Bolshoi Ballet (live broadcast), 10/06/2018
Delibes : Coppélia
Artists of the Bolshoi Ballet
Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow
Pavel Sorokin
This year is the bicentenary of Petipa's birth, and amongst their plans for celebration was the idea that the late Sergei Vikharev, well-known for resuscitating and reviving Petipa ballets based on the Sergeyev Collection, should mount a fresh production of Coppélia. Vikharev's unexpected death last year put paid to that project, and the company has instead revived Vikharev's 2009 version. Most of the choreography is familiar, the UK companies having largely inherited the Petipa/Cecchetti Russian version of 1894. There is, of course, the much larger company - Swanilda has eight companions here, rather than the usual six, for example - and the greatest degree of variation is, as expected, to be found in the Festival of the Bell in the last act. The set and costumes have been reconstructed from 19th Century designs, and the sets are quite chocolate-box, while the costumes, though pretty, are a little gaudy for my tastes. Swanilda's wedding outfit, in particular, is frankly a little ridiculous; the white tutu has a red-and-white striped gingham apron draped over it, while the bodice is red velvet and pearl and crystal edging. It's an odd combination.
The principal tonight were Margarita Schrainer and Artem Ovcharenko, certainly technically proficient, and with a good degree of charm, but there was something missing from tonight's performance as a whole, a vital spark that should have lifted the performance out of the routine and into the kind of exceptional presentation to which the Bolshoi has accustomed us. It never really happened. Alexei Loparevich was an excellent Coppelius, unusually dignified, and yet even he couldn't quite imbue his scenes in Act 2 with that subtle hint of danger underlying the comedy. The corps de ballet, too, was not displaying to advantage. There were at least three occasions when they were not keeping time with the music, and the first time I really got a glimpse of the fabled Bolshoi corps performing as it should was in the Waltz of the Hours. Otherwise, this was a performance that generally felt detached, almost "phoned-in", and certainly lacking almost any kind of dramatic (or comedic) intensity.
There were two exceptions to this otherwise bland delivery. The main one was the orchestra, it was their crisp and affectionate reading that kept the interest level up to some degree. The second was Elizaveta Kruteleva, a ballerina quite unknown to me, who was cast as Folly in the Festival of the Bell. From the instant she appeared on stage, here was the zest and spirit that was lacking everywhere else, allied to a solid classical technique. The quality of her dancing and her engagement with this short solo were immediately apparent, a welcome reassurance that there was still, at least, somebody who believed wholeheartedly in what she was doing. I hope to see more of Kruteleva in future broadcasts. Otherwise, this was a disappointing show, easy on the eye, well played, mostly efficiently danced, but sadly lacking in the kind of flair we expect from Bolshoi performances.
[Next : 12th June]
Artists of the Bolshoi Ballet
Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow
Pavel Sorokin
This year is the bicentenary of Petipa's birth, and amongst their plans for celebration was the idea that the late Sergei Vikharev, well-known for resuscitating and reviving Petipa ballets based on the Sergeyev Collection, should mount a fresh production of Coppélia. Vikharev's unexpected death last year put paid to that project, and the company has instead revived Vikharev's 2009 version. Most of the choreography is familiar, the UK companies having largely inherited the Petipa/Cecchetti Russian version of 1894. There is, of course, the much larger company - Swanilda has eight companions here, rather than the usual six, for example - and the greatest degree of variation is, as expected, to be found in the Festival of the Bell in the last act. The set and costumes have been reconstructed from 19th Century designs, and the sets are quite chocolate-box, while the costumes, though pretty, are a little gaudy for my tastes. Swanilda's wedding outfit, in particular, is frankly a little ridiculous; the white tutu has a red-and-white striped gingham apron draped over it, while the bodice is red velvet and pearl and crystal edging. It's an odd combination.
The principal tonight were Margarita Schrainer and Artem Ovcharenko, certainly technically proficient, and with a good degree of charm, but there was something missing from tonight's performance as a whole, a vital spark that should have lifted the performance out of the routine and into the kind of exceptional presentation to which the Bolshoi has accustomed us. It never really happened. Alexei Loparevich was an excellent Coppelius, unusually dignified, and yet even he couldn't quite imbue his scenes in Act 2 with that subtle hint of danger underlying the comedy. The corps de ballet, too, was not displaying to advantage. There were at least three occasions when they were not keeping time with the music, and the first time I really got a glimpse of the fabled Bolshoi corps performing as it should was in the Waltz of the Hours. Otherwise, this was a performance that generally felt detached, almost "phoned-in", and certainly lacking almost any kind of dramatic (or comedic) intensity.
There were two exceptions to this otherwise bland delivery. The main one was the orchestra, it was their crisp and affectionate reading that kept the interest level up to some degree. The second was Elizaveta Kruteleva, a ballerina quite unknown to me, who was cast as Folly in the Festival of the Bell. From the instant she appeared on stage, here was the zest and spirit that was lacking everywhere else, allied to a solid classical technique. The quality of her dancing and her engagement with this short solo were immediately apparent, a welcome reassurance that there was still, at least, somebody who believed wholeheartedly in what she was doing. I hope to see more of Kruteleva in future broadcasts. Otherwise, this was a disappointing show, easy on the eye, well played, mostly efficiently danced, but sadly lacking in the kind of flair we expect from Bolshoi performances.
[Next : 12th June]