Always Check The Pulse Before Assuming Death: Roméo et Juliette Closes Boston Ballet’s 2025 Season

The last time I saw Romeo and Juliet was John Cranko’s version by Boston Ballet’s in 2018. This (Roméo et Juliette) is not that (Romeo and Juliet). Cranko’s version premiered in 1962 and was performed by the Stuttgart Ballet. Roméo et Juliette is Jean-Christophe Maillot’s version, which is like none other in so many ways. The one constant is that the story line remains the same but that is about it (more on that soon). Maillot’s Roméo et Juliette premiered in December 1996 with Les Ballets de Monte Carlo where he has been director-choreographer since September of 1993 appointed by H.R.H the Princess of Hanover. Like Juliette, Romeo and Juliet is not dead, but of every version I have seen, this is a resuscitating breath of fresh air that I was not expecting.

You know Roméo et Juliette, is going to be different from the moment the curtain rises. The scrim becomes like the opening credits of a movie. Throughout Roméo et Juliette, I felt the undertone of an old movie. I think that old movie feel was created by a combination of the lighting shifts, the tiny details and precision in the movement, and some of the slapstick moments as well. I have never heard (or rather seen) more swearing in a ballet before either. The set fills the stage but is seemingly neutral and quite simple. When the lighting hits and the panels that make up the set begin to move, you realise it is a lot more complex. Boston Ballet is currently back in their sweet spot as a company as a whole.  There were many retirements recently and the company felt in transition a bit, but now they have settled in together and are once again their whole powerful selves.  I would have loved to see Lia Cirio in this version of Roméo et Juliette because it seems like it would have been a perfect fit for her style and strengths.  Casting is always a little complicated and one never quite knows how or why things are as they are.  Ji Young Chae of course was incredible as Juliette. She had the perfect balance of strength and softness making some of the complex choreography effortless to those watching. Jeffrey Cirio was a excellent as well with some unusual partnering that melted our hearts.  Roméo et Juliette will never cease to be a heartbreaking tragedy, and the way Roméo ends his life is quite spectacular.  Jeffrey Cirio killed it. Literally. 

The music is 90 years old, but with this choreography it seems like a new score. It is of course the same classical Sergei Prokofiev Op. 64 from 1935–1936, but it sounds different. Barring a few songs that every ballet student will recognize, such as the Dance of Knights, which is the go to music for grands battements in class. Whether a dancer is in the grocery store or in the theatre, Dance of Knights will take every dancer regardless where they are back to the barre marking out a little en croix leg exercise.

The costumes by Jérôme Kaplan are exquisite. They have that romantic Roméo et Juliette air but as you look at them closer, you notice the throughly modern and interesting design elements and choices. Of course the dancers are the core of the show, but if they are the juicy fresh summer peach that the audience gets to bite into then the costumes and lighting are the sweet floral scent and juices that run down your arm as you lose yourself in the perfection of it all. The lighting is designed by Dominique Drillot and it is transformative not in a piecemeal way. The lighting warps the entire set which verges on one dimensional transforms. The lighting is as powerful as catching the perfect golden hour on a summer’s day crossed with subtle hallucination. You start seeing and feeling things that make sense but might not be there.

This version of Roméo et Juliette is so romantic and sensual. If you can catch the last shows tonight, Saturday June 7th and Sunday June 8th, I would highly recommend it. If you miss it though, you can drown your sorrows by checking out next season’s offerings… but don’t miss it. For discounted tickets, enter code CITYLIVING45 or LOVE30 for 30% off.