Manon, The Love Story
The first thing to say about Natalia Osipova is that she has some serious fans. Really serious. Some so serious in fact that they tut or shriek if they overhear a slight criticism of the star. You have to be careful of what you say and how you say it. Luckily, based on the other night’s ROH production of Manon and starring Osipova and Carlos Acosta, I don’t think I will be faced with passive aggressive abuse since Osipova was quite wonderful. There is something about Ozzy that gets me excited. We all know how phenomenal her technique is so when she is given MacMillan to dance, everyone seems on edge as to how she’ll portray it. One thing is for sure, she isn’t shy to give it her own signature style. She certainly gave the audience what they wanted in terms of technique (she’s utterly flawless with the steps) but she also gave us a Manon that I had never seen before. Of course she had wonderful support from Carlos Acosta who, as always, was a pleasure to watch. Here is a dancer (also with a strong following so I better be careful!) who has had a phenomenal progression within the company. It’s similar to Bonelli and actually many of the other male leads, who are perhaps a little behind with the technique and MacMillan standard of acting at first yet after years of experience, flourish into these wonderful core dancers. When Rojo left the company it almost seemed a given that her dancing partner, Acosta, was sure to throw in the tights and begin retirement. Enter Osipova. This woman was not going to let him go and with a strong partnership built almost instantly, one could argue that she gave him a new lease of life, even if only for a couple of years. Their chemistry in Manon lifted the entire performance and they really reached new heights of pushing each other for a passionate performance. With this and Osipova’s unique take on the role, we have something quite extraordinary: Manon, the love story.
Usually I would say that Manon is a ballet that centers around a free spirited and determined woman who, faced with certain choices, is seduced by money and a wealthy lifestyle. Osipova, however, turned this on its head and focused more on Manon in her relationship with Des Grieux and the effects of her decisions with Lescaut and GM on their love. It’s an interpretation that I haven’t seen since the breathtaking Cojucaro/Kobborg reign. For Osipova, the choice to exploit her body for wealth is a last resort to keep her brother happy and to secure them financially, it is not a choice which she seems thrilled to make. She adds tiny details into her performance, such as picking up Des Grieux’s writing quill (which I haven’t seen anyone else do), to make it very clear that this is a woman in love, who possibly knows her fate, but is torn between pleasing her brother and being with Des Grieux. I loved watching her during the brothel scenes, consistently looking over at Des Grieux almost sickened by her behaviour and I felt an overwhelming longing from her to be with him. It’s a type of Manon I’m not used to. When she dies, I usually pick my coat up from the floor, exit the building and shrug her off as a stupid girl who got what was coming. This reversed dramatically with Osipova’s performance as a wave of sympathy crept over me. What a strange emotion to feel from this ballet! There’s the beauty of MacMillan- the space for interpretation. He really is the Shakespeare of the ballet world.
No matter what anyone says, I love Carlos Acosta. I have heard some argue that there wasn’t any chemistry between him and Ozzy but I disagree strongly. They showed a level of care and intimacy which transported this relationship into a loving one. Usually there is passion and clear themes of sexual desire between the two, but here I was shown love in its most delicate form. For me, this changed the performance to a tale about love rather than seduction. Of course there was still passion, and the bedroom scenes were full of it. They reached a connection that I feel was unfortunately lacking between Morera and Kish. As I have said previously, their bedroom pas de deux didn’t quite lift off the floor or really get going, but Carlos is practically built up of strength and heat and was able to confidently raise Osipova to passionate new heights. This was a memorable performance that really set the barre (I love that pun) for the future of this ballet. A different take goes a long way with me, and in this instance in particular it certainly was a successful one.