REVIEWED: English National Ballet’s Manon at the Manchester Opera House

English National Ballet is performing Manon at the Manchester Opera House this week, a rare occasion to see Kenneth MacMillan’s masterpiece outside London – and the opportunity to admire world-class principals in a stunning performance.

Created in 1974, Manon is an iconic ballet. Performed all over the world, it represents the quintessence of MacMillan’s genius as a passionate, compelling story-teller. His distinctive choreographic language, while remaining classical at heart, is highly creative in portraying deep, complex characters and their relationships.

Set in 18th-century France, the ballet tells the story of Manon, a young woman who falls in love with a poor student, Des Grieux, but she is later set up to become the mistress of a wealthy aristocrat by her brother. In the dodgy universe of gambling and courtesans, we see Manon falling for the fur coats and jewellery – but when she wants to follow her heart and escape with her lover, things go dramatically wrong. 

English National Ballet in Manon. Photo: Laurent Liotardo

Alina Cojocaru, formerly of the Royal Ballet and a world-acclaimed ballerina, delivers an outstanding performance as Manon. She moves effortlessly and flies through the hardest technical challenges, and each of her gestures is telling the story. The delicacy of her arms and the expressiveness of her feet are extraordinary. Naïve and innocent at first, she becomes a playful and fiery lover. But as she agrees to become the aristocrat’s mistress, her personality darkens. The innocence is gone, she stiffens, she looks older. From then on, she has entered a world where women are commodities shamelessly abused by men.

Joseph Caley is fresh and passionate as her true love, Des Grieux. The pair particularly thrive in the numerous and very impressive duets. The technicality of the pas de deux is so well mastered that they communicate what is most important here: the passion between the characters. Both seem to let go of their emotions fully, with an extreme freedom in the dancing and exhilarating risk-taking in the most difficult moments, always absolutely spot on. However tricky the choreography is (and MacMillan’s duets are famously difficult), the movement flows seamlessly. From spectacular lifts to the simplest embrace, they are deeply touching and, ultimately, heartbreaking.

Jeffrey Cirio as Lescaut (Manon’s brother) and Katja Khaniukova as his mistress are convincing and secure, both mastering technical tours-de-force with class and facility. Khaniukova is very subtle in her portrayal of a depraved courtesan, between playful debauchery and sordid prostitution – a nuance that few other dancers on stage manage to combine, perhaps not helped by colourful costumes that might suggest innocent fun rather than unhealthy sleaze.

Katja Khaniukova and Jeffrey Cirio in English National Ballet’s Manon. Photo: Laurent Liotardo

Manon is very much a character-driven ballet and Cojocaru and Caley’s fantastic performance is enough to make the show a must-see, however there is a quality discrepancy between the principals and the group, with the corps de ballet looking a bit scrappy at times – not quite together when they should be, and there is a certain lack of precision in the footwork. This could be partly explained by a lack of space: the stage of the Manchester Opera House seems a bit crowded during the big ensemble numbers, perhaps not allowing the dancers to perform at their best.

Massenet’s music was played by the English National Ballet Philharmonic under the direction of Gavin Sutherland. While it is always a pleasure to have live music for a ballet, the orchestra lacked  momentum in the first act and it took some time to come together and gain the sufficient energy to translate the dancers’ emotions on stage.

Manon is above all a fantastic story, told in the most beautiful choreographic language. Seeing dancers like Cojocaru and Caley in the lead roles is a privilege, and Mancunians should rush to their Opera House to see this production.

Manon is at the Manchester Opera House until October 20. More information and tickets are available here.

Top photo: Alina Cojocaru and Joseph Caley in English National Ballet’s Manon. Photo: Laurent Liotardo.