Review: The Winter’s Tale, Royal Opera House

Shakespeare has provided plenty of inspiration for choreographers —Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream spring to mind — but The Winter’s Tale, one of his later plays, has never before been transformed into a ballet. So it is all credit to Christopher Wheeldon that he has managed to distil the complex narrative into an evening of dance.

Created only four years ago, it is now back at the Royal Opera House and is a welcome addition to the Royal Ballet’s repertoire: colourful, dramatic and containing plenty of opportunities for corps, soloists and principals. It does not succeed completely — Joby Talbot’s music often jars and no one will leave humming any of the melodies — but the story moves at a swift pace and there is much to admire in this tale of love, loss and reconciliation.

The sets, by Bob Crowley, are particularly impressive, especially in Act Two when a giant, ornamented tree dominates the entire stage; and you will never see Shakespeare’s most famous stage direction —“Exit, pursued by a bear” — done on a grander scale.

The choreography is inventive, with Wheeldon employing classical vocabulary but putting his own spin on it. He is a fan of the fully flexed (as opposed to pointed) foot, and its use brings an original touch to the dancing.