Zoe Anderson reviews Sylvie Guillem's performance in The Independent:

http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/theatre/reviews/story.jsp?story=607604

Manon
By Debra Crane for The Times

IT’S love at first sight and there’s no turning back. Not just for Sylvie Guillem and Jonathan Cope as the doomed lovers in Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon, but for the audience. The thrill of anticipation rippled through the auditorium as the curtain rose on the return of this great partnership.

click for more

Manon
By Gavin roebuck for The Stage


In the story of Manon choreographer Kenneth MacMillan found the sordid seam of a corrupt, debauched and decadent society, which he loved to mine. Created in the mid 1970s, this revival was turned by the Royal Ballet’s stellar French ballerina Sylvie Guillem into a star vehicle, resulting in a loss of the sense of work as a whole and at times a selfish disengagement between her and the other characters.

click for more

Yes, I know it's a terrible pun, but let's not automatically blame David Dougill, as it is probably the work of a sub-editor.

To the Manon born
Coruscating performances from Cope and Guillem make Royal Ballet’s revival of the MacMillan classic a tour de force, says David Dougill for The Sunday Times.


Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon has proved one of the Royal Ballet’s most reliably crowd-pulling attractions over the decades since its creation in 1974, never out of the repertory for long and a vehicle for countless star performances. The latest revival of the three-act dramatic ballet is a short run in Covent Garden’s densely packed season, with the leading roles of the tragic heroine and her lover, Des Grieux, shared between three top-notch casts.

click formore

Feats of passion
MacMillan would have been proud — in the Sunday Times David Dougill marvels at a devastatingly emotional Manon

Over the 30 years since Kenneth MacMillan created his modern classic Manon for the Royal Ballet, one of the mainstays of the repertory, the list of dancers who have starred in its marvellous leading roles is long and luminous. Seven casts as Manon and her lover, Des Grieux, have been fielded for the Opera House’s latest revival, all today’s top names, half of whom MacMillan, who died in 1992, never knew.

One of them is Zenaida Yanowsky, who made her sensational debut as Manon last weekend...

click for more

**************************************

Manon with plenty of sauce
Yanowsky is a sensuous revelation says Luke Jennings for The Observer

Emotions ran high at Covent Garden last week as Zenaida Yanowsky made her debut as Manon. The role, with its dark glamour and lavish dramatic arc, is one of the Royal Ballet's most coveted prizes, and Yanowsky's supporters have waited a long time to see her dance it.

The problem has been finding her a tall enough partner, but that has been solved - temporarily, at least - by the arrival from Denmark of guest principal Kenneth Greve. The static crackled between them from the start.

click for more

As part of their current season, the Royal Ballet presented several performances of Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon at the Royal Opera House. I attended the one on the 14th November. The cast included Leanne Benjamin as Manon, Federico Bonelli as Des Grieux, Martin Harvey as Lescaut and Laura Morera as his Mistress.

Manon was created in 1974 and has obviously had many different interpretations in their leading roles since then. It is to MacMillan’s credit to have created a ballet that, though choreographically challenging and well structured, especially in the development of the main pas de deux, leaves plenty of room for personal interpretation for its leading roles. Manon is a role that is multifaceted at its very core and ballerinas covet this role as it offers them the possibility to explore aspects of the heroine’s psyche that, even in the book, remain puzzling to this day.

Benjamin offered a good reading of these aspects, though her interpretation improved as the ballet progressed. Most interpretations I have seen, fail in the transition from innocent girl to courtesan. It is a very subtle transition that requires minimal means of expression and yet convincing resonance.

Bonelli’s interpretation was not mature enough both in his characterisation and, most importantly, in his rendering of the choreography. Bonelli is a very academic dancer, who seems to be at a loss whenever he is required to be off centre. Unfortunately for him, MacMillan’s choreography for Des Grieux requires exactly that.

Harvey and Morera gave good accounts of their roles, but I much preferred the multi layered interpretation that Thiago Soares and Marianela Núñez had given just a couple of days before. Harvey approached Lescaut from its darkest side, while Morera was feisty all along. Soares and Núñez gave more dimension to their characters and managed to change their responses to each other in all the different scenes.

Worth noting was Steven McRae’s debut as the Chief Beggar. He not only has an incredible technique, but he also managed to stay within character in his given number.

Overall, the company looked good and the level of the corps seemed to have improved since the last time I had seen the ballet.

I find Steven McRae quite extraordinary; apart from his admirable technique he has the ability to immerse himself in every role he dances. I consider him the most important new talent that the Royal Ballet has discovered in years.