From 29th October to 1st November at the Salle Garnier of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo presents the 30th anniversary of Jean-Christophe Maillot’s ‘Roméo et Juliette’. Rather than staging a predictable retelling of Shakespeare’s tragedy, this iconic production strips away the daggers, vials, and flower-decked balconies to focus entirely on the psychological core of the story.
Performed by the renowned company that has taken this milestone across more than 400 stages worldwide through 16 international companies, the beloved staging returns home to revisit a masterpiece whose unique success stems from a daring premise: the entire story unfolds as a remorseful flashback from Friar Laurence, wondering how such a tragedy could ever have happened.
Inside the tormented soul of Friar Laurence
Rather than following the Capulets and Montagues to their bitter end, the ballet unfolds from the perspective of the churchman. In Maillot’s vision, the rival families are sixteen years old and bursting with life; their street brawls are harmless games until a single fatal blow plunges them into a spiral they are entirely unequipped to handle.
Cinematic choreography and a ballet of women
Choreographically, the production cemented Maillot’s signature style: classical vocabulary brought sharply into the modern era through cinematic storytelling. Borrowing techniques like freeze-frames, slow motion, and diagonal stage pathways that mimic a camera lens, Maillot treats his dancers like actors who never look at the audience.
Notably, the ballet centres heavily on its female roles – with Juliet, Lady Capulet, Rosaline, and the Nurse driving the narrative while the fathers remain in the background and the Prince of Verona is removed entirely. Using simple, stripped-back scenery created by Ernest Pignon-Ernest, Maillot’s masterpiece continues to prove that the true tragedy lies not in fate, but in the innocent passions of youth.
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Jean-Christophe Maillot’s ‘Roméo et Juliette’. Photo credit: Alice Blangero
