And in Ashton’s “Margeurite and Armand” (1963), she finds a certain dignity in her interpretation of the titular consumption-stricken courtesan, moderating all the retching and the collapsing so that it doesn’t eclipse the wider pathos of the story, which is as much about regret as it is romance. Skirt in hand, she traces circles around William Bracewell’s Armand and his interfering father (Christopher Saunders), her chin at a stately lilt. It’s a shrewd tack for a role that was famously created on (and, according to many, solely belonged to) Margot Fonteyn—one in consonance with her own serene mien as an artist. 

Where the above ballets spotlight Nunez’s theatrical flair, “Le Corsaire” centres her technical talents, especially her springing grand allegro and seamless lines, both rendered with polished economy. Dancing opposite Vadim Muntagirov—in his element here as a beaming, bounding, belly-baring prince —Nuñez looks radiant in her tutu-and-tiara photo finish. While our prima rests, Ball slots in with Mayara Magri to dance a similarly joyous coupling: the balcony scene from Kenneth MacMillan’s 1965 “Romeo and Juliet,” complete with a comely first kiss.