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Romeo & Juliet Blu-ray
Decca | 120 mins | Not rated | Sep 29, 2009
Romeo & Juliet Blu-ray ReviewThe Royal Ballet brings Kenneth Macmillan's version of Prokofiev's glorious 'Romeo & Juliet' to life in a stirring production.Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman, November 26, 2009 It may seem downright peculiar that with source material as well known as Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and a composer as lauded and famous as Sergey Prokofiev, that Prokofiev's ballet version of the timeless drama of starcrossed lovers took almost 30 years from its creation to fully penetrate Western consciousness. Prokofiev wrote his expressive score in 1935 with librettist Sergey Radlov. The two perhaps unwisely, if understandably after Pravda's then recent screed denouncing Shostakovich and decadent western influence, gave their piece a "suitably Soviet happy ending," in the words of commentator Quentin Crisp. That choice in and of itself may have pushed the project to the back burner for a while, but one way or the other it wasn't until almost five years later that the piece even had a Soviet premiere (with Shakespeare's original tragic ending once again intact). (There was a Czechoslovokian mounting in 1938 that preceded the Russian offering). That Kirov Ballet version, choreographed by Leonid Lavrovsky, captured the Russian imagination and catapulted Prokofiev into the front rank of ballet composers, strangely a breed separate and apart from "mere" symphonists, where Prokofiev had of course already made a pronounced mark. But here the story takes a rather strange turn, for even though the piece was widely amired in Soviet Russia, its influence was peculiarly isolated. Only sixteen years later, in 1956, when Moscow's Bolshoi Ballet visited London and danced the piece to rapturously enthralled audiences, did the West at large finally wake up and realize what a masterpiece this particular adaptation of the oft-told tale was. Within just a few years, there were several Western version choreographed by such stalwarts as John Cranko and Frederick Ashton. Ashton of course would go on to lead the Royal Ballet in London, but when it finally came time for the Royal Ballet to mount its own original interpretation of the piece, Ashton felt that his smaller scale version (originally done for the relatively modest Royal Danish Ballet) was inappropriate for the larger ambitions of Covent Garden, and so the choreographing task fell to Kenneth MacMillan, a young man who had seen and been awestruck by the Bolshoi's mid-50's version some ten years earlier. MacMillan set to work crafting his choreography in late 1964 (he had already choreographed the famous balcony scene pas de deux for a showcase featuring his muse, Lynn Seymour, as Juliet, and he indeed "saw" Seymour as the perfect receptacle for both his dramatic and dancing ambitions. Alas, that particular part of the MacMillan Romeo and Juliet saga was not to be, as the Royal Ballet had committed to a tour under the aegis of legendary promoter Sol Hurok, who, probably smartly (at least in terms of box office receipts), thought a pairing of the legendary Margot Fonteyn (obviously a bit long in tooth to be essaying a teenager like Juliet) and the then sensational "new" dancer Rudolf Nureyev would attract more audience interest. That it did (though Seymour and partner Christopher Gable, as Romeo, did end up dancing the piece on tour as replacements), and MacMillan's version soon attained legendary status, especially with its rather blatant sexual subtext and actual lack of dancing in one or two key scenes.
This is one of the most effortlessly lyrical, yet decisively rhythmic, scores in Prokofiev's oeuvre, one which almost nine years before the fact, evokes much of the same tonal landscape as his epochal Fifth Symphony. Major and minor modalities melt into each other, with gorgeous, wide spaced string writing encapsulating the master's often subtly anarchic brass and reed commentaries (including in this score the unusual addition of a tenor sax). I've always thought it somewhat incredible that two such revolutionary composers as Prokofiev and Shostakovich managed to cope with the strictures imposed upon them by the Soviet "artistically correct" committees which insisted on "pure" music (whatever that is—I certainly don't have a clue). If Shostakovich was more blatant about thumbing his nose at authority (and was therefore more apt to be scolded by the powers that be), Prokofiev was quite possibly even more pointed in his musical astringency, though Prokofiev was more apt to couch that bitterness in sudden, unexpected dissonances in an overall gloriously tonal and lyrical landscape. Those proclivities are completely on display throughout Romeo and Juliet, where Prokofiev crafts a score with the same sort of perpetuum mobile feeling that, for instance, the scherzo of his Second Piano Concerto proffers. It's not hard to imagine Leonard Bernstein poring over Prokofiev's score for ideas for his dance music for his own Romeo and Juliet adaptation, West Side Story. It's somewhat daunting therefore to realize that Prokofiev was coining a new musical vocabulary over two decades before Lenny got there and mined the same territory for American audiences. This Royal Ballet performance is elegantly played by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia under the direction of Boris Gruzin. Two of the troupe's most noted stars, Carlos Acosta and Tamara Rojo, do incredibly facile work as the doomed pair. Though the balcony scene is rightly viewed as one of the acmes of MacMillan's choreographing career, this piece is filled to the brim with exciting and moving moments. While the fight and dance scenes are of course viscerally exciting, in fact some of the most moving segments are the "still" sequences, including the famously long segment where MacMillan has Juliet lying motionless, awash in her love and passion for Romeo, as Prokofiev's music pours out one sobbing motive after another. It's in near revolutionary ideas such as this that MacMillan truly reveals his lasting genius; he's not afraid to let the music take the lead and reveal the psychological underpinnings of the characters, something that lesser choreographers are often loathe to do lest it keep the focus off of their work. Special note should also be made of the sumptuous original 1965 production design by Nicholas Georgiadis, reproduced here. This is a loving recreation of Renaissance Verona, full of pomp and circumstance, with colorful costumes and sets abounding which add to the visual splendor of the performance. Video  Decca is doing an oustanding job bringing some of its catalog titles, as well as newer offerings, into the Blu-ray era. This 2007 production is presented in a gorgeous 1080p/AVC encoded transfer that makes the most of the sumptuous Nicholas Georgiadis sets and costumes. Simply perusing some of the screen captures I've provided should give you an idea of how wonderfully colorful this production is, with both very subtle whites and yellows (largely for the women) competing with more robust purples and reds (for the men). The palette here is unusually wide and this Blu-ray offers some very subtle gradations in hues that are very pleasing. Contrast and black levels are exceptional, with a somewhat surprising depth of field considering this is performed on a relatively shallow proscenium stage. Level of detail is also strong throughout. You'll be captivated by the fine threadwork and jewels which adorn several costumes, and the heraldic banners offer an ominously festive backdrop, considering the outcome of Romeo and Juliet's love affair. The only negative comment on this offering I have is the very brief aliasing that occurs with some of the spears and swords. It's transitory and not all that distracting, but it is the one element where this Blu-ray goes very briefly awry. Audio  Decca has long been one of the greatest names in classical music labels, and they are bringing that same care and superior quality to the audio presentations on their Blu-ray releases. This DTS HD-MA 5.1 mix is brilliantly clear and lusciously rendered here, with excellent fidelity across all frequencies. Prokofiev tends to exploit both extremes in his orchestral writing here--almost impossibly high tones from the strings, and similarly rumble-worthy low tones in the brass, and everything here shines through with nary a hint of distortion. Separation is excellent with the surround channels giving a very lifelike hall ambience. When individual soli are offered, they are uniformly directional and extremely well balanced against the orchestral masses. I did spot checking of LPCM 2.0 fold down, and it is similarly clear if obviously more spatially compressed without the excellently subtle hall reverb that the 5.1 track contains. Supplements  Unfortunately, aside from a brief though interesting insert booklet essay by Quentin Crisp, there are no supplements offered here. Final words If this is at times a trifle staid and chaste for some viewers' tastes, it's a remarkably faithful recreation of one of MacMillan's hallmark pieces of choreography. Athletically dances by Acosta, and with a tragically lyrical turn by Rojo, this Romeo and Juliet offers visual and aural delights that should enrapture a whole new generation of audiences. It may have taken a little while for Prokofiev's monumental score to achieve full recognition, but hopefully this new Blu-ray will help make that long wait a thing of the past. 
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