The Pleasures of the Analog Life / Ballet: Romeo and Juliet by Sergei Prokofiev

If the two of them had not died
and had lived on

Nearly 20 years ago, I was invited to Keio University's Shonan Fujisawa Campus to give a lecture on the theme of "The Role Played by Women's Magazines." At that time, I dared to use Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" as a sample to explain how a woman's way of life changes drastically depending on her life stage. It went something like this—.


"Romeo and Juliet, whom you all know well; two people who should never have met, meet and fall in love instantly. Juliet cries out, 'O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?' That they become so feverish is because they are around the same age as you all." [Students laugh]


I was reminded of this because I watched the ballet film "Romeo and Juliet" (directed by Michael Nunn, 2019), produced in Shakespeare's home country, England, and for the first time in a while, I was newly impressed by the most famous love story in history. It was performed by the Royal Ballet of Covent Garden to the magnificent music composed by Sergei Prokofiev (1935), but it is completely different from a normal stage performance. It is a work that pursues realism like a historical film, with an open set built specifically in the suburbs of Budapest to recreate the streets of 16th-century Verona, where the dancers perform in period costumes.


There is probably no need to explain the story at this late date. In an old city in northern Italy, two noble families were in fierce conflict, often causing bloodshed, when Romeo (William Bracewell), the only son of the Montague family, and Juliet (Francesca Hayward), the only daughter of the Capulet family, happened to meet at a ball and fell in love at first sight. That fateful scene is a masterpiece that is overwhelming precisely because it is expressed through ballet, but what struck me so deeply that I even forgot to breathe was the scene that followed.


After the ball ends, Romeo slips into the night to visit Juliet's bedroom in the Capulet house, and the reunited pair vow their love on the balcony. At this moment, Juliet speaks the line, "O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?" which must have been filled with a curse against being born into feuding families. However, in this ballet film, under the moonlight, bathed in the blowing night wind (it is said it was actually filmed while a storm was approaching the open set in Budapest), the two perform a long pas de deux to Prokofiev's glittering music. Their dance, released from gravity, can actually be seen as if the fact that they are in a forbidden relationship is stirring up the joy of immorality.


When you think about it calmly, isn't it extraordinary? To express a Shakespearean play using only the body, without using any of the lines Shakespeare provided, and to weave in a new interpretation that Shakespeare himself never knew! I think this video work by the Royal Ballet took on such a reckless challenge and succeeded brilliantly.


Now, my lecture at Keio University continued after the aforementioned remarks like this.


"The drama of Romeo and Juliet is an event that takes place over just five or six days. Because it was such a short period, they loved each other passionately, met death passionately, and became the heroes and heroines of an eternal tragic romance. If the two of them had not died and had lived on, their parents would never have allowed the marriage, so they would have had no choice but to elope. A poor life would have begun for the young master and young lady who grew up without wanting for anything. Even if Romeo is handsome, he has no trade, so no matter how much he works, he won't earn much. On the other hand, Juliet is perfectly healthy, so a child will be born soon. Well, the time you can call a baby cute is fleeting; before long, the baby will be screaming day and night, and Juliet will fall into a complete parenting neurosis. And when you look at her husband, Romeo, he is supposed to have gone to work, but he is flirting and playing with young girls. Juliet cries out, 'O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?'" [Students burst into laughter]


This is the reality of the new life stage that Romeo and Juliet would have stepped into. Of course, we should be able to see the budding of true happiness here, but even the Royal Ballet would surely find it a difficult task to express that.