Carlos at 50, ROH review ★★★★★

Never was the saying ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’ better illustrated than with the rapturous reception a packed Royal Opera House afforded Carlos Acosta on his return to its stage for the first time since his retirement from The Royal Ballet seven years ago.

Carlos at 50 is the mixed bill that Acosta crafted to show off the many facets of his career: charismatic virtuoso dancer, choreographer, company director… and as well as his own nephew, dancer Yonah Acosta, it included guests from companies he’s been associated with: The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB), where he is artistic director, and his own Havana-based Acosta Danza.

With so much thrown together inevitably some things worked better than others.

The curtain went up on Acosta, standing alone as Balanchine’s Apollo, his body trim and taut like that of a man half his age.The house erupted. Acosta couldn’t avoid a smile.

Carlos Acosta in Apollo © ROH 2023. Photo: Tristram Kenton
In Balanchine’s ballet, set to music by Stravinsky, the callow young god is instructed in the arts by three muses, danced here by Royal Ballet principal Marianela Núñez, and Celine Gittens and Lucy Waine from BRB.

Acosta’s performance dispelled any lingering doubts as to whether he could still do it: his beats remain crisp, his lines clean, his stage walk tigerish; and, of course, given their long and very special partnership, his dancing here with Núñez gave off a special sparkle.

Acosta danced with Núñez in two other pieces: the Bedroom pas de deux from MacMillan's Manon and the White Swan pas de deux from Swan Lake.

Carlos Acosta and Marianela Núñez in Swan Lake © ROH 2023. Photo: Tristram Kenton
This pas de deux is a test of the male dancer’s partnering skills, and Acosta’s partnering was as impeccable as ever: sensitive, attentive, showing off his ballerina, the chemistry between the two evident.

Acosta would return in the third section to dance Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s contemporary piece Mermaid with one of his favourite partners: Acosta Danza’s Laura Rodríguez. Emotion and expression, alongside convoluted partnering, are the requirements here, and Acosta shone.

Carlos Acosta and Laura Rodríguez in Mermaid © ROH 2023. Photo: Tristram Kenton
Elsewhere a highlight of this 10-piece programme was Brandon Lawrence in the intense solo Liebestod, choreographed by Valery Panov to music by Wagner. Tall, statuesque, and a truly beautiful dancer, Lawrence (a BRB principal who left this year to join Ballet Zurich) offered breathtaking dancing in a so-so piece, whether writhing on the floor, or soaring through the air in his trademark effortless jumps.

I felt Acosta’s own choreographies fared less well. An extract from his Carmen was vibrantly performed by Acosta Danza in a boisterous taverna scene, but it might have been better to restrict it to the ensuing pas de deux between Carmen and Don José, cogently danced by Laura Rodriguez and Alejandro Silva.

And his riff on Saint-Saëns' The Dying Swan for a classical female dancer and contemporary male remains as perplexing as when I first saw it.

The programme ended with Acosta’s homage to the lively culture of his native Cuba, Tocororo, with a live band on stage and himself joining Acosta Danza in a few thrilling moves from rumba and salsa.

I lost count of the number of curtain calls demanded by the standing audience… Happy Birthday, Carlos Acosta!