30/07/2026 10:28 - Entretenimiento
From July 29 to August 2, 2026, the iconic Royal Opera House in London will host Marianela: Timeless, the first show entirely conceived by acclaimed Argentine ballerina Marianela Núñez. At 44 years old and after 28 years with the Royal Ballet, she describes this moment as the perfect culmination of her career.
The British newspaper The Guardian famously called her the Messi of ballet—a nickname she takes with humor. In a recent interview, she joked, Actually, they should call him the Núñez of football. Her connection with Argentina's soccer captain runs deep: she even named her cat Messi and sees in him a mirror of absolute passion for their crafts. Give me my ballet shoes and I feel in love with dance, she said.
The production features a live orchestra and a program curated by Núñez herself. She chose her stage partners based on what each has given her both on and off stage. Joining her are Vadim Muntagirov, Matthew Ball, William Bracewell, and Cuban dancer Patricio Revé, recently promoted to principal dancer.
Selected works include In the Night by Jerome Robbins (set to music by Frédéric Chopin) and Marguerite and Armand by Frederick Ashton—a legendary piece originally created for Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev.
Born in Buenos Aires in 1982, Núñez started dancing at age 3 and entered the Instituto Superior de Arte del Teatro Colón at 6. She arrived in England in 1998 at just 16, and by 20 she had become a principal dancer at the Royal Ballet.
She won the Laurence Olivier Award in 2013 and has been honored four times by the Critics' Circle National Dance Awards. In 2025, King Charles III awarded her the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to dance.
For the joy of her Argentine fans, Núñez will return to her homeland in December 2026 to perform The Nutcracker at the historic Teatro Colón—one of the world's most beloved Christmas ballets.
Alfredo S. Quiroga
