Sarah Lamb and Vadim Muntagirov in 'Manon'

I wasn’t planning on writing about Thursday night’s performance of the Royal Ballet’s Manon. I’ve written about Sarah Lamb and Vadim Muntagirov in the leading roles already for this ballet, and thought I might save my words for one of the other casts. I hope to still write about some other casts, but I couldn’t resist putting something down on paper, well Microsoft Word, after Thursday’s show. I have gone back to the piece I wrote a few years ago which is a big pile of gushing praise and the below won’t be any different. Lamb and Muntagirov completely own these roles and they prove just how wonderful they are dancing MacMillan’s choreography. I wrote last time that ‘together they were full of passion and where the music ascends to its climactic moments so did their dancing.’ They continued to wow on Thursday evening, reprising their roles as the doomed lovers Manon and Des Grieux.

I think that Sarah Lamb is wonderful in this role. Because she has danced it so many times, she has the confidence to fling herself at her partner and try new things, adding little details where she thinks they should go. You can only get that type of ease with experience. She makes the narrative clear too, touching her necklace and bracelet to tell Des Grieux that he can’t provide her with shiny things. Considering the ballet was being filmed and will be live streamed to cinemas during their next performance, I can imagine that detail will be appreciated by the wider public, many of whom won’t have seen the ballet before. I find Lamb’s final act one the strongest. She isn’t walking dead when she comes off the boat in New Orleans; instead she seems hopeful, taking us back to the naive girl that first steps on stage in Act One. You feel like she reverts back to how she was, and paired with Muntagirov’s youthful and hopeful ways it’s quite a heart breaking picture as we know, and the music is telling us, that soon things will get much much worse. It is only after she is raped by the Gaoler that you see her change. She isn’t already on the brink of death, this happens after the ordeal in the jail. Every inch of hope that she previously had is physically raped from her. She is also the only dancer to gag and vomit after what happens to her and this physical rejection of evil makes it all the more harrowing to watch. By the time she makes it to the swamp with Des Grieux she is clearly dying with little energy to continue. Lamb’s final pas de deux with Muntagirov was extremely moving and heart breaking, not necessarily because I felt sad for her character but I think because of the way she could interpret the choreography.

Of course a little bit of me was dying inside watching a heartbroken Muntagirov. If he’s sad, then so am I. His Des Grieux is one of the finest around. He has such beautiful lines and really understands the awkward, naïve and bookish nature of the character. He is completely besotted with his Manon and completely succumbs to her beguiling nature. Lamb doesn’t play an innocent Manon in the same way Osipova or Takada have done. She knows very well what she needs to do if she wants all that ice around her neck. She really captures what I call ‘the Manon change’ to complete perfection. This is the moment when she is draped in a beautiful fur coat and diamond jewellery, and begins to realise the power of her sex and what needs to be done if she wants a life of riches and parties. Lamb has an incredible power to change her expression. Graced with such big eyes, she can convey this change right up to those sitting in row V of the amphitheatre. Her eyes become glazed over, and her body language changes to that of a sultry seductress. From that moment on, we watch a new woman on stage, one who is fully aware of the world she is now joining. Pair that with such an innocent portrayal by Muntagirov and you can feel the moments of doom very early on in the ballet. Their depiction of these characters is so intelligent and mature, it turns the narrative almost into a work of philosophy! Anyone who sniggers when you mention ballet and remarks that it’s all tutus and fairy wands, get them a ticket to see these two in Manon. I’m sure you will be the one who sniggers at them by the end.

Thursday night wouldn’t have been as magical were it not for a wonderful supporting cast. In particular, Ryo Hirano who made his debut as Lescaut, Manon’s pimping, wicked and snide brother. I’ve never seen Hirano in MacMillan or in a role that requires much acting. Well give the guy an Oscar, he completely overwhelmed me. His Lescaut is pure evil. He makes fun of the poor, cackles when he sees the cart of dying prostitutes and is violent and forceful with his Mistress. I could not take my eyes off him on stage. How wonderful to watch someone with such confidence in a debut role and his acting wasn’t overdone either. I felt that he was Lescaut, not Hirano pretending to be a bad guy. He can also do comedy! His drunk scene in the brothel was one of the funniest I have ever seen and has certainly received the most laughs from the audience during this run. This was also helped by the wonderful Itziar Mendizabal whose turn as Mistress was a fiery and exciting display on stage. Her Mistress isn’t as knowing as some of the other interpretations; instead she plays her as pretty ditzy and immature which works so well with Hirano’s twisted Lescaut. She really looked to me like an authentic Mistress of those times, and acted the part so well. I’m liking what I see of Mendizabal in MacMillan – her Larisch was also wondrous.

I couldn’t finish this piece without gushing over Gary Avis for a bit. How can it be that someone who seems like such a nice guy in real life can play such evil and twisted characters on stage? To me that’s the sign of a true artist. Avis can always shape shift into a different role and get inside their minds to depict every part of their character. I love his interpretation of Monsieur GM, completely disgusted by poverty with no care in the world that he’s part of the problem. I love how he reduces GM in the bedroom scene to a pathetic fop, obsessively trying to touch Manon. It reminds me of those men in power that you read about who like to be submissive in the bedroom. What I love about Avis is that he says so much without needing to speak. You know exactly what his characters are about just through his body language and expression – it must be so inspiring to watch someone like that come to life in a rehearsal.

Thursday night took me by surprise a little. I was saving all of my excitement for some of the younger casts of Manon who haven’t had the same experience as Lamb and Muntagirov, but I left the Opera House completely overwhelmed. This has been a long run of Manon and I’ve been lucky enough to see many of the shows, but just when I thought that watching debauchery, rape and death was getting a bit tiresome, out comes this thrilling cast to completely revitalise it for me. More soon on the other shows, but for now I want to spend the rest of my Sunday reminiscing about that night.