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Marianela Nuñez


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Perhaps the comments regarding The Cuban Style could be transferred to another new Topic?

We can do that!! :innocent:

and sorry too for contribuiting to the :) subject. Guilty as charged.

So back to Marianela...

Hi Cubanmiamiboy :clapping: I will start a new topic for The Cuban Style, but I do not know how to transfer our posts to it, do you? Sorry but I am more likely to wipe it all out.

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What; no posts in this thread since November 2009?

Wake up, everyone, wake up! Because... I think I'm in love!

When I popped La Bayadère into my DVD player two weeks ago, I thought I might like Tamara Rojo. I thought she might be my first favourite living-and-active dancer; a "way in" to this intriguing art form which had recently been unlocked for me (possibly more on that later).

Then, a fabulous golden creature stepped out of the wings and that was it for me. I didn't know her name, or that she was a principal dancer, or that she was playing such an important role, with a tutu and everything. I simply couldn't take my eyes off her. (In particular, her arms. Am I mad, am I unspeakably ignorant, or is there something special going on there?)

And by the end I knew she had something I hadn't expected, couldn't identify, didn't understand, and needed very badly.

Such was my first sight of Marianela Nuñez.

I moved on to her Lilac Fairy -- not without trepidation, as she would be competing with precious childhood memories of a certain other lady -- and found myself so warmed by her smile that if I had a notebook in front of me now, instead of a keyboard, I'd be drawing flowers round her name. And then came her Lise in La fille mal gardée, which I cannot even talk about. All I can do is throw open my arms and cry to the heavens: "THANK YOU, GOD."

Around that time I decided I wanted her, not any of the legendary ballerinas whose recordings survive, to be my first Swan Queen.

In both roles she was so beautiful I could hardly bear it.

Knowing almost nothing about ballet I have only my own highly subjective aesthetic and emotional impressions to go by; but I'd like to mention her Odile particularly. Now, I knew the story of Swan Lake, and I'd always considered Siegfried unusually dopey even by the standards of fairytale princes, for being unable to tell the difference between Odette and Odile.

Marianela made me forgive him.

Her Odile was so sexy, so glittering, so exultant, that Siegfried's poor little prince-brain, which had probably not had much exercise prior to this, just didn't stand a chance. Even if part of him did recognise that she wasn't quite his pensively lovely Odette, that part must surely have been drowned out by how much he wanted to believe that this gorgeous creature was his, and that it was their love which animated her so thrillingly.

I don't know if it was a deliberate part of La Nuñez's characterisation of the role, or whether it was her own enjoyment of the piece showing through; but she truly gave the impression of being a woman who was happy in her work, who just loved enslaving princelings. I adored the moment when Siegfried first glimpses Odile through the crowd, when she folds her arms Odette-style -- but the way she does it gives an utterly different feeling. It's a deliberate tease. An unwinking wink. Lacking anything to compare it with I don't know whether all Odiles might not do that, but it was special to me.

And yes, I did notice the wobble. I admit that it happened. I admit that it took me out of the story for those few seconds. But then, well, I was quite happy to get back into it...

Talking about this Swan Lake leaves me longing to see it again. But I do hope that while I'm away gazing in heart-eyed wonderment, others will chime in with their impressions of La Nuñez. smile.png If you posted in this thread a few years ago, has your opinion of her changed in the meantime? If you're a new fan like me, what was it which drew you to her? Have you seen her on stage, lately or in the past? I'm especially curious about roles in which she hasn't been recorded.

I promise, by the way, not to rush off in a snit if you post that you didn't like her in such-and-such a role, or that she doesn't do a certain thing well, or that you just don't care for her overmuch. I'm interested in all of it, good or bad. It's all helpful in building up a picture of a performer's strengths and weaknesses -- though my inclination will be to view this particular picture through lilac-tinted spectacles. smile.png

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Her Odile was so sexy, so glittering, so exultant, that Siegfried's poor little prince-brain, which had probably not had much exercise prior to this, just didn't stand a chance. Even if part of him did recognise that she wasn't quite his pensively lovely Odette, that part must surely have been drowned out by how much he wanted to believe that this gorgeous creature was his, and that it was their love which animated her so thrillingly.

I don't know if it was a deliberate part of La Nuñez's characterisation of the role, or whether it was her own enjoyment of the piece showing through; but she truly gave the impression of being a woman who was happy in her work, who just loved enslaving princelings. I adored the moment when Siegfried first glimpses Odile through the crowd, when she folds her arms Odette-style -- but the way she does it gives an utterly different feeling. It's a deliberate tease. An unwinking wink. Lacking anything to compare it with I don't know whether all Odiles might not do that, but it was special to me.

And yes, I did notice the wobble. I admit that it happened. I admit that it took me out of the story for those few seconds. But then, well, I was quite happy to get back into it...

Talking about this Swan Lake leaves me longing to see it again. But I do hope that while I'm away gazing in heart-eyed wonderment, others will chime in with their impressions of La Nuñez. smile.png If you posted in this thread a few years ago, has your opinion of her changed in the meantime? If you're a new fan like me, what was it which drew you to her? Have you seen her on stage, lately or in the past? I'm especially curious about roles in which she hasn't been recorded.

I watched the Swan Lake video with Nunez and thought she was the sexiest Odile ever. The woman is doing something right, when she makes a gay man doubt he's gay! LOL LOL LOL

B. Birdsall

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I watched the Swan Lake video with Nunez and thought she was the sexiest Odile ever. The woman is doing something right, when she makes a gay man doubt he's gay! LOL LOL LOL

B. Birdsall

Right?! Anybody could be forgiven for mistakenly, in the searing heat of the moment, proposing to marry her. Anybody. I mean, it's the sort of thing that must happen every time she steps out of her front door.

Reviewing my previous post, I don't seem to have found room in it for more than about 25% of the things I like about La Nuñez. I shall have to write a sequel. The challenge will be pausing my ballet DVD marathon for long enough...

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I promise, by the way, not to rush off in a snit if you post that you didn't like her in such-and-such a role, or that she doesn't do a certain thing well, or that you just don't care for her overmuch. I'm interested in all of it, good or bad. It's all helpful in building up a picture of a performer's strengths and weaknesses -- though my inclination will be to view this particular picture through lilac-tinted spectacles. smile.png

Your panegyric deserves more responses, so I'll chime in here (although I am certainly no ballet critic). I've only ever seen Marianela Nuñez on an LCD monitor, but have most of her commercially available stuff on DVD, excepting Swan Lake, because I couldn't visualize Nuñez as the sad Odette. After reading your post, SL has been added to my Amazon basket :)

Anyway, to go through the list: loved her as Gamzatti, Lise & Lilac Fairy. Not so crazy about her Myrtha, which seems more like a flesh-and-blood creature than a malevolent spirit. Igone de Jongh, on the other hand, is a terrifying Myrtha, because there's nothing human-seeming about her. Marie-Agnes Gillot and Tatiana Terekhova are different, but I also find myself believing in their Wilihood. Nuñez lacks a certain elusive Wili magic.

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Not so crazy about her Myrtha, which seems more like a flesh-and-blood creature than a malevolent spirit.

Myrtha is the only role I've seen Marianela in so far in which I wasn't properly head-over-heels.

I did think she was good -- her initial entrance especially enchanted me -- but, even though I'd never seen more than glimpses of other Myrthas, I felt there was a level of Wili-ness to which she didn't quite ascend (descend?).

This is always happening to me; my fancy is always alighting upon performers who have too great a human warmth to do Evil very well. Take her Odile, for instance. I've watched several others in that role now and they were all notably chillier and more supernatural...

And I'm so glad, by the way, that my post inspired you to give her Swan Lake a go. I hope you'll enjoy it, and, in any case, that you'll return to this thread to share your thoughts. smile.png

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And I'm so glad, by the way, that my post inspired you to give her Swan Lake a go. I hope you'll enjoy it, and, in any case, that you'll return to this thread to share your thoughts. smile.png

I did enjoy it. I also enjoyed the Four Swan Queens extra feature. I wanted Nunez to say more about how the Argentinian production differed from the RB's,

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I had the great pleasure of seeing her for the first time in London performing Diamonds about two weeks ago. I don't get to see the Royal Ballet much and when I did attend it was primarily to see Alina Cojocaru. Marianela Nuñez's presence was unknown to me.

I really enjoyed what I saw. She had such a lively and vibrant manner. In addition, her motion, that I noticed most in her arms, had an almost 'Mariinsky' loveliness and grace, which I've yet to see captured on any of the internet video clips of her. She was able to make seamless transitions from an almost Broadway-like delightfulness to the most beautiful balletic passages.

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I had the great pleasure of seeing her for the first time in London performing Diamonds about two weeks ago. I don't get to see the Royal Ballet much and when I did attend it was primarily to see Alina Cojocaru. Marianela Nuñez's presence was unknown to me.

I really enjoyed what I saw. She had such a lively and vibrant manner. In addition, her motion, that I noticed most in her arms, had an almost 'Mariinsky' loveliness and grace, which I've yet to see captured on any of the internet video clips of her. She was able to make seamless transitions from an almost Broadway-like delightfulness to the most beautiful balletic passages.

I love Nuñez. Sadly the performance of Jewels I saw didn't have her in Diamonds, but I did see her in summer 2012 as the lead in Ballo della Regina. It was a beautiful, vibrant performance. I also love her Odette/Odile in the Royal Ballet recording of Swan Lake, which I think doesn't get the good press it deserves.

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Marianela is coming to New York! July 2 and 4 guesting with ABT. Is this the first time she's performed in the U.S.?

I don't know if she has made any guest appearances with other companies, but she has danced in the U.S. (including New York and Washington) on tours with the Royal Ballet.

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Myrtha is the only role I've seen Marianela in so far in which I wasn't properly head-over-heels.

I did think she was good -- her initial entrance especially enchanted me -- but, even though I'd never seen more than glimpses of other Myrthas, I felt there was a level of Wili-ness to which she didn't quite ascend (descend?).

This is always happening to me; my fancy is always alighting upon performers who have too great a human warmth to do Evil very well. Take her Odile, for instance. I've watched several others in that role now and they were all notably chillier and more supernatural...

And I'm so glad, by the way, that my post inspired you to give her Swan Lake a go. I hope you'll enjoy it, and, in any case, that you'll return to this thread to share your thoughts. smile.png

Shirabyoshi, if you notice earlier in the thread, I posted about Nunez' Myrtha. I believe it may simply have been the particular performance you saw which may not have been quite evil enough for you (lol)...she is one of the best Myrthas I've ever seen, on a level with , say, Martine van Hamel, who was peerless in the role in her day. I also think Nunez walks regularly on water (there is not another woman in Royal to touch her right now, sadly) and wanted to mention this.

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I'm enjoying this thread very much. haven't seen much of Ms. Nunez (which I intend to rectify, at least on DVD and YouTube :)), but I have the RB Sleeping Beauty with Cojocaru and I absolutely adore Marianela's Lilac Fairy. She's stunning. So I guess I'd better check out that Swan Lake you are raving about!

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