Kenneth McMillian’s tale of unpleasant people acting unpleasantly in 18th Century Paris comes into its own when the poet Des Grieux ( Reece Clarke ) dances with the dying love of his life Manon (Natalia Osipova) in the New Orlean Swamps.
I was wrung out by the end of it all. But I must say one other small scene made me more emotional , and that was when the Corps de Ballet , their hair shorn, their dresses in rags entered as one as they played the prisoners sent to New Orleans by ship. When they danced, with arms around each other, I felt overwhelmingly sad and incredibly moved.
A powerful and amazing bit of theatre by The Royal Opera House
Oh John , we may be related or separated at birth
ReplyDeleteI too saw Manon ( not with the same cast) recently at the ROH when I was over and I too cried at the prisoner scene
Lee
Art in its highest form.
ReplyDeleteSounds like the choreography, music and wardrobe was perfect for that scene. Really moving.
ReplyDeleteWhat a powerful production, to move you to such emotion. xx
ReplyDeleteMagnificent and moving. Perfect.
ReplyDeleteMoved me to tears reading your crit John. Thank you. You are so lucky to be able to see such performances. x
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ReplyDeleteAn overdose of culture can be good for the soul.
ReplyDeleteand john certainly gets enough of it with no expense spared
ReplyDeleteJohn works hard and enjoys spending his money doing the things he loves with those he loves. Well done John !
DeleteIt was a live performance streamed from our local picture house...
DeleteWas this in London? So glad you felt well enough to go after missing uni on Tuesday! Good that your meds work fast. It sounds a fascinating performance.
ReplyDeleteLooks like an amazing thing to see. Not my cup of tea but I understand why you would like it; the way you critique something exudes passion and understanding. Not everyone commenting appears to believe that you deserve to do whatever you wish whenever you wish it and there is no why.
ReplyDeleteJo in Auckland
What a huge variety of interesting plays and movies come to your corner of the world, John, and you're the better for enjoying the variety! This sounds a bit glum for me, but that's okay, too.
ReplyDeleteHugs!