Marianela – Timeless showcases the unparalleled artistry of the Royal Ballet’s veteran principal ballerina, the Argentine Marianela Núñez
This article was first published on London Unattached
Marianela Nuñez is very easy to love. Her radiant smile has been lighting up the stage at Covent Garden for 28 years, her all-consuming love of dance bringing an added dimension to every step she makes – and how she makes them! At 44-years-old, the Royal Ballet principal ballerina is in her prime, her awesome technique undimmed, her expressiveness enhanced by maturity.
All this comes to the fore in Marianela – Timeless, her self-curated programme, which has opened at the Royal Ballet and Opera. Intelligently assembled, designed to illustrate different facets of her artistry, showcase key moments of her career and some of her key partners throughout, it had the full backing of The Royal Ballet, and came across as a classy, impeccably produced and thrillingly danced show.
It consisted of a section of divertissements bookended by two one-act ballets, Jerome Robbins’ In the Night, and Frederick Ashton’s Marguerite and Armand.
Jerome Robbins’s In the Night, a personal favourite, hasn’t been seen at Covent Garden for many years, so it was a particular pleasure to see it revived here. Set to four Chopin piano nocturnes, played live by Kate Shipway, it focusses on three phases of love. Fumi Kaneko and Vadim Muntagirov enthralled in the first pas de deux, where young love blossoms in unrushed, dreamy choreography full of wonderment and mystery.
The second pas de deux, portraying established love, was danced by Mayara Magri and Lukas B Brændsrød as a couple who know each other well, but are still occasionally thrilled by each other’s touch.
The final pas de deux focuses on the tempestuous end of the affair, with Núñez the woman split between rejection and need, Matthew Ball the man she can’t let go of, twisting in his arms in frenzied turns, breaking away only to return pleading.
After the first interval, the seemingly indefatigable Núñez opened and closed the divertissements section, starting with the pas de deux from Le Corsaire, partnered by the very elegant, sublime technician Vadim Muntagirov.
This gala staple was followed by short excerpts from works that marked her career: Wayne McGregor’s Infra, with Akane Takada and Calvin Richardson impeccably tackling the choreographer’s hyper-extensions and convoluted partnering, the emotional balcony pas de deux from MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet, with Mayara Nagri a vibrant Juliet to life-partner Mathew Ball’s Romeo, full of youthful ardour, and Christopher Wheeldon’s very slow, fluid and exacting After the Rain, danced by Fumi Kaneko and Lukas B Brændsrød.
The virtuoso fireworks returned in the final piece of the section, with Balanchine’s exuberant Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, where Marianela Núñez was partnered by The Royal Ballet’s new acquisition as principal, the Cuban Patricio Revé.
Both dancers are intensely musical and show great chemistry and mutual understanding. Both relished the piece’s considerable technical challenges, giving a playful, joyous performance which predictably brought the house down.
Marguerite and Armand brought a complete change of mood. Created by Frederick Ashton in 1963 to showcase the unique partnership between Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev, it’s a one act distillation of La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas fils, the story of the ill-fated love affair between a consumptive courtesan and a young hot-headed noble.
At 35 minutes a marvel of concision, Marguerite and Armand is divided into short scenes: a prologue which shows the dying Marguerite pining for Armand and recalling the key moments of their love; a scene in a Paris salon where they met and fell in love; the country house where they ran to and his father intervened to break them apart; her return to society only to be grossly insulted by a furious Armand, and finally their reunion by her deathbed.
Nuñez’s Marguerite was partnered by William Bracewell, a dancer in the pure English classical tradition, who showed off his glorious arabesque line, time-freeze balances and committed partnering. Following in a long line of ballerinas who have coveted this plum role, Núñez was passionate and vulnerable.
The Royal Ballet Sinfonia conducted by Paul Murphy provided live music to a programme that fully justified its title: Marianela Nuñez really is a timeless wonder.
© Teresa Guerreiro
(Banner image: Marianela – Timeless. Marianela Núñez & William Bracewell in Marguerite and Armand © 2026 RBO Photo: Maria-Helena Buckley)
Marianela – Timeless is at RBO 29 July to 2 August at 7.30 pm. Sun at 1 pm. Tickets here