Romeo and Juliet: A troubled history of an endearing masterpiece
Auckland was one of the stops of the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s Romeo and Juliet tour in 1988 which starred Ou Lu and Lisa Macuja, as seen in this poster. Poster and newspaper clippings from the Ballet Manila Archives collection
Arguably the most romantic tale ever told, William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet has been translated to hundreds of languages and interpreted in all art forms – from visual arts to the opera. Ballet is no exception.
The first known ballet based on Romeo & Juliet was performed in 1785 at the Theatre Samuele in Venice, Italy. Guilietta e Romeo, choreographed by Eusebio Luzzi, consisted of five acts and was set to the music of Luigi Marescalchi.
In 1988, Lisa Macuja was partnered by Ou Lu as for a Romeo and Juliet tour of the Royal New Zealand Ballet in 1988. Photo from the Ballet Manila Archives collection
The version that most ballet lovers are familiar with, however, was the choreography set to the music of Sergei Prokofiev that is often associated with the Kirov Ballet. The original piece, unknown to many, premiered in 1938 at the Mahen Theatre in Brno, Czechoslovakia, and the road to that staging was filled with as much drama as the tale Shakespeare penned.
Romeo and Juliet was the piece that lured Prokofiev back to Russia after living in Paris. Josef Stalin reassured him that he would be allowed to write any ballet he wished should he agree to come home. Turned off by the bloodshed of the double-suicide, he instead wrote a version with a happy ending of the lovers dancing into the sunset together based on a synopsis put together with Adrian Piotrovsky and Sergey Radlov.
Even before the piece was completed, there were clear signs that the road ahead would be a difficult one. For one, Radlov resigned from the Kirov Ballet. Then the changed ending caught the attention of the Soviet cultural officials in a very negative way. Editorials by the Pravda labeled modern art as degenerate and the likes of composer Dmitri Shostakovich were shamed and banned. The Bolshoi’s Vladimir Mutnykh was executed. Romeo and Juliet was shelved indefinitely.
During their 16-year partnership on stage, Osias Barroso and Lisa Macuja-Elizalde performed the iconic title roles in Romeo and Juliet several times. This photo is from a show in 2004 with Ballet Manila. Photo by Ocs Alvarez from the Ballet Manila Archives collection
Bits and pieces of the music would be heard in Moscow and even the United States but the ballet itself remained in cold storage until the Ballet of the National Theatre in Brno was granted permission to perform the piece. It consisted of a single act containing a salvaged version of the first two suites. It was choreographed by Ivo Vana-Psota with himself performing the title role of Romeo opposite Zoe Semberova as Juliet. Prokofiev was unable to attend the premiere.
This “salvaged” piece, however, opened the doors for the Kirov to include it in its 1940 season but only if Prokofiev “traditionalized” the score and the tragic ending was restored. Choreographer Leonid Lavrovsky cast prima ballerina Galina Ulanova as Juliet – a role she initially refused to accept, not wanting to dance to Prokofiev’s modern music.
After so many revisions on the composer’s part, Ulanova went on to perform the lead role along with Konstantin Sergeyev as Romeo.
Ballet Manila principal dancer Abigail Oliveiro took on the role of the tragic heroine of Romeo and Juliet in 2015. Photo by Ocs Alvarez from the Ballet Manila Archives collection
While it eventually became one of the most significant ballets, Romeo and Juliet broke Prokofiev who died in 1948 filled with regret about the piece.
Romeo and Juliet went on to be performed by some of the world’s most important companies. In 1955, Frederick Ashton choreographed his own version for the Royal Danish Ballet. In 1962, John Cranko choreographed his version for the Stuttgart Ballet. In 1965, Sir Kenneth MacMillan created one for the Royal Ballet. In 1971, John Nuemeier took inspiration from Cranko’s version to create his own. Rudolf Nureyev made one for the London Festival Ballet in 1977. Yuri Gorgovich made a new one for the Bolshoi in 1979. In 1985, Christopher Gable directed a version choreographed by Massimo Moricone in 1991 for the Northern Ballet Theater. Indeed, every renowned company in the world has included this masterpiece in their repertoire.
Filipino prima ballerina Lisa Macuja-Elizalde performed this piece with the Royal New Zealand Ballet in 1988 opposite principal artist Ou Lu. She also went on to perform it many times with danseurs Osias Barroso and Rudy De Dios, her colleagues in Ballet Manila.
Lisa Macuja-Elizalde and Rudy De Dios appear on the cover of the DVD of the former’s last full-length performance of Romeo and Juliet as part of her Swan Song Series in 2011. Photo of DVDs by Giselle P. Kasilag from the Ballet Manila Archives collection
After Ballet Manila was formed in 1995, Romeo and Juliet became of the company’s staples – performed either as a full-length piece for the season shows, or excerpts for provincial tours. People’s Artist of Russia Sergei Vikulov’s choreographic miniature of Romeo and Juliet, done especially for Ballet Manila, is one of the company’s most often performed pieces.
“The challenge of turning from a 13-year-old child to a girl-woman who is loved and in love and ultimately driven to suicide is just too juicy to resist,” Macuja-Elizalde admitted. “Ballets that experiment with such strong emotions are the ballets that any true artist wants to perform again and again.”
To date, current Ballet Manila principal artists Joan Emery Sia, Abigail Oliveiro and Elpidio Magat are among the dancers to have performed the full-length versions of Romeo and Juliet.
Ballet Manila principal dancers and real-life partners Joan Emery Sia and Elpidio Magat headlined the company’s full-length Romeo and Juliet in 2015. Photo by Ocs Alvarez from the Ballet Manila Archives collection
