PACIFIC NORTHWEST BALLET Romeo et Juliette April 11 - April 20, 2025 Review
ROMEO ET JULIETTE
Music: Sergei Prokofiev
Choreography: Jean-Christophe Maillot
Pacific Northwest Ballet
McCaw Hall
Seattle, WA
Review: Saturday 4/12/25 7:30 pm Performance
I was looking forward to this rep as it's one that I’ve reviewed before. It’s significant in my eyes as we were coming out of the pandemic at the time when I first reviewed it in February of 2022. While I can no longer claim my newbie status as a PNB reviewer, I don’t feel like I’m the seasoned veteran reviewer, either. I’m somewhere in between with much more to learn with each rep, repeated or not.
The productions I’ve reviewed since November 2018 were the foundational pieces of my ballet education. The interviews with some of the company dancers along with the fine folks behind the scenes have added invaluable data to my growing bank of information.
With that, “Romeo et Juliette” was nostalgic for lack of a better term as well as a new spectacle in places. As soon as the show began, the straight forward staging brought back memories of the previous performance in 2022. Many times throughout the show I found myself remembering scene after scene, dance after dance.
What was new wasn’t within the show or the choreography but with the dances, the movements, the orchestration, and the overall presentation, particularly in Act III. I believe I can finally watch a performance with a more critical eye both in the positive and the negative sense. Last night it was very much in the positive sense.
The role debuts for Angelica Generosa and Dylan Wald occurred Saturday evening. I’ve seen Angelica dance more this season than any other. Dylan I’ve seen develop from the core, soloist, and principal levels. Together they worked seamlessly and their onstage partnership was quite exquisite. Between the expressive acting and the equally expressive dancing, they led the production like the true professionals they are.
Kuu Sakuragi is becoming a new favorite of mine. His dancing continues to impress me and it’s a joy to watch him develop into an all around fantastic dancer. Jonathan Batista and Leta Biasucci always make things look so easy on stage. They are dancers that are just beyond words. Whenever they’re in a cast, I already know what they’re going to do to elevate the production. The old me would have taken that for granted. Not so anymore. The new me relishes in every performance I get to witness that these two dancers bring to the stage every time they grace it.
I mentioned this in an earlier review but maestro Emil de Cou has elevated his already top notch conducting to a new level this season. The orchestra has been a true standout at each rep I’ve reviewed this season. His conducting for this production worked so well with the choreography as well as the timing of the dancers. The perfect marriage of artistic disciplines.
“Romeo et Juliette” is a timeless classic and this current production brings the romantic yet tragic tale to life in more ways than one.
Recommended.
“Romeo et Juliette” runs through April 20th. Purchase tickets: HERE!
Best,
Mark Sugiyama
Eclectic Arts Media
Connect with Eclectic Arts Media: Social Media and Email Links
Music: Sergei Prokofiev
Choreography: Jean-Christophe Maillot
Pacific Northwest Ballet
McCaw Hall
Seattle, WA
Review: Saturday 4/12/25 7:30 pm Performance
(Pacific Northwest Ballet principal dancers Dylan Wald and Angelica Generosa in Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Roméo et Juliette, onstage at Seattle Center’s McCaw Hall April 11 – 20, 2025. (Streaming for digital subscribers April 24 – 28.) For tickets and information, contact the PNB Box Office, 206.441.2424 or PNB.org. Photo © Angela Sterling.)
I was looking forward to this rep as it's one that I’ve reviewed before. It’s significant in my eyes as we were coming out of the pandemic at the time when I first reviewed it in February of 2022. While I can no longer claim my newbie status as a PNB reviewer, I don’t feel like I’m the seasoned veteran reviewer, either. I’m somewhere in between with much more to learn with each rep, repeated or not.
The productions I’ve reviewed since November 2018 were the foundational pieces of my ballet education. The interviews with some of the company dancers along with the fine folks behind the scenes have added invaluable data to my growing bank of information.
With that, “Romeo et Juliette” was nostalgic for lack of a better term as well as a new spectacle in places. As soon as the show began, the straight forward staging brought back memories of the previous performance in 2022. Many times throughout the show I found myself remembering scene after scene, dance after dance.
(Pacific Northwest Ballet principal dancers Angelica Generosa and Dylan Wald in Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Roméo et Juliette, onstage at Seattle Center’s McCaw Hall April 11 – 20, 2025. (Streaming for digital subscribers April 24 – 28.) For tickets and information, contact the PNB Box Office, 206.441.2424 or PNB.org. Photo © Angela Sterling.)
What was new wasn’t within the show or the choreography but with the dances, the movements, the orchestration, and the overall presentation, particularly in Act III. I believe I can finally watch a performance with a more critical eye both in the positive and the negative sense. Last night it was very much in the positive sense.
The role debuts for Angelica Generosa and Dylan Wald occurred Saturday evening. I’ve seen Angelica dance more this season than any other. Dylan I’ve seen develop from the core, soloist, and principal levels. Together they worked seamlessly and their onstage partnership was quite exquisite. Between the expressive acting and the equally expressive dancing, they led the production like the true professionals they are.
Kuu Sakuragi is becoming a new favorite of mine. His dancing continues to impress me and it’s a joy to watch him develop into an all around fantastic dancer. Jonathan Batista and Leta Biasucci always make things look so easy on stage. They are dancers that are just beyond words. Whenever they’re in a cast, I already know what they’re going to do to elevate the production. The old me would have taken that for granted. Not so anymore. The new me relishes in every performance I get to witness that these two dancers bring to the stage every time they grace it.
(Pacific Northwest Ballet principal dancer Lucien Postlewaite as Romeo, with soloist Kuu Sakuragi as Mercutio, in Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Roméo et Juliette, onstage at Seattle Center’s McCaw Hall April 11 – 20, 2025. (Streaming for digital subscribers April 24 – 28.) For tickets and information, contact the PNB Box Office, 206.441.2424 or PNB.org. Photo © Angela Sterling.)
I mentioned this in an earlier review but maestro Emil de Cou has elevated his already top notch conducting to a new level this season. The orchestra has been a true standout at each rep I’ve reviewed this season. His conducting for this production worked so well with the choreography as well as the timing of the dancers. The perfect marriage of artistic disciplines.
“Romeo et Juliette” is a timeless classic and this current production brings the romantic yet tragic tale to life in more ways than one.
Recommended.
“Romeo et Juliette” runs through April 20th. Purchase tickets: HERE!
Best,
Mark Sugiyama
Eclectic Arts Media
Connect with Eclectic Arts Media: Social Media and Email Links
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