"Balcony Scene" from Act II of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet (Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn)

"Balcony Scene" from Act II of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet
Rudolf Nureyev as Romeo
Margot Fonteyn as Juliet
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
John Lanchbery
Filmed in 1966

[@abigailhamiltonactor]

He was 28, and she was 47, when they danced this, but if ever "age is just a number" ruled, this was it!!

[@MemeLord-x7y]

And they played 14 year olds

[@mathildewesendonck7225]

@@MemeLord-x7y actually Romeos age is nether mentioned in Shakespeares drama, as far as I remember 🤔

[@helenaribeiro0225]

@@mathildewesendonck7225 Actually it is mention. Not in the open but in subtle hints.

[@susankennedy5739]

I think the point is that she was almost 20 years older than him and they play the parts of being young sweetheart so beautifully! Can't believe she was still dancing lead roles at 47!

[@susannevollmer2347]

@@susankennedy5739 Galina Ulanova danced the Julietta with over 50 Years and she was great. A miracle of the very best Primaballerinas in the world!

[@classicalaid1]

I saw Margot Fonteyn perform the balcony scene at the Metropolitan Opera House when I was studying in New York, in the late 60's. Her magically intense energy and brilliant technique, which transcended mere age, were beyond belief.

[@yasminzimnowodzki5357]

Simply beautiful. One body and soul. She dances beautifully. Forget her age. A true artistic love affair. That score penetrates you. I can watch this again and again and again. Two dancers made for one another and who brought out the best in one another.

[@jeannedigennaro6484]

Saw this live in NYC in the ‘60’s. Unforgettable.

[@ΘεοδωροςΓκότσης-φ3δ]

I'm jealous ,,, for me Nureyev is the greatest artist of all time ,,, INCREDIBLE

[@DelvingEye]

Me, too. My mother brought me. We lived in Riverside, CT. I was 13. Dame Margot was 47. Incredible. I studied dance in my 20s-30s, but actually it is Prokofiev's music that has stayed with me. So many composers quote it, esp. James Horner for his "Land Before Time." Thanks for the memories. ;^D

[@HeatherQuinn]

Same here

[@ЕленаСмирнова-щ1л]

Искусство всех объединяет.

[@jansumi]

Likewise, both performances, Swan Lake & this. Stunned especially by her, life changing, her effortless must be seen to be believed. So glad this has finally been remastered enough to see properly. What a blessing.

[@visionary646]

The opening moments of the ballet's section are stunning, where the dancers look at one another in worshipful contemplation. Even standing still, they exude deep love and grace. Nureyev and Fonteyn's is the most magnificent interpretation of the balcony scene in ballet, enshrined in history and in our memory.

[@sassysax9362]

Seeing the two of them together is so wonderful. Every movement is beautiful, together and apart.

[@kiwi007]

Two of the greatest dancers of all time.

[@shirleyarnott7822]

Still today this is my most favourite and beautiful dance ever.

[@m.kononova]

This is an absolute masterpiece. Neither Nureyev nor Fontaine has been alive for many years, and viewers admire their amazing performance. How difficult it is for dancers to dance this variation after them, it makes no sense to copy, but it is impossible to beat. And, of course, Macmillan’s amazing choreography and Prokofiev’s music. Eternal glory and memory to them!

[@malcolmwhitehead7225]

Unsurpassed. They were it. Rudy s athleticism is breathtaking,even now. Those leaps, turns. Abd Margots juliet is 15 fr real, amazing, The very .Best...to this day! MW

[@sakura44553]

I might offense the fans here in the comments area, but Nurgejew was technical terrible and emotionaly there are much better artists (Carlos Acosta, just to name one). He did a lot for male dance, but that's it...

[@kaythomas3171]

@@sakura44553 Rudi was the only one who really LOOKED like the real Romeo and how he was meant to be!! his interpretation and acting was "Spot On" with his gorgeous face, and body.......he was Perfect!!

[@sakura44553]

@@kaythomas3171 I prefer Carlos Acosta, the perfect Romeo. 😘

[@jillgooner]

@@sakura44553 things have changed techniques are more sophisticated but with a loss of personality im afraid. Ruddie could be over the top with gestures but at that time they were magic together. Its impossible to compare him to Acosta, different era. Acosta is wonderful but they are totally different in thier presentation and dancers now concentrate on exaggeration which is fine by me.

[@edgreisl1]

The greatest Romeo and Juliet of all time !

[@sinnie587]

So Beautiful❤ Both were Such Amazing Dancers😊

[@Yuck54]

Beato chi ha avuto l'occasione di vedere dal vivo questo spettacolo !

[@eunbitpark5251]

the strength of love and joy in their dance is amazing!!!!

[@riley-dd9pm]

i love how they can make even the simplest of movements look so elegant

[@НадеждаЯрошинская]

Total fusion with music! Magic.

[@imogencarney3421]

They just transport you to their world I felt true joy at their characters despite knowing that they are only playing the roles, you get so sucked in.....there is such strong focus these days on height of leg, number of turns, athletic perfection that it seems that the word theatre is forgotten. You are dancing to tell a story you are acting you are entertaining it is for the spectators pleasure and let me tell you, an incredible body is entertaining for five minutes but a stunning and spellbounding performance lasts a lifetime. Here you see juliet is but 14/15 (according to Shakespeare) and you absolutely believe it. Grand technique dramatic and extreme extentions take away sometimes that child like youthful play fonteyn captures. Fonteyn has excellent technique, she uses what she knows to create the character she is going to play she applys it where it is needed and not a step is out of place.

[@poppyblue2509]

beyond words!...it's one of the statements the humanity left behind. I'm so grateful it was recorded!

[@inezgualtiere-weber6168]

This is the Work of two consummate Artists who supercede the physical and achieve - indeed embody - " The Passion of the Dance"... The Ephemeral Epitome of - "The Whole is Greater than the Sum of it's Parts..."! My heart aches that we will never see them together on stage again.

[@siegfriedenea]

I met them both in the late 80's, he treated her as if she were a deity... and she was! A very sweet and elegant woman, small like a fairy and lively like a butterfly. I think it was her last performance: mother Capulet in the Dance of the Knights

[@rivermountain7315]

Till this very day there hasn't been a single couple out of the thousands who've danced this incredible pas who have even come close to their sheer genius in projecting to perfection the expectation of young love the way they did! Absolutely no one. They set the bar and no one has reached it yet!

[@llb380]

And no one ever will…..

[@MrSkylark1]

Fonteyn was remarkable and unforgettable, while exhibiting breathtaking artistry, a true Juliet,

[@sharonweaver4313]

Saw this ballet, with Nureyev and Fonteyn, onscreen in the late 1960's. Out of curiousity I just watched again. Just as passionate and majestic as it ever was! Thank you, KZbin contributors, for showing it to young people today!

[@ТатьянаСоловьева-б6м]

Возрастная негибкость партнёрши мешает восприятию.

[@ЕленаСмирнова-щ1л]

ПОТРЯСАЮЩЕ ! МАГИЯ !🌹🌹🌹

[@lowesonia8551]

no one compares to these two artistes their power to uplift and transport the beholder into another sphere is unique

[@pilateswiz]

Danced with Rudolf Nureyev when he was with a national ballet of Canada. He absolutely mesmerized me.

[@kellicoffman8440]

You are so blessed to have that memory

[@LindaMChristie]

I saw this with my mother at the cinema (long gone) when I was 16 in 1966. Amazing to think that Margot Fonteyn was 47 and believably a teenager here. I've just watched The White Crow and had to see more Rudi.

[@ms.nikola9810]

I thought that was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

[@justa335]

Can't watch this without crying.

[@ShinVega]

I know NOTHING about ballet; however, watching this I was able to discern and FEEL the convictions and emotions each one portrayed in each moment. Wow.

[@manuelorozco7760]

The Nutcracker made me an on and off fan of ballet

[@nancydionisi9346]

Wonderful performance about the greatest classic couple of all time!, many thanks for sharing this jewel!

[@pinkwings8036]

Having seen this exact dance performed by new generations of dancers, no matter how technique changes, this choreography is utterly timeless in its storytelling. I'm so happy it's still in use!

[@manuelorozco7760]

The movie Center Stage inspired me to look up the dance

[@janetmcguffey1394]

I saw many great dancers in NYC growing up- never saw this duo in person, but the film of the Balcony Scene destroys me emotionally EVERY TIME I watch it.....and the Prokofiev music.....yes, Eternal glory to them......they were like a dream......

[@luciematsushima3552]

Un papillon et une libellule, si merveilleux. Le genre de miracle qui nous fait sentir pourquoi c'est bon d'être un humain.

[@ЯремкоЮлия]

Как красиво!!!! Браво!!!!!

[@kellicoffman8440]

My thought 😢exactly

[@АлександраМихайлова-б5к]

Гениальные артисты!!!

[@darumadaruma8801]

ASTONISHING.

[@doriskhoury8749]

Omg ! How beautiful and lovely this couple . Their dance is passionate yet full of tenderness.. thank you for sharing

[@Иринаэтоя-ж2э]

Как же он прекрасен!!!!

[@truebloodea]

I remember back in the early sixties that the only thing more popular than Fonteyn & Nureyev was the Beatles. I'm so grateful to have many of their performances on DVD, including this one. All these years later, they are still magnificent.

[@sofianoiti]

8:14 ...the expression of Rudolf! Incomparable!

[@antonelladicostanzo3206]

Scenografia, balletto... suggestivo e pittorico! Grandi! 👏❤️

[@janetshannon6194]

notice that when Nureyev lifts her up and down from the floor on his knees Fonteyn holds both arms up while she floats in the air. Today nearly every ballerina cheats the choreography by leaning one hand on her partner's shoulder. It's a shame because it's one of the highlights of the pas de deux and if Fonteyn and Nureyev could do it-full out--night after night--todays's dancers should do it as well. That was MacMillan's original choreography. The roles were created on Christopher Gable and Lynn Seymour, but Fonteyn and Nureyev danced the opening night of Macmillan's version of the ballet both in London and New York.

[@fiveblueturtles]

Janet Shannon in this recording Nureyev is allowing Fonteyn to rest her pelvis on his shoulder for more stability. In most versions where the girl uses her hand for stability the man is lifting her much higher. I think both versions are beautiful.

[@abc89over64]

Have seen do many versions of this ballet but for me this is definitive...there is so much nuance and the direction is so mature..not to mention the technical brillance and chemistry of these two genius'. The choreography seems so much consise in this version also.

[@sessary]

I'm a purist. It should be danced as originally choreographed. If you want to create a different version, fine -- but distinguish it from the original.

[@mathildewesendonck7225]

@@sessary there is a beautiful rehearsal video of the Royal Ballet where Lynn Seymour (original cast) teaches Yazmine Naghdi and Matthew Ball this balcony PDD. She says „they need to be free“, and I think she is so right. They do basically the same choreography, but it still looks very different.

[@racegirl87]

Just made me cry. Again.

[@kaythomas8521]

Feast for the Eyes.... Magnificent musical score

[@tinarider9945]

What a fusion between Margo and Rudolf.. 2 bodies one heart..

[@abc89over64]

So well directed. Genius.

[@soniamouraomourao7420]

Fonteyn and Nureyev are magnificents

[@philmcnichol5151]

Now that's 'chemistry!'

[@martavertolini2521]

Magnifique , je suis jeté vers l’éternité la vie est si près de l’infinitif !

[@felixbuchler8820]

Ballett in absolute perfecion !!! Both extreme exact and dynamic, nevertheless with a maximum of expression !!!

[@giuliorenzobighin8165]

Anche grande attorialita ' in questa conosciuta narratio che prende le mosse da un impadronimento.dello spazio proscenico imperativo a balzi e falcate trasverse di difficoltà massima ed eseguite con disarmante naturalezza. Ottima la prova della ballerina capace di ricondurre i passi sia alla melodia che alle situazionalita'. MOLTO azzeccata la vertente mano verso un'impossibile ricongiungimento a quella dell'amato nel finale.Oltremodo bravi e spettacolari. BIGHIN GIULIO RENZO

[@perlapena6988]

wow!!!!what a gift to see them, all !!!!

[@kaythomas8521]

Amazing PERFECTION. In true Ballet Art form. Nureyev. Was the male equivalent to Helen of Troy.....the Face that launched a thousand ships.....He was just Too Dreamy,. A knee trembling heartthrob

[@soniamouraomourao7420]

Maravilhosos Fonteyn e Nureyev

[@ZNC16]

Utter perfection.

[@varasuetamminga9519]

I just compared this scene to Nureyev's choreography of the same scene for the Paris Ballet. This scene is so much stronger because the focus is on the powerful impact of first love and also their fear of it. So true especially for Juliet as Fonteyn shows her so clearly shifting from girlish play to the dawn of adult passion. That fear of those stronger emotions is true for everyone who first "falls" in love, but it is hauntingly true for these lovers. Their love will truly lead them to their death. For most people that death is a partial death of childhood, or the loss of self sufficiency, but for Romeo and Juliet, their profound capacity to love their enemy will also bring physical death as it did for Jesus. They do enact that spiritual drama on a romantic level. Juliet must come down from the safety of that spiritually pure balcony to the dangerous, physical world of Verona with all its hatred and passion. So the awe they feel for each other that this scene captures is so right. The other performance was wonderful, joyous, exuberant; but it doesn't carry the awesome risk and fear which this love ...which I suspect is real and true...reveals. And dance itself, especially 19th century ballet, shows us a world of perfection that is somehow "above" the real world. Prokofiev's more modern 20th century music is bringing Ballet down into the more chaotic, less ethereal world of modern times. Instead of speaking words, a dancer's body becomes music, it speaks through music things which can't be said in words, things which reach into another world. In Romeo and Juliet, the lovers encounter a love which cannot find a place in this world because our world is so determined to hate, always looking for an excuse to hurt people, so full of arrogance and violence that drown love. But if Shakespeare's masterpiece is to work, to become a true tragedy, we must believe that the love of a young girl and boy is so strong, so true that their love can extinguish the hatred of their families, the human craving for violence. When Nureyev and Fonteyn look at each other in this scene, I can feel a love that is powerful enough to destroy hate. No question, it has the absolute power of love.

[@jsky21]

Your words speak volumnes of truths about the ballet. IWhen I saw and heard Prokofiev' music with Fonteyn and Nureyev dancing to this--I was absolutely entranced. I had to buy this dvd. It is one of four which I own, but the only ballet.

[@belawarshavsky5265]

Vara Sue Tamminga h

[@johntechwriter]

The embodiment of young love.

[@jws1948ja]

Truly intimate.

[@rosariamessina1504]

Bellissimi

[@musicloverchicago437]

Prokofiev was so brilliant I can hardly stand it. 6:43 and the similar section of the piece later always get me. The choreogaphy and dancing are amazing too..

[@catrionabrookes1551]

wonderfully chosen keys to ensure we cry !

[@ΚωστούλαΤαραντίλη]

Galina Ulanova created this role in 1939, one of the greatest roles of her career ( with Konstantin Sergeev in the role of Romeo).In 1956 the Bolshoi brought this version, with Ulanova, now 46, to London and it was a revelation to everybody who saw it. Margot Fonteyn was among many who reeled at the sight of Ulanova’s famous run, “leaving all behind her”. It was said that Romeo and Juliet made its success through its complete telling, in wordless action, of the great love story and through the personality of Galina Ulanova, a total dance personality … she flows into and out of the dance phrases as artlessly and beautifully as a bird flies or a fish swims...

[@TheEmpressMouse]

Try reading this scene in the play while watching this and you will definitely weep.

[@romearomeo]

Sublime

[@esterbalbi4558]

this true Ballet!!!

[@melol9071]

Che poesia !

[@bendelrey2188]

if this is not love in a dance, do tell what is ?

[@carolinebrookboysen1945]

Best comment!

[@shirleyburns430]

There are no word to express the elegance the emotion the fire of this Experience . Wish I Had been There live.

[@beatricecetera1812]

Carismatico sensuale affascinante ,Rudyen

[@madoloresestevepalau7008]

Precisión absoluta de movimientos! Brillante!

[@juanlorenzovazquez2962]

Maravilloso 🌹

[@zoraidaturano7468]

La mejor danza de la escena del balcon. Unicos

[@anne-veroniquedupart733]

Oui, ils sont merveilleux. Dans cette version Rudolf est jeune, sa danse est fantastique. Toujours dans "Roméo et Juliette" il y a sur KZbin 1 vidéo avec le baiser en "gros plan" un grand moment ....

[@alechsander]

at 3:13 gravity stops working! WOW

[@franceshicks5337]

Ballet movements r not simple, they take years of work to perfect

[@annickrobert2844]

C’est vraiment génial de pouvoir revoir ces vidéos avec ces danseurs exceptionnels que j’ai eu la chance de voir à l’époque de leur gloire !!!

[@chapeltibet4551]

Awesome.

[@jenniferpower981]

Exquisite.❣

[@petermartin7350]

This is SO DISAPPOINTING! My wife and I saw one of the last Fonteyn/Nureyev performances of Romeo and Juliet at Covent Garden. At the end of the balcony scene she drifted up the steps to the balcony as if she were on a fast-moving escalator - and here we just see Nureyev watching her! She was 54!!

[@jude1515]

My Mom took me to see them when I lived in Canada.

[@ЛикаВикторович]

Одна из самых нежных и юных Джульетт мирового балета!

[@sedekiman824]

Yes, she certainly was.

[@vasilisakojina447]

И самый страстный Ромео !

[@Rosa-sy4nx]

No me importa la edad de ella, ni que digan que él tiene mala técnica, es lo que transmiten, me hace llorar la música todo el conjunto, me encanta en el minuto 03.56 cuando él hace ése gesto con la mano para que ella se acerque.

[@marygoodson4920]

Don't forget the originator of Juliet. The incomparable Lynn Seymour! ❤❤❤❤

[@viviennetwigg8096]

😊two geniuses

[@carolinebrookboysen1945]

Love in a dance!

[@dollyross6411]

che differenza con il mondo di oggi ho 74 anni e ricordo che il primo bacio con il mio futuro marito mi ha dato un emozione che dopo 23 anni riprovo quando lo sogno e lho perduto nel pieno dell età mi chiedo i giovani che esperienze uniche si portino dietro

[@ferxhi_]

Hermoso

[@marianoguerasvaldivieso5071]

Sin respiración....uff. ❤

[@melissatranfield4054]

Indescribably excellent.

[@catrionabrookes1551]

Haha ..Thanks a lot Prokofiev, MacMillan, Nureyev, Fonteyn .. Ill be crying and suicidal for days ! ...unbelievably beautiful performance ..but annoyed ran out of tissues re crying ..

[@НатальяН-з8л]

Я представляю ,как тяжело это танцевать Особенно,когда он в сидячем положении.Отлично.Нуриев -гений .истинные чувства,им веришь..

[@varasuetamminga9519]

I suspect that Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet in 1594, just a year after the plague had shut down the London Theaters and killed 11,000 people in London, including Shakespeare's only son, Hamnet who was only eleven. I think Shakespeare is in reality a grieving parent who has seen his child crushed by illness or perhaps by germ warfare used by the Spanish after the defeat of their Armada in 1588. I hear a father's cry in this terrible tragedy against the violence of the world. In Shakespeare's play, the reason the friar doesn't get Friar Laurence's letter to Romeo in time to prevent the tragedy is because he was delayed, indeed, quarantined when he stopped to help someone dying of the plague. So this play is performed to a city which is literally in mourning for thousands of people. One surely wants to know that love is stronger than death in such a world. And I believe it is.

[@sessary]

I am heartstruck. Thank you for that insight.

[@lamdao1242]

I was comparing this Nureyev and Fonteyn version of the balcony scene to Gelsey Kirkland's and Anthony Dowell's version. Have to say, I prefer this version. There is something unforced and real about the expression of their feelings. I feel tremulous joy and the conflict of this pair of lovers. That Nureyev and Fonteyn genuinely loved each other is somehow, very evident when you compare the versions. kzbin.info/www/bejne/j3fMmpeMf9OYnpY

[@sedekiman]

Yes that is the secret-unforced emotion. Less is more!

[@marjorievillegas8081]

Hermoso....

[@ОльгаХижняк-п7п]

Боже как такое может быть. Красота. Везде война зачем

[@xiscapalmersegura3743]

Que explendida pareja!!!! Perdlo el arte

[@devalyu5687]

Я смотрю и смотрю.. Слова мои, если напишу, будут банальны

[@pamelapraderawagner8442]

NINGUNA PAREJA LES PUEDE SUPERAR.. . . * *

[@malcolmwhitehead7225]

Someone write ,recently, of Rudi n Margot," seeing them dance, does any one doubt tge of stage relationship?". The correct question,Sir,is " ..does anyone care?"! They are sublime. MW

[@casteretpollux]

Fonteyn!

[@veronicamatsulis4527]

More than dancing going on here.

[@ИринаФранц-ф4э]

Обожаю музыку Прокофьева , и особенно этот балет . Но даже такие совершенные танцовщики в сожалению не могут передать всю глубину музыки.

[@sedekiman824]

The depth of te emotion is in the dance as portrayed by these two genius of the ballet.