Dance Review by Clive Barnes

ROBBINS’ TRIBUTE SOARS

...At the Metropolitan Opera House, American Ballet Theater embarked upon a series of performances of Kenneth MacMillan’s full-evening dance extravaganza, «Manon», using music by Massenet, although not that used for Massenet’s own opera on this once notorious Prevost novel.

Originally given by Britain’s Royal Ballet and staged for ABT last year, it is one of those works with more story and atmosphere than expressive choreography and emotional dance, and probably more scenery and costumes (handsomely evocative work by British designer Nicholas Georgiadis) than either.

Saturday night’s performance brought two newcomers to the central roles of the delightful but fickle Manon in Nina Ananiashvili, and her bewildered lover in the Australian guest, Steven Heathcote.

Ananiashvili, with her round, sweetly poutish face and bright button eyes, makes an adorable Manon, and her dancing had just the right coltish imperiousness. Heathcote partnered and danced strongly, but is not the most subtle of actors, although he Improved throughout the ballet, nothing becoming him so well as his final desperation.

Ballet Theater now acts and dances (in that proper order) this ballet so well that their performance is virtually indistinguishable from the high-tech histrionics of the Royal Ballet.

Here, Robert Wallace, as Manon’s disreputable and pixillated brother, and Christine Dunham, making her debut as his gold-hearted tart of a mistress, were superb, as were Michael Owen as Manon’s odious older protector, and Victor Barbee’s saturnine jailer.