34 replies to this topic

[Birdsall]

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. 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

[Shirabyoshi]

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...

[Kerry1968]

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.

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.

[Shirabyoshi]

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.

[Kerry1968]

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.

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,