The Sleeping Beauty review: The Royal Ballet’s revival comes up stronger than before

Marianela Nuñez makes the steps glow in one of the most cherished roles in ballet

Marianela Nuñez as Princess Aurora in ‘The Sleeping Beauty’ (©2023 ROH/photographed by Andrej Uspenski)

In The Royal Ballet’sSleeping Beauty, Marianela Nuñez is an enchanted and enchanting princess. This is one of the most cherished roles in ballet: both a fearsome test of classical dancing, and the chance to be the heart of a fairytale. Nuñez makes the steps glow: in her coming-of-age scene, the lovely bend and sway of her upper body gives the sense of a girl hugging herself with joy.

For The Royal Ballet, The Sleeping Beauty has been both a touchstone and a trouble. After the Second World War, it reopened the Royal Opera House with an adored production of this work – a powerful image of renewal and awakening. In 2006, when more recent stagings had been criticised, the company tried to recreate the celebrated 1946 production – chasing past glories. Oliver Messel’s designs were toned down for a modern audience, keeping the jostle of bold 1940s colours, but using skimpier costume silhouettes and muted backcloths. It’s a mix of radiant and drab.

But it can still be a decent frame for a ballerina, and Nuñez pulls the whole ballet into focus. In her first solo, her jumps hang in the air, light as a petal in the breeze. In the celebrated Rose Adage, partnered by four princes in turn, she holds steady balances, but also engages with each suitor – it’s a conversation, not just a setpiece. She takes up the spindle with a sense of wonder, turning the unfamiliar needle in her hands before the curse strikes her down.

For the Vision Scene, a change in the carriage of her head makes her more remote, while her limbs unfurl in floating, dreamy lines. She gains grandeur for the wedding act: in the middle of a fast, dazzling sequence, she’ll suddenly slow a phrase into something sumptuous, rising to the sweep of Tchaikovsky’s score. 

She’s matched by her Prince, Vadim Muntagirov. His first solo is beautifully romantic, both for its flowing lines and the yearning sense of something missing from his life. He’s a tender partner to Nuñez, with a sense of delight in the wedding dances. His bravura dances are effortlessly dashing, virtuosity with a light touch. 

This revival has come up stronger than before, with greater assurance in the company’s dancing. In the christening scene, Kristen McNally’s wicked fairy mocks the court with sharp precision, gently rebuked by Fumi Kaneko’s gracious Lilac Fairy. The fairy solos could be more expansive, but Yuhui Choe is bold in the “finger” variation. The hunt scene is courtly and atmospheric, with Christina Arestis poised as the Countess.

‘The Sleeping Beauty’ is at the Royal Opera House Until 6 June. Live cinema relay on 24 May. www.roh.org.uk