Like Water for Chocolate is a full-evening narrative ballet in three acts, choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon to a commissioned score by Joby Talbot, with a scenario the two devised together from Laura Esquivel's 1989 novel and its 1992 film adaptation. It premiered on 2 June 2022 with The Royal Ballet in London (Francesca Hayward and Marcelino Sambé as the leads) and was built from the outset as a co-production shared with American Ballet Theatre, which gave the US premiere in 2023.
What is danced
The article is a plot synopsis and does not describe the choreographic vocabulary, steps, or technique in any specific terms — no pointe work, partnering shapes, or named enchaînements are mentioned. What can be read from the synopsis is the dramaturgical shape the dancing has to fill: a lead pas de deux relationship (Tita and Pedro) sustained across three acts and twenty years, a mother-daughter antagonism (Mama Elena and Tita) that recurs as a haunting apparition in Act II, large ensemble scenes built around social events (a wedding, a wake, an engagement dinner, a campfire celebration), and at least one set-piece solo/duet triggered by a magical-realist plot device — Gertrudis's transformation after eating the rose-petal quail dish, where she 'is filled with sensuality and romance, and tears off her clothes' before being carried off by a soldier.
Beyond that structural outline, no technical detail survives in the source: whether the piece is danced primarily on pointe, how the ghost of Mama Elena is staged choreographically, or what vocabulary distinguishes the wedding crowd scenes from the revolutionary-soldier scenes is not stated. A reader coming to this work for its steps will need to go to reviews, the Royal Opera House's own production notes, or the 2022 broadcast recording rather than this article.
Context
The article does not situate the ballet within a broader dance-historical movement. It does note that critical reception was mixed, with detractors arguing the ballet was 'plot-heavy, often limiting the choreography' and over-produced 'like many Broadway shows' — a complaint that speaks to a live tension in 21st-century full-length narrative ballet-making between cinematic/theatrical spectacle and sustained pure-dance content, but the article frames this only as a reception issue, not a movement.
Staging history
Premiered by The Royal Ballet in London on 2 June 2022 (Hayward/Sambé), the production was built as a shared venture with American Ballet Theatre from the start, both runs conducted by Alondra de la Parra (also credited as Music Consultant). ABT gave the US premiere on 28 March 2023 at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California (Cassandra Trenary and Herman Cornejo), then brought the production to the Metropolitan Opera House in New York beginning 22 June 2023. A performance from the opening Royal Ballet run, recorded 9 June 2022 with the original leads and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, exists as a filmed record.
How to watch it
Watch how the production handles narrative devices that are easy to state in a synopsis but hard to dance — the tear-soaked wedding cake, the rose-petal dish that intoxicates Gertrudis, the ghost of Mama Elena reappearing to haunt Tita and Pedro's later encounters — since these are the moments where the ballet has to translate literary magical realism into stage movement. Note also the long time-span (twenty years) carried by a small number of central relationships, which puts weight on the Tita–Pedro pas de deux across acts rather than on a single climactic duet.
Structure
- Act I · Scene 1 · The De la Garza RanchTita and Nacha cook together in the ranch kitchen; Pedro proposes but is redirected by Mama Elena to marry Rosaura instead; Tita's tears bake into a cake that kills Nacha with grief when tasted.
- Act I · Scene 2 · Rosaura and Pedro's WeddingWedding guests fall violently ill after eating the tear-laced cake; Pedro gives Tita a rose as a private token of love.
- Act I · Scene 3 · Baby RobertoA private moment between Tita, Pedro and the newborn Roberto is interrupted by Mama Elena, who grows suspicious of the two.
- Act I · Scene 4 · Quail in Rose Petal SauceTita cooks with Pedro's rose; Gertrudis, overcome with sensuality after eating the dish, tears off her clothes and is carried away by a revolutionary soldier.
- Act I · Scene 5 · A Hot, Sleepless NightTita and Pedro meet secretly among hanging laundry sheets and are caught kissing by Mama Elena, who banishes Pedro and Rosaura from the ranch.
- Act I · Scene 6 · Tita's BreakdownNews of Roberto's death triggers a fight between Tita and Mama Elena, who beats Tita, causing a breakdown treated by Dr. John Brown.
- Act II · Scene 1 · Dr. John's HouseTita recovers under Dr. John's care and receives his proposal; word arrives that Mama Elena has died.
- Act II · Scene 2 · Mama Elena's WakeAt the wake, Tita discovers Mama Elena's diary revealing her own forbidden love, reenacted by a younger Mama Elena figure.
- Act II · Scene 3 · The Engagement DinnerDr. John announces his engagement to Tita as Pedro continues to declare his love; a ghost of Mama Elena appears to haunt the lovers, and Gertrudis returns with revolutionary soldiers.
- Act II · Scene 4 · CampfiresAt an outdoor celebration Tita returns her engagement ring to Dr. John; Mama Elena's ghost confronts the reunited Tita and Pedro, causing Pedro a heart attack.
- Act III · Scene 1 · Three RoomsAs Pedro recovers, Rosaura's jealous possessiveness over her daughter Esperanza intensifies until Rosaura dies.
- Act III · Scene 2 · The RanchTwenty years later the family gathers for Esperanza's wedding; Tita and Pedro finally consummate their love as the house bursts into flames.
Structure read from an encyclopaedia article, not from a libretto or score we hold. Confirm against a programme before treating the numbering as authoritative.
Credits
- composer: Joby Talbot