On Friday night, San Francisco Ballet commenced its final program for the season, Helgi Tomasson’s 1994 Romeo & Juliet. There’s always something bittersweet about the final production of a season, particularly here in San Francisco where we won’t see our SFB dancers on their home stage until next December. Further, it’s a time of transition, as Tamara Rojo, former artistic director of English National Ballet, settles into her place at the helm of the San Francisco Ballet. This current season was curated by Helgi Tomasson last spring before his retirement. The jury is out as to when (or whether) we will see this production of his again.
But spirits were high on Friday night at the War Memorial Opera House, with drama and pathos reserved for the stage, of which Shakespeare’s classic always produces plenty. A confession: I’m not a fan of the Romeo & Juliet story. It packs on so much pathos and sorrow, and I am a tender sort, preferring my sorrows onstage to be more Romantic and mystical in nature, like Swan Lake and Giselle. Fortunate for me, there’s much to love in Tomasson’s production, starting with Prokofiev’s sumptuous score. On Friday night Martin West led the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra in a stunning rendition that easily met the drama unfolding onstage.
Lead dancers Angelo Greco and Jasmine Jimison carried the night as the two star-crossed young lovers, but there were plenty of other notable performances, right down to the sword-fighting passages, choreographed by actor, teacher and film stuntman Martino Pistone, who himself appears in the production as the Prince of Verona. The trio of Romeo, Benvolio and Mercutio (Greco, Max Cauthorn, Esteban Hernández) were brilliant and fun to watch, with their wit, whimsy and stunning technique.
The late Jens-Jacob Worsaae's sets create a sense of period grandeur with a minimalist’s touch, lending a spaciousness to each scene, enhanced by Thomas R. Skelton's lighting design. The masquerade ball scene is simply stunning, like an enormous Renaissance tapestry come to life, the ensemble dancers in their sumptuous costumes (also designed by Worsaae) of orange-red satin against black lace, the dancers’ movements broad, sweeping, regal. The music is glorious, powerful, and I thought to myself: this is why I came. It’s a key reason why someone who doesn’t really like the Romeo & Juliet story, should check this production out.
Effective and regal were Ricardo Bustamante and Jennifer Stahl as Lord and Lady Capulet, intent on marrying their daughter to an unexciting (to Juliet) Paris (Steven Morse). Luke Ingham made for a mesmerizing, fully realized Tybalt. He’s a great actor, who managed to balance his bully’s behavior with displays of fierce loyalty to family. He’s also a great swordsman.
We all know the story: Romeo and Juliet spy each other at the ball and it’s love at first sight. The Balcony pas de deux that follows the ball is another thrilling, “this is why you need to come see this” scene. It’s always the pinnacle for me and Friday night’s performance did not disappoint. Greco, a splendid dancer and powerful technician, lifted and carried Jimison on Friday night like she weighed nothing, and she, in turn, spun through countless partnered pirouettes with such dizzying speed and precision, and Tomasson’s choreography speeds up in bursts, it was a marvel to watch. Jimison, a soloist, has beautiful arabesque lines, and each time she stepped into one and really stretched into it, a deep sense of satisfaction arose in me. In her attitude turns, she delivered a glorious full rotation that she was able to sustain for an extra beat, one of those “wow” nuances that differentiates an exceptional performance. It was a big night for her; this is the first time in the production’s 29-year history that a soloist has ever debuted as Juliet on opening night, and she met the challenge with verve and strength.
Other performances worth mentioning include the Acrobats trio of Cavan Conley, Julia Rowe and Wei Wang. Ellen Rose Hummel and Isabella DeVivo, too, were feisty and exuberant as the Harlots (a term that feels very wrong in 2023). Anita Paciotti as Juliet’s Nurse displayed heartfelt personality and a genuine sense of caring toward her high-emotion charge.
Harold Bloom, in his book, Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human, stated that: “Romeo and Juliet is unmatched, in Shakespeare and in the world’s literature, as a vision of an uncompromising mutual love that perishes of its own idealism and intensity.” It’s well put and it’s yet another reason to respect this story that transcends the ages. Tomasson’s production very effectively delivers a ballet with enough beauty, passion, complexity and heart, as well as a devastating final scene, to move us all and remind us of the power of storytelling and art.
