickets and additional information, visit www.sfballet.org or call (415) 865-2000, M-F 10am-4pm.

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