John Neumeier’s Nijinsky is not only a story of a ballet great, but also of what Artistic Director of The Australian Ballet, David Hallberg, has done for the company. Opening night at the Regent Theatre was met with a standing ovation and barely a dry eye in the house.
What is remarkable about this Nijinsky, as with many other performances that have occurred under Hallberg’s stewardship, is how deeply committed each dancer is to the part. No character feels static or contrived, not just making the story believable, but ensuring that every audience will experience something unique each night.
Principal Artist Callum Linnane is in his element as Vaslav Nijinsky. Having debuted in the title role for The Australian Ballet’s 2016 production of the ballet, Linnane’s connection to the character is clear and he brings a raw authenticity to the role.Â
Too frequently performers play madness by leaning into it, but Linnane fights for moments of sanity in an otherwise fragmented world. His connection with older brother, Stanislav (Elijah Trevitt), is deeply moving and undeniably heartbreaking, with clear love and desperation to remain tethered.
Grace Carroll as Romola de Pulszky, and later as Nijinsky’s wife, portrays Romola’s devotion and later break from Nijinsky with sincerity. Nijinsky observes her brief pas de deux with Joseph Romancewicz (Doctor), all clean lines and fluidity. Her infidelity is made all the more heartbreaking by the stark contrast with the abrupt jolts and interruptions in moments between the married pair. Carroll’s technical work in the second act is unsettling and flawlessly executed, with sickled feet and momentary crumples through her torso as she battles with her connection to Nijinsky.
In curating seasons, Hallberg has opened space for rich and complex male roles, and emotional intimacy between men. As it was with Oscar and Wayne McGregor’s Obsidian Tears in the triple bill Instruments of Dance, the intimacy comes with a brutality that offers little respite.
In Nijinsky too, moments of tenderness between Nijinsky and his former mentor/lover Serge Diaghilev (Maxim Zenin) are offset with violence – a sweet moment of connection juxtaposed with a violent fling of the other’s body across stage.
Orchestra Victoria (with Jonathan Lo at the helm) hums with electricity as the musicians make their way through Chopin, Schumann, Rimsky-Korsakov and Shostakovich. The emotions conveyed in the music are near indistinguishable from those of the dancers.Â
Lighting reproduced for this 2025 production by Ralf Merkel and Jon Buswell allows for pockets of Nijinsky’s mind, frequently creating different spaces on stage at once. Startling transitions to clinical lighting have high impact, working hand-in-hand with make-up choices for Linnane to give the effect of gaunt eyes and a lost soul.
Scenery and costumes, courtesy of The National Ballet of Canada, allow for Nijinsky’s overlapping memories. The ballet starts casually without the usual opening remarks in the ballroom of Suvretta House, the setting of Nijinsky’s last performance. As if slowly slipping into a memory, a pianist sitting at a grand piano rolled onstage answers questions from ballet-goers in the ballroom before the performance commences.
Costuming adds an immersive intensity to each of Nijinsky’s memories from his career, with the metallic glitz of the Golden Slave in Scheherazade, the billowy white tulle of Les Sylphides and the rigidity of soldiers’ uniforms from Nijinsky’s nightmarish flashbacks to World War 1.Â
Read: Immersive review: Invisible: Darkfield, Adelaide Fringe
The program notes describe Nijinsky as one of two dancers in the course of ballet history remembered with the awe afforded to myth. In this production, The Australian Ballet does justice to Nijinsky’s memory and Neumeier’s mastery of movement.
Nijinsky
Australian Ballet with Orchestra Victoria
Regent Theatre
Choreography, set, costumes and lighting concept: John Neumeier
Lighting: reproduced by Ralf Merkel and Jon BuswellÂ
Scenery and costumes: courtesy of The National Ballet of CanadaÂ
Nijinsky will be performed until 1 March 2025, before touring to Sydney with Opera Australia Orchestra from 4-22 April 2025.
