Manon (English National Ballet)

The English National Ballet's acquisition of Manon was heralded as a worthy act, bringing this wonderful ballet to the regions. Nobody seems to have told the regions. The performance at the New Theatre in Oxford was miserably empty. It was a real pity too as this was comfortably the strongest performance I've seen from the ENB in a good while. I wasn't truly sure they had the dancers to pull off the central roles but in Fernanda Oliviera they have a Manon of some brilliance.

When I caught this production for the first time in London, I had my reservations about the designs. Now the ENB have a more solid grip on the ballet I'm even less keen. Not only are the harlots of Act II walking confectionery, but the Beggars of Act I are rather more Disney than is ideal. These silly costumes don't help the conflict between Money and Love. The poverty seems so pleasant that Manon's decision to leave Des Grieux fails to make sense. The sets are almost non-existent which whilst not the end of the world is a detriment to the atmosphere. Only the lighting evoked any drama and even that was weaker than it was when the show was staged in London.

Initially I was fairly disappointed by the standard of dancing. The corps were efficient enough but there was that unpleasant feeling of everyone just going through the motions. Yat-Sen chang made for a sprightly Beggar Chief but it was otherwise accurate but uninteresting. Dmitri Gruzdyev didn't start overly strongly, his first solo passable but little more. The whole evening turned with the first steps of Oliviera. Seldom can I recall a show so lifted by a single performance. All of a sudden Gruzdyev too was delivering an impeccable and heartfelt display of skill and emotion. The central romance was so believable I couldn't help but think the pair must be off-stage partners as well. Oliviera captured the youthful joy of love but also the desperate need to survive. The glint in her eye as jewels were lavished upon her was almost as palpable as the longing she gave to Gruzdyev. By the final duet I was well and truly moved. Things were only enhanced by the dramatic improvement in the character acting. Michael Coleman's pervy Old Man was a treat and the Monsieur GM of James Streeter had a suitably nasty streak. Fabian Reimair failed to grab me in quite the same manner as the lead pair, he had a nice hawkish manner but missed some of the comedy of the drunken dance and never really convinced me of why he was first selling his sister but then trying to recover her. Daniel Jones didn't get much beyond looking mean as the Gaoler but then few ever do.

This wasn't the finest performance from the company but the two central roles could scarcely have been danced better. Oliviera gave certainly one of the best Manons I've ever come across and Gruzdyev wasn't far behind. Pity it had to be in this production which is a disappointingly budget affair. Sad too that so few people were in the theatre to witness it all.